March 30, 2008

Barbarians are within the gate

DATELINE, Los Angeles - Deep inside the bunker. Your erstwhile war correspondent clacks out another column on life as lived in America's second-largest city. That popping sound you hear in the background isn't the Orville Redenbacher or my stiff joints snapping as I stretch for one more M&M. That's the sound of sporadic small-arms fire, incoming rounds pinging off the new armor plating I have recently installed around my writing compound. It's called "defensive architecture," but I won't object if you find it offensive.
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March 29, 2008

Elephant Paints Self Portrait

The Fed is taking over! This is exactly what Jefferson warned us would happen.

So the fed is now taking control over the whole financial markets on monday. I for one feel a lot better knowing that a group of mega rich
elitists who own the fed will do what is in the best interest of the public. Doesn't anybody understand the magnitude of this?
Are we all sheep?
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March 27, 2008

Blue Collar, Bare Cupboards

Ten miles outside Eugene in west central Oregon, little wooden houses and mobile homes make up the town of Alvadore. The homes are too far apart to give the town—population 1,358—the appearance of a city, yet too close together for it to come off as true countryside. Old, domestically manufactured cars line the streets, as well as a few rundown mom-and-pop convenience stores.
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March 26, 2008

Oldest known human fossil found in Europe

MADRID, Spain - A small piece of jawbone unearthed in a cave in Spain is the oldest known fossil of a human ancestor in Europe and suggests that people lived on the continent much earlier than previously believed, scientists say.
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Already we have riots, hoarding, panic: the sign of things to come?

The spectre of food shortages is casting a shadow across the globe, causing riots in Africa, consumer protests in Europe and panic in food-importing countries. In a world of increasing affluence, the hoarding of rice and wheat has begun. The President of the Philippines made an unprecedented call last week to the Vietnamese Prime Minister, requesting that he promise to supply a quantity of rice.
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Safed chief rabbi calls on state to exact 'revenge' against Arabs

The chief rabbi of Safed, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, is calling on the government to carry out "state-sanctioned revenge" against Arabs in order to, in his words, restore Israel's deterrence.
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Eliyahu proposes "hanging the children of the terrorist who carried out the attack in the Mercaz Harav yeshiva from a tree."

Throw Grandma Under The Bus

Throw Grandma Under The Bus
By Ann Coulter


Obama gave a nice speech, except for everything he said about race. He apparently believes we're not talking enough about race. This is like hearing Britney Spears say we're not talking enough about pop-tarts with substance-abuse problems.

By now, the country has spent more time talking about race than John Kerry has talked about Vietnam, John McCain has talked about being a POW, John Edwards has talked about his dead son, and Al Franken has talked about his USO tours.
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I usually don't have much to agree with Miss Coulter on, but this article was spot on.

Why Ron Paul Scares the GOP

There used to be an organization for people who believed in a truly limited government — limited taxes, limited spending, limited interference in individual lives and limited intervention in foreign affairs. That organization was known as the Republican Party. But the only one of those beliefs that still motivates the G.O.P. establishment is limited taxes. In 2008, people who still hold all of them joined the Ron Paul Revolution.
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Protesters enter Bear Stearns building in New York

NEW YORK (Reuters) - About 60 protesters opposed to the U.S. Federal Reserve's help in bailing out Bear Stearns (NYSE:BSC - News) entered the lobby of the investment bank's Manhattan headquarters on Wednesday, demanding assistance for struggling homeowners.

Demonstrators organized by the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America chanted "Help Main Street, not Wall Street" and entered the lobby without an invitation for around half an hour before being escorted out by police.
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The next bailout: Homeowners

Federal government help for Bear Stearns and other Wall Street firms increases the chance that assistance for those facing foreclosure will be approved.

The federal government is keeping Bear Stearns out of bankruptcy. Are you next?Momentum for federal assistance to struggling homeowners, a non-starter with the Republican administration and many members of Congress only a few months ago, has picked up steam in Washington.
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March 18, 2008

The Fed's Desperation Move

The Fed's Desperation Move

by Gary North

I do not have a new message here; we have known for a long time that advance preparation and a strong balance sheet are the keys to riding out a financial storm. As I have emphasized before, the Federal Reserve can deal with liquidity pressures but cannot deal with solvency issues.

~ William Poole, President,
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (February 29, 2008)

The Federal Reserve System announced a new program on March 11. The announcement was not quite gibberish, but it was close. This much was clear: it is a $200 billion program.

The stock market bulls thought, "Wow! That's huge! That will solve the problem!" They did not read the details of the proposal.

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March 17, 2008

Shadiness

So, does anyone have any comments on JP buying Bears for 10% of the value? Is something shady going on? Anyone have any time to give a background on the main players for JP?

I think I'm gonna move all of my 401k funds to the preservation trust. I am nearly -10% for the year!

March 12, 2008

Election Dashboard (reporting the processed numbers)

Interesting side note, sort the republican column by "yahoo buzz".

March 3, 2008

The Federal Reserve's rescue has failed

The verdict is in. The Fed's emergency rate cuts in January have failed to halt the downward spiral towards a full-blown debt deflation. Much more drastic action will be needed.
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