Bits Bucket for December 16, 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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Did the Grinch steal your oil glut?
Moving Targets
How the Grinch Stole the Oil Glut
Economists can find a downside to anything
By Joe Queenan
Dec. 11, 2014 12:02 p.m. ET
Until recently, the crash in oil prices was widely perceived as a Christmas present for consumers. More money for gifts, food, warm clothing, toys and, for that matter, gas. Who wouldn’t rejoice?
Economists, that’s who. Geopolitical experts. And anyone who owns stock in oil companies. No sooner did ordinary people start celebrating their cash windfall than the Grinch showed up and started lecturing them about the dark side of lower oil prices. All that glitters is not gold, the experts told the public. Always look a gift horse in the mouth. Don’t you nitwits know anything?
Here’s what the experts have to say about plummeting oil prices. Lower fuel prices will lead to a consumer spending binge and that will lead to inflation. The drop will also destabilize foreign economies, contributing to political unrest, and discourage energy companies from looking for new sources of oil. It will hamper the development of alternative forms of energy. It will encourage consumers to buy gas-guzzling trucks and SUVs. It will encourage people to drive more, wrecking our highways and costing us billions of dollars in lost productivity because of employees stuck in traffic jams on I-95 or the 405.
That’s not all. The drop in fuel prices will prod the Fed to raise interest rates, traumatizing the bond market and sabotaging retirees’ golden years. It will lead to even more crowded planes and delayed flights. It will make people even less likely to use public transportation. It will wreck the staycation industry because everyone will go back to vacationing in Antigua instead of the local Motel 6. It will help the Chinese climb out of their economic rut, and nothing that helps the Chinese can possibly be good for us. In short, we were much better off when gas was $4 a gallon.
…
Hahahahaha. The Fed is going to raise interest rates because of the inflation massively lower gas prices will cause? Hahahhahahaha.
The most expensive thing people buy, by far, is a house. Prices have shot up in the last three years thanks to the Fed and the Govt pumping it up. But a dollar less a gallon will now cause them to raise the rates?
Welcome to the 24/7 business news cycle where people need to write something, anything to meet their deadlines. Its all entertainment.
“Welcome to the 24/7 business news cycle where people need to write something, anything to meet their deadlines.”
Uh, you do understand that this article contained a wee bit of satire, right?
It wasnt joking that there are economists saying this even if the author himself isnt saying it.
Looks like ‘Mericans approve of torture. Next?
http://picpaste.com/yellow_journalism.jpg
Satire can sometimes be difficult to spot these days…the recent news stories from the ballroom of a Las Vegas casino on Mel Watt announcing a new program to grant federal govt. backed 3% down mortgages sounds like something straight out of The Onion…but it really happened that way
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/borrowers-640042-casino-mac.html
Like I’ve been saying, the wages have fallen over the last few years for many people. Young people are in debt for the student loans and don’t have the high pay to pay the loans off enough to take out a mortgage.
The house prices are way artificially high. The only way I would buy a house in my OC nabe is if my stocks triple in gains from here. And that is unlikely of course.
Even with zero interest rates the next few years there will still be houses put on the market, and maybe only the Chinese will snap them up. But not if China’s economy goes under.
The Chinese won’t bail out the red state housing market. They only like blue states. So no matter what their economy, the inner states’ housing market will certainly crater. The economy of the blue states will be negatively affected.
Got cash!
The house prices are way artificially high. The only way I would buy a house in my OC nabe is if my stocks triple in gains from here ??
Interesting…Although you are suggesting that prices are artificially high, you then acknowledge that if your stocks tripled you would buy a house in OC…In other words, if you had the resources, you would buy…
The point is few people have the resources these days unless they are Chinese
In other words, if you had the resources, you would buy…
Maybe he would be so rich that he could afford to buy an overpriced house. If I went out one morning and found a big bag of gold coins in my driveway, I might buy a new Mercedes.
Plenty of Chinese in Santa Clara. I don’t know how much money they have though ?
They look kinda stressed out..
If I absconded with piles of someone elses money and were being tailed by chinese and US LE operatives, I’d be paranoid too.
Plenty of Chinese in Santa Clara. I don’t know how much money they have though ?
Well, they are sure buying a lot of houses with someone’s money then….
HA and everybody - is there any evidence to suggest that the Chinese and US LE operatives are actually tailing and tagging these Chinese crooks who - to a man - drove up the prices with dirty money? It would be music to my ears.
Blue Skye - at the risk of being accused of cultural imperialism or worse, IMHO, 100,000 imprisoned or executed for economic crimes in China is a good start. The entire culture is corrupt, it’s genetic, you can’t change it, so keep the behavior off of our shores with swift consequences.
Has anybody noticed that the US is a magnet for expats from the most corrupt societies on the globe? Mexico. The banana republics. India. And, last but not least, China. We are rubes for them to exploit.
The culture of corruption has been analyzed and documented for over a generation. Goog “corruption index”. I’d love to see their workpapers.
Bummer China is buying up America while the USA spends trillions blowing up rocks in Iraq.
Is Irvine, CA up about 10% in 2014?
Snap out of it Lolacado.
It was the commodities/real estate/credit mania that destabilized countries. Falling prices sits them down.
Can’t have that. Must do everything possible to maintain instability.
Next thing they’ll tell us is that low oil prices cause baldness and ED … and it just might … for oil execs and investors!
Is $50/bbl the next resistance level for oil?
Futures Movers
Oil plumbs depths as OPEC refuses to blink
Published: Dec 15, 2014 3:36 p.m. ET
U.A.E. energy minister: Oil at $40 wouldn’t ‘change our minds’
This week’s Fed meeting could call the shots for oil prices.
By William Watts, Reporter, & Eric Yep
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — A modest rebound by oil futures gave way to fresh selling Monday, clearing the way for a new round of lows after the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries offered no indication it’s ready to blink and cut production.
U.S. light, sweet crude futures for delivery in January (CLF5, -2.47%) pushed modestly higher in early action, buoyed in part by port disruptions in Libya before sinking again. West Texas Intermediate crude oil, as the U.S. benchmark is known, fell $1.90, or 3.3%, to close at $55.91, the lowest finish since May 2009.
January Brent crude (LCOF5, -2.67%) on London’s ICE futures exchange was dragged lower, falling 79 cents, or 1.2%, to $61.06 a barrel.
“The bears are continuing to exploit the economic conditions that are aggressively against the oil markets at present. Despite already having dug down through various psychological support levels over recent weeks, there is still no floor in sight,” said Jameel Ahmad, chief market analyst at FXTM in London.
…
Does AlbqDan steadfastly maintain the China contraction has no effect on oil prices?
Futures Movers
Brent brushes sub-$60, as China manufacturing data crushes oil
Published: Dec 16, 2014 3:57 a.m. ET
A slowdown in China’s factory activity is taking another bite out of oil.
By Eric Yep
Crude-oil futures tumbled in Tuesday with Brent oil falling below $60 as market sentiment remained bearish and data showed a further slowdown in China’s manufacturing sector.
On the New York Mercantile Exchange, U.S. crude futures for delivery in January (CLF5, -2.93%) traded at $54.59 a barrel, down $1.3, or 2.4%, in the Globex electronic session. January Brent crude (LCOF5, -3.08%) on London’s ICE Futures exchange slid $1.54 , or 2.5%, to $59.52 a barrel. The contract has tapped $59 in early European trading hours, a level not seen since July 2009. See Monday’s action
Oil prices have now fallen around 47%-48% since their peak in June this year, their largest drop since the 2008-2009 financial crisis. The slump in oil prices is having a ripple effect across financial markets and economies, and market participants are still unsure of where prices will bottom.
China’s manufacturing sector showed a decline as HSBC’s China flash manufacturing purchasing managers’ index for December slid to a seven-month low of 49.5 compared with 50.0 in November.
…
I was assured on this blog last week that this was all going to stop at 60$ a barrell. Someone has let me down.
Unemployed people don’t do much driving. I say $35 barring any major geopolitical turmoil.
headline @ cnbc:
“housing starts, permits fall, pointing to a recovery”
Why do these folks lie so much?
Arent 17 percent interest rates in Russia geopolitical turmoil?
The oil price crashed below $60 about one day after AlbqShill posted that. It’s remarkable that he isn’t here right now try to convince us all that what he really said was that this would all stop at $50/bbl.
Oil is off by 3% already at the opening bell. At this rate it would take only a couple of more days to break bad at $50/bbl.
Oil below $50 is going to make a repeat of the early 90s economic bad times in Texas.
Start the engines of the bulldozers! Ready to tear down worthless empty houses.
Peter Schiff has it all figured out: Black Gold Loses Glitter
Kind of a long read but an interesting analysis.
how come oil was the first asset to crater? Is it harder to keep levitated?
What about copper. iron ore, concrete, coal, steel, lumber?
And gold.
crater. crater,crater, crater, crater, crater.
…. and crater.
Why is it so difficult for so many investors to come to terms with a megacrater in commodities across the board?
I’ve come to terms with it, as I have only a very limited amount at stake; since I bought it yesterday, it went up!
What’s up with the vast disconnect between China’s economy and their stock mockit?
China’s manufacturing swings to contraction: HSBC data
Published: Dec 15, 2014 8:57 p.m. ET
By Michael Kitchen
Asia editor
LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — China’s manufacturing activity appears to be contracting this month for the first time since May, according to HSBC’s preliminary or “flash” version of its monthly manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index, released Tuesday morning. The PMI’s headline number fell to a seven-month low of 49.5, down from November’s final read of 50.0, and dropping below the 50 mark that separates overall growth from contraction. The output subindex extended its fall from the previous month, though at a slower pace, but new orders swung to a decrease, even as new export orders accerlated their gain. “The manufacturing slowdown continues in December and points to a weak ending for 2014,” wrote HSBC chief China economist Hongbin Qu in comments accompanying the report. “The rising disinflationary pressures, which fundamentally reflect weak demand, warrant further monetary easing in the coming months,” Qu wrote.
…
“The rising disinflationary pressures, which fundamentally reflect weak demand, warrant further monetary easing in the coming months,” Qu wrote ??
Paging Adan…..
China’s real-estate tycoons gloomy about property market
Published: Dec 15, 2014 11:59 p.m. ET
By Laura He
Asia markets reporter
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Several Chinese real-estate tycoons have a dim view of the outlook for China’s property markets next year, according to a report Tuesday by the Beijing News newspaper. “Don’t cherish any hope about another boom for China’s property markets,” Wang Jianlin — chairman of top Chinese commercical developer Dalian Wanda Group Co. — reportedly warned recently at an annual industry meeting. “It’s unrealistic to think there will be another upsurge of property prices in the second half of 2015 following the government’s monetary-easing measures,” he said, while adding that a “collapse” of property market is also impossible, given China’s “mighty government.”
…
“collapse” of property market is also impossible, given China’s “mighty government.”
Take it from me, your “mighty government” and the commands it gives may not be all you think they are.
Throwing a few hundred billion at it here in the states hasn’t work.
The measure is demand, not price.
Why are China stocks going crazy?
Published: Dec 15, 2014 11:03 p.m. ET
By Laura He
Asia markets reporter
Reuters
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) — Where are China stocks headed? And why did they go nuts last week?
Wild volatility for Chinese equities over recent weeks has caught the attention of investors around the world, especially after the Shanghai Composite Index’s (SHCOMP, +2.31%) violent, 10-percentage-point swing on Dec. 9 to close with a heavy 5.4% loss for the day. That move followed a more than 18% advance for the index during the preceding two weeks.
…
How much poorer are you after the Great Recession than you were before it?
Americans are 40% poorer than before the recession
Published: Dec 13, 2014 8:07 a.m. ET
“I used to have more.”
By Quentin Fottrell
Personal finance reporter
The Great Recession is officially over, but Americans are still 40% poorer today than they were in 2007, the year before the global financial crisis.
The net worth of American families — the difference between the values of their assets, including homes and investments, and liabilities — fell to $81,400 in 2013, down slightly from $82,300 in 2010, but a long way off the $135,700 in 2007, according to a new report released on Friday by the nonprofit think-tank Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C.
“The Great Recession, fueled by the crises in the housing and financial markets, was universally hard on the net worth of American families,” the report found.
There is also a dramatic disparity in net worth between races. The median net worth of white households was $141,900 in 2013, down 26% since 2007. It declined by 42% to $13,700 over the same period for Hispanic households and fell by 43% to $11,000 for African-American households. One theory for the wealth gap: White households are more likely than other ethnicities to own stocks directly or indirectly through retirement accounts, the Pew report said.
…
The future belongs to Lucky Ducky
Maybe if the 0.1% get more tax cuts they’ll create some $12/hour jobs
“You work three jobs? How uniquely American” — George W. Bush
“You work three jobs? How uniquely American” — George W. Bush ?
He drove this country into a ditch…a inept President with a war crime criminal as VP….
Paging 2banana!
And Slitherin…
True dat, but Obama’s “base” of black and brown poors haven’t fared well financially under Dear Leader as noted in WAB’s article above.
Obama’s “base” of black and brown poors haven’t fared well ??
I am no Obama cheerleader…I just saw him as the alternative to Romney and under Romney the poor would hardly have faired any better…In fact, due to his 47% position, they likely would have faired much worse…
With that said, your missing my point…I submit that it does not matter if we elected Obama or Romney…Circumstances, IMO, would likely have played out relatively the same…
As far as I am concerned, what we are going through both economically & politically is a direct correlation to the 8 year Bush presidency starting with his election and then 9/11 and his response to it with Cheney’s fingers shoved up his rectum…
jeb bush is looking to make a run.he is a good dude.
Jeb, Hillary, same thing. Both crony capitalists and corporate statists through and through. I’ll write in Ron Paul, again.
Pooerer when looking at home values?
So they lost the lie of the inflated home values?
That was all fraud anyways.
Given the Fed’s debasement of the dollar, those diminished incomes have even less purchasing power. Congratulations, Obama Zombies, McCain Mutants, Romney Retards, and fellow sheep. This is what you voted for. This is what you deserve.
Labor Force Participation Rate At 37 Year Lows
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS11300000
I’ve been told this is all a red herring, it’s because the baby boomers are retiring in droves. As if we were.
Yeah I’ve heard that lie too.
The Great Recession is officially over, but Americans are still 40% poorer today than they were in 2007, the year before the global financial crisis.
That must explain the tepid Black Friday sales numbers. It doesn’t matter how good a deal is if you have no disposable income.
do u think xmas sales are going to crater again? Do you think people have enough junk in their houses to make them happy already?
Why do people buy stuff for entertainment these days?
buying a house today will be the worst financial mistake of your life, don’t do it!
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/buying-a-home-is-now-twice-as-affordable-as-renting-2014-12-11
And has been for the last 12 - 15 years!
this is the top headline on the drudge report with a link titled
‘rise of nationalism in germany sets off alarms’
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/15/dresden-police-pegida-germany-far-right
What difference does it make that a link you post here was found at drudge?
@Ben Jones, just identifying the source. The Drudge Report likes to link to articles that inflame rage against muslims and keep the war drums beating in perpetuity, so this is a bit unusual for a top headline to appear from a very liberal and anti-war source, the UK Guardian.
Hatred toward muslims needs to be scripted, to be managed. When it is conducted via drone strikes or larger military operations, that is acceptable. But when it happens on the street level, in the form of resistance to multiculturalism (the most effective tool of the globalists to destroy societies from the inside out), that is not acceptable.
Because our Sky Wizard is better than your Sky Wizard
“An ongoing Taliban-led assault Tuesday on a Pakistan military-run school has left at least 126 people dead, mostly children and teenagers in grades 1-10, officials say, in the worst attack to hit the country in years.”
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2014/12/16/taliban-pakistan-school-attack/
Don’t they both believe in the same Islamic “Sky Wizard?”
Don’t they both believe in the same Islamic “Sky Wizard?”
Bush is really to blame.
Just identifying the source? I still dont understand. Drudge is bad, but now he is linking to a good source? Drudge is whipping up hate against neonazis in germany?
Drudge is not “bad” or good, but he certainly is not a real journalist. A brief summary of the Drudge narrative:
Climate change is not real
Obama plays alot of golf
Black on white crime is underreported
Muslims are evil
Israel is for God’s chosen people
Christian Zionists in America need to send all their tax dollars and all of their sons to the Middle East to die fighting the evil muslims to make Israel safe and hasten the Rapture
Throw in some celebrity tabloid clickbait, and that is the “editorial policy” of the Drudge Report
It’s more than that. He follows tech stuff, surveillance state, watches the media, catches little nuances in politics, religion, etc. He is a bit too neoconny. But there was this a while back:
‘Matt Drudge, the founder of the Drudge Report, posted a couple of tweets yesterday on Twitter rhetorically asking why anyone would vote republican. It’s not that he thinks the democrats are any better, it is just that the division between democrat and republican has been erased, and now there is only a division between authoritarian and libertarian according to Drudge. And it certainly seems that he is right. After all, now democrats and republicans are calling for war in Syria. The libertarian aspect of the republican party, which Julian Assange recently referred to as the only useful voice in congress, seem to be the last holdouts of non-interventionist policy.’
“Why would anyone vote Republican? Please give reason. Raised taxes; marching us off to war again; approved more NSA snooping. WHO ARE THEY?!”
‘There used to be this big government versus little government competition between democrats and republicans respectively, but now each party loves big government, just sometimes in different places. They both apparently love spending money on bombs and a robust military with which to police the world. Democrats helped build a trillion dollar welfare program, and Mitt Romney thinks we should raise the minimum wage and force companies to pay their employees more, despite evidence of that ruining job opportunities for people with low skill levels. Another thing republicans and democrats can agree on is handing tons of money to farmers, banks, green energy, and oil companies in the form of subsidies, grants, and bailouts. And another common thread among republicans and democrats which Drudge hinted at, is that the majority of each party seeming to defend the NSA wiretapping and snooping.’
“It’s now Authoritarian vs. Libertarian. Since Democrats vs. Republicans has been obliterated, no real difference between parties… ”
http://blog.vigilantvote.com/2013/09/04/matt-drudge-no-real-difference-between-parties/
“We tortured some folks”
Washington Post - New poll finds majority of Americans believe torture justified after 9/11 attacks
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/new-poll-finds-majority-of-americans-believe-torture-justified-after-911-attacks/2014/12/16/f6ee1208-847c-11e4-9534-f79a23c40e6c_story.html
“They attacked us on 9/11 because they hate our freedoms”
Now go slap a magnetic ribbon on it and it’s all good bro
“Tyranny of the majority” is what ends up destroying all democracies.
If I have to say it once I have to say it a million times - WE DO NOT LIVE IN A DEMOCRACY (Greek for mob rule)…..Oh - never mind we do live by mob rule.
Scratch the WE LIVE IN A CONSTITUTIONAL REPUBLIC.
Do you mean to say that what the government doesn’t reflect what the people want? Well, that’s correct in many respects.
Washington Post - New poll finds majority of Americans believe torture justified after 9/11 attacks
MSNBC is on-board!
http://picpaste.com/yellow_journalism.jpg
Drudge links to stuff from the Guardian all the time. The Guardian also lead the Snowden leaks, and Drudge was all over that. I admire the way Drudge has wiggled into the way information is disseminated. Is there a bias? Of course. Some of that bias I disagree with. Sometimes I think that Drudge is displaying the obviousness of the media. Other times, it’s pandering. But whatever the case, one must admit they keep it interesting. I read a while back that some guy was the editor in chief at Drudge. I was blown away that they might have editors and even more than one! This suggests that more is going into what they link to than might appear. But at times, I wonder. Like the recent hyper coverage of the Sony hacks. Is it really that big a deal what George Clooney or Brad Pitt said in some emails?
Tina Brown, the oligarch editor of Vanity Fair, recently wrote a vitriolic screed against Matt Drudge and what he represented (which as caused the perceptive to desert corporate-controlled MSM propaganda outlets en masse. Drudge supporters came out in force in the “comments” section - the only part of most MSM articles worth reading - and flamed her in truly epic fashion, calling her out on the MSM’s failure to tell the truth and push the oligarchy’s agenda. It was awesome.
“Is it really that big a deal what George Clooney or Brad Pitt said in some emails?”
No, but I did enjoy the exchange between Scott Rudin and Amy Pascal, speculating on what sort of movies Obama might like to see, based on racial factors.
Some of these Hollywood “folks” are incredible hypocrites and like to lecture the masses on social issues. Of course, the public gets all titillated about the racial stuff, and yawns at the Corey Feldman/Haim underage sex trafficking.
Here’s a little gem from Pat Buchanan on nationalism:
http://www.vdare.com/articles/the-rise-of-putinism-not-just-in-russia-but-all-over
Globalists find nationalism very disturbing. They equate it with the Third Reich in order to discredit it.
The writings of Pat Buchanan are an occasionally interesting combination of sense and nonsense. This was interesting:
Not every American believes we should impose our democratist ideology on other nations.
Well, duh, it’s not really democracy if it’s imposed.
A lot of us non-globalists find nationalism in the style of Putin very disturbing too. We look at Putin and see someone who relishes and uses the power of the state to reward his cronies and attack his enemies. The power of the state, the tyranny of the majority, state control of the media, and crony capitalism are all flourishing under Putin. He’s a hero only to statists and the misguided.
“They equate it with the Third Reich in order to discredit it.”
Which is exactly what Putin does. Who does he claim to be fighting in Ukraine? Fascist neo-nazis.
Buchanan clearly gets a tingle up his leg when he discusses Putin. A leader who has independent journalists and political opponents beaten, jailed, and murdered? If only Nixon had shown the same gusto! We would have nipped those Watergate hearings in the bud! Have Woodward savagely beaten, send Bernstein to the gulag. America would still be America!
Two words for you: Snow DEN!
If Snowden were a Russian releasing Russian state secrets, what would Putin do with him? Defend his right to free speech?
Exactly - Putin took in Snowden just like we took in Solzhenitsyn.
“If Snowden were a Russian releasing Russian state secrets, what would Putin do with him? Defend his right to free speech?”
You mean like Obama defended Snowden’s right to free speech?
“Exactly - Putin took in Snowden just like we took in Solzhenitsyn.”
Yes, Ed Zachary!
BTW, Mightyodd, these posts are starting to look like “I am rubber you are glue, whatever you say bounces over me and sticks on you”
And no backsies.
I agree Snowden faced probable imprisonment here, but he would face far worse in the same situation in Russia. Putin is no friend of personal liberty. Let’s not be naive, or deceived by a tu quoque argument.
Real J, do you comprehend what you write? What do you propose to do - hug them to death in defense as they behead you or your daughter?
Get this straight. Other cultures do not think as we do, and take our magnanimity as weakness. In this, they have not lacked evidence given the quality of leadership displayed by The One.
Let me be very clear. I do not particularly LIKE being the laughingstock of the world. I do not LIKE the circumstance that my country is held in such contempt that denizens of other nations think nothing of raping, pillaging and beheading my fellow citizens on our shores, and on theirs.
I heartily wish you and yours a taste of the outcomes you advocate.
What do you propose to do - hug them to death in defense as they behead you or your daughter?
Over in AfPak they probably say things like, “What do you propose to do - hug them to death as they bomb your wedding reception?”
Jane:Let me be very clear. I do not particularly LIKE being the laughingstock of the world. I do not LIKE the circumstance that my country is held in such contempt that denizens of other nations think nothing of raping, pillaging and beheading my fellow citizens on our shores, and on theirs.
ISIS posted very provocative videos. Brutal, hideous.
But… brutal and hideous crimes occur in the US frequently. They’re just not recorded on video and slickly produced.
What do you think this incident looked like when this young woman was set on fire? Think of what it would have looked like on video. Or the serial killer of young college girls they recently caught in Charlottesville? What do you think the video of his murders looked like? Criminals commit all kinds of violent crime right here all the time. Ever seen video of a car accident? Brutal. Look on the gore sites for pictures and video crimes in progress.
My point is, we need to be careful about getting a thousand troops killed to avenge three or four people. ISIS would certainly want to lure US infantry to the region where they could be engaged in a war of attrition. Again. I’m all for slaughtering ISIS members and bringing back Jihadi John’s head. I’d prefer to do it without too much extra expense in blood and treasure.
As candidate Lyndon Johnson put it, “We are not about to send American boys nine or ten thousand miles away from home to do what Asian boys ought to be doing for themselves.” Replace Asian boys with Syrian, Iraqi, Kurdish, Iranian, and Turkish, and the statement would be applicable today (of course, LBJ did send more troops to Vietnam).
“Over in AfPak they probably say things like, “What do you propose to do - hug them to death as they bomb your wedding reception?””
That kind of moral equivalency is the type of dangerous suicidal thinking coming out of the progressive left.
#Indoctrination
“My point is, we need to be careful about getting a thousand troops killed to avenge three or four people.”
I would settle for severe immigration restrictions on psychopathic islamists. Why is that so difficult?
#ProgressivesAreWolvesInSheepsClothing
That kind of moral equivalency is the type of dangerous suicidal thinking coming out of the progressive left.
What’s your problem with the moral equivalency? Is America morally superior in such a way that makes it OK for us to slaughter innocent civilians.
I would settle for severe immigration restrictions on psychopathic islamists. Why is that so difficult?
The answer is the constitution. You can’t use religion as a test to determine who is allowed in the country.
“Hatred toward muslims needs to be scripted, to be managed.”
Islamists want to kill anyone who is not a Muslim or the right kind of Muslim.
Muslims are moving to western countries in droves and refuse to assimilate.
Muslims who immigrate to western countries create isolated communities who conspire to bring sharia law to the host countries.
Muslims are conducting the REAL war on women, children, gays and the worlds great religions.
Are western countries supposed to commit national suicide just to go please the un-pleasable satanic Muslims?
Reed or view anything by Geert Wilders to find out what European nations are facing…we’re next.
Salman Rushdie was right.
Wir Sind das Volk
Warmist Warming Tuesday
The new climate denialism: More carbon dioxide is a good thing
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/dana-milbank-the-new-climate-denialism-carbon-dioxide-is-good-for-you/2014/12/15/beaafc72-8499-11e4-b9b7-b8632ae73d25_story.html
Brawndo, it’s got what plants crave! It’s got electrolytes
I would like to comment on this but I am trying to get my “threat rating” back in the yellow.
That’s basically what they were teaching back in the ’70s, when fear of the next global cooling and the next ice-age was all the rage.
CO2 is an odorless, colorless gas, necessary for plant life and part of the carbon cycle.
The new climate denialism: More carbon dioxide is a good thing
Nothing new. IIRC, I saw this argument made in the WSJ 15-20 years ago. They also claimed that rising temperatures would be a good thing. They had a before/after drawing of a man with and without his now obsolete parka.
The original mad scientist that fabricated the whole greenhouse effect theory said it would be good for us as well. Anyone interested in the issue at all should know about him.
And so it begins. Be afraid, Amy Hoax. Be very afraid.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-12-16/housing-permits-tumble-most-january-starts-miss
crater
As I predicted…buckle in, we’re in for a bumpy ride as price discovery comes to central bank-blown asset bubbles.
http://www.businessinsider.com/us-market-update-december-16-2014-12
uncle FED had the power to keep stocks and home prices levitating dont they? Its worked for 5 years so what is going to change it?
We are on the verge of the apocalypse, ask scdave. The masters will not allow price discovery. More stimulus coming soon.
Does your “threat rating” impact your ability to buy a $500,000 starter home?
Minority Report in real life: how social media posts impact your threat rating
December 15, 2014 1:25 PM MST
Whether you’re a young, proactive blogger, a prolific Facebook poster, an occasional Twitter user or a compulsive promulgator of cat photos, someone you don’t know is watching you. Social media activities are being meticulously recorded, scanned and organized to determine your “threat level” that is then transmitted to various law enforcement agencies.
For example, your local police department is likely using numerous tools and applications that might determine how you get treated during a routine traffic stop, or in response to your neighbor’s call about loud music. One such application, Beware, has been sold to police departments since 2012. It can be accessed on any Internet-enabled device, including tablets, smartphones, laptop and desktop computers, while responders are en route to, or at the location of a call.
This app explores billions of records in social media postings, commercial and public databases for law enforcement needs, churning out “risk profiles” in real time. ‘Beware’ algorithm assigns a score and “threat rating” to a person — green, yellow or red – and sends that rating to a requesting officer. Worst of all, this information is not made available to the very person whose “threat rating” is being appraised. You have no ability to dispute being wrongly designated a high-risk potential offender.
For example, you wrote something about recent Ferguson protests on Facebook. Perhaps, you expressed dissatisfaction with police brutality. Maybe you complained about the CIA’s torture tactics, demanded President Obama’s impeachment or criticized the government in general. You could have shared a petition for the preservation of gun rights, or bought a holster online. You could also be mistaken for another person with a criminal record or a history of radical Internet postings. It could mean the difference between waltzing off with a warning, or being subjected to a brutal takedown at gun point. It could turn a simple knock at the door into a full-blown SWAT raid.
http://www.examiner.com/…eport-real-life-how-social-media-posts-impact-your-threat-rating - 129k -
The only reason I use Facebook is because it’s required to have a Tinder profile
Cops scan social media to help assess your ‘threat rating’
By Brent Skorup
December 12, 2014
One such application is Beware, sold to police departments since 2012 by a private company,
Yet it does far more — scanning the residents’ online comments, social media and recent purchases for warning signs. Commercial, criminal and social media information, including, as Intrado vice president Steve Reed said in an interview with urgentcomm.com, “any comments that could be construed as offensive,” all contribute to the threat score.
blogs.reuters.com/…/ - 75k -
Comment by phony scandals
2014-12-16 07:35:25
Cops scan social media to help assess your ‘threat rating’
blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2014/12/12/police-data-mining-looks-through-social-media-assigns-you-a-threat-level/
My color definitely is red. But I would guess that goes for the 1.3 million Facebook members who “like” Cop Block on Facebook.
And you need to have a Tinder profile (whatever that is) because??
My sis says the only reason she uses FB is so she can communicate with other Schipperke dog owners.
Are you like 80 years old?
Tinder is a mobile phone sex hookup app for heteros (Grindr is the app for gay men, Downlow Joe can tell you all about that)
“Are you like 80 years old?”
I am not.
But some days I feel like it which evidently could turn out to be a problem.
Real vs perceived age: A matter of life and death
By LINDSEY TANNER
AP Medical WriterDecember 15, 2014
CHICAGO — How old do you feel? Think carefully — the answer might help predict how much longer you’ll live. That’s according to British research posing that question to about 6,500 adults. Those who felt younger than their real age lived the longest over the following eight years.
Older-feeling adults were about 40 percent more likely to die than younger-feeling adults.
Read more here: http://www.sunherald.com/2014/12/15/5970702_real-vs-perceived-age-a-matter.html?rh=1#storylink=cpy
Older-feeling adults were about 40 percent more likely to die than younger-feeling adults.
Better get them setup with a Tinder profile and a stash of ED pills.
It would be interesting to do a study like on Americans. I read somewhere that 70% think that they look younger than their age.
“I read somewhere that 70% think that they look younger than their age.”
If you include those in Obama’s executive amnesty I think we are headed to 95%
Adult Illegal Immigrants Posing as Children To Enroll in High School
A Massachusetts city‘s packed school system is being forced to accept illegal-alien adults.
By Ryan Lovelace
July 11, 2014 12:39 PM
Adult illegal immigrants posing as unaccompanied alien children appear to be attempting to enroll at public high schools, city officials in Lynn, Mass., tell National Review Online.
“Some of them have had gray hair and they’re telling you that they’re 17 years old and they have no documentation,” Jamie Cerulli, the Lynn mayor’s chief of staff, tells NRO. “If my children went to the public schools, I’d be very uncomfortable with all of these unaccompanied minors [that] are placed in the ninth grade.”
NRO has obtained Department of Health and Human Services documents and images of two unaccompanied aliens living in Lynn that appear to challenge the notion that the age information listed for these “children” on their documents is accurate.
http://www.nationalreview.com/…mmigrants-posing-children-enroll-high-school-ryan-lovelace - 233k -
Comment by phony scandals
2014-12-16 10:44:23
Adult Illegal Immigrants Posing as Children To Enroll in High School
nationalreview.com/article/382483/adult-illegal-immigrants-posing-children-enroll-high-school-ryan-lovelace
You’re only as old as the women you feel.
Does anyone know any cops that actually use this in the real world? Id be interested in hearing their views, but I suspect it isnt really out for mass consumption by patrol cops. More likely for larger investigations where there is time to gather info.
Comment by phony scandals
2014-12-16 07:06:10
Minority Report in real life: how social media posts impact your threat rating
examiner.com/article/minority-report-real-life-how-social-media-posts-impact-your-threat-rating
How are you guys doing Tarara?
Good, thank you so much.
Everybody keeps thinking, watch out for the dog, door’s open, he hasn’t eaten yet - then you remember. I hate to sound dopey, but I’ve been putting his stuff away gradually; I’ll take it all up to the shelter soon. I have to stay away from adoptable puppies for a while, though
I feel a little guilty about my relief in some pressure being off (I take care of my dear old ma, who’s pretty sick.) The two patients together were tough. You don’t realize how much it was getting you down until the stress is gone.
Having it done at home was a great comfort. He had a car ride, a steak - it was a good day.
Didn’t know about your Mom, I’m glad some of the pressure is off.
As far as Rascal, if I get to be with my loved ones and get a car ride and a steak on my last day here, I would call it a good day too.
Absolutely
Having it done at home was a great comfort. He had a car ride, a steak - it was a good day.
My big boy is on a special diet because of allergies. Much as I hate to think about it, I know he’s gettting a big bowl of ice cream on his last day. His sweet tooth has been neglected for too long.
That would be wonderful.
We had that on the menu, but got distracted straightening up and then the vet arrived. It was kind of weird how fast the day seemed to go and the actual euthanasia was only minutes. Later that night, my daughter said “I forgot the ice cream” - more bawling. But it was fine the way it was; he was calm and happy.
Thank you all again.
Obamao on vacation AGAIN !!
When do these a$$holes work?
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2557407/
To be honest, I doubt presidents get a “day off”, it’s not like world events stop happening on weekends or holidays. At best it would be a reduced schedule.
Sure, he might be staying at a posh, private resort in Hawaii, but I suspect that he will “work” those days.
Now if we could truly get them to not “work”, we might get something done.
How many roles of toilet paper / dollar? Is a role of tp worth more than a rouble?
congress 105 days
teachers 183 days
everyone else 250
stocks are up bear pit. Things are gonna be ok today.
Can’t lose with forever stamps, baby!
roubles look like a great investment here.
Came within half a percentage point of buying shares in the GDX ETF today. Was interesting to watch.
I would like some UPS below $100
Been trying to decide what to do with my 401K. Want to get out of stocks, and into cash equivalents of some kind. But my choices seem to be:
- Index funds
- Funds holding primarily US Treasuries or Government/Corporate bonds.
-”Managed” portfolios, holding primarily……….index funds.
The financial industry is built on crap. I am but a simple caveman, and am having problems applying logic to sayings like “diversifying your portfolio to reduce risk”, when all diversification does is increase your exposure to under the radar garbage.
sometimes return of principal is better than return or principal. I really think you have to recognize bubbles and position yourself accordingly. Its ok to sit on the sidelines for awhile.
How can mom and pop take advantage of the low oil prices into the future? Outside of stockpiling fuel how can somebody lock in todays prices for a long time?
I am in the same boat. getting CD rates is not exciting, but I am “do not lose” mode so out of stocks.
“I am more concerned with the return of my money than the return on my money.” - Will Rogers
Currency is a logical construct, but it is durable, and the oldest of the constructs. Value is real. It existed in barter economies. Currency came along and allowed different products to be measured by their value, with currency. Currency is a store of value. If the Fed is successful in sparking an inflation, politicians will lose their jobs. And politicians sell out their constituents and the country to keep their jobs. And the Fed is absolutely political. “There really is no reason other than political pressure for the Fed to take us from bubble to bubble by cutting interest rates to near zero and flooding the market with liquidity.” — Raghuram Rajan, former University of Chicago finance professor and current head of the Indian central bank.
85 people control as much wealth as 3.5 billion people, per that Oxfam report recently. They make the financial weather. They have inside information. You can try and figure out where they - the wealthy - are going to put their money and do that. Executives are paid in stocks. On the other hand - a stock and a dollar will get you a cup of coffee. A stock has no value to the average person other than how much someone will pay for it in the future. On the other hand, the market’s gone up 50% in the past 3 years. Bubbly? Manipulated? Probably. And trade execution times. The body of the retail investor is the lubricant for the big boys. They execute in milliseconds, but it takes a lot longer for Joe Sixpack.
YMMV.
don’t toke and drive, lolz
http://www.businessinsider.com/get-ready-for-the-pot-alyzer-2014-12
how many roubles would it take to buy a shack in san fran?
>how many roubles would it take to buy a shack in san fran?
If you have to ask you can’t afford it. –JPM
There are good cops and bad cops
Victoria police officer tasing driver, 76 - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hm9jUpeqCLw - 181k - Cached - Similar pages
1 day ago
The median price climbed to $412,000, up 7% from November 2013 in so cal per Ben’s post.
So?
The oil coup: what’s behind the tanking oil market. This may not end well.
http://www.counterpunch.org/2014/12/16/the-oil-coup/
Still waiting for Chevron stock price to break below $70
The thin ice:
‘There’s ‘no question’ that for energy companies with a riskier debt profile the high-yield debt market “is essentially shut down at this stage,” and there are signs that further pain could hit the sector, ” senior fixed-income strategist at U.S. Bank Wealth Management, Dan Heckman told Marketwatch. “We are getting to the point that it is becoming very concerning.” (Marketwatch)’
“The danger of stimulus-induced bubbles is starting to play out in the market for energy-company debt….Since early 2010, energy producers have raised $550 billion of new bonds and loans as the Federal Reserve held borrowing costs near zero, according to Deutsche Bank AG. With oil prices plunging, investors are questioning the ability of some issuers to meet their debt obligations…’
‘The Fed’s decision to keep benchmark interest rates at record lows for six years has encouraged investors to funnel cash into speculative-grade securities to generate returns, raising concern that risks were being overlooked. A report from Moody’s Investors Service this week found that investor protections in corporate debt are at an all-time low, while average yields on junk bonds were recently lower than what investment-grade companies were paying before the credit crisis.” (Fed Bubble Bursts in $550 Billion of Energy Debt: Credit Markets, Bloomberg)’
The oil coup: what’s behind the tanking oil market.
“The US-Saudi oil price manipulation is aimed at destabilizing several strong opponents of US globalist policies. Targets include Iran and Syria, both allies of Russia in opposing a US sole Superpower. The principal target, however, is Putin’s Russia, the single greatest threat today to that Superpower hegemony.”
This is an excellent article. Thanks!
“Finance/insurance/real estate, as a sector, is by far the largest source of campaign contributions — $435.9 million in the 2014 cycle.”
http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2014/12/wall-streets-omnibus-triumph-and-others/
Federal judge finds Obama amnesty order is unconstitutional
Ruling doesn’t immediately overturn policy
by Stephen Dinan | Washington Times | December 16, 2014
A federal judge has found parts of President Obama’s new deportation amnesty to be unconstitutional, issuing a scathing memo Tuesday accusing him of usurping Congress’s power to make laws, and dismantling most of the White House’s legal reasoning for circumventing Congress.
Judge Arthur J. Schwab, sitting in the western district of Pennsylvania, said presidents do have powers to use discretion in deciding how to enforce the law, but said Mr. Obama’s new policy goes well beyond that, setting up a full system for granting legal protections to broad groups of individuals. He said Mr. Obama writing laws — a power that’s reserved for Congress, not the president.
“President Obama’s unilateral legislative action violates the separation of powers provided for in the United States Constitution as well as the Take Care Clause, and therefore is unconstitutional,” Judge Schwab wrote.
The judge also said the policy allows illegal immigrants “to obtain substantive rights.”
SHOCKING PROOF
SHOCKING PROOF: Federal Reserve Reinflating Real Estate Bubble – Mike Maloney
Read more at http://investmentwatchblog.com/shocking-proof-federal-reserve-reinflating-real-estate-bubble-mike-maloney/#DdgUTaRBXsp0Ouif.99
What’s so shocking about it? The Fed inflates asset bubbles for the benefit of the .1%. Been doing it since 1913, just stepped up its game since Greenspan.
This is silly
The Engineered Fall of the Russian Ruble
Financial elite are trying to destroy Russia and foment a color revolution
Kurt Nimmo
Prison Planet.com
December 16, 2014
Saudi Arabia, the most influential member of OPEC, and the United States are working together to destroy the Russian economy and destabilize the country.
Despite the best efforts of the Russian central bank, the ruble is experiencing a dramatic fall. “We are seeing an economic crisis,” Natalia V. Akindinova, a professor at the Higher School of Economics, told the New York Times on Tuesday. “We are seeing a sharp devaluation of the ruble at a time when the central bank doesn’t have the reserves to influence the market, as it did in the past crises.”
“Russia’s economy is terribly dependent on oil: if the oil price falls so low, severe economic recession is inevitable and default becomes a real possibility,” writes Frances Coppola for Forbes.
The Russian Central bank figured it could ride out the storm created by falling oil prices, but its efforts have proven insufficient.
“Responding to recent oil price falls, it floated the ruble and allowed it to fall in line with the oil price, intervening only to smooth out sharp price fluctuations. It hiked interest rates to counter domestic inflation despite the weakness of the Russian economy, due (in part) to Western sanctions,” Coppola explains.
The ruble crisis prompted currency brokers to dump the ruble, further escalating the situation.
http://www.prisonplanet.com/the-engineered-fall-of-the-russian-ruble.html - 69k -
We’ve got some great links to falling prices lined up for tomorrow on the HBB.
See you bright and early!