. . . Bloggers have connected the handle of the poster, "Rubico," to an e-mail address, and tentatively identified the owner as a college student in Tennessee.
Threat Level was unable to reach the student by phone because his number is unlisted. A person who identified himself as the student's father, when reached at home, said he could not talk about the matter and would have no comment. The father is a Democratic state representative in Tennessee. Threat Level is not identifying them by name because authorities have not identified any suspects in the case, and the link to the student so far is tenuous. . . .
(Boldface emphasis added.) Verrry intereeesting, as they say.
Also interesting is this quote from "Rubico" (boldface emphasis added):
The hacker said that he read all of the e-mails in the Palin account and found "nothing incriminating, nothing that would derail her campaign as I had hoped. All I saw was personal stuff, some clerical stuff from when she was governorÂ…. And pictures of her family."
Whether this is just a Kos Kiddie off on his own hook, or someone put him up to it, remains to be seen.
Posted by: Mike ||
09/18/2008 17:14 ||
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Remember, if you are caught or killed, the nominee will disavow any knowledge of your actions....
REDDING, Calif. -- Redding, Calif. police say a grease rustler was caught in the act Monday morning, siphoning used kitchen oil from a tank owned by a rival firm.
Joshua Lee Phelps, 27, was detained, cited on suspicion of petty theft, and released after a driver from North State Rendering Co. spotted him sucking grease from one of the Chico, Calif. company's tanks behind a restaurant, Cpl. Eric Niver said.
But Phelps' employer said the incident was "a big fat misunderstanding" and nothing more than strong-arm tactics by rival North State Rendering in an effort to quash new competition. The pickup Phelps was driving was equipped with a pump, tank and hose small enough to suck the grease through the theft-prevention grates on North State's tanks, Ottone said.
Recently released BNP chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday demanded release of all detained political leaders particularly the leaders of her party saying people had already raised their voices in regard to the release of BNP leaders.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/18/2008 00:00 ||
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KOLKATA: Bangladesh is all set to build its own missile arsenal. The caretaker government in Dhaka is in the process of clinching a deal with an integrated European company MBDA for buying OTOMAT MK-II surface-to-air missiles and five launch systems. These missiles can carry a payload of 210 kg and can hit targets 180 km away.
In addition, highly-placed intelligence sources say, the Bangladesh Air Force is negotiating with Turkish arms dealer ASELSAN to buy Shorad (Short Range Air Defence) system and 3D air defence radars during the current financial year.
Bangladesh has already set up a missile launch pad near the Chittagong Port with assistance from China. Breaking protocol, it did not bother to inform India about its missile tests. Bangladesh's missile programme is a recent one. Its maiden missile test was conducted on May 12, with active participation of a group of Chinese experts. It successfully test-fired land attack anti-ship cruise missile C-802A with a strike range of 120 km from the frigate BNS Osman near Kutubdia Island in the Bay of Bengal.
The frigate, commissioned by the Bangladesh Navy in 1989, is a 1500-ton Chinese built Jianghu class warship, and the C-802A missile, according to experts, is a modified version of Chinese Ying Ji-802 (western version SACCADE) with weight reduced from 815-715 kg to increase strike range from 42-120 km. It is this enhanced strike radius that has left Indian security agencies worried.
The radar-equipped missile can carry a 165-kg warhead. Since its guidance equipment has strong anti-jamming capability, the ships it targets have a very low success rate in intercepting the missile. The hit probability of the Ying Ji-802 is rated as 98%. It can be launched from aircraft, ships, submarines and even land-based vehicles, and is considered to be at par with the US Harpoon, the best anti-ship missiles of the present day missile system.
Posted by: john frum ||
09/18/2008 00:00 ||
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Shouldn't Bangladesh be spending their money on more productive things? Like maybe wells that don't poison you with Arsenic? Food? Agricultural equipment and training?
(Xinhua) -- At least seven people died and 80 were injured during two explosions at the celebration of the Independence Day in a square of the city of Morelia in the Mexican state of Michoacan, authorities said on Tuesday.
The attacks occurred Monday night and these are the first attacks addressed against civilians inside the violence wave in the country. Morelia is capital of Michoacan and is located 242 kilometers from Mexico City, Michoacan is one of the states most devastated by the drug trafficking and kidnapping.
The Justice Prosecutor Office of Michoacan said on Tuesday that nobody has adjudged the attacks. The explosions occurred when Michoacan's governor Leonel Godoy was heading the local celebration of Mexican Independence Day.
Meanwhile, Mexican President Felipe Calderon expressed his repudiation to the attacks on Morelia. he wave violence in Mexico linked to the organized crime has killed at least 3,000 people during this year. When Calderon took office in Dec. 2006, he declared war on drug trafficking in Mexico, but also the drug trafficking groups declared war against the government.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/18/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
I hate to see this happen, it's a major turning point in their society. If this keeps up it will be Columbia style drug wars in the streets and a severe hurt to the tourist trade. Not to mention making it a less desirable destination for retiring baby-boomers. Better button this shit down and fast.
I saw this article and wondered, 'How did Russia transport the Israeli UAV components from Georgia?'
An Aeroflot Boeing-737 jet crashed Sunday on the outskirts of Perm in Russia's Ural mountains killing all 88 passengers and crew on board, the airline said. Perm, Russia is home to Perm Motors, JSC, a major Russian manufacturer of the 4th generation PS-90A engine which successfully competes with the best engines in this class and in particular with Pratt & Whitney's PW2000 and Rolls-Royce's RB211.
At least 20 foreigners and seven children were on the plane which witnesses said burst into flames as it prepared to land on a flight from Moscow. The wreckage cut off a stretch of the Trans-Siberian railway.
"It was burning while still in the sky and it looked like a falling comet," one female witness told Russia's Vesti-24 television. Do Israeli UAVs have self-destruct?
Aeroflot said controllers lost radio contact with the plane shortly after 5:20 am (2320 GMT Saturday), moments before it came down just a few hundred metres (yards) from a main residential area.
Aeroflot confirmed there were no survivors and said the dead included nine people from Azerbaijan, five from Ukraine and one each from France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Switzerland, and Turkey. One passenger was also said to be American but US officials were reportedly checking that information.
Among the victims was General Gennady Troshev, a former top commander of Russia's war in Chechnya and advisor to ex-president Vladimir Putin, Interfax news agency reported, citing Russia's transport ministry.
Aeroflot chief executive Valery Okulov refused to answer whether it could have been a terrorist attack and said that was a matter for the investigating commission. "We should wait for the official results," he said.
"As the plane was coming in for landing, it lost communication at the height of 1,100 metres and air controllers lost its blip," an Aeroflot statement said. "The airplane was found within Perm's city limits completely destroyed and on fire," it added.
One witness described seeing the plane pass over his house before watching in horror as it exploded and sent massive chunks of burning wreckage flying to the ground. "The plane was flying over our building, falling, and it hit the ground about 200 metres (650 feet) away and broke up," a local resident, who only gave his name as Maxim, told AFP. "It blew up in the air, the pieces fell on the ground. The main part containing the passengers fell in a dacha (country house) area with gardens. It didn't hit the main residential area."
Vesti-24 showed smoking hot metal strewn across a wooded area and investigators combing through the dark with flashlights. Later pictures showed clothes and other possessions scattered far and wide.
The cause of the accident was not immediately clear, though a source quoted by RIA Novosti suggested that an engine failure could have sparked flames on board and led to the crash. Both black box flight recorders were found in the wreckage, Interfax news agency reported, citing investigators.
Aeroflot spokesman Lev Koshlyakov told journalists the plane had been given "a full technical inspection" early this year and was judged to be in a "proper condition."
It was the worst air disaster involving a Russian airliner since a Tupolev-154 flying to Saint Petersburg went down near the Ukrainian city of Donetsk in August 2006 killing all 170 passengers on board.
Plane wreckage on the tracks led to the closure of a stretch of the Trans-Siberian railway between Perm and Yekaterinburg, police said.
The plane had been leased by Aeroflot from a Dublin-based company Pinewatch Limited in July until March 2013, the airline said. It was not clear how old it was.
The crash will doubtless raise renewed concerns about the safety of air travel in Russia where experts have pointed to major faults in the training of crews as well as Russia's ageing fleet of passenger jets. An air safety commission announced in January that the average age of the country's international airliners was 18 years, and its regional jets 30 years. CCTV video of crash
#1
Caught fire and exploded on approach, at relatively low altitude.
Barometric pressure controlled bomb in the hold?
Stinger type missile?
Or just a mechanical/maintenance issue? Seems less than likely, as it is not a high mechanical stress part of a flight.
#3
Mr. Wife was never keen to go flying about Russia, as the maintenance for internal flights was considerably worse than those that went internationally. However, there being no options, there was nothing to be done but trust in God and statistics to get him home safely again. As far as I know he hasn't gone back since 1996, so I assume there's considerably more chewing gum and baling wire now than then.
#4
"I hate warriors, too narrow-minded. I'll tell you what I do like though: a killer, a dyed-in-the-wool killer. Cold blooded, clean, methodical and thorough. Now a real killer, when he picked up the ZF-1, would've immediately asked about the little red button on the bottom of the gun."
Posted by: bruce ||
09/18/2008 21:42 Comments ||
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#5
Did you know that those Boeings are registered in Bermuda? And that a bermudan inspector supposedly checks them? Of course they never do.
#2
Putin and his buddies have been getting rich off of Russia's pretend capitalism. They're learning that it has it's downside, too. The more graft, the bigger the fall. Enjoy the ride, Putin.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
09/18/2008 11:29 Comments ||
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#3
Don't worry, I'm sure George Bush and the Fed are putting together a bailout package as we speak.
#4
You know Putie, even the Czar sold Alaska when the price was right. If things get tough you might even convince the Euros to put together a package to 'buy back' those Georgian provinces. Cheaper than fighting and not as obvious awkward in appearance. It seems to work for the freebooters around Somalia and the ship traffic.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
09/18/2008 17:45 Comments ||
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#7
BS article. First, russian stock market does not play the same role as the stock market plays here in the U.S.: it is still primarily speculative. So when speculators pull out, the market drops, but it is not that detrimental for the overall ecomony. Second, the author is enamored with the notion that Russia needs to join the WTO. BS again. Russia actually does not need WTO that much and it surely won't die if it does not join.
Third, while Russia may be authoritatian, I would not compare it with China. The latter comparison just shows the author's ignorance and desire to lump up things which are different, but in his mind "all the same." Actually, I am surprized that The Wall Street Journal published this crap. They usually do better.
#13
I've been thinkin' - I know, a bad habit. But if Russia's in financial trouble, maybe Putin will sell us Siberia. We'll even let 'em keep the port of Vladivostok and a rail corridor to and from there to central Russia. Offer them $1 trillion over a 20-year period for everything east of 110 degrees, including Sakalain Island and the Kuriles, minus a two-mile wide rail/road corridor to Vlad. I'm sure it'll get nowhere, fast, but it will certainly stir up the Russian minorities who would much rather be American citizens than Russian citizens.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
09/18/2008 19:40 Comments ||
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#15
Also, not so sure that being an american citizen is a dream for a russian minorities. There, they are much better integrated, here they will be treated like crap.
#22
"Ovaltine, a registered trademark of Associated British Foods, is made by Wander AG, a subsidiary of Twinings which acquired the brand from Novartis in 2003."
Ovaltine: Drink it, eat it, gnaw on it.
Fascinating . . . . BTW, it is not even american.
#23
See TOPIX > CONDOLEEZA RICE: RUSSIA ON THE WRONG PATH TOWARDS ISOLATIONISM, IRRELEVANCE.
Again, RUSSIA's Euro-centricity/focii is well known and recognized - CHINA, however, is the opposite. MANY CHIN NETTERS BELIEVE THE US WILL BE RISKING A DIRECT MILPOL CONFRONTATION + WAR WID NUCLEAR CHINA IFF THE US INVADES CHINA-ALLY PAKISTAN, and where CHINA = NOKOR + TAIWAN, etc. ISSUES.
#25
Ovaltine: Drink it, eat it, gnaw on it.
Fascinating. . . . BTW, it is not even american.
Neither is Nestle', you know. I learnt about Ovaltine when my German immigrant mother stocked up on it because my German immigrant grandmother came to live with us. I don't recall either teething biscuits or cookies with the Ovaltine brand in any of the countries in which I've shopped, but the powder was always next to Nestle' chocolate powder, also for stirring into milk.
#26
ok, I am not a fan of the dry milk/substitute products, so don't have anything further to contribute to this discussion turned gastronomical . . . .
#6
Cold war oddities, completely worthless in today's high-tech battlefield. Also, crap performance due to the heavy shoulders of the "swing wing" configuration (ever wonder why we never built many B-1's?). Expected lifetime in a conflict situation: about 15 minutes.
#8
The TU-160 is a much faster and much bigger vopy. It can reeach over Mach2, menaing that it is faster than most fighters and can probably stay far longder at that speed. I don't know about its low altitude capabilities and how good are he ECMs. I don't know how good she would be in battlefield or against a carrier (specilayy now that the Navy has only F16s who are mediocre in the interceptor role) but she can wreak havoc on soft targets like Miami or the oil platforms in the Mexico Gulf.
#9
A few typos in the preceeding post. Here is the debugged version:
#8 The TU-160 is a much faster and much bigger clone of the B2. It can reeach over Mach2, meaning that it is faster than most fighters and can probably stay far longer at that speed. I don't know about its low altitude capabilities and how good are her ECMs. I don't know how good she would be in battlefield or against a carrier (specially now that the Navy has only F18s who are mediocre in the interceptor role) but she can wreak havoc on soft targets like Miami or the oil platforms in the Mexico Gulf.
#11
Actually, Tu-160 is not a relic. Also, it's totally different from B-1B. It is more similar to the ambitious and cancelled program of the original B-1. It's a Mach 2 bomber. Carries 12-16 (I forget now) nuclear tipped cruise missiles with a range of about 3,000 km. Also can carry conventional cruise missiles. Good for preventive strikes and for picking residual targets after a nuke strike.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and the leaders of Georgia's breakaway regions -- S Ossetia and Abkhazia -- signed treaties of friendship, co-op and mutual assistance.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/18/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Compare wid TOPIX > MOSCOW TIMES OP-ED - TURNING RUSSIA INTO A TERRORIST ENCLAVE. HAMAS + HIZB suppor for Russia may backfire on Russia, as World Govts seemingly do better agz specific or isolated, always-on-the-move Militant-Terror Groups, NOT WHOLE ENCLAVES = MILIT-TERROR DOMIN LOCAL GOVTS-SOCIETIES. RUSSIA MAY BE PUTTING ITSELF IN REAL DANGER OF TERR DESTABILIZATIONS, AND ULTIMATELY DEVOL INTO A TERROR ENCLAVE/HAVEN ITSELF???
Also from TOPIX + MOSCOW TIMES > THE TOP TEN REASONS WHY THE RUSSIAN ECONOMY WILL FALTER.
#2
TOPIX > RUSSIA's PRESIDENT MEDVEDEV THREATENS ARCTIC ANNEXATION [Extension of Russ borderlines to Arctic area]. Medvey claims the ARCTIC must be RUSSIA'S "RESOURCE BASE" FOR THE 21st CENTURY.
The NATO secretary-general renewed his support for Georgia's bid to join the military bloc in a speech to students at Tbilisi State University on the second day of his visit to the Caucasus nation, but he offered no timetable for Georgia's NATO membership.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/18/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
MOUD + IRAN is weighing in and warning NATO agz interference in GEORGIA and the CAUCASUS.
HMMMMM, personally I'm reading MOUD's WARNING as more to RUSSIA, NOT TO NATO???
#2
If I were a Georgian, I wouldn't get my hopes up. NATO is a largely ineffective force against Russia and Russia knows it it. In a stand off, it will be a repeat of historical confrontations. Not good for Georgia. Still, what other cards do they have to play?
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
09/18/2008 4:42 Comments ||
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#3
Rember Poland in 1939? The allies gaved her a guarantee (despite Poland having taken part in the rape of Czachoslowakia) that because of geography they couldn't enforce. This was juts enticing Hitler to call the bluff.
Now, look where is Georgia.
Nato could/should accept Ukraine and evoid touching Georgia with a ten foot pole.
#6
REDDIT BREAKING > SECRETARY OF DEFENSE GATES WARNS THAT ONCE GEORGIA JOINS NATO, ANY SECOND RUSSIAN ATTACK AGZ IT WILL BE MET BY AMERICAN ARMED RESPONSE, as per NATO Charter.
#8
The deal for Georgia entering NATO is not primarily for the US - we may be useful in appearing to lead, but it's real a decision for Turkey, Armenia and the Azeris to make. Curiously, and barely reported, the ice seems to be breaking that way - vis the Turk PM's recent football visit to Yerevan, and renewed Armenian/Azeri talks.
A lot is probably going on behind the scenes, but a lot more probably has to be done, but if Georgia can gain any strategic depth, it could fit into NATO with Turkey's backstopping.
The $$$$$ to do this come from the oil/gas transit fees from the Caspian - and there should be enough to cover everyone, even if Russia tries everything short of war to stop it.
The less the US says anything about this, the more likely it's happening, particularly if nothing is said in the upcoming debates or in any detail on the sunday talkies.
#10
The deal for Georgia entering NATO is not primarily for the US
Well, if U.S. were to mind its own security within or close to its borders, or at least in the western hemisphere, we would not have all these problems, would we?
#11
Yes, why should we care that terrorists trained halfway round in a barbarian wasteland to fly airplanes into our skyscrapers? Or that countries which spent their own citizens and tax funds to help us put an end to terror aimed at the world are under attack for it?
On the other hand, jihadi terrorists have crossed our borders from Canada and Mexico. Perhaps we should take care of those nearby problems instead.
#12
"terrorists trained halfway round in a barbarian wasteland to fly airplanes into our skyscrapers?"
TW, you've got to be joking! Let's start with the "terrorists": that would be 19 citizens of South Arabia - a U.S. ally in the Middle East. Next, "barbarian wasteland" - that would be Iraq and Iran - the cradle of the human civilization, and the inventors of the arabic numerals: 1, 2, 3 etc. Finally, where is that evidence that Iraq ever trained those 19 South Arabians or any other terrorists???
#13
GC - your first comment is on target, particularly since Russia retains substantial combat forces in Armenia - that alone makes the change scenario very unlikely, and is simply the current proof of the historic lineup of the region.
All that said though, if Turkey leads, particularly if Iraq and the Kurds are remotely calm, it could happen.
Armenia is clearly its own nation now, and in a position to make a deal for itself.
Still doubtful, but it could happen.
As for the remaining comments, we could keep our interest commercial (i.e. energy related) but still have the security interests TW notes. None of these nations are quite the non-sovereign areas as the FATA/pre-war Afghanistan, but they all have issues.
#15
"but still have the security interests TW notes"
A: Security interests are just that security interests. Instead U.S. wants: (i) NATO expansion, (ii) Missile Defense in every bordering state, and (iii) station its own troops there.
SEOUL, South Korea - Kim Jong Il's companion and former secretary is emerging as a key player in the communist nation after the autocratic leader's stroke.
South Korean officials are keeping a close eye on Kim Ok amid some intelligence reports that she's not only nursing the ailing leader but also is signing official documents on his behalf. Experts believe the communist leader is retaining a firm grip on power, running the nation from his bed with the help of military and communist party chiefs in line with the nation's "songun," or military first, policy. But they are not discounting the role of the woman who is seen by some as the de-facto first lady. "She is the closest person personally to Kim Jong Il," said Marcus Noland, a North Korea expert at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington. "In some ways, she's the one guarding the bedroom or hospital door. She would be in a position to convey his preferences."
Kim, 66, reportedly suffered a stroke last month and is recuperating following emergency brain surgery -- though North Korean officials deny the communist leader, who was last seen in public more than a month ago, is ill. He has three sons -- Jong Nam, Jong Chul and Jong Un -- but does not appear to have anointed any of them as his heir-apparent.
Continued on Page 49
(SomaliNet) Chinese authorities said on Wednesday that a third child has died and 6,244 infants have fallen sick from ingesting toxic milk.
China's Health Minister Chen Zhu told a televised news conference that the number of infants diagnosed with "acute kidney failure" had risen to 158.
According to sources, the Chinese government has sacked four officials in Shijiazhuang, the capital of Hebei province where dairy company Sanlu Group is based. The sackings included the vice mayor in charge of agriculture, Zhang Fawang, and the director of the city's food and drug watchdog, Zhang Yi, as well as chief officials for animal husbandry and quality inspection. Chairwoman and general manager of Sanlu, Tian Wenhua, was also dismissed.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/18/2008 00:00 ||
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While the political and news world was focused on the glitzy Hollywood haul of money by the Obama campaign's Brinks trucks Tuesday night, it turns out lesser-light Sarah Palin was gathering in a good deal more than a million bucks at three separate fundraisers back in Ohio.
She did a country club event in Canton that raked in more than $1 million by itself Monday night, a Dayton breakfast and a $2,500-per-plate luncheon in Cincinnati.
Once totaled, the 18-hour sum will exceed the entire $1.35 million Palin spent on her successful insurgent gubernatorial general election campaign in Alaska two years ago.
So keen a new draw is the 44-year-old mother of five, that party officials estimate she'll probably do three dozen more fundraisers in the 48 days remaining in this campaign.
Because John McCain is taking $84 million in federal funds, the money she raises is split between national and state parties, which are ...
... trying to keep up with the Obama donation juggernaut that changed its mind and rejected federal money.
"What we've seen over the past 17 days or so is nothing short of amazing when it comes to grass-roots response," said Kevin DeWine, deputy chairman of the Republican Party of Ohio, a must-win state for GOP White House hopes since 1916.
Palin's fresh-faced, down-to-earth appeal has even spread to Western states. Organizers of a Sept. 24 fundraiser in Wyoming featuring Palin report ticket sales to people from as far away as Idaho and Montana.
"We're really talking about a regional type of excitement," Maggie Scarlett, McCain's Wyoming co-finance chair, told Erika Bolstad of the Anchorage Daily News.
This success doesn't surprise David Dittman, a consultant to Palin's 2006 campaign. "She connects with people," he says.
Outraised by her well-known Democratic opponent in 2006, Dittman noted, "She didn't have the support of the party. She did not have the support of labor unions, environmentalists, the oil industry. She did it all by herself."
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is reviewing complaints from both Americans and Canadians about a Web site columnist who recently described Sarah Palin's supporters as "white trash," compared the vice presidential candidate to a "porn actress" and called her daughter's boyfriend a "redneck" and "ratboy."
Isn't that 'hate speech' to be punished by the Canadian Human Rights Commissions? Perhaps the provincial one in Prince Edward Island?
The incendiary column by Toronto-based writer Heather Mallick appeared on the CBC News site on Sept. 5, after the close of the Republican National Convention. On the same day, Britain's Guardian newspaper published another column by Mallick in which she trashed Palin's home state of Alaska as a "frontier state full of drunks and crazy people."
In the CBC story, Mallick wrote that John McCain's running mate "added nothing to the ticket that the Republicans didn't already have sewn up, the white trash vote."
She proceeded to write that the Alaska governor "has a toned-down version of the porn actress look favored by this decade's woman, the overtreated hair, puffy lips and permanently alarmed expression."
She also questioned why the Palins were allowing Levi Johnston -- 17-year-old Bristol Palin's boyfriend and father of her unborn baby -- into the family.
"What normal father would want Levi 'I'm a f---n' redneck' Johnson prodding his daughter?" Mallick asked. "I know that I have an attachment to children that verges on the irrational, but why don't the Palins? I'm not the one preaching homespun values but I'd destroy that ratboy before I'd let him get within scenting range of my daughter again, and so would you. ... Turn your guns on Levi, ma'am."
CBC Ombudsman Vince Carlin told FOXNews.com that he has gotten "quite a few complaints about [the column], both from Canada and the U.S," and said he's reviewing its contents to see if it meets CBC's journalistic standards and practices.
Asked if Mallick's column represented the views of CBC or the Canadian government, which owns CBC, Mallick suggested it did not and questioned whether commentators on FOX News represent the views of all Americans. "I don't think so," he answered.
As for Mallick, he said, "She's a columnist not a journalist."
Mallick also wrote on the CBC Web site that Republican men, whom she called "sexual inadequates," must think that women would vote for Palin just because she's a woman.
In her Guardian column, Mallick claimed her own small-town credentials are just as solid as Palin's, writing "Palin cannot out-hick me."
I'm sure she can't ...
But she said Palin should have stayed in her hometown of Wasilla, writing, "Small towns are places that smart people escape from, for privacy, for variety, for intellect, for survival. Palin should have stayed home."
Mallick also blasted Alaska as Canada's ugly stepchild. "We love our own north to the point of covering our eyes and humming as it melts ... but Alaska is different from our north," she wrote. "We share a 1,500-mile border with a frontier state full of drunks and crazy people, of the blight that cheap-built structures bring to a glorious landscape.
"Alaska is our redneck cousin, our Yukon territory forms a blessed buffer zone, and thank God he never visits. Alaska is the end of the line."
#1
Lady, buzz off. You don't have n dog in this fight, being Canadian and all. I'll back a team of our white trash against Canada's finest elites anyday.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
09/18/2008 15:13 Comments ||
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#2
Well nobody's gonna mistake her for no p0rn actress...
#3
Elites don't change behavior because of nationality. It's a very common affliction. I wonder if the Canadian Human Rights Commission will review this 'hate' communication like Mr. Steyn's recently before them.
A (future ex-) friend forwarded to me an email purportedly from some woman in Alaska named "Jackie" railing against Palin. The intro was something like "First of all, she's a redneck and her husband actually races snow mobiles!". Thinking this was actually damning rather than praise, she went on with all the usual talking points we've heard for the past few weeks. Being a Yankee redneck by upbringing I found this moderately insulting.
Same "friend" sent me another email supposedly from the woman who wrote the "Vagina Dialogues...."
(An aside here, to steal a riff from George Carlin, if I were double-jointed enough to have a dialogue with my privates, I'd never leave the house)*rimshot*.
Her main point was that Palin was responsible for all the polar bears drowning because of her "Drill drill, drill!" thing. And she liked polar bears because they were so pretty and white....
It's a whole different mind set - Klingons if you will. I despair of a rational discourse because there seems to be no common underpinning in worldview.
#10
There's a bunch of us Canucks who have about had it up to HERE with Heather Mallick and her crappy hit pieces - all of which are paid for out of tax money taken from us rubes.
Many letters have been written about this twit and her tax supported garbage writing to Members of Parliament, all of whom are struggling to be reelected right now. Written letters have a lot of punch.
Wait for the results of our Federal election to see what changes result in the CBC and the way they represent Canadians.
#11
Compare wid WND > HOW THE DETROIT LIONS [NFL] SYMBOLIZE THEIR HOST CITY. Detroit in perennial Crises in parallel wid the time the NFL Lions last won a Championship. *ALTERNATE TITLE = HOW DEMOCRATS DESTROYED DETROIT AND TURNED THE MIGHTY LIONS INTO [Chicago] CUBS???
#13
Hunting, fishing, snowmobiling... Palin's more canadian than the clowns in Ottawa. Mallick is just another Eastern snob that got the Conservatives in power in the first place. Let her keep spouting off, it'll just help Harper get the majority. The Liberal leader can barely speak english. With friends like Mallick, it should be an easy win.
The Democratic-controlled Congress, acknowledging that it isn't equipped to lead the way to a solution for the financial crisis and can't agree on a path to follow, is likely to just get out of the way.
Lawmakers say they are unlikely to take action before, or to delay, their planned adjournments -- Sept. 26 for the House of Representatives, a week later for the Senate. While they haven't ruled out returning after the Nov. 4 elections, they would rather wait until next year unless Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, who are leading efforts to contain the crisis, call for help.
One reason, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said yesterday, is that ``no one knows what to do'' at the moment.
Continued on Page 49
#1
"We want the power and all the trappings, but we don't want the responsibility. Though we were more than happy to unrelentingly blame the Republicans when they were in the same seat." - Reid-Pelosi Inc.
#2
For once, I agree with Harry. Congress can only muck it up more right now. So, they are going home and about their business. Good advice for us, too. Let the market take care of itself. It can do it better than we.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
09/18/2008 12:52 Comments ||
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#3
Can we add a graphic of the three 'see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil' monkeys too?
#5
GWB made a point to stay in DC while this is going on for the expressed purpose of meeting with economic advisers... you lose, Congress!
Posted by: Chris W. ||
09/18/2008 13:49 Comments ||
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#6
But, Obama knows exactly what to do & he's a member of Congress, let him put up his solutions on the floor of the Senate now, not after 4 more months of economic crisis.
Barack Obama sharpened his attacks on John McCain and mocked the Republican's recent calls for reform in two stops in Nevada on Wednesday after days of listening to nervous supporters fret about the Democrat's chances of taking the White House.
"Sen. McCain bragged about how as chairman of the Commerce Committee in the Senate, he had oversight of every part of the economy. Well, all I can say to Sen. McCain is, 'Nice job. Nice job,'" Obama said at a rally at a baseball stadium in Las Vegas. "Where is he getting these lines? The lobbyists running his campaign?"
Obama later added: "I'm not making this up, you can't make this up. It's like a 'Saturday Night Live' routine."
Continued on Page 49
#2
Any one of you libs get in my face and you'll be having your teeth for lunch.
"I want you to argue with them and get in their face". This is considered 'discourse' from a Presidential candidate? How can anyone take this man seriously?
Posted by: Chris W. ||
09/18/2008 12:24 Comments ||
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#3
I want you to argue with them and get in their face
And what are you going to tell me? That it's bushcheneymcpalin's fault and that the messiah will heal the sick financials by rubbing mud in their eyes?
I would ask them about Andrew Cuomo, a Clinton appointee for HUD from 1997 to 2001. "Junior" made a series of bad decisions such as allowing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to move into the sub-prime markets without any regulatory mechanism. And he allowed the FHA to give out $0 down loans. He legalized brokers receiving kickbacks for these loans which led to predatory lending. Then Andy decided to provide unrealistic flexible loans to low-income families and minorities with little to no money down.
If you want to scream in my face about bushcheneymcpalin's responsibility...place partial blame on Clinton and the donks.
#4
Do that with 2nd amendment folks and things could get interesting. I don't see how this tactic is going to win over any voters. Seems more like the words of a desparate man. Metro man just looks silly when he tries to sound tough.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
09/18/2008 12:38 Comments ||
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#5
It all goes back to that traitor "Carter" not supporting the Shah - resulting in the whole militant islam thingy...
#7
Obama says this stuff like the Dems haven't controlled Congress the last two years. Like he hasn't accepted money from Fannie Mae or whatever the hell it's called.
You know, if I were running for office and my supporters had done all the sorts of things that Obama's army of flying monkeys had done, the LAST thing I would be doing would be saying that they need to get in more people's faces.
I thank GOD ALMIGHTY that I'm not one of these liberals who believe conservatives have engineered the war, are killing people for the fun of it, etc., etc., because if I were, I'd be looking out at my party having become the party that makes fun of families with disabled children... and I'd go into the booth and pull the lever for John "Meatgrinder" McCain.
I think it was in 1803 or thereabouts that the US Congress passed a law making duelling illegal, and ever since, the level of discourse in America has declined. Still having some epee skills, I'd be more than willing to risk the penalties to help raise the politeness quotient in the polity.
Was it Heinlein who wrote "An armed society is a polite society"?
#10
I doubt Congress passed a law in 1803 except for DC. In July 1804 Hamilton and Burr dueled in Weehawken NJ, because it was illegal to duel in NY. The last duel in Weehawken was in 1845 according to Wikipedia.
#11
"...if he's president he'll take on -- and I quote -- 'the old boys network in Washington.' I'm not making this up," Obama said. "This is somebody who's been in Congress for 26 years, who put seven of the most powerful Washington lobbyists in charge of his campaign. And now he tells us that he's the one who's going to take on the old boys network," Obama said. "The old boys network. In the McCain campaign that's called a staff meeting. Come on."
OODA again. Candidate Obama's VP choice has been there as long, is as old, and did nothing toward reforming his colleagues. I thought Obama was supposed to be so very intelligent...
#12
On every news show I've seen during the last few days, Obama supporters have shouted down opposing points of view, talked over the host and used any question to give long harrangues stating his talking points, no matter what the question - and kept doing it even when the hosts tried to stop them.
#14
lotp, I've noticed that on the radio, also. It's an interesting tactic because I've also noticed the media types trying to overtalk them. Both are demeaned by the failure to extend mutual civility in my mind, even though the Obamanista initiated it. Does The One really want to demean the MSM?
#17
I think not, rj, merely correcting my bad history. A search does indicate that apparently duelling was common up into the 1840's and not as a sneak out behind the barn thing, but pretty public. I was basing the earlier date on a story I had heard, perhaps an early urban legend, about two congressmen. One 6'7" and the other 5'2" The little one challenged the big one. The big one had the choice of weapons, and not really being interested chose 16 pound sledgehammers in 5'6" of water. Duel never came off. The story as told to me indicated the challenge was in violation of the recent law outlawing dueling.
#18
Hysterical, shrieking of obiden talking points - simply crass. What's a tad worrisome, all you web monkeys should look into this: astroturfing. Just when you thought this cycle could not get anymore Orwellian.
HA! In my face? Better think about where you're gonna wake up mfer.
#20
'He believes in the Second Amendment.' If they tell you, 'Well, he's going to raise your taxes,' you say, 'No, he's not, he's going lower them
In other words he want his acolytes to start arguments based on lies Obma tells them.
ANyoeh that has tried those thing on my has been stopped DEAD by me asking simple questions:
Why did he vote and verbally commit to oulawing handguns in Illinois?
How is he going to cut taxes when he wants to let the Bush tax cuts expire and greatly increase taxes?
Then I point out that what he says is different than what he does - he is a liar, even to his own side - the surveillance act he talked big about opposing for the crowds? He voted for it. Same thing with gun laws - he voted for restrictions and bans.
I then point out the "lies of omission" - According to the campaign (.pdf), Obama "will protect the rights of hunters and other law-abiding Americans to purchase, own, transport, and use guns for the purposes of hunting and target shooting." Notice how it does not mention self-defense purposes.
He talks the talk but does not walk the walk - he is a convincing liar with no record of accomplishment in defending taxpayers or gun owners.
#21
On every news show I've seen during the last few days, Obama supporters have shouted down opposing points of view, talked over the host and used any question to give long harrangues stating his talking points, no matter what the question - and kept doing it even when the hosts tried to stop them.
In other words, lotp, they are acting like fascists. Or fanatics a'la Ron Paul and Lew Rockwell's zombies.
#22
Ah, go ahead and get in my face. I gave parking tickets for a living once....and I'm sure I've seen better and more coherent rants from people ticked off about getting caught in a handicapped spot.
#24
On every news show I've seen during the last few days, Obama supporters have shouted down opposing points of view, talked over the host and used any question to give long harrangues stating his talking points, no matter what the question - and kept doing it even when the hosts tried to stop them.
Didn't we see this movie before. Like in the late 1930's/early 40's in Germany.
I was switching channels the other day and caught a few seconds old Olbermann's monologue. I couldn't believe the amount of pure hatred being spewed by him on our airwaves. Its not anger, its not 'rage', its not 'righteous indignation', its plan old hatred. Hatred of Bush, hatred of Conservatives, and just hatred of anything outside of his narrow band of 'truth'.
#27
via Ace of Spades, it usually starts out "I'm a Concerned Christian Conservative, but lately I've been dismayed by John McCain, and taken another look at Barack Obama, who has some interesting ideas...."
usually the name will be single: Jim, Tim, John, Suzy...
Axelrod's firm is a master at this shit, and when you see it, call em out. They don't stay long, or respond to intellectual challenges, because they're going from a script. They actually have no idea what a real Christian Conservative would think
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/18/2008 19:46 Comments ||
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#28
"Argue with your friends and neighbors, 'get in their face'"
If you are Obamaniacally confronted, the best yak-repelling tactic is to whip out the best Dirty Harry line ever, "You're mouthwash ain't cuttin' it."
WASHINGTON - Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden said Thursday that paying more in taxes is the patriotic thing to do for wealthier Americans. In a new TV ad that repeats widely debunked claims about the Democratic tax plan, the Republican campaign calls Obama's tax increases "painful."
Under the economic plan proposed by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, people earning more than $250,000 a year would pay more in taxes while those earning less — the vast majority of American taxpayers — would receive a tax cut.
Although Republican John McCain claims that Obama would raise taxes, the independent Tax Policy Center and other groups conclude that four out of five U.S. households would receive tax cuts under Obama's proposals.
"We want to take money and put it back in the pocket of middle-class people," Biden said in an interview on ABC's "Good Morning America."
Noting that wealthier Americans would indeed pay more, Biden said: "It's time to be patriotic ... time to jump in, time to be part of the deal, time to help get America out of the rut."
McCain released a television ad Thursday charging that Obama would increase the size of the federal government amid an economic crisis. Contending that "a big government casts a big shadow on us all," the ad features the image of a shadow slowly covering a sleeping baby as a narrator misstates the reach of the Obama tax proposal.
"Obama and his liberal congressional allies want a massive government, billions in spending increases, wasteful pork," the ad says. "And we would pay — painful income taxes, skyrocketing taxes on life savings, electricity and home heating oil. Can your family afford that?"
The McCain campaign said the ad is set to run nationally.
#4
Didn't we fight a revolution against higher taxes some 230ish years ago?
So ... it would be better argued that it is more patriotic to fight against high taxes. Or revolt against them.
Geeze the dhimocrats are full going for pure socialism this year.
#6
"It's time to be patriotic ... time to jump in, time to be part of the deal, time to help get America out of the rut."
-in other words, it's time to punish you for being good at what you do and for continually making good decisions in your life. You need to buck up and shoulder those who don't.
Hackers broke into the Yahoo! e-mail account that Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin used for official business as Alaska's governor, revealing as evidence a few inconsequential personal messages she has received since John McCain selected her as his running mate.
"This is a shocking invasion of the governor's privacy and a violation of law. The matter has been turned over to the appropriate authorities and we hope that anyone in possession of these e-mails will destroy them," the McCain campaign said in a statement.
The Secret Service contacted The Associated Press on Wednesday and asked for copies of the leaked e-mails, which circulated widely on the Internet. The AP did not comply.
The disclosure Wednesday raises new questions about the propriety of the Palin administration's use of nongovernment e-mail accounts to conduct state business. The practice was revealed months ago - prior to Palin's selection as a vice presidential candidate - after political critics obtained internal e-mails documenting the practice by some aides.
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/18/2008 05:54 ||
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#1
so there are two options:
1) (unlikely) they guessed her password
2) they work for YAHOO.
#7
This was pulled of by an Anonynous from 4chans /b/. The password recovery answers were guessed. No hidden "state business" was found in the account. Nothing here to see here. This is why you don't use weak passwords. They are easy to "guess"
The /b/tards were greatly disappointed as they are going down on Obama. I have a tip for them "Lurk Moar."
#8
I highly recommend to all parties involved to get your lawyer(s) on the job as quickly as possible. It's going to be a long one, so you'd better be setting up a 'defense fund' now to start to get the means to pay for the legal help now and during the appeals process. And for the privacy wonks, this will make you or break you as 'elites' - one set of rules for me and a separate set of rules for thee. Out go the principles.
#9
If the leftoweenies are this pissed that she might have used her personal email for government business what would they do if she used her government email for personal business?
Posted by: Deacon Blues ||
09/18/2008 10:23 Comments ||
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#10
But don't forget...it's the evil Bushitler who's violating our privacy!!
#16
4chan retards did this. Obama camp had nothing to do with it.
Dude, Obama has enthusiastic retards like those at 4chan going mad on the internet in an orgy of slime. And all he does is stand up at his little teleprompter podium and say he wants his followers to get in people's faces like good little ****ing Nazis.
#17
Are you sure that Obama's official campaign had nothing to do with this?
So far, there's no evidence, for or against the proposition. I know, presumption of innocence and all that, but . . . is it not odd that Obama has not issued a statement denouncing the breach of privacy? If we take the most favorable interpretation of events--that is, the Obama campaign had nothing to do with the hacking--it's stupid of them not to come out against it because it gives people room to imagine that they're in favor of it.
I remember the last time a presidential candidate's overly-enthusiastic supporters (with or without official encouragement) did something like this. It happened 36 years ago.
Posted by: Mike ||
09/18/2008 14:28 Comments ||
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#18
4chan retards did this. Nothing shows that Obama camp had nothing anything to do with it.
#19
Laying this on Obama after finding out it was 4chan is very weak IMHO. Had it been a lefty blogger or a lefty newsdump claiming to have done this, then yeah, point that finger at the DNC.
4chan is a cesspool first and... well, I was going to say 'political' or 'activist' second but neither one would be true. 4chan is a cesspool period.
That's why I think this is a random jackass or two who happens to liek Obama because everyone else on teh intertubez seems to liek him too and it's kewl to screw with teh evul Republicans.
I'll give Barry's camp a pass on this... but I DON'T give them a pass on failing to condemn this behavior.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
09/18/2008 16:36 Comments ||
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#21
Interesting thing about the proxies likely used for the Palin email break in. The actual proxies are located in Chicago, ILL of all places:
network:OrgName:FDCservers.net LLC
network:OrgID;I:JCLARKKENT2005-GMAILCOM
network:Address:141 West Jackson Blvd, Suite 1135
network:City:Chicago
network:StateProv:N/A
network:PostalCode:60604
network:Country:US
Gee, less than a mile from BO HQ...
The son of state Rep. Mike Kernell has been contacted by authorities in connection with a probe into the hacking of personal e-mail of vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, Kernell told The Tennessean.
Pic courtesy of My Pet Jawa
Kernell, a Memphis Democrat, said his 20-year-old son David had been contacted by authorities investigating the hacking of PalinÂ’s personal e-mail account, the newspaper reported on its Web site this afternoon.
The FBI and the Secret Service started a formal investigation Wednesday into the hacking, according to the Associated Press.
Donald Trump, the flamboyant New York magnate, said on CNN’s “Larry King Live” on Wednesday night that he is supporting Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) for president.
Trump, never shy with his opinions, went on to say that McCain appears to be winning, and that Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) should have chosen Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) as his running mate.
“I know John McCain, and John McCain's a great guy, a tremendous guy,” Trump told King. “I've known him for a long time. And I'm with him, and I'm with him based on the fact that I have great knowledge of John McCain. Also, this is not the right time for tax increases. And Obama wants to increase your taxes drastically.”
Well, maybe not your taxes. But certainly The DonaldÂ’s: Obama would repeal President Bush tax cuts for households making more than $250,000.
During the Democratic primaries, Trump donated to Hillary Clinton, according to records posted by the Center for Responsive Politics. Trump donated to McCain in May, according to the records.
“I don't understand why Hillary wasn't chosen [for vice president],” Trump said. “ She was really winning. I have a friend that came to this country and was here for the last four weeks of that whole election. He said: How did she lose? She won every primary? He didn't understand it.
“The fact is, that Obama went limping across the finish line. He should have chosen Hillary, It would have been a much different race, I believe. Right now, it looks to me like McCain is probably winning.”
Rush Limbaugh, featured in a new, Spanish-language Barack Obama ad, says the commercial distorts his past statements and amounts to "race-baiting" by the Democratic nominee. The commercial, to air in Limbaugh's home state of Florida as well as Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada, features a picture of the conservative talk show host and shows his words on the screen: "Mexicans are stupid and unqualified" and "Shut your mouth or get out." It was first reported by the Washington Post's Ed O'Keefe.
"Obama is now stoking racism in the country," Limbaugh wrote in an email. "Obama is a disgrace - he wants the public to think he is Mr. Nice Guy while his thugs are in Alaska looking for dirt on Palin and he runs race-baiting ads and lies about what he has done and what McCain has done."
As for the quotes, Limbaugh said they were taken out of context. The first, "stupid and unqualified," was from the NAFTA debate of the mid-90s, he recalled. Limbaugh, a NAFTA proponent, said in the fall of 1993 he got a call from a listener who was upset at the potential loss of American jobs.
In response he said, "If we are going to start rewarding no skills and stupid people--I'm serious, let the unskilled jobs, let the kinds of jobs that take absolutely no knowledge whatsoever to do--let stupid and unskilled Mexicans do that work."
Explaining his comments, Limbaugh writes: "I was referring to jobs in MEXICO. I was not discussing immigrants, illegal or otherwise."
On "shut your mouth," Limbaugh produced an April 2006 transcript from what he described as a parody of Mexican immigration laws. The talk show host read a list of stringent rules, adding "shut your mouth and get out," before revealing to listeners that the guidelines were those set by the Mexican government for immigrants.
McCain launched his own Spanish-language ad last week blaming Obama for the collapse of immigration reform last week, striking a more moderate tone on the issue than his border security-focused stance in the GOP primary. Polls show Obama leading among Hispanic voters, but McCain is making an aggressive push for their support as they represent a key constituency in key states such as Florida and the competitive states in the intterior west.
Rush Limbaugh, April 6, 2006:
Everybody's making immigration proposals these days. Let me add mine to the mix. Call it The Limbaugh Laws: First: If you immigrate to our country, you have to speak the native language. You have to be a professional or an investor; no unskilled workers allowed. Also, there will be no special bilingual programs in the schools with the Limbaugh Laws. No special ballots for elections. No government business will be conducted in your language. Foreigners will not have the right to vote -- or hold political office.
If you're in our country, you cannot be a burden to taxpayers. You are not entitled to welfare, food stamps, or other government goodies. You can come if you invest here: an amount equal to 40,000 times the daily minimum wage. If not, stay home. But if you want to buy land, it'll be restricted. No waterfront, for instance. As a foreigner, you must relinquish individual rights to the property.
And another thing. You don't have the right to protest. You're allowed no demonstrations, no foreign flag waving, no political organizing, no bad-mouthing our President or his policies. You're a foreigner: shut your mouth or get out! And if you come here illegally, you're going to jail.
You think the Limbaugh Laws are harsh? Well, every one of the laws I just mentioned are actual laws of Mexico today! That's how the Mexican government handles immigrants to their country. Yet Mexicans come here illegally and protest in our streets!
How do you say "double standard" in Spanish? How about: "No mas!"
#6
My point was that turning America into Mexico would NOT be an improvement -- and yet that's exactly what Limbaugh admits of supporting.
I heard that entire segment yesterday; you must not listen to Rush very much. I would be hard pressed to find in that, or any other segment, where Rush supports turning the USA into Mexico.
#7
An interesting personality that keeps returning where it's clearly been indicated it's not welcome. Just making work for Mods. What does he have against them? Is there no place other than Rantburg that can give this waif the attention he so pathetically craves? No wonder Greece has so many problems.
#12
For those do not know [vice those who really don't care], here's Article 33 of the Mexican Constitution -
"Of Foreigners
Article 33 - Foreigners are those who do not possess the qualities determined in Article 30. They have the right to the guarantees of Chapter I of the first title of this Constitution, but the Executive of the Union has the exclusive right to expel from the national territory, immediately and without necessity of judicial proceedings, all foreigners whose stay it judges inconvenient. Foreigners may not, in any manner, involve themselves in the political affairs of the country."
Note well the last sentence which Rush's comment is based upon.
They've had campaign ads in Espanol for the last several elections. These ads won't fly in south Florida; Cuban immigrants are conservative all the way.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
09/18/2008 10:40 Comments ||
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#15
The only people talking about race is ....
Dhimocrats.
They are the only ones "Stoking Racism". They want class war and class envy. It is the only way they can get their communist ideas to pass.
#17
They are the only ones "Stoking Racism". They want class war and class envy. It is the only way they can get their communist ideas to pass.
Posted by DarthVader
Divide and Conquer is a valid strategy. Our national motto, United We Stand, even warns us against it.
And this is what all politics has become, marketing to different "member bases" or whatever you want to call it. It's crap. We need leaders who can lead by example, which is WHY Gov. Palin is causing such a stir.
#18
Since I'm not allowed to respond to you, "DarthVader", what's the point? I've proven that he wants America to turn into Mexico where issues of immigration are concerned: Quoted him exactly when he makes the recommendations, quoted where he admits that they are carbon-copies of the Mexican immigration law. Been specific with my questions and points I raise -- but my comments are always removed, as any attempt at actual discussion is in this forum.
People keep forgetting that the reason I was banned was not because I was a troll, or my manners, or whatever, but rather because I had half dozen regulars trailing me all over the forum, not actually responding to anything I said but rather merely saying things like "Aris the Gay Greek Geek, what a goatfucking cunt he is"
So instead of banning half a dozen regulars, they decided to ban me instead. That's pretty much the reason I don't respect my ban: Because I've not violated a single guideline of this forum -- it's the other people that have.
#20
Yes, Nimble, I'm sure that's exactly the reason that even the most polite post of mine is removed, while even the posts by the people that call me a goatfucking cunt are retained.
Give examples with sources (sorry, the DU and KOSkiddies are NOT a source). Give a line by line comparison. Prove your point with facts. The only thing I have seen from you is crying.
And I have watched you prance around slamming everything the US does with little to no facts in your arguments. That is why people don't like you. I don't agree much with LiberalHawk, but he backs up his arguments with facts and even though I don't agree with this conclusion of the data, I respect the fact he is willing to debate his conclusions with mine.
You on the other had, just whine. And bitch. And blame the US.
So, post some facts. Give sources. Give dates. Treat your argument as a research paper. Then, we will give much credence to your conclusions. Otherwise, you are just another anti-american EU stooge that can be banned and mocked/ignored.
#23
DarthVader, the source is the exact article linked above.
He gives his own desired recommendations to what should become American immigration law, then says "You think the Limbaugh Laws are harsh? Well, every one of the laws I just mentioned are actual laws of Mexico today! That's how the Mexican government handles immigrants to their country."
Is that a good enough quote for you? He HIMSELF SAYS that America ought mimic Mexico where the issue of immigration is concerned.
"And I have watched you prance around slamming everything the US does with little to no facts in your arguments."
I've always given links and always gone to the source (instead of relying on half-assed impressions). If there's any fact that's missing to my claims you're always free to ask for it -- though of course any comment of mine is deleted, as soon as I provide any annoying fact.
#28
Aris, Limbaugh is just trying to agitate the masses and strengthen their position against illegal immigration. Limbaugh pushes no plans of his own, but exposes the hypocracy of the left and other anti-American positions. His Limbaugh Laws are part of his schtick. I am a regular listener of his, and he spends most time poking and prodding the enemy, socialism (democrats).
#30
Used to be. Somewhere around McGovern the socialist coopted the classical liberal tag and have been sinking the term since. Note their current attempts to steal old Teddy Roosevelt's 'progressive' tag. Shows how much the term liberal in American parlance has devalued that even they are running from it.
#31
lollypop, if people say that Mexico is worse-off than America in pretty much everything, and that's why they don't support efforts to emulate Mexico on the matter of immigration, then why are they being hypocrites or anti-American?
I'm somehow an anti-American or a hypocrite because I say that Mexico is worse in its laws than USA? Where's the hypocrisy or the anti-Americanism here?
You see another amusing facet of my presence here is that in many MANY issues I support America far more than you people do. If I was bashing America for e.g. Roe vs Wade, and praising it for Iraq, I'd be right at home. But since I praise it for Roe vs Wade (or its gay rights, or its wall of separation between church and state, or its intervention in Bosnia, and many other issues), and bash it for Iraq, I'm considered an anti-American.
So it's not my manners *OR* my supposed anti-Americanism. It's merely my specific positions, which are opposed to Bush. There's simply never been allowed anyone here who was liberal. Liberalhawk has only lasted as long as he did, by simply never speaking about his liberal positions.
And Nimble, I was completely proven correct, wasn't I? All my own comments are removed, but yours remain, and so are some person's with kindergartener insults like changing my name to "Anus" -- as were all you people's comments about goatfucking, cunts, gay greek geeks and so forth.
(By the way I use "you people" as a courtesy to Frank, who sometimes keeps thinking that my preferred "y'all" is meant as mockery or something)
Anyway, yeah, you people have REALLY convinced me that it's my manners that are somehow at fault -- when your own level of discouse is synopsised with "Anus".
Israel's governing Kadima party was voting for a new leader on Wednesday, with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni favoured by opinion polls to replace scandal-plagued Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
But whether Tzipi Livni or fellow cabinet minister Shaul Mofaz secures the support of a majority of the 74,000 members of the centrist Kadima party, Olmert may stay on as caretaker premier for weeks or months -- and Israel's fractious coalition politics could yet mean an early parliamentary election.
"At some moment in the near future, I will decide what to do with the rest of my life," Olmert, facing possible indictment in a corruption investigation, told community service volunteers in southern Israel.
After what many had thought might be his last such meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday, Olmert vowed to carry on with their peace negotiations -- a sign he aims to exercise his right to continue as prime minister while his successor as party leader tries to form a new government.
Polls show Foreign Minister Livni well ahead of Mofaz, the transport minister and a former general, in her bid to become Israel's first woman leader since Golda Meir in the 1970s. But despite Livni's commanding lead, Mofaz remained upbeat. "I stand behind my belief that I am going to win," he said after voting near Tel Aviv.
Whoever succeeds Olmert, many see a parliamentary election in months. Kadima, founded in 2005 by Ariel Sharon, has just a quarter of the seats in the Knesset. Rivals, some within Olmert's coalition, are preparing for a national battle that polls show may favour Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/18/2008 00:00 ||
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Israeli Foreign minister Tzipi Livni has been elected as the leader of the ruling Kadima Party to replace Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, exit polls suggest.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/18/2008 00:00 ||
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If the Capri/Thai processes are successful then Canada's oilsands, other oilsands and heavy oil deposits around the world will have higher recovery rates using a more economic process and the oil will be upgrading in the ground to a higher and more valuable quality......In the THAI system, an air pressure-driven combustion front loosens heavy oil as it slowly works its way forward, and the freed oil flows under gravity through slots in horizontal collector pipes, then is gas-lifted to surface processing systems....
[more at link; in addition to the quantity increase the quality of the recovered product is also expected to increase]
(PTI) A small party in Malaysia's ruling coalition pulled out today, compounding the problems of beleaguered premier Abdullah Badawi amid a bid by the resurgent opposition to topple his government.
The Sabah Progressive Party, having two members in Parliament, quit the 14-party Barisan Nasional coalition after weeks of dithering, citing dissatisfaction with BN leadership. Party chief Yong Teck Lee said SAPP will remain independent but will work with anyone and be in consultation with various parties including the opposition alliance. He also launched a scathing attack on the BN, saying it had "lost its moral authority to rule".
With the SAPP's withdrawal, Barisan will have a majority of 56 in Parliament. Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim, who is planning a bid to seize power, has claimed that 31 MPs had agreed to cross over to the opposition. He, however, did not name the 'defectors'.
In March elections, the coalition won 140 seats and the opposition claimed 82.
Meanwhile, the country's Anti-Corruption Agency has opened a file to investigate claims by Barisan MPs that they are being offered money by the opposition alliance to join them. ACA director-general Ahmad Said said this was part of a proactive measure by the agency to investigate such reports of corruption. "We are currently monitoring the situation. We have several reports already of MPs who have claimed to be offered money to cross over to the Opposition," he said.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/18/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
[online poker has been pooplisted.]
Posted by: online poker ||
09/18/2008 12:55 Comments ||
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Thai lawmakers yesterday turned to the brother-in-law of deposed leader Thaksin Shinawatra to be the new prime minister, setting up a showdown with protesters determined to tear down his political legacy. Ohfergawdsake.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/18/2008 00:00 ||
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Wall Street surged higher Thursday, with the Dow Jones industrials up more than 400 points after a report that the federal government is considering creation of a repository for banks' bad debt.
CNBC said Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is considering creation of an entity like the Resolution Trust Corp. that was formed after the failure of savings and loan banks in the 1980s.
Investors were cheered by the notion of a huge federal intervention like the establishment of RTC to acquire the real estate debt that has hobbled financial institutions and led to the intense volatility in the markets this week.
If there's an RTC-like entity, "it's going to take a lot of the bad debt off the balance sheets of these companies," said Scott Fullman, director of derivatives investment strategy for WJB Capital Group in New York. That would alleviate many of the pressures causing the credit crisis, he said, and open up the credit markets again.
However, Fullman added, "the devil's in the details."
In late afternoon trading, the Dow soared 406.29, or 3.83 percent, to 11,015.95.
Broader stock indicators also jumped. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 41.54, or 3.59 percent, to 1,197.93, and the Nasdaq composite index advanced 76.52, or 3.65 percent, to 2,175.37.
#2
McCain wanted this regulatory entity built in ***2006*** to supervise Fanny May and Freddie Mac. Obama did nto stand up and pass it - he instead took lobby money - and his economic advisors now awarded themselves 10's of millions in bonuses while they let FM/FM into collapse.
Someone has to pin Obama to the wall for his people screwing us, the taxpayers, while they got rich and funded Obama's campaign.
The SEC allowed five firms — the three that have collapsed plus Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley — to more than double the leverage they were allowed to keep on their balance sheets and remove discounts that had been applied to the assets they had been required to keep to protect them from defaults.
Making matters worse, according to Mr. Pickard, who helped write the original rule in 1975 as director of the SEC's trading and markets division, is a move by the SEC this month to further erode the restraints on surviving broker-dealers by withdrawing requirements that they maintain a certain level of rating from the ratings agencies.
The so-called net capital rule was created in 1975 to allow the SEC to oversee broker-dealers, or companies that trade securities for customers as well as their own accounts. It requires that firms value all of their tradable assets at market prices, and then it applies a haircut, or a discount, to account for the assets' market risk. So equities, for example, have a haircut of 15%, while a 30-year Treasury bill, because it is less risky, has a 6% haircut.
The net capital rule also requires that broker dealers limit their debt-to-net capital ratio to 12-to-1, although they must issue an early warning if they begin approaching this limit, and are forced to stop trading if they exceed it, so broker dealers often keep their debt-to-net capital ratios much lower.
In 2004, the European Union passed a rule allowing the SEC's European counterpart to manage the risk both of broker dealers and their investment banking holding companies. In response, the SEC instituted a similar, voluntary program for broker dealers with capital of at least $5 billion, enabling the agency to oversee both the broker dealers and the holding companies.
This alternative approach, which all five broker-dealers that qualified — Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley — voluntarily joined, altered the way the SEC measured their capital. Using computerized models, the SEC, under its new Consolidated Supervised Entities program, allowed the broker dealers to increase their debt-to-net-capital ratios, sometimes, as in the case of Merrill Lynch, to as high as 40-to-1. It also removed the method for applying haircuts, relying instead on another math-based model for calculating risk that led to a much smaller discount.
The SEC justified the less stringent capital requirements by arguing it was now able to manage the consolidated entity of the broker dealer and the holding company, which would ensure it could better manage the risk.
About 400 workers walked off the job Wednesday at JBS Swift in Grand Island. But this time it wasn't Muslims protesting for prayer like the last two days.
Hispanic, white, and Sudanese JBS Swift workers watched their Muslim peers walk out on work. Now they say, it's their turn. "Two days they haven't came to work. Everybody's saying they got paid. OK, how about they work without us or minorities and they work there by themselves and we get paid for not doing nothing? That's not fair," said Veronica Yabra, a JBS Swift employee.
Union leaders say Muslims did not get paid after they walked out, but the rumors were enough to spark the protest.
Protesters are also upset about a break that has been moved on B shift to accommodate prayer time, they say, cutting their hours and forcing them to work on Saturday to get 40 hours a week. "We don't need to work 7.7 hours. We need to go 8.2 hours," said JBS Swift employee Maria Yabra.
Employee Doug Brandt added, "We shouldn't have to take money out of our pockets and time away from our families so they can get their way. They should be like everybody else."
And they say, everybody should have the same rules. "I understand they want to stick up for themselves. That's their right in America, but you have to remember this is America. It's equal playing field. Equal. And the company's not making us equal," said employee Nabomi Jakubowski. "If you're going to accommodate them and their religion, you have to accommodate everybody's religion," said Brandt.
Swift executives appeared to the crowd, and union leaders say talks between all parties will continue. The protest comes just two days after about 400 Muslim Somalians walked off the job.
Another thirty protested Tuesday in an effort to gain a break during their sunset prayer time for Ramadan.
#2
Employee Doug Brandt added, "We shouldn't have to take money out of our pockets and time away from our families so they can get their way. They should be like everybody else."
#4
the Muzzies at Swift should notice they're pissing off the other workers, who have knives and other cutting instruments, and work in close proximity. Just saying....
Posted by: Frank G ||
09/18/2008 8:16 Comments ||
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#5
Bring in the Mexicans. See if they want to talk reasonable then.
#7
Bring in the INS and ship these Muzzies back. AMF, Muzzies. Don't bother to write; we don't give a damn what happens to you after you're out. Just don't come back.
Then grab the stupid bastards who let them in and throw them in PMITA jail for DECADES!
A startling admission from Ben Bernanke
From TFA:
"Ben, you are playing a very unique role in world economic history," Hale recalled telling Bernanke, an expert in the Great Depression. "You are the first central bank governor of the United States to preside over a recession with no decline in commodity prices."
Bernanke could hypothetically limit inflation in commodities by raising interest rates, a policy that would restrict the flow of money but potentially lead to an avalanche of bank failures. At a financial conference in Florida on Tuesday, Hale, a Chicago-based economist for investment managers, hedge funds and multinational companies, paraphrased the Fed chairman's response.
"We have lost control," said Hale, quoting Bernanke. "We cannot stabilize the dollar. We cannot control commodity prices."
#1
We were pretty much saying that months ago here at the Rantburg U Econ 301 classes.
THey left credit too easy for too long, and to raise it sufficiently to bring sense back to the banking sector woudl collapse the hosuing market further, and trash the stock market, as well as likely triggering a deflationary spiral; that is prices drop because consumption has dropped, and companies get squeezed by falling profits and higher credit requirements.
Its a nasty spiral, and cutting rates to help economic activity risks igniting inflation of the teyp we saw in the 70's under Carter - 10% inflation with 10% unemployment.
The only thign to do is regulate the hell out of the hedge funds that have been acting as locusts and distorting & destroying markets segments (and have now moved from the finance industy into commodities).
Either that or start handing out high explosives and rifles to the normal citizens and declaring open season on Soros and other manipualtive bankers and malinvetors.
#5
Either that or start handing out high explosives and rifles to the normal citizens and declaring open season on Soros and other manipualtive bankers and malinvetors.
#6
If housing prices "firm up" at their still unaffordable levels, this will guarantee the US malaise will continue for years a la Japan. The solution for the real estate crisis is for home prices to again fall within historical ranges of affordability.
The dollar will suffer. Better that than 25% unemployment.
#7
One factor in all this has been the massive rise in war-related spending.  In wars like WWII, a large percentage of that spending went to pay and personnel, both military and especially for factory workers.  In that sense it was productive for our economy, so we could weather the deficit spending and stabilize the economy when the fighting stopped.
That's far less true for our spending in the GWOT which, in any case, is going to go on for years. Add in the much more reactive global markets, including 24 hr computerized trading and the derivative financial instruments that enables, and we've got a system that is to previous economies what a Ferrari is to a Ford Focus. Unfortunately, this Ferrari has the braking and steering system of the Ford .... And the GWOT, our reliance on foreign oil and outsourced maufacturing etc. are the winding road we've got to travel.
#8
OS is right on the money (pun intended). He, myself, and others have been pointing out the fact that interest rates were held at levels far below the actual cost of borrowing money for so long that the value of money has been altered for a few years at minimum. Better to let the rates go up and suffer those consequences he describes than go back to stagflation and/or the type of stagnation suffered by Japan (ht: AH) when they pursued a policy of prolonged years of zero interest/zero money to lend.
Further, everyone except the super rich is going to have to get used to the fact that income stream security and continually rising standard of living being guaranteed by some agency outside one's self are now going to largely disappear. Expectations of material living standards are returning to pre-New Deal levels, and it's about time. It will cause a lot of psychological hurt to a lot of workers who grew comfortable with these things, particularly in the post WWII era, but there isn't anything now which can stop a return to more historically accurate lifestyle expectations for a given amount/type of work from happening and simultaneously leave that which is authentically American about our economy intact.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
09/18/2008 6:16 Comments ||
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#9
The two biggest factors in the current crisis are (1) the housing mania, now dying a well-deserved death, and (2) "financial weapons of mass destruction," first described as such by Warren Buffetover five years ago. These WMDs are commonly called "derivatives", now amount to $50-60 trillion, although the exact amount is unknown at present. At that time Buffet said the rapidly growing trade in derivatives poses a "mega-catastrophic risk" for the economy. Some derivatives contracts, Mr Buffett said, appear to have been devised by "madmen".
Buffet's warnings were politely ignored by the Masters of the Universe and their sycophants. This week AIG was brought low by derivatives more than any other factor.
#10
housing mania, now dying a well-deserved death"
Can somebody give me an AMEN!
Posted by: no mo uro ||
09/18/2008 6:27 Comments ||
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#11
Expectations of material living standards are returning to pre-New Deal levels I agree that living standards will be dropping. I don't know about pre-New Deal levels, when many Americans lacked indoor plumbing & electricity. Frustrating these expectations will likely result in a lot of anger in the electorate.
#12
I should have clarified better what I meant to say AH.
Given changes in technology - we will probably not go back to no indoor plumbing, electricity, etc.
I meant to refer to income stream security and disposable income, and the "stuff" these allow people to "afford".
No new cars every three years. Ditto the newest television technology, leisure travel, etc.
Not everyone will live in an owned house, even some people with decent jobs. Not everyone will automatically send their kids to college, especially private ones.
It may take some time and pain, but people will need to derive satisfaction in life more from community, church, and family, because easy access to cash to purchase "happiness" in the form of a mcmansion or a cruise or a wide screen flat panel TV will simply not exist.
There will be anger at first. But in the end, don't you think people will actually be better off, where it counts?
Posted by: no mo uro ||
09/18/2008 7:00 Comments ||
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#13
There will be anger at first. But in the end, don't you think people will actually be better off, where it counts?
No. I am perfectly capable of getting on with friends, family and my church while also making a decent living and hoping to provide for my children. Poverty is not a reward.
#15
Trying it shorter...
Let's tattoo or brand the MARK of CAIN on these ingrates who put the screws on the population and then put us in the situation where we have to bail out their sorry asses.
They should have to see it every day in the mirror for the rest of their lives.
#17
I don't know what to make of this, from Bloomberg:
"The Democratic-controlled Congress, acknowledging that it isn't equipped to lead the way to a solution for the financial crisis and can't agree on a path to follow, is likely to just get out of the way...Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said yesterday...``no one knows what to do'' at the moment."
But somehow Obama knows what to do. Right.
"Still, the Democrats opened themselves up for attack with Reid's comments. The Republican National Committee pounced on the Nevada lawmaker for his ``despair,'' and Senator Mel Martinez, a Florida Republican, said his remarks are ``not a way to inspire confidence or begin to turn the tide.''...Senator Johnny Isakson, a Georgia Republican active on housing issues, scoffed at suggestions that lawmakers postpone adjournment to rewrite laws governing the financial markets.
``The last thing you need,'' he said, ``are 535 people, not many of whom are that well-versed in financial markets, trying to do quick fixes to a market correction that's one of the more significant that we've ever seen.'' "
Maybe our esteemed representatives could crack the books & spend a few weeks studying what's been going on these last 10 years, that might help a bit. The horse ran out of the burning barn last year anyway.
This week I have been noticing on the MSM many questions about whether or not the FDIC might run out of money should several large banks fail (as is likely). Sheila Bair, FDIC chairman, has been on radio & TV multiple times a day, attempting to reassure the public. One thing Congress & the President could do before adjournment is a massive show of support for the FDIC -- increase its funding/reserves/whatever-you-call-it-to-support-its-protection-of-depositors by 10 x in order to put out the fires of doubt as to whether this key part of the US financial system is really supported or not. The last thing we need are runs on bank deposits. Of course bank depositors are not a voting bloc (yet). This level of support is certainly within the ability of Congress to do before they go home for the elections.
#18
What a stupid thing to say. There are some things that, even if true, you just don't say. I wonder if Bernanke tells his wife she looks fat in that dress. Bernanke is the last Ph. D. to hold the job. He should resign now before he makes Greenspan look even better. I hate to say it, but Clinton had a great Treasury Secretary in Robert Rubin. He should be at Fed, not this pipe smoker.
#19
I studied the Great Depression intensively in graduate school under a Nobel laureate. What I came away with was the absolute conviction that what was most important in that debacle was the lack of confidence in both the markets and the currencies. Bernanke should never have said such a thing even if he believed it. However, I do think we'll come through this economic downturn without another Great Depression simply because world governments won't make the same mistakes they made in the 30's about tariffs and the consequent restriction of international trade.
Whoever gets elected in November would do well to brush up on FDR's fireside chat technique. I think, however, that McCain is far better suited to be the person trying to restore and maintain confidence in government than Obama. Elect Obama and there could be some serious damage done to the economy by people with money and resources fleeing the U.S. in fear of draconian tax rises.
#21
This looks like hearsay to my uneducated eye. What proof is there that Fed. Chairman Bernanke actually said any such thing? For that matter, who is Economist Hale, and what agenda does he please by telling this tale of a private conversation between what one presumes were friends?
#22
Either that or start handing out high explosives and rifles to the normal citizens and declaring open season on Soros and other manipulative bankers and malinvestors.
This would be my choice, and, I think it is going to come to that. When it does, Soros won't be the only one on the hit list.
#24
There are five critical things the government should do right now, based on the possibility of an international credit collapse. The axiom MUST be accepted as a possibility, because inherent to it is the idea that *neither* inflation or growth, the two standard economic solutions, will work at all.
1) Immediately balance the federal budget through cuts. As much as 25% of the federal government could be shut down, leaving a huge amount of money to protect the economy.
2) Constitutional amendments for a balanced budget with no off-budget items, and a line-item veto for the POTUS, "in consultation with congress".
3) Since the US Mint is at 100% capacity printing our paper money, the Mint should be directed to print a run of very high denomination ($100k to $10M) bills, until we have a paper backed economy. That is, a 1:1 ratio for all outstanding US money. This would stop any catastrophic currency deflation.
While these high denomination bills would be only for the use of *domestic only* financial institutions and corporations, with the movement of every bill tracked and authorized by the government, they would represent a "token" of the *only* money protected by the "full faith and credit" of the US government.
Vast amounts of leveraged, virtual money could disappear, but physical possession of paper meant that it was "yours", and could not be taken from you except by court order. There would be no obligation to trade it for virtual money.
It would be to a great extent protected from speculation, and represent "real", not leveraged, collateral. Credit could be offered *only* to the amount of paper you had on hand, that is, 100% collateral.
4) Because there is no way the US mint can produce enough lower denomination paper money for ordinary transactions, the government should issue high security blank debit cards to financial institutions. Secured by both fingerprint and retinal scan, these would be issued if the credit card companies had to invalidate all credit cards.
All transactions with these cards would be processed through the credit card companies, which would keep them in operation during the credit collapse.
5) All US exports would have to be paid for in US currency, or in exchange for relieving the foreign portion of the US national debt. That is, a bushel of wheat would cost either $10 in paper dollars, or $100 in debt relief.
This would have the double effect of first making the dollar extremely strong in international markets, and radically lowering our national debt.
Hale is a masters-degreed economist who leveraged a job with Zurich Financial Services Group into a consultancy for himself as a global econ advisor. He has a reputation as a name dropper who never tells a story without making himself seem like an insider who knows all the key players. Whether or not his advice is all that useful is a separate matter though ....
#29
What difference, with respect to what he may have said, does it make whether he said it in private conversation, the confidentiality of which was betrayed, or in a public address?
#30
Nimble Spemble: Yes, I know. I use "US Mint" as a shorthand for "the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing (B.E.P.)", both because most people don't distinguish the two, and because I don't want them distracted from the main point.
AllahHateMe: normally yes, but the essence of a credit collapse is that there is no credit available to anyone, from nations and corporations, to individuals.
This means that you need some *other* means than a credit card, to take money "from the bank" to go shopping with. It sounds almost asinine, but you could have $100k in the bank and not be able to spend it.
Most people immediately say "What about bank checks?" Again, normally, yes. But for a large percentage of people, credit cards are used because they do not have the money in the bank, except for a brief time after they're paid.
This means if suddenly "no credit cards", their inclination would be to overdraft their checks. And while checks are not a credit instrument, trying at a grand scale to force them to be would force the banks to suspend checking as well.
This leaves debit cards and cash. Perhaps only 5% of our economy right now is backed with paper cash. And the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing (B.E.P.) is printing cash at 100% production. If suddenly we need vast amounts of paper money to make transactions, we instantly have astounding levels of *deflation*.
Which is why the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing (B.E.P.) needs to start printing huge amounts of very high denomination bills, so that certain companies won't suck all the small denomination currency we have out of the economy.
This can happen, BTW. Once there was a breakdown in the process for AT&T to return all the coins used in public telephones, and in less than two weeks, the entire State of California was stripped of its coinage.
Even with the US Bureau of Engraving and Printing (B.E.P.) printing enormous amounts of high denomination bills, there is still going to be impressive cash deflation at the consumer level.
Ironically, something that costs a dollar may still cost a dollar via debit card, but if you pay cash, it may only be a dime. For the simple reason that nobody has any dimes.
Massive deflation happened during the Great Depression, too. A pound of hamburger to feed the dog only cost a nickel. But nobody had nickels.
But both political party candidates have it wrong. One side wants to cut taxes to increase growth, so that we can "grow our way out of the problem", and the other side wants to raise taxes and cause inflation while enlarging the federal debt.
Both of these are the solutions that have worked since WWII, but they won't work any more. The problem is both too great, and that there was an inherent flaw in the post-WWII easy credit economy.
#31
If we are sitting on the edge of a deflationary spiral, then we need somethgin to provide the bankers with a reason (liek a gun ot the head type reason) to put their money to work instead of sitting on it in fear -- and (again gun to the head) NOT in derivitives, but in loans to small business and individuals.
The confiscatory tax policy of Obama will suck money out of the system, and hasten it into a depression spiral, backed by federal malinvestment due to cronyism and self-dealing that inevitably happens when Congress tries to involve itself in the market: c.f. Fannie & Freddie, or fails to properly restrict derivatives.
I think step one is to require much higher margins, and that a majority of traders bwe directly representing suppliers and consumers in the futures market for given commodities. This reduces volatility while still allowing a few brokers to provide liquidity. And simply outloaw many of the derivatives that have led this mad destruction of capital, a destrution that is robbing the economy of capital formation capabilitythat is needed to sustain growth.
This prevents the collapse of the markets by forcing them into sanity.
A second would be to increase federal guarantees for small business loans and individual loans to be wider spread (possibly even providing a point based interest subsidy for given classes of smaller loans), and at the same time, reduce Fed backing (or eliminate it entirely) for speculative large investments or loan to hedge funds (and things of that nature).
This prevents banks from being destroyed by their conduct in loaning large amounts to unstable high-risk hthigns liek hedge funds, and reqarding them for putting the money to work in loans that provide economic growth and stability (individuals and small business).
Teh third part would be to put some real teeth into the investment and banking laws. Make naked shorting illegal, and othr securiteis related crims felonies, and a bar to employment in any financial ro investment field. Then make violation of those securities laws to include penalties such as civil forfeiture of ALL personal and corporate property, ultimately resultgin in mandatory dissolution of all assets via CH7 style "forced bankruptcy" with punative seizure of assets as part of that process (the creditors get paid, and the Fed gets the rest to put into a restitution fund, the criminal gets NOTHING) -- and no home exemptions, etc. I want these guys going to PMITA prison, and coming out with homeless and utterly broke.
I want THIS to be their last words from the judge, just before the guards haul them off to prison:
Not sure why that thought occurred to you. Perhaps projection?;)
Posted by: no mo uro ||
09/18/2008 15:46 Comments ||
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#33
To your point, Excalibur.....
I didn't mean to imply that you can't have a good spiritual and community life AND make money and avoid poverty; that is the goal, after all, to do well in all areas.
It is also a fact that pretty good numbers of people in the U.S. have substituted the material end for the nonmaterial entirely simply because it has been easier to do so, and that is far more corrosive and far less desirable than having the community/family/church thing maximized at the expense of a little bit of material wealth, if the choice must be made (and sadly, some folks seem to be incapable of achieving both). In the absence of easy wealth to "purchase" happiness, people will be obliged to look for joy elsewhere. Not everyone is the sort who naturally recognize that the nonmaterial is really the better source of joy and fulfillment. Obviously you have figured out that that is the case, and good for you, but just as obviously millions have not.
I think the history of the last 60 or so years bears this out.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
09/18/2008 15:59 Comments ||
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#34
Thought it might be short for "No more Urology".... and yes, at my age it does prey on one's mind...... 8p
#35
I'd comment but I'm too disgusted with the whole mess that's been created. If we ran our households like Washington politicians run our government, we would be in prison.
#36
In the absence of easy wealth to "purchase" happiness, people will be obliged to look for joy elsewhere. Not everyone is the sort who naturally recognize that the nonmaterial is really the better source of joy and fulfillment.
#37
1) This guy is talking about something Bernanke said months ago and the comment doesn't make any sense to me. The Fed Freakin Chairman!!! knows well that he can't 'control' commodity prices. Commodities are subject to supply and demand, just like money.
Which brings us to the dollar. Supply and demand. That's it. The Dollar was way too cheap so the supply was higher than demand.
The cheap rates are the cause of the current problems. Not big, bad, rich white guys, not naked shorts (those are generally used against weak companies anyway. I like to think of it as the market thinning out the herd.), absurd housing prices, no complicated 'paper', not anything else we complain about.
Bad Fed policy. There was more money than there was good places too put it (because it was cheap), so the money made it's way to bad investments.
I expect us to be at the end of an era. The time of uber cheap short rates is coming to an end. When growth comes back, rates will come up.
Posted by: Mike N. ||
09/18/2008 21:17 Comments ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and the leaders of Georgia's breakaway regions -- S Ossetia and Abkhazia -- signed treaties of friendship, co-op and mutual assistance.
While the political and news world was focused on the glitzy Hollywood haul of money by the Obama campaign's Brinks trucks Tuesday night, it turns out lesser-light Sarah Palin was gathering in a good deal more than a million bucks at three separate fundraisers back in Ohio.
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is reviewing complaints from both Americans and Canadians about a Web site columnist who recently described Sarah Palin's supporters as "white trash," compared the vice presidential candidate to a "porn actress" and called her daughter's boyfriend a "redneck" and "ratboy."
The Democratic-controlled Congress, acknowledging that it isn't equipped to lead the way to a solution for the financial crisis and can't agree on a path to follow, is likely to just get out of the way. 
Barack Obama sharpened his attacks on John McCain and mocked the Republican's recent calls for reform in two stops in Nevada on Wednesday after days of listening to nervous supporters fret about the Democrat's chances of taking the White House.
WASHINGTON - Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden said Thursday that paying more in taxes is the patriotic thing to do for wealthier Americans. In a new TV ad that repeats widely debunked claims about the Democratic tax plan, the Republican campaign calls Obama's tax increases "painful." 
