Bits Bucket for July 24, 2015
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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Region VIII
What is Donald Trump up to today? I wonder if anyone will post a link to a Trump story?
I don’t beleive the engineered polls I’m seeing showing him taking large amounts of votes from the R’s but none from Hillary.
Given the profound stupidity of Hillary voters, it’s conceivable that they will blindly vote for her no matter what, just like they blindly voted for “hope ‘n change” long after it became clear that Obama was Bush Lite.
Are you saying the R voters are smarter?
Marginally so. I think most Rs are low information voters who blindly vote R because they think, correctly, that the Ds are pure evil. What they don’t realize is that the Ds and Rs have become indistinguishable, with both parties hijacked by the Oligopoly. While most Ds are congenitally stupid and hence have no choice but to continue doing stupid things, i.e. voting for the corrupt Republicrat duopoly that is screwing them blind, most of the Rs may be mouth-breathers, but many have at least a latent spark of long-unused intellect that can, under the right circumstances, be revived. Does that answer your question?
R&D voters are lined up for a freebie. They’ve all got empty pockets and cheerlead for more empty pockets. In their feeble minds, they figure everyone should have empty pockets just because they do.
Most Rs are willfully ignorant, while most Ds are completely devoid of anything resembling reasoning or logic skills. That’s the primary difference. But the thing they have in common is the willingness, nay, eagerness, of 95% of them to bend over and grab their ankles for the Oligopoly by voting for the likes of Obama, McCain, Romney, and HillaryJeb.
…all the while shrieking how the ‘other’ team is evil.
They’re both right.
Here’s what I see: On economic and foreign policy issues, both major parties are identical.
Where they differ significantly is on certain hot-button political issues. Big differences exist on gun rights, gay rights and the power of the church (”Gods, guns, gays”).
On other hot button political issues, the rhetoric is equally heated but any changes would be incremental at best, even if the party controlled all three branches of government. Examples are abortion and illegal immigration.
Don’t worry about Hillary. Obama and Jarrett do NOT want her to be the Dem nominee. The story you posted below is the warning shot across the bow for her.
Obama is playing with her, kind of like a cat playing with a mouse or lizard, sort of batting her around gently at first, letting her move around a little bit, batting some more, etc. before the big pounce. Provided, of course, she doesn’t scurry away first. This will be interesting.
For a preview, check out what’s happening with Robert Menendez, the Senator from New Jersey. He crossed Obama on Cuba and Iran. He’s getting his payback now.
One way or another, Hillary will withdraw. Either on her own volition (though heavily encouraged by Obama’s team) or by having her hand forced through legal actions, scandal or whatever.
Palmy - you might like this one…..right in Hitlery’s back yard….
Comin to a town near you - All Regions prepare…..I would consider this the Fascist headline of the day…..
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/421432/how-you-can-stop-obamazone-stanley-kurtz?target=author&tid=1841
Thanks for the heads up. I’m afraid I alienated my Representative. Called his office and told his staffer that he was guilty of treason for voting for fast track.
Frankly, just dispense with HUD. Get rid of it.
I’d expect an MRAP to show up at your house any minute now.
I think the media likes Hillary, not the people.
Bernie 2016!! Time for a new party!
Bernie’s old.
So was Reagan.
Yeah, What does “O” stand for in GOP?
Progressives need to be young and hip, dude.
Pantsuit? Really??
Again, the youngsters don’t vote much.
Again, the youngsters don’t vote much.
Which is why Rand, who wants to kill SS, has a snowball’s chance in hell of winning.
RP says: During my time in the Senate, I have worked on proposals that would fix the shortfalls in the Social Security program through a gradual increase in the age of full retirement and by means testing yearly earnings, while preserving those benefits for near and current retirees. These changes would only apply to younger Americans who have time to plan for the future.
As President, I will remain committed to fixing the Social Security program, while preserving the system for seniors who have planned their lives around the program and implementing reforms to save the program for younger generations.
Republican voters are misinformed. They believe their party will bring the smaller gov and less spending even thought history and the facts show the opposite. They are too stubborn and lazy to investigate and educate themselves. I too voted for Reagan, but then I saw what he did as opposed to what he said he would do. Now I am a Libertarian and an ex-pat on a beach once I retire.
“…while preserving the system for seniors who have planned their lives around the program…”
Oh yeah, fritter away now ’cause the man will carry me.
Here’s what I found interesting:
‘After his visit to the border, Trump stopped briefly to speak to a few dozen plainclothes Border Patrol agents and others in local law enforcement. He got a raucous reception, especially when he said that he would give agents more leeway to do their jobs if elected. He declined to elaborate on what that might mean.’
‘Luis Villegas, a 28-year-old Border Patrol agent who said he has been on the force for eight years, cheered Trump loudly. He said he has never been politically active but has been galvanized by the mogul’s stance on immigration. “I believe in what he’s throwing out there,” Villegas said.’
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/donald-trump-makes-a-texas-size-splash-with-visit-to-mexican-border/2015/07/23/277670c8-316b-11e5-8353-1215475949f4_story.html
I lived on the Texas/Mexico border. Mexican Americans don’t like illegal immigration. Who loses jobs, who sees a strain on social services more? It’s a strange but accepted form of racism that thinks one would condone a destructive and illegal activity just because of skin color.
All ethnic groups and alienages and races and nationalities must vote exactly the same based on skin color!
Forget about being judged based on the content of your character.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.”
–Quote by a racist Uncle Tom
“It’s a strange but accepted form of racism that thinks one would condone a destructive and illegal activity just because of skin color.”
Exactly. This is the aspect of this whole amnesty/illegal immigration clusterfark that I just don’t get. All that blather about the “Hispanic” vote. Since when is “Hispanic” a race? From what I’ve seen, “Hispanics” include people of all races, from black to native Indian to white to mixed. And why would “Hispanics” in general want to be conflated with those of the criminal element? I don’t think they do, but that’s the perception that has developed.
I grew up in the Northeast. We didn’t have many Mexicans, but
we had many Cubans, Puerto Ricans and a smattering of families from Latin American countries such as Colombia and Venezuela. I had a number of classmates who were “Hispanic”, since I went to Catholic school. We called them Spanish, because of the language, not their color or where they were from. They didn’t mind. Mostly everyone got along, because the parents of many of the kids spoke a different language at home, mainly Italian or Spanish or German. Once in a while a couple of the boys would scuffle on the playground because one called the other a wop or a spic or a heinie, but the next day they’d be back to being friends again.
In the end, we were all Americans, back in the day. Now, not so much, and I really don’t get this seeming eagerness to be offended by objections to illegal activity on the part of a certain group of people from a particular ethnic group.
PS: I always get a kick out of hearing that twang coming out of the mouth of a Mexican American from Texas. Used to work with a guy from Texas whose family hailed from Mexico a few generations back. He had the twang and dressed like an ad from the old Brooks Brothers, except for the cowboy boots, but had Meso-American features. Even so, he could have easily navigated any of the Northeast preppie cliques if he’d wanted to, which he didn’t. He considered himself a Texan all the way.
In the end, we were all Americans, back in the day. Now, not so much, and I really don’t get this seeming eagerness to be offended by objections to illegal activity on the part of a certain group of people from a particular ethnic group.
That Palmy is the definition of balkanization.
Enjoy your day.
The term heinie was used to refer to German-Americans when you were a kid? Are you 100 years old?
The term heinie was used to refer to German-Americans when you were a kid?
Yes.
Are you 100 years old?
No.
#BlackCriminalLivesMatter is far more honest
Trivia:
The were “concentration camps” for American citizens of German decent in WWI
And there were “concentration camps” for American citizens of German and Italians decent in WWII. Just like the Japanese but on a smaller scale.
This is the more interesting section of you mini-rant:
All that blather about the “Hispanic” vote. Since when is “Hispanic” a race? From what I’ve seen, “Hispanics” include people of all races, from black to native Indian to white to mixed. And why would “Hispanics” in general want to be conflated with those of the criminal element? I don’t think they do, but that’s the perception that has developed.
The term doesn’t refer to a race, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t make sense to refer to the Hispanic vote, just like people refer to the Catholic vote. The term is often mistakenly used as if it there was a Hispanic race because most Hispanic Americans consider themselves to be neither black nor white.
Also, the fact that people that you called Spanish many, many years are now called Hispanic doesn’t represent a new phenomenon. People of British ancestry weren’t called WASPs back in 1776. The term came along much later.
ICE Director Sarah Saldana says NO enforcement until amnesty is passed, and even then:
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/07/21/obamas-ice-director-no-immigration-enforcement-until-amnesty-is-passed/
and there you have it. Hispanics want to be conflated with this? Well, there it is. A government official acting out in public the worst characteristics of Latin style third world corruption. In essence, she just asked for a bribe. And threatened “Or Else”.
ICE Director Sarah Saldana says NO enforcement until amnesty is passed
Hope and change.
Ignore the laws you don’t like
Make up laws you wished you had
And tell the American people “it is for the children”
Your man Reagan invented amnesty so it must be good. Let’s do it again.
‘I always get a kick out of hearing that twang coming out of the mouth of a Mexican American from Texas.’
I have an Asian client with a really pronounced TX twang, it kills me every time.
There’s something really endearing about that twang, I dunno why. Texans in general are extraordinarily gracious and decent, at least that’s been my experience. Also impervious to insult, they seem to just let it roll off their backs and just hold their head up. There’s a generosity of spirit that I don’t see as much from citizens of other states. It’s like a state apart from the rest of the country.
I misspoke when I said Saldana asked for a bribe. I think she actually demanded one.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I believe this form of racism is uniquely Democrat, one of my major points of difference with that political party.
Since you asked for a Trump story…
Donald Trump’s Bizarro World: How the Billionaire Blowhard Is Duping America
Article correctly points out how useless polls this early in the election. At this point in the 2008 election Rudy “noun-verb-911″ Giuliani had a commanding lead.
‘Giuliani had a commanding lead’
That’s a good point. Who can forget the various “front-runners” the GOP had in the last rodeo.
I’ve certainly forgotten. All I can remember is Romney, the candidate of manufactured consent.
Its way too early to even worry about this. Late 2003 Howard Dean had a lock on the 2004 Democrat nomination, remember that?
brother_jimmy:: Late 2003 Howard Dean had a lock on the 2004 Democrat nomination, remember that?
That was a really fascinating. The MSM decided, almost on a dime, that Dean could not win, and thus immediately turned on him. A display of how closely the MSM works as a herd. And what was Dean’s officially recognized sin? An overly exuberant cheer.
The MSM doesn’t work as a herd. The MSM are the oligopoly’s media border collies, moving the herd in the desired direction, i.e. onto the incorporated globalist plantation to be fleeced at will. When 95% of your electorate are brain-dead, getting them to do what you want them to do, i.e. vote for “hope ‘n change Goldman Sachs can believe in” isn’t very difficult. Stupid, docile herd creatures are easily manipulated.
SJW headline of the day for Goon - a local resident of the People’s
Republic of Denver - a formerly conservative and friendly town…now not so much…..
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/421534/police-social-justice-denver
Which is why families live in the burbs, while the Fedora wearing hipsters step over winos while yammering about how they can walk everywhere and don’t need a car, even though they have one, or even two or more.
And Colorado - the hipsters will be arriving in a nabe near you if Otrauma has his way……Fascism at its best.
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/421389/attention-americas-suburbs-you-have-just-been-annexed-stanley-kurtz
I thought hipsters didn’t want to live in the suburbs.
As for Obama’s alleged forced housing integration, how will my nabe be overrun with riff-raff if there are few if any rentals? Will the Obama housing police show up at my door and force me at gunpoint to move out and rent my house to someone with a section 8 voucher?
There are rentals available in my town, but they mostly tend to be in older, shabbier nabes, and from what I’ve observed there are plenty of minorities already living there.
In Boulder we usually put our cruiser bikes on top of our shiny new 4Runner’s or in the back or our Tacoma’s with all sorts of carbon shaming and co-existing bumper stickers.
What part of Boulder do you live in?
Coal Rollers Unite!!!! Need to go roll some coal - right Goon!!!?
I couch serf brah. True grit hipsters don’t have a *home*. Who needs the hasslehoff - let someone other sucker mow the lawn and fix the plumbin’.
In Boulder we usually put our cruiser bikes on top of our shiny new 4Runner’s or in the back or our Tacoma’s with all sorts of carbon shaming and co-existing bumper stickers.
I think you meant on top of your Prius, or if you’re really into roughing it, your Subaru Forrester
I’ve seen the hiker chicks drivin’ Outbacks. It’s usually the day job/weekend hiker chicks that drive the Prius. Those cars don’t look cool pulling a raft with a cooler in the center.
Are commodities done absorbing the latest news out of Cjina?
Doesn’t look like it. The sharp downturn in demand for commodities in China belies the government’s “All is well” meme. And it looks like the massive sell-offs in copper, iron ore, and gold in China is ongoing, to cover margin calls and raise liquidity. Since warehouses full of copper and iron ore were used as collateral on loans, the rapidly diminishing value of that collateral has got to be making some Chinese bankers nervous, especially in the unregulated shadow banking sector.
Got popcorn?
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-24/end-supercycle-commodity-capitulation-arrives
I see opportunity….
http://wolfstreet.com/2015/07/24/distressed-investing-does-well-when-everyone-else-gets-hammered/
Back to 2003 prices…
Blood in the streets…
Time to dip some toes in the water.
Maybe. But won’t the commodities carnage get predictably worse as the 7% GDP growth facade gives way to economic reality?
I still remember the pain of a youthful mistake I made to buy Japanese stocks in the early-1990s, right at the onset of two decades of price declines with no recovery, ever.
International China
China’s slowdown pushes commodity prices to new lows
by Geoffrey Smith
July 24, 2015, 6:33 AM EDT
Metals prices in particular are tanking as the long-held belief in limitless Chinese demand evaporates.
Fresh evidence of the slowdown in China’s industrial sector is pushing the prices of gold and other commodities to new multi-year lows Friday.
Gold has slumped another 1.1% to a new five-year low of just over $1.080 a troy ounce, while prices for copper hit a six-year low below $2.36 a pound. Nickel and aluminum, two other base metals that also historically serve as good indicators of demand from global industry, also came close to new six-year lows, as traders increasingly lose faith in the main factor that has supported prices for the last decade–supposedly limitless demand from China.
The news is bad news for the global economy in general, as Chinese demand for raw materials has been a major prop to emerging markets for the last 20 years. Countries from Chile and Angola to Australia and New Zealand have come to depend on Chinese demand for their natural resources, and all are seeing their economies falter and their currencies fall as the biggest engine of global growth struggles. The International Monetary Fund earlier this month revised down its forecast for global growth this year to 3.3% from 3.5% (although that was mainly due to a weak first half in the U.S. rather than to Chinese factors).
…
Asian Stocks Fall Amid Commodities Rout, China Factory Slump
by Jonathan Burgos
July 23, 2015 — 5:15 PM PDT
Updated on July 24, 2015 — 1:28 AM PDT
Asian stocks fell, with the regional benchmark index heading for a one-week low, as a slump in commodities and the fall of China’s factory gauge to a 15-month low heightened concern global economic growth is slowing.
Mitsubishi Corp., Japan’s biggest trading house that gets about 43 percent of revenue from energy and metals, slipped 2.9 percent in Tokyo. Newcrest Mining Ltd., Australia’s largest gold producer, sank 4.8 percent in Sydney as the bullion dropped. Komatsu Ltd. slid 1.6 percent after U.S. rival Caterpillar Inc. cut its sales forecast. Daelim Industrial Co. slumped 12 percent in Seoul after the South Korean construction company posted operating profit that missed analyst estimates.
The MSCI Asia Pacific Index lost 0.8 percent to 142.51 as of 4:13 p.m. in Hong Kong. The gauge is set for a 1.5 percent decline this week as concern over supply gluts sent gold to industrial metals and oil tumbling. Adding to commodity investors’ pain is the resurgent dollar, with focus shifting to next week’s Federal Reserve policy meeting amid buoyant economic data. U.S. stocks fell for a third day as earnings from 3M Co. and Caterpillar disappointed.
“With the U.S. dollar likely to keep rising as the Fed prepares to raise rates, there’s still some sort of weakness to come in the commodity space,” Angus Gluskie, managing director at White Funds Management Pty in Sydney, who oversees $550 million, said by phone. “The earnings outlook in the U.S. is also somewhat subdued as a result of the strong U.S. dollar. We’re not likely to see a massive rally in the next few months.”
China PMI
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index of mainland equities traded in Hong Kong dropped 1.3 percent, extending declines for a sixth week, while the city’s benchmark Hang Seng Index fell 1.1 percent. The Shanghai Composite Index lost 1.3 percent. The preliminary Purchasing Managers’ Index from Caixin Media and Markit Economics was at 48.2 for July, down from 49.4 the previous month. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey was for an increase to 49.7.
“The PMI data was rather poor and surprised most analysts,” said Gerry Alfonso, a sales trader at Shenwan Hongyuan Group Co. in Shanghai. “If that trend continues over the next few months then it would reasonable to assume that the economy was in a weaker shape than many analysts forecasted.”
…
Markets Commodities
Global Growth Worries Pummel Commodities
‘Confluence of negative factors’ creates doubt; gold, copper and silver are at lowest in years
Miners position detonators in the rock walls of the digging face to prepare for the extraction of copper ore in a Lubin, Poland, mine in March 2015.
Photo: Bartek Sadowski/Bloomberg News
By Tatyana Shumsky and Ira Iosebashvili
July 24, 2015 8:10 p.m. ET
Investors are bailing on commodities amid mounting worries about the pace of global growth.
New data showing China’s factory activity hit a 15-month low and a leaked Federal Reserve memo betraying concerns about how fast the U.S. is growing added to concerns Friday and accelerated the selloff of commodities—from oil to gold to copper.
Money managers reduced bets on higher oil prices to their lowest level in 2½ years, while ramping up bets on lower copper prices to their most bearish in two years, according to weekly data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Money managers also turned net-bearish on gold futures and options this past week for the first time ever in data going back to 2006.
“There is a confluence of negative factors that have created a cloud of uncertainty and doubt,” said Michael Turek, head of base metals at BGC Partners. “Investors are thinking that commodities are not the place to be.”
On Friday, copper and silver, both used in electronics, sank to six-year lows. Gold fell to a five-year low, and U.S. oil prices pushed further below $50 a barrel. The S&P GSCI, an index tracking a broad basket of commodities, fell to 3866, the lowest since January.
…
“The downdraft in commodities reflects wider concerns at a time when supplies of many raw materials exceed demand. China is the world’s largest consumer of industrial metals, while the U.S. leads global crude-oil demand.”
Yep, consumer demand is down.
Some animals are more equal than other animals (1984, George Orwell)
http://www.businessinsider.com/federal-officials-want-a-criminal-investigation-into-hillary-clintons-state-department-emails-2015-7
What’s the point in spending the money looking into that? It’s sure to be a whitewash with Zero chance of uncovering the truth. Seriously, why bother?
Because that’s what Obama/Jarrett want. It will metastasize. You’ll know for sure if Lynch takes it up.
I think that would be a good indicator, but I just don’t see it happening. Without their D - Hillary they are way too weak. There have been plenty of chances to sink her before now and avoid all the wasted donor money being sucked up. No, they are not going to sink her, they’ll hold their noses and pull the D lever, just like they have always done.
You might be right. In the back of my mind all this inevitability seems a bit ahead of itself. She’s only won a single election. She lost last time. And people don’t like her. She’s not Bill; she campaigns like she’s bored or put out by having to mingle with the little people. Yet we constantly hear, “oh she’s a shoe-in.”
You’re assuming Obama/Jarrett are loyal dems. I don’t make that assumption. It’s about what Obama and Jarrett want. And if they want Hillary out, she goes. And they’ll eject her with great alacrity.
Obama is warming up for his next act, which is SecGen of UN. His warning to England about leaving the EU is interesting.
His warning to England about leaving the EU is interesting.
England is not a member of the EU
Yet we constantly hear, “oh she’s a shoe-in.”
Polls consistently show about 20% of women voters are locked into voting for Hillary no matter what she does. That may be a bigger unshakeable bloc than Obama’s 89% black voter bloc. Obama wasn’t very popular, had low approval ratings but he coasted to a landslide electoral college reelection over Romney. Clinton may have the same mathematical advantage but with a different bloc of voters.
“England is not a member of the EU”
Really? Well, it’s a member of the UK, and someone forgot to tell Obama and the BBC.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-33647154
Well, I guess it is how you look at it.
Ireland and the United Kingdom also do not participate in the Schengen Agreement, which eliminates internal EU border checks. Denmark has an opt out from the Common Security and Defence Policy; Denmark, Ireland and the UK have an opt-out on police and justice matters and Poland and the UK have an opt out from the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
And the UK does not use the Euro.
So basically the UK is in the EU except they have their own currency, enforce their borders and ignore all police/bureaucrat nonsense from Brussels…
We use to call that a trade agreement…
“She’s only won a single election”
NY was a very expensive “win”.
America is now the overflow tank for every Third World cesspool. Thank you, Republicrat duopoly.
http://news.yahoo.com/time-leave-honduras-many-youths-answer-easy-103001824.html
I lived in Honduras for year.
Beautiful country with friendly and hard working people.
Also
Massive corruption and very high crime rates.
And an interesting tidbit. The Honduran military runs the elections in the country and are not allowed to vote.
A good research paper for someone - Roatan (the Honduran island off the North Coast of Honduras) actually functions pretty well. Crime and corruption can be managed effectively.
Despite massive government intervention to levitate the Ponzi, the Shanghai Composite closed a curious shade of green today.
http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/index/shcomp?countrycode=cn&mod=MW_story_quote
Since AlbqDan seems to be missing in action, I will fill in for him:
“But the Shanghai Composite was up on the week. So obviously the 40 different flavors of government stock price support are working as planned.”
That Shanghai Composite is still up ~ 25% YTD, but it doesn’t matter.
Here’s another sign China’s economy is slowing fast
While the National Bureau of Statistics reported that China’s economy grew by 7.0% in the year to June, beating expectations, another alternative growth indicator is not expanding anywhere near as quickly – electricity consumption.
The People’s Daily, citing a release by the China Electricity Council, reports that power consumption across China slowed to just 1.3% in the year to June, the slowest expansion recorded in the past 30 years.
The paper reports that 19 provinces recorded consumption rates above the 1.3% national average, while 9 recorded an overall year-on-year contraction.
Electricity consumption in secondary industry decreased by 0.5%, the first contraction recorded in five years, while that for heavy industry decreased by 0.9%. Perhaps reflective of China’s push into services, a sector that requires significantly less power consumption, power use across light industries increased by 2.1%.
Whatever the reason, the slowdown in power consumption will do little to deter the large swathes of China data sceptics.
http://www.businessinsider.com.au/this-alternative-growth-indicator-suggests-chinas-economy-is-slowing-fast-2015-7
It has occurred to me why Obama doesn’t understand the US Constitution….it’s written in cursive.
———————
Obama admits US gun laws are his ‘biggest frustration’
BBC News | 24 July 2015
President Barack Obama has admitted that his failure to pass “common sense gun safety laws” in the US is the greatest frustration of his presidency.
In an interview with the BBC, Mr Obama said it was “distressing” not to have made progress on the issue “even in the face of repeated mass killings”.
He vowed to keep trying…
No stroke of the pen solution to make 300 million plus guns in the hands of the citizenry go poof. Of course there are such solutions for separating people hopped up on psychotropic meds and guns, but disarming those very very few who misuse their guns is not the goal here.
It’s for the children….
We just want real background checks, is that too much to ask?
It is too much to ask. The Kneejerk Rifle Assn says any background check or gun regulation is a slippery slope towards total gun prohibition and confiscation. Domino theory.
No gun reg. Just stay out of movie theatres, public schools and military bases and you should be fine.
And Walmarts, shopping centers, churches, libraries, all non secure workplaces and well …any place with public access. Maybe we should install metal detectors everywhere.
“Amazon … shop from the safety of your home.”
I’m not defending the NRA (I don’t like extremists in any direction), but I find the following couple of things interesting:
1. From the NRA website:
“An article appearing today on NBCNews.com is falsely reporting that NRA will not oppose legislation being negotiated in the U.S. Senate that would mandate background checks for all gun purchasers.
The story posted on NBCNews.com alleges that NRA will not oppose expanding the background check system to include all private firearm sales, “provided the legislation does not require private gun sellers to maintain records of the checks”. This statement is completely untrue. The NRA opposes criminalizing private firearms transfers between law-abiding individuals, and therefore opposes an expansion of the background check system.
The NRA supports meaningful efforts to address the problems of violent crime and mass violence in America, through swift and certain prosecution of violent criminals; securing our schools; and fixing our broken mental health system.”
And
2. Reportedly from congressional testimony:
“Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., then said, “I understand, back in 1999, you said no loopholes anywhere for anyone. But now you do not support background checks for all buyers of firearms?”
LaPierre responded: “I think the National Instant Check System, the way it’s working now, is a failure. Because this administration is not prosecuting the people that they catch. Twenty-three states are not even putting the mental records of those adjudicated mentally incompetent into the system. Now, assume that if you don’t prosecute, and they try to buy a gun, even if you catch them, and you let them walk away, to assume they’re not going to get a gun — they’re criminals, they’re homicidal maniacs, and they’re mentally ill. I mean, we all know that homicidal maniacs, criminals and the insane … don’t abide by the law.”
The NRA’s website on March 12, 2013, posted its firm stance against expanding background checks.”
The March 12, 2013 posting was my #1 above.
It sounds like there is at least some common ground:
I think that MOST of the population would agree that people with psychological problems should not have access to guns. Can we throw 100% of our efforts behind that narrowly defined issue? Fix the mental health system, and find ways to keep more psychologically impaired people from getting guns
?
We can leave the fight relating to outlawing certain kinds of guns for later.
Nobody cares Rental_Fraud.
US tech companies report big trouble in China, despite official data claiming strong growth in the middle kingdom.
The official data has growth ticking along at 7 per cent per annum. While that’s at the low end of what Beijing wants, it was still welcomed by articles like this one, in state-owned organ Xinhua, explaining “The economy, which is in a ‘new normal’ stage of slower but steadier growth, is showing signs of bottoming out.”
Pundits in other industries are having none of it, noting that falls in prices for commodities like iron ore and coal have a lot to do with Chinese demand falling hard.
Technology companies look to be suffering, too, because this week’s earnings reports contain horror stories a-plenty from China.
IBM says its sales dipped by 25 per cent in China last quarter. Apple recorded sales of US$13,230 million in Q3, down 21 per cent from Q2’s $16,823 million (but more than double its Q3 2014 result). By way of contrast, revenues in North America and Europe dipped by five and 15 per cent for the quarter, respectively, so even with seasonal adjustment the dip was deep.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/07/23/chinese_it_spend_goes_over_a_cliff/
The evil of the democrat party is coming to video.
Too hard to ignore.
Dissection of babies to sell their organs for profit.
And people wonder what made a German turn into a good German. Just look at how the democrat party FUNDS and DEFENDS this.
Oh - and the people buying the baby parts? They want more and more black baby parts…
Al and Jesse are confused and don’t know who to shake down yet…
—————
The next footage may be a baby’s dissection, Planned Parenthood’s lawyer admits
LifeSiteNews | 7/22/15 | Ben Johnson
Planned Parenthood’s legal counsel has responded to a Congressional investigation by hinting that future undercover footage may include the dissection and harvesting of an aborted baby.
The doctor caught discussing organ sales over wine and salad will also not be made available for testimony as requested, the letter, addressed by Planned Parenthood’s Senior Counsel for Law and Policy, Roger K. Evans, to the House Energy and Commerce Committee, adds.
“We also believe that in at least one interaction at a Planned Parenthood facility, the Biomax representative asked questions about the racial characteristics of tissue donated to researchers studying sickle cell anemia, apparently seeking to create a misleading impression” that Planned Parenthood targets African-Americans for abortion.
“The House committee did not ask Planned Parenthood to make Nucatola available if they felt like it,” Susan Michelle Tyrell wrote. “It requested she be available, period.”
People who willfully turn a blind eye to evil and sustain the sleazy, corrupt status quo with their votes are just as guilty as the actual wrongdoers themselves, since they’ve given their explicit sanction to the fraud, larceny, and criminality. Hence my contempt for the Obama Zombies, McCain Mutants, and Romney Retards, not to mention the HillaryJeb Horrors.
It is one thing to turn a blind eye to evil.
It is quite another thing to DEFEND and FUND evil.
And then we have the democrats who want PROSECUTE the people who made the video.
And historians wonder where the people, in one of the most progressive and culturally advanced countries in the history of the world. came from who ran the Nazi death camps.
————–
Democratic Members of Congress Want the Group Behind Planned Parenthood Videos Investigated
Daily Signal | 7/23/15 | Kate Scanlon
On Wednesday, four members of Congress sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch and California Attorney General Kamala Harris requesting that they launch an investigation into the Center for Medical Progress.
In a joint statement about the letter, Reps. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., Zoe Lofgren, D-Calif., Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., and Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., say the “elaborate scheme” merits investigation.
“We are writing to request that you investigate whether any laws were broken by individuals who participated in an elaborate, multi-year scheme to impersonate corporate officials from a fake biologics company, secretly filmed video of a Planned Parenthood physician in California, and make public portions of the video without her consent,” the members wrote in the letter.
There have been buckets of baby body parts since the late 70s at least. A very very close friend of mine witnessed it first hand when she worked in a hospital in DC. It was what caused this normally very pro feminist person to be anti abortion. Buckets and buckets.
What what the do?
The Americans, when they liberated the Nazi death camps, made the local Germans walk through the death camps so that they could not say “I did not know.” Then the American made the local Germans clean up the death camps and bury the dead.
And then Eisenhower ordered the massive documentation and filming of the death camps so the world would never forget the evil.
Perhaps we need to do the same with liberals and progressives.
There have been buckets of baby body parts since the late 70s at least. A very very close friend of mine witnessed it first hand when she worked in a hospital in DC. It was what caused this normally very pro feminist person to be anti abortion. Buckets and buckets.
Most Ds and Rs can witness first hands the consequences of voting for the Republicrat duopoly, but they lack the intelligence to see the link between their vote and the corrupt status quo. If voting was left to the enlightened 5% who voted for Ron Paul and the stoopids conveniently found something else to do on election day, i.e. entertain themselves with rubber bands or paper clips, we would have a much better, more accountable political class.
“And then Eisenhower ordered the massive documentation and filming of the death camps so the world would never forget the evil.”
Actually it was Henry Morgenthau’s orders.
April 4, 1945
The Ohrdruf camp was a subcamp of the Buchenwald concentration camp, and the first Nazi camp liberated by US troops.
The 4th Armored Division and the 89th Infantry of the Third US Army liberated Ohrdruf on April 4, 1945. After visiting Ohrdruf a week later, General Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered careful documentation of the atrocities perpetrated in the Nazi concentration camps, so that no one in the future could deny that they had committed these atrocities. The discovery of the Ohrdruf camp opened the eyes of many US soldiers to the horrors perpetrated by the Nazis during the Holocaust.
http://www.ushmm.org/learn/timeline-of-events/1942-1945/liberation-of-ohrdruf
I would have thought you’d be thrilled at the idea of fewer welfare recipients getting born.
Funny how the same pro lifers who don’t like abortions have no problem with the occasional innocent man getting executed for a crime he didn’t commit, or thousands of soldiers being killed in a war we were lied into. It’s hard to pass yourself off as morally superior when you change your morality to suit your politics.
I would have thought you’d be thrilled at the idea of fewer welfare recipients getting born.
That is because you are a real racist who judges and condemns people - even in the womb.
You would have been a good German.
I have a problem innocent man getting executed for a crime he didn’t commit.
I also have a problem with thousands of soldiers being killed in a war we were lied into.
The Iraq Resolution or the Iraq War Resolution (formally the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002,[1] Pub.L. 107–243, 116 Stat. 1498, enacted October 16, 2002, H.J.Res. 114) is a joint resolution passed by the United States Congress in October 2002 as Public Law No: 107-243, authorizing military action against Iraq.[2]
58% of Democratic senators (29 of 50) voted for the resolution. Those voting for the resolution are:
Lincoln (D-AR)
Feinstein (D-CA)
Dodd (D-CT)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Biden (D-DE)
Carper (D-DE)
Nelson (D-FL)
Cleland (D-GA)
Miller (D-GA)
Bayh (D-IN)
Harkin (D-IA)
Breaux (D-LA)
Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
Kerry (D-MA)
Carnahan (D-MO)
Baucus (D-MT)
Nelson (D-NE)
Reid (D-NV)
Torricelli (D-NJ)
Clinton (D-NY)
Schumer (D-NY)
Edwards (D-NC)
Dorgan (D-ND)
Hollings (D-SC)
Daschle (D-SD)
Johnson (D-SD)
Cantwell (D-WA)
Rockefeller (D-WV)
Kohl (D-WI)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_Resolution
You would think.
But they like forcing their moral judgements on other people more.
Typical Republican hypocricy.
Use the government to force women to have unwanted kids, then force these women to raise the kids with zero help from the government.
And pray tell, what percentage of Republicans voted for the resolution?
!00% ?
But they like forcing their moral judgements on other people more.
Only to a liberal would murder be a moral judgement.
Hey - is theft is a moral judgement? How about fraud? How about rape?
Just what part of the Law is NOT a moral judgement?
-fixr’s Theory on Pro-life people
They were the ugly kids in school who weren’t getting laid, or are old and haven’t been laid in years, or were raised by religious fanatics. The thought of unmarried people having sex, with no apparant punishment from God gets their panties twisted.
Not willing to leave judgement of people to God, they try to pass laws to “punish” people here on Earth.
It’s just a theory.
As a guy who was/is all of the above, (who hasn’t been laid since 2005), I can kinda understand why they are cranky.
And pray tell, what percentage of Republicans voted for the resolution?
NONE (except for RINO Senator Graham) that are running for president.
UNLIKE the LEADING DEMOCRAT running for president.
BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
fixr’s Theory on Pro-life people
And I will just ignore the good people selling dissected babies for profit…
And I will just ignore that abortions in America are legal to 1 second before birth. For any reason whats-so-ever…
And I will just ignore that certain ethnic groups abort almost 50% of their babies.
And I will just ignore that an abortion is murder.
And I could care less that taxpayer money fund this.
Because if I were to believe in anything else my friends might think I was religious and my feelings would be hurt.
And we can’t have that.
And I will just ignore that an abortion is murder.
This the key point. But if you want to make that point, you have make the argument that killing a fetus or an embryo is morally equivalent to killing you or me. There’s an argument, but it requires more than just stating that abortion is murder.
You are adept at using good liberal talking points, however distorted they are.
“Use the government to force women to have unwanted kids, then force these women to raise the kids with zero help from the government.”
The conservative viewpoint is that the government should not use tax money (i.e.other people’s money) to support abortion. How does that force anyone to have an abortion or stop them. BTW who is forcing these women to have kids? Does the term “personal responsibility” have any meaning at all with you?
This the key point. But if you want to make that point, you have make the argument that killing a fetus or an embryo is morally equivalent to killing you or me. There’s an argument, but it requires more than just stating that abortion is murder.
Go Google a so called legal and vigorously defended (by democrats) “late term abortion” video
Watch it. In fact, watch it with your kids.
After you are done vomiting up your lunch and the wiping the tears from your eyes…
Go ahead and explain (to your kids) that:
1. This a a God given Constitutional Right
2. That this is CORNERSTONE issue of the democrat party to be defended at ALL COSTS
3. And what you just watched was not a murder
So you can’t make an argument with words. Why do so many conservative types reference YouTube videos? The other day I posted something that debunk the story that Hitler confiscated guns from the German people. Raymond responded with a link to video having to with the Katyn Forest, Josef Stalin and Bill Ayers. What’s going on?
“The conservative viewpoint is that the government should not use tax money (i.e. other people’s money) to support abortion.”
But it’s okay to use other people’s money to pay for a war they don’t support, right?
Taking the lives of others for profit…I am pretty sure it is not because anyone belongs to a particular political party.
I am prolife although I do not fit Fxr’s stereotype. I admit that I considering abandoning this philosophy when my kids were in their early teens.
I think 2 banana should put his money where his mouth is, and adopt a few of these unwanted babies. And to be consistent, make sure you don’t take any tax deductions, or get any free government cheese for doing so.
You are always saying you are against the government forcing people to do stuff, but yet you don’t mind passing enforcing laws to force women to carry unwanted babies.
If my daughter is raped by one of the illegal that Trump talks about, Republicans don’t get a vote on whether she has to carry a rape baby to term. That’s up to her.
Frankly, I wouldn’t. Seems to me that mandating rapists babies is rewarding the FSA. And who wants a reminder of the worst moment of your life staring you in the face every day.
“I think 2 banana should put his money where his mouth is, and adopt a few of these unwanted babies. And to be consistent, make sure you don’t take any tax deductions, or get any free government cheese for doing so.”
And just to make it interesting, the babies must be of sub-Saharan ancestry.
what what the do?
Cook em up, spice em up maybe make a stew?
That plays well with the Mill crowd. I ended my final poem last night with “What what the do”. Got a big applause. Expect to start hearing this more at local bean’ries and tatoo studios.
STAHP! Youse guys are KILLIN’ me with the what what the do. I dunno why, but it gives me fits of the giggles.
Conservative take on the sanctity of live:
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/louisiana-theater-shooting-gunman-john-houser-was-drifter-intent-escaping
The evil of democrats on display.
———————
Hillary Clinton Defends Planned Parenthood as Corporations Flee Abortion Provide
Gateway Pundit | 07/24/15 | Kristinn Taylor
Leading Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton embraced Planned Parenthood on Thursday, defending the nation’s largest abortion provider during a campaign speech in Greenville, South Carolina, and later in a statement from that speech posted to Twitter. Planned Parenthood has been under fire recently after videos were released showing its officials glibly discussing trafficking in body parts of aborted babies.
“Representatives from Coca-Cola, Ford Motor Co. and Xerox say they’ve asked Planned Parenthood to remove their names as corporate donors to the embattled organization.
“The move follows a Daily Signal report revealing the names of 41 companies that Planned Parenthood listed as donors. That list, which was featured on Planned Parenthood’s website, has since been removed.”
Are falling home prices in the Hamptons a leading indicator that the Wall Street-Federal Reserve looting spree is just about played out?
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-real-estate-in-the-hamptons-says-about-the-economy-2015-07-24
What about falling housing prices in the Seattle area? Prices are down 11% and falling.
http://www.zillow.com/seattle-wa-98121/home-values/
I like the 5lb bags of roasted peanuts from Costco.
And falling prices in CA too.
Alameda, CA Housing Prices Fall 8%
http://www.movoto.com/alameda-ca/market-trends/
Interesting. Hamptons, and also Greenwich, Connecticut.
CT is having some problems, it seems. This governor Malloy is a favorite of the FSA there and loathed by productive people.
Did home sales just plunge? Say it isn’t so….
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-24/there-goes-housing-recovery-again-new-home-sales-plunge-most-2014
Congrats to Amazon and Bezos for their blowout quarter, +20% revenues, for actually turning a profit, stock price up +20%. AMZN now worth more than Walmart. Now I gotta buy more stuff to make sure I get my money’s worth out of our Prime membership.
How d’ya like Prime? We signed up for the trial and then canceled. Mainly interested in the movie service, which kinda stank. Went with Netflix instead.
How d’ya like Prime?
We like it for shopping, not movies. It takes some careful shopping to get the most out of it and in some cases Amazon’s prices are significantly lower than the local stores. The free 2-day shipping is most attractive because driving to the shopping centers costs more in time and gasoline than you think. Plus you can’t beat the massive inventory both real and thru 3rd party partners.
The plus for me (Prime) is that if I need to buy something I don’t have to hop into my car and visit multiple stores to compare items and prices. I can compare online and if Amazon is competitive I buy it from them and it arrives in two days at my door.
+1, I get at least 3-4 boxes a month. I just got a new LED lantern, rope and some new headphones this week. Last week was pepper grinder and scissors. Random stuff, but so easy…
I built an entire home brewery off AMZN!
What kind of setup do you have?
A Dell XPS X8700 i5-4460 with 12gb DDR3
nasdaq plunges and gives up all amazon gains. That didn’t last long, lol.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-24/nasdaq-plunges-red-gives-all-amzn-gains
AMZN is still up about +15% today. If you had bought AMZN just five months ago you’d be sitting on an 80% gain right now.
‘If you had bought AMZN just five months ago…’
Where’s my time machine?
Amazon will deliver one two days before you order it.
If a frog had wings, it wouldn’t bump it’s azz every time it hops.
Ben:
Has this fascist tidbit been on your radar in recent months?
Everyday there is yet another assault on our nation by the grifter in the WH…..Lord have mercy.
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/421389/attention-americas-suburbs-you-have-just-been-annexed-stanley-kurtz
Should you buy a house?
http://www.acting-man.com/?p=38829
The best point in the article:
“Say you live in the middle of the country, in Kane County Illinois. For the privilege of living there, you pay 3% in property taxes. That is like adding 3% to a mortgage that never gets paid down. Your property would have to appreciate 3% per year just to break even. By the way, “appreciation” is unheard of in Kane County, good times or bad. There are many Kane Counties in the US. Real estate in these counties should be named something else and should not be co-mingled with other housing statistics. Employment is continuing to trend away from these areas. What is going to happen to real estate in these markets?”
It’s the kind of basic math that most people don’t do.
Public Union goon pensions WILL BE paid.
Public goon unions are the top political donor of ALL TIME.
Public goon unions support democrats nearly 100%
Chicago and Illinois have been run almost solely by democrats for the past 50 years.
And
It is for the children.
chighetto will go BK
for the pension goons
That’s pretty simplistic analysis. It would still make sense to compare house prices to rents. If we assume that house prices will fall because jobs are moving away, then might mean that house prices in San Francisco should be expected to rise for the foreseeable future.
Even if the jobs aren’t going away, it doesn’t make a difference if wages are stagnant. The only variables are the cost of money and the bubble mentality, both of which can change based on outside events.
Agree, waaay too simplistic. If the fundamentals make sense, i.e. affordability, cost vs. rent, if you don’t plan to move for at least 5 years, if you are buying for the right reason (to live in the house, NOT as an investment) AND you are not buying into a bubble buying can make sense….all of this was the case when I bought in 1997 and it worked out well for the 10 years I owned my house. Also mortgage interest and property tax can be deducted from your income on your tax return so that offsets some of the expense. That being said no way I would buy anything now where I live in California, but it could make sense in a non bubble area in another state….
I enjoyed owning my own place and even working on it, miss using my tools, making sawdust, etc…hope to own again after Bubble 2.0 pops but am renting happily in the meantime.
As it happens I sold in early 2007 thanks in part to the HBB and walked away with $200K cash tax free but if I’d just broke even the decade of ownership would have been worthwhile to me.
“if you are buying for the right reason (to live in the house, NOT as an investment)”
Some people like the living in a house experience (not me, can’t stand yard work or repairs), but from a financial viewpoint, for every one who sold at the right time, and didn’t re-purchase, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of others who are still underwater, and trapped in a house they can’t sell.
Dman:
I lived in said Kane Co, IL until 3 years ago - wife and I sold the house at a loss - we held the paper on it - bought it new and lost 20% of our money - gone - part of the problem was the property tax as this has affected the monthly outlay of cash for even those able to qualify for a mortgatge. Kane Co. is utterly bankrupt in this arena. In many areas the infrastructure was all installed at essentially the same time - schools, roads, utilities etc within a 10 to 15 year window - not to say fire depts. police, administrators and God only knows what other layers of govt. were instituted. - the expense of doing this was astronomical. Anyway - our house - about 4200 s.f (two level with partial finished basement walkout) on a 60 x 150 lot - nice nabe, ok schools, HOA etc. taxes - wait for it - $19,200 a YEAR!!!
After numerous trips to the assessors office even in the midst of the downturn the assessor told me in no uncertain terms that there will be no revision on the value of your house (they pin tax to market value of home) because ‘we need the money’. That’s it - they need the money to pay for all the stuff they put in all at once that in essence is not used to full capacity.
Bottom line - we moved - never looked back.
That sounds pretty bad. I wonder how the guy who wrote the article picked Kane, IL as an example? It doesn’t sound typical of most Midwestern small towns.
Kane County is a large govt entity west of Chicago in the Fox Valley - mostly whites, browns in Elgin with a mix of blacks etc. in Aurora, IL. The deal is little industry - lots of houses - a bedroom atmosphere - that is the reason taxes are high. DuPage Co. next to Kane also has high prop taxes - latest I heard is recent assesments have increased up to 10% of existing value. for many that is another 1200 bucks a year and some. Living here is punitive if you own a home - that is why the wife and I sold - we just could not justify paying these really high taxes. If my memory serves me right ILLANNOY is next to NJ for the highest property taxes in the US.
now i see your motivation. bummer.
Holy sheet $19200! That is more than my annual rent!
“Anyway - our house - about 4200 s.f (two level with partial finished basement walkout) on a 60 x 150 lot - nice nabe, ok schools, HOA etc. taxes - wait for it - $19,200 a YEAR!!!”
Wow, $1,600.00/month for taxes!
“Should you buy a house?”
Is it priced less than production cost($55/sq ft)?
Only bigger and bigger government with more and more regulations and higher and higher taxes can stop global warming (or cooling)
——————-
Mammoths killed by abrupt climate change
http://phys.org | July 23, 2015 | University of Adelaide
Using advances in analysing ancient DNA, radiocarbon dating and other geologic records an international team led by researchers from the University of Adelaide and the University of New South Wales (Australia) have revealed that short, rapid warming events, known as interstadials, recorded during the last ice age or Pleistocene (60,000-12,000 years ago) coincided with major extinction events even before the appearance of man.
Published today in Science, the researchers say by contrast, extreme cold periods, such as the last glacial maximum, do not appear to correspond with these extinctions.
“This abrupt warming had a profound impact on climate that caused marked shifts in global rainfall and vegetation patterns,” said University of Adelaide lead author and Director of the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA, Professor Alan Cooper.
“Even without the presence of humans we saw mass extinctions. When you add the modern addition of human pressures and fragmenting of the environment to the rapid changes brought by global warming, it raises serious concerns about the future of our environment.”
The researchers came to their conclusions after detecting a pattern, 10 years ago, in ancient DNA studies suggesting the rapid disappearance of large species. At first the researchers thought these were related to intense cold snaps.
Reagan tried the bigger gov thing and tripled the deficit, but I don’t see the benefit.
Rand Paul 2016!
Another trillion dollar war and tax cut for the Koch Brothers will bring back the mammoths.
Marketwatch dot com
Futures Movers
Oil on track for more than 5% weekly drop
By Myra P. Saefong, Eric Yep , and Georgi Kantchev
Published: July 24, 2015 11:17 a.m. ET
WTI oil in bear market as U.S. supplies continue to build
U.S. prices wandered into a bear market territory Friday, on the heels of a continuing glut of crude supplies, expectations of more from Iran and worries about demand from China.
Oil futures are off more than 20% since their highs above $61 a barrel in June, fitting the bill for a bear market. Oil had rallied earlier this year on expectations that cuts in drilling activity and investment will rebalance the market, but fell back in recent weeks as the global oversupply of crude showed little signs of receding.
…
I guess I’m going to have to fill in for ADan today:
If Obama hadn’t weakened the dollar to punish Putin then something something blah blah blah (continue on for twelve more paragraphs).
Good job!
way OT
why if gopro booming when you can get a 720p w all the same sht form china in a packet delivered for $30
1080p for $50
?? por que es?
to impress your Facebook “friends.”
How could it be off topic if at the top it says present off topic ideas here?
Sum Ting Wong.
World Trade has back to back quarterly contraction.
That just means that China is responsible for 500% of world growth.
Collusion between the Fed and Wall Street?! I am shocked, shocked! to discover such activity is occuring in our financial establishment.
http://www.businessinsider.com/fed-staff-economic-projections-leak-2015-7
Mitsubishi closing auto manufacturing plant in Normal ILLANNOY…..
Nuf said.
http://www.pjstar.com/article/20150724/NEWS/150729568
Now that the Japanese government has weakened the Yen back to 1980’s levels, it’s probably cheaper for Mitsubishi to ship from Japan than to make it’s cars here.
Or they moved it to Mexico
Honda and Mazda moved some cars to Mexico.
http://www.autonews.com/article/20141027/RETAIL03/310279956/un-honda-like-problems-plague-new-plant-in-mexico
I like my cars built by Japanese robots like the CX-5.
The quality is crap compared to the Japanese-built cars.
Ford is talking about assembling the Focus in Mexico instead of down the road from me. It’s probably just because contract negotiations are coming up. I would buy another Focus if it was made here, but not in Mexico. I wouldn’t buy a car made in California either. The west coast work ethic leaves something to be desired. Even Toyota fled the state at the first opportunity.
Confession: I rubbed one out last night.
Just think of all of the children I murdered.
Mail all proceeds to 2Banana - he will see to it that all little squigglies go to heaven.
Maybe he just doesn’t like buckets and buckets of bloody baby body parts. Chopping up babies is awful.
Bahahahahahahahahahahahaha …
How Academia Resembles A Drug Gang
“Academic systems rely on the existence of a supply of “outsiders” ready to forgo wages and employment security in exchange for the prospect of uncertain security, prestige, freedom and reasonably high salaries that tenured positions entail.’
And a lot of these “outsider” fools get to believe to one day be contenders due to big gobs of BORROWED MONEY which they are expected to somehow PAY BACK!
“Drawing on data from the US, Germany and the UK, Alexandre Afonso looks at how the academic job market is structured in many respects like a drug gang, with an expanding mass of outsiders and a shrinking core of insiders.’
Bahahahahaha … which means there are lot of educated fools being churned out but a there are a limited number of slots in which to place them.
Bahahahahaha … debt slaves! There is no limit to the number of debt slaves being churned out!
Academia will churn ‘em and academia will burn ‘em. The Machine grinds on.
Bahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2013/12/11/how-
academia-resembles-a-drug-gang/
“Daddy, I just got my Masters degree but I can’t get a job which means I can’t pay back my student loans.”
“Don’t fret little one. What you need to do is borrow some more money and go after your Phd.”
“Oh, thank you Daddy. You have all the answers. You are so smart.”
Presto, a debt slave is produced.
(Psssssst Daddy, you supply the sperm, I’ll supply the ball and chain.)
Bahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
For you pukes that are slow to get it …
“So what you have is an increasing number of PhD graduates arriving every year into the market hoping to secure a permanent position as a professor and enjoying freedom and – reasonably – high salaries, a bit like the rank-and-file drug dealer hoping to become a drug lord. To achieve that, they are ready to forgo the income and security that they could have in other areas of employment by accepting insecure working conditions in the hope of securing jobs that are not expanding at the same rate. Because of the increasing inflow of potential outsiders ready to accept this kind of working conditions, this allows insiders to outsource a number of their tasks onto them, especially teaching, in a context where there are increasing pressures for research and publishing. The result is that the core is shrinking, the periphery is expanding, and the core is increasingly dependent on the periphery. In many countries, universities rely to an increasing extent on an “industrial reserve army” of academics working on casual contracts because of this system of incentives.”
This phenomenon has been an issue for at least 10 years now. From your excerpts, this guy isn’t saying much new. It sounds as if he’s comparing professors to drug dealers to get attention for a paper that otherwise wouldn’t get much. Is it really the case that the “rank-and-file drug dealer” “forgo[es] the income and security that they could have in other areas of employment?” I doubt it. Besides that, drug dealing is a dangerous profession. Dealers can get killed doing their jobs. That’s not a factor in the academic job market.
Oh, and what is this? Why, it is a comment …
“Nazla April 23, 2014 at 6:52 am -
“I can’t help but comment. I went out on the market while I was a JRF at Oxford. My PhD is from a private elite US uni-Duke. I went on both UK and US markets. Being from the US, and an ‘outsider’ to the UK system, it took me a while to figure out what the REF was.
“The article is accurate about starting salaries. try living on $1,900-$2,200 in NYC or Boston or D.C.. that’s the equivalent in GBP for the Russell Group London schools KCL, UCL. compare that with the US where R1 salaries are around 4-5 k a month, this is public data, so not a secret-except for the’salary compression’ schools (also check the turnover, high turnover means non competitive salaries),. True about teaching. compare the hours. US R1 loads except for the elite privates are 2-2 at 34 weeks approx, X6=204 hours teaching not counting office hours. UK system 2 ‘terms’ teaching at 11 X2=22 weeks. 1-1 or 2-1 load. 1 hour per class. that is 44-66 hours teaching and some schools don’t require office hours. that would beg the question of whether we’re paid more b/c of the higher teaching, but no. As for the research, as I said in the UK no matter what they say quantity over quality. Please, if you count International Studies Review, and Millennium as receiving a 4 same as AJPS/JOP/APSR simply b/c so and so publishes in it, then there is something wrong here. In short, I agree with the poster above. the JRFs were there to provide the time to publish but some require publications to begin with-Nuffield Prize Research Fellowships for one. I had a different one and because my alma mater did not prioritize getting students to publish, I,like my peers graduated with zero, and with zero experience publishing, and zero in the pipeline. I had 2 pubs , both solo and one high impact, the other mid tier by the time I went on the market. Being three years out, I did not qualify for early career and could not get the REF ‘downgrade’ -so in a nutshell, though the Master of our College at Oxford described the REF as a ‘successful form of social engineering’ it artificially distorts the market toward seniors, creates incentives to ‘import Fulls and Assocs from US schools’, and maybe worse, privileges the graduate students and Fellows who have mentors with whom they published at least 4 pieces, losing potential to the US.”
For the money that is being spent you would think we could at least get crisis actors that could shed actual tears.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-t8PngHgWY - 149k -
Buncha white privileged racists obviously on their way to a Confederate flag rally.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ns0cuKlHk50 - 371k -
While the perma bears chortle, this happens
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-24/us-mint-sells-most-physical-gold-two-years-same-day-gold-price-hits-five-year-low
“according to the US mint, so far in July the mint has sold a whopping 143,000 ounces of physical gold - the most in over two years, or since April of 2013 - even as the price of gold briefly slid to the lowest level in 5 years.”
Obama slums and crime moving to the suburbs. Guaranteed.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-24/attention-americas-suburbs-you-have-just-been-annexed
Q
phony scandals