Bits Bucket for November 2, 2014
Post off-topic ideas, links, and Craigslist finds here.
The Housing Bubble
Examining the home price boom and its effect on owners, lenders, regulators, realtors and the economy as a whole.
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Name:Ben Jones
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Putin To Western Elites: Play-Time Is Over
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 10/30/2014
Via Club Orlov blog,
Most people in the English-speaking parts of the world missed Putin’s speech at the Valdai conference in Sochi a few days ago, and, chances are, those of you who have heard of the speech didn’t get a chance to read it, and missed its importance. Western media did their best to ignore it or to twist its meaning. Regardless of what you think or don’t think of Putin (like the sun and the moon, he does not exist for you to cultivate an opinion) this is probably the most important political speech since Churchill’s “Iron Curtain” speech of March 5, 1946.
In this speech, Putin abruptly changed the rules of the game. Previously, the game of international politics was played as follows: politicians made public pronouncements, for the sake of maintaining a pleasant fiction of national sovereignty, but they were strictly for show and had nothing to do with the substance of international politics; in the meantime, they engaged in secret back-room negotiations, in which the actual deals were hammered out. Previously, Putin tried to play this game, expecting only that Russia be treated as an equal. But these hopes have been dashed, and at this conference he declared the game to be over, explicitly violating Western taboo by speaking directly to the people over the heads of elite clans and political leaders.
The Russian blogger chipstone summarized the most salient points from Putin speech as follows:
1. Russia will no longer play games and engage in back-room negotiations over trifles. But Russia is prepared for serious conversations and agreements, if these are conducive to collective security, are based on fairness and take into account the interests of each side.
2. All systems of global collective security now lie in ruins. There are no longer any international security guarantees at all. And the entity that destroyed them has a name: The United States of America.
3. The builders of the New World Order have failed, having built a sand castle. Whether or not a new world order of any sort is to be built is not just Russia’s decision, but it is a decision that will not be made without Russia.
4. Russia favors a conservative approach to introducing innovations into the social order, but is not opposed to investigating and discussing such innovations, to see if introducing any of them might be justified.
5. Russia has no intention of going fishing in the murky waters created by America’s ever-expanding “empire of chaos,” and has no interest in building a new empire of her own (this is unnecessary; Russia’s challenges lie in developing her already vast territory). Neither is Russia willing to act as a savior of the world, as she had in the past.
6. Russia will not attempt to reformat the world in her own image, but neither will she allow anyone to reformat her in their image. Russia will not close herself off from the world, but anyone who tries to close her off from the world will be sure to reap a whirlwind.
7. Russia does not wish for the chaos to spread, does not want war, and has no intention of starting one. However, today Russia sees the outbreak of global war as almost inevitable, is prepared for it, and is continuing to prepare for it. Russia does not war—nor does she fear it.
8. Russia does not intend to take an active role in thwarting those who are still attempting to construct their New World Order - until their efforts start to impinge on Russia’s key interests. Russia would prefer to stand by and watch them give themselves as many lumps as their poor heads can take. But those who manage to drag Russia into this process, through disregard for her interests, will be taught the true meaning of pain.
9. In her external, and, even more so, internal politics, Russia’s power will rely not on the elites and their back-room dealing, but on the will of the people.
To these nine points I would like to add a tenth:
10. There is still a chance to construct a new world order that will avoid a world war. This new world order must of necessity include the United States—but can only do so on the same terms as everyone else: subject to international law and international agreements; refraining from all unilateral action; in full respect of the sovereignty of other nations.
To sum it all up:
play-time is over. Children, put away your toys. Now is the time for the adults to make decisions. Russia is ready for this; is the world?
* * *
Full text of Vladimir Putin’s speech and a question and answer session at the final plenary meeting of the Valdai International Discussion Club’s XI session in Sochi on 24 October 2014 can be found here
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-10-30/putin-western-elites-play-time-over - 146k -
And there is not much of a free sh*t army in Russia
They can’t afford it.
Putin’s starting to sweat. It was easy being a dictator of an oil-producing nation when the price of oil was going up, up, up. But now oil’s on its way down, he’s gotten involved in yet another expensive little war, and he’s gotten half the oligarchs and their businesses sanctioned internationally.
He’s rattling the cage as much as he can, but that’s not the show of strength some think it is. It’s really a sign of fear. And it’s driven away most of his German supporters, who were vital to his political ambitions. Soon we may get to see if Putin ’s in charge of the oligarchs, or vice versa.
I feel sorry for the Russian people. No matter what happens, they always seem to get the short end of the stick.
‘I feel sorry for the Russian people’
Yeah, terrible. Yet even now, on this blog, we know it’s possible we are being monitored by both the Federal Reserve and the NSA.
‘How often do you mention the word ‘Fed’ online? There is about to be a new breed of Big Brother “watchers” and electronic surveillance on billions of online conversations before eavesdropping on the emotion behind how the ‘Fed’ was used. The monitoring will include identifying and reaching out to “key bloggers” and “influencers.”
http://www.computerworld.com/article/2471156/endpoint-security/federal-reserve-to-monitor-billions-of-convos-for–fed—determine-mood–id-blogge.html
Don’t read the 10 points thing, read the speech:
http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/2014/10/putin-to-western-elites-play-time-is.html
He is doing 2 things, it seems to me. He is addressing the “elite”; most likely the neocons and their associated “liberal interventionists”. And he is talking over their heads to the public. (Don’t forget his editorial on “American Exceptionalism: a while back - also an attempt to speak directly to the public). So take a cable news view; “he’s sweatin’ Martha!” Or you might read the speech, and contemplate what he’s saying.
“To learn who rules over you, simply find out who you are not allowed to criticize.” — Voltaire
Putin’s words I often agree with, but his active imperialism, cronyism, and brutality to his own people are what bother me about him. He may be no worse than our own rulers (although I think he is), but he’s certainly no better.
That said, I feel sorry for us, too. We’re falling down the same rabbit hole as Russia, they’re just further along. They’re our future.
but his active imperialism, cronyism, and brutality to his own people are what bother me about him
USSA is different how?
“Active imperialism?” He’s gone into Ukraine and Chechnya and your panties are all in knots. Meanwhile since Russia left afghanistan the U.S. invaded Iraq, Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, put troops in Pakistan, still occupies South Korea, has hundreds of other bases all over the world.
Russia’s miltary bases are less than a dozen and most of them are in the parts of its former empire. One is in Vietnam.
You are the big huge pot calling the small kettle black.
Don’t forget Somalia, Kosovo, Sudan, and many more……
“He’s gone into Ukraine and Chechnya”
He’s gone into Georgia and Azerba-whatever too. And he’s only been in power a little over a decade, so he’s averaging about one invasion every 3 years, not exactly a peacenik. I agree in many ways we’re no better, but that doesn’t make him good. Russia is one of the most dangerous countries to be a reporter in, especially if you’re critical of the government, and being a successful opposition politician there often gets you arrested.
Putin seems like the ultimate statist to me. I think our guys look at him and his system and wistfully say, “maybe someday”.
Let’s clean our backyard of statists in America first before throwing rocks at statists that affect other people rather than you and I.
I agree, but let’s not applaud another statist for doing what we deplore here.
Heritage Foundation Economic Freedom rankings: Russia, 140 (out of 178 countries), rated “mostly unfree”.
They’re ranked worse than Liberia, Nigeria, Yemen, Mozambique, and Cameroon. And we’re supposed to admire Putin why?
in the early 1990s the USA was third or fourth on that same list. Since the USA endless wars started we dropped to 12th. Russia is 140? Still it had to have moved up from where it was in 1985. I worry more about America moving to far less freedom than to where Russia is.
Yeah, but we’re 12th and they’re 140th, so there’s really no comparison. They have a far, far less free economic system than even we do. So I don’t get the Putin admiration, unless it’s just an “enemy of my enemy is my friend” thing. But that’s what had people in the West, who had legitimate gripes about our system, defending Stalin, back in the day. I’m not going to fall into that trap. Less freedom, less respect for contracts and private property, as we see in the current Russian system, is bad, in my opinion, in pretty much every situation.
It seems Putin knows US history better than any citizen.
Check out the comments too.
+1 Ben…I just read it….Thanks for the post…Kinda frightening really because it appears Russia maybe ready to dig in…
Here is the money quote from Putins speech….
Maybe the United States’ exceptional position and the way they are carrying out their leadership really is a blessing for us all, and their meddling in events all around the world is bringing peace, prosperity, progress, growth and democracy, and we should maybe just relax and enjoy it all?
Let me say that this is not the case, absolutely not the case.
A unilateral diktat and imposing one’s own models produces the opposite result. Instead of settling conflicts it leads to their escalation, instead of sovereign and stable states we see the growing spread of chaos, and instead of democracy there is support for a very dubious public ranging from open neo-fascists to Islamic radicals.
Monitor this!
UPDATE 1-Senators set Nov. 21 hearing on New York Fed examination tapes
Fri Oct 31, 2014 5:07pm EDT
(Adds Dudley as witness, details on subpoenas)
By Jonathan Spicer
Oct 31 (Reuters) - A U.S. Senate subcommittee hearing is set for Nov. 21 to investigate whether the Fed’s relationship with the banks it regulates is too cozy, following the release of secretly recorded conversations between the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and Goldman Sachs officials.
New York Fed President William Dudley, one of the most powerful U.S. central bankers, is set to testify before the subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection, according to a Senate aide. Other witnesses were not yet confirmed.
Portions of the recordings, revealed in radio and press reports last month, depicted a team of New York Fed regulators apparently shy about pushing Goldman Sachs Group Inc for answers on a transaction with Banco Santander and for changes to a conflict-of-interest policy.
“The recent media reports are troubling because they raise new questions about regulators being captured by the financial institutions they regulate,” Tim Johnson, chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, said in a statement on Friday that set the date for the hearing.
The subcommittee could also call for testimony from Carmen Segarra, the former New York Fed examiner who made the tapes in 2011-2012. Segarra later sued the Fed, claiming that she was fired for refusing to change certain findings about Goldman; the case was dismissed last April.
…
“…Carmen Segarra…”
It’s great to know there still are people out there who stick up for principles. Hopefully Carmen will some day run for higher office!
Bloomberg News
Brown Plans Senate Hearing on ‘Disturbing’ New York Fed Tapes
By Jeff Kearns and Mark Niquette October 28, 2014
U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown plans to hold a hearing on Federal Reserve Bank of New York oversight of financial firms after a former examiner alleged her colleagues went too easy on firms including Goldman Sachs Group Inc.
“That report raised enough questions that we want to know the answers,” the Ohio Democrat said in an interview today in Columbus. “I’m willing to say there’ll be a hearing.”
Lawmakers have called for hearings on the New York Fed after a report based on secret recordings by former employee Carmen Segarra aired on the radio program “This American Life” said it has been deferential to the firms it regulates.
Brown, who sits on the Senate Banking Committee and is chairman of its Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection, said that while he’s still talking to staff about when the hearing will be scheduled and which witnesses will be called to testify, it’s “pretty clear we need to discuss” whether financial regulators are tough enough.
Segarra sued the New York Fed last October, alleging she was fired in May 2012 after refusing to change her findings on the conflict-of-interest policy. A U.S. district judge dismissed the case in April, ruling Segarra failed to make a legally sufficient claim under the whistle-blower protections of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. Segarra is appealing.
“It’s just sort of the repeated stories that the regulators too often don’t stand up to the people that they’re regulating,” Brown said before a press conference calling for restoring provisions of the Voting Rights Act. “The public believes, and I think they’re generally right, that the regulators have not shown the independence they should, and this sort of underscores that.”
Brown on Oct. 24 posted a petition on his campaign website seeking support to “Investigate the Goldman Sachs tapes,” which was co-signed by Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, a fellow Democrat on the Banking Committee.
“When regulators care more about protecting big banks from accountability than protecting the American people from risky behavior on Wall Street, it threatens our whole economy,” Brown wrote. “I urge Congress to conduct an oversight investigation into the disturbing issues raised by the Goldman Sachs tapes. If regulators don’t enforce the law, they should be held accountable.”
Brown and Warren called for a congressional investigation Sept. 26, the day the radio report was released in conjunction with nonprofit news organization ProPublica. “It’s our job to make sure our financial regulators are doing their jobs,” Warren said in a statement.
‘Categorically Rejects’
The New York Fed said in a Sept. 26 statement that it “categorically rejects” Segarra’s allegations. The bank is led by President William C. Dudley, a former chief U.S. economist and managing director at Goldman Sachs.
…
This will be swept under the rug. It will bring a little attention then the topic will disappear by the powers to be completely in the media. The attention deficit public will move on to newer topics such replacement stars for Honey Boo Boo (whatever the name).
=1. Senators Brown and Warren will bloviate for the cameras, but the outcome is a foregone conclusion: “No substantive issues were uncovered.” They will also hint that Carmen Segarra, who had repeatedly applied for a position at Goldman Sachs but was rejected before starting her employment with the wholly owned subsidiary of Goldman Sachs known as the New York Fed, harbored a grudge against Goldman.
In my opinion Putin gave a speech of the century. I don’t think it is an unreasonable speech. I like Putin more than Obama anyway. We should not go to war with Russia as the idiots in Washington think that they can win a war with Russia. Nobody wins a nuclear war.
The military industrial complex lies to the American people and is now completely out of control. When are American people going to wakeup? Go time needs to come soon.
“The military industrial complex lies to the American people and is now completely out of control. When are American people going to wakeup? Go time needs to come soon.”
I still can’t get my head around the $1 trillion plus F-35 program. Think of how many could attend college with some of that money?
The I-90 freeway over the Snoqualmie Pass into Seattle could really use those amber and white lane reflectors to illuminate the road’s direction ahead since it’s so dark out there especially while raining.
U.S. Implements the Wolfowitz Doctrine
The U.S. is implementing the Wolfowitz Doctrine. It aims to maintain the U.S. as the sole superpower and to preclude any regional powers. It wants no rivals such as Russia, Iran and China. This agenda is primary for the U.S. Other purported goals of foreign policy such as anti-terrorism, furthering democracy, advancing human rights, and the self-determination of peoples are useful only insofar as they advance the superpower status of the U.S. and the elimination of rivals. Whenever the Wolfowitz Doctrine can be implemented by sacrificing anti-terrorism, democracy, human rights and self-determination, the U.S. does not hesitate to sacrifice them. This is why the U.S. appears to be so hypocritical.
Here is an example out of today’s news. The U.S. condemns separatism in Ukraine and aids Kiev in attacking its own people with heavy and advanced weapons of all kinds. This is because the superpower agenda is served by steering Ukraine into the Western camp. At the very same time, the U.S. condemns China for indicting a professor who is a vocal separatist and critical of Chinese policy in Xinjiang. Hence, we observe the U.S. against separatism in Ukraine but supporting it in China. This is because the U.S. is applying pressure on China wherever it thinks this will succeed in diminishing China as a power. If China has to contend with breakaway movements, the U.S. agenda is advanced.
Numerous other instances of U.S. hypocrisy can be understood in this way. The U.S. will support democracy but then ignore elections and support dictators. It will bemoan the deaths of children in some instances but support their being killed in others. It will condemn interfering in domestic politics in some countries but approve of it in other instances. It will condemn terrorism and then arm terrorists.
This is because the overriding agenda is the Wolfowitz Doctrine.
The U.S. supplies the Israeli military with aid and ammunition so as to maintain Israel in the region and prevent regional powers like Iran from growing in strength. When Israel attacks Gaza, the U.S. approves a certain amount of death and destruction. However, if Israel’s killing becomes so excessive that it promises to cause a backlash that weakens Israel or gives rise to an anti-Israel movement that is more radical than Hamas, then the U.S. will switch and disapprove of Israel’s attack and seek to stop it. The criterion being used is that of the supremacy of U.S. power in a worldwide game of power.
This is not to say that the different divisions in Washington are united in this goal or united in how to play this game. It’s not to say that the Wolfowitz Doctrine is sensible. It’s not to say that important leaders are playing this game effectively. In most instances, they are playing it foolishly, rashly, dangerously and in a very costly way that results in diminishing U.S. power. This exclusive superpower goal and game generally reduces American well-being in numerous ways. From that standpoint, the Wolfowitz Doctrine is deeply flawed.
http://www.lewrockwell.com/lrc-blog/u-s-implements-the-wolfowitz-doctrine/
To be fair, that F-35 probably did put a lot of kids through college — the kids of the highly paid management and engineers at Lockheed Martin.
$100k/yr isn’t “highly paid”.
Wolfowitz Doctrine
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Paul Wolfowitz, co-author of the doctrine.
Wolfowitz Doctrine is an unofficial name given to the initial version of the Defense Planning Guidance for the 1994–99 fiscal years (dated February 18, 1992) authored by Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Paul Wolfowitz and his deputy Scooter Libby. Not intended for public release, it was leaked to the New York Times on March 7, 1992,[1] and sparked a public controversy about U.S. foreign and defense policy. The document was widely criticized as imperialist as the document outlined a policy of unilateralism and pre-emptive military action to suppress potential threats from other nations and prevent any other nation from rising to superpower status.
Such was the outcry that the document was hastily re-written under the close supervision of U.S. Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Colin Powell before being officially released on April 16, 1992. Many of its tenets re-emerged in the Bush Doctrine,[2] which was described by Senator Edward M. Kennedy as “a call for 21st century American imperialism that no other nation can or should accept.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfowitz_Doctrine
Putin is more in tune with the world than Obama. I guess Obama’s handlers are out to lunch. The Einstein definition of insanity is what is behind the U.S. foreign policy. It’s stuck in the role and the longer the U.S. employs the imperialist foreign policy, the worse we the American people will suffer for it - loss of more freedom, tax money coming out of our pockets to fill the pockets of despotic regimes and big defense company shareholders, and more anger by those on the opposite side of the gun barrels, channeled into blowback against America and America’s allies who are following in the same pattern. Canada last week had the first hints of blowback for its own involvement in imperialism.
The oligarchs like George Soros who installed Obama in office are most definitely not “out to lunch.” They are greedily amassing wealth and unrestricted power in their own hands, aided and abetted by their hirelings in both political parties.
Remember this housing chart from 2013?
http://www.michaelcovel.com/images/98.gif
*the REIC pimp pre-determined ‘wish’ bottom didn’t materialize or hold up because prices didn’t actually bottom
Did you really think prices would bottom at a level 3x long term trend price?
Lyon Realtors CEO Jailed On Felonies
http://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2014/10/01/disgraced-real-estate-exec-michael-lyon-apparently.html
McCain’s “Syrian moderates” abscound to al-Qaeda with their U.S.-supplied weapons and training.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/11203825/Syrian-rebels-armed-and-trained-by-US-surrender-to-al-Qaeda.html
And another neo-con “win” that has devolved into anarchy.
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/the-west-is-silent-as-libya-falls-into-the-abyss-9833489.html
Where’s Ole McCain gonna be come Tuesday? I’m sure he’s got some plum committee chairmanship lined up from where he can cause trouble.
+1 He [is] the neo-con’s shill point-man.
Kind of the mirror image of the democrat raaaaacis/war on wimmins memes - if you disagree with McCain you must hate POWs! Shame!
McCain’s rebels?
Liberals/progressives are funny.
They will blame everyone but themselves and defend obama until their last breath.
Obama in the commander in chief. His administration runs the state department. His administration runs the CIA.
OBAMA’S “Syrian moderates” abscound to al-Qaeda with their U.S.-supplied weapons and training.
OBAMA’S failed Libya policies and intervention.
McCain’ is a senile senator who’s party is in the minority in the senate. HE HAS NO POWER.
From Yesterday;
Comment by Neuromance
2014-11-01 22:08:23
I’ve seen this firsthand with just two people. One person’s life circumstances change and they want to move out. This forces a sale of the house. Unless you want to become an impromptu landlord. ??
Did you miss this part of my post;
The biggest single issue you will face as a group is the exit strategy…How & when do you exit the partnership…And, if you want to exit early what are the mechanics of that…Pick your partners carefully…..
Forces the sale of the home ?? Can’t happen…It blows up the entire deal…The working agreement will be very specific on how one can exit the partnership and its usually punitive to do so…So, all those Q’s need to be addressed early on…Way before you ever even start looking for a property…
I was involved with one in the past and the penalty for a early exit was 50% of the appraised value…Guess what ??…Nobody exited the partnership and all stayed in to maturity which was 10 years and then the property was sold…By the way, in this instance, it was on a 15 year loan so the mortgage was paid way down…
Physical bullion sales are soaring despite (or because of) drops in the price of “paper” (i.e. non-existent) precious metals.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-31/u-s-mint-silver-coin-sales-jump-to-21-month-high.html
The Coming November Wars
New battles at home, new wars abroad
by Patrick J. Buchanan | LewRockwell.com | November 2, 2014
As it stands today, Republicans will add seats in the House and recapture the Senate on Tuesday.
However, the near-certainty is that those elections will be swiftly eclipsed by issues of war, peace, immigration and race, all of which will be moved front and center this November.
Consider. If repeated leaks from investigators to reporters covering the Ferguson story are true, there may be no indictment of Officer Darren Wilson, the cop who shot Michael Brown.
Should that happen, militant voices are already threatening, “All hell will break loose.” Police in the city and 90-some municipalities in St. Louis County, as well as the state police, are preparing for major violence.
After flying out to Ferguson to declare, “I am the attorney general of the United States. But I am also a black man.” Eric Holder has once again brought his healing touch to the bleeding wound.
Yesterday, Holder said it is “pretty clear” that there is a “need for wholesale change” in the Ferguson Police Department.
But, Holder notwithstanding, that is not at all “clear.”
Should the grand jury decide that Wilson fired in self-defense in a struggle with Brown over his gun, and fired again when the 6-foot-4-inch, 300-pound teenager charged him, what would justify a purge of the Ferguson Police Department or the dismissal of Chief Thomas Jackson?
What exactly have the Ferguson cops done to deserve the remorseless vilification they have received?
Yet, as St. Louis is bitterly divided over this incident and how it has been exploited, so, too, will be the nation, should November 2014 provide a replay of the urban riots of yesteryear.
And the president himself will invite a social explosion if he proceeds with White House plans for an executive amnesty for millions of illegal aliens residing in the United States.
Obama is reportedly considering an end to the deportation of an entire class of illegals, perhaps numbering 5 million, providing them with work permits and putting them on a path to permanent residency.
Such a post-election amnesty would bring a full-throated roar of approval from La Raza and the liberal wing of Obama’s party, but it would evoke an even louder roar of protest from Middle America. And such a presidential usurpation of power would poison Obama’s relations with the new Congress before it was even sworn in.
Undeniably, this would be a decision for which Obama would be remembered by history. But it is not at all clear that he would be well-remembered by his countrymen.
Indeed, among the reasons Obama did not act before the election was that he knew full well that any sweeping amnesty for illegals would sink all of his embattled red-state senators.
The corporate wing of the GOP might welcome the removal of the immigration issue from the national debate. But conservatives and populists will bring it back in the presidential primaries in the new year.
There are also two simmering issues of foreign policy likely to come to a boil and split Congress and country before Christmas.
First is America’s deepening involvement in the war against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, for which Obama has never received Congressional authorization. When Congress returns for its lame-duck session, opponents of this latest Mideast war will be demanding that a new war resolution be debated and voted upon.
As yet, the president has made no convincing case that ISIS terrorists are primarily America’s problem. Nor do we have a convincing strategy or adequate allied ground forces to fulfill Obama’s declared mission to “degrade and destroy” the Islamic State.
What could bring this to the fore rapidly would be an Islamic State attack on Baghdad, the Green Zone, the U.S. embassy, or the Baghdad airport.
Some political and military analysts believe the attack on Kobane on the Syrian-Turkish border is a diversion from a planned attack on Baghdad to shock the Americans, just as the Tet Offensive of 1968 shocked an earlier generation.
While a military disaster for the Viet Cong, Tet convinced many Americans, Walter Cronkite among them, that the war could not be won.
Any such attack on Baghdad would likely trigger a debate inside the United States about whether, and at what price, we should try to put the Iraqi nation back together again.
Lastly, Nov. 24 is the deadline for the negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program. If Obama decides that an agreement is acceptable to him and our European allies, and moves by executive action to lift some sanctions on Iran, he could face a rebellion in this city and on Capitol Hill.
Yet, should no agreement be reached, and the talks with Iran break off, there will be mounted a major drive by the War Party for the United States to exercise the military option to resolve the issue.
New battles at home, new wars abroad – this remains, unfortunately, the future prospect as well as the old reality.
michael brown is a pawn to whip the badge lickers and uniform fetishists up to an appropriate level of rage
got arizona iced tea brand watermelon fruit punch, skittles, and promethazine with codeine?
Warning: this article was not written by real journalists
http://survivalblog.com/letter_re_a_veteran_policemans/
“Its best to keep verbal contact to the barest minimum. A terse: “We have nothing, go away or we will shoot” is a good example”
OK got it.
We have nothing, go away or we will shoot
We have nothing, go away or we will shoot
We have nothing, go away or we will shoot
But I can’t lie.
How about…
We have three steaks on the grill, go away or we will shoot.
If you are in a situation where you need to be saying this to roaming scavengers trying to take yours, 90 plus percent of the population will be dead or soon dying.
Count your blessings for currently living in such a wonderfully abundant society. Are you content? Are you full? Are you sated? This is perhaps the Oligarchs’ plan.
Aren’t you quite the ray of sunshine on an otherwise pleasant Sunday evening….
Trailer for the excellent 2013 Adrian Grenier film: Goodbye World. Anyone who has the foresight to prepare for a collapse or grid-down scenario can expect to be targeted by those who failed to anticipate or prepare - including martial law authorities.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX8daCjqtNo
So Pat Buchanan is one of the badge lickers. He’s also part of the doom and gloom brigade, predicting disasters in the near future.
+1….Nice post….
Nice post to Phony…
Amerikka what a country.
The real issues of war, immigration, race, etc. will come in front and center AFTER the election.
The real issues of war, immigration, race, etc. will come in front and center AFTER the election ??
Yes…The 2016 election….
Like how the bailout wasn’t even being discussed before 2008 elections. Why discuss it or debate it’s when both sides are for it?
The sheeple didn’t DEMAND that the bailout be discussed, much less retaliate at the ballot box for the Senators and Congressmen who voted for TARP. Instead, they meekly trouped into the voting booths and pulled the the lever for the crony-capitalist Republicrat status quo. How’s the hope ‘n change working out for you, America?
Pat, as usual, nails it.
He does a great job selling political entertainment products to us fools. Then he goes back to the Oligarch parties and drinks the Oligarch wine and eats the Oligrach steaks.
Don’t cross the HOA.
Concierge Doomsday Preppers
This Virginia entrepreneur will let you bury a survival bunker on his property—for a fee.
It’s not quite prepping for the 1 percent—most of these professionals can’t afford to build multimillion-dollar bunkers under multimillion-dollar mansions or buy into seven-figure bunker communities springing up in abandoned mines and missile silos in the Midwest. But they do have enough money to lease a plot on his land in central Virginia, Kranski said. And just as they outsource landscaping, housework, and child care while society is functioning normally, they’ll happily pay someone to prep for doomsday on their behalf.
“We’re talking higher earners out there,” Kranski said. “They can afford $100,000 for a bunker; they can buy whatever they like. But most of them live in subdivisions, and most of them can’t just go pop a shelter under their house. They want to have a place where they can go. Away from a town, because that’s where looters and everyone else is going to go. They want to get out to the country.”
Perhaps most important: “A lot of people don’t want to have to deal with the details.”
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/future_tense/2014/10/doomsday_preppers_concierge_service_bury_your_apocalypse_bunker_here.html
It amazes me that there is enough money floating around the system for things like this to be a viable business. And that enough of the people with that kind of money think they’ll be able to get out of the urban environments …
Kind of like the stock market and real estate bubbles. So many people are convinced that they’ll be able to get out before the SHTF.
Wall Street if betting on Republican puppets this time around.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-11-01/wall-street-spends-record-sum-midterm-election-betting-republican-puppets-time
From Yesterday;
Comment by shendi
2014-11-01 11:29:36
I never knew they had plumbers doing Nuclear power plants.
Anyone can work the plumbing in an office building for Nuclear plant and the like - certainly not the piping. I doubt that they NPT connections are allowed in Nuclear piping ??
Did you miss this part of my post Dude ??
“A master plumber I might add…Has many certifications”
You know…Like Plasma & Tungsten arc welding !!
Some of you toads around here always call out BS…I have better things to do than bring BS to the board…Seems to me that one who is always calling out BS is one that is proficient at spreading it…
“I have better things to do than bring BS to the board…”
Like what?
Like coming to the board for information and opinion…Not garbage data and childish banter…
Just asking don’t get your panties in a wad.
Once again, Dave speaks of things he knows nothing of.
You won’t find a “plumber” installing pipe or fittings or making pipe connections to equipment in any nuke plant or any type of process facility (chemical, petro, water, wastewater, boiler plant, elec generation) in the US. Not a single one. You’ll find fitters, pipe fitters, fitters/welders, fitter/IW’s.
It long past time to hang it up Dave.
You’ll find fitters, pipe fitters, fitters/welders, fitter/IW’s.
+1. I know a guy who did a lot of pipe work in a nuke plant; he calls himself a pipe-fitter, not a plumber.
The folks who do the serious industrial hazardous material piping are called pipefitters. The ones who do office and home piping, water and sewage are called plumbers. One could be both, but they are not interchangeable.
It wasn’t all that long ago that Dave schooled everyone here on plumbing by suggesting that procurement of WDV piping(less than sched40) from HomeCheapo and the installation of same is “plumbing”.
We all have different levels of experience. I’ve supervised pipefitters, but never a plumber.
True.
I’ve never met so many construction experts who aren’t in the construction biz than I have here in the last 12 months.
Why would a welder call himself a plumber? In piping, a wide an complicated engineering field, where ASME rules the world, the welder gets paid almost like a mid-level engineer. The pipe-fitter comes a close second. There is no place for plumber in this field of boiler piping, oil& gas high temperature/ high pressure piping that has to be done to code.
ASME almost always applies to interior process piping. AWWA and WEF standards apply, especially when working in the ground.
Here’s some interesting history. You know that “B” that always seems to preface ASME pipe and fitting specs? Take a guess what it stands for.
I expect rms to take a shot at this piece of trivia.
Since the code originally was for Boilers that might have something to do with it.
strike 1
Somebody buy a vowel.
“May I buy an E”.
Yes! There are two! Spin or solve?
Non-ferrous metal
“I expect rms to take a shot at this piece of trivia.”
Boilermaker?
Donk,
The word includes the B.
Bechtel.
Apparently they developed the materials and performed all the testing for the Feds (back in the 1930’s?). All that was eventually was adopted by ASME later as I understand it.
Who does pipe design and pipe arrangement better than Bechtel?
OK, here is another.
A plumber moves his own ladder I suppose, but who does a pipefitter call when he wants his ladder moved?
Superintendent who calls the laborer foreman who sends a laborer. Perhaps by speed memo.
But it is a trade that is responsible for moving ladders.
One could be both, but they are not interchangeable ??
And he is both…The word “Plumber” if you look was used in the context of him being a “retired” plumber meaning he gets a pension check from a plumbers union….My quote;
“My brother is a retired plumber…A master plumber I might add…Has many certifications and worked on new housing to Nuclear power plants and everything in-between…”
From Yesterday;
Comment by SV guy
2014-11-01 16:15:56
“My brother is a retired plumber” 393 ??
Yep….
10 Corporations Control Almost Everything You Buy — This Chart Shows How
By Chris Miles
November 04, 2013 “Information Clearing House - “PolicyMic” - Ten mega corporations control the output of almost everything you buy; from household products to pet food to jeans.
According to this chart via Reddit, called “The Illusion of Choice,” these corporations create a chain that begins at one of 10 super companies. You’ve heard of the biggest names, but it’s amazing to see what these giants own or influence.
(Note: The chart shows a mix of networks. Parent companies may own, own shares of, or may simply partner with their branch networks. For example, Coca-Cola does not own Monster, but distributes the energy drink. Another note: We are not sure how up-to-date the chart is. For example, it has not been updated to reflect P&G’s sale of Pringles to Kellogg’s in February.)
Here are just a few examples: Yum Brands owns KFC and Taco Bell. The company was a spin-off of Pepsi. All Yum Brands restaurants sell only Pepsi products because of a lifetime deal with the soda-maker.
$84 billion-company Proctor & Gamble — the largest advertiser in the U.S. — is paired with a number of diverse brands that produce everything from medicine to toothpaste to high-end fashion. All tallied, P&G reportedly serves a whopping 4.8 billion people around the world through this network.
$200 billion-corporation Nestle — famous for chocolate, but which is the biggest food company in the world — owns nearly 8,000 different brands worldwide, and takes stake in or is partnered with a swath of others. Included in this network is shampoo company L’Oreal, baby food giant Gerber, clothing brand Diesel, and pet food makers Purina and Friskies.
Unilever, of soap fame, reportedly serves 2 billion people around the world, controlling a network that produces everything from Q-tips to Skippy peanut butter.
And it’s not just the products you buy and consume, either. In recent decades, the very news and information that you get has bundled together: 90% of the media is now controlled by just six companies, down from 50 in 1983, according to a Frugal Dad infographic from last year.
It gets even more macro, too: 37 banks have merged to become just four — JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and CitiGroup in a little over two decades, according to this Federal Reserve map.
The nation’s 10 largest financial institutions hold 54% of our total financial assets; in 1990, they held 20%. As MotherJones reports, the number of banks has dropped from more than 12,500 to about 8,000.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article36743.htm - 22k -
You are living at the height of human civilization and the height of western and American civilization. That obesity and distractedness from too many entertainment choices are some of our big problems shows this.
“10 Corporations Control Almost Everything You Buy.”
A beautiful thing to behold.
The best part …
“The nation’s 10 largest financial institutions hold 54% of our total financial assets; in 1990, they held 20%. As MotherJones reports, the number of banks has dropped from more than 12,500 to about 8,000.”
Bahahahaha … and this happened because the Great Unwashed Masses allowed it to happen, they made it happen.
A nation of sheep. Baa, baa, bahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
A nation of sheep indeed, and one that continues to vote for its own demise every time they elect another Republicrat.
You don’t think they’d let you vote if it mattered do you? When you go to Dunkin Donuts you can choose which flavor of donut.
“You don’t think they’d let you vote if it mattered do you?”
That’s a damn good point.
George Carlin said it best: “If you have selfish ignorant voters, you’re going to get selfish ignorant leaders.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxsQ7jJJcEA
Hey Phony Scandals,
I saw posts on FB from libertarian sites a few times on that topic. “If voting really made a difference, it would be outlawed.”
Just to know, North Korea claims it has 100% of the consent of its people. They are all forced to vote. And only one man on the ballot.
The USA too has only one party: The Demopublican Party.
“90% of the media is now controlled by just six companies”
If you can’t trust real journalists, who can you trust?
This is one of the tragedies of the mortgage market, IMO.
Why should a market be prevented from pricing in varying risk???
By way of example, is the risk of the loss to the lender really the identical across two borrowers:
- one of whom has a 50% down-payment, and one of whom has a 3.5% down-payment?
- one of whom has 30 years of never-late/never-missed payment history on his credit report, and one of whom has 3 years of credit history, some showing blemishes?
- one of whom has significant assets (larger than the house being mortgaged), and one of whom has no assets and had to borrow the down-payment?
- one of whom has 10% DTI ratio including the mortgage, and one of whom has a 43% DTI ratio?
The federal government’s mismanagement of this market is the only thing that forces these borrowers to be treated the same, completely ignoring their collateral, credit-worthiness, and capacity to pay.
It is as if they believe that the Three C’s of lending have no bearing on reality.
“Why should a market be prevented from pricing in varying risk???”
Ask the financial plumbers who engineer interest rate suppression policy.
Because that wouldn’t be fair, you racis.
“Ask the financial plumbers who engineer interest rate suppression policy”
They prefer to be called “pipefitters”. Now bend over while they fit you one.
You remind me of what the guys who went to high school with me meant when they talked about “laying some pipe.”
One in five people in the US agree with the statement: the world will come to an end within my lifetime.
Add to that the percentages of drug addicts, criminals, heavily medicated, and non working fraudsters of all stripes and I wonder: How do we even function as a society?
One in five people in the US agree with the statement: the world will come to an end within my lifetime.
Five in five people in the US will have their world end when their life does. Whether they agree with that or not, makes no difference.
Is it safe to buy stocks again, now that Abenomics Shock and Awe yen quantitative easing is buoying up Wall Street?
Cheap Oil, Pricey Stocks
How are gas prices in your area?
Cap and trade to drive up gas prices
Posted: Oct 23, 2014 7:20 AM PDT
Updated: Oct 23, 2014 7:26 AM PDT
SAN DIEGO (KUSI) - Gas prices may be headed down, but they will be going back up in January, and nobody can say right now just how much. The estimates are anywhere from ten cents a gallon to a dollar a gallon.
The hike is being driven by California’s cap and trade efforts to curb greenhouse gases, and to reduce gas consumption.
The “cap” limits the amount of greenhouse gases a company can release into the atmosphere.
The “trade” allows heavy polluters to purchase - or trade - allowances or permits so they do not have to worry about the cap.
Cap and trade was passed in 2006, and five years later transportation fuels were added to the law, and that is what will drive up prices at the pump starting January 1, 2015.
“We’ve seen estimates from less than a dime a gallon. I’ve seen industry estimates that go up to almost a dollar a gallon,” said Ron Roberts.
The Air Resources Board, or CARB, estimates 16 cents to 76 cents a gallon.
County Supervisor Ron Roberts sits on the CARB board that pushed cap and trade, and later added gasoline and diesel fuel to the law.
He is concerned about the impact of higher gas prices on those who can least afford it, but says some of the revenue generated from the cap and trade will be redistributed to low income communities.
“If you’re putting a penny a gallon, they’re gonna feel like somehow they’re being robbed of their birth right,” said Roberts.
Most people have no idea what cap and trade is.
While companies can buy allowances to continue to foul the air, the average driver gets hit with higher prices at the pump.
At the same time, cap and trade is supposed to drive down fuel consumption.
Supervisor Roberts touts more fuel efficient vehicles using less gas in addition to hybrids and electric cars.
But most people can’t afford these vehicles.
…
The defining effect of AB 32: Higher gas prices
By U-T San Diego Editorial Board
5 p.m.Oct. 28, 2014
County Supervisor Ron Roberts — for 20 years a member of the governing board of the California Air Resources Board — is offering his most pointed criticism yet related to implementation of AB 32, the state’s landmark 2006 law targeting greenhouse-gas emissions that contribute to global warming. Roberts is a strong supporter of the law. But the San Diego Republican sharply disapproves of how Gov. Jerry Brown and the air board plan to spend $832 million in revenue this budget year from the auctioning of pollution rights — funds that are supposed to be used primarily to lessen greenhouse-gas emissions.
In an interview, Roberts objected in particular to giving $250 million to the state’s troubled high-speed rail project. “I strongly believe there should be a performance-based allocation” of the funds, he said. “There has never been a study to show the bullet train [would be a better use of the money] than other programs.”
We don’t doubt the sincerity of Roberts’ environmental leadership and note that being an air board member is a difficult, demanding job. But with AB 32 soon to have its most direct effect yet on California residents, we wish he would judge the overall record of AB 32 with the same tough standards he seeks for use of cap-and-trade revenue.
The law was passed after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s acknowledgment that it would do little to help with global warming — and could hurt California’s economic competitiveness — unless the law met its goal of inspiring other states and nations to also shift to cleaner-but-costlier energy. Eight years later, the list of copycats is short, and global greenhouse-gas emissions are higher than ever, thanks to explosive growth in China and India.
Until now, AB 32’s most noteworthy accomplishment has been making California greens feel good.
…
How are gas prices in your area?
I wouldn’t know — I drive a 2 liter diesel and have a 5 mile commute round-trip. Haven’t filled up in a week and a half and still have over 3/4 of a tank
Nice. In my next life, I plan to live a similar distance from work.
On of the upsides of renting - it’s easier to pick up and move for a better quality of life. My commute from my previous rental house was 1.5 hours round trip. Much happier/relaxed overall since the move!
“My commute from my previous rental house was 1.5 hours round trip.”
That’s impressive. You have bolstered my hope that I may eventually get out of the tiresome five-day-a-week road warrior mode of existence.
Will CA gas prices dip below $3?
By Morgan Lee
3:35 p.m. Oct. 27, 2014
California switches over to winter gasoline blends on Nov. 1.
A PetroChina rig is seen near the banks of a snow covered lake in Daqing in northeastern China’s Heilongjiang province. — AP
Gasoline prices have not been this low in San Diego since February 2011.
The average price fell to $3.41 on Monday for a gallon of regular unleaded, down from $3.72 a month ago and the lowest average since Feb. 11, 2011, according to AAA’s daily fuel gauge.
Across California, gasoline prices have fallen 20 percent from $4.25 in mid-April, the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported Monday.
The statistical arm of the Department of Energy estimated the national average price for regular gasoline at $3.06 — and rapidly approaching the $3 mark.
Underlying the trend is plentiful crude oil on an international scale and weak demand from sluggish economies.
“The crude oil price crash has been passed through by refiners,” Trilby Lundberg, the president of Lundberg Survey told Bloomberg News. “Retailers will probably be pressed to pass through at the pump a few more pennies of price-cutting sometime soon.”
…
Drivers line up for gas priced less than $3
Posted 12:47 PM, October 28, 2014, by Salvador Rivera,
Updated at 05:21pm, October 28, 2014
SAN DIEGO – Some gas stations around San Diego County are bucking the trend of dropping their gas prices ever-so slightly by offering their customers gas at prices lower than $3 a gallon.
Motorists lined up outside the VONS gas station at 469 W. Felicita Avenue and S. Centre City Parkway in Escondido Tuesday afternoon to fill up at $2.93 for unleaded gas. The price was $0.46 less than the county’s average.
“Hard to believe, absolutely excited it’s going down,” said Escondido resident Lynn Leger.
Leger wasn’t the only one happy with the lower gas prices.
“I’m excited, I’m a college student and don’t have much money, so this is great,” said Palomar College student Jessie Larsen.
…
I use about 1/2 a tank a week, approx. 6 gallons. So I am happy to have that extra 3 dollars a week or so now. I can finally buy a house for half a million and pay more than a million over 30 years.
…. when you could have rented the same place for half that amount and banked a half million.
“I can finally buy a house for half a million and pay more than a million over 30 years.”
It’s crazy that so many folks entertain that notion!
Cheer up. It signals the end of the global building useless stuff era. That house you want will be much cheaper as a result.
How are gas prices in your area?
Prices have been sticky on the way down. The lowest I’ve seen is $2.95.
Since prices early last week in San Diego were reportedly at $3.41/gallon, yesterday’s $2.96/gallon prices are not sticky. Rather my guess is that this is one of the most rapid price declines on record.
Maybe in San Diego. Here in Colorado, prices, which are historically 20-30 cents lower than in San Diego, have been stuck where they are for about two weeks, and are now the same as in San Diego.
IIRC, prices here have only dropped about 50 cents since last summer’s high.
Interesting! Now I am deeply curious why prices suddenly and uniquely plummeted in SD…
Hey Rockstar
How is that drive down to Broomfield every day?
I telecommute 2-3 days a week.
And you’re paid for not going to work?
Heard Romo isn’t playing today against AZ. AZ is currently best in league.
Todays war is titans Peyton v. Brady.
Patriots = Wastriots
And you know what I’ll be eating (50% off regular menu price) tomorrow
Cheetos?
Let the pummeling commence
Snow at Gillette. Peyton will be wearing his insulated adult diapers and mittens.
If this continues I will starve
and for your halftime entertainment, the fat boys ‘all you can eat’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDPk6OQkpeI
Cowgirls cratered. Now lets see if Houston can snuff out the Beagles so The Giants can have a chance at the playoffs.
RG Knee came back for the Redskins today but Samuel Wounded Knee and Darcie Big Bear were none too happy about it.
By the way I think John Woodrow Cox is a racist for writing …
“Thousands of Native Americans carrying signs, banging drums and chanting ”
Come on John preparations for the rally were underway for months and you couldn’t come up with a better opening line than that?
In Minnesota, thousands of Native Americans protest Redskins name
By John Woodrow Cox November 2 at 9:55 AM
MINNEAPOLIS — Thousands of Native Americans carrying signs, banging drums and chanting “Who are we? Not your mascot!” converged on the University of Minnesota’s TCF Bank Stadium on Sunday in one of the largest protests in years against the name of the Washington Redskins.
Native Americans, students and other activists staged two large, noisy but peaceful marches to the stadium, where the Redskins were playing the Minnesota Vikings. At the stadium, they were joined by hundreds of other protesters.
Minneapolis police estimated the crowd at 3,500 to 4,000. Organizers put the number at 5,000.
There were moments of tension as the protesters traded insults with Redskins fans heading into the stadium.
“We don’t want to be your mascots,” said Samuel Wounded Knee, a Crow Creek Sioux, who confronted one fan after another and carried a “Wake Up Snyder” sign. “My kids don’t want to be your mascots. Our culture is not for your fun and games.”
The demonstrators were surrounded by banners that read “Change the Name Now” and “Stop Racism in the NFL.” One woman brandished a sign: “My Hubby Did Not Fight in Iraq To Be Called A ‘Redskin.’ ”
Darcie Big Bear, 34, an Ojibwe from Mille Lacs, Minn., had driven two hours to be among the throng. She was wearing a T-shirt that simply read, “RENAME.”
She and other protesters consider the Redskins moniker deeply offensive, while team owner Daniel Snyder argues that it honors Native Americans and has vowed never to change it.
Big Bear called the name “derogatory toward our people” and said the resistance to changing it is “ignorance, pure ignorance. They don’t take the time to see how it affects our people.”
Preparations for the rally were underway for months, with organizers trying to ensure that the crowd would be the largest-ever to protest the name.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…/11/02/fc38b8d0-6299-11e4-836c-83bc4f26eb67_story.html - Similar pages
6 hours ago .
And you know what I’ll be eating (50% off regular menu price) tomorrow
I hope you have a coupon. It was NE 27-7 at the half.
Thanks for rubbing it in, Rockstar
NE 37 Denver 14
6:05 left in the 3rd
But ya never know.
Oct 6, 2003
Peyton Manning rallied the Colts from a 35-14 deficit with four minutes left in regulation, sending the game into overtime on Ricky Williams’ 1-yard touchdown run with 35 seconds to play.
(not the well known Ricky Williams Edgerrin James was out)
Mike Vanderjagt’s 29-yard field goal with 3:47 remaining in overtime capped one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history and gave the Indianapolis Colts a 38-35 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
scores.espn.go.com/nfl/recap?gameId=231006027 - 96k -
PM is capable but nobody does it like Tom Brady. Nobody.
“PM is capable but nobody does it like Tom Brady.”
Eli does just ask Gisele.
Tom Brady’s Wife, Gisele Bundchen, Curses After Patriots Fall To Giants In Super Bowl (VIDEO, PHOTOS)
The Huffington Post | By Michael Klopman
Posted: 02/06/2012 6:03 am EST
When the last second ticked off the clock at Super Bowl XLVI, there was no denying that Gisele Bundchen’s Super Bowl prayers had been left unanswered. After all, her husband’s Patriots fell to the Giants. As she made her way down to the New England locker room from her seat, Tom Brady’s supermodel wife didn’t hold back on her feelings about the final minutes of the game.
As Bundchen walked to the elevator, someone, presumably a Giants fan, could be heard screaming, “Eli owns your husband!” Bundchen didn’t respond directly to the fan. But just before she got into the elevator, she let out a curse word while complaining that Brady can’t throw the ball and catch it at the same time. She was seemingly referring to any one of several key dropped passes late in the game.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…-gisele-bundchen-patriots-giants-super-bowl_n_1256477.html - 253k -
So they already hack any computer, anywhere and now they want the legal power to do it?
FBI secretly seeking legal power to hack any computer, anywhere
Biggest expansion of FBI spying power in its history
by Cory Doctorow | BoingBoing | November 2, 2014
The Bureau is seeking a rule-change from the Administrative Office of the US Courts that would give it the power to distribute malware, hack, and trick any computer, anywhere in the world, in the course of investigations; it’s the biggest expansion of FBI spying power in its history and they’re hoping to grab it without an act of Congress or any public scrutiny or debate.
But under the proposed amendment, a judge can issue a warrant that would allow the FBI to hack into any computer, no matter where it is located. The change is designed specifically to help federal investigators carry out surveillance on computers that have been “anonymized” – that is, their location has been hidden using tools such as Tor.
The amendment inserts a clause that would allow a judge to issue warrants to gain “remote access” to computers “located within or outside that district” (emphasis added) in cases in which the “district where the media or information is located has been concealed through technological means”. The expanded powers to stray across district boundaries would apply to any criminal investigation, not just to terrorist cases as at present.
Were the amendment to be granted by the regulatory committee, the FBI would have the green light to unleash its capabilities – known as “network investigative techniques” – on computers across America and beyond. The techniques involve clandestinely installing malicious software, or malware, onto a computer that in turn allows federal agents effectively to control the machine, downloading all its digital contents, switching its camera or microphone on or off, and even taking over other computers in its network
FBI demands new powers to hack into computers and carry out surveillance [Ed Pilkington/The Guardian]
(Thanks, Melted_Crayons!)
This says it would be through a judge issuing a warrant.
OK in two days are the 2014 mid term elections.
Let us see how the press and liberal/progressives react.
In 2007/8 we were told that Bush and the Republicans were the root of all evil and they had to be banished and democrats elected for things to get better.
obama was elected with a supermajority in the house and and filibuster proof senate. He stated “I won” and “I have a phone and a pen” and fully expected republicans to capitulate to his “remaking of America.” The liberal/progressive plan went forward with no bipartisan support. Any democrat bill could have been made into law. We got obama care without one republican vote, bailout after bailout, gun running to Mexican gangs, record deficits, using the IRS to go after political enemies, the growing of the FSA, destruction of stable middle eastern countries, ISIS and not one banker in jail.
Fast forward to today.
Now we get “Both parties are all the same” and “Romney would have been as bad as obama” and “It really doesn’t matter who is in office.”
If the republicans win big on Tuesday, I fully expect to hear from liberals/progressives that republicans “Must work with obama” and “With power comes a need to reach out” and “Bipartisan way is the only way”
And I full expect obama to continue ignore the laws on the books he doesn’t like, enact laws he wished he had with EOs, and ignore US Constitution. He will continue to push race based politics and class based politics to get his way no matter how much destruction he causes.
I do think that the Republicans will take the Senate, but I don’t know what the libs will say or do. What will be interesting to watch is whether the Democrats are capable of lockstep filibuster like the Republicans are, or if they will fall back to Obama’s veto. My guess is, they would filibuster a repeal of Obamacare but let Keystone through.
Filibuster? What’s that, the nuclear option was triggered in 2103. By which party? Time to pay the fiddler.
No, the “nuclear option” that was invoked only applies to Presidential appointments such as judgeships and I think some stuff like the labor boards. Legislation still needs “60 votes” to pass.
So they invoked it as to one thing thereby setting the precedent. But now they will complain, hey we only put a turd in one punchbowl, those other punchbowls were supposed to be sacred. The filibuster can’t go back to being a virgin, too late.
More international homebuyers shopping in Austin (TX)
kxan | Nov. 1, 2014
A study from the Texas Association of Realtors shows international buyers pumped more than $11 billion dollars into the Texas economy between March of 2013 and 2014. One Austin Realtor says people from outside of the U.S. are looking for a secure investment.
“An international client can come into the Austin market, get a great value for what they’re buying and almost be insured that there’s profitability in that and that’s unique to the world as a whole,” said J Kuper, owner of Kuper Sotheby’s International Realty.
A study by TX association of realtors?
They can’t be trusted any more than any other realt-liar organization.
Great! Let’s get the pictures rolling of nouveau-rich Chinese yuppies decked out in designer cowboy clothes, boots and hats. Yeehaw!
China manufacturing falls to 5-month low
Published: Nov 1, 2014 9:45 a.m. ET
By MarketWatch
BEIJING–A gauge of China’s manufacturing activity fell to a five-month low in October, despite a series of government support measures aimed at aiding growth, suggesting that more help may be needed to boost the world’s second largest economy.
Analysts said factory data released Saturday kicked off the fourth quarter of the year on a surprisingly weak note and revealed particular problems among smaller and midsize companies.
“We can expect more targeted [support] measures and the government may have to step in more forcefully,” said Andrew Polk, economist at the Conference Board.
China’s official Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index dropped to 50.8 in October from 51.1 in September, according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, which issues the data with the National Bureau of Statistics. The index remained above the key 50 level, which separates expansion from contraction compared with the previous month, but was below expectations of a reading that matched September’s tally of 51.1.
China’s economic growth has been sluggish this year, pulled down by a weak property sector and tight credit conditions. Some analysts have questioned whether growth will reach the government’s target of about 7.5% this year. Growth slipped to 7.3% year-to-year in the third quarter from 7.5% in the second quarter and 7.7% for all of last year. The third quarter pace was the slowest since the first quarter of 2009.
“We’re looking at going to 7% in the fourth quarter and 6.5% next year,” said Mr. Polk.
…
Crater Alert
Annandale, VA (DC Metro) Sale Prices Turn Negative YoY; Down 14% QoQ and 8% MoM
http://www.zillow.com/annandale-va/home-values/
“Crater Alert”
They should have them on the crawlers at the bottom of the screen like they do for weather alerts.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
The National Donkey Service has issued a Crater Alert for the following area Annandale, VA (DC Metro) Sale Prices Turn Negative YoY; Down 14% QoQ and 8% MoM large golf ball size hail and evaporating equity can be expected seek shelter in a rental
freakin hilarious!!!!!
The voting booth - a suggestion box for slaves:
http://www.notbeinggoverned.com/voting-booth-suggestion-box-slaves/
Markets More: Reuters Business
This Week, We’ll Learn How Much The Eurozone Economy Stinks
Jeremy Gaunt, Reuters
Nov. 2, 2014, 7:51 AM
GOLDMAN: We Disagree With The Fed
America’s Energy Giants Warn Cutbacks Are Coming
EL-ERIAN: The QE Trade Isn’t Dead — It’s Evolving
LONDON (Reuters) - Data from both sides of the Atlantic will give clues in the coming week on just how bad the euro zone economy is and just how sustainable is its U.S. counterpart.
Europe offers a rate meeting from the European Central Bank and a new slate of economic forecasts; the United States will release its influential monthly jobs data.
Purchasing manager indexes for the past month will also show how businesses see things shaping up in the United States and Europe. One for China’s has already come in lower than expected.
For many, the ECB meeting on Thursday will be the main money event – despite the fact that it is not likely to be one of action or suspense.
As usual, the attention will be on ECB President Mario Draghi’s nuances at the news conference that follows the likely non-move on rates. When it comes to the ECB, the news is often all about the journey rather than the destination.
This week’s inflation data let the ECB off the hook on taking any immediate additional action to combat the threat of deflation.
At 0.4 percent in October, inflation is worryingly slight, but it is higher than it was a month earlier.
ECB policymakers are also in no rush to move on to something new when they have not yet seen how their targeted loans and purchases of asset-backed securities are doing.
Many in financial markets would like to see the ECB move to a full quantitative easing (QE) asset-buying program like the one the U.S. Federal Reserve has just closed. But as these words from ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny suggest, it is not likely.
“I don’t think we should be pushed by the markets to produce a new program at every meeting we have.”
The bank will also be looking at the U.S. Federal Reserve’s ending of QE and relatively hawkish tone for some spillover succour. The euro is down more than 1.5 percent against the dollar since the Fed meeting on Wednesday, and down more than 10 percent since May.
A weaker euro not only boosts euro zone exports, it imports inflation, both of which the ECB wants to see.
The nuance being sought on Thursday, however, will be whether there is any momentum towards full QE and how German opposition could be overcome.
The ECB has been throwing money in various ways at the euro zone economy for a long time but dynamic growth has proved as elusive as quicksilver.
…
The neo cons are going to try to use the tactic that worked for Reagan in 2000 but will not work in 2016. It won’t apply. What I mean is they will say Democrats keep telling us what is wrong with America. And the Neo cons will also audaciously say that America should not apologize for its policies.
Well that worked back then but will not work now. Yes America should have apologized for meddling in Vietnam. Such a big cost and a drain on Americans. But our Vietnam did not teach us a lesson. A great deal of wealth has been extracted from American citizens and given to big defense corporations, government bureaucracies, and foreign despots. At the same time the enemies America created have targeted the very same Americans whose wealth has been stolen. Meanwhile he lives of the politicians and leaders of the big corporations have been pampered and stay safe. The very same politicians aim to disarm us.
Something is very wrong.
Don’t let’s compare ourselves now to how we were in 2008. Let’s compare ourselves now to how we were in 1988.
In 1988 the American on the street had absolutely no fear of being killed by a Muslim terrorist.
In 1988 our families could go with us up to he gate in any airline terminal and wave us off to our business trip.
In 1988 you never read much about asset forfeiture. You were not immediately suspected as being a drug dealer if you had a large sum of money in your car. Cops did not care.
In 1988 the middle class was thriving. You and your siblings were moving up the career chain. For the last fourteen years though you see some or all of your siblings losing wages or their careers downsized. You see your own career downsized. All the capital that would be used to create quality jobs has been diverted to endless wars. In 2008 you heard of the middle class dying off. In 2014 you are experiencing it yourself.
In 1988 of course there was little spying on your communication with others. Now the government agencies shamelessly violate everyone’s right to privacy.
Something wrong.
In 2016 the neocons will have to defend NSA spying, endless wars, American imperialism, asset forfeiture, police brutality, MRAPs in local police departments, drug laws, if they stress “not apologizing.” But those very same policies are championed by the Democrats.
1988
We still had a border and enforced immigration laws
The FSA was small but growing
As a percentage we spent alot more on defense and a lot less on the FSA
People actually cared about the deficit
“Reagan in 2000…”
Do you mean 1980?
“Reagan in 2000…”
Do you mean 1980?
oops yeah.
In 2016 the neocons will have to defend NSA spying, endless wars, American imperialism, asset forfeiture, police brutality, MRAPs in local police departments, drug laws, if they stress “not apologizing.” But those very same policies are championed by the Democrats.
In 2016, the same slack-jawed cretins who voted for Bush, Obama, McCain, and Romney - the same guy, in other words - will lurch zombie-like yet again into voting booths and pull the lever for the corporate statists’ hand-picked puppets, Jeb Bush and Hilary Clinton. The neocons will feel no need to defend or explain themselves before an electorate comprised of imbeciles.
Capitol Report
Fed should sell MBS at predictable pace during exit, Lacker says
Published: Oct 8, 2014 10:32 a.m. ET
By Greg Robb
Senior economics reporter
Bloomberg
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Any Federal Reserve’s exit strategy should include a plan to sell its $1.7 trillion in mortgage-backed securities holdings at a predictable pace, said Jeffrey Lacker, the president of the Richmond Fed, in an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal on Thursday.
Although the Fed’s exit plan does see the eventual removal of MBS from the central bank’s balance sheet, it does not call for selling MBS except in some limited circumstances.
As a result, Lacker was the only one of the 17 top Fed officials who did not support the strategy.
Lacker said the sale of the MBS would help the Fed reduce its distortion of credit markets.
The Richmond Fed president has long opposed the central bank’s involvement in the mortgage market. He has argued that the Fed’s MBS purchases tilted the playing field toward some borrowers at the expense of others, affecting the allocation of credit.
…
blah blah blah. Ignore the smoke and mirrors from the various Fed officials. QE-to-infinity will continue because that’s the most efficient way to transfer wealth and assets from the 99% to the oligarchs.
Business
Fed bid to calm markets will inevitably fail
By Dan McSwain
5 p.m. Nov. 1, 2014
U.S. Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen. EFE/File
Sometimes turning points are easy to miss. Not this one.
Although officials are downplaying the near-term significance, the world arrived at such a moment last week, when the Federal Reserve halted the expansion of its bond portfolio. This ended a key part of its six-year, $4 trillion experiment to stimulate the economy.
For the foreseeable future, I expect more volatility and uncertainty than we’ve seen since 2008. I know; not exactly a bold prediction.
But I don’t say this because inflation and interest rates are poised to skyrocket, because they aren’t, despite the legitimate fears of some tight-money die-hards.
Instead, I’m taking seriously statements by Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen that she wants to try popping bubbles and preventing financial crises, using a combination of monetary policy and expanded regulatory authority.
Experts are sharply divided on whether avoiding crises is even possible, but merely trying is a major expansion of central bank activity.
Markets and business owners hate uncertainty. Yellen’s objectives create their own scary unknowns.
Here’s what we do know.
For openers, the Fed is still engaged in massive monetary stimulus. In fact, it hasn’t really stopped buying bonds.
This time last year, it was creating $85 billion a month to buy Treasuries and mortgage-backed securities. Most of this new money went into excess reserves at big banks, so it didn’t cause the runaway inflation some economists feared.
In any case, last week the Fed halted its portfolio expansion. However, it will still replace bonds as they expire for some indefinite period, perhaps years.
All by itself, maintaining this giant portfolio is stimulative, says Yellen, echoing the conclusions of Fed researchers and Ben Bernanke, her predecessor.
To see how this works, imagine if somebody suddenly bought 12 percent of the homes in San Diego and left them empty. You’d expect prices to rise for the rest.
Similarly, the Fed has squirreled away about one-eighth of the entire U.S. bond market. This raised bond prices and depressed the cost of credit, because sellers can offer lower interest rates and still find plenty of buyers.
Which is precisely why Bernanke launched the $4 trillion bond-buying spree in the first place, starting in 2008 with mortgage securities to rescue the sinking housing market.
Also stimulative are short-term interest rates, which have been stuck at zero for years and will remain that way for some “considerable time,” the Fed said last week. Translation: Until we see signs of rising inflation or labor shortages.
Both scenarios seem unlikely anytime soon. Inflation is well below the Fed’s 2 percent target. Europe flirts with deflation. On Friday, Japan unveiled a giant round of asset purchases.
…
Over-reliance on monetary policy risks adverse unintended consequences
The Australian
November 01, 2014 12:00AM
Henry Ergas
Columnist
Sydney
Change in fiscal balance sheet. Source: The Australian
THE decision by the US Federal Reserve to end quantitative easing does not close the era of easy money in the world’s largest economy.
After all, interest rates in the US remain at historic lows, as they are throughout the advanced economies. And while the Fed has signalled that continued growth in the US means rates will eventually start to rise, a return to the monetary policy environment that prevailed before the global financial crisis still seems a long way off.
Moreover, with the eurozone struggling, the European Central Bank is only just beginning a further round of “unconventional monetary policy”, while the Bank of Japan, in its efforts to shrug off long-term stagnation, remains engaged in a massive quantitative easing experiment of its own.
Little wonder then that the lead-up to the Fed’s decision has rekindled the debate about the impacts that aggressive monetary policy has had and could yet have, not merely on the level of economic activity but more broadly on our economies and societies.
That central banks expanded the armoury they used after the GFC is unsurprising. Once the crisis struck, interest rates were quickly slashed, with the Fed pushing its rates to near zero by December 2008. As rates approached that “lower bound”, officials looked for other ways in which monetary policy could help end the downturn. Seeking to stimulate activity by buying up financial assets soon emerged as the most attractive option.
While very sparingly used until then, that approach had a long pedigree. Before he turned to government spending as his instrument of choice, John Maynard Keynes had proposed QE as a key element in responding to the Depression.
“We cannot hope,” Keynes wrote in 1930, “for a complete or lasting recovery until there has been a very great fall in the long-term rate of interest throughout the world.” The problem, however, was that left to its own devices, achieving that fall was likely to prove “a long and a tedious process”. The answer was for central banks to “reduce the rate of interest to a very low figure”, while buying “long-dated securities either against an expansion of central bank money or against the sale of short-dated securities until the short-term market is saturated”.
The Fed did just that two years later, with Milton Friedman, in the monumental monetary history of the US he co-authored with Anna Schwartz, crediting the policy with an important role in stabilising the American economy.
…
The prudent do not want to borrow money today. The nominal interest rate may look low, but in the massive deflation that is underway real interest rates are high. Repaying loans is going to be painful.
There is still too much of Kool-Aid drinking on real estate. We are a few years away from when reality will sink in. It’s 2014 and I was expecting 2012 to be the big crash to 1997 price levels. I did not expect the Fed, treasury, and federal government to prop up home owners. Whenever I think of that I get extremely angry about the socialized losses, making renters pay for the foolishness of buyers.
My colleagues are all gung ho on OC real estate, marriage, reproduction. It’s like 1957 again but they are “progressives” and not social conservatives like most white people back then were.
In the broader realm, OC is like this all the time. Very much pro growth of families, housing, and so on. Maybe this is not the same as in San Antonio or Memphis or Portland.
The crash will happen in RE. The birth dearth among those recently out of college the last ten years is going to show up big time at a point when interest rates have to go up. Double whammy.
The biggest amount of prudence is among the 20-somethings at this point. So from that perspective I agree with you. They borrowed too much for college.
Might as well enjoy the ride. In four years I will afford to upgrade to an apartment exactly in Irvine. I know where I want to be situated. Closer to some nice things.
Renting apartments has been good for the most part. I met a lot of fine people along the way. Some not so fine. But the carefree living part is wonderful.
“Repaying loans is going to be painful.”
+1 Yep.
Be very careful though. The loan payoffs can be socialized, just like the housing losses by the FBs were socialized.
The renters are the underdogs and the biggest victims of the last 6 years. We pay for the losses of the buyers.
You should be far more into cash and precious metals. And if you figured easier ways to cut your AGI than get a pay cut like I did, congrats on that.
The nice thing is that Congress is mostly millionaire stock owners and they are not going to change the tax laws on folks like me and do a wealth tax. They are focusing on income taxes. So I let my income fall as it is.
Build up movable hidable wealth. I keep warning you guys. But they are going to raise income taxes and probably do some very annoying things with the 401ks.
They are going to work on bailing out the college students at our expense.
As a matter of my own survival, I have gone far beyond what I intended to do in selling off stock shares this year. It’s a lot of cash. Some of it in paper form physically. A great deal in brokerage accounts and another big chunk of cash in T-bills.
Too many grasshoppers fiddling while the government is growing and doing more damage at home and around the world, growing terrorism by Muslims, growing unrest here.
And I’m trying my best to do well in the commercial projects I’m on and hope my boss does not throw me on any defense project. I don’t want it. Defense work is as bad as ebola.
I’m going to take a big income tax hit. But with all the cash I have, it will keep me fully into my Vanguard funds and I’m not planning to sell any of them the next few years. I have years worth of living expenses and the ability to dollar cost average into stock funds for 20 years or more.
I would say that a good rule of thumb is of course 1) to be debt free. but 2) Guess what percentage of your net worth should be in physical fiat money, physical precious metals, and other movable, hidable wealth. Then add another 10%. That extra 10% is for making up for the losses you incur as you are taxed to pay for the losses in FBs - students who borrowed.
If you come up with 10% for the first number, you have to make it 20% instead.
If you come up with 20% of your net worth, you have to make it 30% instead.
“The renters are the underdogs and the biggest victims of the last 6 years. We pay for the losses of the buyers.”
Agreed. Generally speaking, any act of financial prudence will be punished.
“You should be far more into cash and precious metals. And if you figured easier ways to cut your AGI than get a pay cut like I did, congrats on that.”
If renters were an easy target for politically-motivated discrimination, wouldn’t savers in cash and PMs face a similar predicament? In both cases, an economic minority is subject to discrimination in order to win the votes of the majority victim class — Democratic party politics at its worst!
PB, unless the powers that be make a wealth tax, the only real significant tax on cash would be the inflation, which means what $10 buys today, $15 will buy in 6 years.
Cash earns so little interest that its gains are hardly taxable at all.
To tax gold, it would have to be a wealth tax. The flak-jacketed boys would have to hop off their MRAPs as they go door to door to loot every household of gold.
The electronic tax like they did in Cyprus is a real possibility. Depending on the percentage, it won’t start a revolution here. Why? Because all the spying by NSA on Americans should have started a revolution. And it didn’t.
Sunday night I had an exchange with an extreme liberal former colleague of mine. He’s very gung ho on cops. I pointed out a link that 20,000 no knock raids were made last year. I asked him how come “you liberals” used to be so much in favor of civil rights in the 70s but are so statist now? He did not reply.
At this time gold trading has begun and is now about 10% above its five year low.
Vanguard 500 index Admiral fund low was $94.17 March 1 2009 and is now at $186.42 That is 98% above its 5 year low.
The 10 year note yield was 3.03 at its peak in the last five years and is now 2.3, so those who bought at its peak yield are having a field day.
The average Phoenix house price in September 2011 was $108k and is now $165k. That is 52% above the five year low.
Here is a quiz that any fifth grader could pass. But those who are confirmed anti-gold will evade: Which asset class (gold, Phoenix real estate, the S&P 500 index fund - large blend, and ten year notes) is the most undervalued?
Timing Selfish, timing is everything. A great liquidation is coming, and you are too hormonal to keep your powder dry.
I would say that the friendship of a neighbor is the most undervalued thing in your list. Next would be the fundamental thing that you are capable of doing very well that helps other people around you. Third might be actually doing that.
That is the truth Blue Skye. It takes years of building friendships and that means you have to be a long term neighbor, not transient, which is moving every year or so. It’s the life I chose to get the big bucks and the big price is having no safety net of others in my own community.
Believe me, I started working on this 14 months ago. I am trying to maintain my Irvine area as a long term address. I know two people at my apartment complex on a first name basis. My next door neighbor is one. It’s a start. I don’t intend to move out of here the next 3 years.
I want to get involved in the Peace Keeper app and promote it as a way to help reduce reliance on the police. Very much an activist.
By the way Blue Skye, you evaded the question. I just checked and “friendship of a neighbor” was not on the original list. I did warn on that very same post about evasion. And you walked right into it!
LOL, I didn’t walk into it, I stuck a pointy stick into it. Seriously, I think the game of specuvesting is going to get quite the board wipe. All of the things you actually list are highly leveraged bets on the bloody edge of credit. Even Gold at this time. We are living in an asylum. The best position is the most aloof. Bleachers, popcorn, that sort of thing. My position is modest, but it is adequate to hedge, like yours. I think though that you don’t know what will satisfy you.
I think though that you don’t know what will satisfy you.
Does anyone?
It’s healthy to always be hopeful and discontent. It makes you stay hungry and keeps you in the game.
Well enough, but I will take doing what satisfies me today.
Report: “No-fly zone over Ferguson was aimed to keep media away”
The Federal Aviation Administration agreed to a St. Louis County Police requested no-fly zone over Ferguson, Missouri, which allowed for exemptions for police helicopters and commercial flights, but restricted the media, the Associated Press is reporting. The AP obtained recordings via the Freedom of Information Act, which revealed that the 12 day restriction of 37 square miles of airspace around Ferguson may have deliberately hampered freedom of the press.
Unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, was shot by Ferguson Police officer Darren Wilson on August 9, 2014 spurring protests, and instances of excessive force from police — including tear gas, military-style vehicles, and the harassment of journalists.
The URL:
http://www.salon.com/2014/11/02/report_no_fly_zone_over_ferguson_was_aimed_to_keep_media_away/
“Unarmed black teenager,…”
Because the Lucky Ducky future is now:
http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/10/31/15-reasons-why-americans-think-were-still-in-a-recession/
Did y’all know gold was priced at $252/oz as recently as 1999?
Gold can’t find footing after hitting 2010 lows
Published: Nov 3, 2014 2:11 a.m. ET
Surging dollar, booming equities pinch precious metals
By Shawn Langlois
Markets reporter
AFP/Getty Images
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — Gold failed to right itself on Monday, drifting lower again after getting hammered down to levels not seen since 2010 in the prior session.
At last check, gold for December delivery (GCZ4, -0.15%) lost $4.80, or 0.4%, to $1,166.80 an ounce. It was much uglier for December silver (SIZ4, -1.00%) which shed 24 cents, or 1.5%, to $15.87 an ounce.
Gold prices closed last week with a massive thud, shedding $27, or 2.3%, to finish at $1,171.60 an ounce. A surging dollar on the back of a surprise stimulus move in Japan was to blame.
Russell Browne of Scotiabank warns of a technical red flag.
“The break below expected support around 1180 is important, and shifts the focus to 1086 the midpoint of the range from the 1999 low (251.95) to the 2011 high (1921.17),” he said.
…
phony scandals