Bits Bucket for November 24, 2015
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The Housing Bubble
Examining the home price boom and its effect on owners, lenders, regulators, realtors and the economy as a whole.
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Name:Ben Jones
Location:Northern Arizona, United States
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I wonder how much each bubble job really costs.
I mean, figuring in:
• malinvestment
• human costs after bubble collapse
• corporate welfare payments
• individual welfare payments
• etc
The bubble proponents (the “bubble-istas”) sing about the the benefits of bubbles. What about the costs? These are assiduously avoided.
Parabolic price blowout? CHECK
Sales volume trending towards zero? CHECK
Ever looser lending standards sucking in ever worse subprime credit risk buyers to purchase homes with no skin in the game? CHECK
Porcine beauticians offering repeated assurances that it’s different this time? CHECK
Yep. It’s a bubble fixin’ to blow up.
Higher prices, tight inventories straining housing market
By Andrea Riquier
Published: Nov 23, 2015 10:14 a.m. ET
Existing-home sales fall 3.4% in October
Bloomberg
Sales fell the most in the southern and western regions of the United States.
Higher prices and tighter inventory are straining the recovering housing market.
Sales of existing homes ran at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.36 million in October, the National Association of Realtors said Monday. That was down 3.4% from 5.55 million in September, a level which marked the second-best in eight years. Sales were 3.9% higher compared to the same period a year ago.
Inventory remained lean. There were 2.14 million homes available for sale, or 4.8 months at the current sales pace, NAR said. That’s well below the long-term average of 6 months…
…
So there’s the Consumption market, the market for goods and services to be consumed. And the Hope market, the market for “things” which one will sell at a later date for (hopefully) more money. Hence the term “Hope Market.” Financial markets mostly fall into the latter category.
The Hope Market sucks money out of the Consumption market. The government’s inflation and economic health indicators look at the Consumption market. So money getting pulled out of the Consumption market is going to reduce inflation in the Consumption market, and will also reduce spending and job creation (recall we’re at historic lows in labor force participation, although the headline unemployment rate is quite low).
And if that money flow is significant, that is the definition of an unintended consequence.
Add to that the Greenspan Put, where financial markets are actively protected overtly (housing for example, where the Fed minutes explicitly showed talk of putting a floor under house prices: Elizabeth Duke said, ““So I think if we spent enough money, got enough of a hit right now, it would look like a floor on house prices, and we might have something every bit as good as a floor on house prices”) and covertly (Plunge Protection Team and the Fed actively seeking the “Ternary Mandate” of protecting “financial stability”) means that yet more money flows towards the Hope Market from the Consumption Market.
It’s difficult without inside information to predict what the central bankers/planners are going to do, based on their ever evolving playbook and political pressures. But rest assured that the retail investor will absolutely be the last to know, and the ultimate bagholder. The retail investor doesn’t get invited to meet with the head of the New York Fed.
At what point did backstopping housing become part of the Fed’s policy mandate? Is that part of the Bernanke legacy, or does it go back farther?
Backstopping the housing market, not really it is backstopping the finial sector; if the financial sector had invested in rare stamps, the Fed would be announcing actions to stop the crash of the strategically important stamp market.
No Beanie Babies were bailed out to my knowledge.
Obviously the bubble needed to be bigger with Goldman s holding a large stake; fore if they did Beanie Babies would still be bubbling along.
Beanie Baby bail out:
The billionaire who created Beanie Babies broke down crying in court today as he pleaded guilty to one count of tax evasion for hiding $25 million in income in secret Swiss bank accounts.
Fed Chair Yellen defends Fed’s low-rate policies
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER - AP Economics Writer - Nov 23, 2015
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen says while many savers have been frustrated by years of low interest rates, the rock-bottom rates were needed to boost the economy after the Great Recession.
In a letter to consumer advocate Ralph Nader, Yellen said Monday that the low rates helped create millions of jobs by lowering borrowing costs for businesses and consumers.
Yellen was responding to a letter from Nader, who said he was writing on behalf of frustrated savers who have been getting near zero interest on their bank and money-market savings accounts.
“We are tired of this melodrama that exploits so many people who used to rely on interest income to pay some of their essential bills,” Nader wrote to Yellen in the open letter published on his blog. “Think about the elderly among us who need to supplement their Social Security checks every month.”
She said the low rates had made large consumer purchases more affordable and encouraged business to invest, actions that bolstered the recovery and helped create millions of jobs.
Good one from Nader. Where are the cuckservatives on this issue?
You do realize that obama has picked and nominated every single person who sits on the Federal Reserve?
And that it is totally independent from congress?
She said the low rates had made large consumer purchases more affordable and encouraged business to invest, actions that bolstered the recovery and helped create millions of jobs.
Classic dingbat.
The elderly can take advantage of Bernanke/Yellen bux by selling their paid-off homes at the inflated prices resulting from the post-crash bailouts.
(assuming they didn’t cash-out refi during the run-up…)
It isn’t “backstopping housing.” It’s backstopping the TBTF banks that foolishly and recklessly lent money to non-creditworthy FBs who overpaid for “their” houses.
But you are wrong. There was nothing foolish about what they did. They profited from the fees and transactions, and then got bailed out by Uncle Sam. Brilliant!
Privatize the gains; socialize the losses . . . it’s how the 1% rolls.
Are you ready for another exciting episode in the battle of the HBB’s resident partisan political hacks?
En garde!
Don’t worry, I have the Joshua Tree extension installed.
Excellent! Carry on, then.
So instead of parry-riposte, you run off the strip?
P-Bear, the Goon’s prediction for the future:
The authoritarian left, labeling itself “progressive” bans free speech, confiscates all the guns, puts people in death camps
The authoritarian right, labeling itself “Christian” launches trillion dollar neocon wars that last for generations
Authoritarian islam, establishes caliphate, stones and beheads people, rapes 9 year old girls and boys, executes infidels
You may select one of the three
Doesn’t Hillary give us both 1 and 2(without the Christian label), and still possibly leave us with 3 as well? The way I figure if we go with the establishment of either party we’ll can get at least 2 of the 3, anyway.
You have to vote for her to find out.
4. Be very afraid, even if all is ok.
I must be nonpartisan because I hate “both” sides. Google voluntaryism, the real side for freedom.
Bill
We’re listening to Kenny G’s Christmas album as I type , and I’d vote for KG before I’d cast a vote for either party as well. He was an early adopter investor in Starbucks (foresight), graduated with honors (Accounting major), and the man is a great musician (focus). Plus, he plays a great game of golf. lol
Red sky at morning
Sailors take warning.
Business Insider
Finance
We just got a major sign that world trade is crashing
Mike Bird
Nov. 20, 2015, 10:57 AM
MSC Napoli container ship sinkingPeter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
The Baltic Dry Index, which measures the price of shipping the world’s major commodities, just touched an astonishing new low.
On Thursday it hit 504, less than half of what it was as recently as August. On Friday it dropped below 500 for the first time ever.
The index has always been used as a bellwether indicator for global trade conditions and the state of the international economy, but it attracted special attention after it pointed to the coming financial crisis back in 2008.
It has been far lower than its precrisis peak ever since. It touched record lows earlier this year before recovering, but it is now in the doldrums again.
…
Has Dr. Copper had anything interesting to say as of late regarding the world economic outlook?
Financial Times
Industrial metals
Metals prices fall to multiyear lows
Sell-off intensifies pressure on miners to cut production
Mining cart, Copper Mine
yesterday
By Henry Sanderson
Metals prices suffered a broad sell-off on Monday that sent prices to their lowest levels in years, intensifying the pressure on miners from Chile to China to cut production.
Copper fell to a new six-year low of $4,443.5 a tonne on the London Metal Exchange, while nickel dropped 5 per cent to its lowest level since 2003.
Commodities from metals to oil have fallen more than 23 per cent this year amid increasing concern about slowing growth in China, according to the Bloomberg Commodity Index, which tracks 22 raw materials. That has been exacerbated by the prospect of interest rate increases by the Federal Reserve and a strengthening US dollar, which makes commodities priced in the currency more expensive.
The price falls are putting more pressure on miners to hold back production and reduce supply as cuts announced so far have failed to stem the rout. A group of 10 Chinese zinc smelters said last week they would cut output in the face of low prices. But zinc, used to galvanise steel, fell on Monday to its lowest level since 2009.
“The macro headwinds remain strong and thus the impact of these latest cuts are likely to be fleeting,” Daniel Hynes, senior commodity strategist at ANZ, said.
Copper prices have more than halved since their peak in 2011. Investor sentiment towards Chinese copper demand has deteriorated in recent months as chances of any large-scale stimulus in the country fade, according to analysts who attended a recent copper conference in Shanghai.
The mood at last week’s Cesco Asia Copper Week in Shanghai, one of the two major copper market meetings of the year, was “extremely bearish”, according to Citi analyst Ivan Szpakowski.
“This pessimism was focused particularly on Chinese copper demand and macroeconomic outlook,” he wrote in a research note. “Notably, Chinese financial institutions and trading houses expressed a belief that the likelihood of government stimulus in the near term has fallen.”
China consumes more than 40 per cent of the world’s production of copper. It also has a considerable influence over global metals prices through a growing amount of speculative money.
Weakening demand for the red metal, predominantly used in wiring, has outpaced the announced supply cuts by miners so far this year. Crucially Chile’s state-owned miner Codelco, which accounts for about 10 per cent of the world’s copper production — a similar level to Saudi Arabia in oil — has not announced it will cut output.
“With large surpluses looming, prices may need to continue falling to encourage the supply cuts the copper market needs in order to rebalance over the medium term,” analysts at Barclays said.
…
Wur Doomed, Entombed & Marooned…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7RIgs3eygo
Silver, which hit a peak of $48 and change in 2011, is trading in the $14 range.
Attention flippers and accidental landlords…
———————-
Tax Audit Red Flags
Kiplinger - DEC 2015
Claiming Rental Losses
Normally, the passive loss rules prevent the deduction of rental real estate losses. But there are two important exceptions. If you actively participate in the renting of your property, you can deduct up to $25,000 of loss against your other income. This $25,000 allowance phases out as adjusted gross income exceeds $100,000 and disappears entirely once your AGI reaches $150,000. A second exception applies to real estate professionals who spend more than 50% of their working hours and over 750 hours each year materially participating in real estate as developers, brokers, landlords or the like. They can write off losses without limitation.
The IRS is actively scrutinizing rental real estate losses, especially those written off by taxpayers claiming to be real estate pros. It’s pulling returns of individuals who claim they are real estate professionals and whose W-2 forms or other non-real estate Schedule C businesses show lots of income. Agents are checking to see whether these filers worked the necessary hours, especially in cases of landlords whose day jobs are not in the real estate business. The IRS started its real estate professional audit project several years ago, and this successful program continues to bear fruit.
Individuals who own multiple properties can Make a section 469 (c)(7) election in order to aggregate their time spent on each for the purposes of satisfying the material participation test. otherwise, they have to satisfy the material participation test for each individual property!
you know what else is an audit flag? A Schedule C loss and w-2 income.the IRS figures if somebody is working full time with a w2 job, they do not have time to materially participate in a sole proprietorship.I see a lot of those. Most of the time it is a foreign-born tax preparer creating fraudulent Schedule C losses in order to enhance a tax refund.
I believe the IRS overlooks a major area of tax avoidance in the self rental loss area. It is a fairly easy area to exploit through the use of Layered entities.
“Central Banks Are Out Of Dry Powder” Stockman Warns “Another Financial Crisis Is Unavoidable”
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-11-23/central-banks-are-out-dry-powder-stockman-warns-another-financial-crisis-unavoidable
So I guess we can call NIRP the wet powder then?
Yesterday I said this…
Bigger obama wars in the middle east. The Kurds with American airpower and Assad with Russian airpower will continue to make gains against ISIS and other islamic groups. This will piss off Turkey and Saudi Arabia and elicit a response.
—————————
Putin: Downing of Russian warplane a ’stab in the back’
ITV News | 11/24/2015 | ITV
Vladimir Putin has responded angrily after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian border, describing the move as a “stab in the back” that would have “serious consequences” for the countries’ relations…..
Yep. That’s gonna leave a mark.
“serious consequences” for the countries’ relations…..
Poor Russia. All their major gas export pipelines go through countries hostile to them. Ukraine, Poland, now Turkey (which was supposed to circumvent the problem).
Not a good chess position.
1. People on the other end of the pipelines NEED Russia’s hydrocarbons or they freeze in the dark this winter. To include Poland, the Ukraine and Turkey.
2. Assad is still the legitimate and lawful administration of Syria. As such, he could ban all the airplanes from all other countries in his airspace and Russia could back this up with powerful AAA missiles.
3. Russia then backs up a no fly zone for the Kurds (who Turkey has been bombing more than ISIS) and arms the Kurds to the teeth with TOW missiles (does this sound familiar?). Turkey then breaks apart in a brutal civil war (hey, two can play at this game!).
4. Turkey, A NATO member, invokes Article 5. How many think Americans, French, Polish, etc. armies are going to go to Turkey to fight the Kurds and the Russians? None.
5. NATO breaks apart.
Checkmate.
Don’t play cheese unless you can think at least 6 moves ahead.
Russia’s going to start a war with Turkey now? That would make three wars they’d be involved in.
Putin’s chess games are getting expensive.
Just remember the Ottoman’s per WW1 there 2B - this could get real ugly.
Who won? Who lost?
Stop spending my money.
Don’t play cheese unless you can think at least 6 moves ahead.
No, Turkey shooting down a Russian warplane will not spark World War III
http://www.vox.com/2015/11/24/9791612/russia-turkey-nato-world-war-3
…This is not the start of World War III. And I say that as someone who has voiced real concern about other ways in which Russia and the US could be dragged into an unintended escalation to war. But those conditions are not present here.
……The answer is pretty simple: The stakes are just too low. The things at issue here are Russia’s bombing of anti-Assad rebels in Syria, the sanctity of Turkish airspace, and the life of one (or possibly two) Russian pilot.
Those things matter, and Turkey cares an awful lot about its airspace and about what happens in Syria. But Russia doesn’t care enough about those things to risk a major war. And neither do the leading members of NATO (the US, UK, France, etc.), which will largely decide how NATO responds.
There is thus every reason to believe that both Russia and NATO will seek to deescalate. Neither cares enough about enforcing Syria-Turkey border zone air rights to escalate much over this
Of course not for Turkey. Now they may not be able to buy oil from ISIS on cheap.
It’s all about oil….for turkeys and mullions of them will be slaughtered on Thanksgiving.
I wonder if putin will cut off the oil and gas to turkey? Isnt russia a big supplier to them?
You can only export something that people want, if they want gas the pipelines will stay open. Without the gas people will freeze; hence the pipelines through Ukraine are still open because without Russian gas Ukraine freeze, as does Germany and much of Eastern Europe. As long as Russia can live without BMW’s and other fancy goods they hold the power not the customers who need the gas.
Whatever happened to the good old days, when an incident like this would have precipitated a major stock market selloff had it occurred a fee decades ago. It’s like Mr. Market shrugged his indifference.
Five George Soros employees shot at black lives matter protest in Minneapolis, police searching for Southern Poverty Law Center infiltrators:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/11/24/five-people-shot-near-minneapolis-protest-cops-searching-for-3-white-male-suspects/
Forward
Huffington Post rallies the base with a grabber narrative
Dallas mayor ‘more fearful’ of white terrorists than Syrian refugees:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mike-rawlings-terrorism_565385cee4b0258edb32a21f
Forward
Salon dot com rallies the base, blames Donald Trump and Fox News for the actions of three rogue Hillary Clinton campaign volunteers who shot up a George Soros funded black lives matter protest in Minneapolis last night:
http://www.salon.com/2015/11/24/this_blood_is_on_donald_trump_and_fox_newss_hands/
Forward
Were the white guys who shot them Trump employees?
Oligarch war! Coming soon?
That’s what Salon dot com says. You can keep your grabber narrative and I’ll vote libertarian next year
Oddie
You should go outside and discuss this with your white neighbors in your all white neighborhood.
Sounds dangerous. How will I know which oligarch they’re claiming?
Maybe if the whites had a “Safe Space” on a college campus - this could have been prevented.
Seriously, this happens every night in Chicago, Newark, Cleveland, Detroit, Camden, Philly, etc. Except all involved are black. And it barely makes the local news.
Omeoga and her fellow protesters saw three people wearing masks who “weren’t supposed to be there,” she told the Associated Press. When the three interlopers left the crowd and began walking down the street, a few protesters followed them. But when the three men reached a corner, she said, they pulled out weapons and fired at the protesters.
Remember, it’s always legal for white people to shoot black people.
It’s in the Constitution somewhere.
Do NOT interrupt the narrative
Let the “progressives” of HBB (whose closest interaction with black people is watching them play football on TeeVee and who live in 99.9% lily white neighborhoods) script the narrative for you
It is racist, colonialist, patriarchal, and cisgender for you to think you have anything to contribute to the narrative
Forward
Me cornfused. I thought progressives were hipsters who lived downtown in high walk score neighborhoods. Now they’re exurbanites?
Who’s living downtown?
I bet it’s young progressives.
I am a young (44 yr old) Libertarian.
It is racist, colonialist, patriarchal,….
I’m not seeing consistency in your positions. I don’t understand how one can consistently (and for years) rail against black, minor-league “race hustlers“, but then now support a far more powerful race hustler, and an emerging fascist demagogue to boot - Il Duce Trump.
That’s to say, I don’t understand the above if there’s simply logic involved, and not other subjective factors.
Maybe it depends which race they’re hustling?
You are free to move about the country. Dont play the poor me, victim card.
Breitbart dot com (Andrew Breitbart was murdered under direct orders from King Obama) reports on the grabber narrative, that King Obama decrees Amerikwans should talk about gun control this Thanksgiving:
http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/11/23/white-house-americans-talk-gun-control-thanksgiving/
Thanksgiving 2075: “Grandpa will you tell us the story again about how you escaped from the death camps and made it to freedom in New America?”
Did someone say Soros?
http://takimag.com/article/hail_the_ghoul-manfred_von_pentz#axzz3s9SGagJ3
“To feel and even think that the White Race is inferior in every conceivable plane is natural, given its history and current documents. Let the White Race perish in blood and suffering. Long live the multicultural, racially mixed and classless ecological society! Long live anarchy!”
Nya Dagbladet, March 2014 That is what George Soros told the world in an interview with a Swedish newspaper only a year earlier, and nothing can reveal his true intentions better than this. Yet as it is, and even though most of his crimes are glaringly apparent, nobody has so far held him responsible for them.
Meanwhile, the negative consequences of the ghoul’s demented ploys are manifold. Inventing and fanning interracial conflicts, robbing the global community of fantastic amounts of money, and promoting a kind of Orwellian tyranny where hordes of dim-witted slaves will eventually serve a tiny elite are increasingly perceived by most reasonable people as an assault on their purses and guaranteed liberties alike. Small wonder, therefore, that distrust, disgust, and open enmity have been the result.”
That is what George Soros told the world in an interview with a Swedish newspaper only a year earlier, and nothing can reveal his true intentions better than this.
So Takimag has shown itself to be either very poorly sourced and fact-checked, or just brazen liars.
Source is named right in the article, Oddie. Get some reading glasses.
I read the source, which apparently the author of your article did not. Or did, and chose to lie about it.
No, you didn’t, fanboy. And Soros does not deny, btw. Just as he didn’t deny collaborating with Nazis. He’s a man who has no purpose, save to create misery and disruption for all.
And why should this surprise anyone? Financiers have a long and storied history fomenting wars and unrest between nations, especially in Europe, frequently lending to both sides of a conflict that they themselves have engendered. One might even call it “Global Warring”!
Alright, fanboy, let me show you and Takimag how to fact check. First, we “goggle” the quote, and it leads us directly to a Swedish newspaper of dubious quality, then we “goggle” translate, and voila:
So Soros did not make that quote, someone he supposedly supported politically did. And thus we learn that Takimag is either a lying propaganda rag or a lazy disseminater of other people’s propaganda (OPP), and that we (meaning you, not me) are being herded like a sheep by the shepherds.
No, no, you picked up Hubinette’s quoting of Soros.
And again, Soros doesn’t really care. It’s just a battle cry to foment further unrest.
No, no, you picked up Hubinette’s quoting of Soros.
Prove that. I produced a quote directly from the source referenced in your article that says Hubinette made the quote.
If Soros had made that quote, it would be made quite clear it was from him, not put in the mouth of another.
Yeah, I Googled that when Palmetto posted it the other day and found that it was Hubinette, not Soros. a Lot of people just don’t care about facts.
the negative consequences of the ghoul’s demented ploys are manifold. Inventing and fanning interracial conflicts…. and even though most of his crimes are glaringly apparent, nobody has so far held him responsible…,
Doing the above? He’s just trying to win the Republican nomination is all, and the other Repubs are too cowardly to hold The Donald responsible for anything.
This is your authoritarian future:
“When asked whether the government should intervene if citizens say something that might be considered offensive to minorities, 40% of millennials agreed”
http://www.breitbart.com/tech/2015/11/23/study-40-of-millennials-oppose-offensive-free-speech/
Forward
What is different about how the Washington Post reported on these 2 stories?
By Michael E. Miller and Lindsey Bever November 24 at 8:38 AM
Simmering racial tensions have boiled over yet again after a small group of white men allegedly shot five people who had been protesting the recent police killing of an African American man in Minneapolis.
By Niraj Chokshi and Michael E. Miller November 23 at 4:55 PM
A three-man crime spree on the morning of Nov. 10 ended in the murder of an Indianapolis pastor’s pregnant wife, according to a newly released legal filing.
They make the first one sound rather innocuous (”after a small group of white men allegedly shot five people”), the second one more sensational (”A three-man crime spree on the morning of Nov. 10 ended in the murder”)?
How it really went down in Minneapolis.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHvzGWlVIjA
It looks like it is all going according to plan.
And because we wouldn’t want this thread to be a total buzzkill, a repost of the 2014 Super Bowl Coke commercial:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RiMMpFcy-HU
Cultural relativism is the greatest progressive lie ever told
“This sucker could go down” — George W. Bush
Did ‘ya catch that subliminal NFL game commercial with two females in the Lamborghini trying to get out and give the keys to the parking lot valet boy?
Cultural relativism is the greatest progressive lie ever told
OK. But if “cultural relativism is a lie, does that mean that some of the ignorant, redneck/racist cultures should actually be held up to the same higher moral and intellectual standards of some of the progressive cultures?
Because that’s what “cultural relativism being lie” would require.
Why Trump is leading in the polls and why he is going to pull a significant amount of democrats into the “R” column…
—————————
POLL: 48% of Americans Favor Closing Borders, Halting ALL Immigration
24 November 2015 | Reaganite Republican
According to a new Ipsos-MORI poll, 48% of Americans -and 44% Britons- now favor halting all immigration into their besieged countries… stopping not just Muslims, but everybody. These numbers represent about a five-point jump…
Other fun facts: 95% of people in the UK -and 91% of Americans- expect there to be a major terrorist strike on their respective homeland over the coming 12 months… that’s a pretty dark outlook to have to get up and face everyday, and over time it’s bound to take a toll on you.
Hillary and Obama sure are fond of telling us how ‘un-American’ we are for attempting to salvage what’s left of this battered, rudderless country by putting the brakes on their stealth-Islamic-invasion schemes.
Honestly, Trump is looking worse by the day. At first I wondered if he was acting outrageous to rally the primary base and then go moderate and sensible to attract the Hillary nose-holders in the general. But that would be two-dimensional checkers, which might be one dimension two many for this guy. (but he still hasn’t taken any outside money…)
Trump is going more Nazi by the day.
Who exactly is trying to kill off cash?
http://wolfstreet.com/2015/11/24/the-death-of-cash/
There is no way any State can kill off alternative currency.
Ralph Nadar calls out Yellen the Felon on the Fed’s “plutocratic crony capitalism.” Why aren’t any of the main presidential candidates doing the same?
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-11-23/furious-ralph-nader-calls-out-fed-tribune-plutocratic-crony-capitalism-janet-yellen-
The reason why Yellen the Felon can’t raise rates (besides faciliating the enrichment of the Fed’s plutocrat cronies): our soaring national debt.
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/article/2577030/
seems like some folks get money for free.
It is impossible to pay this debt off. Someone is going to have to take a haircut.
All they can do is kick the can down the road and service the debt.
so food stamp checks keep going out and you basically pay for it by the ZIRP program. Your interest goes to enable the debt to grow.
This is what happens when there is nothing of value backing money. It becomes a free for all.
food stamps = $150 mo
Jail = $4000 mo
‘Last week Hillary spoke at the Council of Foreign Relations. Some of those listening closely were troubled, with good reason. Building to her theme that the United States should take stronger measures against the Syria’s anti-Islamist Assad government, Clinton said: “In September I laid out a comprehensive plan to counter Iranian influence across the region and its support for terrorist proxies such as Hezbollah and Hamas. We cannot view Iran and ISIS as separate challenges. Regional politics are too interwoven. Raising the confidence of our Arab partners and raising the costs to Iran for bad behavior will contribute to a more effective fight against ISIS.”
“And as we work out a broader regional approach, we should of course be closely consulting with Israel, our strongest ally in the Middle East.”
‘In other words, not six days after ISIS slaughtered 130 people in Paris; a few more after it brought down a Russian airliner over Egypt and blew up a Hezbollah neighborhood in Beirut, Hillary Clinton is calling for tougher measures against… wait for it… ISIS’s enemies in the Mideast. Is it time to ask, with Hillary Clinton leading the Democratic field, who needs Doug Feith and Paul Wolfowitz?’
‘Does it need to be spelled out? For Hillary, the ISIS terror may be a sort of pretext to take the war to those whom Bibi Netanyahu considers his primary enemy, Iran, and Iran’s Lebanese Shi’ite ally, Hezbollah.’
‘In the Democratic foreign policy debate several weeks ago, Hillary foreshadowed this. Asked by the moderator which enemies she was happy to have, she included “Iranians” in a list of otherwise standard Democratic domestic bogeymen. Did she mean all 78 million Iranians? The Tehran government which had just concluded an historic arms control agreement with the United States, Russia, China, and Europe? What was the point of the remark? It would have been easier to overlook had she not doubled down on it at the Council of Foreign Relations last week.’
‘My own guess is that Hillary is trying to signal right wing Zionist donors, particularly Sheldon Adelson sidekick Haim Saban—the biggest contributor to Clinton campaigns over the years—that she is really on board with them, despite nominally running as a “progressive” Democrat. But who knows her real motives. The point is, Hillary should be called on it—by her fellow Democrats, and especially by Republicans.’
‘The United States has already once this century seen neoconservatives leverage anger at a terrorist attack to start a war against a country that had nothing to do with the original attack. That was the Iraq war, and we and the peoples of the Europe and the Mideast are still paying the price.’
‘Don’t let Hillary (an Iraq war supporter) lead us down that path again.’
Crickets?
“our Arab partners”
That’s what jumped out at me. I’ve been wondering for a while now about this ungodly “alliance” that Warshington seems to have with the Arabs. So much so that the 9/11 attacks haven’t been properly attributed, except in those redacted pages of the 9/11 report, and why Warshington keeps doing the bidding of the House of Saud. In Iraq, In Libya and now Syria.
I have surmised that various Warshington officials have been suborned with threats on their families. It’s possible, but now I’m beginning to to think it’s more banal than that, having more to do with the dollar-oil reserve currency set-up.
“I’ve been wondering for a while now about this ungodly “alliance” that Warshington seems to have with the Arabs.”
The Bush family has been accepting Saudi money for years.
I don’t believe the U.S. government or its allies. Is that enough?
How about: I believe the endless wars, endless terror and endless government surveillance are all in a vicious blowback cycle.
So Obama’s treaty with Iran was actually a good thing, not the sellout of America’s interests to a horrible enemy, as it was characterized by the neocons. It was actually a blow to the neocon warmongers.
The late great Christopher Hitchens used to say that we were allied with all the wrong people in the Middle East. Iran and India, age-old civilizations with deep rich cultures were our natural allies, he said, and the camel jockey desert raiders of the Gulf states and Saudi Arabia our true enemies.
That’s a pretty goofy position. The age of some country’s civilization is irrelevant.
I think his point was that some peoples were sympathetic to civilization, others were natural-born raiders of it.
Of course, the vikings turned out alright, if you don’t mind them being kind of commie.
So how come English students don’t have “safe spaces” from Scandinavian students in the UK?
So how come English students don’t have “safe spaces” from Scandinavian students in the UK?
Because the vikings (Normans) already invaded and conquered England, took most of its land, divvied it up amongst themselves, and over time dissolved and intermarried into the English.
But like I said, they’re fine people now.
It’s irrelevant. There’s no evidence that their old cultures make them more civilized than anyone else.
There’s no evidence that their old cultures make them more civilized than anyone else.
I suppose Hitchens might argue there are several millenia worth of real world evidence.
Here’s another thought. If you use that logic, we should be neutral in any conflict between North and South Korea.
Well it can’t be applied as a ruler to any situation, obviously we’re going to favor Canada over Iran in most any conflict imaginable.
But it’s an interesting perspective that perhaps explains why seem to get everything wrong in our dealings with the Middle East. We’re lined up with the wrong side.
I guess I did not mention it but I am for the better relations with Iran, but I am suspicious. No nation should be singled out. Pull completely out of the ME and no foreign aid just pure free trade.
Maybe Hillary can join McCain onstage for a duet rendition of “Bomb Bomb Bomb Iran.”
Lola…. what are your thoughts on housing and the economy.
This is an Iran thread. I don’t have any opinions about Iranian housing.
Housing Lola housing.
Crushing. Housing. Losses.
Hillary spends too much.
I prefer Rand.
“Consumer Confidence Crashes To 14-Month Lows”
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-11-24/consumer-confidence-crashes-14-month-lows
Is it just me, or is the Black Friday rumor radar really quiet this year? Last year the media was making predictions of mobs all over the place. This year… almost nothing.
Good time to load up on notes, silver, Bitcoin and Litecoin.
lol@coordinated financial reporting
Caught this comment on Burning Platform this morning -
Food for thought?
John Coster says:
I appreciate Buchanan’s standing up for western culture, a stance seldom taken by members of the political class, wherever they fall on the spectrum. Certainly the Republican right as well most Democrats have few of the sensibilities that motivated the founding fathers. I would be so bold as to say that Jefferson, Franklin and many of the men who formed our government really did embody the best aspects of western civilization. I expect today’s Eurocrats, like America’s corporate/political elite, have little understanding of their own cultural heritage. Their interest is in control. Fear is their ally. Of course they will promote the fear that gives them power over their own people. I hear all sorts of debate about how to help the refugees but precious little criticism of the fools in Washington who have been breeding terrorists like rabbits for years and nonchalantly blasting to pieces existing countries, all the while dismembering the US Constitution, a document written by men who did understand western culture. Flooding Europe with people of a very different background means little to men who don’t understand or respect their own culture, much less that of those whose societies they have destroyed.
#istandwithradioshack
Texas teen arrested for homemade clock demands $15 million and an apology from city, school district
BY Nicole Bitette
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Monday, November 23, 2015, 5:22 PM
Time is running out for them to meet this clockmaker’s demands.
Attorneys for the Texas teen who was arrested for having a clock that was thought to be a bomb are demanding $15 million for his unjust treatment.
Ahmed Mohamed, 14, was arrested and suspended in September after educators mistook his homemade clock for a bomb.
Mohamed’s attorneys are now demanding $10 million from the city of Irving and $5 million from the Irving Independent School District, as well as written apologies.
If not received in 60 days, attorneys will file a formal lawsuit, the letters say.
Following Mohamed’s arrest, he was invited to visit Facebook, Google and the White House.
“Cool clock, Ahmed. Want to bring it to the White House?” President Obama tweeted out to him. “We should inspire more kids like you to like science. It’s what makes America great.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/…-arrested-homemade-clock-demands-15-million-article-1.2444435 -
Recommend reading the demand letter Ahmed’s lawyers sent — it’s interesting on its own (link).
The big complaint is how he was detained and then slandered once the story hit the media. Now, I’m not a lawyer, but I think teachers have broad powers to detain kids and question them. But the big boo-boo was made when the cops came and they arrested him without Mirandizing him nor notifying his parents immediately that he was in custody.
I think the City of Irving is in deep doo-doo here. They may not have to pay $15 mil but it will be something. That’s assuming Ahmed can get a fair trial in Texas, where Islamophobia reigns supreme.
Anyone with a brain in their head can see Ahmed and his family are big time grifters. The kid’s sister had been disciplined for a similar incident. The so-called invention was a wal mart clock the kid took the outside cover off of and put in a box, hardly an invention. All this orchestrated by their gutter slime father.
City of Irving has no liability. These people had to go to Podunk Texas, Plainview, to even find a lawyer to take their case. They’re going to get exactly jack squat out of Irving. At least they had the good sense to move to Qatar.
Sure, the clock may have been a ruse. That really doesn’t matter when the bumbling cops make such a boneheaded mistake as handcuffing Ahmed and not reading him his Miranda rights. In their Islamophobic zeal to stop terrorism they blew basic procedure, like a rookie running back that fumbles at the goal line due to nerves.
Anyone with a brain in their head can see Ahmed and his family are big time grifters.
So are Obamas and Clintons. You don’t have problem with them, why should you with this little brown fella?
Little brown fella?
didnt the clockmaker leave the country? If he is asking 15 million what amount would he take to go away? Seems like the lawyers are trying to intimidate the city.
But the big boo-boo was made when the cops came and they arrested him without Mirandizing him nor notifying his parents immediately that he was in custody.
I think the City of Irving is in deep doo-doo here. They may not have to pay $15 mil but it will be something.
What, what, the do,
How ’bout some google-fu:
———————
If police fail to inform suspects of their Miranda rights, are they guilty of a crime?
Question:
I was arrested for robbery. The arresting officer questioned me about the incident, but didn’t read me my Miranda rights. Did he commit a crime? Can I sue him?
Answer:
In most situations, the only recourse a defendant has when police have questioned him in custody without informing him of his Miranda rights is to attempt to have his answers kept out of evidence in any resulting trial. If the questioning was accomplished by force or fear, a defendant may have a civil claim that his civil rights were violated, but such claims are rarely brought and very difficult to win.
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/miranda-rights-violation.html
——————
Miranda rights
Miranda was released from prison for the last time in 1975. On January 31, 1976, he was drinking and playing cards with two Mexican men (both in the U.S. illegally) at the La Amapola Bar in Phoenix, when the three got into a fistfight over some coins lying on the bar. According to the police, one Mexican pulled a 6-inch knife and gave it to the other, telling him to “finish it with this.” Miranda was stabbed once in the chest and once in the abdomen, and he died in the ambulance on the way to Good Samaritan Hospital. He was 34 years old.
The alleged killer escaped down a back alley, but police arrested the alleged accomplice. They immediately read him his “Miranda rights” off a card, and he declined to say anything. The authorities never had enough evidence to prosecute anyone for killing Miranda.
Ernesto A. Miranda - encyclopedia article - Citizendium
en.citizendium.org/wiki/Ernesto_A._Miranda - 52k -
Ernesto A. Miranda - encyclopedia article - Citizendium
uh oh. From your “link”:
“This editable Main Article is under development and not meant to be cited; by editing it you can help to improve it towards a future approved, citable version. These unapproved articles are subject to a disclaimer.”
“The Dallas Morning News asked attorney Laura Peterson, who chaired the Texas bar’s juvenile law section last year and routinely defends children in court, whether she thinks the family’s complaints could win a lawsuit.
The Mohameds might not like what she has to say. “Police don’t Mirandize juveniles,” she said. To prevent any question of intimidation, the law requires children to be read their rights by a judge, in a room with no police officers present. This often happens after questioning.
http://irvingblog.dallasnews.com/2015/11/did-police-mistreat-ahmed-mohamed-a-juvenile-law-expert-weighs-in.html/
Like I said, these people are dirty grifters.
Attorneys, responsible for the decline of western civilization.
BTFD today. Get in on the santa claus rally with some some more FANG!
Pfizer = Benedict Arnold. What, we give them huge government subsidies and then they leave the country to skip out on paying taxes?
From TIME: “Three cheers for Hillary Clinton and other politicians who are decrying Pfizer’s tax “inversion” deal that would allow it to take over an Irish pharma company and relocate there, thus saving $21 billion in American taxes. Tax inversion deals—mergers done pretty much for the sole purpose of saving tax money by moving to a foreign tax jurisdiction—have been on the rise for a while now. One of the many reasons they are so egregious is that the very firms that are most able to do them—including pharmaceutical and tech companies that have most of their value in intellectual property that can be easily relocated elsewhere—have also been the biggest beneficiaries of government help.”
Amazing how Repubs apologize for their big corporate buddies getting massive subsidies and avoiding $21B worth of taxes while at the same time demonizing some immigrant who got a $150 EBT card.
Just goes to show that you can’t have globalization without globalization. Moving to a lower tax jurisdiction is not unethical. If we want companies to move to or stay in the US, we should give them incentives to do so.
Isn’t it ironic that you demonize big companies but are angry they are leaving?
It’s not ironic if you demonize companies BECAUSE they are leaving, and taking jobs with them. Not to mention millions of dollars in indirect R&D funding from tax-funded university grants.
I’m still wondering whether all the Pfizer drugs will now get the lower import pricing, like in Canada. Isn’t that what people wanted for Medicare?
Were the university R&D projects possibly funded by corporate sponsorship or corporate taxes? Were the results in the public domain? Either there are strings attached or there aren’t.
You and I don’t have to stay working in the US after benefitting from University.
oxide
We were told by the eyeball doc (University) that it was legal to order eye drops through a Canadian International Pharmacy Assoc. member, and although it’s some work following the protocol, we cut our bill by 75%. Even drops out for years, are 100’s of $1s per bottle in the USA. There are restrictions on controlled substances and other pharmaceuticals for International Pharmacies, fyi. .
MT Pockets & Co. The blind leading the blind.
Isn’t it ironic that you demonize big companies but are angry they are leaving?
I don’t demonize big companies that are good actors, unfortunately good actors have been scarce lately. It appears the solution here is that if we heavily subsidize a US corporation, there needs to be a clawback provision to discourage inversions. Pay up when they go overseas or have an automatic tariff to claw the subsidy back.
It is not clear here what these big subsidies were. You’ll have to be more specific about that to make a case that they are acting “badly”.
This looks to me similar to losing a big customer. It isn’t constructive to put the blame completely on the customer for going to another vendor.
Globalization works great for big companies. For taxpayers, not so much.
I guess having the highest tax rate in the industrialized actually does cause things to happen.
Cause and effect. Economics is hard.
Actually, the effective corporate tax rate in the US seems to be about 13%. The operative word here is “effective”.
Congress writes tax laws, and that is an important component of their power, the ability to either shake down companies, or dole out favors.
Actually, the effective corporate tax rate in the US seems to be about 13%. The operative word here is “effective”.
+1 for the truth, But Fox says otherwise.
“U.S. corporate tax collection totaled 2.6% of GDP in 2011, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. That was the eleventh lowest in a ranking of 27 wealthy nations. ”
The Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations has hauled several corporate executives to Capitol Hill over the past year for testimony on their tax practices.
A report released by the subcommittee last month charged that Apple (AAPL) used a complicated system of international subsidiaries and cost-shifting strategies to avoid paying taxes on some $74 billion in income from 2009 to 2012.
A subcommittee report at the time alleged that Microsoft had saved nearly $7 billion off its U.S. tax bill since 2009 by using loopholes to shift profits offshore. H-P, the report said, avoided paying taxes through a series of loans that shifted billions of dollars between two offshore subsidiaries”
Hey Lola….. a conditional release from your RageCage I see.
NBC Meeting With Latino Lawmakers Derails When Executive Says ‘Illegals’
by Alex Griswold | 2:40 pm, November 19th, 2015
A meeting held by NBC honchos to extend the olive branch to Hispanic lawmakers went awry when one of the executives used the term “illegals.”
A number of Hispanic members of Congress were upset with NBC after they went ahead with an episode of Saturday Night Live hosted by Donald Trump. “We love the Hispanic community. Yo hablo español,” NBC News president Deborah Turness reportedly told them in the meeting.
But Politico reports that Turness made one huge PR blunder, when she referred to Telemundo’s coverage of a family of “illegals.”
“I’m going to stop you right there,” Democratic Congressman Juan Vargas said. “We use the term undocumented immigrants.”
The members of Congress left still angry at the remark, and Turness’ use of Spanish (“Hispandering,” one member called it). “Members left more offended and more upset then when they walked in there,” a Democratic staffer told Politico.
http://www.mediaite.com/…/ - 179k -
“We love the Hispanic community. Yo hablo español,” NBC News president Deborah Turness reportedly told them in the meeting.
I wonder if she wore a sombrero at the meeting to show her solidarity?
Bizzarre… why would anyone say “Yo hablo español” if you don’t actually speak Spanish?
A failed attempt to be welcoming to a narcissistic brat.
I would have loved to hear what those NBC honchos really had to say about the Hispanic members of Congress after they left more offended and more upset then when they walked in there over the term “illegals”.
I’m pretty sure those limousine liberals were throwing around terms like Wetback with great frequency.
NBC honchos
Wore sombreros and ponchos,
And served them all tacos that day.
But the salsa went sour,
And by the end of the hour,
The hispanics had all gone away.
The NBC execs had just met
With politicos,
whose backs were all wet.
They handed out towels
But were met with rude scowls
When they said,
“We don’t don’t need your badges just yet!”
Is Colorado around to help out with this?
My understanding is that Spanish generally doesn’t use unidentified “they” or even a vague “we” as a subject. In Spanish, if you don’t know exactly who the subject is, you revert to the passive voice. For example, if a business has employees who can speak Spanish to Spanish-speaking customers, you hang a sign that says “se habla Español,” literally translated as “Spanish, it is spoken [here].” NOT “we speak Spanish” or “I speak Spanish.”
20 years ago, I remember all the signs saying “se habla Español.” But in the past 4-5 years have I seen businesses hanging out a “Hablamos Español” sign. I guess it’s correct grammatically, but not idiomatically?
So what about “Yo hablo Español.” I don’t know if that applies here, since one of the employees identified herself specifically as speaking Spanish.
“Is Colorado around to help out with this?”
Do you know that Colorado speaks Spanish?
I know he has said he is from from Hispanic descent but that doesn’t mean he actually speaks Spanish.
Seinfeld - Chinese mailman - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnAam9Hozwk - 180k -
Seinfeld — Native American (Full Scene) - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpGfyp6MxkM - 173k -
He’s stated that he’s fluent in Spanish.
From what I could glean, Colorado is of Mexican or Hispanic descent, but looks gringo. He has described living in Mexico during their currency inflation, late 70’s early 80’s, I think. I also remember a post where Colorado hired construction workers who didn’t know his heritage, and then he surprised them that he had heard and understood every word they had said about him on the site.
“and then he surprised them that he had heard and understood every word they had said about him on the site.”
About 10 years ago a 20 year old kid of Hispanic descent looked at his buddy and called me a bendejo after I told the lead man on his crew they were taking down the bead on a big coffered ceiling and putting it back up using a level.
He spent the next 8 hours in a really hot van outside the job waiting for his buddies to finish work that day.
yo hablo un poquito de español
“Se habla español “(you don’t capitalize the E) - Spanish spoken.
“Hablamos español” - We speak Spanish
You could use either one to indicate that Spanish is spoken at a business. That said, the first one implies that someone speaks Spanish, while the second one implies that everyone speaks Spanish.
From what I could glean, Colorado is of Mexican or Hispanic descent, but looks gringo.
Correct, mostly because I am of Spanish and Hungarian ancestry.
He has described living in Mexico during their currency inflation, late 70’s early 80’s, I think.
Correct again.
I also remember a post where Colorado hired construction workers who didn’t know his heritage, and then he surprised them that he had heard and understood every word they had said about him on the site.
I didn’t hire them. They were working on the house next door.
“Se habla español “(you don’t capitalize the E) - Spanish spoken.”
I can’t write any Spanish, the words and phrases I know come from the guys I work with and have worked for me, mostly all good and more than a few who I consider close friends.
You can try to sound some out.
donde estas where are you
trabjo mallo bad work
muy frio very cold
Que pasa mi amigo what’s up bud
nada nada nothing much
muy bonito very pretty
poblecito poor little baby
mama la pinga if you know you better not say cause I’ll be in trouble
buen fin desemana have a good weekend
Bizzarre… why would anyone say “Yo hablo español” if you don’t actually speak Spanish?
If that’s what happened, then she started the meeting by lying to the members of Congress.
“We use the term undocumented immigrants.”
My wife got a ticket last year for making an undocumented U turn.
My wife got a ticket last year for making an undocumented U turn.
First loss: what we (and Ohio State) learned
……Trevor Thompson, who is second on the team with eight turnovers. He had five against the Mavericks: Two for simply traveling, one for a lane violation, one for an
illegalundocumented screen and one when he was stripped of the ball in the paint…..http://buckeyextra dot dispatch dot com
Lol, so the peacock just got its beak tweaked. Hispandering! The immigration restrictionists have been using that term for years and the opposition has taken it up.
Debbie does doblar and they give her the dedo.
I like the term “illegal criminal invaders”
Reminds of The Office episode called Diversity Day:
Oscar: Both my parents were born in Mexico. And they moved to the United States a year before I was born. So I grew up in the United States. My parents were Mexican.
Michael Scott: Wow. Wow. That is… That is a great story. That’s the American dream right there, right? Um, let me ask you, is there a term besides “Mexican” that you prefer? Something less offensive?
So….let’s see - Turkey shoots down a Russian bomber today -
Interesting that this coincides with the annual feast known as Turkey Day
and does this redefine the phrase “Turkey shoot”?
Ugh. What will DC do tomorrow when Obama trots out the turkeys for a pardon?
Russian Search Helicopter Downed Near Syrian Border By US-Made Anti-Tank Missile, Rebels Claim
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 11/24/2015 08:16 -0500
The news is coming fast and furious out of Syria on Tuesday where, earlier today, Turkey decided to shoot down a Russian Su-24 which Ankara says violated its airspace while conducting operations near the border.
Russia says the fighter jet was in Syrian airspace for the duration of the mission while Turkey insists that the plane crossed the border and was warned several times before being engaged by two F-16s.
For his part, Vladimir Putin has now called Turkey a “backstabber” on the way to accusing Ankara of funding ISIS and derailing the war on terror.
Meanwhile, the FSA which is aligned with al-Nusra and is backed and funded by the US and Turkey released two videos depicting its fighters celebrating over the body of a dead Russian pilot.
Just in case all of that wasn’t enough, the FSA now claims to have shot down a Russian helicopter as it searched for the two missing pilots.
SYRIAN OPPOSITION SAYS RUSSIAN HELICOPTER DOWNED: JAZEERA
RUSSIAN HELICOPTER MAKES EMERGENCY LANDING IN SYRIA: SOHR
SYRIAN OBSERVATORY SAYS RUSSIAN HELICOPTER HIT IN SYRIA, REBEL GROUP SAYS IT STRUCK IT WITH ANTI-TANK MISSILE
http://www.zerohedge.com/…search-helicopter-downed-us-made-anti-tank-missile-rebels-claim - 169k -
Sounds like Vladimir has bumbled into a hornet’s nest.
Zero Hedge gives the pro-Russia version. Here’s the Turkish viewpoint:
“Everyone should respect Turkey’s right to defend its own borders. Turkey sincerely supports opposition groups in Syria,” Erdoğan said, adding that no one should doubt that Turkey put all efforts to avert today’s incident.
Erdoğan expressed his concern over the attacks targeting Turkmens. “We strongly condemn attacks focusing on the places where Bayırbucak Turkmens live. We have relatives and cognates living there,” Erdoğan said, pointing out that the region was not an ISIL area.”
Sounds like Putin’s boys got caught playing where they weren’t supposed to be playing.
Anti-tank gun used in deadly jihadi attack on Russian chopper ‘was AMERICAN’
By Jeremy Culley / Published 24th November 2015
Syrian insurgents reportedly blew up the chopper using US-supplied arms, killing one Russian soldier involved in the rescue mission.
The helicopter was searching for the two pilots from the Russian bomber downed by Turkey after it flew close to its border with Syria.
Video footage claims to show members of the Free Syrian Army, who are part-funded and trained by the US and Turkey, hitting the helicopter with a US-made TOW anti-tank missile.
The world’s nerves will be jangling at the claimed use of a US weapon directly against Russia.
The video shows a zoomed-in shot of the gun’s instructions, which are written in English.
http://www.newsoneplace.com/…/9865191509/american-russian-anti-tank-jihadis-chopper - 61k -
Anti-tank gun used in deadly jihadi attack on Russian chopper ‘was AMERICAN’
The world’s nerves will be jangling at the claimed use of a US weapon directly against Russia.
Wasn’t it an F-16 that shot down the Mig? Not a good day for Russia’s armaments.
Notice that the big government lovers are positively giddy with excitement today? Oh, WAR! War is the health of the state. Don’t ever let these big government lovers tell you they dislike violence and death, because that’s all secondary to bigger government.
When the neocons first came on the scene, I remember they said they were big government conservatives. The neocons were really pissed when the cold war ended. It meant they couldn’t play empire under the illusion of the red menace. And they found their new boogie man in terrorism. But they always had it in for the Russians because those were their golden days. Now look how eager they are to use Al-Qaeda, again, to fight the Russians. But aren’t we supposed to be fighting Al-Qaeda? “Get with the program boy, we’ve got a new cold war to start! Think of all the bombers that will have to be built, and intrusions in liberties. We’ll really spy on everybody now. Bigger government, that’s the ticket. It doesn’t matter if it’s terrorists or Russians or what. Bases, all over the world. Bushels of money to dictators who we like, regime change for those we don’t. Think tank jobs galore. And we, the neocons will run the whole show!”
“War saved us from the great depression, don’t you know war fixes everything? War gave us the internet, the heart valve, probably lots of other things I can’t remember, but war did it all. And that’s cuz government was big! Really big!!”
The cold war sucked. It drained us financially. It frightened the public and made us cling to daddy government for protection; just the way they like it.
So behold the object lesson today of the war lovers, for they are government lovers. See their words typed with barely held excitement. And don’t ever let them tell you they were against war. May the days ahead not see something awful.
I’m not rejoicing. Merely grimly confirming my prediction that Russian intervention in Syria wasn’t going to be a cakewalk.
“I’m not rejoicing. Merely grimly confirming my prediction that Russian intervention in Syria wasn’t going to be a cakewalk.”
I’m going to have to throw the BS flag on that one Oddie.
Comment by Oddfellow
2015-11-24 11:58:43
Sounds like Vladimir has bumbled into a hornet’s nest.
“May the days ahead not see something awful.”
Amen to that.
What will DC do tomorrow when Obama trots out the turkeys for a pardon?
The Repubs always find something to complain about Obama.
Republicans Hate Obama So Much They Don’t Even Approve of His Stupid Turkey Pardons
http://theslot.jezebel.com/republicans-hate-obama-so-much-they-dont-even-approve-o-1744187665
…..Is President Obama’s decision to pardon two turkeys named “Macaroni” and “Cheese” a disgusting desecration of the traditional pardoning of just one?
The nerve of that man, say a full 38 percent of Republicans surveyed: (By) Public Policy Polling, one of the most trusted political polling firms in the country.
……The examples of the GOP’s reflexive opposition to President Obama’s agenda are many but this may be the best one yet: by a 27 point margin Republicans say they disapprove of the President’s executive order last year pardoning two Thanksgiving turkeys (Macaroni and Cheese) instead of the customary one. Only 11% of Republicans support the President’s executive order last year to 38% who are opposed- that’s a pretty clear sign that if you put Obama’s name on something GOP voters are going to oppose it pretty much no matter what
I hear he eats them anyway.
I don’t think so. That would ruin the whole ceremony.
Later. In private.
A Kenyan isn’t going to waste a turkey.
How the heck does a turkey retire anyway? Go live with the flamingos at Hialeah race track?
Or do they get put out to stud?
wow - a quote from Jezebel other than that in the Bible.
I have never met a parent who named their daughter Jezebel and for good reason.
Obama pardon’s the turkey then executes the poor thing to fill is empty soul - what could be more appropriate.
wow - a quote from Jezebel
And yours is a genetic fallacy I half expected from someone. I used “Jezebel” on purpose because of it. There were many websites carrying the facts of the poll.
Jezebel did not do the polling - just reported the findings from a poll from The Public Policy Polling, “one of the most trusted political polling firms in the country.”
Big difference.
By your “logic” if Jezebel or the NYT reported it was 27 degrees and cloudy today in Rio, you might doubt the facts because of the source of the facts.
The genetic fallacy (also known as the fallacy of origins or fallacy of virtue[1]) is a fallacy of irrelevance where a conclusion is suggested based solely on someone’s or something’s history, origin, or source rather than its current meaning or context. This overlooks any difference to be found in the present situation, typically transferring the positive or negative esteem from the earlier context.
The fallacy therefore fails to assess the claim on its merit.
wiki
I remember when the GOP all swore to make O a one term prez.
McConnell’s lame game plan.
Pfizer and Allergan combine in biggest drug merger ever
—————–
The merger, which still needs regulatory approval, would bring blockbuster drugs like Pfizer’s Lyrica, Enbrel and Viagra and Allergan’s Botox and Restasis under one corporate roof.
Allergan (AGN), based in Dublin, is best known as the maker of Botox.
The deal would move New York-based Pfizer (PFE) to Ireland — making it the latest merger that will let a U.S. company slash its federal corporate tax bill.
Mergers like Pfizer-Allergan are known as tax inversions. In such deals, bigger American companies buy smaller foreign ones and then switch their headquarters (at least on paper) to the location of the smaller company.
http://money.cnn.com/2015/11/23/investing/pfizer-allergan-merger/
—————-
Aren’t “imported” drugs cheaper than American based drugs? Are all the Pfizer drugs going to sell at import prices?
Aren’t “imported” drugs cheaper than American based drugs?
They’re cheaper if you can buy them “over there” and bring them back personally, they’re not necessarily cheaper to produce. We just get charged more for them here, whether domestically made/produced, or foreign made/produced.
Nexium, the popular acid reflux drug, an insurer in the United States pays, on average, $215 per customer. Yet the same prescription in the Netherlands costs about one-tenth less, just $23.
Gleevec (a cancer treatment): $6,214 (per month/per customer) in the United States, compared to $1,141 in Canada and $2,697 in England.
One of America’s largest provider of medications, the federal government-run Medicare cannot, by law, negotiate with pharmaceuticals. It’s a facet of the law that both Democratic presidential candidates Hilary Clinton and Bernie Sanders argue needs to be changed. They say that Medicare’s buying power should be harnessed to reign in prescription drug costs. Medicare is one of the largest buyers of prescription drugs. If it were able to negotiate with pharmaceuticals directly, it could drive the price of drugs down. When groups like Medicare can deal directly with the sellers, that can help determine the lowest cost. In Germany, nonprofit health insurers are able to bargain with pharmaceuticals and health providers to get the best price possible.
Gleevec (a cancer treatment): $6,214 (per month/per customer) in the United States
My mother was taking that. The pharmacists would practically roll out the red carpet when I’d come to pick it up. They said it “made their month”. It was $8,500/30 tabs.
I heard that Viagra finally hooked up with Botox.
is it more feasible to send out food stamp checks than locking people up? Is that how these folks justify it?
Which folks?
the free sh@t commanders, people who like to get people addicted to free sh@t
No such people exist.
lol@liberace
Van Morrison - Tupelo Honey - YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eq3YLhtuzTQ - 283k -