The Beard (Ben Bernanke) is ofetn referred to as a student of the Great Depression, which somehow qualifies him to not make the same mistakes as the last time thus avoiding another depression.
Well, maybe he is making a new set of mistakes and we ARE getting a new depression?
- Hey, that's "CHANGE" isn't it?
Ironic that a real estate bubble burst in 1926, three years before the stock market tanked, eh? Surely Ben knew thia...and so did YOU (what do you mean this hasn't been mentioned in the media?).
The first leg down of the Great Depression saw the DJIA drop by 48%.
- The first leg down of the 2007 'bear market' saw the DJIA drop by 53%.
Both times, the initial declines were followed by vigorous persistent rallies.
- Last time, however, this was followed by another decline...47% further down. But surely both Ben and you knew that, too (didn't you? media remarks infra germane).
What is coming for us next? Green shoots....or more manure? There are some game changers to watch, but we already have three or four of the five on the scene.
1. New credit growth falls below interest payments. Check.
2. The FED monetizes debt. Check.
3. Gov't spending exeeds 10% of the GDP. (It's currently about 13%). Check.
4. The Dollar declines (a) and interest rates go up (b). Maybe, maybe not. I'd keep an eye on this one now...the above are already here.
5. US debt becomes denominated in foreign currencies. (Japan already buys US debt - bonds - denominated in Yen. China is now asking for the same treatment, to be able to buy US debt denominated in Yuan.)
- Why? Well, if the Dollar is trashed the debt gets payed-back with monopoly money. If you hold the same debt in a currency that has not been debased/trashed you actually get paid back the value of what your initial investment. Which would you want to do? THIS IS THE BIG ONE. When this happens, you can count on a future with less of everything.
I'd watch out for myself at this point. the government sure isn't!
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
History and the present.............from Rico
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In-N-Out Burger Items you can get but aren't on the menu
In-N-Out has a second menu that they do not publish, but if you know what to order, you can get:
1) 2 X 4 = 2 Beef Patties and 4 pieces of cheese (also, 3 X 3 or any other combo).
2) Animal Style = Mustard cooked patty, pickles, extra sauce, grilled onions.
3) Protein style = No bun; wrapped in a leaf of lettuce instead.
4) Grilled cheese = no burger, just a cheeseburger without the meat.
5) Veggie Burger = Bun, whole grilled onions, sauce, lettuce, and double tomato.
6) Extra toast = they leave the bun on the grill longer to crisp up.
7) Animal style fries = fries with sauce, onions, and cheese.
8) Fries well done or light = undercooked or overcooked fries.
9) Shake Swirl = two flavors mixed.
10) Shake Neapolitan = Three flavors.
H/T Shelly
545 vs. 300,000,000
Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.
. . . Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?
Read the rest of it HERE . . . it reads like something out of Plato's Republic. - Sean Linnane
Monday, 31 August 2009
Hitting the Fan...........from Rico
It has ALREADY hit the fan. It will NOT be evenly distributed!
Just as many never recognized the Great Depression in advance, or when it was happening (only in retrospect, in that infamous 20/20 hindsight, did the clear picture emerge).
Being Mr. Optimist, I think that we are seeing transforming and historic change right now:
ZERO CHANCE.
- There is ZERO chance that things will return to quite the way they were "before"...some of you wanted "change" and ALL of us got it! The Republicans and the Democrats can share the blame, but we can look forward to a lower standard of living and a future filled with "less" thanks to them both. It will never be "normal" again.
20% CHANCE, SUDDEN MAJOR COLLAPSE.
- There is enough of a chance of this happening I would not rule it out. Some 'tipping point' causes a reaction in the global economic/financial system shutting down capitol flows. Our just-in-time society will be wrecked. Food and fuel distribution will be the most immediate problems. I hate to think of the mid-term to long-term problems. When I do, I think of it as an economic "nuclear" winter.
80% CHANCE - STEPS DOWNWARD.
- I think this is what we are seeing now, a downward series of steps...moments of seeming calm and normality and rumors of recovery punctuated by rapid and sudden market plunges. - Lower highs and higher lows in the markets.
- In future, think of food scarcity and riots (you thought gas shortages and price hikes were fun? Wait until everyone is really hungry and cranky!).
- One day there is low awareness of food scarcity, the next day shortages and riots along with price hikes, then order is restored but prices do not quite return to where they were before and the public is alert and ready for the next iteration.
A WORTHY CAUSE
I don't know if you are aware of Michael Yon. 
"He's fearless ... provides a candid, soldier's-eye view ... from the very unique perspective of being there with them for weeks and months at a time ... delving deep into the human component."
-General DAVID H. PETRAEUS
Commanding General
Multi-National Force, Iraq
Micheal Yon is ex-SF, and he brings honor to the Regiment with his heroic work covering the wars going on out there, reporting from Iraq and Afghanistan since December 2004. Read his creds HERE.
"No other reporter has spent as much time with combat troops in these two wars. Michael’s dispatches from the frontlines have earned him the reputation as the premier independent combat journalist of his generation. His work has been featured on “Good Morning America,” The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, CNN, ABC, FOX, as well as hundreds of other major media outlets all around the world."
Michael Yon is the 2008 Weblog Awards Winner for Best Military Blog.
As early as February 2005, Michael described the violence in Iraq as a civil war. In 2006, he said we were losing in Afghanistan. In 2007, he was the first reporter to claim the success of “the Surge” in Iraq. When he first voiced these opinions, they were extremely controversial. Now they are conventional wisdom.
Now Michael needs your help. He obviously does what he does for little or no pay:
"I cannot operate in the war without your support. If support does not substantially increase, I will be forced to abandon war reporting in September. There has seldom been much interest in the Afghanistan war. True interest has been starkly reflected in the support for this mission. Each journey into Afghanistan, since 2006, has bled out resources from my operations. Reporting from Afghanistan is not sustainable at this rate."
In his blog there is a fascinating story about helicopters in the war zone, specifically the static that lights up in the rotors (I've often observed this phenomena myself). Yon has coined it the Kopp-Etchells Effect, in memory of two KIA corporals; one American & one British.
Today is pay day - every G.I. out there is a millionaire. Go to Michael's site and crack the code on the PayPal thing. I am going to lead by example on this thing and scratch out a check for $25; if every one of my regular readers contributes the same, this will equal six months pay for Michael.
-SEAN LINNANE SENDS
Why English is so hard to learn......
1) The bandage was wound around the wound.
2) The farm was used to produce produce.
3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.
4) We must polish the Polish furniture.
5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.
6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.
7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.
8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.
9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.
10) I did not object to the object.
11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.
12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row.
13) They were too close to the door to close it.
14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.
15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.
16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.
17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.
18) After a number of injections my jaw got number.
19) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.
20) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.
21) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?
H/T DML
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A DARING ESCAPE
A French security agent held captive by insurgents in Somalia escaped last Wednesday, 26 August. Although Somali officials alleged that Marc Aubriere escaped by killing three of his captors, French Foreign Ministry officials initially had no comment and could not even confirm the hostage’s escape.
French security consultant Marc Aubriere told of how he sneaked past his Somali kidnappers while they slept then walked by night for five hours across Mogadishu, at one point coming under fire, according to RFI radio.
"On Tuesday, around midnight, I took advantage of my jailers falling asleep, tired out by Ramadan. I saw that my cell was badly closed and so I was able to make off without any violence," he said, according to a transcript provided by RFI. "In any case, if I'd fired a shot, other guards would have killed me. Then I walked through the night for almost five hours, guided by the stars to get to where I wanted to go," he said. "Mogadishu is deserted at night and the only men I saw were armed. I was shot at. I ran. I hid and by chance they missed me," he said.
An Islamist official in Somalia claimed that a ransom was paid for the freed hostage, but both the French government and the agent himself have denied that and insists he escaped through his own means.
Details: STORMBRINGER
Sunday, 30 August 2009
MARINE WAR DOG HERO
A Marine Corps Military Working Dog recently passed away; please review this touching tribute to a true canine hero:
MWD Flapoor was one of our great military working dogs who was on the front lines with our Marines during Operation Iraqi Freedom. His handler, Marine LCpl Brown, made this tribute video so we can all remember one of our beloved K9 heroes.
More on this heroic War Dog's amazing combat record at STORMBRINGER
The Sunday Best.....
Sadr calls for banning alcohol.
Barack Obama must abandon the Kennedy way, or he will fail.
North Korean arms headed to Iran seized in UAE.
Soldiers banned from training with live rounds.
MPs who milked the expenses system now complain about attempts to reform it.
The truth about Ted Kennedy.
Extra helicopters would make British force 'more tactically effective', Afghanistan commander.
Standard of care in some wards 'would shame a third world country'.
Al-Qaeda leader: Pakistan is the main battleground.
Colonel Gaddafi party to outshine the Beijing Olympics.
Lockerbie bomber 'set free for oil'.
Hamid Karzai in fiery row with US official.
Revenge killers target Taliban.
Struggling US envies its cashless caveman.
Go-ahead for torture inquiry plunges CIA into turmoil.
the Clarkypoos bit..........
What’s the Canadian word for ‘lousy care’?
and little Jimmy May........
Scalextric record revives spirit of Brooklands
and finally.........
Airbrushing out Mary Jo Kopechne. by Mark Steyn
Well said...........from Rico
A beloved relative jolted me today with an offhand referral to having watched Teddy Kennedy's funeral.
- This, because it is hard for me to think of anyone who spent as much time and energy trying to destroy America as he did (you only came in second Jane Fonda). He made it his life's work to seemingly do the opposite of what reason and rationality would dictate was good for this country. I will not miss him in the least. Besides, now we have the First Comrade Obama to take up his cause which seemed to be "hate America first"...then do everything possible to destroy it.
Earlier today I read this somewhere, and still have not decided if it is Irish haiku or poetic justice, but it sums up my feelings on the matter pretty clearly:
Posterity will ne'er survey
A nobler grave than this
Here lie the bones of Ted Kennedy
Stop traveller, and piss
13 Great Things About Having a Small Penis
13. You have something to take the focus off your receding hairline.
12. It makes your otherwise-dainty hands look huge.
11. You get to have fun watching your sexual partner come up with creative compliments (God bless her) to make you feel better about your modest member, like "You're soooo hard!" "It grows so much!" and, worst of all, "It fits my vagina perfectly."
10. You can relate to women better because you more or less have a vagina.
9. Your son's penis envy will disappear by the time he hits 11.
8. Your balls look much more substantial.
7. You have a 14 percent better chance of talking your significant other into backdoor action.
6. You are marginally less likely to get your pecker caught in a wood mulcher. (It can happen!)
5. You can fit your entire chub in a $10 quarter roll and play a really awesome trick on a bank teller.
4. You have a perfect excuse to buy the new Ferrari 458 Italia, Rolex Yacht-Master II watch, or cigarette boat.
3. Smurf condoms only cost, like, 40 cents per pack.
2. Devoid of a false sense of entitlement, you will be motivated to develop an actual personality, a professional skill set, and the means to make a useful contribution to society.
1. You can write a best-selling memoir about your penis and make up with celebrity what you lack in length and girth!
H/T DML
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NOTHING GOOD WILL COME OF THIS
Nice clenched-fist salute there, Seňor Presidente-for-Life - you remind me of someone: MUSSOLINI
Hugo Chavez will visit Iran in the first week of September.
According to Venezuelan ambassador to Iran David Velasquez, Chavez's September tour is in line with unity and commitment to world peace. Chavez will also tour Syria, Libya, Iran and Russia to discuss Iran-Venezuela projects and the adverse military situation in Latin America "created by the US".
"Chavez does not want nefarious forces to rule a society, whereas today West with its imperialist forces and Washington is a threat to the world."
Birds of a feather flock together. El Presidente's formal associations include the Russian military, Havana, the People’s Republic of China, Iran, and more recently North Korea, aka the hermit kingdom, the FARC and ELN of Colombia, European militant groups like the IRA (Irish Republican Army) and ETA (the Basque seperatist movement), and Islamic militant groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, and others.
Details at STORMBRINGER
Amerika
Back in June we asked, Whose Plan? It must be obvious to all observers -- no matter what their politics -- that we're in the midst of an orchestrated Revolution.
