Bits Bucket for July 25, 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.
About Me
Name:Ben Jones
Location:Northern Arizona, United States
To donate by mail, or to otherwise contact this blogger, please send emails to: thehousingbubble@gmail.com
PayPal is a secure online payment method which accepts ALL major credit cards.
Links
-
April 2024 M T W T F S S « Sep 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
Photo Submission: hbbphotos@gmail.com
View the HBB Photo Gallery *updated 4/13/2008
What happened to commodities demand?
Marketwatch dot com
Commodities Corner
It’s a bad-news bear market for crude oil
By Myra P. Saefong
Published: July 24, 2015 3:25 p.m.
Analysts aren’t optimistic about oil’s outlook
Everett Collection
It’s the “Bad News Bears” for oil futures, which are getting turned on their ear.
Oil is getting mauled. A fresh plunge in prices for West Texas Intermediate has given way to a bona fide bear market this week, and some analysts don’t think the battered commodity will be quick to rebound.
Crude-oil futures (CLU5, -0.99%) settled Thursday at $48.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, their lowest settlement since March 31. Based on that, prices were down more than 20% from their $61.43 settlement high in June—meeting the criteria for a “bear market.”
Prices fell further on Friday to end at $48.14, for a weekly loss of more than 5%. They’re down roughly 55% from their peak of nearly $107 in June of last year and have lost about 27% from the $66.15 low in November, which at the time was the lowest settlement in 5 years as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries stood pat on its production ceiling.
“The simple story is high production levels around the globe,” said John Macaluso, an analyst at Tyche Capital Advisors. “We are in uncharted territories with inventories building at this time of year.”
“Anemic changes in U.S. production have proved that companies have more sustainability than many imagined at these low prices,” he said.
Production in the contiguous 48 states for the week ended July 17 was unchanged from the week before. It’s just about one million barrels above the year-ago level, government data show.
Ken Crawford, portfolio manager at Argent Capital Management, citing comments from his colleague Kirk McDonald, said that exploration and production companies at a conference this week in Denver talked about how they had lowered finding and development costs, in part due to success in nontraditional drilling techniques, such as hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling.
Following the conference, McDonald said that he believes those so-called E&Ps were more likely to grow from here, rather than shrink.
“This puts further pressure on the market,” said Crawford. “If North American E&Ps are getting back into production growth, that means supply estimates have to rise.”
And that “certainly makes it more difficult for the price to climb from here,” he said.
There is also the prospect of more oil on the world market coming from Iran, following the nuclear deal with the West.
“While Iran’s oil may take time to come to market, the addition of Iranian crude cannot help an oversupplied market,” said Crawford.
Macaluso, as well said that any rally in crude should be “sold into barring any major supply disruptions that could provide fear premium into the market.”
…
Why does gas still cost over $4 at the pump?
Short answer: Cuz we live in CA.
(Longer answer possible after coffee…)
BTW, I don’t pay $16/gallon for my coffee.
3:37 pm ET
Jul 23, 2015
Energy
Oil Refiners’ California Love
Californians who think nothing of paying the equivalent of $16 or more a gallon for coffee are grumbling at forking over an average of just under $4 for another vital fuel: gasoline.
Californian drivers have paid more in the past; average pump prices there hit a peak of about $4.70 in October 2012. But nothing twists the knife quite like inequality: At 31.4% in the week ended July 20, the premium Californians are paying relative to the national average is close to its highest on record (which was in early May.)
Strong demand and tighter fuel standards explain some of this, but it is California’s geographic isolation—making it harder to ‘import’ fuel from east of the Rockies– that plays the biggest role. Unplanned outages in the state’s refineries, such as February’s explosion at Exxon Mobil’s plant in Torrance, can really tighten the market.
Higher stocks of gasoline would cushion against such nasty surprises. But energy economist Phil Verleger calculates California had enough to cover just 12 days of consumption at the end of March versus 27 days for the U.S. as a whole.
The big winners are West Coast refineries that are up and running. Earlier this month, according to Credit Suisse, regional refining margins hit almost $60 a barrel—higher than the oil price itself.
Opinion Commentary
Sky-High California Gas Prices Have a Green Additive
The national average is $2.76 a gallon, while Golden State drivers pay $3.88. Eco-virtue is expensive.
By Allysia Finley
July 17, 2015 7:08 p.m. ET
Photo: Getty Images
For most American families, the ritual summertime road trip is a lot cheaper this year thanks to plunging gas prices, propelled in part by the U.S. shale-oil boom. The average gas price nationally has dropped by nearly 25% to $2.76 a gallon over the past 12 months.
California is another story. While gasoline in the Golden State is averaging $3.88 a gallon, the average price in the Los Angeles market shot up 65 cents this week to $4.30 a gallon, about 20 cents higher than a year ago. Gas prices surpassed $5 per gallon at some stations, hitting $5.49 in downtown L.A., according to GasBuddy.com.
As usual, purported consumer activists are blaming collusion among putatively monopolistic oil companies. The real culprit is anti-carbon regulation promoted by a cartel of green activists and liberal politicians that is aimed at raising energy costs to discourage consumption. Sticker shock at the pump, like water rationing and high electric rates, is the price Californians must pay for their environmental virtue.
For most of the 1980s and ’90s, Californians paid roughly the national average, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data. Since 1999—the year Democrat Gray Davis assumed the governorship following 16 years of Republican leadership—California gas prices have sizably surpassed the national average and most of the lower 48 states, principally due to more stringent fuel regulations. California gas taxes are also about 12 cents higher than the national average.
In 1999, Mr. Davis’s Air Resources Board banned the fuel additive MTBE—a smog-reducing oxygenate that in low quantities has been detected in groundwater. It also adopted cleaner “reformulated” fuel standards that raised production costs. A tiramisu of other environmental mandates have been layered into the state’s fuel standards.
The results? By 2006 Californians were paying 23 cents more than the national average for regular gas. The disparity increased to 40 cents in 2014 and now sits at $1.11.
Next to crude, electricity ranks as refiners’ largest production cost. Electric rates like gas prices have soared in California thanks to the state’s mandate that requires that renewables make up 33% of the state’s electricity by 2020. Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic legislators have proposed raising the mandate to 50% by 2030.
…
“Eco-virtue is expensive.”
They can always go back to the good old days of thick smog.
There is also the matter of commute times. Though I am not thrilled at paying more for gasoline than the rest of the country, there is a subtle equilibrium between freeway speeds and gasoline prices which is hard to quantify but nonetheless a real factor for CA drivers.
In short, the value of really cheap CA gasoline would be completely offset by the time and extra fuel burned while sitting in heavy traffic. At current gasoline prices, I almost never sit in traffic, even at peak rush hour!
I almost never sit in traffic, even at peak rush hour!
And when you sit in traffic you’re burning gas getting zero MPG, so not sitting should reduce how much you pay for gasoline monthly.
“…so not sitting should reduce how much you pay for gasoline monthly.”
There is an optimal price where the cost of paying another penny per gallon for gasoline purchase exactly offsets the resulting amount saved due to less gasoline burned while sitting in traffic (not sure what it is though).
Some people would say that your time has value as well.
Agreed on the value of time. I.e. one should include time savings due to faster-moving traffic as an additional benefit due to a higher gasoline price.
REFILE-GLOBAL ECONOMY-China factories falter, commodities take the hit
Fri Jul 24, 2015 2:09am EDT
(Corrects typographical error in “news” in 10th paragraph)
* Flash Caixin/Markit China PMI falls to 15-month low of 48.2
* Puts pressure on commodity prices from gold to copper
* Overshadows improvement in Japan flash PMI to 51.4
By Wayne Cole
SYDNEY, July 24 (Reuters) - Activity in China’s factory sector seemingly contracted at the fastest pace in 15 months in July, a preliminary private survey showed on Friday in a blow undercutting recent signs of stabilisation in the struggling economy.
The news came as Beijing announced it would allow its yuan currency to fluctuate more widely within its trading band as a way to support the trade sector.
Fears of faltering demand in the world’s largest commodity buyer piled further pressure on resource prices, sending gold to a five-year low and copper to a six-year trough.
It also added to the woes of emerging market nations already struggling with the risk of a rise in U.S. interest rates later this year.
The flash Caixin/Markit China Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to 48.2, the lowest reading since April last year and the fifth straight month under 50, the level which the survey-makers say separates contraction from expansion. According to government data, industrial output is still rising.
The drop confounded forecasts for a rise to 49.7, from June’s final reading of 49.4, and slugged the Australian dollar to a six-year low.
China is Australia’s biggest export market and investors use the currency as a liquid proxy for risk in the Asian giant.
The survey of executives in over 420 Chinese manufacturing firms found output, new orders and export orders all decreased.
“Today, it’s big, bad news with this number well below consensus,” said analyst Helen Lau of Argonaut Securities in Hong Kong. “It shows there’s no signs of recovery in small and mid-sized business in China, but I think it’s also related to the summer weak season for demand.”
The China survey overshadowed better news from Japan where the flash Markit/Nikkei PMI rose to a seasonally adjusted 51.4 in July, from a final 50.1 in June, a welcome hint of economic acceleration after a surprise slowdown last quarter.
Notably, new orders in Japan pushed into positive territory which might help explain recent data showing firms are becoming more confident about increasing capital spending.
Yet the survey also found a slowdown in export orders, a trend that is bedevilling Asia and emerging markets generally.
EMERGING STRAINS
Expectations of a U.S. rate rise this year have already dented investor appetite for high-yielding but risky emerging market assets. The latest Reuters poll found a majority of analysts now believe the Federal Reserve will hike in September.
The ripples are being felt far and wide. Aberdeen Asset Management on Thursday reported investors withdrew almost 10 billion pounds ($15.6 billion) over the past three months to cut exposure to Asia and emerging market equities.
The closely-watched MSCI emerging market index has fallen 13 percent since late April as commodity prices entered a new bear phase. In the same period, the Thomson Reuters CRB index of commodities has shed 10 percent to within a whisker of its lowest since 2009.
Earlier in the week, Goldman Sachs slashed its outlook for copper prices citing expectations of lower Chinese demand and expanding supply.
The combination of weak resource prices and a strong U.S. dollar is proving a headache for policymakers.
…
“Expectations of a U.S. rate rise this year have already dented investor appetite for high-yielding but risky emerging market assets. The latest Reuters poll found a majority of analysts now believe the Federal Reserve will hike in September.”
Hmmmm … expectations.
Expectations of a rising interest rate is what (in part) is driving demand today (for houses and other things) because what is “affordable” today by the how-much-a-month crowd would be unaffordable tomorrow by this same crowd if interest rates - which translate into the cost of monthly payments - were to rise.
And if interest rates were to actually rise then expectations of further price rises would then vanish, and it is the expectation of further price rises that (in part) is driving the housing market.
So expectations need to be kept alive but these expectations can not be turned into realities because, while the market loves and thrives on expectations, it often finds it difficult to deal with realities.
True for houses, true for stocks, true for a lot of things: It is not necessarily the current reality that drives current demand, it is the expectation of some future reality (real or imagined) that drives current demand. Yank away the expectation and you yank away the demand.
But demand for houses cannot be yanked away because demand supports prices and prices support the values of equity and the values of equity represent wealth and wealth translates into feelings of well being and these feeling of well being translate into spending and spending is what is needed - what is vitally needed - in a consumer-based economy.
So lots of noise needs to be made regarding expectations but noise is all one should expect to get.
“So lots of noise needs to be made regarding expectations but noise is all one should expect to get.”
Something very similar happens in the story, The Boy Who Cried Wolf, right up until the point when a wolf actually shows up. But nobody any longer heeds the boy’s warnings once they are finally appropriate.
By analogy, one should expect a major expectations shock when and if the Fed ever changes course to follow through on announced plans to tighten up rates.
To the Fed’s credit, they did eventually taper away QE3.
I suspect they will eventually hike interest rates as well, though perhaps not until 2016, given the current panic over China’s slowing growth and the attendant deflationary effect on global commodities prices.
Is Bernanke ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf?’
Kenny Polcari
Thursday, 22 Aug 2013 | 11:12 AM ETC
NBC.com
Editor’s Note: Combining his passions for the markets, humor and food, “What’s cookin’ with Kenny Polcari” is a blog published twice weekly on CNBC.com. With more than 30 years of experience on Wall Street, Polcari provides insight and analysis on the markets as well as a recipe du jour. Buon Appetito!
The latest Federal Reserve policy meeting showed few clues about the timing to scale back its bond-buying stimulus and traders are getting a bit fed up—or as we say in Italian, arrabbiato, which means angry. Hey, that reminds me of a great recipe for pork arrabbiata, but we’ll get to that later.
The Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes showed absolutely nothing new. We remain data dependent and nothing has changed. So what gives? Remind yourself of Aesop’s Fables No. 210, “The Boy Who Cried Wolf.”
This famous fable tells the story of a shepherd boy (who might as well be Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke) who repeatedly tricks the villagers (investors or traders in this case) into thinking a wolf (tapering) is attacking his flock (markets).
The villagers come to the boy’s rescue every time, only to realize he was not telling the truth (and the flock would rally again). In the end, though, when the wolf actually does appear, the villagers do not trust the boy’s cries for help, and the flock is destroyed.
The moral of this story is one that we try to teach our children every day. If you continue to cry wolf, the villagers will grow tired and lose confidence in your cries.
Is this what is happening now? Are the villagers growing weary of the empty cries? Will the villagers end up forcing the wolf into the sunlight? I think so.
…
Is the U.S. stock market destined to take a serious dive when the Fed finally gets around to liftoff?
To the Fed’s credit, they did eventually taper away QE3.
Yes and no—they are still rolling over all of the acquired securities, which translates to “they are still purchasing” and “they are still distorting the market, though to a much smaller extent.”
“SHANGHAI, July 23 (Reuters) – China has enlisted $800
billion worth of public and private money to prop up its wobbly
stock markets, a Reuters analysis shows, but the impact of the
unprecedented government-orchestrated rescue has so far been
modest.”
Headaches aplenty.
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.
Adding to investors’ unease were a soft report on the U.S. housing market and the early release of internal economic forecasts by the Fed. The central bank’s staff expect a slower pace of growth and interest-rate increases than Fed board members have projected.
The forecast could cool investors’ expectations that the Fed will raise short-term rates this year for the first time since 2006, slowing a dollar rally that has heated up again this month. The dollar was little changed Friday. But the shift will do little to ease concerns that the global economy is slipping, raising doubts about commodities’ value as an investment class.
…
I just made a sad discovery upon checking up on my Vanguard energy fund shares, which is that I am nearly 10% underwater compared to my initial investment several months ago.
Will someone kindly shed a few crocodile tears for my investing folly?
Not needed. You will have the last laugh eventually. Time to load up when they are getting cheaper.
My mom’s dad did quite well for his eventual widow, and my grandmother, by loading up on oil stocks during the Great Depression.
but you are loading up during the “roaring 20’s”
I thought it was the Roaring Nineties?
For now, we remain in the banker’s utopia of a cryogenic economy as a result of government and super-government intervention to forestall the return to normalcy.
I would keep dollar cost averaging into that fund if I were you. Long term, you will certainly have. Lower cost basis.
Um, has anyone heard from Goon lately?
“Louisiana Shooter Was Known for Extremist and Anti-Feminist Rants”
Hey looser,
Its 7:15am local time and I already have 3,000′ of vertical gain for the day
Region VIII
See also third-wave feminism as defined on Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third-wave_feminism
Womyn borrow tens of thousands of dollars to get Masters Degrees in this, and then they get to pour my coffee for a living
MOLON LATTE!
Come and take my coffee order.
“…was angry about high taxes and the growing power of women…”
Loons of a feather with ISIS.
Really, Goon? You’re out in nature’s spectacular beauty and you feel a need to respond to ankle-biters on the HBB???
I’m training for the Pikes Peak Ascent half marathon three weeks from today, sitting on the summit of a 13er eating Pringles and posting to HBB. Today I’m here for the exercise more than nature time and I need to be back in Denver this afternoon…
You’re explaining, you’re losing…just tellin’ it like it is, brother. Keeping it real….
+1 on that post there Ray K.
I was thinking the same thing.
Good put down the phone for a bit and enjoy the view there brother!!!
Good = Goon
Good & Goon aren’t necessarily synonomous….
“Louisiana Shooter Was Known for Extremist and Anti-Feminist Rants”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-t8PngHgWY - 149k -
Recently Mike was drawing a connection between “right wing” posters and youtube videos. I’m not sure what Mike’s thing is, he’s kinda hung up on sources and ulterior motives and generally doesn’t like free expression and new ways for people to do it.
Along those lines, I like Lucy Steigerwald over at antiwar.com:
http://antiwar.com/blog/2015/07/22/lucy-steigerwald-and-sheldon-richman-talk-iran-war-israel/
This video/podcasting technology is cool, with the thumbnails of the participants and switching back and forth from views. Does anyone here know how to get this? It looks like a google product.
The link also mentions Scott Horton’s “Eye on the Empire” which has gone on youtube. Sorry Mike, the gatekeepers have gone all dinosaury.
BTW, I am in the process of putting together some video shooting/editing equipment for youtube as well. The only feedback I got from the first efforts was that I needed to kick it up a notch, and I agree.
I know very intelligent people who chant right wing jingoism. I think the reality is that there are no right wing people. There are no left wing people. There are just people who go into parrot mode and tell you what they have been indoctrinated to do. And at their worst, they go into voting booths and vote for agents to initiate force against other people.
I agree. The only way to resist is to reject the right/left false dualism. Where do antiwar people fit in? Aren’t there more than two ways to look at every issue?
“There are just people who go into parrot mode and tell you what they have been indoctrinated to do.”
There it is. At their own peril.
I think the opposite — with the rise of Trump, Sanders, Rand Paul, rejection of conventional Rep/Dem politics seems to be rather substantial. Last I saw both Rep and Dem party self-ident numbers were both continuing a slow decline.
with the rise of Trump ??
Thats funny….Trump could not run for city council and win…
dave why should he? he is not a second banana to anyone, so running for a top office makes sense.
“Where do antiwar people fit in?”
Great question. It’s not on the right/left scale. It’s on the voluntaryism/authoritarianism scale instead. Decent people treat their family members, neighbors, colleagues with a voluntaryist laissez-faire attitude - which is essentially non-aggressive. It’s when they go into the voting booth that they elect agents to murder, steal, and kidnap. The “murder” category is war. Anti-war people do not vote and are not responsible for the agents who start war.
Anti-war people do not vote and are not responsible for the agents who start war.
Plenty of anti-war people on the left voted for O. Strangely, the daily news coverage of Cindy Sheehan stopped as soon as O was elected—though I give her credit for being steadfast in her protests even with the Dems holding the reins.
“Plenty of anti-war people on the left voted for O. ”
I mean now, not then.
I think the only anti-war movement is coming from the voluntaryist side. I know some people who do parrot the left propagandists and are in favor of war. I certainly know people who parrot the right propagandists and are very bloodthirsty for having other people go “boots-on-the-ground” to slaughter brown people for being Muslim.
“I know very intelligent people who chant right wing jingoism. I think the reality is that there are no right wing people. There are no left wing people. There are just people who go into parrot mode and tell you what they have been indoctrinated to do. ”
Sigh…I posted something similar to this to my feed on facebook. The same friends who “liked” this post SUBSEQUENTLY posted stuff favorable to right wing blow hards and left wing blow hards.
Even sheep don’t realize they are sheep.
I was in Aspen yesterday rubbing elbows with some 1%er globalists
Met a hottie with degrees from Wellesley and NYU who used to work for Madeleine Albright, LOLZ
Coffee is for closers. Just sayin’….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kZg_ALxEz0
Did you ask the hottie how it felt to work for someone who said killing 500,000 humans was with it?
+1
No, he just took her coffee order.
The hottie must be from nor’east. Colleges hardly feature as a topic of discussion in first encounter in other parts of the country.
“Wellesley”
Hillary Clinton’s alma mater
The hottie must be from nor’east. Colleges hardly feature as a topic of discussion in first encounter in other parts of the country.
They tend to be very status conscious. Everywhere I have worked you can tell who they are; they’re the ones who drive pricey Eurotrash (leased, not purchased)
They tend to be very status conscious
We used to have a guy like that here, Joe Smith or John Smith.
I don’t think that Northeasterners are more status conscious than other Americans. Maybe the nature of status is different. There are plenty of people in the suburbs of places like Atlanta or Las Vegas who brag how big there houses, measured in square feet. Then there are fundamentalists and LDS members down south and out west who think that everyone should quit their churches and join theirs. And a parent of a kid who gets accepted into an elite college is probably going to crow about no matter where he or she lives in America.
I am very status conscious, but in a reverse mode. I have pride in economizing, living cheap, and enjoy my old car, which does not look old. I get a kick out of well engineered items that are built to last long with low cost relative to other items.
I am part German and I heard of German engineering my whole life, but my Japanese economy car gave me so little trouble compared to the German cars my sisters had decades ago. I would love to have German cars built better than Japanee cars for the sake of my heritage.
Some of the well built items are still unaffordable to me. For instance, a better built commercial airplane than its predecessors. I do not know for sure, but Southwest Airlines has its 737s for a reason. I hope it’s because of the economizing on their part.
Quality is what I cherish. By buying quality you vote for the best in humanity. By being stylish and overpaying, it shows a different trait.
By buying quality you vote for the best in humanity.
Nice way of putting it.
Check out Jupiter Broadcasting, they produce all sorts of tech podcasts and some of the shows are on the equipment and methods used to produce them, especially with free and open source software…nerdy stuff but these guys are very sharp and have been at it a long time, lots of info in the archived shows
This video/podcasting technology is cool, with the thumbnails of the participants and switching back and forth from views. Does anyone here know how to get this? It looks like a google product.
That’s a Google product alright, Ben: it’s called Hangouts. If you have a gmail account, you already have this available to you for private use; I use it regularly to video-chat with my mother. In the bottom-left corner of your gmail, you can use the instant-messaging-like gChat to text-chat with someone, then just click on the video-camera button in the chat window to upgrade it to a video call.
For a publicly-broadcasted Hangout like that, there is a slightly different product called Hangouts On Air; I’ve never used that version personally, and know little about it. But it should be easy to find the info using google…
There is software that is monthly rented called Xsplit that is popular.
The rig I have for doing multi-camera HD video production has a unit called the Black Magic Designs ATEM TVS in the center. It can run 6 HD cameras into it and handles switching, with some overlay abilities and other tricks. It can record to file, not ideal for live streaming without another system hooked to it to handle that.
I use boxes to convert HDMI to a more industrial protocol called HD-SDI so the cameras can be far away.
The system was just used for switching video into a 4 story billboard in Baltimore 2 weekends ago.
Podcasting is easier without video. Skype for interviews, free software called audacity, and a USB mic of high quality ($100?) from Blue or others can get you going.
pfft. The Brady Bunch did all this 40 years ago.
Hangouts On Air link:
https://plus.google.com/hangouts/onair
I’m not sure what Mike’s thing is, he’s kinda hung up on sources and ulterior motives and generally doesn’t like free expression and new ways for people to do it.
You must have missed the specific criticisms that I made regarding the video that Raymond linked to having to do with the Katyn Forest. Then there’s the other guy who links to videos from someone named Mark Dice, which I’ve made specific criticisms about. I’m not opposed to the use of YouTube to disseminate ideas or information. I never expressed any such sentiment.
I apologize Mike.
Obama Supporters Sign Petition to NUKE RUSSIA so America will …
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNr5czZKEdk - 393k - Cached - Similar pages
Jun 8, 2015 …
nothing is going to stop people like this under our current regime. we need to go back to committing people for more than 72 hours when they have a proven trail of this.
A proven trail of gun violence or a proven trail of misogyny and racism? Which one gets you committed?
Because if it’s the former, it won’t do much good, the damage is already done. If it’s the latter, then you better start packing your bags.
Whoops, forgot I was talking to mr. ebonics. ‘Former’ means the first part of the either/or sentence, ‘latter’ means the second part.
if your own parents cant commit you because they are scared then why are we so upset over this….parents know when their children are a danger to society, but we are so politically correct today, we will have more adam lanzas
http://www.newsweek.com/report-details-adam-lanzas-life-sandy-hook-shootings-286867
What if the parents are crazy?
In 2008, despite the financial crash and subsequent bailout of the Wall Street grifters who caused it, 95% of ‘Muricans voted for crony capitalism with their votes for Wall Street water carriers Obama and McCain. They then repeated their overwhelming support for crony capitalism - which is in its essence corruption - four years later, affirming our population has become as amoral as they are stupid.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-07-24/paul-craig-roberts-eroding-character-american-people
The question is: why do Americans not only sit silently while the lives of innocents are destroyed, but also actually support the destruction of the lives of innocents? Why do Americans believe “official sources” despite the proven fact that “official sources” lie repeatedly and never tell the truth? The only conclusion that one can come to is that the American people have failed. We have failed Justice. We have failed Mercy. We have failed the US Constitution. We have failed Truth. We have failed Democracy and representative government. We have failed ourselves and humanity. We have failed the confidence that our Founding Fathers put in us. If we ever had the character that we are told we had, we have obviously lost it. Little, if anything, remains of the “American character.”
‘ 95% of ‘Muricans voted for crony capitalism with their votes for Wall Street ’ I think the turnout was more like 55% in 2012, which is part of the problem.
I sometimes wonder what future generations will think of this era of late 90’s to now. You can vote for one fool or the other, but they both answer to the same masters.
Bush, Clinton, Bush again, no nuts Obama who failed to prosecute a single wall street criminal other than Madoff, then Bush/Clinton again?!?!
Asleep at the wheel, brainwashed, insane, lazy…they’ll say things like that most likely…hopefully.
Asleep at the wheel, brainwashed, insane, lazy ??
Two significant problems from my view…Money & personal exposure…How many can go through life without doing some things that you would not want exposed ?? I think that is why Colin Powell never ran for the Presidency…
‘ 95% of ‘Muricans voted for crony capitalism with their votes for Wall Street ’ I think the turnout was more like 55% in 2012, which is part of the problem.
I’d like to think the 45% who stayed home did so not out of apathy, but because they recognized, as the late great George Carlin did, that voting for Oligopoly-annointed Tweedle Dum/Tweedle Dee candidates changes nothing. And declined to participate in Wall Street’s Republicrat Kabuki theater. That’s less depressing than thinking our national descent into IDIOCRACY is accelerating.
“American character.”
What do you expect from a nation of debtors? Once you accept the yoke of debt slavery, you are just a tool.
95% of ‘Muricans voted for crony capitalism with their votes for Wall Street water carriers Obama and McCain. They then repeated their overwhelming support for crony capitalism
And when The Donald — a crony capitalist by definition, who is just as comfortable backslapping Ted Cruz as he is with the Clintons — says brash, populist things people swoon and look right past his relationships with the oligarchy.
“says brash, populist things people swoon and look right past his relationships with the oligarchy”
Just like Putin.
“Just like Putin.”
There you go. How about “Just like the Devil”?
I am more sympathetic of someone who is willing to spend a fortune to enter politics than I am one who enters politics to make a fortune.
“than I am one who enters politics to make a fortune”
Like Putin.
Oddie, do you think Trump is entering politics to make a fortune, “like Putin”? What is the parallel?
It’s a similar phenomenon. Some politicians use power to make money. Some rich business people use their wealth to get power. In the case of Trump, there’s celebrity, which is a third factor. He’s famous because he had his own TV show. He’s got name recognition, which Carly Fiorina. That may also help him achieve power.
I meant to write “He’s got name recognition, unlike Carly Fiorina.”
You were saying:
“I am more sympathetic of someone who is willing to spend a fortune to enter politics than I am one who enters politics to make a fortune”
I was pointing out that Putin came into politics with no money and is now fabulously wealthy. Thus, he fits into the group which you say you are less sympathetic to. The guys who made their fortune by being in politics.
Oh. I just thought he was a KGB thug who clawed to the top.
Given the choice between someone who is an oligarch but riles up populist sentiment and someone who is an oligarch who doesn’t, the choice is clear. He is the ONLY ONE TALKING ABOUT IMMIGRATION.
The only creatures more pathetic and worthless than the Establishment GOP “elites” are the fools who continue to vote for them.
http://townhall.com/columnists/jeffcrouere/2015/07/25/draft-n2030072
The GOP powerbrokers are beyond upset, they are apoplectic. Last month, their favored candidate, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, announced he’s running for president, but he was immediately overshadowed by Donald Trump, who officially entered the race the next day.
Ever since then, it has been all Trump, all the time. From his bold statements to his refusal to apologize, he has dominated media coverage, pushing Bush and the others to the back pages. One day Trump is being blasted by Hispanic groups and business leaders for his illegal immigration comments and the next day he is being pilloried by the RNC for his remarks about U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ).
Before the McCain firestorm dies down, Trump is creating a new controversy by releasing the cell phone number of U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC). This was retaliation for Graham calling Trump a “jackass,” even though several years ago the senator begged Trump to help him get on Fox News.
i think jeb is an idjit…i mean forcing welfare recipients to take drug tests….how offensive and demeaning…
Instead why not force them sit in class 15-20 hours a week and learn to read, write and speak English for their EBT card…..they will drop like flies
i think jeb is an idjit…i mean forcing welfare recipients to take drug tests….how offensive and demeaning…
But very profitable for Jeb’s cronies who will land the contracts to administer the tests.
Instead why not force them sit in class 15-20 hours a week and learn to read, write and speak English for their EBT card…..they will drop like flies
They’ll drop dead if they’re forced to go to school?
I think it would be more of a Welcome Back Kotter sort of thing. Might make a good updated version of it.
Instead why not force them sit in class 15-20 hours a week and learn to read, write and speak English for their EBT card…..they will drop like flies
They’ll drop dead if they’re forced to go to school?
I think he meant that they’ll drop off the welfare rolls and get jobs.
So what happens if you can demonstrate proficiency? Do you still have to take the classes?
There are more serious objections to this idea. A large portion of food stamp recipients are kids, so they’re already going to school. There are also a lot of adults who get food stamps because they work at jobs that don’t pay them to get above the poverty line. If they have kids, it could be difficult for them to find 15-20 hours every week to go to school. Another large portion of food stamp recipients are the elderly and disabled, most of whom can read, write and speak English well.
Meanwhile, the reckoning day for “America’s Greece” - and every other corrupt Democrat-run munipality - draws inexorably closer.
http://wolfstreet.com/2015/07/24/ubss-puerto-rico-bond-funds-implode-collateral-value-drops-to-zero-investors-screwed/
“We believe that the probability of default is approaching 100 percent, and that losses given default are substantial,” Moody’s wrote on Wednesday about Puerto Rico’s $72 billion in bonds that were stuffed into numerous conservative-sounding bond funds spread across America’s retirement portfolios.
“Bondholder recoveries will be lowest on securities lacking explicit contractual or other legal protections,” the report went on, according to Bloomberg. About $26 billion in bonds fall into this category, issued by entities such as the Government Development Bank, Highways and Transportation Authority, Infrastructure Finance Authority, and Municipal Finance Authority. Investors in these bonds might recover only 35 cents on the dollar.
No wonder the NAR has successfully fought off attempts to combat the use of real estate for money laundering and parking ill-gotten gains.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/foreign-criminals-are-pushing-up-uk-house-prices-10415413.html
More can-kicking as Greece, having groveled at the feet of the banksters, gets ready to ask for a third bailout…soon to be a fourth, fifth, etc….
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jul/25/greece-edges-closer-third-bailout-requests-imf-help
The Greeks may want freedom, but they didn’t prepare for it.
The Greeks want freedom from responsibility. As in ‘Murica, roughly 5% are producers who don’t want or need to constantly be told what to do, and want to get the parasites off their backs, while 95% prefer to sponge off the productive and mindlessly vote the crony capitalist status quo.
5%?? OMG you’re harsh… Put down the Ayn Rand and step away. Way more than that fraction of the population is engaged in productive employment of some kind or other, at least according to the participation rate.
He’s gonna full loon from total immersion in The Angry Channel. There is no return.
95% prefer to sponge off the productive
American Capitalism is more like the rich gouging the working people and then calling hungry, gouged working people “lazy”.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2015/04/14/when-work-isnt-enough-to-keep-you-off-welfare-and-food-stamps/
When work isn’t enough to keep you off welfare and food stamps
“We often make assumptions about people on public assistance, about the woman in the checkout line with an EBT card, or the family who lives in public housing…..”
….(But) “a tremendous share of people who rely on government programs designed for the poor in fact work — they just don’t make enough at it to cover their basic living expenses. According to the UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education, 73 percent of people who benefit from major public assistance programs in the U.S. live in a working family where at least one adult earns the household some money.
The problem, according to this picture, isn’t that poor people won’t work — it’s that the work they do can’t sustain them. The problem is that more than half of people who work on the front lines of fast food, and nearly half of child-care workers and home health aids, still need government help buying their groceries or covering their medical bills after they get their paychecks.”
Price gouging(bottlenecking, price fixing) is indeed a problem Lola. The price of all items have a long way to fall.
“The price of all items have a long way to fall.”
Ebenezer Goldbug, 1913
Average Annual Inflation by Decade
http://inflationdata.com/Inflation/Inflation_Rate/Long_Term_Inflation.asp
As you can see from the cumulative Inflation chart since 1913 we have seen 2275% inflation.
Something that cost $100 in 1914 would cost $2,375 now!
As a result of inflation Lola. There hasn’t been inflation in decades.
There hasn’t been inflation in decades.
And Elvis isn’t dead and the moon is made of cheese.
Something that cost $100 in 1914 would cost $2,375 now!
but we have more buying power now, comrade.
you don’t understand that, do you?
*Learn* the definition Lola.
but we have more buying power now
Of course we do comrade.
then why bring up prices from 1914 as if they are relevant?
*Learn* the definition Lola.
Of cheese?
“There hasn’t been inflation in decades.”
Robert Mugabe 2013
got sarcasim?
so your 1914 prices post was sarcasm? who’s going to believe that, comrade?
so your 1914 prices post was sarcasm? who’s going to believe that, comrade?
No. Dang. This was sarcasm my confused comrade.
but we have more buying power now
Of course we do comrade.
(Try hard to follow along.)
Iol @ Comrade Lola
so you’re afraid to debate me on anything, right comrade?
you won’t debate me on what demand is, and now you won’t engage on a statement you just made. my cowardly comrade. i’m almost ashamed of you.
but don’t worry. all is forgiven because we are a team, right comrade?
come on. at least defend what you’ve just said about 1914 prices.. how are they relevant? you admit we have more buying power now, right?
yoohoo.. comrade, are you still there? it’s been over a half hour. what happened, did your tea kettle boil over? if you’re checking with your handlers, go ahead because i can beat them too.
why don’t you say what you honestly think? if you don’t think we have more buying power today, just come out and say it and i’ll explain it to you. but i’m not going to explain it for free. that means you have to say you think we have less buying power today. just say it, because i’m not going to explain it unless i get to embarrass you in the process.
so you’re afraid to debate me on anything, right comrade?
I can’t tell you how afraid I am.
you admit we have more buying power now, right?
Again with that? Look at my posts then look up “sarcasm”.
but i’m not going to explain it for free.
No thank you. I can’t afford it do to lessened buying power.
“The Housing Bubble Blog sent me over the deep end”
~Lola, 2012~
Have another one Lola. It’s on me my friend.
https://goo.gl/qq3Lr7
you’re chicken comrade. for once in your life be willing to own what you say.
again you have almost everyone on your side. they think we have less buying power too, so you’ve got a head start. just say that we have less buying power today than 1914 and i’ll explain why you’re wrong. just do it comrade.
Have another one Lola. It’s on me.
Thank you LolaLover! It’s always on you!
just do it comrade.
That’s what she said!
Good job Lola. Now direct your attention to the discussion.
What inflation?
you’ll never learn much if you keep backing out of debates.
the sum of it all is you can’t defend what you claim. no one should ever take what you say seriously. you lack intellectual rigor. you just spout drivel and then expect everyone to take it at face value.
you’re a coward. live with it.
What inflation?
Your rising interest in Lola’s LolaLover.
You need to visit Brazil Dude. While I’m here in the USA. (Don’t fight it amigo. It just makes you creepy.)
Lola? Lola? Are you backpedalling again Lola?
you’re a coward.
That’s so harsh I almost debated you. Because you called me a name and stuff.
(Thank goodness you didn’t double dare me.)
you’re the one that staked out a position with 1914 prices. i merely challenged you and you weren’t up to it.
As in ‘Murica, roughly 5% are producers who don’t want or need to constantly be told what to do, and want to get the parasites off their backs, while 95% prefer to sponge off the productive
Meanwhile, studies show that American workers are amongst the most productive in the world, and work the most hours per year, with the least paid time off.
Parasites … right.
That’s an interesting point. Is this business about the 95% being parasites could be an endorsement of Jeb Bush’s suggestion that Americans should work more hours per year.
That’s an interesting point. Is this business about the 95% being parasites could be an endorsement of Jeb Bush’s suggestion that Americans should work more hours per year.
I guess that woman who told Dubya that she has three jobs needs to get a fourth job, because otherwise she’s just a parasite.
Criminals consorting with criminals. And NAR has the audacity to squeal about integrity?
Shameless NAR.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3174033/Clintons-charities-got-50million-British-aid-cash-UK-government-accused-trying-buy-influence-power-family.html
If you like your influence peddling, you can keep your influence peddling…what did the UK government get out of the deal? I mean, besides the warm fuzzy that comes from “charitable giving”?
I awoke this morning to open up to the news of the day and voila - there is Obama over there in Africa touting another lie and this came to mind…..
Does anyone else on this blog want to go and purge their soul every time they hear Obama, Clinton, Bush and other slime ball politicos talk or see their picture in the news or hear their voice? They just make my skin crawl at the most in opportune moments - There I am doing my happy dance and then that voice with the slithering s at the end of particular words - like he is some cool dude hanging with the cool ones in the coffee bar snapping their fingers.
Red or blue - I don’t care either way no more.
It is easier to avoid the brain intrusions if you cut the TV cable.
Seriously. Pick up a good book instead. Starve the beast while you’re at it.
You can’t starve the beast. You will continue to subsidize them with your internet fees.
Seriously. Pick up a good book instead
I’ve been reading a lot of fiction lately — popular dystopian stories that seem to make it into movies. To be honest, reading these stories makes me even more frustrated.
These books, which show immoral government, an ‘elite’ political class, etc, get the readers to feel for and side with the lower classes/little guy. But for some reason the folks reading these books and making them so popular can’t see the parallels with our current world/government/etc. Instead, the government/people in the books are “evil”, but at the same point in time, we should give our government more power, trust them, etc.
I have had the similar thoughts. If the leftists (or the rightists) have any brains they would fight for smaller governments.
“Starve the beast.”
Bankers.
I starve by buying Bitcoin.
That is, I starve the beast by buying Bitcoin. And yes you can even dollar cost average into BTC. Looks like February was a good time to move into crypto currency. I buy a little bit of BTC every few days.
“dollar cost average”
An inflationary expansion will forgive such a thing. Deflation will not.
I wonder if Obama was expecting President Kenyatta to politely tell him to eff off after Obama lectured him on Rainbow morality.
Will Omaba cut the annual us aid to Kenya?
I’m sure the Chicoms would welcome that. I wouldn’t be surprised if they already give Kenya more than we do.
It is amusing to see an immoral, imperialist government lecture another nation on morality.
How Does Trump End?
15 experts from across the political spectrum share their thoughts.
By POLITICO MAGAZINE July 25, 2015
AP Photo.
Donald Trump’s rapid ascendency to the top of the Republican polls—and the blinding media spotlight surrounding him that has rendered all other 2016 contenders seemingly mute—has baffled nearly every observer. Even his longtime friends (and enemies) are fascinated. When I reached him this week on vacation, Las Vegas developer mogul Steve Wynn, who has been on both the enemies and the friends side of that equation with Trump, said simply, “I am as mystified about it as you are.” As he continued, “It certainly is a spectacular and perverse moment in political history. There’s no precedent for this.”
Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2015/07/how-does-trump-end-120596.html#ixzz3guydvI9Y
I don’t need to read this. I already know the answer.
Dems leaning expert think he will run as independent. (wishful thinking)
Reps leaning expert think he is hurting the party and he will fizzle soon.
(another wishful thinking)
How did I do?
As for me I think, Don will do what Don wants.
It would be interesting if Sanders, Rand Paul and Trump all ran as third party candidates.
Rand won’t do it, he’s too chicken.
Bernie won’t do it, progressive won’t allow it. They love power so much they will coalesce around Hill.
The Don will do what pleases the Don. He’s a mental case..that’s why he makes the election somewhat interesting.
The Don will do what pleases the Don ??
But will he spend a billion of his own dough to compete because surely he won’t be able to raise much…I say, as soon as it starts costing a lot of money to compete, hes gone…He will preform his clown show as long as the free media will entertain it…
I saw this moderately amusing story Trump’s visit to Laredo, TX. The first and last parts are pretty good.
LAREDO, Texas—You want the Trump show to be over. But it’s not over.
You want to ignore Donald Trump. You think maybe if you ignore him long enough, he will go away. Well, guess what? He’s not going away.
Trump is in Laredo, Texas, on Thursday, not because he wants to be, but because he is needed. “The border patrol—they’re the ones that invited me here,” he says.
…
Back at the terminal, Air Trump is taking off. He has been in Texas for about three hours. He spoke to the media for about 15 minutes in total. He did not even make an attempt to talk to local Republican voters. Tomorrow, he will be on the front page again; he will lead all the newscasts. The summer of Trump will continue.
You can’t stop it. Nobody can.
Trump is just too big.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/07/theres-no-stopping-the-trump-show/399587/
Don’t think this is just about Trump. After decades of bending over and grabbing their ankles for the Oligopoly, the thinking portion of the population - admittedly, still a tiny minority - is finally being joined by some of the former sheeple who are starting to awake, not a minute too soon, and are realizing their country has been stolen from them. Anti-establishment sentiment is growing, for good reason. People want responsive, accountable, competent governance, and that is not what they’re getting from the oligarch-captured Republicrat duopoly. Trump may be a deeply flawed human being, but people see something authentic in him, compared to the Hollow Man minions of Sheldon Adelson and the Koch Bros, or the ghastly Hillary Clinton, and they are relishing the chance to give the finger to the GOP establishment that never misses an opportunity to throw them under the bus and sell out their supposed Republican principles.
who are starting to awake, not a minute too soon, and are realizing their country has been stolen from them ??
There is one person I can think of who has the Money & Character that could run down the middle and win going away….He would receive most of the independent vote…Bill Gates…
The first question that occurs to me when you write that is whether he’s stated any positions on the important issues - the national debt, health care, never ending wars. It’s possible that a lot of people would vote for him because he’s bright and hard working, but it’s not a good sign that many Americans will vote based on personality instead of issues.
The first question that occurs to me when you write that is whether he’s stated any positions on the important issues
Trump states many “positions” but when you really dig through them, there is a lot of BS there.
Donald Trump’s First Speech Was Basically Filled With Lies
http://www.mediaite.com/tv/donald-trumps-first-speech-was-basically-filled-with-lies/
This may be shocking to some, but newly-announced presidential candidate Donald Trump‘s announcement speech was filled with exaggerations and blatant lies.
The Washington Post’s Glenn Kessler probably summed it up by declaring Trump’s speech “a fact checker’s dream…and nightmare. He spouts off so many ‘facts,’ often twisted or wrong, that it takes a lot of time to hack through the weeds.”
But hack they did. As a rule, the Post does not assign its trademark “Pinocchio” rating system to presidential announcement speeches, but it isn’t difficult to tell which claims they found were complete bull.
Among the more specious claims:
There are no Chevrolets in Japan. (Yes, there are)
ISIS built a luxury hotel in the Middle East. (Unconfirmed)
The “real” unemployment rate could be as high as 20%. (No)
“There are no jobs.” (There are at least some jobs)
We spent $2 billion on Obamacare.gov. (Closer to $700 million)
Trump is worth $9 billion. (Probably not)
The Taliban leaders traded for Bowe Bergdahl return to the battlefield. (Nope)
While some of Trump’s claims don’t raise to the level of obvious falsehoods, they were completely unrealistic.
If you are coming out to hate Trump already, maybe I should take more interest!
Really? What percentage of Japanese (in Japan) drive Chevys? I doubt it is significant compared to the percentage of US drivers who have Asian cars.
What percentage of Americans who are of working age do not have jobs or do not have full time jobs? You think it is under 20%? LOL.
Do you think Trump is not a billionaire? Has someone proved he only has 7 or 8 billion and not round about 9?
I don’t like Trump, but I like that there is a shark in the goldfish bowl.
If you are coming out to hate Trump already, maybe I should take more interest!
Why would I hate Trump? Pointing out that he is a egotistical lying windbag is not hate, it’s facts. Facts don’t hate. I’m glad he threw a firecracker in the Repub Clown Car.
It’s like a good Reality TV show:
Coming this Fall!
“Donald Trumps The Clown Car”
(In HD)
I am sure he is egotistical, and a windbag, but where are the lies? Not just technical near misses, the big lies? You have an agenda with a party hat on it.
How’s the Brazil miracle popping working out down there? The few things we read are rather sad.
How’s the Brazil miracle popping working out down there?
It’s nothing new to Brazil. And my house paid for its construction a year ago in saved rent and pays my rent every month. (And Applebee’s is full)
You have an agenda
You’re momma wears combat boots and you live on a little boat by…….. Canada.
but where are the lies?
How Donald Trump treats numbers differently from most people
Washington Post - 1 day ago
They say there are lies, damn lies and statistics. And then there are Donald Trump’s …
Fact checking Donald Trump’s presidential announcement …
http://www.washingtonpost.com/…/fact-checking-donald-tr…The Washington Post
Jun 17, 2015 - Businessman Donald Trump is a fact checker’s dream … and nightmare. He spouts off so … “We have a disaster called the big lie: Obamacare.
From Their Lies To His Ears: The Right-Wing Media Myths ...
mediamatters.org/blog/…lies-to…/204449
Media Matters for America
Jul 16, 2015 - Conservative media appear to be drafting Donald Trump’s talking points. … according to a Washington Post analysis that compared Census, …
Donald Trump’s Arguments About Immigrants And Crime …
http://www.outsidethebeltway.com/donald-trumps-arguments-about-immigrant...
Jul 15, 2015 - The fact that it’s all based on lies is something that ought to be made …… THE WASHINGTON POST has begun to look into Trump’s extensive …
My mother wiped the tears of men who wore combat boots asshole.
My mother wiped the tears of men who wore combat boots asshole.
My momma…..whatever.. You’re less American than I am…… Asshole.
Google voluntaryism. We want rules, not rulers.
“perverse moment in political history. There’s no precedent for this.”
I think of Trump as a combination of Huey Long and Nixon, if we’re looking for American precedents. Berlusconi also comes to mind, if we can look further afield.
I think of Trump as a combination of Huey Long and Nixon
+1 Trump is a crony capitalist by definition who is also skilled at putting on a populist act. He’s one phony banana
You must know it. After voting Obama twice, you must be an expert on knowing who’s phony.
You must know it. After voting Obama twice, you must be an expert on knowing who’s phony.
I admit he fooled the first time. The second time I didn’t vote for Obama, I voted against Romney. Lesser of two evils.
The second time I didn’t vote for Obama, I voted against Romney.
I hate to tell you but….regardless of reason, a vote cast for Obama is voting for Obama…
Some good excerpts from the article:
“Among other strategic and tactical triumphs, Trump is exhibiting in pulsing neon colors the contemporary political parallel universes of Common Sense America and Conventional Wisdom Establishment. CS America is, and has been for some time been, so over the incompetent, posturing national politicians as well as their irrelevant agenda issues and their counterproductive policies. They are aching for candidates with authenticity who will address their everyday concerns. AND do not presume a preference for their common sense world makes them redneck philistines.”
- Mary Matalin, Republican political strategist.
___
‘He is the voice of the GOP. Hell, he’s even the hair of the GOP.’
Paul Begala, political analyst for CNN and counselor to President Bill Clinton.
___
The Trump show ends when the other candidates follow Perry and Rubio, get off their asses and knock his dick in the dirt. Do a deep oppo dive on Trump and go to work.
-Rick Wilson, national Republican message and media strategist.
This is just asking 15 barbers what kind of haircut you should get, never considering whether you actually need a haircut at all.
I’m curious whether ADan has stopped posting here due to recognizing the futility of his positions, or some other reason. Any thoughts?
From his fetal position on the floor maybe it’s too hard to reach the keyboard.
From his fetal position on the floor ??
And maybe in the fetal position because of Crow-Casserole food poisoning…
Blech…
Why do people (apparently) always choose to eat their crow with the feathers on?
‘By mid-2007, web commentator teams recruited by schools, and party organizations were common across China. Shanghai Normal University employed undergraduates to monitor for signs of dissent and post on university forums.[9] These commentators not only operate within political discussions, but also in general discussions.[8][9] Afterwards, some schools and local governments also started to build similar teams.[10][11][12]‘
‘On 23 January 2007, Chinese leader Hu Jintao demanded a “reinforcement of ideological and public opinion front construction and positive publicity” at the 38th collective learning of Politburo.[13] Large Chinese websites and local governments have been requested to publish the sayings of Hu, and select “comrades with good political quality” to form “teams of Internet commentators” by the CPC Central Committee (中共中央办公厅) and General Office of the State Council (国务院办公厅).[8][14]‘
‘Negative reporting of local authorities has increased on the internet since then.[15] In one instance described on the China Digital Times, the Jiaozuo (Henan) City Public Security Bureau established a mechanism to analyse public opinion after criticism of the police handling of a traffic incident appeared on the internet. The Bureau responded with 120 staff calling for the truth to be revealed in line with the public opinion, which gradually shifted and eventually supported the police position, denouncing the original poster.[15][16] In the aftermath of the 2008 Guizhou riot, internet forums were filled with posts critical of the local authorities; the China News Weekly later reported that “the major task of the propaganda group was to organize commentators to past [sic] posts on websites to guide online public opinions.”[16]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/50_Cent_Party
When the Oligopoly institutes the same creepy surveillance regime to ferret out opposition to the permanent Democrat Supermajority and our glorious Soviet, I can see the likes of WPA, AmazingRuss, & our other resident collectivists eagerly jumping at the chance to be zealous defenders of the regime and to “guide online public opinion.”
Collectivist? I was a conservative before the rest of you went coo coo for cocopuffs.
Now I can’t be in the club because I don’t believe Obama boils and eats babies.
Nailed it.
Maybe after the CCP spent $800 billion propping up their zombie stock market, they have cut his funding.
Maybe he was summoned back to Beijing
Which reminds me of my Beijing colleagues, almost all of them adopt a western first name. I wonder what Dan’s real first name is
Mi So Wong
Caw
The crows seemed to be calling his name, thought Caw.
Voice of America
News / Asia
Experts Question China’s Economic Policy
Workers ride a scissor lift as they install banners for the grand opening of a home electronics store in Beijing, Wednesday, July 15, 2015.
Saibal Dasgupta
Last updated on: July 15, 2015 8:18 AM
BEIJING—
China reported Wednesday that its economy grew at a steady seven percent in the second quarter, which is better than most outside analysts had expected, but in line with the government’s target for 2015.
Last year’s China’s 7.4 percent growth rate was the lowest in 24 years, and so far 2015 is on track to be even lower. But just how much China’s economy is slowing remains unclear, and outside analysts have long been skeptical of the official statistics.
Tuesday’s economic numbers referred to the period before June 30 when the stock market was on the rise. The market peaked on June 12, followed by a tumble, in which it quickly lost $4 trillion – a 32 percent drop. The impact of the market crisis may be clear in the next quarter, analysts said.
Reassuring Investors
China’s premier, Li Keqiang, in recent days has reassured investors that the country’s economic fundamentals remain strong. But the government will take “more precise and effective” measures to promote stable and reliable economic growth.
That reassurance is important, because the market losses reflected poorly on the government’s economic policies.
“The losses of many middle-class families in the crisis will truly reduce their trust on the credibility of the Chinese government, and that will affect their consumption and investment decisions,” said Liu Jianxiong, associate professor at the Institute of Economics at the state-run China Academy of Social Sciences.
Beijing’s moves that imposed strict new rules on selling shares, froze trading on many stocks, and forced investment funds to pump in billions of dollars stopped the steep market fall. But it also led to more uncertainty among investors.
Liu, who works for a government owned think-tank, explained the credibility issue. “The Chinese government needs to reflect on its role in the stock market,” he said.
Liu said that the state media organs that had praised the Chinese stock market’s rapid rise over the past year need to reassess their approach. “The propaganda machines in China also need to take a more professional, rational and objective stand on the stock market, or them (SIC) will play a misleading role and cause loss to those ordinary people who trust in their opinions on stock market,” he said.
…
The Establishment GOP is panicking at the thought of their Hollow Man candidates being evicerated on national TV by The Donald.
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/07/23/gop-elites-plot-to-bar-frontrunner-trump-from-debate/
Won’t this just make him more popular? I can’t help but wonder if this being done on purpose, to make him look like an outsider who is taking on the establishment.
If they bar him from the debates, he’ll run as a third party candidate, guaranteed.
No one crosses the Donald!
Since right now we have a one-party Oligopoly, the Republicrats, it would be nice to have an actual choice when it comes to elections.
he’ll run as a third party candidate, guaranteed ??
I say no…He will not spend his own money….
Even his critics say he’s worth a few billion. A presidential campaign wouldn’t cost that much, most of the press coverage is free. He’s already lost a lot of money/endorsements by taking it this far. I see no signs of him stopping, unless he plummets in the polls and everyone starts ignoring him, which seems unlikely.
High rents, low wages…
http://slo.craigslist.org/apa/5140194078.html
Can’t last.
It is a college town, parents pay $900 per room. Parents live in area with high wages.
It is a college town, parents pay $900 per room ??
Yep and its a great university with very reasonable tuition…Could even say Cheap…
At UCSB, kids pay $900 to SHARE a room in Isla Vista.
Is Isla Vista considered a safe neighborhood?
most dense neighborhood west of the Mississippi. easy to get drugs and parties nightly mixed with poor Mexicans and homeless people. Shootings, people running over kids….
Parents live in area with high wages.
How do you know that?
They list the incoming freshman’s stats, most CA ()instate tuition makes it the best in the USA), Bay area or the OC. 4.2 avg gpa, 1 in 11 accepted…
That’s a pretty gankey area too.
Recent immigration poll results:
ABC News/Washington Post Poll. July 16-19, 2015. N=1,002 adults nationwide. Margin of error ± 3.5.
“Do you think undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States should or should not be allowed to live and work here legally if they pay a fine and meet other requirements?”
Should be allowed: 60%
Should not be allowed: 37%
Unsure: 3%
“Do you think undocumented immigrants currently living in the United States should or should not be allowed to live and work here legally if they pay a fine and meet other requirements?” If should be allowed: “Do you think undocumented immigrants who meet the requirements should be able to apply for U.S. citizenship, or be able to apply for permanent residency, but not U.S. citizenship?” Combined responses.
Should be allowed - Citizenship: 40%
Should be allowed - Residency: 17%
Should be allowed - Unsure: 2%
Should not be allowed: 37%
Unsure: 3%
“Overall, do you think immigrants from other countries mainly strengthen or mainly weaken American society?”
Strengthen: 57%
Weaken: 33%
Neither (vol.): 1%
Depends (vol.): 5%
Unsure: 4%
“Do you think undocumented immigrants from Mexico are mainly undesirable people like criminals, or mainly honest people trying to get ahead?” Options rotated
Undesirable: 16%
Honest: 74%
Unsure: 10%
http://pollingreport.com/immigration.htm
Let’s add this:
“Do you support a change in the law that would allow illegal immigrants to enter and stay indefinitely in the US?”
“If yes, why haven’t you elected representatives that would pass such a law?”
“Do you hear crickets?”
I just took a poll of 1,000 people who live south of the US border and indicated a desire to immigrate to the US:
“Would you immigrate to the US if you knew there were no jobs available and you may have to live on welfare?”
Yes: 100%
No: 0%
“Would you immigrate to the US if you knew it would result in lower pay for yourself and others?”
Yes: 100%
No: 0%
“Do you agree or disagree with this statement: there is no real reason people in countries south of the US should be less prosperous than people who live in the US or Canada?”
Agree: 100%
Disagree: 0%
“If you agree, are you willing to stay in your home country and take actions to change your country so that the people will become more prosperous?”
Yes: 0%
No: 100%
Also those polls above are nonsense because they contain a phrase that entirely invalidates the poll, “and meet other requirements” which is deliberately inserted to allow people to interpret it favorably towards the answer wanted by the pollster. For example, many could reasonably think the “other requirements” to include learning English or foregoing any welfare benefits. Kinda like the definition of love. Thus the answer to this poll is real just “it depends.”
I’m entirely in favor of it as long as the other requirements include not being allowed to be a drain on society at all.
“ABC News/Washington Post Poll. July 16-19, 2015. N=1,002 adults nationwide.”
“A new survey by USA Today and the First Amendment Center found that Americans’ distrust of the news media has skyrocketed over the last year,”
Poll Finds 70% of Americans Believe Media is Biased
Posted by Aleister
Tuesday, July 7, 2015 at 10:00am
Media bias is no longer a problem perceived only by conservative bloggers. A Gallup poll last fall found 60% didn’t trust mass media but a new survey from USA Today and the Newseum Institute finds that 70% of Americans believe the media is biased.
Media Fail: 70% Believe News Reporting Intentionally Biased
A new survey by USA Today and the First Amendment Center found that Americans’ distrust of the news media has skyrocketed over the last year, the number of American adults believing news reporting is biased jumping up to 70 percent, while less than a quarter now say they trust the news media.
The 2015 State of the First Amendment Survey released Friday found that only 24 percent of American adults believe that “overall, the news media tries to report the news without bias,” a 17-point drop from last year and the lowest number since the poll began in 2004. More than two-thirds, 70 percent, disagreed with that statement, a 15-point increase since last year.
legalinsurrection.com/…/07/poll-finds-70-of-americans-believe-media-is-biased/ - 211k -
‘The Department of Homeland Security has been monitoring the Black Lives Matter movement since anti-police protests erupted in Ferguson, Missouri last summer, according to hundreds of documents obtained by The Intercept through a Freedom of Information Act request.’
‘The documents, released by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Operations Coordination, indicate that the department frequently collects information, including location data, on Black Lives Matter activities from public social media accounts, including on Facebook, Twitter, and Vine, even for events expected to be peaceful. The reports confirm social media surveillance of the protest movement and ostensibly related events in the cities of Ferguson, Baltimore, Washington, DC, and New York.’
‘They also show the department watching over gatherings that seem benign and even mundane. For example, DHS circulated information on a nationwide series of silent vigils and a DHS-funded agency planned to monitor a funk music parade and a walk to end breast cancer in the nation’s capital.’
‘Baher Azmy, a legal director at the Center for Constitutional Rights, however, argues that this “providing situational awareness” is just another word for surveillance and that creating this body of knowledge about perfectly legal events is a problem in and of itself. “What they call situational awareness is Orwellian speak for watching and intimidation,” said Azmy. “Over time there’s a serious harm to the associational rights of the protesters and it’s an effective way to chill protest movements. The average person would be less likely to go to a Black Lives Matter protest if the government is monitoring social media, Facebook, and their movements.”
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/2015/07/24/documents-show-department-homeland-security-monitoring-black-lives-matter-since-ferguson/
I would feel better if DHS kept tabs on local police departments
+1…
And I’d feel better if the local police kept tabs on the DHS.
I haven’t heard of any DHS agents murdering citizens.
“I haven’t heard of any DHS agents murdering citizens.”
Just setting up signs for mass shootings.
more, crazy high rents:
http://santabarbara.craigslist.org/apa/5140404039.html
http://santabarbara.craigslist.org/apa/5140365556.html
The second one is not so bad. Here in OC a two bedroom apartment became available for rent in my complex. They rent for $1900. You get a detached garage. It is less expensive than a house for rent. That is around $2500. However it I will eventually move to a house in my neighborhood because the extra $ is for being away from noisy motorists.
Or one can live Mexican-style, five or more roommates to a house…
$550 / 1011ft2 - Only $550 Roommate Needed ASAP (fullerton)
1011ft2 available sep 01
no smoking
private room
no private bath
laundry in bldg
attached garage
Private Room for $550
Nice, Quiet Neighborhood.
Need Roommate ASAP by September 1st!!!!!
Electric bill $20-30 per person
Internet $16.66 per person
Nice backyard!
“Internet $16.66 per person”
$100 / 6 = $16.66
My sister lived that way in Santa Barbara. It’s probably okay for someone in their early 20s who has not become stodgy in their philosophy and does not require sleep. But for someone in their 40s, you cannot help but to have to socialize in the same living room and kitchen and backyard with other strangers. Just to save more money. It’s not good for the mental health of anyone over 35 to do that. The older we get, the more we need privacy.
When I was 42 I was looking for a place to rent in the Wayne, Clifton, and Orange New Jersey areas. They were the $500 per month types like in the photo above. I decided to get my own furnished place for $1700 per month. It was better for me. it was the top floor of an apartment building on top of a hill. Forest to the west, forest to the east, mixture of deciduous and pine. The Fall colors were gorgeous. Lived there 10 months and there were only 2 nights I had noisy partying neighbors. The apartment manager gave them the lease violation “riot act.”
On moving out I got my entire deposit back after paying $80 for a house cleaner approved by the management. All I had was my suitcase, a dufflebag, and my laptop and pickup truck and drove to Los Angeles from there.
My daughter is interested in studying to get good grades, which may make living in a house with five others a risky bet.
The Brazil bubble is slowly leaking in a “hidden” rising lower than inflation way but it’s not caused by cheap mortgage credit as were other bubbles imo. Brazil’s getting really hammered by the global commodity bust and typical major Brazilian scandals but Brazil will bounce back in a few years as it always does IMO. I’m in the USA for the summer looking at the Mid-West and Cali markets. Mid-West prices seem in line with rents in many areas. CAli? Well Cali (NorCal SoCal) has been nuts since about the late 90s with 08-12 infused with a bit of reality.
Brazil Housing Prices Rise Much Less Than Inflation in 1st Half 2015
http://finchannel.com/index.php/business/finance-2/item/46343-brazil-housing-prices-rise-much-less-than-inflation-in-1st-half-2015
The FINANCIAL — House prices in Brazil rose much less than inflation in the first half of the year, as the country’s poor economic performance damaged consumer confidence, according to Nasdaq.
House prices rose 1.38% in the first six months of 2015, according to FipeZap, an index of home prices produced by a think tank affiliated with the Sao Paulo state university. By comparison, Brazil inflation increased at a projected rate of 6.10% in the first half.
….After house prices in the most desirable neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo had doubled from 2008 to 2013, according to FipeZap, more recently real-estate prices in the country lost ground due to the sluggish economy and high inflation and interest rates.
Brazil’s getting really hammered by the global commodity bust
Maybe they should just build some ghost cities
“This is the best way — individual, grass-roots, entrepreneurial, house-by-house, skin-in-the-game approach — to neighborhood revitalization than any government program, or city-directed program could achieve,” he says….It’s not a get-rich-quick class.
Professor Delivers A Crash Course In Real Estate Investing To Detroiters
http://www.npr.org/2015/07/17/423886146/professor-delivers-detroiters-a-crash-course-in-real-estate-investing
You can snap up a home for just a few thousand dollars in Detroit these days. But just because a property is cheap, that doesn’t necessarily make it a good investment.
Peter Allen with the University of Michigan is equipping local residents with housing investment know-how with the hope that they can go on to revitalize their neighborhoods.
Allen has been teaching a real estate investing course to students in Ann Arbor, Mich., for more than three decades. This summer, 45 miles east in Midtown Detroit, he’s dedicating his Saturdays to teaching city residents how to become shrewd investors, too.
…..He adds up a few more figures, then reaches the conclusion.
“You’ve got a rent of $850 and you’ve got payments that are no more than $600,” he says.
That would leave her earning about $250 a month off of a $4,000 cash down payment. He calls that an excellent rate of return.
lol@Lola
It must suck sitting on the sidelines watching people cash in on another housing boom.
Is China’s economic flu contagious?
China slowdown hits corporate earnings across the board
Morgan Brennan | Jessica Golden
Fri, 24 Jul ‘15 | 12:09 PM ET
CNBC.com
China: call it the good, bad and ugly for earnings. The world’s second-largest economy has become a big topic for investors as a deluge of U.S. companies report second-quarter results that have taken a hit from China’s slowdown.
From software companies to drugmakers to fast food chains, economic weakness in China is denting multinational companies—and painting a much different story from the Chinese government narrative of 7 percent, second-quarter gross domestic product growth.
“China is no longer a locomotive of global growth,” Mohamed El-Erian, Allianz’s chief economic adviser, told CNBC on Thursday.
…
The Telegraph
Finance
Emerging market currencies crash on Fed fears and China slump
Christ the Redeemer statue, Brazil
Brazil’s real plummeted to a 12-year low of 3.34 to the dollar
By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
9:48PM BST 24 Jul 2015
Brazil faces a ‘perfect storm’ as the country as the country slides deeper into recession, the politics go haywire and the Fed prepares to raise rates
The currencies of Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and Turkey have all crashed to multi-year lows as investors flee emerging markets and commodity prices crumble.
The drastic moves came as fears of imminent monetary tightening by the US Federal Reserve combined with shockingly weak figures from China, which stoked fears that the country may be sliding into a deeper downturn and sent tremors through East Asia, Latin America and Africa.
The Caixin/Markit manufacturing survey for China fell to a 15-month low of 48.2 in July, with a sharp drop in new export orders. Danske Bank said the slide “pours cold water” on hopes of a quick recovery from the slump seen earlier this year.
Brazil’s real plummeted to a 12-year low of 3.34 to the dollar, reflecting the country’s heavy reliance on exports of iron ore and other raw materials to China.
The devaluation tightens the noose on Brazilian companies saddled with $188bn in dollar debt taken out during the glory days of the commodity boom. The oil group Petrobras alone raised $52bn on the US bond markets.
Mexico’s peso hit a record low of 16.24 against the dollar. The country’s foreign exchange commission is mulling emergency action to defend the currency, despite the extreme reluctance of the Mexican authorities to meddle with market forces.
Colombia’s peso collapsed 5.2pc to a historic low on Friday, a huge move in a single day. Similar dramas played out in Chile and a string of countries deemed vulnerable to the combined spill-overs from China and the US. The MSCI index of emerging market equities fell to 1.8pc to 36.92 and may soon test four-year lows.
Bernd Berg, from Societe Generale, said Brazil faces a “perfect storm” as the economy slides into deeper recession and corruption scandals spread. New worries about political risk may soon push the real to 3.60, a once unthinkable level.
There is mounting concern that President Dilma Rousseff could be impeached for her failure to stop pervasive malfeasance at Petrobras.
Brazil’s travails come just as the US nears full employment and the Fed prepares to raise interest rates for the first time in eight years. issuing what amounts to a “margin call” for emerging markets that have borrowed $4.5 trillion in dollars.
Mr Berg said Brazil’s debt may be cut to junk status over coming months. This would be a humiliating blow for a country that thought it had escaped the endless cycle of debt booms and populist misrule, and saw itself as a pillar of a new BRICS-led global order.
In South Africa, the rand plummeted to a record low of 12.68 to the dollar on Friday despite moves by the central bank to defend the currency. It raised rates a quarter point to 6pc on Thursday.
South Africa is one of a growing number of emerging market states that has lost its room to manoeuvre and is being forced to tighten monetary policy into the downturn, compounding the effects of the commodity slump.
Such countries cannot ease policy or resort to stimulus to cushion the blow because this would risk capital flight - and potentially a classic rush for exits. Such synchronized “pro-cyclical” tightening is hazardous for the world as a whole since the emerging markets now make up roughly half global GDP and – until this year - four-fifths of extra growth.
…
Reading this article gives me the impression the emerging markets crash is far more serious than I realized. BRICs are crumbling.
I’ll plan to serve up more articles on this topic tomorrow.
phony scandals