STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday November 29

[ozymandius]

Source: du

STOCK MARKET WATCH, Monday November 29, 2010

AT THE CLOSING BELL ON November 26, 2010

Dow 11,092.00 -95.28 (-0.86%)
Nasdaq 2,534.56 -8.56 (-0.34%)
S&P 500 1,189.40 -8.95 (-0.75%)
10-Yr Bond... 2.88 +0.01 (+0.45%)
30-Year Bond 4.23 +0.02 (+0.40%)

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Market Conditions During Trading Hours

Euro, Yen, Loonie, Silver and Gold

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Handy Links - Market Data and News:Economic Calendar    Marketwatch Data    Bloomberg Economic News    Yahoo! Finance    Google Finance    Bank Tracker    
Credit Union Tracker    Daily Job Cuts

Handy Links - Economic Blogs:
The Big Picture    Financial Sense    Calculated Risk    Naked Capitalism    Credit Writedowns
Brad DeLong      Bonddad    Atrios    goldmansachs666    The Stand-Up Economist

Handy Links - Government Issues:
LegitGov    Open Government    Earmark Database    USA spending.gov

Handy Links - Videos:
The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class    Charlie Rose talks with Roubini    Charlie Rose talks with Krugman
    William Black: This Economic Disaster    Bill Moyers with Kevin Drum and David Corn

Bush Administration Officials Convicted = 2
Names: David Safavian, James Fondren
Dishonorable Mention: former House majority leader, Tom DeLay

Bush Administration Officials Charged = 1
Name(s): Richard Lopez Razo

Financial Sector Officials Convicted since 1/20/09 = 11

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This thread contains opinions and observations. Individuals may post their experiences, inferences and opinions on this thread. However, it should not be construed as advice. It is unethical (and probably illegal) for financial recommendations to be given here.

Read more: du

[ozymandius]

1. no goobermental reports today n/t

[ozymandius]

2. Oh dear. I think my computer is obsolete to the point of being a handicap.

Some software updates do not work to well. I use an older generation Mac Mini Power PC. It may be time for an upgrade.

[hamerfan]

24. Ever since Snow Leopard came out,

Apple has been dropping support for Power PC processors. Sorry to hear of your troubles, Ozy. If you have Time Machine enabled, you can revert to your previous configuration.
On Edit: Or you could do an Archive And Install if you have the original discs for that machine. Best of luck to you.

[ozymandius]

3. Oil rises to near $85 as traders eye jobs report

SINGAPORE – Oil prices rose to near $85 a barrel Monday in Asia as investors look to this week's key jobs report for evidence the U.S. economy is improving.

Traders will be closely watching Friday's unemployment numbers for signs more Americans are going back to work as the economy slowly recovers from last year's recession.

In other Nymex trading in December contracts, heating oil rose 2.4 cents to $2.34 a gallon and gasoline added 3 cents at $2.24 a gallon. Natural gas gained 3.6 cents to $4.44 per 1,000 cubic feet.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/oil_prices

[ozymandius]

4. US cable TV bleeds subscribers as online grows

The findings point to a growing pool of potential customers for online services such as Hulu and Netflix and newcomers like Apple TV and Google TV, which offer lower prices and more flexibility, analysts say.

According to research firm SNL Kagan, US cable operators lost 741,000 basic video customers in the third quarter of the year, the biggest decline since it started tracking the segment in 1980.

The pay television sector -- which includes satellite television and TV services offered by telecom firms in addition to cable -- lost 119,000 customers in the quarter after gaining 346,000 a year ago, SNL Kagan said.

more

Our household has not had a cable subscription in about ten years. Broadband access has meant that we have been able to watch programs
á la carte without navigating the virtual wasteland of cable channels like electronic churches, tabloid tee-vee and shopping networks.

[tclambert]

10. Our broadband comes from the cable provider.

Cable, internet, and landline phone all from the one source. We have debated dropping the landline phone. Less than a year ago, we got a TV and computer that both have HDMI ports, so we can watch online shows on the big screen. Maybe that will lead to us dropping cable TV.

[AnneD]

12. Morning Marketeers...

:donut: and lurkers. I gave up cable tv when we went through our economic downturn here in Houston in 1982. I went through the budget with a fine tooth comb. I was on a bare bones budget (unemployment and what ever extra I could scrape up). I had the smarts to cut right after I got laid off. It helped me last as long as I did. I cut cable and newspaper and went to the library for computer. In fact the library was my office. I could turn down heat and air when I was gone and that saved more.

Since then on line has become cheaper than cable and DVD's work just fine. Between my library of DVD's and my computer....I don't miss it.I have cable as part of my rental-but I really never watch it. The news is worthless and the entertainment is not entertaining. The only thing useful is the weather but I just loaded a weather app on my phone so cable is obsolete as far as I am concerned.

I am watching the wikileaks with great interest. I almost wish something along those lines would hit the financial pages. Nothing like a little light and soap and water to cleanse things. We need light and jail time to clean up the cockroaches and all their shit and cleanse the system. The government is posturing but as far as I am concerned, this should come out. Government, like your personal life should be conducted in a forthright and upstanding manner. Sounds corny and old fashioned but it is a truth.

Happy hunting and watch out for the bears.

[Roland99]

67. ooo...a Wall Street WikiLeaks.

what a Christmas wish that is.

[AnneD]

71. Yeah Roland.....

That is top on my Christmas wish list. As a small investor that longs for a level system, I am tired of all the ginning the system going on. Until WS cleans it's house (since they or the government refuses to do it) investors like myself will remain on the sidelines.

[Roland99]

89. Christmas coming early?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x9652984

[AnneD]

90. It's beginning to look...

a lot like Christmas. If he goes after them, his life will not be worth a plug nickle.

[JonLP24]

5. LOL @ the toon

K&R

[ozymandius]

6. Thanks.

:hi:

[DemReadingDU]

13. 3rd on the toon

:)

[Tansy_Gold]

38. 14th on the toon!

Morning, All!

Week-end art fairs went well in the aggregate. More shoppers attended, a few more bought. There was much more plastic money in evidence.

Wall art did not sell well, but that is normal. What was unusual was the lack of even lookers at the wall art. People simply walked on by. Greeting card reproductions still sold, but one artist told me her holiday-themed cards cost her $1.00 each to have printed. She sold them individually for $2 or in a pack of 6 assorted for $10. She sold about $150 worth; her cost had been about $800.

Functional and semi-functional art -- embellished or hand-made clothing, jewelry, dishes (glass, ceramic, wood), etc. -- outsold fine art, but again that is normal. Gimmicky stuff -- jewelry made from zippers, melted beer-bottle spoon rests -- did not sell.

My credit card sales were about triple what they were at the same shows last year. Artists who don't accept plastic frequently lost sales. In the past, most shoppers would still have cash and make the purchase; this year they just walked away.

One comment I heard much more often than in the past: "I'm tired of buying cheap junk that doesn't last. If I have to pay more for something well-made, I'm willing to do it." This is enormously encouraging gossip in the age of walmart! But customers were still very cost conscious. If they deemed something to be over-priced for the materials and labor that went into it, they were not shy about saying so. However, they were also much more aware than I've noticed them to be in the past about the time and effort that does go into making something by hand.



Personal highlights, outside of selling:

1. Because my specialty is jewelry, I take note of what my customers are wearing, especially ladies with large pendant necklaces. I don't always comment, but I often do, as a way of starting conversation. One older lady (late 70s, early 80s) had a gorgeous free-form old Mexican crazy lace agate pendant, probably 2" long by 1 1/4" wide, beautifully wrapped in sterling silver. When I complimented her on it, she said, "Oh, is that what it is? Lace agate? I bought it at an estate sale and no one knew what it was." I then talked to her for a while and gave her some information on crazy lace agate. Next thing I knew, she had brought her two friends over who also had stone jewelry that they had no clue what it was, purchased at the same estate sale. As luck would have it, I was able to identify both stones -- I'm no expert! -- as rhodochrosite and Montana agate. They wrote the names down, and then I gave them a little bit of information about the stones as well as showing them some other pieces of both Mexican crazy lace and Montana agate that I have.

Then we talked about stones and the samples of raw rocks that are part of my usual display. I told of my lifelong fascination with rocks, learned literally on my grandparents' back porch.

The three ladies thanked me profusely and departed, one of them having bought a little something from me. But after they had started to walk away, one of them came back and said, "You know, honey, there's another girl down the way selling jewelry and when we asked her about the stones she had, she didn't know a thing about 'em. And she never said a word about our necklaces. I don't think she's going to do very well. You just seem to really like what you're doing. You really brightened the day for three old ladies!"

2. About half an hour before the show closed, the room was split by the sound of a very unhappy small child throwing a temper tantrum. She and her mother and her older sister were not too far away from me, and the youngster was clearly very VERY unhappy about something. I always have a dish of polished stones on the table, with the explanation that they are free to children of all ages and if the child would like to look at them. . . .

She was still screaming, about one step away from throwing herself on the floor in a classic kicking and screaming mode, when I asked her mom if she might be interested in some pretty stones. The screaming instantly stopped. The stones were soon spread out on the table (by me) and little fingers were eagerly sorting through them, touching them, finding smooth ones and flat ones and round ones and ones shaped like a car or train (it takes imagination!) or with a spider inside or a flower. Fifteen peaceful minutes later, the 4-year-old, tantrum forgotten, walked away with a little drawstring bag holding four stones of her choice, Mom bought the big sister a ring for her good behavior during the toddler's melt down, and everyone walked away happy.


I came home totally wiped out. Fed the dogs, let them out, fixed myself a quick supper, and tried to stay up until at least 8:00. Didn't make it; hit the bed at 7:20.

And now the day job calls.

Happy Monday, everyone!


Tansy Gold, happy rockhound

[DemReadingDU]

45. I love to hear about your jewelry shows!

Whenever I go to craft fairs, jewelry is the only booth that I look for. I have bought several unusual handmade necklaces, just because I like them! I have no idea what the stone is. If you lived closer, I would wear the necklaces to your show, and have you look at them. And buy something from you too!

Nice that you think of little ones to have some pretty stones for them to look at. Plus, it helps the moms to view your lovely items, peacefully. And purchase something too!

[jtuck004]

55. Thank you for that TG

My wife started doing wire-wrap jewelry a couple years ago, and it seems to be the art form of all her crafts over the years that has made her the happiest. I like to give her little bits and pieces of writing from other crafters which I think will help her, and the telling of your interest in rocks and how that informed your crafts and sales is exactly that. I have encouraged her to develop expertise and techniques that are not as common (such as introducing fire in some way), and a deeper knowledge of her materials is one of those.

Thank you for this, and a great call with the kid as well. Who knows, another rockhound someday...

[Tansy_Gold]

57. Fire

www.fireagate.com

[jtuck004]

59. Those are beautiful.

I will give that link to her as well. That is a whole 'nother take on fire, and will probably give her ideas.

I read on the site that those are only found around Arizona and New Mexico, but I know there are several rock and gold-hunting clubs around here, from Eastern Washington through to Western Montana. Maybe when the snow is gone I need to take her on a couple of day trips to the shops along the state highways here, help find other stuff she can wrap wire around.

Thank you for that.

[Tansy_Gold]

61. I'll send you mor via PM later today

check www.rockhounds.com for a list of local clubs, etc. The website has links to Rock and Gem magazine. Good year 'round holiday gift. (hint, hint!)

MR,ML


TG

[AnneD]

72. The best place to find unusual rocks.....

is in an area that you know was once an are of receding glacier (aka glacial till). I had a treasure trove of rocks that I found on my trip to Alaska, but Montana yielded so good rocks. Any place that glaciers scoured is great. ;)

[Tansy_Gold]

75. No glaciers in Arizona.

;-)

[Tansy_Gold]

76. Some pix for rockhounds

12-pound chunk of red jasper from Brenda, Arizona.



Pendant made from aforementioned jasper


If you have a couple hours with nothing else to do --

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41539816@N00/

(agateman69@flickr)


www.agateswithinclusions.com

[DemReadingDU]

87. The pendant is very lovely!

When I find more timer, I need to view the links you included

[Demeter]

79. They are like black opals, no?

[Tansy_Gold]

81. Fire agates are not like anything -- except fire agates.

Photographs don't even begin to do them justice, because they change with the light. And the colors are in layers, wavy bubbly layers that bend and bounce.

Don't get me wrong, though. I love opals -- black opals, matrix opals, Yowah nuts and Koroit, Virgin Valley and Peruvian blue and jelly opals and Mexican fire opals. Opals are subtle.

But fire agate is. . .. fire agate. It's in your face.

The past couple years there has been some kind of scam going around about "crab fire agate" as a material for beads and what-not. Some of it is heat-treated carnelian at best; some of it is cheap porcelain at worst. What it isn't, however, is fire agate. Once you've seen fire agate -- in the flesh, in bright sunlight -- you'll never mistake anything else like it again.

I have nothing even remotely like the stones on that page, but I do have some nice ones. I have one that's the size of the palm of my hand. I haven't had the courage to cut it yet. . ..


TG

[wordpix]

85. just like my shopping trip today: everything made in China - R. Lauren, Jones NY, Calvin Klein, etc

Seriously, I could not find one piece of clothing made in the USA. I wandered past the food gifts and lo and behold, some of the nuts and candies are made in the US so I think I'll buy those. I'm putting my money where my mouth is and the outsourcing is NOT.

[Tansy_Gold]

88. Exactly.

I have a small electric space heater I use in the bathroom on cold mornings, just so I don't shiver too much getting out of the shower. It could use replacing, if you know what I mean, but when I saw the $19.95 one at Ace Hardware was made in China, I said no. I'd rather shiver than have my comfort be on the backs of slave-wage wage-slave labor giving profits to the filthy rich.



TG, NTY

[xchrom]

7. 2nd on the toon! Very good. Nt

[ozymandius]

8. Obama: eager to extend middle-class tax cuts

The president meets Republican and Democratic congressional leaders on November 30 to work out what to do about the Bush-era tax cuts and other pressing legislation to complete before a new Congress begins in January.

Obama says taxes should rise for families making more than $250,000 a year, but he has made extending cuts for middle-class families a top policy priority.

more

This is "put up -- shut up" time for the deficit hawks. The $700 Billion assigned value to the higher level tax breaks, that do not work as they were advertised eight years ago, is good politics. Hypocrites have no shame in justifying their positions - even when it's a position proven to be unjustifiable. I expect just about anything to happen after this meeting.

[tclambert]

14. The chess move might be to give in on tax cuts for billionaires, to shut them up about the deficit.

However, the professional hypocrites won't care. They have no problem demanding lower deficits while also demanding budget-busting tax cuts for the super rich. And if you check Festivito's debt numbers, you will see that Obama is actually bringing the deficit down already. As seems to be his pattern, he's doing it too slowly to impress anyone.

The best chess move would be to insist on the tax cuts for the middle class and put tax cuts for higher incomes to a separate vote. And then vote it down or veto it. The best result would be cuts for the middle class go into effect and stimulate the economy far more than tax cuts for the rich ever did. Isolate the variables. Tax cuts for the rich might then go into effect later, and we see, as always, that they don't create more jobs, nor stimulate consumer spending.

To get economics onto a real scientific basis, we need to run economic experiments and pay attention to the results. The true believers, the fanatics, in other words, the Republicans, will deny the data for a time. Religion often resists scientific advancements. (Organ transplants and the space program were opposed by some on religious grounds.) But eventually science always wins. It only took 300 years for them to apologize to Galileo.

[Demeter]

16. That wouldn't work

If you give a Rat a cookie, he's gonna want a glass of milk, plus the rest of the package....

[ozymandius]

9. Ireland's Bailout Fails to Inspire Markets

LONDON – The euro67.5 billion bailout of Ireland has done little to assuage investor concerns that Europe has finally got a grip on its debt crisis, with European stocks trading mostly lower Monday and the euro hitting a fresh two-month low.

The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 3.25 points, or 0.1 percent, at 5,685.45, while Germany's DAX fell 28.98 points, or 0.4 percent, at 6,820. The CAC-40 index in France was 17.11 points, or 0.5 percent, lower at 3,711.54.

The EU's finance ministers agreed in an emergency meeting in Brussels to give Ireland a euro67.5 billion ($89.4 billion) bailout to help it survive its massive banking crisis, and sketched out new rules for future emergencies to restore faith in the euro currency.

more

The reverberations from Ireland's bailout will be played out in the bond markets - not stocks. The deal underscores Fianna Fail's political suicide as the majority party in the Irish parliament. The party went "all in" with its support for banksterism and will pay dearly in the next round of elections.

[ozymandius]

11. What If Irish Banks Had Failed? Look at Iceland.

From Bloomberg:

“The difference is that in Iceland we allowed the banks to fail,” Grimsson said in an interview with Bloomberg Television’s Mark Barton today. “These were private banks and we didn’t pump money into them in order to keep them going; the state did not shoulder the responsibility of the failed private banks.”

“How far can we ask ordinary people -- farmers and fishermen and teachers and doctors and nurses -- to shoulder the responsibility of failed private banks,” said Grimsson. “That question, which has been at the core of the Icesave issue, will now be the burning issue in many European countries.”

Iceland is not an EU member nation. Ireland's membership in that organization, and the impetus to keep the EU intact, was understandably the reason for so much pressure to accept the bailout. However, it can be argued that the punitive measures layered on the already beleaguered Irish citizens were not an absolute necessity.

Iceland avoided the moral hazard that Ireland's politicians to willingly grasped. Iceland avoided punishing those who were not responsible for the economic meltdown while allowing bad bets among bondholders to remain 'bad' and suffer the consequences. The net sum result from this policy direction presents us with Iceland's creative restructuring of the banking system, cordoning off bad assets from essential banking services.

[Demeter]

43. Ireland is Bankrupt...a letter from an Irish citizen

http://www.angrybearblog.com/2010/11/ireland-is-bankrupta-letter-from.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FHzoh+%28Angry+Bear%29

A letter sent from Ireland (updated):


For less than what the US spent to save AIG, a corporation, with relatively easy terms; a country sinks below the financial waves. TBTF reaches across the ocean. As posted by Zeus-boy, his comments on his homeland of Ireland. (introduction by run75441)

Ireland is Bankrupt

Herman Van Rompuy, President of the European Council, warned that if Ireland didn't apply for an EU/ECB/IMF bailout for its failed banking system, its soaring budget deficit and its colossal national debt, then the European single currency might collapse , and if the International markets lost confidence in the Euro, then the dissolution of the Union would quickly follow. He said the future of the Eurozone depended on stemming the tide of market distrust caused by the tanking Irish economy. He feared contagion, that Portugal and Italy and Spain would soon follow.

Ireland is not only insolvent because it has no liquidity, no way of meeting its debts. The government decided to link the economic future of the country to a failed banking system and now the two are inextricably intertwined. No amount of raised taxes can bail out the banks and still pay the day-to-day running expenses of our welfare state. The famed 'Celtic Tiger' boom economy was always a high-risk, dangerous fiction. Someone dubbed Ireland the 'Wild West of Economics'. Our illusory wealth was tied to a property bubble that was as unsustainable as it vacuous, and all the money was borrowed, primarily from German savers. We were hooked on credit like it was crack cocaine. We binged but never purged and we stayed high to postpone the inevitable hangover. Everybody was in cahoots, from corrupt local governments, driving through emergency rezoning laws, to rogue bankers financing the criminal inflation of developments and shoveling billions to builders, to newspapers cashing in on their property advertising to regulators asleep at the wheel. Our mafia don cum Taoiseach, Bertie 'Gombeen-Man' Ahern, invited critics of the system to commit suicide. Nobody left the orgy. Nobody wanted to leave. Planet Hollywood had finally come to Planet Ireland!

But inevitably the whole house of cards would come crashing down, and Bertie soon got his wish as the suicide rate started to climb to the highest in Europe. The government panicked. The Minister for Finance, a barrister by profession, got a crash course in national and global economics. He learned about markets and budgets and bonds and gilts on the job, on a need-to-know basis. He instituted an abstraction called N.A.M.A. http://www.nama.ie/ , The National Assets Management Agency, whose remit basically is to buy up all the debt and properties left unfinished and unpaid for by the construction moguls and their bankers, to transfer them to a national trust, cue Irish tax-payer, as if we owned them, or even wanted them, or could avail of them in any way, and to pay off the outstanding loans. All over Ireland, in every town and village, are these unfinished ghost estates. These now belong and do not belong to the Irish taxpayer. This offense was compounded by the decision to bail out the very banks that got us into the mess. The banks were hemorrhaging money and the government was on hand to provide on-the-spot triage, a botched stitch-up job if there ever was one, a cluster-fuck of cosmic proportions.

The government, Fianna Fáil in coalition with The Greens and a few independents, lied through their teeth and kept telling the Irish taxpayer that exports were up, that the revenue would come in once the austerity budget was passed, once the 4-year plan was unveiled and ratified and that no bail-out would be necessary. Reduce public spending, they told us, tighten our belts; cut the public sector; Trim this, give a haircut to that and all would be hunky dory. Well, the same shower of gangsters who gave the green light to sub-prime lenders and hedge-fund speculators-gamblers went to the ECB/IMF with cap in hand this week and begged for a bailout. Then they came on TeeVee to announce the done-deal. Ireland will borrow over 85 billion from its partners in the EU and the IMF and, depending on the repayment interest, 5 -7%, we could be paying back upwards of 4 billion a year. That's about 1/4 of the Tax intake. The debt is completely beyond our means as Constantin Gurdjiev, http://trueeconomics.blogspot.com/ and David McWilliams http://www.davidmcwilliams.ie/category/articles/ are trying to point out.

Ireland is used to erosions of its sovereignty ever since we joined the European Union. We, we had our first referendum on the Lisbon Treaty in June 2008 and it was defeated. Sarkozy told our Taoiseach that he delivered the wrong result and to go back to the people and get the right result next time, so that's exactly what happened and so in April 2009 the treaty was finally passed in Ireland. So much for Irish sovereignty. Our membership of the single currency in 1998, as part of our EU obligations under the Maastricht Treaty, further compromised that independence. Now ceding control to the IMF -- to save the Eurozone -- is the final nail in the coffin of that putative myth known as Irish sovereignty. We gave away so glibly what we fought so hard to achieve.

Was it for this the wild geese spread
The grey wing upon every tide;
For this that all that blood was shed,
For this Edward Fitzgerald died,
And Robert Emmet and Wolfe Tone,
All that delirium of the brave?
Romantic Ireland’s dead and gone,
It’s with O’Leary in the grave.

I'm afraid the verdict isn't very flattering. Ireland is indeed a banana republic, a land full of cronyism, wink and nod business deals, insider trading, nepotism, feather your own nest and forget about the next guy, take all you can as quickly as you can no matter who gets hurt, ostracize the whistle blowers and critics, advance number one every time and keep the circles closed. There's no sense of civitas here, no notion of self-sacrifice, no pride in history, culture, nation; it's all up for grabs to the highest bidder. It doesn't matter that we struggled for 800 years to achieve independence, that millions died in the process; it doesn't matter that the folk memory of harsher times is still very much alive; none of this mattered to the few generations that have dismantled our country institution by institution and thrown the Irish people to the wolves, the bean counters in the IMF who will now control our destiny. Our political system is in ruins. The people have lost all faith in their elected representatives. They feel that welfare for the wealthy, bailouts for crooked corporations and rewards instead of punishments for embezzlement and thievery is the rule of the land. And what the British and the world said about us, all the stereotypes, seem to be true after all and maybe were always true: we were never equipped to govern ourselves, we're a nation of drunks, peasants, irresponsible wasters and chancers addicted to violence and quick fixes. Our independent republic is less than a century old and already it's in smithereens -- we're in the gutter and being dictated to by the UK, Germany, France and the IMF. Mr. Ajai Chopra is our new vice-chancellor, our new Taoiseach, our new overlord and big boss and we've just been recolonized, first by our own brood of inbred gangsters and now by international bankers. We didn't deserve any better. It's our own damn fault.

By 'we' I mean the select few that got our country into the financial mess. But the blame game serves no useful purpose now: we're all fucked, not equally, mind you , and the nation has no option now but to drive through a draconian austerity budget and then take the bailout and let our affairs be run by outsiders. Could we say 'Fuck You' to the Euro and go back to the punt? Could we say 'Fuck You' to Germany and all our debtors? Could we say 'Fuck You' to the EU and let the Eurozone fall? Our politicians tell us we have no choice. It would be therapeutic to tell the lot of them to piss off and to return to hunter-gatherer status but how feasible is that? Kids think beef patties are really square and grow on trees. They wouldn't know how to pluck a chicken let alone sow and reap a harvest. Everything's in the grocery store and they're too busy playing play station, twittering and gabbing on Facebook to worry about the right time of year to plant a tuber. The EU is run by neo-liberalist economic policies and if Ireland doesn't play ball the multi-nationals will up and relocate to cheaper labour markets. They're already doing just that. They're encouraged to do it by Merkel and Sarkozy and Cameron.

And then there's always the fear that this crisis will inaugurate excessive nationalism, that the Provos will exploit civil unrest and lack of confidence in the government to push their demented and deranged United Ireland bollocks. Gerry Adams has already announced his candidacy for a seat in Co. Louth which, if elected, will find him in Dáil Éireann. This would be disastrous for Ireland. Ireland doesn't need Sinn Féin's brand of patriotism. People should remember Gerry Adams' devolvement announcement for the Good Friday Agreement: He said he was now ready to pursue through the political process the same agenda he failed to achieve through armed struggle, that is, a United Ireland. If Sinn Féin ever gets a foothold in Irish politics there will be a return to the rule of the gun; if his bunch of murderous, terrorist thugs are ever allowed to exploit the political vacuum in Ireland there will be a bloodbath. Adams has always preached against the EU and partnership with Britain. He's still the same dickweed that did time in Long Kesh and had Jean McConville a widowed mother of 11 children murdered because she administered last rites to a British soldier who died on her footstep. His brand of fascistic nationalism is no good for Ireland. We must reject him and what he stands for.

As a nation we're a joke, a laughing stock, and now it's time to become a colony of the IMF under the direction of the same cowboy outfit that brought peace and prosperity to Argentina and Iceland. O Joy, I just can't wait. We the Irish People have our asses greased for yet another bout of sodomy. We're used to it. It feels good. And this time we walked right into it. Heck, we can always get drunk afterwards, have a rare old session and weep and wail over our Fenian dead.

[Demeter]

15. I Surely Hope So

Even with the iron grip of Mother Church on the Irish mind, there ought to be a natural revulsion to bank piracy....unlike this country, where money is the reigning religion....

I don't think Catholic Church and banking have any natural solidarity==not since the Medici. And the Vatican Bank proved a bust last century....and they are suspected of appropriating gold looted bv the Nazis...

all this research has led to some new topics for weekend explorations....

[Demeter]

21. Thousands protest against Irish bailout

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/nov/27/ireland-bailout-angry-demonstrators-dublin

More than 100,000 Irish citizens took to the streets of Dublin today to protest against the international bailout and four years of austerity.

Despite overnight snow storms and freezing temperatures, huge crowds have gathered in O'Connell Street to demonstrate against the cuts aimed at driving down Ireland's colossal national debt.

So far the march has passed off peacefully although there is a huge Garda presence with up to 700 officers on duty working alongside 250 security guards for the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.

Among the marchers there is deep anger that most of the more than €80bn (£67bn) from the EU and the International Monetary Fund will be given to shore up Ireland's ailing banks...

[TalkingDog]

63. Irish bailout "STUNS" experts. (it was sooo unexpected)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2010/nov/28/irish-bailout-stuns-experts

The €35bn (£29.8bn) going into Ireland's banks shocked experts, who feared bailout might or might not help Ireland, but in any case might not contain contagion elsewhere in the eurozone.

Brian Lucey, associate professor of finance at Trinity College Dublin was "stunned" at the cash poured in: "We've already put at least €32bn into them, so that's going to be €67bn, which is 50% of GNP, that's a world record". He also warned that a new government next year could rip up the deal. "Sovereign governments have a right to effectively do whatever they want," he said.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyePCRkq620

And a little laugh until you cry "comedy" skit.

[Demeter]

17. Elizabeth Warren Rescued Americans From Early Foreclosure

http://www.alternet.org/newsandviews/article/362526/elizabeth_warren_rescued_americans_from_early_foreclosure/#paragraph4

I KNEW IT! I JUST KNEW SHE WAS THE ONLY HONEST PERSON IN THE ADMINISTRATION!


...In October, Congress passed a bill that would have made it easier–and quicker–for banks to process paperwork, streamlining the foreclosure process and making homeowners more vulnerable.

The bill, which passed both houses of Congress and awaited President Obama's signature to become law, essentially would have compelled notaries to accept out-of-state notarizations, regardless of the rules in those states.

State officials across the country--who have been pursuing probes looking into wrongdoing within the foreclosure process-- feared that those jurisdictions with lax standards could have become hotbeds for foreclosure documentation fraud. Lenders and mortgage companies could have used those states as central clearing houses to produce bogus foreclosure paperwork, and then export those documents to other states with more stringent regulations--an expedient bypass around the strictures.

Warren was among the first to scrutinize the bill's specifics, and after meeting with attorneys general from six states who shared her concern, she conveyed the problems to top administration officials. Obama ultimately declined to sign the bill into law, citing its potential “unintended impact” on consumer protections...

[Demeter]

18. Elizabeth Warren Helped Shoot Down Bill That Would Have Sped Foreclosures, Calendar Shows

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/24/elizabeth-warren-calendar_n_788120.html

[Demeter]

19. BEWARE THE FLYING MONKEYS

[Demeter]

20. U.S. new-home sales down 8.1% for October

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/october-new-home-sales-down-81-us-says-2010-11-24

FRANTIC EFFORTS TO HID THE DATA IN OBFUSCATION...

[Demeter]

22. The Day the Dollar Died Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N8gJSMoOJc&feature=player_embedded

THE ULTIMATE IN "SPECULATIVE" FICTION...I THOUGHT HALLOWE'EN (SPOOK NIGHT) WAS LAST MONTH...

[hamerfan]

31. A cool video,

even if it is just a very long commercial. Nicely done.

[happyslug]

91. Two problems with that video, it repeats right wing idiocies

The first is that China would demand that the US cut out "Entitlements". No way, for even if the US could zero out social security, federal pensions and all other "Entailments" the biggest part of the US deficit, the US Military, would still be funded. Instead the US will demand that the US balance its books and once a balance budget is entered then and only then would China buy US Treasury bonds. This would force Congress to decide what to cut, the Military or Social Security? Those are the two biggest items in the US Budget

Now remember the "Big Four", the four closest programs in the Federal Budget:

1. Health and Human Services (which includes Medicare and Medicaid) is $934.1 Billion Dollars
Now Medicare and Medicaid costs $1140.4 Billion Dollars, but is offset by $335.8 Billion dollars coming from the Medicare portion of Social Security Taxes AND other sources of income from various sources (mostly Fees).
2. Social Security Administration costs $789.6 billion
3. Defense costs $783.9 Billion Dollars
4. Interest on the debt is $499.1 Billion (it is under the Treasury Department in the cite below)

http://www.kowaldesign.com/budget/budget.html

Also remember the big three sources of Income:
Income Taxes: $1121.3 Billion Dollars
Social Security Taxes: $935.1 Billion Dollars
Corporate Income Taxes:$296.9 Billion Dollars

Notice we pay Social Security Taxes that is over three times the Corporate Income Tax paid.

Social Security is still running a Surplus of $151.2 Billion Dollars.

Please note the above site does NOT include the cost of the War in Iraq or Afghanistan, the elimination of both and a massive reduction in the Defense Budget (and the nuclear bomb production of the Department of Energy, and Homeland Security) would balance the budget. The rest of the budget is nickel and dime stuff, sometime not even worth worrying about.

My point is China will NOT demand the end of Entitlements, instead demand the end of deficient spending, and that will hit the defense department more then Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid for Senior Citizens (who vote in droves) will opt for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid over Defense every day of the week when that becomes the choice. Right now, no one is saying that is the choice, and thus the round about efforts to cut Social Security via the Deficient panel (or whatever it is called). Certain people in Government what to make it look like they have to cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid to save defense, they worse fear is Seniors will NOT buy that argument thus the efforts to make it look like the Government MUST cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid but no mention of Defense or Iraq or Afghanistan at the same time.

The Second set of problems is the "Run" on the groceries and riots in the Street. That did NOT happen in 1929, it did not happen during the Hyper inflation of Germany in the 1920s or more recently the hyperinflation of Argentina (And other countries). The rapid drop in the value of the dollar will not be felt on main street for weeks. It is only when you see massive cuts in public services and people NOT able to find work AND not able to feed their families do you see such riots. You can see such riots when austerity programs are imposed as people see their safely net disappear AT THE TIME THEY FEAR THEY MIGHT NEED IT. That when you have riots, revolts and revolutions.

Further more only when a collapsing economy bottoms out and starts to climb out of the cellar, do you have a revolution. For Example the worse years on the Eastern Front was 1915-1916, things were looking up in 1917 when you had BOTH Russian Revolutions. France had its worse economic year in the Famine of 1787, the French Revolution occurred in 1789, as things improved. Thus you will NOT see riots in the Streets on the day the Dollar tanks, it will be watch on the news, but most people will go to work that day, finish their work day and go back home and watch it again on the evening news (or on the net). The Collapse of the Dollar will have no affect on their income for at least a couple of weeks and all of the results may not be bad (Imports will go through the roof, i,e gasoline, but locally made and grown items will hold their own price).

Just comment that this is right wing fear/fantasy. The Dollar may collapse, but it will be all Wall Street not Main Street.

[Demeter]

23. Tax the Rich: A Deficit Plan That Doesn't Hit We, The People

TODAY'S EQUIVALENT TO THOMAS PAINE'S "COMMON SENSE"

http://www.truth-out.org/tax-rich-a-deficit-plan-that-doesnt-hit-we-the-people65449

[Demeter]

25. Madoff Relatives Sued for $69 Million

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/business/28madoff.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

The trustee seeking to recover money for people who were defrauded by Bernard L. Madoff filed lawsuits Friday against investors, employees and Madoff family members.

Irving H. Picard, appointed trustee by a federal bankruptcy court, filed 40 lawsuits seeking $69 million against people who he said had invested with Mr. Madoff and withdrawn more money than they contributed. The filings are the latest in a series of “clawback suits” filed by Mr. Picard, a New York lawyer, attempting to obtain as much as $17.5 billion total for victims of the largest Ponzi scheme in American history....Among those previously sued were Mr. Madoff’s wife, Ruth, who was named in a complaint filed in July 2009. Among those named in the complaint filed on Friday was Marion Madoff, the wife of Mr. Madoff’s brother Peter, who Mr. Picard said received $14.1 million in customer funds that should be returned. Mr. Picard already sued Peter Madoff in October 2009.

...The new complaints follow more than two dozen filed by Mr. Picard seeking to recover money from various parties, including feeder funds that directed most or all of their clients’ money to Mr. Madoff’s firm.

[Demeter]

26. The Naked Truth About Capital Gains

http://www.truth-out.org/the-naked-truth-about-capital-gains65426

,,,The chairs are Republican Alan K. Simpson and Erskine Bowles, a Democrat. Their initial report included a call for equal taxes on capital gains, dividends and ordinary income such as wages. This upends the current tax code, and it contradicts almost the entire history of capital gains taxes in America.

Implicitly, it also rejects the K Street claim that tax breaks for capital gains grow jobs, grow businesses and grow the economy. If the claim had any truth, Messrs. Simpson and Bowles would never support equal taxes on all income as a way to help cut the national deficit.

Liberals instinctively attacked the right-leaning aspects of the report. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in full "no" mode, labeled its recommendations "simply unacceptable." Not quite, Madam Speaker; apropos investment income, Simpson/Bowles is a Democratic dream come true.

Income from wealth and income from work were taxed at the same rate in only two widely-separated times in America - from 1916-21, and after Ronald Reagan's Tax Reform Act of 1986. President Clinton restored the tax break on capital gains in 1997, cutting the rate on long-term gains from Reagan's 28 percent to 20 percent. Six years later, President Bush lowered the levy to 15 percent and did likewise for dividends. The Bush cuts were written to expire in 2010, but it's not certain they will. Even if they did, the capital gains rate would still be less than the rate on middle-class wages.

The Simpson/Bowles recommendations could die a quick death: a unified final report needs the votes of 14 out of the commission's 18 members, comprised of nine from each party. If a super-majority of 14 can agree, their report arrives at the White House on December 1....

[mrdmk]

52. Have to disagree here big time!!!

Why does a small company need to become beholden to Wall Street to get money?

<snip from above post>
They could start by revisiting the tax code and creating capital gains tax breaks that really would grow jobs and stimulate the economy. Small companies with big dreams raise seed money through initial public offerings (IPOs) and secondary offerings; larger companies sometimes do the same (e.g., the resurgent GM). In a move that would give a built-in boost to the market for new issues, capital gains on these investments could accrue tax-free. Interest on corporate bonds, now taxed as ordinary income, also deserves a tax break. Corporate bonds raise the money to build corporate infrastructure, much like municipal bonds raise money to build local infrastructure. Interest from municipal bonds gets tax breaks; why not corporate interest?
<end of snip>

Here is another, municipal bonds are more likely to be paid back in full than corporate bonds (i.e. more secure, less risk), not to mention that investment will be part of the commons for all to use as needed in the future. The corporate bonds only fund the product(s)/service(s) produced by that company and it's customers. A corporation is very limited in what it can provide to the society where it resides. Some people do not get that a company and a government are two different entities with two different responsibilities.

[jtuck004]

60. +1! n/t

[rfranklin]

62. More penny stocks?

The grifters will go wild.

[jtuck004]

84. There are alternatives. Private investors, employee-owned business.

Fact is our slavish dependence on investment banks is what got us here, and the only way we get out is to work without them.

And we can. They would like you to think they control the money pools, but there is just too much evidence that
they don't control them all.

[wordpix]

86. good! A criminal like Madoff who thinks he can hide money with relatives

SHOULD be sued

[Demeter]

27. Disposal adds $7bn to BP’s oil spill fund

BP’s asset disposals have topped the $20bn mark after the UK oil group agreed to sell its interest in Argentina’s Pan American Energy for $7.06bn to its joint venture partner

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/P75VYY/FXGG44/6ADGM/WLD90T/BMFROQ/36/t?a1=2010&a2=11&a3=29

[Demeter]

28. US carmakers revive price cut demands

Carmakers in North America have revived the controversial practice of demanding price reductions from parts suppliers as they seek to improve profit margins in a highly competitive market

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/P75VYY/FXGG44/6ADGM/WLD90T/OJO6DN/36/t?a1=2010&a2=11&a3=29

[Demeter]

29. BASF set for €1bn China investment

Chemicals maker aims to invest more than €1bn in further plants in China, where its factories are running at full steam

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/P75VYY/FXGG44/6ADGM/WLD90T/YH45FV/36/t?a1=2010&a2=11&a3=29

[Demeter]

30. Barclays puts focus on African operations

Barclays will place the booming African market firmly at the centre of its growth strategy over the coming years as it plans to shake-up a business that has so far failed to make the most of opportunities in the continent

Read more >>
http://link.ft.com/r/P75VYY/FXGG44/6ADGM/WLD90T/A7RJ69/36/t?a1=2010&a2=11&a3=29

[Demeter]

32. Richard Alford: “Quantitative Easing Explained” And Its Critics

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/11/richard-alford-%E2%80%9Cquantitative-easing-explained%E2%80%9D-and-its-critics.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29

REFERENCE IS MADE TO THE FOLLOWING ANIMATION:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTUY16CkS-k

The video is both entertaining and unremittingly critical of the Fed. In defense of the Fed, numerous economists, bloggers and mainstream media pundits have pointed out errors in the video. In doing so, the critics have missed the forest for the trees. While there are errors and oversimplifications in the video, it has resonated with the public because: a) it tapped into widely held perceptions about the Fed and b) the video deftly treated troublesome aspects of Fed policy with comedic license.

In fact, the defensiveness of the critics of the video has only served to convince many skeptics of QE2 that its proponents are unwilling to or incapable of seeing the troublesome dimensions attached the bailout packages and the decision to go forward with QE2. The critics of the video and the Fed itself also appear unaware of how much the stature of the Fed has suffered as a result of the financial crisis, the recession, and the bailouts. It behooves the Fed and its defenders to move past narrow definitional/legalistic responses and address the underlying concerns of many citizens and market participants....

However, the import of the video does not turn on whether or not QE2 will create money or reserves. QE2 is presented as part of a long litany of Fed policy mistakes. Some of the mistakes are mentioned explicitly in the video, i.e., the Fed’s contribution to the housing bubble and its failure to appreciate the magnitude of the subprime crisis. Viewers will also have in mind the Fed’s failure to carry out its bank regulatory and supervisory responsibilities. Equating QE2 with printing money and policies of “banana republics and failed economic systems” is a short-hand humorous way of invoking the laundry list of costly failures in the minds of the viewers. Arguing a definitional point, reserves are not money, and ignoring policy failures misses the point.

While the critics correctly point out that the Fed is prohibited by law from buying new issues directly from the Treasury, they again missed the point. Main Street is deeply troubled by the Fed’s decision to play roles heretofore filled by the fiscal authorities and the bankruptcy courts. The video is a general protest against the role the Fed has played in transferring wealth from savers and taxpayers to Goldman Sachs and other Wall Street firms. The Fed is seen as picking winners and losers: Wall Street is seen as the winner and savers and the taxpayers are seen as the losers....

[Demeter]

39. There's a Rebuttal Video

more an ad hominem attack on the previous video than anything else...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUxBDdjsCmk&feature=related

And another reprise:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcEkCUmo47A&feature=related

[Demeter]

40. And an Expansion of the Original Video (Quantitative Easing Explained 2: The Bernank Motivation )

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zgMdaWLToM&feature=related

[Demeter]

41. And a video about making the video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqTCmiVNqW4&feature=related

And various other people putting their two cents in...but I am stopping here, for now

[DemReadingDU]

47. bookmarking to watch all these videos later

[Demeter]

33. Euro resumes slide in wake of Irish bailout Contagion fears persist despite rescue

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/irish-bailout-details-fail-to-bolster-euro-2010-11-28?siteid=YAHOOB

[Demeter]

34. Editorial: The Fed and Foreclosures MUST READ

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/29/opinion/29mon2.html

There are two sides to every delinquent loan — a lender who made a bad lending decision and a borrower who cannot repay. Yet, banks have never acted as if they bear responsibility for the mortgage mess.

They have pursued foreclosures in violation of borrowers’ rights to due process, as revealed by the recent robo-signing scandal. And, despite having been bailed out for their mistakes, they have pursued their self-interest, not the public interest, when it comes to modifying bad loans. They have resisted reducing principal balances for troubled borrowers, for instance, because that could force them to take losses they would rather delay.

Now, despite mounting evidence of borrower mistreatment, the Federal Reserve has proposed a rule that would disable the most effective legal tool that borrowers have to fight foreclosures.

First, some background: The Truth in Lending Act from 1968 gives borrowers the “right of rescission,” the ability to undo a home refinancing or home equity loan within three years of the closing if the lender did not make proper disclosures — generally of the loan amount, interest rate and repayment terms. The law makes allowances for mere mistakes by the lender, but otherwise requires strict compliance, as well it should: disclosure is the main — often the only — consumer protection in the mortgage market.

It will come as no surprise that disclosure violations are not uncommon in the loans of the bubble years, so rescissions have become a valuable defense against foreclosure. That’s because when a loan is rescinded, the lender must give up its security interest in the home — and without a security interest, the lender cannot foreclose. The borrower must still repay the loan principal, minus payments already made. Essentially, a lender that has not complied with required disclosures can get its money back, but not interest and other fees...

[DemReadingDU]

35. Taibbi - More on Foreclosure: Judge Admits Apathy

11/29/10 More on Foreclosure: Judge Admits Apathy by Matt Taibbi

Just had to pass on this quick note on the foreclosure story. Another piece on Florida's woes has come out, and in this one, a circuit court judge named Lee Haworth essentially admits that judges do not look at the paperwork of the foreclosure cases they process. In other words, he is admitting that he accepts the arguments of the plaintiffs (i.e. the banks) reflexively and that the burden is on the homeowner to defend himself.

Here's what Haworth said, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune: (see link below)


Meanwhile, Florida judges and legal officials have been slow to prevent or reverse foreclosures based on questionable documents.

Judges do not question the documents unless homeowners question them first, so they continue to rule in favor of lenders. Twelfth Circuit Chief Judge Lee Haworth said judges must remain neutral in court, and cannot raise possible defenses -- such as bad paperwork -- on behalf of homeowners who choose not to fight, or don't know how to fight, their foreclosure.

"The judges will accept, as they do in every case, pleadings that are represented by counsel as legitimate," said Haworth. "It's the defendant's case. ... If they don't want to hire an attorney, that's their business."


Obviously this is not criminal court and the presumption of innocence concept is not in effect. But I don't see a judge simply waving through every stack of bogus foreclosure papers that comes through his courtroom door as meeting any kind of sane evidentiary standard either. The mere fact that a bank is a bank, and a bank's lawyer is a bank's lawyer, and that the both of them together claim that this or that homeowner is in default -- that has no legal meaning whatsoever, as far as I can see.

The judge's point here is that it's not up to him to mount a defense strategy for homeowners in default. But the idea that it is beyond a judge to open a file and simply check to make sure the names and dates are right -- particularly given the widespread coverage of this phenomenon, when we know that virtually 100% of these securitized mortgages lack proper paperwork and will inevitably involve fraudulent or doctored filings upon foreclosure -- that is appalling.

The essence of all of this is that the legal system has yet to accept the idea that once-trusted institutions like transnational investment and commercial banks could be guilty of widespread criminal fraud. It's an issue of perception. Judges I think are long used to the idea that individual people are deadbeats and don't pay bills -- they've seen enough lying-ass individual debtors stand in their courts with their faces unshaven and their shirts untucked, trying to sell them excuses and stories -- but they haven't quite made it to a place where they can accept the idea that the nation's top 10-20 banks could be engaged in ongoing criminal conspiracies. I think it blows their minds and they don't believe it.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/matt-taibbi/blogs/TaibbiData_May2010/237480/83512

11/28/10 Shortcuts on the foreclosure paper trail by Todd Ruger
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20101128/ARTICLE/11281042/2055/NEWS?Title=Shortcuts-on-the-foreclosure-paper-trail

[Demeter]

37. In Courts, It's All About the Paper You Bring In

and if the paper is fraudulent, you are REALLY stuck. I learned this the hard way in divorce court in NH. Never do ANYTHING in NH courts!

[mrdmk]

56. And you thought the he said, she said news media is bad

Now we have the he said, she said court system with no checks for doted i's and crossed t's.

[Demeter]

36. The Spanish Prisoner By PAUL KRUGMAN

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/29/opinion/29krugman.html

...What’s striking about Spain, from an American perspective, is how much its economic story resembles our own...But unlike America, Spain is on the edge of a debt crisis. The U.S. government is having no trouble financing its deficit, with interest rates on long-term federal debt under 3 percent. Spain, by contrast, has seen its borrowing cost shoot up in recent weeks, reflecting growing fears of a possible future default.

Why is Spain in so much trouble? In a word, it’s the euro.

Spain was among the most enthusiastic adopters of the euro back in 1999, when the currency was introduced. And for a while things seemed to go swimmingly: European funds poured into Spain, powering private-sector spending, and the Spanish economy experienced rapid growth...Through the good years, by the way, the Spanish government appeared to be a model of both fiscal and financial responsibility: unlike Greece, it ran budget surpluses, and unlike Ireland, it tried hard (though with only partial success) to regulate its banks. At the end of 2007 Spain’s public debt, as a share of the economy, was only about half as high as Germany’s, and even now its banks are in nowhere near as bad shape as Ireland’s.

But problems were developing under the surface. During the boom, prices and wages rose more rapidly in Spain than in the rest of Europe, helping to feed a large trade deficit. And when the bubble burst, Spanish industry was left with costs that made it uncompetitive with other nations.

Now what? If Spain still had its own currency, like the United States — or like Britain, which shares some of the same characteristics — it could have let that currency fall, making its industry competitive again. But with Spain on the euro, that option isn’t available. Instead, Spain must achieve “internal devaluation”: it must cut wages and prices until its costs are back in line with its neighbors...And internal devaluation is an ugly affair. For one thing, it’s slow: it normally take years of high unemployment to push wages down. Beyond that, falling wages mean falling incomes, while debt stays the same. So internal devaluation worsens the private sector’s debt problems.

....
So Spain is in effect a prisoner of the euro, leaving it with no good options.
...

[Ghost Dog]

46. That internal devaluation is taking place, though,

and the degree of structural flexibility in Spain may surprise some. A lot of people work on very short term temporary contracts, or with no contract at all.

Plus, it's not that long ago most Spanish people were much poorer than today, many knew the recent wave of prosperity wouldn't last, so expectations are not all that unrealistically high.

And, apart from the overbuilding and overpricing in the residential housing sector (often, second homes for residents and holiday homes for tourists), much has been invested in very useful modern infrastructure all over the country.

We shall see...

[Demeter]

48. I'm Rooting for Spain

[Tansy_Gold]

53. Me, too.

I loved Spain, would go back in a heartbeat if I could afford it and take the dogs. (Dogs before money, of course).

The view of he Mediterranean from my balcony at the Hotel Alay, Bemalmadena, Costa del Sol, February 1969.




Where those chilly waves were is now this: The Moorish tower in the center of this photo was right on the beach when I was there in '69.

[Demeter]

42. Number of the Week: 492 Days From Default to Foreclosure

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2010/11/27/number-of-the-week-492-days-from-default-to-foreclosure/

...Banks can’t foreclose fast enough to keep up with all the people defaulting on their mortgage loans. That’s a problem, because it could make stiffing the bank even more attractive to struggling borrowers.

In recent months, the number of borrowers entering severe delinquency — meaning they missed their third monthly mortgage payment — has been on the decline, falling to about 700,000 in October, according to mortgage-data provider LPS Applied Analytics. But it’s still more than double the number of foreclosure processes started.

As a result, banks are taking progressively longer to foreclose. The average borrower in the foreclosure process hadn’t made a payment in 492 days as of the end of October, according to LPS. That compares to 382 days a year ago and a low of 244 days in August 2007.,,,

STIFFING THE BANK? STIFFING THE BANK WOULD BE KEEPING THE HOUSE AND VOIDING THE MORTGAGE...WHICH IS EXACTLY WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN IN MORTGAGE FRAUD! IF BANKS CANNOT ADJUST TO REALITY, REALITY WILL DO ITS DAMNEDEST TO WIPE OUT THE BANKS...

[jtuck004]

58. I found the remark about "stiffing the bank" stood out a bit as well.

There was so much predatory lending during the "reckless and criminal" years on Wall Street that there are at least 2 or 3 stand-alone books as well as pages and pages of others devoted only to that subject. Merrill-Lynch even bought a mortgage lender for over a billion dollars as I recall, because even with all those tactics in the industry they couldn't make the loans fast enough. And this was in the same months that the upside-down pyramid of derivatives was crashing over on the economy.

I have been reading bits and pieces about the housing inventory such as "The long road to a housing recovery – 279,000 California homes in shadow inventory. 2.1 million versus 4.85 million homes nationwide in the shadow inventory pipeline. Only 8,000 bank owned homes show up on the SoCal MLS yet statewide banks own 90,000 homes." at the Dr Housing Bubble blog. There is about a 10 year supply of unsold homes out there, with around 8 or 9 million known foreclosures left to process, and more likely to default.

Since we hollowed out our industrial base, replacing it with the financial sector, debt, and an overreliance on housing to cover up that big mistake, housing had really helped blind a lot of people to what was going on. I heard something on the radio the other day about each new house creating an average of 3 full-time jobs at the building peak. Thought that was kind of sad, 'cause even a small manufacturing operation seems to entail at least 10-25 jobs, sometimes more, and certainly more where large capital is involved with the project. And those jobs can often pay a little better. Now if we can just re-train people that it's often in their best interests to buy from people in their own country.

I wonder what we need to build to give us the same large number of good-paying jobs for the 22nd century that we had in the 20th.

Thank you for the post.

[Demeter]

44. Tansy Gold Has Stiff Competition!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/28/us/28holidayprison.html?hp

[Tansy_Gold]

49. REALLY stiff. . . .

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-20023657-504083.html


LOS ANGELES (CBS/AP) The morgue has got to be the last place you'd think to go shopping - so perhaps it's not surprising that sales at the Los Angeles County Coroner's gift shop are next to dead.

Then again, officials are encouraging the coroner to develop a marketing strategy. They appear to be dead serious.



Tucked as unobtrusively as possible in a closed-door room off the coroner's lobby, the store is jam-packed with mortality-mocking merchandise: Water bottles marked "bodily fluids," boxer shorts dubbed "undertakers," toe tags, crime-scene tape and beach towels bearing the county coroner's trademarked symbol of a body outline.


<more at link>

[nc4bo]

51. Something is wrong with us as a society. This really puts a spotlight on it like no other. nt

[AnneD]

74. I am a sucker for things like this....

I have begged daughter to send me a San Jose (State) Golden Slug Gym Shirt. I have an I love Lucy shirt (Leakey's Lucy), a CSI accidental death shirt, etc. I don't collect them but I love the quirky. I would also like to get an Alcatraz shirt.

[nc4bo]

Made In America! woohoo.

[nc4bo]

50. Dupe.

[Festivito]

54. Debt: 11/24/2010 13,788,289,275,079.99 (DOWN 8,715,175,847.69) (Wed)

(Up a little. Good day.)
Late hours. Leaks, but no leaking.
(Debt under Obama seems to jump up big then drop slowly maybe up a little and down a little for days--repeat.)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 9,205,659,465,052.82 + 4,582,629,810,027.17
UP 282,063,227.86 + DOWN 8,997,239,075.55

Source: Debt to the penny:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

THINKING IN BILLIONS: Think 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 311-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.22 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,217.77 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.65, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ federal program.
I hope that is clear. However, I'd suggest using $3 per 1B$ to underestimate it.
Use $4 per 1B$ to overestimate the cost when thinking: Is the federal program worth it?
Aid to Dependant Children: 2B$/yr =$8/yr(a movie a year) Family of 3: $24/yr(an hour of bowling)

PERSONALIZED DEBT:
Every 12 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 310,774,592 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 10/04/2010 04:37 -> 310,403,677
Currently, each of these Americans owe $44,367.49.
A family of three owes $133,102.48. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 23 reports in the last 30 to 33 days.
The average for the last 23 reports is 5,246,273,168.22.
The average for the last 30 days would be 4,022,142,762.30.
The average for the last 33 days would be 3,656,493,420.27.
There were 252 reports in 365 days of FY2007 averaging 1.99B$ per report, 1.37B$/day.
There were 253 reports in 366 days of FY2008 averaging 4.02B$ per report, 2.78B$/day.
There were 75 reports in 112 days of GWB's part of FY2009 averaging 8.03B$ per report, 5.38B$/day.
There were 174 reports in 253 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 7.33B$ per report, 5.07B$/day so far.
There were 249 reports in 365 days of FY2009 averaging 7.57B$ per report, 5.16B$/day.
There were 251 reports in 365 days of FY2010 averaging 6.58B$ per report, 4.53B$/day.
There were 38 reports in 55 days of FY2011 averaging 5.96B$ per report, 4.12B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 788 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.9 and 17.9T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
11/24/2010 13,788,289,275,079.99 BHO (UP 3,161,412,226,166.91 so far since Obama took office.)

FISCAL YEAR DEBT CHANGE, Sep 30 prior year to Sep 30 named year:
(One "* " for each 40B$ reached)
FY1994 +0,281,261,026,873.94 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1995 +0,281,232,990,696.07 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1996 +0,250,828,038,426.34 ------------* * * * * * WJC
FY1997 +0,188,335,072,261.61 ------------* * * * WJC
FY1998 +0,113,046,997,500.28 ------------* * WJC
FY1999 +0,130,077,892,735.81 ------------* * * WJC
FY2000 +0,017,907,308,253.43 ------------WJC
FY2001 +0,133,285,202,313.20 ------------* * * C&B
01-WJC +0,053,598,528,417.78 ------------* WJC 31% of FY, 40% of FY-Debt
01-GWB +0,079,686,673,895.42 ------------* GWB 69% of FY, 60% of FY-Debt
FY2002 +0,420,772,553,397.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2003 +0,554,995,097,146.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2004 +0,595,821,633,586.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2005 +0,553,656,965,393.18 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2006 +0,574,264,237,491.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2007 +0,500,679,473,047.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2008 +1,017,071,524,649.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2009 +1,885,104,106,599.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B&O
09GWB +0,602,152,152,000.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB 31% of FY, 32% of FY-Debt
09-BHO +1,282,951,954,598.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO 69% of FY, 68% of FY-Debt
FY2010 +1,651,794,027,380.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
FY2011 +0,226,666,244,188.20 ------------* * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,504,239,620,521.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
11/03/2010 -000,042,244,820.71 ----
11/04/2010 +002,136,844,217.63 ------------*********
11/05/2010 -000,209,791,147.70 ---
11/08/2010 -000,059,969,255.93 ---- Mon
11/09/2010 -000,005,858,868.46 -----
11/10/2010 +001,354,516,168.52 ------------*********
11/12/2010 +001,236,686,699.48 ------------*********
11/15/2010 +065,794,144,300.11 ------------********** Mon
11/16/2010 +000,750,562,513.87 ------------********
11/17/2010 +000,670,859,874.97 ------------********
11/18/2010 -002,271,166,541.35 --
11/19/2010 +002,392,756,046.31 ------------*********
11/22/2010 +000,068,056,529.55 ------------******* Mon
11/23/2010 -000,022,584,331.05 ----
11/24/2010 +000,282,063,227.86 ------------********

72,074,874,613.10 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008 while Bush was in power JUST BEFORE fiscal year end.
Bush admin borrowed $962,245,245,654.01 in those last 124 days in office crossing two fiscal years.
$360,093,093,653.42 in last 12 days of FY2008, and $602,152,152,000.59 in subsequent 112 days before leaving office.

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
DUer primer on National debt

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.) LAST REPORT:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4629402&mesg_id=4633118

[Festivito]

92. Debt: 11/26/2010 13,794,243,004,364.88 (UP 5,953,729,284.89) (Fri)

(Up a some. Good day.)
A looney dinner.
(Debt under Obama seems to jump up big then drop slowly maybe up a little and down a little for days--repeat.)
= Held by the Public + Intragovernmental(FICA)
= 9,209,402,845,753.97 + 4,584,840,158,610.91
UP 3,743,380,701.15 + UP 2,210,348,583.74

Source: Debt to the penny:
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/NP/BPDLogin?application=np

THINKING IN BILLIONS: Think 3 or 4 dollars per billion in a 311-Million person America.
If every American, man, woman and child puts in $3.22 THAT'S 1B$, and $3,217.62 makes 1T$.
A family of three: Mom, Dad, Child: $9.65, ABOUT TEN BUCKS for a 1B$ federal program.
I hope that is clear. However, I'd suggest using $3 per 1B$ to underestimate it.
Use $4 per 1B$ to overestimate the cost when thinking: Is the federal program worth it?
Aid to Dependant Children: 2B$/yr =$8/yr(a movie a year) Family of 3: $24/yr(an hour of bowling)

PERSONALIZED DEBT:
Every 12 seconds we net gain another American, so at the end of the workday of the report, there should be 310,788,992 people in America.
http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html ON 10/04/2010 04:37 -> 310,403,677
Currently, each of these Americans owe $44,384.59.
A family of three owes $133,153.78. (And that is IN ADDITION to their mortgage.)

ANALYSIS:
There were 22 reports in the last 30 to 31 days.
The average for the last 22 reports is 5,476,974,437.76.
The average for the last 30 days would be 4,016,447,921.02.
The average for the last 31 days would be 3,886,885,084.86.
There were 252 reports in 365 days of FY2007 averaging 1.99B$ per report, 1.37B$/day.
There were 253 reports in 366 days of FY2008 averaging 4.02B$ per report, 2.78B$/day.
There were 75 reports in 112 days of GWB's part of FY2009 averaging 8.03B$ per report, 5.38B$/day.
There were 174 reports in 253 days of Obama's part of FY2009 averaging 7.33B$ per report, 5.07B$/day so far.
There were 249 reports in 365 days of FY2009 averaging 7.57B$ per report, 5.16B$/day.
There were 251 reports in 365 days of FY2010 averaging 6.58B$ per report, 4.53B$/day.
There were 39 reports in 57 days of FY2011 averaging 5.96B$ per report, 4.08B$/day.
Above line should be okay

PROJECTION:
There are 786 days remaining in this Obama 1st term.
By that time the debt could be between 14.9 and 17.9T$.
It could be higher. It could be lower.

HISTORICAL:
President's term begins and ends on Jan 20.
(Guess who might want to hide the Reagan Bush years. Jan 20 data is missing before 1993.)
01/20/1993 _4,188,092,107,183.60 WJC Inaugural
01/22/2001 _5,728,195,796,181.57 WJC (UP 1,540,103,688,997.97)
01/20/2009 10,626,877,048,913.08 GWB (UP 4,898,681,252,731.43)
11/26/2010 13,794,243,004,364.88 BHO (UP 3,167,365,955,451.80 so far since Obama took office.)

FISCAL YEAR DEBT CHANGE, Sep 30 prior year to Sep 30 named year:
(One "* " for each 40B$ reached)
FY1994 +0,281,261,026,873.94 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1995 +0,281,232,990,696.07 ------------* * * * * * * WJC
FY1996 +0,250,828,038,426.34 ------------* * * * * * WJC
FY1997 +0,188,335,072,261.61 ------------* * * * WJC
FY1998 +0,113,046,997,500.28 ------------* * WJC
FY1999 +0,130,077,892,735.81 ------------* * * WJC
FY2000 +0,017,907,308,253.43 ------------WJC
FY2001 +0,133,285,202,313.20 ------------* * * C&B
01-WJC +0,053,598,528,417.78 ------------* WJC 31% of FY, 40% of FY-Debt
01-GWB +0,079,686,673,895.42 ------------* GWB 69% of FY, 60% of FY-Debt
FY2002 +0,420,772,553,397.10 ------------* * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2003 +0,554,995,097,146.46 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2004 +0,595,821,633,586.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2005 +0,553,656,965,393.18 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2006 +0,574,264,237,491.73 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2007 +0,500,679,473,047.25 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2008 +1,017,071,524,649.92 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB
FY2009 +1,885,104,106,599.30 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * B&O
09GWB +0,602,152,152,000.60 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * GWB 31% of FY, 32% of FY-Debt
09-BHO +1,282,951,954,598.70 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO 69% of FY, 68% of FY-Debt
FY2010 +1,651,794,027,380.00 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO
FY2011 +0,232,619,973,473.10 ------------* * * * * BHO
Endof11 +1,489,584,040,661.09 ------------* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * BHO

LAST FIFTEEN REPORTS OF ADDITIONS TO PUBLIC DEBT(NOT FICA):
11/04/2010 +002,136,844,217.63 ------------*********
11/05/2010 -000,209,791,147.70 ---
11/08/2010 -000,059,969,255.93 ---- Mon
11/09/2010 -000,005,858,868.46 -----
11/10/2010 +001,354,516,168.52 ------------*********
11/12/2010 +001,236,686,699.48 ------------*********
11/15/2010 +065,794,144,300.11 ------------********** Mon
11/16/2010 +000,750,562,513.87 ------------********
11/17/2010 +000,670,859,874.97 ------------********
11/18/2010 -002,271,166,541.35 --
11/19/2010 +002,392,756,046.31 ------------*********
11/22/2010 +000,068,056,529.55 ------------******* Mon
11/23/2010 -000,022,584,331.05 ----
11/24/2010 +000,282,063,227.86 ------------********
11/26/2010 +003,743,380,701.15 ------------*********

75,860,500,134.96 Total of 15 above reports.

Heavy borrowing seems to start after 09/18/2008 while Bush was in power JUST BEFORE fiscal year end.
Bush admin borrowed $962,245,245,654.01 in those last 124 days in office crossing two fiscal years.
$360,093,093,653.42 in last 12 days of FY2008, and $602,152,152,000.59 in subsequent 112 days before leaving office.

For a prettier and more explanatory view of our nation's debt:
http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock
http://www.usdebtclock.org/
DUer primer on National debt

(Debt to the penny keeps changing. Stuff is missing. Best to keep our own history.) LAST REPORT:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4633270&mesg_id=4633442

[florida08]

64. Fed's move doesn't impress top CEOs

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/steffy/7313137.html

Companies are not concerned with job creation. They are concerned about their bottom line. They want to see the Fed promote consumer confidence back toward the fake economy. The continuing rising deficit suggests tax increases down the road and they don't like the government's new regs that would prevent them from recovering their investments plus a nice big profit through defrauding taxpayers. So they impede growth by snubbing the fed's action.

The housing market not only exposed the fraud but also the hollowing out of the real economy. There is little incintive to raise taxes on the top 1% as Congress sees their job as significantly more important than the average American.

It's a stalemate. We need them to start investing in us but they want to see consumer spending rise and stablize before and if they do. Of course they won't. They do not absorb increased taxes. They pass them down.

Consumer sentiment remains significantly below historic levels, and raising tax rates would be harmful to the customers we serve and counterproductive to the recovery in the consumer markets," he said.

That brings us back to where we started. Without some sort of tax increase, we're unlikely to attack the deficit enough to reduce fiscal uncertainty, which is only increased by the threat of higher taxes.

Is it any wonder the Fed's efforts aren't working?

Black Friday becoming more dangerous
http://www.benzinga.com/10/11/646919/9-shocking-examples-of-black-friday-violence-%E2%80%93-is-this-a-foretaste-of-the-economic-riot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhnfxNqEw_4

[TalkingDog]

65. And for those who like their economic theories lined with just a bit of tin-foil

http://www.cnbc.com/id/40412747


Sunspots are moving in direct correlation with activity in the markets and they are predicting a crisis in about three years, technical analyst Charles Nenner told CNBC Monday.

If there is a high intensity of sunspots, markets rise, if their intensity lowers, markets go down because sunspots affect people's mood, Nenner explained.

Nenner is known to be outspoken and somewhat unconventional in his views. Indeed last summer he predicted the Dow would plummet to 5,000. Nevertheless, he has a following in the investment community after he correctly predicted the top for the Dow in 2007, and has a reputation as a solid money manager.



Here's my 2cents. (the fact that keyboards no longer carry cent signs should tell you what that's worth) If it works for him, bully. If it works for other people, great. I'm all about fuzzy thinking. It's how I spend most of my time.

But the fact that CNBC is hosting this along with all the other versions of Market Vodou (voodoo's correct spelling), tells me that not one of them has a frakin' clue.

[bread_and_roses]

68. A crisis in "about three years" - where've they been? (n/t)

[AnneD]

77. Well all I have to say is.....

Nenner, Nenner, Nenner.:P
and pass the:tinfoilhat:

[mrdmk]

82. The dreaded Sun-Spots and Full Moons

Business in a hospital's emergency room will have a significant increase in patient admissions during a Full Moon phase, on the weekend, especially the summer.

My employment in the medical sector was during the Reagan Cut-to-the-Bone Medicare policy and the emergence of the over-rated MBA running all businesses. The Motto, 'We can more with less.'

[Roland99]

66. 12:10 - Bye-Bye, 11,000

Dow 10,967 -125 -1.13%
Nasdaq 2,505 -30 -1.18%
S&P 500 1,179 -11 -0.90%
GlobalDow 1,956 -22 -1.11%
Gold 1,366 +2 +0.12%
Oil 85.06 +1.30 +1.55%

[florida08]

69. U.S Seizes Websites, Alleges counterfeit- Good Sales

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-11-29/u-s-seizes-82-websites-on-allegations-they-sold-fake-goods-holder-says.html

U.S. federal courts have ordered the seizure of 82 websites alleged by authorities to have sold counterfeit goods, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said.....

An estimated 100 million people shopped online on Cyber Monday last year, and authorities project a similar number today, said John Morton, director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement....

Federal agents made undercover purchases from websites of counterfeit goods such as sports equipment and shoes. Online shoppers today will see a banner saying that U.S. authorities have taken over the websites.

Seventy-seven of the websites were based in China, and eight sold copies of movies and television shows, Morton said.

[zogofzorkon]

70. was fleabay among them?

[florida08]

73. not that I noticed

[StarburstClock]

78. We have torture camps and war criminals walking free, how is Wiki leaks a big deal?

The propaganda media sure is selling Wiki/treason hard, but it was A-OK with them to torture, invent WMD lies, issue false terror alerts and cover up massive civilian killings. Along with Wiki/treason, they're also selling the airport irradiation and groping as such a fantastic thing and, of course, the perpetual myth that without Goldman and JP Morgan propping up the markets along with the FED we'd have chaos.

Chaos: I think the U.S. propaganda machine has finally reached the stupidity level of an episode of Get Smart. It is being written with the same purpose of a TV show, create tension in order to sell things/ideas then have it all resolved by the hero. So stay tuned for the next episode as the POTUS freezes pay to save the day for CONTROL and the evil KAOS tries to destroy it all.

[tclambert]

83. Okay, let me explain: telling the truth is a crime, torturing is not.

War is Peace.
Freedom is Slavery.
Ignorance is Strength.

. . . except for pigs.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

80. Overlord kick