Yesterday I wrote about corned beef and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, if you didn't read the post, I recommend that you go back and do so before reading this post. The bottom line is simple, taxpayers "bailed out" Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac after they had purchased bad mortgages from banks and after being bailed out, Fannie and Freddie along with the Federal Reserve bought up just about all the remaining mortgages. Funny thing is, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have paid the taxpayers back and with interest. They now stand to profit about $18 billion a year for ten years. That is more than enough to fund the postal pensions and those of most others in the Federal government from the profits alone and the government would still own Trillions in assets (mortgages).
There is no way that your congressman are going to allow the government to be profitable, there is too much to be made in selling off our governmental assets at a discount to their friends. Taxpayers were given all the risk and bad debt and will not be allowed to reap the rewards.
Yahoo - CNBC - Corker: Deal to end Fannie, Freddie is just right. I want my readers to pay attention to what this article says. Firstly, it doesn't mention at all that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have paid the government back all the money plus interest and completely avoids discussing how much more the taxpayers will get if we hold onto Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The slimebag that wrote this article is the worst kind of panderer.
I find this line from his article truly dishonest, "Lawmakers from both parties want to revamp the $10 trillion mortgage market to make it less likely taxpayers will ever be put on the hook again." It is the exact opposite of the truth and is proven if anyone reads the rest of the article. Their solution is to sell off Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac at a discount and keep taxpayers on the hook if they fail beyond the first ten percent and any larger loss would fall on the taxpayers still.
UNRELATED PERSONAL STUFF:
I was listening to music while writing this and my mind wandered. I started thinking about wanting to thank my doctor. A number of years back I stopped seeing my doctors, they seemed to enjoy putting me in the hospital a bit much. I did not like it. Sometime in around 2008 I suffered my first heart attack and still did not go back to see a doctor and had stopped taking my blood pressure and other pills. I may not have my years right; but, basically that was it.
Last year I went back to my medical plan and saw a doctor again. I went in for a simple hemorrhoid problem and didn't want to hear about my blood pressure or have it taken because it was always life threatening. The readings said that I should be in cardiac arrest or passed out. The nurse was horrified. The doctor saw me and my numbers and quickly began considering how to get me into the hospital where I made it clear I did not wish to go. If he would have put me in, I would have avoided him and ignored him like the ones in the past; but, he worked with me. That first day was tough, I had to go through lots of testing to make sure I wasn't having a heart attack. I took it all quite cavalierly. I wasn't that concerned about dying, I just didn't want to be annoyed along the way. I ended up seeing the doctor weekly for a few months and playing pill roulette as we sought to see what combo of medications would bring down my blood pressure at least close to acceptable limits.
We eventually found the right pill mix and my numbers are almost all acceptable and the ones that are not are pretty close, a few weeks back I reported what my doctor said to me. He said when I left his office that first time he almost cried because he didn't think I would live the year. I never thought about it from his perspective. He is around 30 and really involved in the health of his patients, this guy really cares and he got stuck with me. Here I am a guy that didn't seek help after having a heart attack, I had been off pills for years and joked about death. I understand why he felt like crying and didn't think I would live a year. When he got back my EKG and told me I had a heart attack, I laughed and told him I remembered having it and that it had hurt. I even told him where I was when I had it, lovely Baker, California. LOL.
I remember the first time I met my doctor, he said I should be dead and had dodged a bullet. He couldn't believe I was alive. I must have been a odd job to be given to him. I told him he only needed to get me to retirement, he said he wanted to get me better so that I could enjoy my retirement. He did and soon I will retire; but, I had the added blessing of holding my first grandchild, he doesn't know that and when I see him I will tell him about it. I will show him a picture of my granddaughter and thank him for getting me here.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Corned Beef and Todays News
As my readers may or may not know, I am of Irish decent. There is a little English in me; but, we don't talk about that much. LOL. In fact my ex was Finnish, French, English, American Indian and a whole bunch of other things. I used to joke that she had destroyed the purity of my bloodline when we had kids. In reality I consider myself American and I consider my ex and my children to be American. Having said that I will on occassion celebrate my Irish heritage in odd ways. I do not drink beer and no longer drink scotch so I am left with food.
Unfortunately, food was often scarce in Ireland and potatoes kept the country alive for a long time. Ireland has a long history of using fish; but, it never traveled well within the country. After the English took over Ireland, they also took all the beef. What was left was root vegetables and the worst of all beef cuts, which was used for corned beef. They were cooked by being boiled as it used less wood for the fire and a meal could be made in one pot. When the world gives you lemons, you learn to make lemonade and the Irish found spices and boiling made the food edible and okay.
Anyways, I have been feeling better and getting back into cooking from scratch. I decided that with Saint Patricks day coming up I would go old school and boil myself a corned beef. I went to the store and found some a 2 1/2 pound piece of corned beef for $4 and took it home to prepare. I didn't expect much; but, I had picked the best cut I could find and dutifully boiled it for about 3 hours. I intended to cut it extra thin and pair it with pastrami for sandwiches. That is not going to happen, it came out perfectly tender and delicious. I hate to say it; but, it is the best corned beef I have ever cooked. If I could have cut it thinner it would have been even better in a sandwich.
Our elders knew lots of ways to use the worst and cheapest things and still make good meals. Heck, ribs used to be budget food. As we enter tougher economic times we should try and remember how our parents and grandparents made due with what they had. Oh I boiled it with a red potato, a white potato and a carrot. Those will taste fantastic tomorrow.
CNN - Assange to SXSW: We're all being watched. The title speaks for itself.
CBS - DC - Massive Police Hunt For Bank Robbers Shuts Down I-270. You cease having a right to privacy the moment you travel. Whatever happened to probable cause?
Now the fun stuff; but, to understand what is happening you have to read them in order.
Yahoo - Reuters - Fannie, Freddie could send $179.2 billion to taxpayers: White House. It turns out that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the holders of over 60% of all mortgages and they themselves are owned by the Federal government, are not only returning all their bailout money ahead of schedule; but are also on track to make the government a tidy little income stream profit. The bailout cost taxpayers about $187 billion and they are about to repay approximately $202 billion. In addition to paying us back, over the next ten years they should pay the government back about $179 billion in profit. Just imagine, with that return we could fully fund Social Security for a very long time.
Bloomberg - Westhus Reaping Fannie Windfall to Rival Big Short: Mortgages. Okay so when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac looked like they would go bankrupt, a few knowledgeable investors bought up their preferred stock (which do not have voting rights, they are more like company debt than ownership). So the people that bought the preferred stock now know that there is a big payday coming to the Treasury and they want the money themselves. The Treasury has common stock and that allows it to vote on how and who gets paid when profits are made. It should be noted that Preferred stock does not usually share in the profits as much as the common stock which is now owned by the Treasury.
Finance & Commerce.com - Bill would eliminate Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac. The first two stories show that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are about to make $179 billion for someone and it should go to the taxpayer; but, private money wants it first. That is a lot of money on the table which might explain this move. Some congressman are now looking to fast track the idea of selling Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while still keeping the government on the hook if the mortgages fail. Selling off all the value and keeping all the risk. These people are criminals. What is particularly interesting to me is how quickly the idea of selling off the stock came up after it was determined that the stock had value and our representatives willingness to guarantee our taxes to pay off any losses even once the stock is sold.
I believe the creation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was a mistake. I believe it allowed the cost of housing go up more than it otherwise would have and I do not believe the government should be backing up any loans. I also don't believe in corporate subsidies or tax deductions. I believe everyone should pay the same percentage of their income regardless of how it was earned in the year it was paid to them. Now that we are past all of that, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do exist and were going to go bankrupt and the taxpayers bailed them out.
Isn't it funny how right after it was announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would pay a return to the Treasury (the taxpayers who bailed them out), the fight became over who in private finance would steal the profit from the taxpayers and keep it for themselves and neither of the last two articles really showed any concern over the value of this asset to taxpayers.
Don't trust the mainstream media, they are nothing other than a puppet for the wealthy. And don't trust the alternative media as they tend to be busy trying to sell you stuff like gold that has no real value. We are flooded with garbage, lies and deception so that the wolves can take advantage of the sheep and we are told we deserve to be taken of advantage of because people are sheep, it is all a lie to fulfill greed and selfishness with a justification our abusers like.
Unfortunately, food was often scarce in Ireland and potatoes kept the country alive for a long time. Ireland has a long history of using fish; but, it never traveled well within the country. After the English took over Ireland, they also took all the beef. What was left was root vegetables and the worst of all beef cuts, which was used for corned beef. They were cooked by being boiled as it used less wood for the fire and a meal could be made in one pot. When the world gives you lemons, you learn to make lemonade and the Irish found spices and boiling made the food edible and okay.
Anyways, I have been feeling better and getting back into cooking from scratch. I decided that with Saint Patricks day coming up I would go old school and boil myself a corned beef. I went to the store and found some a 2 1/2 pound piece of corned beef for $4 and took it home to prepare. I didn't expect much; but, I had picked the best cut I could find and dutifully boiled it for about 3 hours. I intended to cut it extra thin and pair it with pastrami for sandwiches. That is not going to happen, it came out perfectly tender and delicious. I hate to say it; but, it is the best corned beef I have ever cooked. If I could have cut it thinner it would have been even better in a sandwich.
Our elders knew lots of ways to use the worst and cheapest things and still make good meals. Heck, ribs used to be budget food. As we enter tougher economic times we should try and remember how our parents and grandparents made due with what they had. Oh I boiled it with a red potato, a white potato and a carrot. Those will taste fantastic tomorrow.
CNN - Assange to SXSW: We're all being watched. The title speaks for itself.
CBS - DC - Massive Police Hunt For Bank Robbers Shuts Down I-270. You cease having a right to privacy the moment you travel. Whatever happened to probable cause?
Now the fun stuff; but, to understand what is happening you have to read them in order.
Yahoo - Reuters - Fannie, Freddie could send $179.2 billion to taxpayers: White House. It turns out that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the holders of over 60% of all mortgages and they themselves are owned by the Federal government, are not only returning all their bailout money ahead of schedule; but are also on track to make the government a tidy little income stream profit. The bailout cost taxpayers about $187 billion and they are about to repay approximately $202 billion. In addition to paying us back, over the next ten years they should pay the government back about $179 billion in profit. Just imagine, with that return we could fully fund Social Security for a very long time.
Bloomberg - Westhus Reaping Fannie Windfall to Rival Big Short: Mortgages. Okay so when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac looked like they would go bankrupt, a few knowledgeable investors bought up their preferred stock (which do not have voting rights, they are more like company debt than ownership). So the people that bought the preferred stock now know that there is a big payday coming to the Treasury and they want the money themselves. The Treasury has common stock and that allows it to vote on how and who gets paid when profits are made. It should be noted that Preferred stock does not usually share in the profits as much as the common stock which is now owned by the Treasury.
Finance & Commerce.com - Bill would eliminate Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac. The first two stories show that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are about to make $179 billion for someone and it should go to the taxpayer; but, private money wants it first. That is a lot of money on the table which might explain this move. Some congressman are now looking to fast track the idea of selling Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac while still keeping the government on the hook if the mortgages fail. Selling off all the value and keeping all the risk. These people are criminals. What is particularly interesting to me is how quickly the idea of selling off the stock came up after it was determined that the stock had value and our representatives willingness to guarantee our taxes to pay off any losses even once the stock is sold.
I believe the creation of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac was a mistake. I believe it allowed the cost of housing go up more than it otherwise would have and I do not believe the government should be backing up any loans. I also don't believe in corporate subsidies or tax deductions. I believe everyone should pay the same percentage of their income regardless of how it was earned in the year it was paid to them. Now that we are past all of that, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do exist and were going to go bankrupt and the taxpayers bailed them out.
Isn't it funny how right after it was announced that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would pay a return to the Treasury (the taxpayers who bailed them out), the fight became over who in private finance would steal the profit from the taxpayers and keep it for themselves and neither of the last two articles really showed any concern over the value of this asset to taxpayers.
Don't trust the mainstream media, they are nothing other than a puppet for the wealthy. And don't trust the alternative media as they tend to be busy trying to sell you stuff like gold that has no real value. We are flooded with garbage, lies and deception so that the wolves can take advantage of the sheep and we are told we deserve to be taken of advantage of because people are sheep, it is all a lie to fulfill greed and selfishness with a justification our abusers like.
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Being Home and News
I have been away from home for the past few days to see my new grandchild. I could have driven home each night; but, decided to rent a hotel near the hospital. I stayed at a nice hotel, had some lovely meals and took care of a lot of business (including getting my cars maintenance done), best of all, I got to hold my grandchild and she is lovely. Having said all that, it sure is great to be home. I came back exhausted, I just don't travel as well as I did when I was younger. While I was gone I saved some links to news stories I thought might be of interest.
Yahoo - The Exchange - Wealth rebounds — but mostly for the wealthy. The bottom line is that the total wealth of the nation has increased since the financial crisis; but, all the increases only went to the wealthy and the rest of us lost out, there has been no trickle down and no job creation. There has only been a transfer of wealth to those who caused the financial meltdown.
NBC Bay Area - NASA Admits to Selling Discount Fuel to Google Execs. Bottom line, Nasa was selling jet fuel to Google at half price. The question is not why Google would buy the fuel; but, why NASA would sell it to them at half price. To really understand that we would have to know what Google was doing for the United States.
Yahoo - Business Insider - Scientists Scanned A Woman's Brain During An Out-Of-Body Experience — And What They Found Was Amazing. Another case of garbage science trying to prove a point. A woman who claims to be able to cause herself to have out of body experiences has a brain scan while going through an episode and some "scientists" extrapolate that her brain activity is therefore the same as people who have a near death experience. One glaring problem, aside from the fact she was not dying, is that if the two things were the same then we would see the same parts of the brain activated during a near death experience; but, we do not because the near death experience has been recorded in people with NO BRAIN ACTIVITY.
Reuters - Man called Bitcoin's father denies ties, leads LA car chase. I love this story, someone managed to find the guy behind Bitcoin; but, he says he cannot talk about it. In addition, the people who actually worked with the person who created Bitcoin say they never met him and all communications were electronic. Doesn't it make you wonder why, if it is true. My answer is simple, this guy was merely feeding information to some programmers so that they would create Bitcoin and then use it to test out how people would use an electronic currency.
Mail Online - It's very hard to know why people go to food banks, claims Tory welfare minister Lord Freud
. A great example of how dissociated the wealthy are from the rest of us. One of the people responsible for taking care of the poor in England cannot figure out why people might go to food banks.
Bloomberg News - Global Debt Exceeds $100 Trillion as Governments Binge, BIS Says. I find it interesting that global debt is up 40% since the crash and yet the debt is claimed to be government debt at a time when governments are providing less and less services to it's citizens. Where did the money go.
Bloomberg News - Carney Faces Leadership Test as Currency Scandal Snares BOE. The central Bank of England (similar to the Federal Reserve) has been caught fixing financial markets again.
Well, I am exhausted and going to bed. Have a great week.
Yahoo - The Exchange - Wealth rebounds — but mostly for the wealthy. The bottom line is that the total wealth of the nation has increased since the financial crisis; but, all the increases only went to the wealthy and the rest of us lost out, there has been no trickle down and no job creation. There has only been a transfer of wealth to those who caused the financial meltdown.
NBC Bay Area - NASA Admits to Selling Discount Fuel to Google Execs. Bottom line, Nasa was selling jet fuel to Google at half price. The question is not why Google would buy the fuel; but, why NASA would sell it to them at half price. To really understand that we would have to know what Google was doing for the United States.
Yahoo - Business Insider - Scientists Scanned A Woman's Brain During An Out-Of-Body Experience — And What They Found Was Amazing. Another case of garbage science trying to prove a point. A woman who claims to be able to cause herself to have out of body experiences has a brain scan while going through an episode and some "scientists" extrapolate that her brain activity is therefore the same as people who have a near death experience. One glaring problem, aside from the fact she was not dying, is that if the two things were the same then we would see the same parts of the brain activated during a near death experience; but, we do not because the near death experience has been recorded in people with NO BRAIN ACTIVITY.
Reuters - Man called Bitcoin's father denies ties, leads LA car chase. I love this story, someone managed to find the guy behind Bitcoin; but, he says he cannot talk about it. In addition, the people who actually worked with the person who created Bitcoin say they never met him and all communications were electronic. Doesn't it make you wonder why, if it is true. My answer is simple, this guy was merely feeding information to some programmers so that they would create Bitcoin and then use it to test out how people would use an electronic currency.
Mail Online - It's very hard to know why people go to food banks, claims Tory welfare minister Lord Freud
. A great example of how dissociated the wealthy are from the rest of us. One of the people responsible for taking care of the poor in England cannot figure out why people might go to food banks.
Bloomberg News - Global Debt Exceeds $100 Trillion as Governments Binge, BIS Says. I find it interesting that global debt is up 40% since the crash and yet the debt is claimed to be government debt at a time when governments are providing less and less services to it's citizens. Where did the money go.
Bloomberg News - Carney Faces Leadership Test as Currency Scandal Snares BOE. The central Bank of England (similar to the Federal Reserve) has been caught fixing financial markets again.
Well, I am exhausted and going to bed. Have a great week.
Saturday, March 8, 2014
I am a grandfather
I have no intention of posting anything useful tonight; but, I have saved some links and will discuss them at a later time. I am a grandfather now, the Pimpernel is pleased to announce the birth of his first grandchild.
Thursday, March 6, 2014
Short news post including genetic modification.
New York Times - Study Gives Hope of Altering Genes to Repel H.I.V.. That sounds pretty good doesn't it? A real cure to aids and a technology that can cure other diseases on a genetic level. This same technology could be used to make us susceptible to certain diseases. Earlier today I watched an interview with a Chinese scientist talking about how they were almost ready to find the "genius" gene and that they would be able to let parents select to have smarter children by choosing which of their eggs they chose to allow to fertilize. A brave new world indeed.
FoxNews - Calif. man denies he's Bitcoin founder after Newsweek report. Interesting that the principal behind creating Bitcoin worked for a defense contractor.
FoxNews - Calif. man denies he's Bitcoin founder after Newsweek report. Interesting that the principal behind creating Bitcoin worked for a defense contractor.
News of things to come
Yahoo - Reuters - Global super rich eye office blocks over mansions as wealth hits $20 trillion. Suddenly the super rich are buying more and more commercial properties at a time when commercial properties are losing value; but, it is better to own real assets then hold paper money. Remember this, when they did the bail ins in Cyprus, they didn't take property or assets, they just confiscated your cash.
The Washington Times - Cop-killer case sinks Obama Justice nominee. A nominee to be in the civil rights division of the Department of Justice. He was turned down by the senate because he defended a "cop killer". That is what defense attorney's do. John Adams, our second president (who, by the way, always opposed slavery) was the defense attorney for the British soldiers who shot Americans in the Boston Massacre. Adams also helped write the Declaration of Independence. How can we trust someone to lead the legal system if they refuse to defend people in court so they can get a job for the Justice Department?
When I was in law school, I had a family friend who was a relatively famous attorney. One day he invited me to his beach house for the weekend and took me out for a lovely dinner (in fact, when I graduated, he allowed me to use his beach house for a family celebration). At dinner I mentioned that I was not interested in being involved in defense work and he asked me if I believe in the idea of due process. He asked how we could have a fair legal system if only bad attorneys were defense attorneys and said that it was not an attorney's job to decide guilt or innocence; but, the judge and jury's job. What kind of legal system would we have if your attorney acted as your judge? Think about it.
Occupy.com - Web of Debt - The Stone that Brings Down Goliath?
. I wrote about this when it first came up but I don't remember what I said, it doesn't matter. The short of it is that one city has determined that it can take over properties with bad mortgages through the use of eminent domain from the banks. Many people love this idea; but, they miss the point as did the article. You cannot take from the banks that which they do not own. The banks do not own the mortgages. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (both government entities now) own over 60% of all the mortgages and the Federal Reserve most of what remains. Cities, states and counties cannot use eminent domain against the Federal government, it is all a joke. While the left and the right argue over the right of cities, counties and states to use eminent domain to take over these properties to "help homeowners", it is irrelevant as the Federal government owns the properties and does not need the same chain of title.
Yahoo - 5 futuristic ATM features we can't wait to check out. The article makes me sick. Basically it is all about how losing your privacy and having to use biometrics to access money is a really exciting and fun thing to do.
The Blaze - Obamacare Architect: ‘Be Prepared to Kiss Your Insurance Company Good-Bye Forever’. Firstly, Glenn Beck is just another Ayn Rand type moron to me, an extremist. His organization is bemoaning the fact that medical insurance companies will change and cheaper ones will replace them. The reason medical costs have risen so much is because medical insurance companies wanted them to so that they could charge more in premiums, it was not to their advantage to keep costs down, only to push higher premiums and co-payments and that is why they allowed costs to raise.
NY Times - DealBook - In Banking Overhaul Fight, a Ruckus Over an Obscure Product. The article, like many others is so uninformed on the big issues. The article claims that JP Morgan and two other big banks own 71% of all Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLOs)which is basically subprime loans to small businesses bundled in groups. The banks hold them and created them; but, usually sold them to pension funds and other countries or hold them at face value (rather than marked to market - current valuation) as an asset in lieu of holding real assets. It is an accounting trick.
New York Times - Study Gives Hope of Altering Genes to Repel H.I.V.. We can change your genetics now, we are god or foolish.
If we love more than we hate, if we forgive more than we accuse, have we not added to the totality of love and forgiveness? The universe is big and we are small; but, we do contribute to the overall experience of the universe. We can add love and forgiveness or add hate and condemnation. Jesus said to love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. Don't hate your enemy, don't hate those who abuse you, don't hate.
The Washington Times - Cop-killer case sinks Obama Justice nominee. A nominee to be in the civil rights division of the Department of Justice. He was turned down by the senate because he defended a "cop killer". That is what defense attorney's do. John Adams, our second president (who, by the way, always opposed slavery) was the defense attorney for the British soldiers who shot Americans in the Boston Massacre. Adams also helped write the Declaration of Independence. How can we trust someone to lead the legal system if they refuse to defend people in court so they can get a job for the Justice Department?
When I was in law school, I had a family friend who was a relatively famous attorney. One day he invited me to his beach house for the weekend and took me out for a lovely dinner (in fact, when I graduated, he allowed me to use his beach house for a family celebration). At dinner I mentioned that I was not interested in being involved in defense work and he asked me if I believe in the idea of due process. He asked how we could have a fair legal system if only bad attorneys were defense attorneys and said that it was not an attorney's job to decide guilt or innocence; but, the judge and jury's job. What kind of legal system would we have if your attorney acted as your judge? Think about it.
Occupy.com - Web of Debt - The Stone that Brings Down Goliath?
. I wrote about this when it first came up but I don't remember what I said, it doesn't matter. The short of it is that one city has determined that it can take over properties with bad mortgages through the use of eminent domain from the banks. Many people love this idea; but, they miss the point as did the article. You cannot take from the banks that which they do not own. The banks do not own the mortgages. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (both government entities now) own over 60% of all the mortgages and the Federal Reserve most of what remains. Cities, states and counties cannot use eminent domain against the Federal government, it is all a joke. While the left and the right argue over the right of cities, counties and states to use eminent domain to take over these properties to "help homeowners", it is irrelevant as the Federal government owns the properties and does not need the same chain of title.
Yahoo - 5 futuristic ATM features we can't wait to check out. The article makes me sick. Basically it is all about how losing your privacy and having to use biometrics to access money is a really exciting and fun thing to do.
The Blaze - Obamacare Architect: ‘Be Prepared to Kiss Your Insurance Company Good-Bye Forever’. Firstly, Glenn Beck is just another Ayn Rand type moron to me, an extremist. His organization is bemoaning the fact that medical insurance companies will change and cheaper ones will replace them. The reason medical costs have risen so much is because medical insurance companies wanted them to so that they could charge more in premiums, it was not to their advantage to keep costs down, only to push higher premiums and co-payments and that is why they allowed costs to raise.
NY Times - DealBook - In Banking Overhaul Fight, a Ruckus Over an Obscure Product. The article, like many others is so uninformed on the big issues. The article claims that JP Morgan and two other big banks own 71% of all Collateralized Loan Obligations (CLOs)which is basically subprime loans to small businesses bundled in groups. The banks hold them and created them; but, usually sold them to pension funds and other countries or hold them at face value (rather than marked to market - current valuation) as an asset in lieu of holding real assets. It is an accounting trick.
New York Times - Study Gives Hope of Altering Genes to Repel H.I.V.. We can change your genetics now, we are god or foolish.
If we love more than we hate, if we forgive more than we accuse, have we not added to the totality of love and forgiveness? The universe is big and we are small; but, we do contribute to the overall experience of the universe. We can add love and forgiveness or add hate and condemnation. Jesus said to love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. Don't hate your enemy, don't hate those who abuse you, don't hate.
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Random News and Waiting for My First Grandchild
My eldest is pregnant and a week overdue. It is quite frustrating just waiting. Now, to the news.
New York Times - In Search of a Stable Electronic Currency. When I was an undergraduate in college studying for my degree in Political Science, one of my teachers required us to read either the New York Times everyday or the Christian Science Monitor (he was not of that faith), he claimed they were the two best and most objective newspapers. He required that we read it everyday from cover to cover. He would then give us tests which included issues that were in all the different sections.
The above article is interesting in that it discusses how Bitcoin will fail; but, has led the way in showing us how to adapt to an international electronic currency. Here is a quote from the article, "And there could be a “trills” unit — a concept that Mark Kamstra of York University and I have been advocating — that represents one trillionth of a country’s most recently estimated annual G.D.P. There should also be a unit that grows or retreats with per-capita daily consumption. This could be used for pension and Social Security payments as a form of intergenerational risk-sharing: The idea is that payments to older people would rise and fall with overall consumption. With many kinds of baskets, it will be easier to set prices and make contracts that are sensible for the long term."
Remember that quote, in the end, in my opinion, Bitcoin has been nothing more than a dry run for instituting and international, GDP based currency exchange and I have said that more than once.
Huffington Post - Wall Street Has Found Its Latest Dangerous Financial Product, Activists Warn. The story is pretty simple, hedge funds and investors have been buying up all the houses and paying cash. The article is complaining that is keeping good people from getting mortgages and buying the houses themselves and forces people into rentals. That is garbage. The real propaganda in the article is to get you to believe that the companies that own these homes are less likely to take care of them once they are rented out. I live in a rental owned by a family I know, it is a small building and fairly old. There are lots of families and people that own rental properties, I owned one. It can be a fairly passive income for retirees. What is coming is that increased pressures will be put on small owners of rental properties and they will be forced to sell their properties to these hedge funds and larger investors. The real beneficiary will be the federal government which owns Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as they own 70% or so of all the mortgages and the Federal Reserve. They are going to continue putting more and more regulations on rental properties, watch and see.
Yahoo - GMA - $10M Gold Coin Hoard Found in Yard May Have Been Stolen From Mint. This article is just amusing and gets people so emotional. A couple in California claims to have "found" $10,000,000 worth of gold coins. When this came up, I told some people that in the end the couple would not be allowed to keep any of the coins and guess what, it looks like they won't get to keep any of the coins as they "might" have been stolen back in the 1800s.
Here is the real issue, if you own gold you better be able to prove how you obtained it. A few years back the law was changed and any sale of gold valued at more than %500 must be reported to the federal government. None of the purveyors of fear of an economic crash who also sell gold bother telling people that, I don't sell anything. Don't waste your time buying gold and there will still be a complete breakdown of the current economic system which will lead to a new financial model that is all electronic and based on a countries Gross Domestic Product.
Los Angeles Daily News - Los Angeles City Council votes to regulate e-cigarettes as strictly as tobacco. It should be apparent that this type of regulation is not about harming others, it is about controlling what you do outside. E-cigarettes are not tobacco and they don't burn and they don't have a secondhand effect.
Wired - The Next Big Thing You Missed: How Starbucks Could Replace Your Bank. Here is what you need to take away from the article, traditional banking will be dead once we go to all electronic currencies. The real question is what will replace it for the average person and who loses when the big banks finally fail completely and are broken up into little local banks.
Mail Online - Turn your entire room into a SCREEN: Microsoft tool lets you browse the web and beam videos onto the walls of your home. I wrote about this over a year ago. Just imagine what kids will be like when they grow up in a safe, virtual world. They will be completely out of touch with real world risks and consequences.
Huffington Post - Obamacare Just Made Americans Richer Without Anyone Noticing. My first response is who cares as it is not about increasing the GDP, it is about making sure everyone has health insurance if they are to have access to healthcare. The first line is my favorite line, "Glenn Beck once said Obamacare would mean "the end of prosperity in America forever." LOL. Most of Europe and Canada have true government healthcare, we just force you to buy insurance, yet apparently that is going to prevent us from making money. Think about that, if you get healthcare, it means it costs your employer money. You know why, because they can't steal it because you will notice when you don't have your pills.
Huffington Post - Warren Buffett: Here's What We Need More Than A Minimum Wage Hike. I am not sure if I agree with him, he believes we should raise the tax deduction for low income earners instead of increasing the minimum wage. I think I like my idea better, what if individuals didn't have to pay anymore in taxes as a percentage of their income than companies pay or investments pay in taxes? What if rather than getting tax breaks and subsidies for corporations that outsource, we only gave companies tax breaks for investments they made in America and jobs they created in America?
Daily Beast - British Prime Minister’s Child Porn Adviser Arrested Over Child Porn. The Jimmy Saville case has exposed the political support for child molesters in Britain. There are many questions to be asked, why were these things covered up for so long, how can they be committed by the most powerful people in government and finance and why is this all coming out now; but, the most important question is how will these revelations be used to change societies? The end game explains the purpose to the other questions.
Well, that all folks, have a great week.
New York Times - In Search of a Stable Electronic Currency. When I was an undergraduate in college studying for my degree in Political Science, one of my teachers required us to read either the New York Times everyday or the Christian Science Monitor (he was not of that faith), he claimed they were the two best and most objective newspapers. He required that we read it everyday from cover to cover. He would then give us tests which included issues that were in all the different sections.
The above article is interesting in that it discusses how Bitcoin will fail; but, has led the way in showing us how to adapt to an international electronic currency. Here is a quote from the article, "And there could be a “trills” unit — a concept that Mark Kamstra of York University and I have been advocating — that represents one trillionth of a country’s most recently estimated annual G.D.P. There should also be a unit that grows or retreats with per-capita daily consumption. This could be used for pension and Social Security payments as a form of intergenerational risk-sharing: The idea is that payments to older people would rise and fall with overall consumption. With many kinds of baskets, it will be easier to set prices and make contracts that are sensible for the long term."
Remember that quote, in the end, in my opinion, Bitcoin has been nothing more than a dry run for instituting and international, GDP based currency exchange and I have said that more than once.
Huffington Post - Wall Street Has Found Its Latest Dangerous Financial Product, Activists Warn. The story is pretty simple, hedge funds and investors have been buying up all the houses and paying cash. The article is complaining that is keeping good people from getting mortgages and buying the houses themselves and forces people into rentals. That is garbage. The real propaganda in the article is to get you to believe that the companies that own these homes are less likely to take care of them once they are rented out. I live in a rental owned by a family I know, it is a small building and fairly old. There are lots of families and people that own rental properties, I owned one. It can be a fairly passive income for retirees. What is coming is that increased pressures will be put on small owners of rental properties and they will be forced to sell their properties to these hedge funds and larger investors. The real beneficiary will be the federal government which owns Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as they own 70% or so of all the mortgages and the Federal Reserve. They are going to continue putting more and more regulations on rental properties, watch and see.
Yahoo - GMA - $10M Gold Coin Hoard Found in Yard May Have Been Stolen From Mint. This article is just amusing and gets people so emotional. A couple in California claims to have "found" $10,000,000 worth of gold coins. When this came up, I told some people that in the end the couple would not be allowed to keep any of the coins and guess what, it looks like they won't get to keep any of the coins as they "might" have been stolen back in the 1800s.
Here is the real issue, if you own gold you better be able to prove how you obtained it. A few years back the law was changed and any sale of gold valued at more than %500 must be reported to the federal government. None of the purveyors of fear of an economic crash who also sell gold bother telling people that, I don't sell anything. Don't waste your time buying gold and there will still be a complete breakdown of the current economic system which will lead to a new financial model that is all electronic and based on a countries Gross Domestic Product.
Los Angeles Daily News - Los Angeles City Council votes to regulate e-cigarettes as strictly as tobacco. It should be apparent that this type of regulation is not about harming others, it is about controlling what you do outside. E-cigarettes are not tobacco and they don't burn and they don't have a secondhand effect.
Wired - The Next Big Thing You Missed: How Starbucks Could Replace Your Bank. Here is what you need to take away from the article, traditional banking will be dead once we go to all electronic currencies. The real question is what will replace it for the average person and who loses when the big banks finally fail completely and are broken up into little local banks.
Mail Online - Turn your entire room into a SCREEN: Microsoft tool lets you browse the web and beam videos onto the walls of your home. I wrote about this over a year ago. Just imagine what kids will be like when they grow up in a safe, virtual world. They will be completely out of touch with real world risks and consequences.
Huffington Post - Obamacare Just Made Americans Richer Without Anyone Noticing. My first response is who cares as it is not about increasing the GDP, it is about making sure everyone has health insurance if they are to have access to healthcare. The first line is my favorite line, "Glenn Beck once said Obamacare would mean "the end of prosperity in America forever." LOL. Most of Europe and Canada have true government healthcare, we just force you to buy insurance, yet apparently that is going to prevent us from making money. Think about that, if you get healthcare, it means it costs your employer money. You know why, because they can't steal it because you will notice when you don't have your pills.
Huffington Post - Warren Buffett: Here's What We Need More Than A Minimum Wage Hike. I am not sure if I agree with him, he believes we should raise the tax deduction for low income earners instead of increasing the minimum wage. I think I like my idea better, what if individuals didn't have to pay anymore in taxes as a percentage of their income than companies pay or investments pay in taxes? What if rather than getting tax breaks and subsidies for corporations that outsource, we only gave companies tax breaks for investments they made in America and jobs they created in America?
Daily Beast - British Prime Minister’s Child Porn Adviser Arrested Over Child Porn. The Jimmy Saville case has exposed the political support for child molesters in Britain. There are many questions to be asked, why were these things covered up for so long, how can they be committed by the most powerful people in government and finance and why is this all coming out now; but, the most important question is how will these revelations be used to change societies? The end game explains the purpose to the other questions.
Well, that all folks, have a great week.
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