Bits Bucket for March 23, 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
Location:Northern Arizona, United States
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Lawyers and realtors are liars
So HA the natural question is: what do you get when your breed a lawyer with a Realtor?
your = you (autocorrect)
“what do you get when your breed a lawyer with a Realtor?”
Who’s on top?
Define “top”. And it is always a good time to be on top.
Define “top”.
The ladies are usually smarter; guess she’s the lawyer.
Thank you. I hoped we’d start including lawyers in amongst the untouchables.
I just heard the weekly segment on DC news radio with a top local realtor. He recommended working with the seller’s agent to tune your offer. He said you should find out if yours is the only offer or whether there are multiple offers. In the multiple offer scenario of course, you need to go above asking price. I found the advice highly amusing. Apparently there are people who do not know how realtors are paid and how the game works.
“He said you should find out if yours is the only offer or whether there are multiple offers.”
You can rest assured almost all Realtor®s will respond in the affirmative to this inquiry, whether or not it is true, as it increases the chances a prospective buyer will bid too high, increasing the sales commission.
Talk to some real journalists.
Terrible Feature Of The Housing Bubble Makes A Comeback
The Huffington Post | by Mark Gongloff
Posted: 03/17/2014 9:25 am EDT Updated: 03/17/2014 11:59 am EDT
If you missed out on the housing bubble and the chance to gamble away your financial future, fear not: Banks are giving you a chance to get in on that kind of money-destroying action again.
Remember adjustable-rate mortgages, which helped pump up the U.S. housing bubble that led to the financial crisis? Well, those things are back, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
To help juice their profits, banks have recently been writing many more ARMs and their slightly more-evil cousins, interest-only ARMS — which allow borrowers to pay only interest for a certain period, leading to more debt and higher payments in the future — according to the WSJ.
“The tactics are reminiscent of the period before the 2008 crisis, when ARMs exploded in popularity as banks and mortgage brokers touted their low initial rates to consumers,” wrote AnnaMaria Andriotis and Shayndi Raice.
…
As the WSJ pointed out, when writing ARMs, banks are betting that interest rates are going to rise. That is the opposite of the bet you’d be making if you took out an ARM. Some homeowners might be gambling that they can sell their house or otherwise get out of their mortgage if their interest-rate bet goes wrong. But as we learned when the housing bubble popped, selling a house is not always such an easy thing. It’ll be even harder when interest rates are rising.
As history has shown us, when banks bet against homeowners, the banks usually win.
You can’t lose with the stuff I use.
WHAT IS YOUR MONEY CONSCIOUSNESS?
“You can`t lose with the stuff I use!” is the Rev. Ike`s trademark statement and after listening to this playlist you`ll understand the Money Minister`s basis for this claim.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8txsSpPZo4iljY8ttWuvDQ_fADfZ2f33
Does anyone actually believe there is any organic demand? Take the FHA foos (who just got a paycut) and the investors (who can’t make a buck anymore) out and there ain’t much left.
Coming next, new home prices being radically slashed.
Las Vegas…DR Horton homes discounted 15K
And the guy who bought last month is now underwater.
I’m sure they can keep serially slashing prices over and over again many times before they cut into their bottom lines.
Too bad for the greatest fool underwater buyers who bought last year!
I’ve seen this happen in 1991 in California, the year after I became a mortgage payer. Then also in 1992. Then 1993.
I know how it feels to know you made a big mistake by having faith in a SFH neighborhood as a more peaceful, more secure place. But there is no security knowing your house is a depreciating asset.
The entire market psychology is based on increasing prices. It is a house of cards.
The Las Vegas Review Journal was very easy to check for housing news because, until recently, they had a “Housing” category was in a second line of tabs that opened when you clicked “Business”.
Sometime in the last week (?) or so, they’ve eliminated the topic as a category, unless it’s been moved someplace I can’t find. I guess it’s not that important.
From the weekly real estate segment on DC news radio, the realtor being interviewed said the VA offers 0% down loans, and that 3.5% down is also available. He specifically said any requirement for 20% down is a myth.
This is all true. The biggest difference between now and 2006 is you actually need good credit, income and assets to qualify for the loan!
hmmm….
If this was Pennsylvania - the democrat AG would have just crushed the investigation into fellow democrats. Eric Holder has showed us the way.
————————
Rhode Island speaker to step down after FBI raids
Yahoo AP | 3/22/14 | Erika Niedowski and Michelle Smith
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — Rhode Island House Speaker Gordon Fox is resigning from his leadership post and will not run for re-election, he said Saturday, a day after federal and state authorities raided his Statehouse office and home as part of a criminal investigation that they would not detail.
“Because of the respect I have for all members of the House of Representatives, I am resigning as Speaker,” Fox said in a written statement emailed to reporters. “The process of governing must continue and the transition of leadership must be conducted in an orderly manner.”
The 52-year-old Providence Democrat, who became the nation’s first openly gay House speaker in 2010, said he planned to serve out the remainder of his term through the end of the year, but that “my personal focus going forward will be on my family and dealing with the investigation.” It is unclear when Fox will officially resign, but the next scheduled meeting of the House is Tuesday.
Fox has represented Rhode Island’s capital in the General Assembly for more than 20 years and is one of the state’s most powerful politicians.
Funny banana. Whenever someone posts about corruption from Republicans, you always protest and you say “Hey, you should be posting about corruption from Democrats”. Notice that there aren’t any Democrats responding in the same way to your comment.
d.o.u.b.l.e standard
Could 2014 be the year the housing market really recovers?
By Mark Trumbull, Staff writer / March 22, 2014
Spring is upon the United States, at least according to the calendar, which means it’s time not just for crocuses and baseball but also for the housing market’s months of greatest activity.
The story of US real estate this spring varies by location, but a simple theme runs through it all: A housing market recovery is well under way across the country, but not yet complete.
Since the market has been such a wacky place for more than a decade now, it’s worth pausing for a moment on that word “recovery.”
…
Remember….. A “housing recovery” is falling housing prices to dramatically lower and more affordable levels by definition.
Yes, the housing market is recovering. One should decide to buy now or risk being priced out forever.
Go visit your local banker and beg him for an adjustable rate loan, on that will get you into the house of your dreams. Do not allow the word “unaffordable” to enter your vocabulary.
I went into my bank in Phoenix yesterday to get lots o’ cash. The teller asked if I wanted a home loan. Whoo boy! I wish I was the Housing Analyst to throw out astute phrases. But I told her I am not at all interested, although I could pay cash the house prices are TOO HIGH! She admitted her husband is in the mortgage business. I told her stock index funds are better in the long run than houses and a house is not an investment. She said she does not trust the stock market. I said well it could have a major correction anytime so cash is king.
These days I would load up on cash and buy $5,000 worth of series I savings bonds per year. Mining stocks are the only individual stocks worth buying now.
Not a chance.
Why don’t they just raise the minimum wage and let in more immigrants?
————
Overqualified and Underpaid: Europe’s Educated Unemployed Youth Flee the Continent
The European | 03/22/2014 | Daniel Tkatch
Europe’s unemployed youth do not mind a little economic insecurity. What they can’t stand is a chronic atmosphere of political hopelessness. No wonder they are fleeing the continent.
Young people appear to be the social group most affected by the lingering economic crisis of the EU. Around a quarter of them is unemployed. As expected, the situation is the most dramatic in the countries on the European periphery: In Spain 57 per cent of the population below 30 is unable to find a job, according to the most recent Eurostat figures. The worrying list also includes Greece with 58 per cent and Croatia, the Union’s newest member state, with 52 per cent.
Being young, motivated, and well-educated no longer means being on the path for financial independence today. Especially not in Spain, where many ambitious graduates are refused employment on the grounds of being overqualified. The lucky ones might find an unpaid internship or an underpaid, temporary job that scarcely matches their qualifications.
Latin America beats Germany
For that reason, many Spaniards have begun seeking employment elsewhere. Irene S. (30) has been living in Canada for two and a half years where she is pursuing a PhD in Communication. Back in Spain, she had worked as a journalist: “I actually worked for three newsrooms at the same time,” she says, “But the conditions were precarious.”
89% of Spain’s emigrants have a college degree. This should not come as a surprise, since it has always been the well-educated that were more willing to move and had higher chances of finding a job abroad. But even students are leaving the country. Thousands of them took to the streets when the Rajoy administration announced to not only slash scholarships for advanced degrees, but to also cut the financing of the Erasmus program.
The more “progressive” a society becomes in its politics, the higher the unemployment rate.
Rising interest rates slow down housing sales
Steven Senne/AP - The higher mortgage rates, soaring home prices and a tight inventory have kept potential buyers on the sidelines.
By Dina ElBoghdady, Published: March 21 | Updated: Saturday, March 22, 9:54 AM E-mail the writer
The super-low mortgage rates that tens of millions of Americans locked in during the refinancing boom are now discouraging many of these borrowers from buying another home and giving up those loans.
The multiyear refinancing craze, which included some of the lowest rates ever recorded, freed up cash for borrowers to sink into the economy. But refinancing activity began receding last spring, and rates have been rising since. The average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage hit 4.32 percent this week, up from 3.54 percent a year ago, according to mortgage-finance firm Freddie Mac, based in McLean, Va.
The higher rates, soaring home prices and a tight inventory have kept potential buyers on the sidelines, hurting the sales of previously owned homes and undermining the recovery of the housing market, a huge contributor to economic growth. Homeowners who are reluctant to move and lose their low rates — a phenomenon that economists call interest rate “lock-in” — could slow the churn of home sales across the country.
…
One of the best features of low interest rates is the substantialy higher principal reductions in the first 10 years of the loan. $200,000 loan @3.5% drops about $3600 to principal in year 1. It just gets better each subsequent year. No reason to make a change.
Of course as long as it benefits you, the world can go a $hitter.
http://static.fjcdn.com/pictures/Shitter+s+Full.+Couldn+t+stop+laughing_66dca7_3185238.jpg
“Of course as long as it benefits you, the world can go a $hitter.”
The benefit is there for everybody, including you.
J._Fraud,
Nobody benefits from paying a massively inflated price for what is always a depreciating asset. In this case a house.
J.Fraud,
How is making good on your own losses better for you?
Things happen in a person’s life that cause reasons to make a change. The interest rate on their mortgage usually won’t cancel all that other stuff out.
Yes, but the problem is that the listing price for that same monthly payment is higher.
The listing prices in 2008-2010 were actually lower.
Yet they were inflated by 200% minimum.
“One of the best features of low interest rates is the substantialy higher principal reductions in the first 10 years of the loan.”
Low interest rates fail to accurately represent the risk of borrower default; thus, the need for federal guarantees.
If the borrower can’t fully pay-off the mortgage in 10-yrs odds are they bought too much of a house, IMHO.
I will just have to move in next door and be sure to have a couple of constantly barking German Shepherds to chase out the entrenched neighbors so they would get the housing econom moving again.
Very neighborly of you Bill…..
Oh My…
————-
The Koch Brothers Give to Democrats Too
Townhall | 3/22/14 | Heather Ginsberg
The KochPAC gave almost $200,000 to Democratic candidates and committees, including just most recently in 2010. This included a $30,000 donation to the DSCC.
But isn’t it funny how top Democrats like Harry Reid harp on how the Kochs are ruining politics and complain about their partisan allegiances? Since 2000 KochPAC has given more than $1.4 million to Democratic candidates, leadership PACs and committees.
Thats why complete public financing of all elections will end all this.
My idea everyone on the ballot gets the same amount of money. Then the first person to run out of $$$ gets another bunch but so does everyone else on the ballot.
Kinda like let the people decide who they want in office….neat kool idea.
And destroy free speech? No thanks.
I disagree with obama and put an ad in a newspaper, create a blog and put fliers of car windows.
ALL on my own with my own money.
You going to arrest me for doing that?
2 you can spend ALL YOUR MONEY all day but you wont be able to give it to any candidate. No pacs no $40,000 dinners…
Nope kinda what democracy was all about.
So only the ultra rich and bankers will be able to run for office???
No thanks.
2banana makes an interesting point.
As a political candidate, you need money to:
1) Purchase air time.
2) Hire staff.
3) Rent offices.
4) Pay for transportation
5) Etc.
A multi-millionaire would be able to do this more effectively than a person of modest means.
On the other hand, giving money to politicians - people who write the rules - smells a lot like a bribe. Legalizing lots of backdoors contribution to politicians again simply gives those with a lot of money more access to the politicians.
Regardless of the scenario, the wealthy person is going to have an advantage in this game. But we shouldn’t just give in and accept and legalize de facto bribery.
Another issue is access to the media marketplace. The FCC licenses spectrum. During political seasons perhaps some sort of time set-asides could be created for radio and television so candidates can broadcast commercials. Which them creates the question, “Who gets the airtime? And when? The tinfoil hat kook? The Columbia professor? The incumbent?”
The situation we have now is quite smelly. “Politicians and diapers must be changed often, and for the same reason.” — Mark Twain. IMO term limits would be the best way to prevent entrenched politicians and the corruption that results.
OR
Total and full disclosure (under penalty of jail) of ALL political donations of any candidate…
You all miss the point Its Money from the taxpayer……that $3 on your tax form
Everybody on a national ticket gets $10 million to start….the first one that runs out gets another $10 million but so does everyone else…….
Imagine if the libertarians got $100 million the same as the repubs and demos?
NO private money allowed…just raise and check the box on your income tax form to $10 per yer times 100 million forms $1 billion per year to be distributed to everyone equally on the ballots.
If rich people want to spend heir own money well let them….they are going to be death taxed on it anyway, let them spend it now while they are alive……if they are good people will vote for them….
I’m announcing my candidacy as soon as this happens, me and 300 million others.
Rules for Radicals. Identify your enemy, embellish their evil ness and then totally destroy their good name.
Last Thurs the Washington Post ran an article about how the Koch Brothers were the largest lease holders in Canada’s oil sands, saying that they were behind the XLPipeline.
But in reality (per a Power line article) the following are true
1) The Washington Post in general, and Mufson and Eilperin in particular, are agents of the Left, the environmental movement and the Democratic Party.
2) The Keystone Pipeline is a problem for the Democratic Party because 60% of voters want the pipeline built, while the party’s left-wing base insists that it not be approved.
3) The Keystone Pipeline is popular because it would broadly benefit the American people by creating large numbers of jobs, making gasoline more plentiful and bringing down the cost of energy.
4) Therefore, the Democratic Party tries to distract from the real issues surrounding the pipeline by claiming, falsely, that its proponents are merely tools of the billionaire Koch brothers–who, in fact, have nothing to do with Keystone one way or the other.
5) The Post published its article to assist the Democratic Party with its anti-Keystone talking points.
So you see in the liberal mind anything associated with the Koch Brothers is evil. Liberal rich guys like Tom Steer are good. Koch Brothers are evil.
Tom “Steyer” is good. He made all his money selling green energy which was subsidized by the Government.
Blackawk,
When are you going to dump that deprecating house of yours?
Exactly. Just like the company Tesla, without a federal $7500 income credit given to they buyer and the fact it is allowed to sell “pollution” credits mandated by California the entity would not exist. J6P is actually subsidizing the rich person’s buying of the toy both through taxes and higher costs that J6P has to pay to buy a vehicle. Actually, for a few years I am not to upset with a subsidy to get an industry growing but don’t pretend that the Green businessman are all pure and do not have self interests in promoted their views of the environment but the Koch Brothers are just motivated by self interests
businessman= businessmen
http://www.realclearmarkets.com/articles/2014/03/21/tesla_learns_the_hard_way_about_crony_capitalisms_downside.html
Actually, for a few years I am not to upset with a subsidy to get an industry growing
However, I will not support an industry even a green industry trying to get a business advantage by destroying its competition through government regulation. That is what I see green industry doing, destroying the coal industry by unneeded and unrealistic carbon regulations. Impeding pipelines using similar tactics. They are receiving government subsidies for the development of their industries, if they still are not competitive they need to develop better technology to make them price competitive, not use regulation to force out their competition and force much higher energy prices on all of us so they can become rich.
Dan, you don’t mind getting robbed at gunpoint to subsidize business. Fine. But why is it okay with you if others who don’t want to subsidize business still get robbed at gunpoint?
Bill, I understand your point and I want government to be as limited as possible. However, we have historically given some help to new technologies including nuclear power to get them going, so unless we are going to adopt a policy of no subsidies to any industry I can live with the present level of subsidies to alternative energy.
“But in reality…the following are true…”
Classic preface to things you may want to believe, but are probably not so accurate.
Is the “environmental movement” now inherently evil? I like fresh air and clean water and birds and stuff like that.
“environmental movement” now inherently evil?
It is if:
fake science => bigger government => more regulations => higher taxes => less freedom and liberty
OR
if you disagree with me I can cut off all debate by calling you someone who wants kids to drink dirty water, throw grandma in the street and put blacks back in chains
I deliberately throw away aluminum cans. Right into the garbage. It will make the scavenging better after the fall.
Why would you scavenge for cans ‘after the fall’?
Why would you scavenge for cans ‘after the fall’?
To melt down into arrowheads silly…
Please watch Mad Max.
Is the “environmental movement” now inherently evil? I like fresh air and clean water and birds and stuff like that.
Definitely preferable to the situation in “business friendly” China. Wasn’t there an article posted here about how some private schools in China have air purifiers installed?
When our colleagues visit from Beijing they marvel at how clean they perceive the air is in Denver.
Blue,
I never said that. I’m perfectly happy talking about the environment, how I like clean air/water/land and how we should go about reaching these. Some of the things we do make sense while other thongs don’t.
Example.
The XL pipeline would be good for the environment if you understand that Canada is going to extract the oil anyway. Right now those petroleum products are being transported via truck and railroad through the US. The pipeline is much more efficient and safe IMO.
It’s all about power and politics, but the liberals like to cast it in evil/good context rather than explaining in a rational manner why the pipeline isn’t a good idea.
Solar Usage Shattering Records in California as New Capacity Comes On-Line
http://www.google.com/gwt/n?u=http://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/Solar-Usage-Shattering-Records-in-California-As-New-Capacity-Comes-Online
This is great. We’re getting better at solar, but what happens if the sun isn’t shining? Diversity of options is key.
We’re getting better at solar, but what happens if the sun isn’t shining?
You are not allowed to use electricity after dark, get with the program.
I’m a huge fan of geothermal. And as much as I’m also a fan of the national and state park system, I think it’s worth exploring Yellowstone as a public source of geothermal, for the US. I’ve heard the geothermal resources there could power a significant portion of the country.
A pipeline makes NO SENSE in that area. In fact, oil pipelines should never even be considered but as a last resort where no other mode of transportation exists. The oil builds up inside of them so that the volume delivered is slowly shrinking to the point where there is a total blockage and the pipeline’s life is over. Then you have thousands of miles of useless pipeline. A pipeline is good for one thing: Making pigmen rich.
“The oil builds up inside of them…”
I beg to differ. Maintenance involves sending a cylinder down the line that scrapes the inside wall of the pipe. It is called, ironically, an “pig”.
“The oil builds up inside of them so that the volume delivered is slowly shrinking to the point where there is a total blockage and the pipeline’s life is over.”
Oil pipelines have an anticipated lifetime of 50-100 years. The reasons for taking them out of service have nothing to do with your point. Pigs are used to clean pipelines and maintain inner diameters.
MLK, Saul Alinsky, Thurgood Marshall, etc would all be proud of what their efforts brought about and the state of the black community today.
Racis.
Point 3 is lame. The country needs tens of millions of jobs. Building that pipeline would a small fraction of 1% of that need. Also, what does it mean to say that gasoline will be more plentiful? Are any Americans having a problem finding gasoline? Finally, it’s not likely that building the pipeline will have much of an effect on the price of oil or gasoline. The bitumen will continue to be shipped by rail and the Canadians will find a way to sell their oil to Asia, pushing down the world price of oil.
The bitumen will continue to be shipped by rail and the Canadians will find a way to sell their oil to Asia, pushing down the world price of oil.
You think making China more competitive with the U.S. since it will have access to cheaper Canadian crude is a good thing? Without the access to the cheaper crude refiners will close in the U.S. Then, we will have to buy Chinese gasoline at much higher prices and China will get the economic benefits of the refinery.
“For me, I prefer to — the relationship — the commerce relationship between — and the future. So in this program, I think I cannot only learn about the language, the American cultures, but also I can take some courses on this field. So in this way, I cannot promote myself on this field, but also, what is most important I think is to learn — to understand — to make a better understanding on the United States culture and people.
WTF?
————————
MICHELLE: Barack ‘Has Dragged Me Kicking and Screaming Into Things that I Wanted No Parts Of’
weeklystandard.com | 3/23/14
In a question and answer session at Stanford Center at Peking University in Beijing, China, First Lady Michelle Obama said that sometimes one needs to do things she’s uncomfortable with. She made the comments in response to a question about studying abroad.
“For me, I prefer to — the relationship — the commerce relationship between — and the future. So in this program, I think I cannot only learn about the language, the American cultures, but also I can take some courses on this field. So in this way, I cannot promote myself on this field, but also, what is most important I think is to learn — to understand — to make a better understanding on the United States cultureand people.
And I think it’s really important for people, especially young generation, to have some time to go abroad, to live and study there so in this way they can build a deeper understanding with each other,” said a graduate student at Peking University.
The first lady responded, “Excellent. And one thing that you pointed out that I think it’s important to consider is not letting fear be your guide. Andthat’s oftentimes what holds many young people back from doing fabulous things.
Let’s take my husband, for example. He has dragged me kicking and screaming into things that I wanted no parts of. (Laughter.) And a lot of it was because of fear — the fear of making mistakes, the fear of not knowing, the fear of uncertainty, the fear of leaving your comfort zone.
And we’re living in a world where we can no longer afford to let fear keep us apart, because the truth — what I have learned, coming from the background I come from — I grew up in a little apartment on the South Side of Chicago. My parents didn’t get a chance to go to college, but they poured everything they had into me. And no one could have envisioned that a kid like me would be sitting here, having given a speech at Peking University as the First Lady of the United States.
Do you have a friggin POINT?
No, he doesn’t even have a pointy head.
He told me to pretend I was a guy, then he Barney Franked me. Then he made me smoke a tuna scented cigar.
Tried another post it did not work, so to sum it up the truth hurts the Democrats and they don’t want anyone to promote the truth.
Visa, MasterCard block some Russian cards
By Alanna Petroff
March 21, 2014: 12:41 PM ET
LONDON (CNNMoney)
U.S. sanctions aimed at hitting Russia’s financial industry appear to be having an impact.
Three Russian banks reported Friday that Visa (V, Fortune 500) and MasterCard (MA, Fortune 500) cards were not working for the banks’ customers.
Western financial institutions are reacting to U.S. sanctions designed to punish some of the top people in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.
The sanctions ban transactions with several named individuals, and one of the banks — Bank Rossiya.
MasterCard said it stopped offering card services at three Russian banks — Bank Rossiya, Sobinbank and SMP Bank — in accordance with the sanctions. Other operations in Russia continue normally, it said.
Sobinbank is a subsidiary of Rossiya, and SMP Bank is controlled by two of the named individuals.
Visa was not available for comment.
http://money.cnn.com/2014/03/21/news/companies/russia-credit-cards/ - 51k -
MasterCard, Visa resume services for Russia’s SMP Bank clients despite US sanctions
23 March 2014, 11:53
The MasterCard and Visa electronic payment networks have reversed their decision to cut off online services for payment transactions for the clients of the SMP bank controlled by brothers Arkady and Boris Rotenberg, who have both been listed among the Russian officials subject to US sanctions over Crimea.
SMP Bank’s co-owner Yuri Kovalchuk is also on the US sanctions list of 20 Russians, which was announced on Thursday.
The same day Visa and MasterCard stopped serving the clients of SMP Bank and another Russian bank, Rossiya. The payment system MasterCard made this decision in the late hours of Saturday and the Visa system made the decision on Sunday morning.
“By now, card serviceability for the bank’s MasterCard holders has been fully restored. Transactions for Visa card holders will resume within hours,” SMP Bank said in statement on Sunday.
“We are glad that the world’s largest international payment networks have heeded our arguments and reversed their decision to suspend transactions…,” the statement quotes the bank’s CEO Dmitry Kalantyrsky as saying.
After the cards were blocked, their holders could not use them to pay for goods and services and withdraw cash abroad. Card holders could only receive cash on their cards in the bank’s offices and ATMs and in the ATMs of the Unified Settlement System.
” Thus, the payment systems have admitted their wrong actions on SMP Bank, whose cards were blocked after the US imposed sanctions on the main shareholders of the bank,” the bank said.
Voice of Russia, RIA, Interfax
http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2014_03_23/MasterCard-Visa-resume-services-for-Russia-s-SPN-Bank-clients-despite-US-sanctions-6737/ - 92k -
The Banking Clan is at it again. History has shown that it’s never wise to poke the Russian Bear with a stick.
Bankers will be bankers, I guess. If this goes terribly wrong, the coasts could end up incinerated. I guess I’ll just stop worrying and learn to love the bomb.
Speaking of which, I watched Dr. Strangelove last night. Peter Sellers was especially great as the doctor.
“Peter Sellars was especially great as the doctor.”
And as the president…
“Don’t say you’re sorrier than I am Dimitri. I’m capable of being just as sorry as you. Alright then… we’re both sorry.”
“You can’t fight in here… this is the war room!”
Unsettling “Settled Science”
Townhall.com | March 23, 2014 | Derek Hunter
The Earth was flat and the sun revolved around it. Bleedings were prescribed for healing at one point by science. But we don’t need to go back that far to find confusion and contradictions in “settled science.”
Science, by its very nature, requires proof. And proof is the one thing the hierarchy of the environmentalist movement hasn’t provided. Newsweek once wrote, “There are ominous signs that the earth’s weather patterns have begun to change dramatically and that these changes may portend a drastic decline in food production – with serious political implications for just about every nation on earth.” (Emphasis added.) Quite a few qualifiers in that sentence, don’t you think?
This was from an article in 1975 entitled, “The Cooling World” about the consensus among scientists that we were on the verge of a new ice age. (Read the whole thing here.) The science was settled. The vote had been taken. We were doomed. Only someone forget to tell the planet because the ice age didn’t happen.
Yet the solutions proposed then – more government control of the economy and us, higher taxes, less freedom, etc. – are nearly identical to the “solutions” proposed for global warming decades later. Since the planet hasn’t warmed in 18 years, despite consensus that it would, the catch-all term has been updated to “climate change.” This empowered progressives to blame anything on it – cold, hot, storms, droughts. But the solutions are constant – the same governmental power expansion they’ve been seeking for nearly a century.
Ironically, the very people who attack anyone who dares question their faith is labeled a shill for “big oil.” Meanwhile those progressives control the bureaucracy that oversees the government spigot from which flows billions of dollars in grants to academics to study more “climate change.”
This leads to an obvious questions: If temperatures are rising, and it’s an irrefutable fact that humans are to blame, why does it require hundreds of millions of dollars to continue to prove it each year?
The answer is simple – scientists and academia is every bit as addicted to the money that flows to the belief in manmade climate change as they accuse skeptics of being to money from oil companies.
The Holy Church of Global Warming (a wholly owned subsidiary of Climate Change, Inc. and its bureaucratic and political clergy in the progressives movement) are every bit as much a religion as any church you can name. It’s a religion based on faith not in a higher power but in a better, smarter group of people who know better how you should live your life than you do.
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2014/03/22/occams-razor-and-climate-change/
Excellent article.
If “global warming” was “settled science” and is the GREATEST threat to the survival of mankind:
1. Why did the main scientists of global warming, when they found errors in their models pointing it was a less severe issue, not jump for joy and celebrate? And not share this joyful news with the rest of the world in celebration? Why no parties that mankind was saved? Instead the scientists were sad (in their own emails to each other) and and tried to hide their new data from the public.
2. Why are not the main scientists of global warming not pushing 1000000% for replacing ALL energy production with nuclear energy? Nuclear energy is the greenest of all power production and dwarfs all wind/solar production. Despite all the bad side effects of nuclear power - it is the only viable way to reduce greenhouse gases if adopted on a massive scale.
Yet the main scientists of global warming are crazy anti-nuclear.
So basically - it is all fake/politicized “science” to grow government.
1) There has been much freaking out about “fudging” that never actually happened. If a particular individual was embarrassed by his own imperfection, then it’s only because people like you are unfairly holding scientists up to an impossible standard. If a scientist makes a minor error (not even a complete mistake), then you will call for him to be burned at the stake. It isn’t good enough for you to allow other scientists to improve upon the original model and leave it at that. On the other hand, if a religious preacher calls for men to sleep with their daughters, then you will defend your religion to the death. Double standard much?
2) Nuclear waste is a thousand times more dangerous than global warming.
2) Nuclear waste is a thousand times more dangerous than global warming.
WTF??????
Global warming was sold as the the LARGEST THREAT to mankind ever.
Deaths by the billions, cities under water, mass starvation, etc.
Yeah - I know - it was just a scam. And you just confirmed it.
A scam to grow government.
Banana:
No one ever said those things. No one in the scientific field, anyway. All that came from the Republican party.
2) Nuclear waste is a thousand times more dangerous than global warming
Yes, which means global warming is no threat at all since nuclear power even including the accidents has had a very minimal impact on the environment unlike nuclear weapons testing. Even around the worse accident in the history of the world, animals are thriving.
Global warming was sold as the the LARGEST THREAT to mankind ever.
Deaths by the billions, cities under water, mass starvation, etc.
No, it was sold in that manner and it was done by James Hansen. Whether he belongs in the scientific community is open to debate.
Tell that to the people in Chernobyl.
Animals?
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/Kiev-UkrainianNationalChernobylMuseum_15.jpg
People?
http://cdn.acidcow.com/pics/20100929/chernobyl_05.jpg
Adan, there must come a point where your loyalty to your employer wears off.
Honestly, Uncle Fed you need to broaden your reading materials. I am not saying that it did not have any impact on wildlife only that it is very limited time and territory and compared to the impacts of many other things we used in our daily life. If you do not think that the materials used in alternative energy have no impact on animals or consider what wind power does directly in killing birds, you are not well informed.
http://blogs.voanews.com/russia-watch/2011/04/25/nuclear-zone-turns-into-wildlife-refuge/
Link coming at you but as you must know deformities happen all the time in nature so I do not know what your link even proves.
Could these butterflies be a sneak peak of what we may see in babies soon to be born in Japan?
http://www.livescience.com/22346-fukushima-butterflies-deformities.html
Excerpt from link:
But biologists working around Chernobyl say they have found few deformities. This is partly because the law of the forest dictates that predators kill animals with abnormalities. In addition, animals do not seem to suffer from the psychological stress endured by humans after a nuclear accident.
Indeed, with the disappearance of hunters, dogs, cats, pesticides and automobiles, animal and bird populations probably feel less stress than before. When I spent a day in the Chernobyl area earlier this spring, I was struck by the quiet, the sense of peaceful solitude.
More from the article:
Cattle and mice that endured the initial radiation blast suffered health setbacks. But, biologists say, subsequent generations bounced back normally. One radioecologist, Sergey Gaschak, told BBC recently of finding nests – and eggs — of starlings, pigeons, swallows and redstarts inside the “sarcophagus” – the containment shell built over the radioactive remains of the burnt reactor.
And authorities in post-independence Ukraine introduced into the exclusion zone two endangered species: European bison and Przewalski’s horse. Both populations are thriving.There is talk of sightings of brown bears, a species not seen in this corner of Central Europe for decades.
Dan:
There are only two possibilities to explain your views on pollution, radiation, and global warming.
1) You are employed by an energy company, and you have literally no caring for anyone at all. You only care about getting your little paycheck.
2) You flunked high school.
There is no way on God’s green Earth that the deformities coming out of the Chernobyl disaster were just a coincidence. The rate and nature of genetic abnormalities and phenotypically devastating mutations in the children of Chernobyl residents (and animals) are far and away more severe than anything seen in nature. Natural selection prevents that sort of thing. Do you see people and animals with deformities like that in Albuquerque?
Of course the Japanese nuclear society is trying hard to paper over the effects of Fukushima too. Oh here, there are a bunch of insects with mutations that we never noticed before, in all our years of sending graduate students out to collect and fastidiously describe, record, and catalog butterflies. But they could have just come from nature. Let’s ignore the fact that humans ALREADY KNOW exactly how radiation affects biological systems, and we already know that it’s worse than anything the sand man might bring in your sleep.
Do you see people and animals with deformities like that in Albuquerque?
Yes, in every Walmart. (bad joke). You still do not understand, I did not say that radiation cannot cause deformities. However, many chemicals in the polluted Eastern European region cause deformities. My point and you cannot refute it, despite personal attacks since you are losing the debate is the area around Chernobyl is now an animal refuge and the animals are thriving despite it being less than thirty years since a nuclear disaster that was off the scale for nuclear disasters. You said that nuclear is 1000 times worse than global warming but people like Hansen were talking about billions dying and the environment ruin for centuries due to global warming. Burning wood will kill more people from cancer this year than nuclear power has killed since its existence. As a claimed biologist you seem to have real problem quantifying risk.
No, the animals are still suffering from unnatural phenotypic aberrations, and so are the humans. The link you posted only refers to a lack of humans in the area, which leaves more room for animals.
As far as quantifying risk, we know these things: Global warming has a risk to it. The risk is unnecessary, since human beings are capable of changing their behavior. Nuclear waste has an even greater risk, so that’s not a good solution.
A nuclear war would be even more destructive.
Got that adan? Do you understand? Nobody has ever said that global warming would be worse than a nuclear war or wide-spread, uncontrolled nuclear fallout. You should not spend your time advocating for things that are destructive. Even if someone pays you.
http://www.ranprieur.com/crash/naturechernobyl.html
Now, you are trying to compare the impact of nuclear war to global warming. No, we were arguing that if AGW is so bad than the proponents of AGW should support nuclear power not that they should support nuclear war. BTW, another article about Chernobyl which totally rebuts your arguments and shows you are thinking emotionally and not like a true scientist:
Asked if there was any evidence that wild animals had suffered long-term declines since the accident or whether the scientists had detected any increase in birth defects, Dr. Bondarkov replied: “Such evidence does not exist.”
Andrey Arkhipov, the director of the Kiev branch of the International Chernobyl Centre, warned that although wildlife in the zone had become richer through the absence of humans, it was still too early to make a judgement on the region’s longer-term future. “The natural recovery of wildlife is really complicated and not very well investigated.”
Irradiation did result in the death of wildlife but in small, localised places that had really high levels of radiation, Dr. Arkhipov said. Immediately after the 1986 accident, which sent a huge plume of radioactive dust and debris into the atmosphere, relatively small areas within a 3km radius of the plant received massive doses, resulting in the “red forest,” where dead pine leaves turned rusty brown.
There were many reports of birth defects and deformities in Ukrainian children and wildlife. Yet a detailed study by an international panel of scientists failed to uncover any evidence that human birth defects were at higher levels than normal, finding a significant increase only in thyroid cancers.
You are arguing that someone has been saying that global warming is the biggest threat to mankind ever. You are also arguing that nuclear energy is not even more dangerous than what we have now. You go so far as to claim that the wildlife around Chernobyl is having a ball!
You have gone waaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyy out on that limb.
It’s not an excellent article. It’s fully bunk. It starts with the premise that the simplest explanation is usually correct. That is not true. It sounds appealing, but it’s false. The correct explanation is quite often very complicated, and may fly in the face of what most humans would consider “common sense”. It makes you feel better to think that you can solve the world’s problems with easy, simple explanations, but there is no reason to believe that you actually can.
Observation will get you much further than simple explanations.
And if you want to know why two types of measurements yield two types of data, or why rudimentary models always have a margin of error, then I suggest you take a basic science class. Get back to me. Until then, I can’t take any of this stuff seriously. I see comments made by people who don’t have enough knowledge to analyze the limited, cherry-picked data for which they self-select.
Unless the scientific method is to make a prediction on how something is going to turn out based on a theory and then ignore the actual observations when they are completely contrary to the theory and then continue to make even more outrageous predictions despite the actual observations then I would say it is the proponents of AGW that are anti-scientific method.
“Yet the solutions proposed then – more government control of the economy and us, higher taxes, less freedom, etc. – are nearly identical to the “solutions” proposed for global warming decades later.”
Clinton wants ‘mass movement’ on climate change.
By KEN THOMAS
13 hours ago
TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Hillary Rodham Clinton says young people understand the significant threat of climate change and that she hopes there will be a mass movement that demands political change.
The potential 2016 presidential candidate says at a Clinton Global Initiative University panel that young people are much more committed to doing something to address climate change. Clinton says it isn’t “just some ancillary issue” but will determine the quality of life for many people.
The former secretary of state cited global warming as a major issue that students could face in the future.
She made the comments Saturday during an interview with late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel at Arizona State University. The weekend gathering also features former President Bill Clinton and their daughter, Chelsea.
http://news.yahoo.com/clinton-wants-mass-movement-climate-change-013921131–politics.html - 224k -
People who believed that the Earth was flat were not using the scientific method. As usual, Tutti Frutti uses logic that should lead to the opposite conclusion from his own. Scientific progress is the thing that leads people to understand more about the world over time. Tutti reasons that if science doesn’t give us all the answers from day one, then it must be flawed. I’m willing to bet that Tutti was raised to believe that all knowledge comes from God, and is packaged into the Bible, and is immutable. Now that’s your settled science for you.
Tutti: I have never seen anyone capable of harboring such extremely biased viewpoints with such zeal, and for so long.
Some updates on the Riverside house hunt.
Hows it going for you realtors lately?
Have been keeping a look out for good rental homes. It’s tough to get in and see them because property management companies generally only show on the work week. However we found a decent one at $2100/mo. and put in an app. Ironically the family who owns it bought a house that we had toured just a neighborhood over. Wonder why they felt compelled to switch houses like that. Where they are moving isn’t all that much better in terms of neighborhood or quality of house. Odd.
My wife went to tour one yesterday and another woman was there looking too, who commented that she and her husband were staying out of the market a while. We chuckled as they were real estate agents. You hear a different story when they are selling.
Have been giving serious consideration to building our own home. I’m sure it would be a royal pain, but it might also be a lot of fun to get exactly what we want. Anyone know good resources to value raw land? Prices vary a lot (pun), and it seems thinly traded.
We put in a lowball offer on a home but it didn’t pan out. It was very good practice though. I used the Nolo press book to help strike out all the sections of the CAR standard sales contract that I didn’t want to apply, including all the buyer’s agent stuff. In our cover letter we noted our offer was equivalent to X/0.97, as they wouldn’t have to pay a commission on the buy side. I’m not even sure if the seller saw our offer, although a day before the expiration the seller’s agent sent an email saying that there were multiple offers and to send in our best and final. I simply let it expire. They had it. It must have been demoralizing to them as the next day the house was taken off the market. I doubt there were any multiple offers, especially after reading about so many shenanigans on this blog for ten years.
You should have called them and farted into the phone.
How much did the FHA loan ceilings drop in the IE? I think it was from $500k to $355K, right?
Oof!
Yes, this is right. Another headwind for the market there, and one worth waiting to see how much it cools it. It doesn’t affect our purchasing power, thankfully, but we hope that as the market falls the quality of a $400k home rises substantially from what it is now.
“A $400k” house? LOL
There isn’t a house on the planet worth $400k my realtor friend.
Having watched Redfin carefully over the last few months, I can estimate that March sales will be particularly bad. There were few sales closed in Jan and Feb, but I can only recall a small number this month, and a greater number that have fallen out of escrow and are back on the market.
Question for the blog: As we rent over the next year, what metrics would you track on a monthly basis to follow the state of the market? I’m thinking:
1) Number of sales closed in metro area
2) Case Shiller LAX area (which is 2 months lagged but reported monthly)
3) Mortgage Banker’s Asso. purchase applications index
4) other ideas?
I think if you are personally tracking your own neighborhood, then you don’t even need to look at metrics. The goings-on will speak for themselves. I was going to put an offer on a seemingly underpriced house recently, but I didn’t because someone else beat me to it. The house went back on the market a few days later. That made me decide that the prices are going down sooner rather than later, so I will wait. Today’s underpriced house will be tomorrow’s overpriced shack.
Collecting metrics might help one see inflection points though. Perhaps it would be good to improve timing.
Even if the next down leg is underway right now, it will take years to play out. So will the bubble in building materials. So will the zero interest rate.
I smell more victims.
Firm buys more Florida rental homes to bundle as bonds for investors
Palm Beach County rental income may grow corporate profits
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Posted: 7:15 p.m. Thursday, March 20, 2014
Monthly rent checks from hundreds of Florida homes are tied to $513 million in bonds being marketed by Colony American Homes in what is the second securitization of single-family home assets.
The deal by the Santa Monica, Calif.-based Colony American Homes, whose parent company is Colony Capital, follows the Blackstone Group, which made history in November when it sold $479 million in bonds that combined cash flows from 3,500 of its rental homes nationwide.
Both companies are part of the nascent industry of Wall Street landlords buying single-family homes to rent after the housing market crash.
Colony’s bonds, which began marketing this week, include 3,399 homes, 749 of which are in Florida, according to Morningstar Credit Ratings. The other homes are in California, Nevada, Arizona, Georgia, Texas and Colorado.
Of the Florida homes, 62 are in Palm Beach, Broward or Miami-Dade counties.
Colony owns about 60 homes in Palm Beach County, which it bought under the name ColFin A1-FL 3. Official records show the first home purchased by Colony in Palm Beach County was in April 2013, nearly a year after most Wall Street buyers started picking up homes here.
The most recent purchase was earlier this month of a $236,000 home in the Sugar Pond Manor subdivision of Wellington.
“They are institutionalizing the housing market,” said Mike Larson, a real estate analyst with Weiss Research in Jupiter. “As long as it doesn’t get too far out of hand and people don’t start pushing the risk envelope, I don’t think there is anything inherently wrong with it.”
Colony would not comment about its single-family rental bonds, but Morningstar and Moody’s investor service gave a $291 million portion of the deal a top AAA credit rating.
While much of the concern about the corporatization of single-family rental homes is how they will be managed, Morningstar said it has confidence in Colony’s ability to care for the homes.
“The manager has demonstrated its ability to effectively handle the day-to-day business of managing a national single-family rental platform,” a Morningstar report issued Thursday says. “Additionally, the property manager’s technological systems allow it to efficiently manage employees to control labor costs, track and monitor repairs and maintenance, and, most importantly, attract, respond to and retain tenants.”
Statewide, Colony has spent more than $534 million to buy homes at an average cost of $172,000 each.
Nationally, Colony owned 13,875 homes in nine states as of the end of 2013 and has spent $2.4 billion. The company jointly owns an additional 1,025 homes, according to its end-of-year financial report.
Colony announced in March of last year that it had begun buying Florida properties in target areas that include St. Lucie, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami Dade counties.
Homes purchased by Colony were 61 percent occupied as of the end of the year, up from 57 percent during the same time in 2012. The firm is averaging 750 renovations and 700 new leases per month.
Technology will save us and create massive profits for investors.
Why have not other landlords done this? Such easy money to make…
How does technology help with a meth lab in the living room and a renter with “free legal aid” that stays rent free for 9 months before skipping town?
—————–
“Additionally, the property manager’s technological systems allow it to efficiently manage employees to control labor costs, track and monitor repairs and maintenance, and, most importantly, attract, respond to and retain tenants.”
This has the smell of Six Sigma.
Or, as we like to call it, Six Smegma.
Or as GE guys like to call it, Just Call Me Jacks Next Round Of LayOffs.
The institutional investors have pretty much stopped buying houses. I wonder why. Articles like this annoy me because they’re late to the the punch and they miss the point.
Blackstone and Colony have not “institutionalized” the housing market, since they collectively own a single-digit percentage of rentals, and only in certain cities at that. Their cumulative effect has been to push rental rates down and house prices up. Now that they have left the market, house prices show every sign of falling again. In other words, they haven’t changed the direction that Mr. Market was already heading. They just rode the tide for a while.
“In short, we’re broke as a nation and we’re broke as individuals.”
Nationwide Home Sales Collapse: There Is No Recovery and This Chart Proves It
Mac Slavo
SHTFplan.com
March 20th, 2014
Now may be the best time to buy a home. At least that’s what the majority of real estate agents in America will tell you if you ask them how the housing market is doing.
They’ll cite various statistics and give you a “feel” for the market from their personal experiences to convince you this is the case. But if you’re paying attention, then it should be clear that there is, in fact, no recovery in the housing sector. And any gains we may have seen over the last few years are nothing short of a Federal Reserve fueled mirage, much like the stock market.
The following chart from Bank of America is indicative of some serious fundamental problems, not just with the housing market, but the broader economy as a whole.
If you ask the experts they’ll give a host of reasons for why sales are down, as well as prognostications for why the real estate market is about to turn the corner and head back to new highs.
The weather, of course, is always to blame for lackluster sales in homes and consumer products, and that, apparently, is the case once again. But the National Association of Realtors has, for the first time ever, indicated that there is another key challenge facing home buyers.
Student debt appears to be a factor in the weak level of first-time buyers.
“The biggest problems for first-time buyers are tight credit and limited inventory in the lower price ranges,” he said. “However, 20 percent of buyers under the age of 33, the prime group of first-time buyers, delayed their purchase because of outstanding debt. In our recent consumer survey, 56 percent of younger buyers who took longer to save for a downpayment identified student debt as the biggest obstacle.”
Brown notes the survey results are for recent homebuyers. “It’s clear there are other people who would like to buy a home that are not in the market because of debt issues, so we can expect a lingering impact of delayed home buying,” Brown added.
NAR via Zero Hedge
In short, we’re broke as a nation and we’re broke as individuals.
A recent micro documentary that discussed America’s College Debt Bubble in detail predicted that we would soon begin seeing the fall out from trillion dollar student loans. Apparently, that fall out has already begun.
But not to worry, because housing experts indicate that we may soon see home sales and prices start to rise, an effect that will be fueled by more jobs and rising incomes:
“Going forward it will take sustainable job and income growth to propel would-be-homebuyers back into the market. But with the labor market uneven at best, it may take some time before the housing industry regains the momentum seen earlier last year.”
Housing Wire
As you have probably deduced, there’s one key problem here. There is no job growth. And, any income growth already has inflation priced right in, so purchasing power will not increase and is likely to actually decrease because the rate of inflation is outpacing what Americans are being paid.
Thus, if we are awaiting a real estate recovery and the necessary steps for such a recovery require an improvement in the jobs market then you can forget about it.
The housing market is the pulse of our nation. It was the trigger event for the collapse of 2008, and it looks like it is now indicating what many of us already know: that we are in the midst of another recession within a broader depressionary trend.
Couple this with the Federal Reserve now indicating that they are pulling back on $85 billion in monthly market stimulus, and you can probably guess where this is headed next.
Welcome to Round 2.
This article was posted: Thursday, March 20, 2014 at 1:42 pm
http://www.infowars.com/nationwide-home-sales-collapse-there-is-no-recovery-and-this-chart-proves-it/ - 69k -
an effect that will be fueled by more jobs and rising incomes
On what planet is his happening?
an effect that will be fueled by more jobs and rising incomes
Actually, that is happening in China.
Actually, the increases are rather amazing even taking into consideration how low the base is:
http://www.clb.org.hk/en/content/wages-china
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/04/04/economy-mexico-wages-idUSL2N0CR1TY20130404
Actually, that is happening in China.
And yet, they have ghost cities no one can afford to live in.
Seem to have lost another post but I will try again. It is always possible to get a head of a trend even if you are right about the trend. Think of the railroads that went broke waiting for western migration to justify their expensive construction. However, in the longer term it is better to be invested in the trend than against the trend. However, I think that both ghost cities and Tesla’s stock price are examples of getting a head of the trend which can be quite painful.
If the trend is throwing money at depreciating assets like houses, it’s best not to “invest in the trend”.
True. When Time Magazine’s front cover announces the death of the “American dream of owning your own home” it will be the time to buy.
I doubt Time Magazine will be around long enough to even have that cover.
I’m sure Time will be around for another 24 months.
I’m sure Time will be around for another 24 months.
I am not.
That’s nice.
http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/08/magazines-newsstand-sales-fall-91-percent/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0
All liberal magazines are in trouble just like liberal newspapers.
This article makes a very good point. Even those folks such as myself who can buy a house with cash and are gainfully employed should look at the economic situation of the community before considering buying.
Several important questions and if any of them have a “no” answer, continue to rent:
Is the community industry diverse (I was caught on this in the early 90s)?
Are the salaries of jobs in that community stable and could they easily pay for the mortgage?
Are young couples able to pay the mortgages of starter homes in that community?
Are the numbers of foreclosures and NODs near historic lows?
Are there very few bank owned houses?
Are there very few rentals in the SFH neighborhood?
Not “real journalism”, but a nice article.
I wanted to share my findings so far on purchasing Case Shiller based housing derivatives. Right now LAXX17 looks fairly attractive as a speculative play. The futures market currently has Los Angeles appreciating 20% or so through November 2017 expiration. Therefore, deep out of the money puts are not terribly expensive. It seems amazing to me that experts would be predicting 20% growth.
http://www.recharts.com/cme.html
Why would the price of a depreciating asset rise any amount at any time?
With housing demand falling 5 years in a row to 1995 levels, are you willing to take those kind of losses on a depreciating house?
I think he is saying that he is willing to bet against a price rise which would be entirely a safe bet in real terms however the options are being priced in nominal terms so there is some risk.
I think CCC is a she.
I thought CCC was PB, my bad.
No.
CCC is a he and a realtor.
How do you know? If all Realtors are liars and CCC is a Realtor, then CCC is a liar, he could have lied about being a male.
Believe me when I tell you, I know.
On the contrary, I am agreeing with you and proposing a way to profit from the fall.
I remember kicking myself for not shorting Case-Shiller futures during the last crash, but now I’m a chicken about it again. I tried shorting the S&P a while back, but that didn’t work out for me. Now I’m all reluctant because I think “they” will always make the wrong thing happen, as long as I have taken the other side of the bet. Is there a cure for chicken?
Your S&P shorts expiring worthless is another crash indicator. Same thing happened to me a few years back when I shorted hopebuilders when it was “totally obvious” they were set to crash.
Trouble is, “they” postponed the crash until my puts expired; then sure enough, the crash happened and was spectacular. Even so, the crash stopped short of where my puts would have been in the money, even though the U.S. housing market had just undergone the most spectacular collapse since the end of George Washington’s career as a real estate speculator.
If this was caused by private HMO’s in the 1980’s instead of Obamacare the liberal press could not have denounced it loud enough:
MIAMI (AP) — Breast cancer survivor Ginny Mason was thrilled to get health coverage under the Affordable Care Act despite her pre-existing condition. But when she realized her arthritis medication fell under a particularly costly tier of her plan, she was forced to switch to another brand.
Under the plan, her Celebrex would have cost $648 a month until she met her $1,500 prescription deductible, followed by an $85 monthly co-pay.
Mason is one of the many Americans with serious illnesses — including cancer, multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis — who are indeed finding relatively low monthly premiums under President Barack Obama’s law. But some have been shocked at how much their prescriptions are costing as insurers are sorting drug prices into a complex tier system and in some cases charging co-insurance rates as high as 50 percent. That can leave patients on the hook for thousands.
That’s a poor choice for an anti-ACA anecdote.
This is from the same article:
Before the federal health law took effect, Mason paid slightly more for her monthly premium on a plan that didn’t cover her arthritis or pain medications and some routine doctor’s visits.
With all the taxpayer’s money going to the ACA and all the cross subsidization shouldn’t she be getting a better result than she is receiving? If people with pre-existing conditions are not substantially better off under the program it is a total failure.
A nation of laws where no one is above the law.
A nation of equality under the law.
A nation where laws are enforced not based on political party or friends in power.
—————-
NO JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CHARGES AGAINST OHIO WOMAN WHO VOTED SIX TIMES FOR OBAMA
Big Government | 3/23/2014 | J. CHRISTIAN ADAMS
Last week Al Sharpton embraced convicted vote fraudster Melowese Richardson at a “voting rights” rally in Cincinnati. The United States Department of Justice under Eric Holder has done nothing to Melowese Richardson 410 days after she admitted on camera that she committed multiple federal felonies by voting six times for President Obama’s reelection.
Federal law makes it a felony to vote more than once for President. In fact, 42 U.S.C. Section 1973i(e) subjects Richardson to twenty-five years in federal prison for her six votes for Obama.
The lack of DOJ action against an unrepentant federal vote fraudster combined with Richardson’s lionization by Sharpton and the organization that sponsored the rally demonstrates how the Justice Department is facilitating a culture of brazen criminality on the eve of the 2014 midterm elections. The failure to indict Richardson is the latest example of Holder’s department excusing lawlessness in federal elections and abandoning law abiding Americans.
Vote early and often has been the Chicago democratic machines motto for decades but it is sad to see it go nationwide. But Obama is bad, he is nationwide.
I think one of our resident poets can have fun with these lyrics:
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/z/zz+top/im+bad+im+nationwide_20149188.html
Well I was rollin’ down the road in some cold blue steel,
I had a blues man in back, and a beautician at the wheel.
We going downtown in the middle of the night
We laughing and I’m jokin’ and we feelin’ alright.
Oh I’m bad, I’m nationwide.
Yes I’m bad, I’m nationwide.
Easin’ down the highway in a new Cadillac,
I had a fine fox in front, I had three more in the back.
They sportin’ short dresses, wearin’ spike-heel shoes,
They smokin’ Lucky Strikes, and wearing nylons too.
‘Cause we bad, we nationwide.
Yeah we bad, we nationwide.
Well I was movin’ down the road in my V-8 Ford,
I had a shine on my boots, I had my sideburns lowered.
With my New York brim and my gold tooth displayed,
Nobody give me trouble cause they know I got it made.
I’m bad, I’m nationwide.
Well I’m bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, I’m nationwide.
Just a couple I can think of:
Well I was rollin’ down the road in some cold blue steel,
I had Biden in back, and Yellen at the wheel.
We going downtown in the middle of the night
We laughing and I’m jokin’ and we feelin’ alright.
Oh I’m bad, I’m nationwide.
Yes I’m bad, I’m nationwide.
Easin’ down the highway in a new Cadillac,
I had a fine fox reporter in front, I had three more in the back.
They sportin’ short dresses, wearin’ spike-heel shoes,
They smokin’ Lucky Strikes, and wearing nylons too.
‘Cause we bad, we nationwide.
Yeah we bad, we nationwide.
Well I was movin’ down the road in my Tesla solar powered,
I had a shine on my boots, I had my sideburns lowered.
With my New York brim and my gold tooth displayed,
Nobody give me trouble cause they know I got it made.
I’m bad, I’m nationwide.
Well I’m bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, I’m nationwide.
Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 disappeared on 8 March 2014
—————————————————————————-
WARNING: I do not think Marcus Brooks is a real journalist.
——————————————————————————
Ukrainian gold reserves loaded on an unidentified transport aircraft in Kiev’s Borispol airport and flown to Uncle Sam’s vault
By Marcus Brooks on March 7, 2014 • ( 77 )
One of my Russian mates sent me a link to a Russian news website and according to the iskra-news.info last night ,Ukrainian gold reserves (40 sealed boxes) were loaded on an unidentified transport aircraft in Kiev’s Borispol airport. The board took off immediately.
A source in the Ukrainian government confirmed that the transfer of the gold reserves of Ukraine to the United States was ordered by the acting PM Arseny Yatsenyuk.
So my guess is, that is if indeed this report is true it either means the new ruling elite have stolen the gold bullion or perhaps their is a legitimate fear of the Russians taking possession of this bullion, whatever the facts, it still looks very shady indeed.
Conclusion
Official narrative: gold bullion is going to USA (maybe to reassure the Germans their gold is in safe hands, after all the despite numerous requests from the German Govt The Feds have not given access for them to even view their Gold Bullion) . Real narrative: probably to Switzerland where it is divided between Yulia Tymoshenko and her cronies.
http://newswire-24.com/2014/03/07/4827/ - 120k -
I’ll take “the new ruling elite have stolen the gold bullion” for $1,000, Alex!
“Be careful what you say. Be careful what you write.”
New Executive Order: “Obama Has Just Given Himself the Authority to Seize Your Assets”
Mac Slavo
SHTFplan.com
March 20, 2014
On Monday the U.S. government took steps to seize the US-based assets of Russian lawmakers and anyone else that the US government deemed complicit in supporting the Crimean secession movement.
We’ve seen the U.S. government do this in countless cases surrounding drug and financial crimes, and sometimes even against foreign leaders like Saddam Hussein and Manuel Noriega.
What makes this particular instance so unprecedented and terrifying is that President Obama went so far as to issue a new Executive Order to give himself the authorization to do so, because the laws of the United States are such that our government is not allowed to simply take someone’s bank assets, home or business without due process.
Here’s the kicker.
The new Executive Order doesn’t just apply to just Russians or foreigners. It gets blanket coverage, so even American citizens could now face asset forfeiture if their actions are deemed to be “contributing to the situation in the Ukraine.”
Be careful what you say. Be careful what you write. President Obama has just given himself the authority to seize your assets.
According to the president’s recent Executive Order, “Blocking Property of Certain Persons Contributing to the Situation in Ukraine” (first reported by WND’s Aaron Klein), the provisions for seizure of property extend to “any United States person.” That means “any United States citizen, permanent resident alien, entity organized under the laws of the United States or any jurisdiction within the United States (including foreign branches), or any person in the United States.”
Via: The Ron Paul Institute
Like most Executive Orders and government legalese, the definitions for why an individual would have their assets seized under this directive are extremely broad and they could, for all intents and purposes, be used against anyone who supports Russian interests, or simply argues against those of the United States.
You can read the full Executive Order at the White House web site. The key points are noted below:
All property and interests in property that are in the United States, that hereafter come within the United States, or that are or hereafter come within the possession or control of any United States person (including any foreign branch) of the following persons are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in: any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State:
(i) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to have engaged in, directly or indirectly, any of the following:
(A) actions or policies that undermine democratic processes or institutions in Ukraine;
(B) actions or policies that threaten the peace, security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine; or
(C) misappropriation of state assets of Ukraine or of an economically significant entity in Ukraine
This new Executive Order has crossed a very dangerous line. It’s one that turns the notions of property rights and due process upside down by effectively bypassing the U.S. Constitution.
ObaMao
Yes.
For Jose.
Mz. Craterton has a housewarming party!
http://www.picpaste.com/Donkey_Housewarming.jpg
Given the outrageous taxes our household is forking out on our labor market income, it chafes me that the Congress is about to renew tax-free income for homeowners with unearned income from their foolish decisions to become underwater owners.
Why should mortgage debt forgiveness go untaxed while labor market income gets perpetually hammered? Is Congress trying to discourage people from working?
Drop ridiculously high taxes on middle class labor and the labor force participation rate would swell.
Plosser: Labor Participation Rate Down Since 2002
Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) — Philadelphia Federal Reserve President and CEO Charles Plosser discusses the U.S. economy and the labor participation rate on Bloomberg Television’s “Bloomberg Surveillance.” (Source: Bloomberg)
Business Insider
Why 12.7 Million Americans Dropped Out Of The Workforce
Sam Ro
Feb 27, 2014, 12.33 AM
The U.S. unemployment rate has fallen sharply since the darkest days of the great recession.
Much of this decline is due to the drop in the labor force participation rate (LFPR).
Some people have attributed the change to discouraged workers. Others have pointed to young people going back to school. Many have recognized that many baby boomers are retiring.
Earlier this week, Business Insider’s Matthew Boesler brought light to some underappreciated stats from the Census that actually quantify this. “The monthly Current Population Survey conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (from which labor force participation data are derived) actually asks those leaving the labor force why they are doing so.”
And more and more people are talking about it.
The numbers broke down the 12.6 million people who left the workforce since 2007 into five broad categories. According to the respondents, 5.5 million retired, 2.9 million went on disability, 2.5 million went to school, and 1.4 million left because they were discouraged.
“… 2.9 million went on disability … and 1.4 million left because they were discouraged.”
I’d like to see that ‘went on disability’ number further broken down by how many were legitimately prevented from working by disability versus fraudulent claims.
I also would be interested. I suspect over 50%, perhaps 70% is fraudulent.
Is it fraudulent if the bureaucrat wants to give you the money?
It is. Because the bureaucrap is complicit I the fraud.
“In the fraud.”
I agree but I’m not at all surprised that it’s happening. What really ticks me off is the fact that many are working for cash on the side.
Why are federal taxpayers in Flyover Country subsidizing California homeowner debt forgiveness? The tax code seems patently unfair.
Article posted: 3/21/2014 12:01 AM
Mortgage debt forgiveness back on table
By Ken Harney
WASHINGTON — Here’s some good news for homeowners worried that Congress will fail again to renew popular tax benefits for use in 2014 — especially those allowing for mortgage debt forgiveness, write-offs for energy-saving improvements and mortgage insurance premiums.
Though there has been no formal announcement, the Senate Finance Committee under new Chairman Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, expects to take up a so-called “extenders” package within weeks, sometime this spring.
“This is high on Wyden’s priority list,” according to a source with direct knowledge of the committee’s plans. That’s an important change from last December, when then-Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat who is now ambassador to China, let 50-plus corporate and individual tax benefits expire. The House also took no action to extend.
As a result, several key tax code housing provisions lapsed into a legislative coma. Without reauthorization retroactive to Jan. 1, they could disappear from the code and not be available for transactions this year. Both Baucus and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, a Michigan Republican, focused on wholesale rewrites of the tax code last year rather than spending time on extending special-interest tax provisions.
But now there are signs at least some of the expired housing benefits could be back on Congress’ to-do list. What are these “extenders,” as they are called on Capitol Hill?
Tops on the list is the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, a law that has saved large numbers of homeowners from hefty tax bills — close to an estimated 100,000 taxpayers in 2011, the latest year for which IRS estimates are available. First enacted in 2007 with menacing clouds of the housing bust on the horizon, the law carved out a special exception to the general rule in the tax code: When you are relieved of a debt burden by a creditor, the amount forgiven is treated as income subject to taxation at ordinary rates.
For qualified homeowners whose mortgage debt was reduced or written off by lenders in connection with loan modifications and short sales, the law said, the forgiven amounts would not be taxable. However, the 2007 carve-out for mortgages was temporary. Congress was required to extend it periodically — which it failed to do last Dec. 31.
At least one state has a partial remedy for congressional inaction, however: California owners who sell homes through short sales are not subject to taxation on the amounts forgiven, a legal interpretation confirmed by the IRS.
…
Given California’s anti-business policies and its confiscatory labor tax rates, why would anyone in their right mind want to work there?
More than one in three working age Californians (100% - 62.2% = 37.8%) seem to agree with me.
Capitol Alert: California’s employment picture: Good news and bad news
By Dan Walters
dwalters@sacbee.com
March 21, 2014
…
Two other factors also round out California’s employment picture, and undercut somewhat the positive news of recent job gains.
One is labor force participation - the percentage of Californians of working age who either are working or seeking work. That’s just 62.2 percent, the lowest rate in more than three decades, according to EDD. Were more Californians between the ages of 16 and 64 to join the labor force and seek work, the state’s unemployment rate would be higher.
The second is what the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics calls “U-6″ - the percentage of the labor force that’s not only unemployed, but involuntarily working part-time or “marginally attached” to the labor force. BLS calls it “labor underutilization.”
For 2013, California had the nation’s second highest U-6 rate, 17.3 percent. And in Los Angeles County, which has more than a quarter of the state’s population, it was 19.8 percent.
It’s pretty incredible to see Los Angeles home prices head skyward again despite a backdrop of 20% unemployment!
Housing prices surpass bubble peak in some Southland ZIP Codes
Most are in the San Gabriel Valley or on the Westside, markets driven by Asian buyers and the tech industry. Still, many areas remain well below their pre-recession highs.
A dozen ZIP codes have now passed their peaks during the housing bubble. (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times / March 9, 2014)
By Andrew Khouri
March 12, 2014, 5:00 a.m.
In some corners of the Southland, it’s as if the housing crash never happened.
Home prices in a dozen Southern California ZIP Codes have passed their peaks during the housing bubble, according to research firm DataQuick. Most are either in the San Gabriel Valley, a magnet for buyers from Asia, or on the Westside, where the technology industry is booming.
Across the region, home prices remain far below their peaks despite an explosive run-up in the first half of 2013. But nominal prices in some affluent neighborhoods have entered uncharted waters.
The return of bubble-era pricing could foreshadow a spillover effect, experts said. As buyers get priced out of prime areas, they may look to adjacent neighborhoods — juicing demand there and pushing up prices.
“A lot of the action is at the higher end of the market,” said Christopher Thornberg, founding partner at Beacon Economics. “That is what is driving the show.”
Many other regional markets have stalled since last summer. Higher prices and mortgage rates, along with a shortage of homes, have turned off many would-be buyers. Sales have tumbled overall, but they continue to climb in wealthy communities.
Of the 12 ZIP Codes where the non-inflation-adjusted median price has passed its bubble-era peak, six are in the San Gabriel Valley and one is in affluent Irvine. All are hubs for buyers from China looking to move to the U.S. or invest here. Another is ritzy Los Feliz, where homes near Griffith Observatory command top dollar.
Four other areas are on Los Angeles’ Westside, in Venice, Palms, Mar Vista and Culver City. Buyers from the area’s burgeoning technology industry — known as Silicon Beach — have fueled price increases, along with broader gentrification.
Despite steep prices, experts don’t see a bubble forming in these areas.
“There are important, fundamental reasons that prices moved up,” said Stuart Gabriel, director of UCLA’s Ziman Center for Real Estate.
The neighborhoods are near job centers, the urban core and, often, good public schools, Gabriel said. The areas have also recovered faster because prices there simply didn’t fall as steeply as in other areas during the crash. And each has unique factors driving the current price growth.
…
My own survey of software developer jobs in my part of Phoenix versus Irvine shows I am still better off renting apartments both in Arizona and the Irvine area and working in Irvine than to rent only in Phoenix and work in Phoenix. And despit gas prices 70 cents per gallon less in my Phoenix nabe versus m Irvine nabe. And despite the California tax rate versus Arizona.
The pay is that bad in Phoenix, huh?
Colorado:
The IRS gives overly generous tax deductions to people who live in one place, but work in another. I get to deduct nearly my entire paycheck.
Colorado, from what I see on dice, my current salary in Irvine is $30,000 more than the maximum I see in Phoenix.
Arizona taxes all my out of state income. California credits Arizona for that tax. California also does the same with Oregon, Indiana, and two territories Guam and Puerto Rico.
Big v, the deduction you are talking about lasts one year. To keep it going after 12 months you switch the source of your income.
I get to deduct nearly my entire paycheck.
Uh, how do you do that? I could see you deducting the “away home expenses” (rent & meals), but does that actually cover your entire paycheck?
They allow you to choose between deducting your actual expenses, or deducting a standard amount for travel and food. I deduct the standard amount, even though my actual expenses are about 20% that much. Then I also get to deduct my rent, utilities, and even the kitchen trash can.
Like Bill says, you can ony do it for one year at a time for the same company.
Because California voter majority votes for “progressives” while red state voters do not.
Nancy Pelosi Calls Obamacare ‘A Winner’ For Democrats in 2014
Print By Arlette Saenz
Mar 20, 2014 1:26pm
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/03/nancy-pelosi-calls-obamacare-a-winner-for-democrats-in-2014/ -
In other “news”
Denver Broncos victory parade draws close to 1 million
OP 7:26 p.m. EST February 5, 2014
DENVER (OP) — Hundreds of thousands of notoriously loud Broncos fans cranked up the volume Wednesday, cheering, chanting and going berserk during a parade and ceremony to celebrate the Super Bowl victory. The Denver Broncos fell to the Seattle Seahawks, 43-8, in Super Bowl XLVIII
The mood in Denver was electrified as the parade featuring the NFL champions.
Anadolu Agency / Getty Images ContributorA Syrian warplane made crash in Latakia, near the Turkish border, by the Turkish Air Forces due to border violation,
March 23, 2104.
Turkey Shoots Down Syrian Fighter Jetadvertisement
Turkey has shot down a Syrian fighter jet near its border Sunday after the plane crossed into Turkish air space, according to local officials.
Syrian activists said the incident occurred close to an area where Syrian rebels have been battling President Bashar al-Assad’s forces for control of a border crossing between the two countries, Reuters reported.
A statement from the Turkish military on Sunday said that two Syrian MIG-23 aircraft flew towards the Turkish border and issued four warnings. One aircraft heeded the warnings and changed course, while the other flew for about, the military said.
One plane entered Turkish airspace at Yayladagi, east of the Kasab border crossing, it said. A Turkish F-16 fired a rocket at the Syrian jet and it crashed about 1,300 yards inside Syrian territory, officials said.
“A Syrian plane violated our airspace,” Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan later told an election rally in northwest Turkey. “Our F-16s took off and hit this plane. Why? Because if you violate my airspace, our slap after this will be hard.”
He added, “I congratulate our armed forces and honorable pilots in your presence. I congratulate the Turkish air forces.”
The rebels have been fighting since Friday for control of the Kasab crossing, one of several counter-offensives since they retreated this week from a crusader castle near the Lebanese frontier and town on a vital cross-border supply route.
Authorities in Damascus say this week’s Islamist rebel offensive around the Kasab border crossing marked a new escalation, accusing Turkey of firing tank and artillery shells into Syria to provide cover for the fighters.
A source at Syria’s foreign ministry called Turkey’s actions “unprecedented and unjustified”, state news agency SANA said, according to Reuters.
NBC News’ Ammar Cheikhomar, Hasani Gittens and Reuters contributed to this report.
“Russian armour smashed into the base”
“Machine guns and stun grenades were used in the assault by Russian soldiers as they ended the siege of Belbek military airport in a brutal show of power.”
Sounds like a U.S. “no-knock” SWAT raid looking for $1,000-worth of clothes and electronics allegedly bought with a stolen credit card or breaking up a poker game or seeing that the Pumpkin Festival doesn’t get out of hand.
Ukraine crisis: Gunfire and explosions as Crimean base is stormed by Russian troops
KIM SENGUPTA
London Independent
March 23, 2014
Russian armour smashed into the base of Ukrainian troops on Saturday in the first serious military action between the two countries in the confrontation over Crimea.
Machine guns and stun grenades were used in the assault by Russian soldiers as they ended the siege of Belbek military airport in a brutal show of power. The commander of the base, Colonel Yuli Manchur, who had led his men in defying repeated demands for surrender, was arrested and taken away.
I saw the attack, which came at 4.48pm when three armoured personnel carriers (APCs) punched a hole through the perimeter wall of the base, followed by soldiers in balaclavas streaming in.
There were bursts of automatic fire and loud explosions as the troops surged through. The Ukrainians had locked away their weapons and stood unarmed as the Russians, among them Spetznaz special forces in black, began to surround them.
Full article here
This article was posted: Sunday, March 23, 2014 at 8:42 am
Tags: foreign affairs, war
“The Mail Online reported Friday Michelle Obama’s mother, Marian Robinson, has been “barking at staff” since the family’s arrival Thursday and the hotel workers are “fed up.”
Embarrassing: Michelle’s China stay in $8,000 a night hotel has workers ‘fed-up’ with ‘barking at staff’
March 22, 2014
by Joe Saunders 384 Comments
The first lady’s third trip abroad without her husband is turning out to be a “real treat” after all — and the family’s apparently treating it with real class.
The presidential suite at the Westin Beijing Chaoyang where Michelle, her mother and her two daughters are staying costs a whopping $8,350 a night, and taxpayers are picking up the tab for every dime of the “official” trip, according to the White House Dossier.
The tab’s likely to total more than $1 million, the White House Dossier reported.
In addition to getting the privilege of footing the bill for another royal vacation by the first family (without the member of it whose actually on the government payroll), taxpayers are being represented abroad with manners that would make a real royal – or even “The Ugly American” – blush.
The Mail Online reported Friday Michelle Obama’s mother, Marian Robinson, has been “barking at staff” since the family’s arrival Thursday and the hotel workers are “fed up.”
“We can’t wait for this to be over, to tell you the truth,” one staff told the Mail in a phone interview. “We entertain many important people here, but this has been, I think, very different.”
And that’s on top of the normal hurly burly that comes with American “royalty” on the road, like the Secret Service taking over an entire floor (again, paid for by the American taxpayer) and monopolizing elevators for security purposes. The Washington Times reported Thursday that the whole road show works out to about 70 people getting taxpayer-funded trips to the Far East so Michelle could get her mom out of the White House for a few days.
Could any of that be why reporters were kept out of the trip?
In a Twitter post, ABC’s Britt Hume said he thought so.
Brit Hume ✔ @brithume
Maybe this is why the Obamas didn’t want US media coverage of the 1st lady’s trip.
stew berens @ARSuper72
Follow @brithume Bossy is in the house.8:28 PM - 21 Mar 2014
http://www.bizpacreview.com/2014/03/22/embarrassing-michelles-china-stay-in-8000-a-night-hotel-has-workers-fed-up-with-barking-at-staff-107852 - 206k
2brony and Adan think that the effect of radiation on genes is not “settled science”. As soon as the scientists tell you that they are pretty darned certain that something is true, then everyone should immediately believe the opposite. Nuclear waste is good for you. It’s also good for the environment because it will cause people to die or flee, resulting in a peaceful, quiet feeling. Much like a cemetery.
Even generations later, the remaining plants, humans, and animals are still being born with disturbing, sad deformities.
2brony and Adan think that the effect of radiation on genes is not “settled science”.
When did I ever say that. You are entitled to your own opinions but not your own facts. You need to show me when I ever said that radiation cannot impact genes and its impact was not settled science . Of course, we are exposed to natural radiation every day. Just because your getting your butt kicked on science issues despite claiming to be a STEM grad it does not give you the right to invent things.
Who do you work for? You said in an above post that wildlife is flourishing around Chernobyl. It’s not. The wildlife is still deformed. And how can you discount the suffering of those who are condemned to a short life of Hell on Earth? You imply that those deformities may have been caused by something other than the radioactive fallout.
Despite claiming to be an attorney, you are getting your butt kicked on basic debating skills. You can’t make outrageous, offensive claims and expect people to lend you any credence.
Can you even read? The article totally contradicts you. I work in the law field, you do not even work in the science field. I think that says it all about how others view our abilities. Have another post that appears lost and perhaps that is for the best. You have gone personal since you were losing the debate and I should not go any further than this.
You have claimed that you are an attorney. Whenever someone starts providing facts that completely obliterate that BACKWARDS points that you are trying to make, you start to crow like you are “winning” the argument, even though you’re not. All of your links and out-of-context pseudofacts prove beyond a doubt that you do not have as much as high-school education in anything related to science, but you talk about it all the time. Why? Why would a person with no scientific background talk about it all the time? It’s like an anorexic person who always talks about macaroni and cheese.
As far as how people “view our abilities” at work, that’s irrelevant. I make a lot more money than scientists do. That’s why I don’t do science. I have stated that several times on this blog. Can’t you even read?
You have posted many links to “articles” that contradict me. You have also drawn numerous illogical conclusions from every datapoint that is presented to you. However, the scientific consensus is very clear. The type and number of genotypic abnormalities experienced by Chernobyl victims are incontrovertibly linked to the event that immediately preceded their incidence (i.e., the frigging nuclear meltdown).
If you are too stupid to know that radioactivity causes birth defects, then you are DEFINITELY too stupid to know that the industrial revolution caused the current spell of global warming.
You have me confused with Lola. I am winning this debate the articles speak for themselves. You have complained about what you are making so it does not sound so lucrative. You have not made any scientific arguments. Just explain how when co2 is soaring in the atmosphere we are not getting any warming. Without just reciting platitudes which is the same thing Lola does. The models could not be more wrong so the science is not settled. Personal insults and stamping your feet does not change that.
Btw, where do I ever say that radioactivity cannot cause birth defects? The articles do say very little impact not none. However so few that it is difficult to prove causation which was my point a out your posting of one deformity