#3
Look for Iran to start building and selling small 'real' submarines to the drug lords in exchange for a channel to smuggle terrorists Undocumented Political Activists into the USA.
#4
They speak of the possibility of the next level being the use of fully submersible drones. Perhaps if they perfect them we can use them for our military as things seems to be pretty slow on that front. Or have the drug gangs slipped a few spies into the US already to pick up the tech?
#5
I have to agree wid #4 - as OWG-NWO maritime recce and security improves, I suspect these subs will learn to employ both large-capacity submersible drones, as well as "launch/fire-and-forget" above surface air skimmer drones.
#7
Boats are cheap. Once you go underwater, costs will increase 10-50X depending on the underwater performance. Not sure even drug lords can afford that.
Posted by: ed ||
12/15/2008 21:56 Comments ||
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A new study shows that excessive amounts of sugar act have an effect similar to addictive drugs such as cocaine and nicotine on the brain.
According to the study presented at the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, sugar can be addictive. The study showed that sugar triggers the same chemical changes in the brain - a surge in the neurotransmitter dopamine -- as alcohol and nicotine.
Findings revealed that taking large amounts of sugar water when hungry cause the individual to experience the same behavioral changes as the ones that follow the use of addictive drugs.
Deprivation of the substance is associated with anxiety and withdrawal symptoms similar to those experienced after one stops smoking, drinking alcohol or using drugs. It may also result in long-lasting craving-resembling effects.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/15/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
alcohol and nicotine are depressents. This implies that sugar may act as a depressent also. Curious.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
12/15/2008 8:39 Comments ||
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#2
I think they are claiming it is a dopamine or endorphin type situation(?)
Hard to tell, it was written for the general public, so any information like that would be a total waste of printers ink.
#3
I heard a doctor explain it as the endorphin cycle of highs and lows, inducing cravings, suggesting drugs working on the reward center of the brain may help with sugar cravings leading to obesity and diabetes. Sugar water is all some addicts in the pokey are given for heroin withdrawal symptoms.
#8
The weird thing is, when I was kid cocaine wasn't (physically) addictive. That was one of the shocks about crack cocaine -- it was addictive (and cheap too -- no longer a drug for Wall Street types only -- there was a great joke that cocaine was God's way of telling you that you make too damn much money).
#10
when I was kid cocaine wasn't (physically) addictive.
Yes, it was, Iblis. It's just that only the rich could afford to buy it often enough to become so. Remember Richard Pryor? Nasal septum collapse requiring nose jobs? It's just that only the well-off could afford to use the stuff often enough to become -- and remain -- addicted. The question to which I've had no answer for lo these many yeasr is why crack cocain is so inexpensive.
#11
Actually, tw, it's not. Crack is generally cheaper per dose, and it does hit your system faster, but based on, uh, shall we say "market conditions" (supply issues, arrests, and other hazards of the trade), cocaine can be less expensive per kilo.
#12
Crack is available in small dollar increments...
so the low income types can throw a $5 bill out and get a nice half hour high...
it gets expensive pretty quick, but they only see it as $5 until all the money is gone.
Posted by: Abu do you love ||
12/15/2008 17:01 Comments ||
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#13
Back to sugar..
I did quit it about a year ago after realizing a borderline diabetes is creeping in. It was hard at first, but now I don't miss it. I still get enough carbs in my diet. Once a while I get something with sugar in a small dose, but it's great whiles in betweens. Yea, my health improved considerably.
#14
Even worse than refined sugar is high fructose corn syrup. Ten years ago, very few vegetables and soups had high fructose corn syrup in them. Now it's almost impossible to buy canned goods without it. I have a reactive hypoglycemia problem, so I stay away from refined sugar. I've also had to drastically reduce my input of high fructose corn syrup. I haven't been able to reach a zero level yet, but it's less than 1% of what I eat on a daily basis. High fructose corn syrup is also addicting, creating a craving for more and more of it. Food processors know it, but don't have any desire to eliminate or even reduce the amount of it. High corn prices as the result of ethanol may change that.
Posted by: Old Patriot ||
12/15/2008 20:12 Comments ||
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#15
you ever snort a line of Reese's? Messy
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/15/2008 21:26 Comments ||
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#16
Thank you, Cornsilk Blondie and Abu Do You Love. There are so many things I don't know!
My freshman year of college (shortly after the Dark Ages, donchaknow) I experienced the full joy of messing with my blood sugar cycle. I couldn't afford the up-front charge for food service, so I pretty much lived on donuts and chocolate bars ($0.25 a piece) and Campbell's Chicken Noodle soup. Short term the sugar drop caused by eating something sugar-laden did drive me to seek another fix, but it really wasn't hard to quit when I went home for the summer and found real food in my parents refrigerator. Not to mention that even at those prices I couldn't afford many fixes per day while I waited for my weekly paycheck.
#17
I'm with ya', OP - it's disgusting what they put HFCS in.
"Food processors know it, but don't have any desire to eliminate or even reduce the amount of it."
Arnold's has. They've got a line of really good bread products that have no HFCS in them - Arnold's even prints that fact on the wrappers. (Alas, not their rye bread - yet.)
I wrote them a effusive thank-you letter for doing it. I check labels religiously - there's no reason for HFCS to be in most of the products you find them in.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
12/15/2008 22:19 Comments ||
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Baker -21 °F
Billings -14.3 °F
Bozeman -13.3 F
Butte -15 °F
Cut Bank -23 °F /
Glasgow -25 °F /
Great Falls -14.3 °F
Havre -31 °F
------------- Several of these locations in Montana have already set new daily records and nighttime cooling has just begun. At this time below zero temps covered all of ND and SD, almost all Montana and Wyo, most of Neb, Wyo, Mn, ID, Iowa and large amounts of WA, OR and Kansas. This looks to be one of the coldest nights in several years for the lower 48.
#3
Maybe less confusing if relabeled "...12/14 Temps..." ? Or maybe I am confused.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike ||
12/15/2008 0:59 Comments ||
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#4
Yeah, see, normally temperatures are protected this time of year from going below zero by the O-zone layer. Since there is now an O-zone hole, temperatures fall right though. There is no telling how low they might go.
#9
The hysterical shrieks are amazing, that the terribly cold northern hemisphere is being caused by global warming, even though none of their models even speculated that it was possible for there to be cooling.
Maybe someone should suggest to them that the only way for them to get the global warming agenda passed is to start violently hitting themselves with claw hammers. Which they HAVE TO DO, or else global warming will destroy the Earth.
It was already late fall and the Indians on a remote reservation in South Dakota asked their new chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or mild.
Since he was a chief in a modern society he had
never been taught the old secrets. When he looked at the sky he couldn't tell what the winter was going to be like.
Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he told his tribe that the winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect firewood to be prepared.
But being a practical leader, after several days he got an idea. He went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and asked, 'Is the coming winter going to be cold?'
'It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold,' the meteorologist at the weather service
responded.
So the chief went back to his people and told them to collect even more firewood in order to be prepared.
A week later he called the National Weather Service again. 'Does it still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?'
'Yes,' the man at National Weather Service again
replied, 'it's going to be a very cold winter.'
The chief again went back to his people and
ordered them to collect every scrap of
firewood they could find.
Two weeks later the chief called the National
Weather Service again. 'Are you absolutely sure
that the winter is going to be very cold?'
'Absolutely,' the man replied. 'It's looking more and more like it is going to be one of the coldest winters we've ever seen.'
'How can you be so sure?' th e chief asked.
The weatherman replied, 'The Indians are
collecting firewood like crazy.'
Always remember this whenever you get
advice from a government official!!!!!!!
Probably there will be at least four dozen new daily 'cold' records in the N Plains, including both low maxima and low minima. The coldest I saw were some -32F readings at Havre and Grasgow. Denver set new record minimums for both 12-14 and 12-15.
I apologize for the type. It should have said "12/13" not "11/14"
Bob finds another boogie man. Which, lucky for him, appears to be a pushover.
Zimbabwe has accused Botswana of being involved in a plot to overthrow President Robert Mugabe's government. Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa told state media they have "compelling evidence" Botswana was hosting military training camps for opposition rebels. He said Botswana was helping recruit youths to destabilise and bring about illegal regime change in Zimbabwe.
Excellent! Kudos to Botswana and hurry the hell up, wouldya?
The MDC branded the claim "ridiculous", but Southern Africa's regional body said it was investigating.
The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretary General Tomaz Salamao says his organisation is now analysing documents and videos that have been given to them by the Zimbabwean authorities, reports the BBC's Jonah Fisher. Observers say it is the first time that such openly hostile relations have emerged among any of the 15 SADC members. Botswana's President Ian Khama is one of the few African leaders to have publicly criticised Mr Mugabe. He has called for new elections after Mr Mugabe and opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader Morgan Tsvangirai reached deadlock in power-sharing negotiations.
Mr Chinamasa told the state-owned Herald newspaper: "Botswana has availed its territory, material and logistical support to [the MDC] for the recruitment and military training of youths for the eventual destabilisation of the country with a view of effecting illegal regime change. We now have evidence that while [the MDC] were talking peace they have been preparing for war and insurgency, as well as soliciting the West to invade our country on the pretext of things like cholera." He claimed the opposition was "bent on foisting war on the country and the region" and warned Botswana of dire consequences.
Opposition spokesman Nelson Chamisa dismissed the minister's claims saying: "When a leopard starts devouring its young ones, it starts by accusing that young one of smelling like a goat."
The justice minister's allegation comes a day after the US Ambassador to Zimbabwe, James McGee, accused Mr Mugabe of "criminal negligence" and warned Zimbabwe was becoming a failed state. Writing in South Africa's Sunday Times newspaper, Mr McGee said: "What is the Mugabe regime doing? It is buying hundreds of cars so that every minister and governor can have multiple vehicles. It is buying plasma televisions for judges. Instead of spending scarce resources on water purification chemicals that might stop the cholera epidemic, they are manipulating currency to make a personal profit."
Mr Mugabe last week sparked uproar by claiming the cholera outbreak was over in Zimbabwe, while Information Minister Sikhanyiso Ndlovu said the outbreak was the result of biological warfare launched by former colonial power Britain against Zimbabwe.
#3
And, more to the point, when Botswana can kick your ass.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/15/2008 17:10 Comments ||
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#4
Of all the African basket cases Botswana is likely the best of the lot - least corrupt government, socially stable, centrally controlled military, basically free economy, rich in diverse resources, all with an horrific AIDS rate. They may be the local neighbor which can best lead the change in ZimBob - giving all the others plausible cooperation.
#5
Electric cars are a serious waste of resources unless we get more nuclear generation and beef up the distribution grid. We don't have the generation or distribution capacity to convert anything but an insignificant portion of our national transportation needs to electric power.
It would practically double fuel consumption at our conventional plants and our grid would melt. And in case of a blackout, people would be stranded.
KUWAIT - Kuwaits ruler has accepted the resignation of the government in a bid to resolve a standoff with parliament, state news agency KUNA said on Sunday. The announcement followed remarks by the parliament speaker earlier this month that Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, who has the last say in politics, had accepted the resignation.
Last month, the cabinet tendered its resignation over a request by three Sunni Islamist MPs to question the prime minister over a controversial visit by an Iranian Shiite cleric.
The resignation of the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser al-Mohammad al-Sabah and the ministers has been accepted and they shall continue to manage urgent matters ... until a new cabinet is formed, said KUNA, citing a decree by the emir. KUNA did not say on Sunday who the new prime minister would be, but the speaker had said that the emir had reappointed his nephew Sheikh Nasser as prime minister.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/15/2008 00:00 ||
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Candidates of the grand alliance's Awami League and Jatiya Party are set to fight each other in at least 11 constituencies, shows the final list of runners published by the Election Commission (EC) yesterday. They'll never change.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/15/2008 00:00 ||
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The mourning procession commemorating martyred intellectuals paraded through Dhaka University campus with rickshaw-pullers passing by singing the national anthem and flag-hawkers in solemn silence following intellectuals, teachers, students, artists, cultural activists and journalists.
As the procession ended at fine arts institute some rickshaw-pullers and flag-hawkers joined the crowd and raised hands together making a vow to boycott the war criminals in the upcoming election and bring them to justice.
"We have taken an oath in the name of all martyrs of our long liberation struggles; in the name of the soil, water and air of Bangladesh; in the name of the child born today or to be born.... We will continue the struggle until the war criminals are brought to justice."
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
12/15/2008 00:00 ||
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Businessman Azam J Chowdhury will discontinue the extortion case he filed against Awami League (AL) President Sheikh Hasina and her cousin Sheikh Fazlul Karim Selim about one and a half years back. Got the fix in on that one...
Posted by: Fred ||
12/15/2008 00:00 ||
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BNP Chairperson Khaleda Zia yesterday urged people to foil all conspiracies by voting for four-party alliance candidates in the upcoming national polls. She blamed the caretaker government for hatching conspiracies to make the country a failed state. They're sure not changing. They got a caretaker government by being a failed state, about 50 percent of it Khaleda's fault.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/15/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
conspiracies to make the country a failed state
Oops, too late!
A vested interest group is distributing three types of leaflets among villagers of Thakurgaon-1 constituency using religious sentiments to apparently persuade Muslim voters to vote against Awami League-led grand alliance candidate Ramesh Chandra Sen.
The leafletsone containing verses from the Quran and their translation, another a parody of a popular song and the other a few short Bangla verses, bear the name of Bangladesh Muslim League presidium member M Shamsul Haque.
The leaflet titled "Al-Quraner Bani" (teachings of the Quran) quotes different verses and clearly asks Muslims not to cast votes for a non-Muslim candidate in the December 29 parliamentary elections. The leaflet also says Islam does not accept the idea of secularism, which it says is a complete deviation from Islamic ideology.
Another leaflet titled "Voter Panchali" urges people to elect the BNP-led four-party alliance candidate, Mirza Fakhrul Islam.
When the leaflets were shown to Thakurgaon district Election Officer Md Saiful Islam, he told The Daily Star that the quotations from the Quran printed in the leaflet are not false. "It is not a violation of electoral rules since no Muslim League candidate is participating in the election from this constituency," he said.
Grand alliance candidate Ramesh Chandra Sen, however, claimed it to be a clear violation of the electoral rules as the Election Commission has strictly prohibited the use of religious sentiment in electoral campaigns. "Traditionally, a communal harmony has existed in this area for long. But this type of propaganda might disrupt that harmony," he told The Daily Star.
The Awami League submitted a written complaint objecting to such campaign to the district election investigation committee yesterday afternoon, said party leader in the district advocate Altafur Rahman.
He also claimed that Shamsul Haque, who has been shown as a presidium member of Bangladesh Muslim League in a leaflet, is actually the present vice-president of Thakurgaon Sadar BNP committee. Shamsul Haque could not be contacted for comments after several attempts.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/15/2008 00:00 ||
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BYD, partially-owned by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, beat Japanese and U.S. automakers to release the first plug-in hybrid car in China. If it fulfills its promises, the cheaper car may have a good chance against Toyota Motor's Prius in the urban Chinese market.
BYD's F3DM model operates in either full electric or gas-electric modes, and contains an electric battery that can be charged at a regular plug or at a recharging station. It can travel up to 100 kilometers (62 miles) solely on battery power, and contains a back-up gas engine, BYD said on Monday. Drivers alternate between the two power modes by flipping a switch: the electric mode is optimal for city driving, as gas engines are more wasteful under constant acceleration and deceleration, and the gas-electric mode is more appropriate for travel on highways and outside of cities.
The battery takes up to seven hours to charge with a regular plug, and up to 15 minutes to be 80.0% charged at a special recharging station.
The F3DM will have to overcome a cost barrier to do well among China's middle class. Its price tag is 149,800 yuan ($22,000), much higher than BYD's $14,000 regular gas-powered F3 model, though lower than the Prius' 259,800 yuan ($37,938) cost. But the car may get a government subsidy, given Beijing's emissions-curbing program.
The Prius is designed "intelligently" because it automatically charges when energy discarded by the gas-powered engine during deceleration gets transferred to the electric battery. In the F3DM, the gas and electric engines are isolated from each other, so the battery has to be separately charged manually--but the F3DM may run on electricity more often than the Prius, according to the analyst.
BYD said it aims to sell 10,000 F3DM's in 2009, and launch the model in U.S. and European markets in 2011. Various state-run companies, such as China Construction Bank, and local governments, such as Shenzhen, reportedly have already placed orders.
One of the world's biggest producer of rechargeable batters for cell phones and laptops by sales, BYD moved into the auto market five years ago. In September, Buffett-controlled MidAmerican Energy Holdings bought a 9.9% stake in BYD for $230.0 million. This is the real cost of moving manufacturing off shore. These guys are two years ahead of GM because they build cell phones every day. That's why their market cap is the same as GM's.
#1
I have yet to see the first Chinese car in the U.S. When I start seeing these things in numbers on the streets in China, I'll consider it a viable option. When I see them in the U.S. I'll consider it a "Chevy Volt Killer."
#2
Have you ever seen crash-test videos of Chinese cars?
As craptacular as GM stuff can be, it can at least take a pounding better than that.
Posted by: Mike ||
12/15/2008 15:35 Comments ||
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#3
BYD isn't strictly speaking one of China's "regular" auto companies. It's a cellphone company whose owner bought an auto factory to help realize his electric car concepts.
#1
Expect as much in the next 4 years.
His efforts will be dedicated to Chicago and New York's underclasses. They just have better 'plight' than you do in the south. And they don't talk with a southern accent, so they make better sound bytes for the fawning, obsequious, press to tout his every new soup kitchen.
#4
The northern poor are easier for the press to reach. They just drive by in their luxury cars. Southern poor tend to be more than 15 minutes away from a Starbucks.
#6
Obama is an Indonesian, Hawaiian carpetbagger. He knows that the tenets of black liberation theology are much more likely to be welcomed in the northeast and great lakes states minority communities than in southern states.
Posted by: ed ||
12/15/2008 21:33 Comments ||
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BANGKOK - Thailand was wracked by tensions Sunday on the eve of a vote for a new prime minister, after former leader Thaksin Shinawatra weighed in from exile to demand an end to army interference in politics. MPs are due on Monday to choose Thailands third premier in four months, with opposition leader Abhisit Vejjajiva set to win after the pro-Thaksin government was toppled by a court order and then hit by a series of defections.
But billionaire Thaksin, who was deposed in a military coup in 2006, told 50,000 supporters in a video address late Saturday that there would be no end to Thailands political strife if the generals keep meddling. At the moment the army is interfering... Those people who interfere in forming the government must stop and withdraw, he said in the pre-recorded video shown at Bangkoks National Stadium, before cancelling a live phone-in.
Thaksin, who is living in an undisclosed foreign location to dodge graft charges, said the military was behind the defection of former ruling coalition lawmakers who have now backed British-born Democrat party leader Abhisit. His words were cheered by so-called Thaksinistas who waved heart-shaped clappers and wore red shirts that have become the symbol of support for the ex-PM.
Police say they will have around 1,200 officers on duty outside parliament for the special session on Monday in case of protests by Thaksin supporters. They say the army will be called in if there are any clashes.
The political manoeuvres follow six months of protests by the anti-Thaksin Peoples Alliance for Democracy (PAD), which peaked with a week-long blockade of Bangkoks airports beginning in late November, which left 350,000 passengers stranded. The PAD ended the airport siege after a court on December 2 dissolved the ruling People Power Party and handed a five-year political ban to then-premier Somchai Wongsawat, who is Thaksins brother-in-law.
Thaksins allies have since regrouped in the newly-formed Puea Thai (For Thais) party and insist that they can still form a government when MPs vote on Monday. They have not, however, named a prime ministerial candidate.
Puea Thai leaders initially looked set to return to power under their new political name but last week suffered a major blow when some of the partys former members defected to the opposition Democrats along with members of four smaller parties.
Thaksin issued a warning on Saturday to the defectors. People know they will be punished, he said.
Puea Thai has previously blamed the political manoeuvring on army chief General Anupong Paojinda, who during the airport crisis urged Somchai to call snap elections and refused to send the military in to clear the protesters.
Behind Thailands political machinations lie a growing divide between Thaksins support base among the rural and urban poor-especially in his native northern Thailand-and the countrys Bangkok-based establishment. Thaksin, who won elections in 2001 and 2006, alienated elements in the palace, military and bureaucracy with his populist policies and was accused by the PAD of trying to damage Thailands revered monarchy.
The PAD claimed the support of Queen Sikirit when she attended the funeral in October of a protester killed in a clash with police in Bangkok. It accused the last government of being Thaksins corrupt puppet administration. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, traditionally looked to by Thais for guidance in times of difficulty, has meanwhile been silent on the crisis, cancelling his regular birthday eve speech earlier this month after falling ill.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/15/2008 00:00 ||
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THE price of New York crude oil has soared above $US50 per barrel for the first time in two weeks as the market was driven by expectations that OPEC will cut crude output this week, traders say.
Light sweet crude for delivery in January delivery jumped to $US50.05 per barrel, hitting the highest level since December 1 on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). On London's InterContinental Exchange (ICE), Brent North Sea crude for January leapt as high as $US49.96 a barrel, which was also a two-week pinnacle.
"Crude prices pushed higher on hopes of hefty supply cuts by OPEC," said Nimit Khamar, analyst at the Sucden brokerage in London.
The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) meets in Oran, Algeria, on Wednesday and is widely forecast to slash output in the hope of lifting prices weighed down by mounting global recession worries. OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem El-Badri told reporters on his arrival in Oran that he would like to see "a very sizeable cut" in crude oil production, adding that "the market is oversupplied with oil".
#1
OPEC will have a hard time holding to any large production cuts. Too many of the cohorts have grown to depend on high oil prices and need money badly. OPEC has no good method to control it's members. They're on the honor system. Looks to me like now is a good time to sell oil futures.
Posted by: Richard of Oregon ||
12/15/2008 12:17 Comments ||
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#2
FT.com just let out a story about 50million bbls. being stored in floating armadas of oil tankers. Now the price is coming right back down, $44.50 last I looked.
(CBS) When it comes to bailouts of American business, Barney Frank and the Congress may be just getting started. Nearly two trillion tax dollars have been shoveled into the hole that Wall Street dug and people wonder where the bottom is.
As correspondent Scott Pelley reports, it turns out the abyss is deeper than most people think because there is a second mortgage shock heading for the economy. In the executive suites of Wall Street and Washington, you're beginning to hear alarm about a new wave of mortgages with strange names that are about to become all too familiar. If you thought sub-primes were insanely reckless wait until you hear what's coming.
One of the best guides to the danger ahead is Whitney Tilson. He's an investment fund manager who has made such a name for himself recently that investors, who manage about $10 billion, gathered to hear him last week. Tilson saw, a year ago, that sub-prime mortgages were just the start.
Continued on Page 49
#3
Caught a few minutes of this (came on immediately after the game). Interviewer will have to bush with 80 grit for days to get the taste out.
Sounded a bit like this, "The KC Chiefs really are the best team in football right now; they didn't lose in the final seconds they won by giving up their win so that the Chargers continue to have their opportunity to compete for the Super Bowl. And you see, with a loss KC moves forward in their goal of the first draft pick edging past old AFC West rivals Seattle and Oakland. Detroit still leads in the first pick race but since they are in different markets there should be minimal cross effect and there are many talented players coming up."
When asked how rookies will be able to even the field against experience veteran players it was answered, "Well its simple really. All players with more than 2 years experience will be required to drink 5 shots of juarez tequila to be eligible to play before each half, and the play action pass will be an illegal procedure penalty."
#4
The mortgages reset on anniversaries. Houses sell in the spring. Try July to September of 2009 and 2010. Should be interesting mid-terms.
The solution is for the FHA to re-fi teaser rates mortgages now with full recourse mortgages with the owner giving an equity kicker to the government and with the bank getting 80 or 90 cents on the dollar.
#5
As much as it galls me to say this, I'd just assume see the government step in to reset these mortgages by equalizing the principal to the "value" and set the interest to a market rate. Then let those who can't pay that go into foreclosure. The thing is, as much as I hate to give a free ride to these idiots, I'd hate to see the entire economy go tits up. Of course you are going to have to pick a few of the big financial institutions (preferably ones not over-leveraged in these mortgage backed securities) and give them a boost otherwise the banking system will collapse. Ultimately, we're screwed. I don't think the global economy will be able to handle the strain. There's more bad news to come. Just wait until the Credit Card markets pop. And we have gotten to auto loans. Yikes, more defaults on the way. Of course, the democrats pushing loans to people who couldn't afford them and the Clinton-era removal of the seperation between banks and investment firms is mostly to blame. But let's not overlook simple greed, that basic mortal sin, as being the true culprit. Greed in the financial sector to greed in our daily lives...this insane need to "keep up with the Joneses". It will be our downfall.
#6
This guy is peddling something that's old news. I've known about the Alt-A and Option ARMs for quite some time now. It's not going to be anywhere near the crisis he's claiming it will be because most of the people who received these things can a) still pay their mortgage debt even when they reset, and b) won't be facing a great raise in their mortgage payment simply because the LIBOR rate (to which most of them are tied) won't rise that much.
This is more 60 Minutes hyperbole. These people have spun and flat-out lied about so much for so long they should be put out of business in the national interest. Their credibility for me is nil.
#7
I'm with Jolutch on this one. In fact the 1st version of the Mortgage Crisis was what would happen when these teaser rates expired and people's payments doubled or tripled.
The only caviat to the story is: If the price of the home is under water, the borrowers might choose to walk away from it rather than make the higher payments.
If people have good credit and have been making their regular payments, the best thing is to refi (with another bank if necessary) for a fixed rate.
Wells Fargo has a rapid refi program for just this situation, as does the State of Minnesota.
(I know cause I helped develop them)
Posted by: Frozen Al ||
12/15/2008 16:34 Comments ||
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#8
Frozen Al,
Good for you; that is work that needed to be done to address the real problem here, which is the difficulty that people who bought a house TO LIVE IN might face when the bubble market they purchased in bursts. Those people who are finding themselves underwater both need and maybe even deserve a little temporary help staying in their home.
Widespread home ownership conveys an overall benefit to society since it inspires a great deal more involvement in the community. Something which assists low-equity homeowners in continuing to own rather than walk away from an "underwater" home would be a good thing, although my personal belief is that the only long-term answer is a HEAVY dose of shame accruing to those who mismanage their personal finances so badly as to invite foreclosure/bankruptcy.
I recently read that if there were that many people repossessed and evicted you would be seeing pictures of them on the national news, particularly back before the election. Since I'm NOT seeing these pictures, I'm very strongly tempted to believe that many of these homes that have been repossessed or abandoned were either spec or flip homes owned by people with very little, if any, of their own money in them. YMMV.
WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve is expected to slash a key interest rate to near zero and signal that it will step up its use of other, less conventional methods to bolster the economy, during a historic two-day meeting starting Monday.
Economists expect the Fed's policymaking Open Market Committee to cut its short-term interest rate target, now at a scant 1%, to a record low of at least 0.5%, or further. The federal funds rate, which banks charge each other for overnight loans, is a benchmark for business and consumer loans. If the Fed doesn't push its interest rate target to zero on Tuesday, many economists expect it to do so at its January meeting. Then the Fed will have to experiment with other strategies for pumping money into the economy to spur business activity.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has said options include buying Treasury bonds to push down longer-term interest rates, or stepping up financial support for private consumer and business lenders. For example, mortgage rates fell earlier this month after the Fed said it would buy $500 billion in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgage bonds.
Richard DeKaser, chief economist of National City, predicts the Fed will cut the target by 0.75 points, to 0.25%, and may announce that it will hold rates low as long as needed in order to influence expectations. Other economists predict a big rate cut but expect little impact. Banks have pulled back from lending, and consumers are reining in spending. The federal funds rate has already fallen well below the Fed's 1% target in credit markets. The rate averaged just 0.14% on Thursday, for example. Interest rates on Treasury bonds have also fallen to historic lows as investors snap them up, desperate for a safe investment.
Rates have fallen so far that some money market mutual funds, long seen as safe investments, could shut down or post losses. Some funds already earn less in interest from investments than it costs to run the fund.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/15/2008 00:00 ||
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#1
Maybe interest rates will go into negative territory. In other words, you get paid to take out a loan. Man, this is getting Twilight Zone...
Posted by: Alaska Paul by the wood stove ||
12/15/2008 1:42 Comments ||
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#2
It's not the Twilight Zone, it's a rerun of desperation economics of the last century. Japan tried it after their real estate bubble burst in '90, the result was a lost decade which saw an 80% decline in the Nikkei.
I can't quite decide if what we're experiencing now will play out more like '90s Japan, '70s America or the Great Depression. There's an awful lot riding on the sanity of the next US Administration.
#4
AzCat, I keep getting the feeling they will label this the mini-depression. Worse than the 1970s, but much better than the Great Depression. Expect 5 years of pain as the government flails around, making everything worse and the dues for all the credit the US has gets called in.
#5
Azcat nailed it with the Japan analogy. The Lost Decade depended on a society which had the idea that failing, falling down, and having to pick yourself up and rise again was so odious that nobody should ever have to do it. America did not used to have that as part of its meme set but it does now (hence "bailouts").
One of the solutions to the current crisis is to let the interest rates rise to the true cost of borrowing. Very painful on the short term, but it will greatly lessen the length of down times.
Which is why Obama and the Dems won't do it. They will do anything they can to prolong the pain and the perceived need for people to depend on government for income and essential services, just like they did in the 1930's. Count on it.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
12/15/2008 8:10 Comments ||
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#6
Darth: I'll go in the other direction, and speculate that this will be relatively worse than the Great Depression, in some ways. From 1873-1896 was the "Long Depression", and the most serious depression before that rivaled the Great Depression, the "Panic of 1837."
Our current situation is beyond the means of the US government to resolve, though they don't know it yet, and is going to force major government and economic restructuring.
1) The US government is almost certainly facing bankruptcy. The frenzy of T-bill purchases has created a bubble far worse than the recent oil bubble, and when it collapses, the government will be limited to a balanced budget at a much lower level of tax revenues.
2) The real economy of goods and services will have to be segregated from the leverage economy, so that the latter can fail, which it must before the real economy can recover.
3) The economy will have to be "re-monetized", in several ways. Most credit will be gone for a decade or more, unless backed with 100%+ collateral. Virtual currency will have to be backed with physical paper (see 1837), for a long time.
4) The US will have to undergo a vigorous recreation of its industry, as most international trade will also be monetized. This will be paid for with agricultural exports in exchange for debt relief. "Buy American" will no longer be a choice.
Obama and company have very little flexibility in this situation. Two options: what they want to work vs. what pragmatically will work. The second half of his term will likely be better, with a Republican congress. This will depend on how fast the situation deteriorates after he takes office.
#8
It's looking more like looking into the abyss and the abyss looking back at you. The NYT front page is all doom and gloom. The article on the disability board is an eye opener. Centro, a vegetable which has been on life support for the last 12 months is facing it's day of reckoning tomorrow morning. If it goes, 650 shopping centres across the US and 120 in Australia will go belly up ruining their retail operators.
It's becoming a tsunami of bad news.
#9
Time to run to the bank to beat the bankrun. Then to your shelters, men! Canned foods! Bottled water! At least until the 'real' economy sparates itself from the 'leveraged' economy. Whateverthehell that means.
It's new. I'm scared. Panic! Run!
Posted by: Mike N. ||
12/15/2008 9:33 Comments ||
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#10
The returns are already negative when you factor in inflation and your tax liability.
People still aren't putting money into the private sector, and I don't blame them. Who can ya trust?
You left out the other bubble which must burst, that of the education industry. It's on tenterhooks for two reasons - first and foremost, it does not provide value (usually) relative to its cost, and secondly it is heavily propped up by government subsidy.
I don't NEED a women's English lit major or a Latino studies major. I NEED a receptionist or an electtrician - neither unionized. In the end that will do in the overvalued, overpaid, overpowerful, and undercompetent education industry as it exists today.
Mike N. - put the amphetamines down and move away slowly.
Posted by: no mo uro ||
12/15/2008 11:08 Comments ||
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If you can't trust a vehicle is worth the price, why buy it?
If you can't trust government to stay out your retirement fund, why IRA/401K?
If you can't trust Wall Street, why invest?
If you can't expect to make interest on money investments, why invest?
Why buy bonds if the payment will be defaulted?
If you can't trust a babysitter, why give them your kids?
I can see a reason ~why~ to do this, people who lost their job and home to crappy business dealings can be very angry and may start pointing fingers, or worse. But this is not the long term solution IMHO. I may or may not like a reconstruction but I do not trust what is going on right now. The bottom falls out of gas prices so gov is going to raise gas tax and institute a cow fart tax to make up lost tax - and people complain about oil and shipping companies not dropping prices after an increase geemoneez.
#17
Comment on CNBC this morning to the effect that for the rest of the world, even at zero percent US government bonds/bills have an effective positive return because the other currencies (or perhaps it was economies) are depreciating faster than ours, a situation expected to continue for quite some time.
There are several other shoes waiting to drop. One is a collapse in international trade as countries no longer trust each others currencies in the same way banks no longer trusted each others paper triggering the initial crisis. Unlikely as it sounds, we may go to a system of barter and payment in gold for international trade.
#21
The US will have to undergo a vigorous recreation of its industry, as most international trade will also be monetized. This will be paid for with agricultural exports in exchange for debt relief.
Don't look now moose but the carbon tax & Pickens Plan will make something like 1/3 to 1/2 of US farmland economically unproductive as input prices spike while farm commodities lag. Farm exports are going to tank under the burden of the forthcoming environmental regulations.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Thailand's lawmakers prepare to vote for the country's new premier after months of instability triggered by anti-government protests.
WASHINGTON The Federal Reserve is expected to slash a key interest rate to near zero and signal that it will step up its use of other, less conventional methods to bolster the economy, during a historic two-day meeting starting Monday.
