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Sonny Jong Un gets promoted!
Today's Headlines
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-Lurid Crime Tales-
Aliens have deactivated British and US nuclear missiles, say US military pilots
The Telegraph picks up where Weekly World News left off. I hope Short Round doesn't note the omission of Iranian nukes and take this to heart.
Aliens from other than Mexico have landed, snuck into British nuclear missile sites and fubarred the weapons, according to some old codgers who claim to have been US military pilots.

The critters have repeated their sabotage in the US and have been messing around since 1948, the men said, and accused the respective governments of trying to keep the information secret.

The unlikely claims were compiled by six alleged former US airmen and another member of the military who interviewed or researched the ravings and yarns of 120 ex-military personnel.

The fabrications they have concocted suggests that aliens could have landed on Earth as recently as seven years ago, which was quite a while after 1948.

The men's aim is to sell some videos to gullible folk in the guise of pressing the two governments to recognise the long-standing ET visits as non-hallucinations.

They are to be presented on Monday 27 September at a cheap hotel conference room in Washington.

One of the old coots, Capt Robert Salas, said: "The US Air Force is lying about the national security implications of unidentified aerial objects at nuclear bases and we can prove it."

He told how he seen such a thing with own eyes on March 16, 1967, at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana where the AF were keepin' Minuteman nuclear missiles.

Alleged Capt Salas continued: "I was on duty when an object came over and hovered directly over the site.

"The missiles shut down - 10 Minuteman missiles. And the same thing happened at another site a week later. There's a strong interest in our missiles by these objects, wherever they come from. I personally think they're not from planet Earth."

Others claim to have seen the same weird goings-on in Blighty.

Col Charles Halt said he saw a UFO at the former military base RAF Bentwaters, near Ipswich, 30 years ago, during which he saw beams of light fired into the base then heard on the military wireless thing that goomers had landed inside the nuke yard.

More at link
Posted by: Atomic Conspiracy || 09/27/2010 18:33 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Oooooookayyyyyyyyy!

Somebody been sellin their meds instead of taking them again.
Posted by: bigjim-CA || 09/27/2010 19:14 Comments || Top||

#2  D *** NG IT, THIS ISN'T PROPER TIME TRAVEL TOURISM, I.E. MESSING OR STEALING THE ARTIFACTS FROM THE "LIVING MUSEUM" OF OLD/ANCIENT EARTH, NOW IS IT?
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 09/27/2010 19:34 Comments || Top||

#3  Why now? Media is being spoon feed or is directed to send this stuff out. What is the normal response?. It does work however. They paint the Tea party as Republican paid radicals and people believe it. Anyway;


http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3742960,00.html

The real deal.
Posted by: Dale || 09/27/2010 19:36 Comments || Top||

#4  No link. I suspect alien sabotage...
Posted by: tu3031 || 09/27/2010 19:44 Comments || Top||


VA survivor benefit secret deals - Gates knows nothing, General Shinseki not talking.
Posted by: Besoeker || 09/27/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  There is Servicemen's Group Life Insurance and Veterans Group Life Insurance. The first can be converted to the second upon separation from active duty. The article is unclear on which it is referring to [not a surprise for MSM].
Posted by: Procopius2k || 09/27/2010 0:34 Comments || Top||

#2  Given the pretzel twists of regulations in the VA, this is not surprising. Trust me If/When I pass Prudential better send my window a check for the full amount or she will rain hell down on them.
Posted by: Cyber Sarge || 09/27/2010 15:38 Comments || Top||

#3  CyberSarge - won't you have to rain it UP on them?
Posted by: Glenmore || 09/27/2010 16:29 Comments || Top||


Organised gangs looting residents of Islamabad
[Pak Daily Times] Organised gangs are involved in looting the residents of capital by offering them cars in a lucky draw.
Zardari must be getting desperate ...
Tell them that they had won the car in lucky draw and in the end they force the citizen to pay 50,000 to 80,000 for documentation and cargo of car; then make away with the money and disappear from the scene.
Greed is expensive.
Daily Times has learnt that at currently more than a dozen Karachi and Lahore based gangs are involved in looting the residents of by this lucrative and complex way.

According to victims, firstly they collect phone numbers and addresses from phone directories randomly, then a female call at the address and tell that her company has sent them documents of car, why they have not replied yet. Usually housewives receive the calls and tell those females that they had not received any written intimation for winning the car. The lady tells that they purchased some items from them during door-to-door selling (DDS) campaign. She says now the company is financially stable so they have decided to give a car as a prize to some of their customers who did purchasing in initial stage of company. She further tells that if they have not received the intimation letter then contact this number to get the opportunity.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 09/27/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:


-Signs, Portents, and the Weather-
Segway Co. owner dies driving segway off cliff
Posted by: Frozen Al || 09/27/2010 11:25 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Ironic.

Sad, but ironic.
Posted by: DarthVader || 09/27/2010 13:39 Comments || Top||

#2  Don't laugh too much. Until his demise, Mr. Heselden was best known for the 'Hesco Bastion', used on every US military base in Iraq & on most NATO bases in Afghanistan.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 09/27/2010 13:41 Comments || Top||

#3  Hesco Barriers are a gift and a life saver.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 09/27/2010 14:17 Comments || Top||

#4  As Darth says; sad but ironic...condolences to his family.

I've wondered what would happen to a Segway if one wheel got off of a developed path in nasty terrain. It seems he found out.
Posted by: tipover || 09/27/2010 16:43 Comments || Top||

#5 
I've wondered what would happen to a Segway if one wheel got off of a developed path in nasty terrain. It seems he found out.
Posted by tipover


Cough, cough.

Seriously though, he saved countless lives with his HESCO barriers and gave millions to charities.

RIP Mr. Heselden, and thank you.
Posted by: Parabellum || 09/27/2010 17:08 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Nasser did not die of poisoned coffee: doctor
[Al Arabiya] The doctor of late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel-Nasser denied recent reports that he died of poisoned coffee prepared for him by his successor President Anwar Sadat and attributed his death to hereditary reasons.
What a terrible sentence: who didn't die, Nasser or the doctor?
Dr. al-Sawy Habib, one of the members of the medical team of Abdel-Nasser, refuted insinuations made on T.V. by veteran Egyptian journalist Mohamed Hassanein Heikal about the involvement of Anwar Sadat in Nasser's death.

"What Heikal said about Sadat making a cup of coffee for Nasser three days before his death is true," Habib told Al Arabiya's Studio Cairo Friday. "But this is not the reason for his death."

According to Habib, it is very unlikely to identify a type of poison that takes such a long time to become effective.

"Also nothing abnormal happened to Nasser after drinking the coffee."

Habib, who treated Nasser from July 1967 till his death in September 1970, said that the late president suffered from a heart stroke a year before his death and that he was already suffering from arteriosclerosis, varicose lungs, and diabetic complications.

"Then he had a heart attack and this immediately stopped more than 40% of the cardiac muscle."

Regarding the reasons for the different speculations on Nasser's death and suspicions of a criminal activity were due to the fact that the late president was only 52 years old when he died and that he did not fall ill before his death.

"Egyptians did not know anything about Nasser's health and they were shocked to know that he died."

The state of war between Egypt and Israel and the numerous enemies Nasser had also fueled speculations of foul play, Habib added.
Posted by: Fred || 09/27/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Poisoned coffee" > D *** NG IT, I'm interpreting this to mean wily ole' ABDUL-NASSER died from something other than drinking any WENDY'S coffee [coffee-colored watery swill].

WENDY's serves a lot of good stuff, except when it come to its Coffee.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 09/27/2010 20:02 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Algerian girl killed in Mecca: two Yemenis brought to justice
[Ennahar] Two Yemenis accused of murdering an Algerian teenage girl in Mecca, holy city west of Saudi Arabia, have been brought to justice, the Saudi daily Okaz reported on Sunday.

The main accused will be prosecuted also for attempted rape, the newspaper said without specifying the date of the trial.

The two Yemenis are punishable by death under Sharia law, Islamic law in force in Saudi Arabia.

In mid-September, the Saudi authorities have launched an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of a 15 years old Algerian girl, whose body was found on the roof of a hotel adjacent to where she was living in Mecca.

According to Saudi media, she tried to escape an attempted rape and threw herself from the balcony or the terrace of her hotel. According to the Algerian press, she was raped and killed.

The police announced the arrest of four hotel employees, two Yemenis and two from Bangladesh. These last two have been released.

The teenager, who lives in France, came with her family in Mecca to perform Umrah, a pilgrimage made outside the dates of the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage.

The case provoked excitement of Algerians pilgrims in Mecca, and some 300 of them gathered outside the hotel demanding an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of the girl.

The victim, of a French mother, was in Mecca with her father, a native of Tlemcen (west Algeria) and her brother seven years old. She came from Marseilles.
Posted by: Fred || 09/27/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:


Bangladesh
Bangladesh on war footing as anthrax spreads
[Pak Daily Times] Bangladesh's government says it has gone onto a war footing to combat a major outbreak of anthrax that has infected hundreds of people and threatens to wreak havoc on the country's beef industry.

Anthrax does not spread directly from one infected human or animal to another, but is spread through spores. Humans can contract anthrax from handling diseased animals or eating infected meat.

A high-level government committee tasked with containing the outbreak before the mid-November Mohammedan festival of Eid al Azha, traditionally celebrated with the mass slaughter of animals, has been formed. "We are launching a major counter-attack on the outbreak to bring it under control before Eid al Azha. We will vaccinate all at-risk cattle," livestock minister Abdul Latif Biswas, who is head of the committee, said. He called on the public not to panic, saying eating beef was safe.

Anthrax is a potentially lethal bacterium that exists naturally in the soil and commonly infects livestock which ingest or inhale its spores while grazing.

More than 600 people have been infected by anthrax as it spreads further from its source in Bangladesh's dairy belt, with 12 districts confirming outbreaks in humans and cattle. Hundreds of cows have been infected and scores have died but no humans have perished as all reported infections are cutaneous, or skin, anthrax, which causes wound-like lesions but is not fatal if treated properly.

However,
The infamous However...
last week thousands of shops selling beef in the capital Dhaka were deserted as panicked consumers turned their backs on red meat--with sales down more than 90 percent since the outbreak began mid-August.

"We used to slaughter 5,000 cows a day in Dhaka," the head of the country's meat traders' association Rabiul Alam told AFP. But last Thursday, for instance, "we slaughtered less than 100 cows," he said. "The price of beef has dropped significantly but still no one is buying--there is no demand for beef now," he said.
Posted by: Fred || 09/27/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Nation of Georgia Begins Universal School English Instruction
Two years after the Russia-Georgia war, Tbilisi is aiming to replace Russian with English as the country's second language.

English classes have been introduced in public schools across the former Soviet state and the government hopes all children will speak the language by 2014.
A wise idea. English is the international language of air traffic control, maritime traffic, much business, and is the world's lingua franca.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 09/27/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ...except in American primary and secondary schools pushing bi-lingual education, by the usual suspects.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 09/27/2010 0:36 Comments || Top||

#2  ION TOPIX > US INCREASES ITS POLITICAL INFLUENCE IN REGION [South Caucasus] | IRAN UNHAPPY AT GROWING US-AZERBAIJAN TIES.

ARTIC > GERMAN ANALYST believes that the US "sits" [resides?]in GEORGIA + has no desire to restrain Russia.

* SAME > US USES TBILIS AS SPRING GROUND FOR A POSSIBLE IRAN ATTACK!?

* SAME > RUSSIA TO CREATE OWN DARPA FOR MILITARY INNOVATION.

Posted by: JosephMendiola || 09/27/2010 1:07 Comments || Top||

#3  I'm not sure how much American schools are pushing bi-lingual education. In fact I have my doubts that they are even teaching English, especially grammar.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 09/27/2010 6:50 Comments || Top||

#4  "me fail English? That's unpossible"
Posted by: Frank G || 09/27/2010 7:27 Comments || Top||

#5  You know, it's becoming eerie how much reality is reflecting certain science fiction from the sixties and early seventies.

We may not be able to speak english, but the rest of the world can. Leftists are striving mightily toward the future Pournelle showed in his CoDominium series of non-tax payers kept happy through drugs and the precursor to Heinlein's "Starship Troopers" with juvenile gangs running wild and parents who claim their child isn't the problem.

Hopefully the needed solutions won't be quite so drastic.
Posted by: Silentbrick || 09/27/2010 7:37 Comments || Top||

#6  But in my Georgia universe.... “Se habla español."

Absorutery NUTS I tells ya!
Posted by: Besoeker || 09/27/2010 7:54 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
What's Chutzpah in Japanese?
Posted by: Procopius2k || 09/27/2010 17:36 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  GFL on getting compensation from China, Japan.

Nice try, though.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut || 09/27/2010 18:47 Comments || Top||

#2  Stupid headline for an article that basically describes a Chinese temper tantrum. In addition to the hostages and cutoff of trade in strategic metals the article mentions, they are also slow-walking customs inspections as part of an economic war to get Japan to fall in line with Chinese territorial claims.

Anyone notice today's tariffs on chicken imports from the US? There are other means to wage war over territory besides blue water navies.
Posted by: SteveS || 09/27/2010 19:09 Comments || Top||

#3  Despite Japan's release of the Chin fish boat Skipper fropm detainment, CHINA is still demanding a formal apology + compensation.
CHINA WANTS UNFETTERED ACCESS VEE "WARM WATER" PORTS INTO THE FAR PACIFIC + INDIAN OCEANS, + ULTIMATELY RESPECT + FEAR + FORMAL RECOGNITION AS A POST-US ASIAN + GLOBAL SUPERPOWER.

IT WANTS IT NOW, NOT IN YEAR 2080-2100 OR AFTER.

POTUS BAMMER = USA is facing a WHOLE BUNCH OR GEOPOL DANGEROUS "CHUTZPAH" 2010-2016 [Obama second term, iff any].

I'll say it again > THE MOST DANGEROUS PHASE OR ASPECTS, ETC. OF THE WOT [for OWG America = OWG Amerika] LIES AHEAD OF US, NOT BEHIND US. The ISLAMIST-MILITANT LOCAL, REGIONAL JIHADS, however seemingly disparate or differentiated, is asmuch a DEDICATED WAR FOR [Islamist]OWG-NWO AS EX-POTUS DUBYA'S GWOT in Iraq + AFPAK, etal.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 09/27/2010 19:52 Comments || Top||

#4  Anyone notice that there's suddenly talk of economic war now that a Taiwanese foundary is ramping up to produce a CPU for AMD?

I suspect that before now, China wasn't in a position to keep exporting laptops if they started an economic war with the parts of the world that made all the parts that went into the laptops they export. Maybe all the Bobcat and Zacate parts being sourced in Taiwan were the final pieces of the puzzle.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 09/27/2010 22:35 Comments || Top||

#5  DAILY TIMES.Pk > [Russian FM LAVROV] RUSSIA CALLS ON CHINA, JAPAN TO SEEK COMPROMISE.

ARTIC > JAPAN is repor DEMANDING THAT CHINA WITHDRAW OR PULLBACK TWO "FISHERIES PATROL BOATS"[lightly armed] from the SENKAKU ISLANDS area [China = Daoyus], + for China to PROVIDE REGULAR OR ROUTINE JAPANESE DIPLOMATIC ACCESS TO FOUR DETAINED JAPANESE NATIONALS arrested/detained by Chin since last week.

* PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > LAVROV: SINO-RUSSIAN RELATIONS AT ITS HIGHEST POINT EVER

IMO read, RUSS GIVING INDIR MILPOL WARNING TO US, JAPAN NOT TO START ANYTHING IN NORTH ASIA OER NORTH KOREA ["Cheonan" = ROK] + now DAOYUS.

* WAFF > [Guradian.UK]CHINA LAUNCHES MAJOR PUSH TO INVEST IN NORTH KOREA.

WAFF POSTER > opined that Chin [still] intends or prefers to KEEP THE TWO KOREAS DIVIDED, keep NORTH KOREA WEAK + as a PERM ECON DEPENDENCY OF CHINA, + for Beijing to de facto control DPRK's Nukes to use as PDENIABLE MIL HEDGE = COVERT "THIRD-PARTY COVER" AGZ US-ALLIES [Sub-read, DPRK to be destroyed first in war for any decisions made in Beijing]???

* WAFF > [Globalresearch.CA] AMERICA THREATENS RUSSIA, US CONSOLIDATES NEW MIL OUTPOSTS IN EASTERN EUROPE.

-----------

CHINESE MIL FORUM > [CPLA]MISSLE RE-DEPLOYMENT [from facing/threatening Taiwan] IS POSSIBLE, SAYS PRC PRESIDENT HU JINTAO.

* SAME > [Jamestown.org] AGING TIGERS, MIGHTY DRAGONS: CHINA'S BIFURCATED SURFACE FLEET.

ARTIC > CPLAN's "HI/LO MIX" of SURFACE WARFARE NAVAL VESSELS. CPLAN SWF stratified into TWO BROAD SUB-FLEETS, an OPER PREFERRED "HIGH CONFIDENCE FLEET" composed of China's most modern + oper reliable surface warship classes, + a "LIMITED CAPABILITY/CAPABILITIES" SWF composed of older andor less reliable surface warships. CHINA = CPLAN is moving steadily towards ULTIMATELY CLOSING/NARROWING THE TECHS + CAPABILTIES, ETC. GAPS EXISTING BETWEEN THE AFORESAME SUB-FLEETS.

* More from JAMESTWON.ORG > THE RYUKYUS CHAIN IN CHINA'S ISLAND STRATEGY.

Like a certain 1980's MTV Video, the CPLA = PLAN WANTS TO "BREAK OUT" from the confines of the FIRST ISLAND CHAIN into WESTPAC.

POSSIBLE PLA MIL SCENARIOS = includes option for Chinese mil takeover of MIYAKO ISLAND from Japan; or perhaps even the PLA CONQUEST OF THE ENTIRE RYUKYUS = OKINAWA CHAIN ONLY as separate from a PLA campaign agz mainland Japan proper???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 09/27/2010 23:48 Comments || Top||

#6  Can they make CPUs using a melamine substrate?
Posted by: SteveS || 09/27/2010 23:49 Comments || Top||


Plague breaks out in Tibet
[Pak Daily Times] China issued a health alert in its south-western region of Tibet on Sunday after five people were diagnosed with the plague, an often fatal infectious disease.

One of the five has already died from a severe lung infection attributed to the pneumonic plague, while one other patient was in a critical condition, the Tibet health department said in a statement on its website. The outbreak was first detected on Thursday last week in Latok village in Tibet's Nyingchi Prefecture, the department said.

The four patients, all of whom had contact with the dear departed, have been quarantined, it said. Disease control experts have been dispatched to the area in an effort to control the further spread of the disease, it said.

The department also issued a warning to anyone who has visited the region near the outbreak to seek immediate medical attention should they develop fever, cough or other flu-like symptoms common to the plague.
Posted by: Fred || 09/27/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'm surprised it don't break out alot more in that entire part of the world.
Posted by: chris || 09/27/2010 12:54 Comments || Top||

#2  The real land of the plague and home of the flea, of course.
Posted by: Grunter || 09/27/2010 14:32 Comments || Top||

#3  Yes, one would think that #1 & #2. Spiegel wrote of a mini ice age that caused cannibalism in Germany.
Food was so scarce they ate the young and weak and dug up fresh graves to consume contents. The plaque then fell upon them. Tibet has long been a thorn in the side of China. They think of people as blades of grass. Many other ares of the world are in bad shape but no plaque. I don't trust the Chinese in power. Like Saddam they may well be experimenting. Yea, and maybe I had too much coffee.
Posted by: Dale || 09/27/2010 19:01 Comments || Top||

#4  The plaque then fell upon them.

Proper brushing and flossing will keep plaque under control, along with regular visits to the dentist. I have never heard of it being fatal though.
Posted by: Secret Asian Man || 09/27/2010 21:32 Comments || Top||

#5  I have never heard of it being fatal though.

I recently read that the bacteria that cause gingivitis, and eventually periodontitis, can enter the bloodstream and precipitate blood clots that lead to heart attack and stroke. So it can be fatal, eventually.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/27/2010 21:35 Comments || Top||

#6  especially with the onset of Hellfireitis, as in the equally non-flossing areas on Pashtunistan
Posted by: Frank G || 09/27/2010 21:43 Comments || Top||

#7  #5 TW yes, as I understand in Europe they require you have your teeth in order before heart surgery. Here in USA after heart surgery when you go to the Dentist they are requesting you take an antibiotic before dental work.
Posted by: Dale || 09/27/2010 22:04 Comments || Top||

#8  ION PAKISTANI DEFENCE FORUM > CHINESE RAIL SERVICE INTO NEPA [Tibet] SCARES INDIA | CHINA EXTENDS RAILWAY TO TIBET'S SECOND LARGEST CITY [India fears Chin rail extension = CPLA Link all the way to KATHMANDU].
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 09/27/2010 22:31 Comments || Top||

#9  Dale - it's harmless joking. We all suffer it, and rightly so.. it's called initiation
Posted by: Frank G || 09/27/2010 22:45 Comments || Top||


Economy
'Underwater' mortgages rising in US
[Iran Press TV] Nearly a quarter of homes financed by mortgages in the US have a net worth lower than the balance of their outstanding loans, a real estate analytics firm reports.

The report issued by CoreLogic stated that roughly 11.2 million such loans existed at the end of the first quarter of 2010. Referred to as "underwater," such mortgages are usually caused by the lender purchasing a home at the peak of a housing bubble.

Calculating how many households are underwater is critical to forecasting future foreclosures, the report says. In many cases, declining house prices force the lenders to sell their home at a price lower than what is owed on the mortgage.

The practice, called a "short sale," is steadily rising across the United States. Short sales have more than tripled in the US since 2008, with 2010 projection at 400,000 cases, The Huffington Post reported.

Lenders usually choose short sales over foreclosures as it preserves their credit and allows them to purchase a home again in the future.

The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), which was set forth by the US government in a bid to counter the subprime mortgage crisis, has failed to help the recovery of the ailing housing market in the US.
Posted by: Fred || 09/27/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Well you need to stop bubbles forming.

The best way to do this is two fold.
1/ Stop credit Bubbles forming by raising reserve requirements if credit creation increases.
2/ Tax the monopolies government creates (i.e Land Rights, but not the buildings on it) which do not get less of by taxation (unlike other taxes).
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 09/27/2010 7:11 Comments || Top||

#2  The so called 'Short Sale.' Never hit the news during the decades I watched my uniformed colleagues take their checkbooks to closings after PCS'ing in 18 months or less. Everyone just sucked it up and drove on and hoped they got on-post housing next time around. Little sympathy from me on this one. Welcome to the "New Reality."

Posted by: Besoeker || 09/27/2010 7:51 Comments || Top||

#3  i know it would have hurt

but they should have let the banks collapse. All of them.

Out of the rubble new, stronger banks would have risen

We could have wiped the great vampire squid off the face of humanity for a start.

and then Audit the Federal Reserve.

The trillions spent on giving back Goldman Sachs 100 cents in the dollar on their bad investments could have instead been used to create the kind of jobs in the USA that cannot be exported to china.

ie: free universal healthcare like the NHS in Britain or Medicare in Australia (well what it used to be). That would employ shedloads of nurses, admin people etc.

And fixing roads, bridges, infrastructure. Building new gas-fired power stations in preparation for the day the oil runs out

building new dams and securing safe, healthy water supplies

cleaning up toxic waste.

in general making the US a better place to live, work and play.

Instead those trillions went straight into such worthy endeavours as paying Goldman Sachs executive bonuses for Q1 2009.

Posted by: anon1 || 09/27/2010 8:37 Comments || Top||

#4  According to my real estate agent son this sounds scarier than it is.

The only folks effected are those that are underwater and HAVE to sell now. Otherwise they can just keep paying on the mortgage that they signed up for (what a concept) and maintain the status quo. With the refinancing options out there they can usually get a lower payment.

Now, all those folk in this situation that are unemployed and didn't get one of those millions of jobs created during recovery summer might have a problem.
Posted by: Alan Cramer || 09/27/2010 8:38 Comments || Top||

#5  Unless the folks underwater plan on paying for the next 20 years they will never see their house value rise back to the mortgage amount. As Besoeker said, on PCS we took our checkbook and paid, been there done that, but not to this current level. On our current house it is unrecoverable. The home's value here in AZ went from 500k to under 200k in 3 years. We are currently underwater by 150k. With whats lost and that much still owed, my 27 year retirement will be used for the duration of my life to pay this debt. Walking away from a debt goes against the very grain of my being, but I will be 70 before the house breaks even, 65 if the market grows. So the question for people in this situation becomes one of, ya I lost a bundle on the house to date, But should I dedicate the rest of my life to paying off the house and sacrifice my family in the process?
It's easy from the outside to say, you bought it, suck it up. Its a different reality to live it. The options are few, short sale, foreclosure, bankrupt. What to do, what to do.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 09/27/2010 10:39 Comments || Top||

#6  Owner occupied houses are depreciating, non-revenue producing assets.

The problem is that during bubble, people paid the prices they did in the belief a house is an investment, which of course it's not. It's a lifestyle purchase.
Posted by: phil_b || 09/27/2010 11:11 Comments || Top||

#7  Homes have always been concidered a stable investment. Not this short term stuff that created the bubble, but a long term investment as part of any retirement plan.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 09/27/2010 11:24 Comments || Top||

#8  One's home is a place to live before it's an investment. A lot of people forgot that ...
Posted by: Steve White || 09/27/2010 12:46 Comments || Top||

#9  Your right there Steve. But this is out of control.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 09/27/2010 12:54 Comments || Top||

#10  Homes have always been concidered a stable investment. Many 'investments' used to be considered valuable until they weren't. Houses are mere consumables unless & until the owner can pawn them off on the next buyer, which may or may not happen.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 09/27/2010 13:46 Comments || Top||

#11  What happened to all that PMI insurance that banks make buyers pay for? Where did all that money go. Most foreclosures are happening to people who bought in the last couple years, put little money down and got an exotic loan that did weird sh*t vis-a-vis the prime interest rate. Those are exactly the people who have to have PMI insurance, the wife and I did when we were just starting out. Where is all that money going?
Posted by: bigjim-CA || 09/27/2010 14:17 Comments || Top||

#12  > Houses are mere consumables

It's the LAND RIGHT that's valuable and that's not consumed. The vast majority of the time the house rises in value because of what's done OUTSIDE the property (see: Ricardos Law of Rent).
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 09/27/2010 18:26 Comments || Top||

#13  1. Eliminate the adjustable rate mortgage.
2. Eliminate tax deduction for mortgage interest.

Those two moves would keep housing costs down to reasonable levels and make it much harder for a bubble to form in the first place. And if one does form, a sudden rise in interest rates won't force people already having a mortgage into the streets because their payments won't adjust upwards.

Posted by: crosspatch || 09/27/2010 19:58 Comments || Top||

#14  #2 would crush home ownership for a while, I think, and drop actual value to the point that a lotta people's retirement (see: Reverse Mortgage) would be in question. Tough to implement....
Posted by: Frank G || 09/27/2010 20:02 Comments || Top||

#15  Reduce the portion of mortgage interest deductible 5% per year over 20 years.

The construction industry would probably be cratered for 10 years, but we've got too many houses. And the longer we keep up these efforts to stimulate construction, the greater the overhang and the longer we're hungover.

There's only two ways to solve the problem, Reduce supply (demo houses - dumb) or increase demand (loosen immigration for people who can afford to buy a house - smart).
Posted by: Nimble Spemble || 09/27/2010 21:00 Comments || Top||

#16  As I recall, historically Americans move house every six years on average. The problem is, except when mortgage rates are super-low, for the first five years very, very little of the mortgage payment goes toward paying down the principle. It's just that now the upside-downness is a great deal bigger than historically.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/27/2010 21:16 Comments || Top||


International-UN-NGOs
Africanize UN Security Council: Mugabe
[Iran Press TV] Zimbabwean President Bob (Muggsy) Mugabe has called for the addition of at least two African nations as permanent UN Security Council members with full veto privileges.

In his address to the UN General Assembly, Bob said the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society must allow African nations to play a more active role in the Security Council in particular, Press TV reported on Friday.

He criticized the UN Security Council, saying there should be a major overhaul of the UN's policies and guidelines.

On the second day of the annual high-level segment of the 192-member UN General Assembly, he also called for two more non-permanent seats on the Security Council to be reserved for African countries.

He went on to say that the economic sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe are illegal and should be scrapped immediately.

The people of Zimbabwe should, like the people of every other sovereign state, be left to freely determine their own destiny, he noted.

Mugabe also said the major powers are hypocritical because they preach democracy while in reality they fail to fulfill their promises.
Posted by: Fred || 09/27/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Ahh what a compelling argument from a trustworthy source. And look at all those medals he's got.

Let's admit Zimbabwe to the security council right away!

Posted by: anon1 || 09/27/2010 1:02 Comments || Top||

#2  First MOUD = IRAN, now MUGABE = ZIMBABWE...

* ION TOPIX > ISLAMIST MOVEMENTS RECRUITING IN THE WEST FOR THE SOMALI JIHAD, ala US + Canada + Europe.

ARTIC > "ICU" = CANADA a FUTURE TARGET FOR VIOL JIHAD.

ALL TOGETHER NOW, WID FEELING,
"TTTHHHEEEEYYYRRREEEE HHHEEEERRRREEE.....@, AY"!
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 09/27/2010 1:42 Comments || Top||

#3  TOPIX > SOMALIA CHIEF SAYS AL QAEDA SEEKS GROWING [larger] AFRICA BASE, in the HORN OF AFRICA = EAST AFRICA for FUTURE REGIONAL, INTERNATIONAL? TERROPS + JIHAD???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 09/27/2010 1:45 Comments || Top||

#4  Help me someone please. Upper left breast pocket...just above the medals he never earned, is that an ivory cameo of himself set in the middle of that gold shuriken?
Posted by: Besoeker || 09/27/2010 7:39 Comments || Top||

#5  Joseph Mendiola, forgive me for being so bold

but why do you always type in capitals?

is it a computer glitch? do you use some voice recognition software that only allows you to use capitals?

help me out here i really want to know :)
Posted by: anon1 || 09/27/2010 8:41 Comments || Top||

#6  How about if we just move the whole frickin' mess to Zimbabwe? Mugabe and Achmadidinnerjacket can eat stinky food and pass all the gas, er, resolutions they want.
Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 || 09/27/2010 12:14 Comments || Top||

#7  The real question is: Which bastion of human rights would we put in the council? ZimBoBwe? Rwanda? or possibly a north african muslim nation, since they've been bellyaching that they want on the council too. We could kill two birds with one stone that way.
Posted by: bigjim-CA || 09/27/2010 18:41 Comments || Top||

#8  Operation Chrome, Bob?
Posted by: rhodesiafever || 09/27/2010 19:24 Comments || Top||


Czech president tells UN to stay out of economics
The Czech Republic seems to come up with consistently good presidents. Maybe we could hire one of them for our country?
[Reuters] Czech President Vaclav Klaus on Saturday criticized U.N. calls for increased "global governance" of the world's economy, saying the world body should leave that role to national governments.
The Oyster Bay Chowder & Marching Society can't manage peacekeeping operations without diddling children, has perpetuated the Paleostinian "refugee crisis" into its third or fourth generation, and generally screws up everything it touches. That doesn't seem like a good argument in favor of "increased world governance." In fact, it seems like a good argument in favor of trading it in on a dog and shooting the dog.
The solution to dealing with the global economic crisis, Klaus told the U.N. General Assembly, did not lie in "creating new governmental and supranational agencies, or in aiming at global governance of the world economy."
The thought of the U.N. controlling a flood of international tax dollars/rubles/euros/yuan/yen/drachmas makes a zombie invasion look good.
"On the contrary, this is the time for international organizations, including the United Nations, aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society, to reduce their expenditures, make their administrations thinner, and leave the solutions to the governments of member states," he said.
... who might have a better idea of what their citizens need, and even if they don't can keep solutions like Zimbabwe localized rather than imposing them worldwide.
Klaus appeared to be responding to the address of the Swiss president of the General Assembly, Joseph Deiss, who said on Thursday at the opening of the annual gathering of world leaders in New York that it was time for the United Nations to "comprehensively fulfill its global governance role."
Bet that caused the world body to twitch.
Deiss suggested the world body should get more involved in economic and financial issues and not leave them solely in the hands of forums like the Group of 20 club of key developed and developing nations.
Posted by: Fred || 09/27/2010 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  If I recall correctly, Vaclav Klaus is a trained economist. His predecessor, Vaclav Havel, was a published playwright and anti-Soviet dissident.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/27/2010 9:16 Comments || Top||

#2  ... the Swiss president of the General Assembly, Joseph Deiss, who said on Thursday at the opening of the annual gathering of world leaders in New York that it was time for the United Nations to "comprehensively fulfill its global governance role."

That's why the Swiss waited till 2002 to join, by a very narrow margin, even with the UN operating a good number of offices in Geneva since the assumption of the old League of Nations based there.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 09/27/2010 10:50 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Mon 2010-09-27
  Sonny Jong Un gets promoted!
Sun 2010-09-26
  Drone boys rack up 7 more in North Wazoo
Sat 2010-09-25
  US walks out of Ahmadinejad UN speech
Fri 2010-09-24
  MILF drop separatist demands
Thu 2010-09-23
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Wed 2010-09-22
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Tue 2010-09-21
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Mon 2010-09-20
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