Bits Bucket for February 22, 2014
Post off-topic ideas, links, and Craigslist finds here.
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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Name:Ben Jones
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Is the emerging markets turmoil over?
What will become of the EM economies when the tsunami tide of dollars that washed up on their shores rolls back into the U.S. economy?
“Housing is never an investment. Housing is a depreciating asset and a loss, always.”
Exactly. Houses depreciating just like automobiles. The difference is that losses on housing are crushing and last a lifetime at current grossly inflated asking prices.
This notion of buying a retail item like a house and expecting to resell it for more is sheer fantasy.
Inflation, it’s not just for breakfast anymore.
There is no “inflation”.
Probably the same thing that happened to Detroit when the flow of money reversed.
What about the incipient tech bubble crash. It’s coming for sure and will drag many here with it unfortunately. Facebook, google, twitter, etc. make jack. It’s all stone soup logic about eyeballs with no real cash changing hands. The hucksters are already starting g to fail.
“The hucksters are already starting to fail”
Don’t be ridiculous—in a stroke of financial genius and business acumen of the highest order, FB just paid 19 billion (with a B) for What’s App. I mean, come on, it’s a TEXTING app!! With a global user base, all of whom will be loyal users for life! They’d never dream of jumping to the Next Cool Thing—those eyeballs belong to Facebook FOREVER! And think of the barrier to entry. Not just anybody can sling some code and come up with a TEXTING APP! Seriously, get a clue…
Most of it is in stock….and not when it was $19 a share but at $68…
FB just paid 19 billion (with a B) for What’s App. I mean, come on, it’s a TEXTING app!!
It does seem ridiculous on the face of it. But considering that FB is in for some significant problem due to generational shift (e.g. the young kids are NOT adopting it), their attempt to attach and understand the younger demographic is strategically smart. The price may not be, of course. But given the way their stock is behaving, they have access to a lot of cheap capital.
I think you are wrong that just because it is “a TEXTING app” means that it is trivial; there are clearly network effects in any communication mechanism, and the fact that hundreds of millions of people are using it suggests a strong network effect. Sure, network effects can be overcome by something that is sufficiently better—for example, how many people are using AIM these days?
But I think both of those reasons make calling it “a TEXTING app” a little short-sighted.
It’s a texting app.
But it could have been developed to be major competition for FB. It was not a bad deal for FB but it points out its problem, the barriers to entry are FB to keep its position. You can only buy up so many potential competitors.
You missed Ronnie’s main point was that It’s all stone soup logic about eyeballs with no real cash changing hands.
How long are FB and the like willing to wait for me to actually buy that $500 light fixture? If I never do, then eventually they will lose their only source of revenue.
the barriers to entry are
The barriers to entry are low and it difficult for FB to maintain a dominate position
that happened to Detroit when the flow of money reversed ??
Said another way, it really was the “flow of people”…Tax revenue on a downward spiral and expenses going up…Train wreck…
The flow of people is affected by the flow of money.
When money flowed into Detroit as a result of automoble production then Detroit enjoyed prosperty and this prosperty drew in a lot of people. Now that automoble production shifted to someplace else the money flow also shifted to someplace else and the producitve people went with the money shift while the less productive people (i.e. the retired) stayed in Detroit.
True…As always its about jobs…
21 February 2014 Last updated at 23:53 ET
G20 summit to focus on emerging market turmoil
An investor looking at stock boards
Investors in a range of markets have suffered heavy losses as money is flows back to a steadily growing US
Stock market and currency turbulence in emerging markets like Brazil and Indonesia are expected to feature at this weekend’s G20 finance ministers’ meeting in Sydney.
The official theme of the meeting is restoring global growth.
But the main issue for participants, which also include Argentina, could be the dramatic revaluation of their currencies and share markets.
Investors are returning to the US as it winds down its ultra-easy money stance.
Falls
In December, the US Federal Reserve said it would start cutting back on the amount of bonds it buys in each month as the economy strengthens.
It has been buying bonds to try to keep cheap money flowing around the economy.
That had the effect of driving funds offshore to emerging markets where higher growth and interest rates promised better returns.
The withdrawal of this money has prompted sharp falls in currencies, such as India’s rupee and Argentina’s peso.
The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) managing director, Christine Lagarde, and the UK’s chancellor, George Osborne, both said emerging economies should not blame the US for their market turbulence, although Ms Lagarde also said that the US should be “mindful” of the effect of its actions on other countries.
Mr Osborne said emerging market leaders should stop blaming developed countries for their own problems.
The G20 represents about 85% of the world’s economy.
It consists of the US, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, the UK, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, South Korea, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, and the European Union.
The meeting, which includes central bankers, comes ahead of the main annual G20 summit which will take place in November in Brisbane.
EUROPE
Ukraine Has Deal, but Both Russia and Protesters Appear Wary
By ANDREW HIGGINS and ANDREW E. KRAMER
FEB. 21, 2014
KIEV, Ukraine — A deal aimed at ending a lethal spiral of violence in Ukraine began to show serious strains late Friday just hours after it had been signed, with angry protesters shouting down opposition members of Parliament who negotiated the accord and a militant leader threatening armed attacks if President Viktor F. Yanukovych did not step down by morning.
Russia, which joined France, Germany and Poland in mediating the settlement, introduced a further element of uncertainty by declining to sign the accord, which reduces the power of Mr. Yanukovych, an ally of Moscow. This stirred fears that Moscow might now work to undo the deal through economic and other pressures, as it did last year to subvert a proposed trade deal between Ukraine and the European Union. But American officials said Mr. Putin told Mr. Obama in a telephone call on Friday that he would work toward resolving the crisis.
The developments cast a shadow over a hard-fought accord that mandates early presidential elections by December, a swift return to a 2004 Constitution that sharply limited the president’s powers and the establishment within 10 days of a “government of national trust.”
…
ESSAY
Argentina Nears Its Regularly Scheduled Meltdown
Is the country doomed to endure an economic crisis once a decade?
By JOHN LYONS CONNECT
Feb. 21, 2014 8:02 p.m. ET
A woman window-shops in Buenos Aires on Jan. 27. Shops have been raising prices in recent months. Associated Press
In Buenos Aires these days, a sobering theory is making the rounds at coffee houses and backyard asado grill-outs: Argentina is destined to experience an economic meltdown about once per decade, and there isn’t much anyone here can do about it.
“We have always had instability,” said David Gambarin, an affable 90-year-old real-estate broker who still puts on a suit and goes to his office in downtown Buenos Aires. “This is how we Argentines are.”
Barely a decade after its 2001 crash, Argentina is on the verge of turmoil again. The peso plunged in January, and economists say that a mix of inflation and recession is likely to follow. Already, butchers and store owners are jacking up prices. To hold inflation back, President Cristina Kirchner is restricting access to dollars and threatening shopkeepers with closure, but economists note that such tactics have failed in the past.
Like many here, Mr. Gambarin is greeting the tumult with resignation. A Russian immigrant who arrived in Buenos Aires as a boy, he has lived through five coups. His two children have weathered a dictatorship, bank collapses and inflation rates that surged so quickly in the 1980s that shoppers ran to the checkout lines to buy items before they were marked up again. The current downturn will be the second crisis in the adult lives of Mr. Gambarin’s four grandchildren.
“We seem to do everything possible to fulfill the prophecy of never-ending crisis,” said Mr. Gambarin’s 64-year-old son-in-law, Rodolfo Cohan, over coffee at his apartment in the middle-class Belgrano neighborhood.
In the 1940s, President Juan Peron closed the Argentine economy to trade with the rest of the world. In the 1960s, the country endured stagnation, inflation and military coups. In 1975, 1981 and 1989, failed economic plans led the currency to plunge. The last crisis hit in 2001, when Argentina defaulted on about $100 billion in sovereign bonds. The default—the largest ever at the time—brought down Argentina’s banks, currency and government.
Economists classify Argentina as an “emerging market,” but its economy, which depends on commodities such as beef and soy, has been in decline for a century. In 1910, Argentina was among the world’s 10 wealthiest countries; today, its per capita income is less than half that of the U.S.
There is little debate about the cause of Argentina’s serial financial woes. “Bad government,” says the economist Marina Dal Poggetto, a partner at the Estudio Bein consultancy in Buenos Aires.
For decades, Argentine leaders have overspent during good years and failed to save for lean ones. To prolong the good times, governments have borrowed heavily or simply printed money. What followed were bouts of inflation, currency crashes, bank collapses…and worse.
…
A friend down in Argentina told me the exchange rate is now 12 to 1 on the street. The official rate is 7 to 1.
INVESTING | 2/20/2014 @ 8:58AM
Brazil Heading For Technical Recession?
Brazil might be heading for a recession, according to the emerging markets Americas research team at Nomura Securities in New York.
Tony Volpon, a managing director at Nomura, said in a note Thursday that thanks to increasing interest rates in 2013, the economic growth in the first half of 2014 should disappoint Brazilian investors. He lowered his GDP forecast target to 1.3% from 1.5% and expects the Central Bank to stop the hiking cycle this month, pushing interest rates to 10.75%.
As it is, third quarter GDP fell more than the market expected. Brazil’s economy contracted by 0.5% while market consensus still had it weak, at -0.3%. Volpon and his team warned of back-to-back negative quarters. They were at it again this morning in a client note.
“The pessimistic view is largely based on our in-house financial conditions index and our forecasting work based on the FCI,” Volpon explained. “Financial conditions tightened…and we believe the bulk of the impact would then manifest itself in the fourth quarter.”
…
Sliding ruble to drag Russian economy into recession
Published time: February 20, 2014 09:51
Russia’s GDP growth turned negative in January, with the lowest investment since 2010. Analysts say uncertainty surrounding the ruble, which hit its all-time low against the euro on Wednesday, is weighing on the economy and could drag it into recession.
Russia’s GDP shrank during the first month of 2014, though so far there are no exact numbers, a source told the Vedomosti newspaper.
Inward investment slid 7 percent year on year in January, as real income was down 1.5 percent and wages grew the slowest since 2009, according to Wednesday’s report by Russia’s statistics service Rosstat.
Retail growth also slowed to a four-year low at 2.4 percent.
The investment slump, slowdown in consumer demand and a real fall in personal income is all very alarming, said Alexander Morozov from HSBC.
“Even if we don’t fall into recession, we shouldn’t account for an economic recovery,” Morozov said. Though a recession is now a real threat for Russia, it’s too early to make any far–reaching conclusions, as technically it is defined as two quarters of economic contraction, the HSBC analyst explained.
“My forecast for investment was extremely pessimistic – minus two percent. And given such a sharp slowdown in retail, I don’t exclude that the economy is de-facto in recession,” says Evgeny Nadorshin, an economist from AFK Sistema.
…
India’s economy still stuck in a rut: HSBC
By PTI | 21 Feb, 2014, 01.15PM IST
NEW DELHI: India is “stuck in a rut” as weaker consumption and stalled investments prevent the economy from building any sort of momentum, HSBC said in a report today adding “slow recovery” could start post elections.
According to the global financial services major, the year 2014 could thus prove to be a tale of two halves. In the latter half of the year, there would be some economic recovery and return to normal business conditions.
…
JakartaGlobe
China Hard Landing War-Gamed for World Economy
By Simon Kennedy on 12:04 pm February 21, 2014.
The financial district of Pudong is seen on a hazy day in Shanghai on Jan. 21, 2013. (Reuters Photo)
The US economy may prove more prone to deflation than the Federal Reserve acknowledges and that may present a reason to keep monetary policy loose, according to a model created by Wells Fargo Securities.
Deflationary pressures have been “relatively high” since January 2010 and now have a 66 percent chance of prevailing in the US, according to Charlotte, North Carolina-based economists John Silvia, Azhar Iqbal and Blaire Zachary. Their calculations include factors such as the personal consumption expenditures price deflator, unemployment rate and the Fed’s inflation target.
The model is “useful for policy makers, investors and consumers who can attach a probability with each more-likely scenario of future price trends: inflationary, deflationary or price stability,” the economists said in a Feb. 17 report.
They say that such a persistently higher probability can highlight a looming threat. In the 1980s, for example, the model would have pointed to the risks of higher inflation, which did mark that decade.
“The recent year’s surge in the deflationary pressure probabilities may offer a justification for the highly accommodative monetary policy,” the authors said in the report.
…
It’s a regular PB copy&paste carpet bomb!
PB insomnia = many posts
Friday night insomnia is a lot easier than when you have to work the next day!
Been off for a few days for a family gathering (not of the happy sort, I might add)…which might help explain the insomnia.
It’s a regular PB copy&paste carpet bomb ??
But at least its material that you can read and digest…Unlike some of the redundant posts…
Is laughter at FOMC meetings a reliable financial market catastrophe indicator?
At Least The Fed Ended The Catastrophic 2008 On A Funny Note
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 02/21/2014 11:43 -0500
The world may have been crashing and burning, and as Bernanke admitted in March 2008, “At some point, of course, either things will stabilize or there will be some kind of massive governmental intervention, but I just don’t have much confidence about the timing of that” (guess which one it was), but at least the Fed ended the catastrophic 2008 year on a high note. The chart below shows the number of the time the FOMC committee had an moment of levity as captured by [Laughter] in the FOMC transcripts. Perhaps not surprisingly, the December 2008 meeting, when the market was in free fall, saw the biggest number of laugh lines in the entire year.
…
They were giddy knowing the power they were about to exercise. And how many favors they were about to generate, for future returns.
They were giddy knowing the power they were about to exercise.
Economic train wreck did seem to translate into economic carte blanche.
There is a somewhat less negative possible interpretation, though: tragic events often lead to comic relief as a coping mechanism. It appears to be a very human instinct—think about the Challenger jokes that circulated after its explosion.
Is China cornering the market on physical?
Gold Vault Opens in China as Bullion Goes From West to East
By Chanyaporn Chanjaroen and Stephen Engle
Nov 11, 2013 9:04 AM CT
A gold vault that can store 2,000 metric tons, double China’s projected consumption this year, opened in Shanghai this month as owner Malca-Amit Global Ltd. seeks to benefit from rising demand in Asia’s largest economy.
The facility is the biggest for the Hong Kong-based company, and it can also store diamonds, jewelry and art, Joshua Rotbart, precious metals general manager, said in an interview. The site could hold bullion worth about $82.5 billion at today’s price, Bloomberg calculations show. China’s total demand may reach 1,000 tons in 2013, the World Gold Council forecasts.
Consumption in China may increase 29 percent to a record this year, overtaking India as biggest user as lower prices and higher incomes spur demand, according to the WGC. The investment in Shanghai’s new free-trade zone reflects a shift in world demand away from the U.S. and Europe toward Asia. Demand for gold jewelry, bars and coins in Greater China, India, Indonesia and Vietnam is now about 60 percent of the global total, up from 35 percent in 2004, according to HSBC Holdings Plc.
“Such a facility is a massive vote of confidence for the Chinese gold market,” said Philip Klapwijk, managing director of Hong Kong-based Precious Metals Insights Ltd. “The trend for demand has been very strongly positive,” said Klapwijk, who’s monitored precious metals since 1988.
…
Yes, they are even building storage for another 1500 tons of gold.
I wonder if Alad is still hiding out in the high Sierras with his handcannons, firehose, and mellow.
I thought he lived in NYC?
“Vampire Foreclosed Homes Lurk Across The US”
http://blogs.marketwatch.com/capitolreport/2013/10/02/vampire-foreclosures-are-whats-keeping-bank-inventory-high-analyst-says/
I personally know over a dozen that haven’t made a mortgage payment since 2009….. 8 of whom are in the Los Angeles CA area.
Those houses can eventually be taken over and made available for more Section 8 fraud.
Likely.
The amount of fraud and criminality in housing is just mind numbing.
Is U.S. deflation a realistic prospect, given the Fed’s ever-vigilant determination to prevent its occurrence?
Fed Deflation in One Picture
by Barry Ritholtz - November 15th, 2013, 1:00pm
World risks deflationary shock as BRICS puncture credit bubbles
As matters stand, the next recession will push the Western economic system over the edge into deflation
An exchange store staff shows a Chinese RMB$100 banknote) and a US$100 banknote in Hong Kong
It is a remarkable state of affairs that the G2 monetary superpowers - the US and China - should both be tightening Photo: Reuters
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
9:11PM GMT 29 Jan 2014
Half the world economy is one accident away from a deflation trap. The International Monetary Fund says the probability may now be as high as 20pc.
It is a remarkable state of affairs that the G2 monetary superpowers - the US and China - should both be tightening into such a 20pc risk, though no doubt they have concluded that asset bubbles are becoming an even bigger danger.
“We need to be extremely vigilant,” said the IMF’s Christine Lagarde in Davos. “The deflation risk is what would occur if there was a shock to those economies now at low inflation rates, way below target. I don’t think anyone can dispute that in the eurozone, inflation is way below target.”
It is not hard to imagine what that shock might be. It is already before us as Turkey, India and South Africa all slam on the brakes, forced to defend their currencies as global liquidity drains away.
The World Bank warns in its latest report - Capital Flows and Risks in Developing Countries - that the withdrawal of stimulus by the US Federal Reserve could throw a “curve ball” at the international system.
…
“… the withdrawal of stimulus by the US Federal Reserve could throw a ‘curve ball’ at the international system.”
Which means not only is the U.S. operating under a borrowed money economy but the rest of the world is also.
And it looks as if Janet Who is going to be the one who will be left in charge of it all.
For an answer to your question check out what is going on with wages.
I believe around 4 million Americans’ wages have effectively dropped to $0 for life since the onset of the Great Recession.
Is that about right? And what else is ‘going on’ that’s of interest?
Debt has two parties: the borrower and the lender/debt-holder.
If the debt goes bad, and the central bank sequesters it on its balance sheet, that bails out the lender/debt-holder. However, the borrower is still laboring under trying to pay off that debt.
So pushing debt as a social policy may be very lucrative for lenders in the short term, but it creates a long term drag on the economy.
However, the borrower is still laboring under trying to pay off that debt.
The ones who have decided never to pay again certainly don’t seem to fit that description… They’ve been laboring NOT to pay off that debt for years now!
“Debt has two parties: the borrower and the lender/debt-holder.”
Unfortunately the jõõ-ish version has three: the borrower, the lender, and the taxpayers who guarantee and/or repay the debt. The commissioned lenders get theirs up front, looting the country for a percentage.
Tentative report on home prices in the OC: They ain’t all that any more.
Details to follow in a couple of months…
Turns out I have two close relatives with homes on the market early this year: One in PNW and the other in SoCal. Will keep you posted on how things turn out…
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/21/cuts-on-table-for-medicare-advantage-plans/
Link will post soon:
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration announced Friday cuts were on the table next year for Medicare Advantage, giving new ammunition to critics of the president’s health care law and disappointing some Democrats.
The politically dicey move affecting a private insurance alternative highly popular with seniors immediately touched off an election-year fight.
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, said, “Every senator who voted for this train wreck owes America’s seniors an explanation for these Medicare cuts, which are already resulting in higher costs and reduced access to the doctors they had and liked.”
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky also attacked the proposed cuts, saying, “the best solution would be to recognize ObamaCare for the historic mistake that it is, repeal it, and replace it with commonsense reforms that will protect America’s seniors and families from the seemingly never-ending consequences of this terrible law.”
Last week, 40 senators from both parties, including Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York and Michael Bennet of Colorado, chair of the Democratic Senatorial campaign committee, wrote the administration urging no more cuts, calling the program, “a great success” and saying cuts “create disruption and confusion.”
Late Friday after financial markets closed, Medicare issued a 148-page assessment of cost factors for the private plans next year. It included multiple variables, some moving in different directions, but analyst Matthew Eyles of Avalere Health estimated it would translate to a cut of 1.9 percent for 2015, a figure also cited by congressional staffers briefed on the proposal.
“There’s nothing to like here if you’re one of the plans,” said Eyles.
Administration officials say the plans don’t need to be paid as much to turn a profit, because the growth of health care spending has slowed dramatically. They see the cuts as a dividend for taxpayers.
But the political clout of the plans is growing as seniors flock to them seeking better health care value. Medicare Advantage plans now serve nearly 16 million people, or about 30 percent of Medicare beneficiaries. They can offer lower out-of-pocket costs and broader benefits than traditional Medicare, but often restrict choice.
Insurers say they will be forced to pass on higher costs to seniors or cut benefits if their rates are reduced, and some plans may drop out altogether. The impact could vary significantly around the country.
What is that, like an HMO you can choose? I’ve had good experiences with HMOs. Lola and Downlow Joe what were your experiences?
I would presume their experience is similar as Lola is on Liberace’s plan or vice versa.
Most Medicare Advantage is exactly like an HMO. You pick it instead of “regular” medicare. With Medicare Advantage you don’t have the 20% co-pays that regular Medicare has, though I suppose you might have some small fixed amount per visit co-pays. For seniors who don’t have Medicare supplement plans, it is pretty much all they can afford. They usually get some other coverage that regular Medicare doesn’t cover, like maybe glasses.
My parents do Medicare counseling for other seniors. When they ask me what their seniors are supposed to do if they can’t find doctors who take the local Medicare Advantage plan, I tell them they will have to go on regular Medicare. When my mother says they can’t afford the co-pays on a hospital stay for regular Medicare, I tell her that they will have to default on the 20% of the bill they are responsible for and go bankrupt to get rid of the debt just like the rest of the un- and under-insured people in the country.
Then the conversation stops.
No doctors in their area take the HMO plan? Or not their preferred doctors? Isn’t Medicare Advantage kind of a big thing. Seems odd there’d be no doctors in an area who take it unless it’s way out in BFE someplace.
Mr. Haney on Medicare.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KY3ncbgbUYk
Mr. Haney reference = Awesome
Morning Bell: Obamacare’s Negative Impact on Seniors
Alyene Senger
June 3, 2013 at 7:01 am
The Medicare program that provides health insurance to seniors faces a dire financial future. And Obamacare is making it worse.
Medicare’s Part A trust fund is projected to be insolvent by 2026 and the total program has a long-term unfunded obligation of more than $35 trillion. This means the government has made $35 trillion worth of benefit promises to current and future seniors that are not yet paid for — a staggering amount that is more than double the nation’s total current debt.
Despite the fact that the Medicare trustees have been warning of this financing disaster for many years, President Obama’s massive health care law makes the matter much worse, not better.
Ignore the political rhetoric of keeping Medicare “as we know it.” Obamacare has already made significant changes to Medicare, namely through provider reimbursement reductions and the creation of an unelected board of bureaucrats, the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB).
Here are three examples of Obamacare’s impact:
1) Huge payment reductions that reduce access to care. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), Obamacare will reduce Medicare reimbursements by $716 billion over 10 years. These cuts will hit Part A providers such as hospitals, nursing homes, skilled nursing facilities, and hospices, along with Medicare Advantage plans. The trustees predict that if Congress allows these cuts to go into effect, 15 percent of Medicare providers would go in the red by 2019, 25 percent by 2030, and 40 percent by 2050.
This will absolutely impact seniors’ ability to access medical care. As the trustees explain: “Providers could not sustain continuing negative margins and would have to withdraw from serving Medicare beneficiaries or (if total facility margins remained positive) shift substantial portions of Medicare costs to their non-Medicare, non-Medicaid payers.” (Emphasis added.)
2) Medicare “savings” are spent on other parts of Obamacare. Obamacare’s Medicare “savings” and increased Medicare payroll tax are often touted as increasing the solvency of the Part A trust fund, but that simply is not true. The money is counted as paying for new entitlement spending in Obamacare.
As CBO plainly states, “CBO has been asked whether the reductions in projected Part A outlays and increases in projected [hospital insurance] revenues under the legislation can provide additional resources to pay future Medicare benefits while simultaneously providing resources to pay for new programs outside of Medicare. Our answer is basically no.”
3) The ominous and looming power of IPAB. The board will consist of 15 unelected and unaccountable bureaucrats, charged with meeting a newly created budget target in Medicare. When Medicare spending surpasses the target, IPAB will have to make recommendations to lower Medicare spending. The trustees project the much-hated IPAB will need to step up and make recommendations for the first time in 2016.
Obama’s Medicare agenda falls far short of what is necessary to put the program on a sustainable path, and his law’s negative impact on seniors is yet another reason the law must be repealed in its entirety before its most egregious provisions (Medicaid expansion and exchange subsidies) begin in 2014.
http://blog.heritage.org/2013/06/03/morning-bell-obamacares-negative-impact-on-seniors/ - 62k
The nbcnews homepage is wins the silver for worst web design in the history of the intertoobz. It was edged out from gold by the nbcolympics homepage, but there is some question about the judging.
“Cape Coral Realtor Greg Eagle to spend 6 years in prison”
http://www.winknews.com/Local-Florida/2014-01-07/Cape-realtor-who-defrauded-investors-will-learn-his-fate
“Housing makes insiders rich…. and buyers poor. Very poor.”
No question. Paying in excess of $35/sq ft for a resale house is counted as loss. Your losses are magnified tremendously if you finance it for 15 or 30 years.
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration announced Friday cuts were on the table next year for Medicare Advantage, giving new ammunition to critics of the president’s health care law and disappointing some Democrats.
The politically dicey move affecting a private insurance alternative highly popular with seniors immediately touched off an election-year fight.
Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, said, “Every senator who voted for this train wreck owes America’s seniors an explanation for these Medicare cuts, which are already resulting in higher costs and reduced access to the doctors they had and liked.”
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky also attacked the proposed cuts, saying, “the best solution would be to recognize ObamaCare for the historic mistake that it is, repeal it, and replace it with commonsense reforms that will protect America’s seniors and families from the seemingly never-ending consequences of this terrible law.”
Last week, 40 senators from both parties, including Democrat Chuck Schumer of New York and Michael Bennet of Colorado, chair of the Democratic Senatorial campaign committee, wrote the administration urging no more cuts, calling the program, “a great success” and saying cuts “create disruption and confusion.”
Late Friday after financial markets closed, Medicare issued a 148-page assessment of cost factors for the private plans next year. It included multiple variables, some moving in different directions, but analyst Matthew Eyles of Avalere Health estimated it would translate to a cut of 1.9 percent for 2015, a figure also cited by congressional staffers briefed on the proposal.
“There’s nothing to like here if you’re one of the plans,” said Eyles.
Administration officials say the plans don’t need to be paid as much to turn a profit, because the growth of health care spending has slowed dramatically. They see the cuts as a dividend for taxpayers.
But the political clout of the plans is growing as seniors flock to them seeking better health care value. Medicare Advantage plans now serve nearly 16 million people, or about 30 percent of Medicare beneficiaries. They can offer lower out-of-pocket costs and broader benefits than traditional Medicare, but often restrict choice.
Insurers say they will be forced to pass on higher costs to seniors or cut benefits if their rates are reduced, and some plans may drop out altogether. The impact could vary significantly around the country.
Obama Silence on Venezuela Violence Based in Far Left Ideology
Townhall | 2/20/14 | pavlich
When Venezuelan Dictator Hugo Chavez passed away in 2013, the White House issued the following statement.
At this challenging time of President Hugo Chavez’s passing, the United States reaffirms its support for the Venezuelan people and its interest in developing a constructive relationship with the Venezuelan government. As Venezuela begins a new chapter in its history, the United States remains committed to policies that promote democratic principles, the rule of law, and respect for human rights. Now that Chavez’ protege Nicolás Maduro is ordering a violent crackdown on thousands of people who dare to speak out against the failures of the communist regime, does the White House still “stand with the people?” Is this the “new chapter” of “policies that promote democratic principles, the rule of law, and respect for human rights” the White House hoped for?
Thousands of supporters and opponents of Venezuela’s socialist government have taken to the streets this past week. Initiated by student groups, the protestors are voicing their grievances against soaring crime rates, high inflation, a shortage of basic goods, and a lack of political and economic freedom.
All the while, the Obama Administration has been relatively silent.
So far, three people have been killed and hundreds have been arrested and tortured. Some even disappeared thanks to government security forces. Videos, pictures, and eyewitness testimony blame the governing regime for the deaths of two of the victims. Armed with automatic weapons, tear gas, grenades and even tanks, the military and police are using all means to silence the democratic opposition.
We don’t know because President Obama won’t tell us.
According to the CATO Institute, Maduro’s “new” Marxist policies of abolishing property rights, inheritance, centralization of credit to the state and the confiscation of property from immigrants has landed Venezuela 181 out of 189 in the World Bank’s 2014 “Doing Business” ranking. This puts Maduro’s country behind Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq.
- AntiObamaBlog.com -
Shriekingtreemonkey.org
The first rule of communism:
Don’t talk about communism.
I haven’t seen this but I’m still going to give it 2 thumbs up.
Foreclosed
Starring: Marlee Matlin, James Denton, Jamie Kennedy, Paul Sorvino, Alex Frnka, Ernest Thomas
When Jake and Allison Turner find the home of their dreams, it’s almost too good to be true: as a foreclosed property, the house is well within their budget. But Forest Hayes, the home’s current occupant, refuses to leave. The police remove Forest from the property. But soon, he begins a campaign of surveillance and harassment; when the neighbor and the realtor suspect him, he kills them. Finally, Forest takes Allison hostage in her own home, threatening to kill her if the family doesn’t relinquish the house.
Upcoming Airdates
Fri Mar 7 at 8 PM
Sat Mar 8 at 12 AM
Sat Mar 29 at 4 PM
Foreclosed - Watch Lifetime Movies Online | myLifetime.com
http://www.mylifetime.com/movies/foreclosed - 110k - Cached - Similar pages
Foreclosed. Watch Online · Lifetime Movies · Schedule · LMN · Foreclosed …
Or if you want to avoid violence and real estate hatred, you can enjoy the Christian film of the same title:
Foreclosed follows a family struggling in this very tough current economy. As they lose everything, they learn valuable lessons including how to be content and have faith no matter what life brings. In June 2012, Dateline did an hour long special on this very topic, following a number of families and showing how their lives have changed and how they are managing to get by. This is an important and timely topic.
We have 18 TRILLION DOLLAR OF DEBT… 145 Trillion in unfunded liabilities in the next 20 years. AND you need to believe there is no inflation, that energy prices are low, that we are at 6.6% unemployment and that we are in a robust economic recovery…
Obama has added more to the national deficit than EVERY other president COMBINED and including for inflation.
Austerity? More hope and change.
————————-
Obama’s “End of Austerity” Budget Is Incoherent
Townhall.com | February 21, 2014 | Kevin Glass
President Obama’s legally-required but constantly-delayed official budget request to Congress will be on Capitol Hill soon. The Washington Post reports that “Obama will call for an end to the era of austerity that has dogged much of his presidency.” There is much wrong with this worldview.
The only coherent way in which “austerity” has defined much of President Obama’s presidency is one in which America faced a once-in-a-generation economic crisis that President Obama himself responded to by massively ramping up federal spending over the course of his first few years in office. That increase in federal spending was combined with below-average tax revenue to create massive budget deficits that everyone, including President Obama, agreed were a problem.
The CBO’s long-term budget report finds that the deficit will dip in 2014 and 2015 but then will start rising - and will never stop due to our increasing health and retirement obligations. The CBO reports on why that’s bad:
In the past few years, debt held by the public has been significantly greater relative to GDP than at any time since just after World War II, and under current law it will continue to be quite high by historical standards during the next decade. With debt so large, federal spending on interest payments will increase substantially as interest rates rise to more typical levels. Moreover, because federal borrowing generally reduces national saving, the capital stock and wages will be smaller than if debt was lower. In addition, lawmakers would have less flexibility than they otherwise would to use tax and spending policies to respond to unanticipated challenges. Finally, such a large debt poses a greater risk of precipitating a fiscal crisis, during which investors would lose so much confidence in the government’s ability to manage its budget that the government would be unable to borrow at affordable rates.
It’s absurd that anyone would need to have a refresher on this, but apparently it’s needed: more debt is worse than less debt!
The CBO also confirms what has become even more apparent in the wake of Obamacare: the federal government is becoming less of a traditional government and more of a social insurance state, as more and more spending will go toward health and retirement entitlements, as well as the mere cost of servicing debt:
‘a social insurance state’
as far as the obama economy being a ‘jobs program’ for contractors, you are correct.
A Brief History of American Welfare State
RealClearHistory.com | 05/09/2013 | Brian Vanyo
According to deficit forecasts in President Barack Obama’s latest budget, the national debt will surpass $20 trillion by 2016. If this occurs (and it is almost certain to occur), then Obama will add more to the national debt during his presidency than all prior presidents combined , despite collecting projected record-high tax receipts each year of his last term in office.
The largest expenditure in Obama’s budget — and the largest federal outlay in every budget since 1970 — is an expense item labeled “payments for individuals,” which includes spending on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment benefits, disability payments, and other federal welfare subsidies. These payments comprised 65 percent of all federal spending in 2012 and are expected to grow to 70 percent in 2016. (By contrast, national defense spending was 19 percent of the federal budget in 2012 and will decrease to only 14 percent in 2016.)
which includes spending on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment benefits, disability payments ??
All Insurance programs….Just like car or house insurance…If the programs are underfunded then its ignorant to blame the “Black Man” although there could be other underlying reasons you want to…
If you want to blame the mismanagement of these programs then blame it on the congress particularly the House…It was their actions or lack thereof that has gotten us into this mess…Along with fraud & abuse I might add…
If the programs are underfunded then its ignorant to blame the “Black Man” although there could be other underlying reasons you want to…
No blame the President since presidents such as Truman accepted that the buck stops “here”. Obama with the democrats passed Obamacare and if it causes cuts in medicare advantage, he owns it not because of his race but because he is president and pushed through Obamacare.
BTW, if you bothered to research the issue you will find one of the reasons the AARP supported Obamacare is that it did cut reimbursement to Medicare Advantage which competed with its insurance program.
President since presidents such as Truman accepted that the buck stops “here” ??
Presidents don’t legislate…Sorry Adan…You get an F on that test…
he owns it not because of his race but because he is president and pushed through Obamacare ??
Dang Adan….The answer was there right in front of my face the whole time…
I got it now…Obamcare is the reason for deficit spending on Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment benefits & disability payments…Thanks for the enlightenment…
Q: How do you get a Republican to defend Medicare?
A: Tell him it will be hurt by Obamacare.
Obamacare has cuts in medicare. Obama has pursued policies that have created slow growth that causes even more funding problems. Sorry you get a F in understanding economics and a F in understanding government. Obama is the both the President and the leader of his party. When the democrats had control of both the house and senate they pushed through programs that just made things worse. He has followed Mugabe type policies and has Mugabe type results. The first rule of medicine is do no harm. It is a good rule in both medicine and government. We have a non-existent recovery do to his policies. Defend him on you want call everyone that points out his record a racist, it does not matter it does not change anything. He has failed just like Jimmy Carter the last president to pursue similar policies.
When is Obama even going to propose a plan to keep Medicare and Social Security solvent? When he is out of office?
All Insurance programs…
Insurance programs, lol.
Social Security is wealfare now?
When is Obama even going to propose a plan to keep Medicare and Social Security solvent? When he is out of office ??
Tell the Republican house to come up with a proposal…Bring it to the floor and vote and pass it…Send it over to the Senate and if they pass it the President can sign it or veto it…Thats how it works Adan…
Insurance programs, lol ??
So tell me how they are not….
No Presidents can and do propose legislation. Reagan never had control of the House. You have your talking points but it is not how government usually works. If Obama cannot find one person in the House to push his agenda he is truly pathetic. FDR did not wait for Congress to propose legislation. You get a F in history, economics and political science, just like your President for life wanabee Obama.
It is just lucky for the country that Obama is as clueless about passing legislation as you are. He had a congress that Reagan could only dream about in his first two years and all he could do with it is pass pathetic Obamacare. A competent president could have passed the entire leftist agenda. Thank God, he was and is just a community organizer. I have to work to do so I have to leave the blog but the left will be lamenting the lost opportunities for them the first two years of this administration for decades.
Insurance programs, lol ??
So tell me how they are not….
You don’t want to see or hear. Wake up.
Why is it a bad thing that citizens get back most of the taxes paid? Would you prefer it ALL go into invading then abandoning rathole countries?
deficit will dip in 2014 and 2015 but then will start rising -
Why do they think it will decrease even for the next 2 years? Because it is already so high? Is that a projection that takes into account the obvious current downturn?
Al of this is just counting angels on the head of a pin anyway. Throw out your tv and radio, it’s just propaganda. You are a teeny tiny ant in a giant hive. It won’t change. Try to be happy.
AntiObamaBlog.com
To quote this blog’s owner: “Romney, BAH!”
More corruption of the nation’s law to favor political friends of the obama regime.
Why are some unsecured creditors “more equal” than others? That is not what the law says.
Why are some retirees more equal than others? That is not what the law says.
We were a nation of laws at one time. Now we are a banana republic.
Detroit will never recover. It pension promises will land it in bankruptcy AGAIN in a few years (just like Stockton, CA).
———————
Detroit’s Bankruptcy Plan Comes Under Heavy Assault
NBC News | 2/21/14 | John W. Schoen
The road back for Detroit seems to be getting longer.
More than three months after its historic bankruptcy filing, city officials Friday offered up their proposed plan to pay bondholders, pensioners and other creditors holding its $18 billion debt substantially less then they’re owed.
But even before Orr had a chance to formally unveil it, the plan was under heavy attack from investors, unions representing city workers and other creditors.
The 120-page ‘plan of adjustment’ covers more than 100,000 creditors. The city’s 24,000 retirees are among the most vocally opposed.
Orr proposed 34 percent cuts to the pension checks of general city retirees and a 10 percent cut for police and fire retirees. Those cuts could be reduced if the city’s two independent pension boards agree to the plan.
Some bondholders would take an even closer haircut, under the terms proposed Friday. While secured bondholders would get all of what they’re owed, those holding unsecured, so-called general obligation bonds would get just 20 cents on the dollar.
“While we understand that favoring pensioners and discriminating against bondholders and other creditors might be politically popular, we believe this is contrary to bankruptcy law and will result in costly litigation that will hamper the City’s emergence from bankruptcy,” said Steve Spencer, a financial advisory to FGIC, in a statement. “This will restrict the city’s ability to fund the reinvestment essential to its revitalization.”
“A lot of people outside Detroit believe the city gets too much money from the state already,” said Eric Scorsone, a Michigan State University professor who is following the Detroit bankruptcy. “So it’s not going to be an easy sell. If that falls apart then this whole deal likely doesn’t hold up as a realistic plan.”
Everybody still avoids the one question i would like answered:
What would the figures be, if you went back and eliminated all pension spiking, and figured out the pension based only on the last years of base salary?
At least that way it would be fair and everyone would have very little to complain about.
Policeman and fire fighters ( non-volunteer fire fighters ) are superior to all others.
9/11 established this.
Union thugs and goons - and that is how they describe themselves!
I am so glad in closed shop states that people are FORCED to join unions and pay union dues as a CONDITION of employment.
I am so glad unions are the LARGEST political money contributors in America.
And I am so glad they give 99% of that money to democrats.
Why?
—————————–
Union ‘Thugs’ Indicted For Burning Down Quaker Meetinghouse That Employed Non Union Workers
TownHall | 2/22/14 | Barkoukis
The federal government indicted several union members on Tuesday for burning down a Quaker meetinghouse in 2012. Why? Because it was employing non-union workers, of course.
Ten members of Philadelphia’s Ironworkers Local 401 were charged with “allegedly participating in a conspiracy to commit criminal acts of extortion, arson, destruction of property, and assault in order to force construction contractors to hire union ironworkers,” the FBI statement reads. “Eight of the 10 individuals named in the indictment are charged with conspiring to use Ironworkers Local 401 as an enterprise to commit criminal acts. … The indictment details incidents in which the defendants threatened or assaulted contractors or their employees and damaged construction equipment and job sites as part of a concerted effort to force contractors to hire and pay Local 401 workers, even when those workers performed no function. Among the criminal acts set forth in the indictment is the December 2012 arson of a Quaker Meetinghouse under construction in Philadelphia.”
“The indictment alleges that business agents would approach construction foremen at those work sites and imply or explicitly threaten violence, destruction of property or other criminal acts unless union members were hired. The defendants relied on a reputation for violence and sabotage, which had been built up in the community over many years, in order to force contractors to hire union members,” the statement continues.
And they truly were union thugs. One of the ‘goon squads’ the defendants used, which consisted of union members and associates, called themselves THUGs—an acronym for “The Helpful Union Guys”.
Scary, scary goons.
They’re gonna take over the whole country any day now.
And I am so glad they give 99% of that money to democrats ??
Ahhh 2-Fruit….As a percentage what would be your guess that union police are registered democrats particularly red states ??
So, the answer to your “Why” question is pretty obvious…Its because its self serving…Contribute to the liberals so you can fatten your wallet even though you don’t espouse their ideology…Hypocrites & thieves….
“Realtors are nothing more than jailbirds on early release…..”
Glorified jailbirds.
blockquote>Comment by Ben Jones
2013-08-08 07:45:35
Just for the record; there is no shortage of housing. Not in California, not in Tokyo, not anywhere. And there will come a day (again) when the media will tell us, ‘there’s a glut of houses for sale in….’, and regale us with sob stories, ‘I was doing great until the economy went south and my income went away and I can’t get rid of this damned house!’
Tens of millions of excess empty and defaulted houses. An additional 35 million excess houses just starting to hit the market as the boomer demographic dies off.
fixt
Tens of millions of excess empty and defaulted houses. An additional 35 million excess houses just starting to hit the market as the boomer demographic dies off.
And as I predict most of those boomer houses will NOT be sold off because the kids will move back in, because its paid off….. its the future homes that wont be build or sold.
If you have a crappy job in Pittsburgh why not have that same crappy job and live in a paid off house you grew up in?
PS.. i see this on the street i grew up on 5 of my HS friends moved back into moms house till she died and stayed there.
That would mean they’d vacate other houses. Unlikely
From the Class Warfare Category (otherwise known as Trying to Turn the USA into Equal Outcome France Department):
Two observations 1) either Obama is retarded or a closet anarchist fomenting a revolt against statism and 2) buy gold (read the last paragraph on page 2)
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/obama-plan-cut-tax-breaks-for-rich-retirement-savers-2014-02-21?pagenumber=2
The consequences will be to force people who have very high balances to stop investing in these plans and they will turn to movable, hidable assets.
“If you like your 401k - you can keep your 401k”
People who run Hedge funds will still pay 15% though, right?
I think they have the Obysmal Care 3.8% surcharge to make it 18.8%. Just like long term capital gain taxes.
I live in New Mexico and Joe lives in DC and it shows:
http://wtop.com/256/3566972/Ma
Actually that should read Rio lives in DC and Joe in Maryland and I live in NM. The link will post shortly.
A not-very-scientific ranking of states determined those that have the longest and shortest duration of sex.
Topping the list, by a large margin is New Mexico, where an act of love lasts just over 7 minutes, according to Nerve, an online magazine dedicated to sex, relationships and culture.
The data comes from Spreadsheets, a sex activity app that promises to “track your performance between the sheets.”
The app monitors the users’ movement and audio levels, using the phone’s accelerometer and microphone.
How do we rank around here?
Honestly? Not great.
Maryland is number 16 in the country, with a duration of 3 minutes 15 seconds. The Old Line State has a little old man in it.
While the slogan reads “Virginia is for lovers,” apparently love is very fleeting. Virginia ranks number 37, with a duration of 2 minutes 23 seconds.
And, while things take forever to get accomplished on Capitol Hill, love gets done very fast in the District of Columbia. D.C. is ranked number 45, with a duration of 2 minutes 8 seconds.
Downlow Joe living in your head (and apparently in your bed) rent free
Not in either place Goon, rent free or otherwise. He likes government contractors Goon. It might explain the short time, you contractors have to “screw” a lot of people in a short time.
Farmer’s Almanac nails winter freeze; government climate scientists way off
Michael Dorstewitz
BizPacReview
February 22, 2014
The bitterly cold winter the country is experiencing now took government climatologists completely by surprise, but was predicted with dead-center accuracy by the Old Farmer’s Almanac, a 200 year-plus publication.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Prediction Center worked feverishly, plugging all available data into supercomputers to predict temperatures would be “above normal from November through January across much of the lower 48 states,” according toBloomberg Businessweek.
It made its November through January prediction in October.
Instead of the mild winter the scientists predicted, we got hit with the polar vortex, plunging temperatures in in all 50 states to below-freezing temperatures and covering the Midwest and Northeast under more than a foot of snow.
And just to make sure we know it wasn’t an anomaly, Mother Nature said she’s sending another dose of polar vortex our way next week.
“Not one of our better forecasts,” acknowledged the Climate Prediction Center’s acting director Mike Halpert to Bloomberg.
But not everyone got it wrong.
The Old Farmer’s Almanac, which made its winter predictions way back during the summer, used terms like “bitter,” “biting” and piercing” to describe how cold it was going to be, according to CBS News — and it was spot on.
Shortly after making its prediction, Farmer’s Almanac editor Tim Clark explained on Washington, D.C. TV station WUSA9 that although the publication employs many of the same predictors used by the government, it throws the solar cycle into the mix. “And have [used it], for 220 years,” he added.
So climate is cyclical? Watch Clark’s explanation via WUSA9
The Old Farmer’s Almanac, which made its winter predictions way back during the summer, used terms like “bitter,” “biting” and piercing” to describe how cold it was going to be, according to CBS News — and it was spot on.
FWIW, it’s been fairly average here lately. Today’s high should be about 50.
We always get a few weeks or “bitter,” “biting” and piercing” every winter. It is winter after all.
This has not been a normal winter in the East and Midwest. It is the kind of winter we were told in the 1980’s by the AGW crowd that we would never see now.
BTW, the prediction is for at least two more weeks of abnormally cold weather in those areas. But at least California is suppose to get heavy rain.
Forecasts are backing off on the heaviness of the rain to come. Either way won’t make much of a dent in the worst drought the state has ever seen. We need it though, bring it.
In the ’70s these same “scientists” told us we’d be in the next ice age.
“Experts say flourishing demand for architects has inspired optimism that the construction economy is back on track”
http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/architects-engineer-a-comeback-as-construction-revives/2166802
The number of people at work, and their spouses, discussing becoming realtors and or landlords is increasing again.
FYI
There are a couple long time posters here who are realtors. They pretend not to be and act like they’re looking to buy a house.
Just thought you’d like to know.
Thanks for the support the other day concerning my workplace layoffs. I did not lose my job but a few of my good water-cooler friends did. Like anything, reasons is probably payroll. Funny thing is, one of the workers laid off actually produced a lot of $$ revenue for the company. His position was not needed. Corporate ways. My chief boss would of kept him though if I was a betting man. Just another reason why I will not look back when I change jobs. Man, fresh starts are under-rated.
Heard on the radio that divorce rate going up means that the economy is getting better. What a metric.
Restrained credit strains relationships. Don’t marry a clothes horse, it will make you a debt donkey.
Deep.
Tripadvisor is a hoot. Multiculturalism is for LOOSERS.
http://picpaste.com/adisl-XvIFZ81j.jpg
Kurt Nimmo is not “a salaried agent” of a media company like the New York Times or ABC News and I don’t think the FCC would think this information is “critical” for citizens to have.
Soros Funded “Libyan Scenario” Now Unfolding in Ukraine
Libya suffered from an order out of chaos plan. A similar design on Russia’s frontier is now underway
Kurt Nimmo
Infowars.com
February 22, 2014
Back in 2011 the Party of Regions warned that if left unchecked the globalist financier George Soros would unleash a “Libyan scenario” on Ukraine.
“I even have information that Soros has allocated certain funds in order to prepare a certain group of young boys here in Ukraine who could launch any existing projects based on the North Africa examples,” said Aleksandr Yefremov, head of the Party of Regions parliamentary faction.
A “certain group of young boys,” namely violent gun-toting hooligans from the Right Sector and associated neofascist groups, are reportedly in control of Kyiv as of Saturday. Members of 31st Hundred, an opposition group from Lviv, were said to be in control of Ukraine’s Parliament building, The New York Times reports, and the president, Viktor Yanukovych, has fled the capitol. Protesters have taken control of his home.
The United States and NATO supported mercenaries in Libya who overthrew the government and murdered its leader, Col. Muammar al-Gaddafi. Libya is now paralyzed by factional, regional, tribal and ideological divisions, a fate Ukraine now confronts as stores are looted, cash machines emptied, and a mass exodus departs the capitol for Odessa, Simferopol and Kharkov, Ukrainian cities largely loyal to the government and less affected by the turmoil, according to Russia Today.
In 2008 the now imprisoned former prime minister, Yulia Timoshenko, talked about the role George Soros played in Ukrainian politics and the advice he gave following the financial crisis.
“This raised suspicions that through such advice George Soros could influence the rate of the Ukrainian national currency in his own speculative interests. Several officials from president Yushchenko’s administration said they wanted to launch a probe into Soros’ Ukrainian activities, but it did not happen,” RT.com reported in 2011.
In 2010 the Ukrainian State Security Service began monitoring the activities of the Soros sponsored and funded Vozrozdeniye (“Renaissance”) foundation and its connection to other NGOs operating in the country. The investigation did not produce actionable results.
In response to the accusations leveled by Aleksandr Yefremov, the Soros Foundation “said in a special statement that all funds allocated for Ukrainian programs are being spent on the development of the open and democratic society and also for helping Ukrainian citizens, who suffered from the effects of the international financial crisis.”
In January we reported on the cynical attempt by Soros to undermine Ukraine and other nations in the Russian Federation. Soros’ Open Society Institute, now known as Open Society Foundations (OSF), doles out grants to activist NGOs in central Europe and builds upon and continues the work of the Ford Foundation. Since the early 1950s, the CIA has used the Ford Foundation as a funding cover. Soros and a handful of U.S. organizations such as the National Endowment for Democracy destabilize and overthrow governments, tasks formerly accomplished by the CIA.
The destabilization of the Ukrainian government is part of an ongoing geostrategic move by the globalists to undermine any challenge to their hegemonic designs. Libya suffered the result of what is essentially an order out of chaos plan. A similar plan on Russia’s frontier is now underway.
———————————————————————————
Open Society Foundations
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Founded 1993
Founder(s) George Soros
Headquarters New York City, United States
Key people George Soros, Chairman
Christopher Stone, President
Stewart J. Paperin, Executive Vice President
Website opensocietyfoundations.org
The network of Open Society Foundations (OSF), formerly the Open Society Institute (OSI) until 2011, is a grantmaking operation founded by George Soros, aimed to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform. On a local level, OSF implements a range of initiatives to support the rule of law, education, public health, and independent media. At the same time, OSF works to build alliances across borders and continents on issues such as combating corruption and rights abuses.
Q: How do you get a Republican to defend the Soviet Union?
How do you get Democrats to defend the NSA?
Record their cell phone calls and threaten to expose their misdeeds. Works for Republicans as well.
BTW, there is no Soviet union, Reagan defeated it and caused its collapse. Obama’s policies may cause its rise but has not happened yet.
¨there is no Soviet union¨
Putin is working on bringing it back.
I find it amusing the contortions people go through to justify their party’s actions, and demonize the other’s, be they Republican or Democrat. And I agree both do it.
Justification take less effort and intelligence than logical or principled analysis.
The last war that may have been justifiable was the Cold War. Krushchev scared the snot out of millions of Americans. This set forth the MAD doctrine, then Carter’s “SALT” and Reagan’s much more successful “START”.
But the cold war ended in 1989.
Then without an enemy the military industrial complex was befuddled and colluded with the top brass on making new enemies to keep their livlihoods going.
They deepened the “War on Drugs” and invaded Iraq (Gulf War 1). But that was not enough. The Gulf War was run by too smart a man, Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr. It was almost over just when it began. And he followed orders not to kill off Saddam Hussein.
America needed Hussein to balance Iran.
The manipulators in the smoke filled rooms needed something big, huge, and more into the every day lives of Americans.
They came up with The War on Terror. Brilliant. Conservatives like it because it controls information and civil liberties and lines the pockets of the defense industry. Liberals like it because it gives paramilitary-like power over everyone’s personal finances going out of the USA.
But these wars have gotten long in the tooth.
The war on drugs: Colorado and Washington boldly legalized marijuana. Activists in other states are busy promoting the same legalization.
The war on terror: Last Fall Lurch and Obamao and McSame promoted the idea of invading Syria. But the American public got news that the side the USA was to back happened to be (drumroll..) Al Quaeda! And with so much anger from main street and thankfully Putin’s remarks, the USA backed off.
Americans want us to get out of the war business, the wars that have actually backfired and promoted cartels (drugs) and terrorists.
It’s going on eight months since my new job started. I agree with your quote: “Man, fresh starts are under-rated. “
The neat thing for me is that my part of Orange County is a hotbed of software technology firms in my area of work, but I need a few more years experience in this stuff before going out again for a new fresh start.
And on the same token, I might as well get back into being a conSLUTant since my work is in demand up and down the west coast from Seattle to San Diego - but I am staying in commercial.
The jobs are hot, Linux is hot, commercial cryptography with open source is hot, and I cannot imagine wanting to do less than 15 more years of this stuff (I will be 70 in 15 years.
So what kind of work are you doing Bill? I’ve been developing games for the last 8 years, and thinking about a change to something a bit more remunerative after I finish the one I’m working on. I’m fairly linuxy/unixy, but not really interested in cryptography. Not really big on the OC, but if the money’s there, I can hack it for a few years.
Trusted Platform Module software in the context of manufacturing appliances. My ongoing interest is combining TPM and encrypted storage. There is a lot we can do to protect the everyday user from hackers, whether inside or outside the government. Theoretically ou can lock the TPM hardware NVRAM based on hash values of various stages of boot. I was working with open source tools in December and found holes in what was chanted by armchair crypto types as rock solid. But now a few people are starting to use the very same tools and are finding other holes. I laugh at people who repeat other people’s claims while those claims are unfounded. This is not to say the problem will not be fixed.
I am off to the RSA conference 2014 early next week up in the gay area…
Gay area? Bill is coming out of the closet.
That would not be bold or shocking.
I can outdo that: I’m not interested in any relationship (don’t have time).
Russ, Blizzard is a huge game company in the neighborhood where I work. Lots of software types there
2014 will be the Year of Linux on the desktop.
This time for sure?
LOL.
I no longer track Microsoft’s new operating systems. Its last reasonable OS was XP. I hate Windows 7 - saw a web site from a defender of Windows 7 explaining why it is great. But it goes into all sorts of gyrations on how to set it up. What happened to the simple ways?
My laptop has Ubuntu and is using an older Linux…3.2.0-58 and I have the 64-bit architecture - x86_64. I have a spreadsheet, word processor and presentation application that is all part of being included and compatible with Microsoft file extensions. Also my Ubuntu boots up faster than Windows 7.
2007 was the year Linux lived on my desktop. Now it lives behind my entertainment center.
I love the bash shell… those abominations they call a GUI in the various distros, not so much.
Now it lives behind my entertainment center.
What do you run on it there?
“…Linux is hot, commercial cryptography with open source is hot…”
+1 cent-os 6.5 x64 w/gre-tunneling.
Centos is one flavor (also Debian, Ubuntu - which I’m using on my laptop - 12.0.4 ) and then there are the various target architectures: x86_64, x86, ARM, and so on.
I’m very new on Linux but have dealt with Yocto’s builds - a controlled way of creating a linux system. Kind of cumbersome, particularly when you need to add a driver that no one else added before.
Just glad to get away from the Microsoft vs Mac OS wars and work with a real OS.
I am building a bronze foundry, to cast props for my boat. Hope I don’t get hacked.
You can have that bronze foundry, unhacked, provided on only one condition: You give up the medical advances that came along with the computer age.
Oh sorry, no ultra sound for you. The imaging technigues of ultra sound are based on computer software.
No magnetic resonance imaging for you too. That pain you might feel behind the ear? I suppose you want to try exploratory surgery instead.
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/importance-of-computers-in-medicine.html
here’s more:
https://www.biomedtown.org/biomed_town/VPH/VPHnews/meditech2007
Enjoy going back to the bronze age. Their lifespan was 18. Older than 18? too bad.
Q: Does the purchaser of a newspaper’s “Press+” still see the ads?
XL update. The opponents of XL may win the battle but they have the lost the “war” but they just do not know it. Leave it to the free enterprise system to solve the problem. It is cheaper to move a barrel of oil by pipeline than rail. Thus, the opponents of XL were hoping to drive up the cost of oil sands production and thereby limit it. However, bitumen is very heavy and presently must be diluted and both liquids moved. However, new railroad cars have been invented that heat the bitumen so it does not need to be so diluted. Less volume to be move means cheaper costs. Using these railcars, it can be moved for the same price as pipelines. These cars are being ordered and will be available in a few years. The Obama administration will not benefit from the cheaper oil but XL just isn’t that important anymore and oil sands production will occur. The war has been lost.
Christine O’Donnell: I was a victim of the IRS
By Christine O’Donnell
February 22, 2014 | 1:46pm
Whether Democrat or Republican, do you really want your private tax information leaked with impunity?
On March 9, 2010, around 10 a.m., I announced my plans to run for senate representing Delaware.
Later that same day, my office received a call from a reporter asking about my taxes.
It’s since come out, after a halting and unenthusiastic investigation, that a Delaware Department of Revenue employee named David Smith accessed my records that day at approximately 2 p.m. — out of curiosity, he says.
That these records ended up in the hands of the press is just a coincidence, the IRS claims.
To add insult to injury, the tax records given to the reporters weren’t even accurate. I had never fallen behind on my taxes, and a supposed tax lien was on a house I no longer owned.
The lien was highly publicized and used as political ammunition by my political opponents. The IRS later withdrew the lien and blamed it on a computer glitch but, at that point, the damage — and the invasion of my privacy — was done.
I wasn’t the only one preyed upon by the IRS, of course. The agency admits to targeting conservative nonprofits, asking them for membership lists and other data not required while delaying their tax-exempt status. And opponents of President Obama have been subjected to audits soon after criticizing the administration.
What we all have in common: no answers.
In January 2013, a US Treasury Department special agent told me that my tax records were compromised and misused. That was three years after my campaign. Now, in the 12 months since, no one has been called to testify, no more answers given.
How did Smith’s curiosity become an erroneous tax lien? How did the material end up in the hands of a journalist? Neither Smith, nor anyone else in the Delaware Department of Revenue, nor anyone at the IRS has never been placed under oath to explain this.
Fortunately, two congressional committees are working hard to break the stonewall and get answers. The House Ways and Means Committee has joined the Senate Judiciary Committee in an investigation into what happened and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has publicly raised questions about this case.
In a brutal irony, even if Congress does track down answers, they may not be able to share what they discover with me.
This is because the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), the agency looking into my case alongside Congress, cannot publicly disclose any information about what it finds in this investigation.
That’s supposedly according to Section 6103 of the US code which is intended to protect the privacy of personal tax information.
Too bad it didn’t protect mine.
What was written as a well-meaning law to protect taxpayers has inexplicably transformed into a shield for the perpetrators. Unless the law is changed, there will be no public accountability for those who committed this crime, no one will be brought to justice and there will be no deterrent preventing such crimes from being committed again.
http://nypost.com/2014/02/22/christine-odonnell-i-was-a-victim-of-the-irs/ - 71k -
That’s an amazing story, but it wouldn’t surprise me to learn that this sort of attack is commonplace. Politics are nasty.
Blue, how is life in the Finger Lakes these days?
Hi Muggy!
We’re suffering from SAD of course, but spring is only 1 month away. I’ve kept busy this winter setting up my craft studio in a barely renovated cheap as shit semi-Victorian short sale foreclosure disaster in Penn Yan. Final wiring inspection at the New Year complete! I put in a lifetime supply of Walnut boards and turning stock in the fall. Building a foundry for non-ferrous castings. I sure as hell like not owing anyone anything. Well, my kids do still keep getting into trouble of some sort.
Good Grief! Spring is only one month away. Uncover the boat soon. Another grandchild on the way. My wild GF eager to cruise the Lake Ontario and associated waterways, year seven. Life is good.
Can you and yours catch me at Sandy Pond, near Pulaski, when you come up home this summer for some steaks and brew on the water?
Global warming is wiping out the men’s slalom field with a slope full of slush.