Wal-Mart Tartare - The Computer Feels Your Pain

So I have a bit of the bizarre for you this morning.  First I want to follow up on a stat I posted yesterday.  22% of kids live in poverty in the US.  That's $22,314 a year for a family of 4.  I found the stat after I read a letter from the local children's shelter.  The letter told a story of a 10 year old girl who was so malnourished and under educated, they thought she was 5.  That is not what this country is about, but apparently that is what it is turning into.  It's time for REAL change.  The status quo isn't going to cut it anymore.  To everyone who voted for CHANGE a few years ago, here's what you got.  The Wall Street Journal reports: "The income of the typical American family—long the envy of much of the world—has dropped for the third year in a row and is now roughly where it was in 1996 when adjusted for inflation. 

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That was my rant for the day.  Now to the bizarre. 

Carlisle man accused of eating raw meat at Walmart

A Carlisle man is accused of eating raw meat at the borough's Walmart and putting the opened packages back on the shelves.

Employees told police they saw Scott T. Shover, 53, of the 100 block of Noble Avenue, eat from several packages without paying about 2:40 p.m. Monday. The meat was valued at $24.53, police said.

Loss prevention staff and a manager followed Shover out of the store and notified a nearby police officer.

Shover was taken into custody, police said. Because of four prior retail theft convictions, Shover was charged with felony retail theft.

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Umm, ouch...

Eel removed from man's bladder after entering penis during beauty spa

Zhang Nan was bathing with live eels to cleanse his skin when one rogue serpent took a liking to his manhood.  The eel treatment in question is a similar concept to the popular London spas that offer fish pedicures.  Thinking that the eels would make him look ten years younger, Nan dived into the water and let them feast upon layers of dead skin.  But after laying in the spa bath, Nan felt a sharp pain and realised a small eel was working its way up his urethra and into his bladder.  'I climbed into the bath and I could feel the eels nibbling my body. But then suddenly I felt a severe pain and realised a small eel had gone into the end of my penis,' the 56-year-old from Honghu, Hubei province said.
'I tried to hold it and take it out, but the eel was too slippery to be held and it disappeared up my penis.'


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All I can think of is HAL 9000 from 2001 a Space Odyssey.  "Stop Dave, I'm afraid."

Feeling pain? The computer can tell

(Reuters) - Can a computer tell when it hurts? It can if you train it, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

A team at Stanford University in California used computer learning software to sort through data generated by brain scans and detect when people were in pain.

"The question we were trying to answer was can we use neuroimaging to objectively detect whether a person is in a state of pain or not. The answer was yes," Dr. Sean Mackey of the Stanford University School of Medicine in California, whose study appears in the journal PLoS One.

Currently, doctors rely on patients to tell them whether or not they are in pain. And that is still the gold standard for assessing pain, Mackey said.

But some patients -- the very young, the very old, dementia patients or those who are not conscious -- cannot say if they are hurting, and that has led to a long search for some way to objectively measure pain.

"People have been looking for a pain detector for a very long time," Mackey said.

"We're hopeful we can eventually use this technology for better detection and better treatment of chronic pain."

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Facebook - Dominating Web Time

I use Facebook, but not to the extent of most people I know.  This chart is amazing...

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I have had this candidate debate with several people lately.  The discussion is about Ron Paul's chancing at winning the Presidential election.  I think he would be the best leader, but I'm not sure he can win.  However, I will never vote for Rick Perry.  I think he is a fraud and that government will only grow under his reign.

Why Ron Paul scares Rick Perry
By Brent Budowsky - 09/12/11 10:20 AM ET
As I have written repeatedly, Rick Perry is the ultimate pay-for-play government man, the exact opposite of a true conservative and a true libertarian. Ron Paul, whether one agrees with him or not, is the true libertarian and a genuine conservative in ways that Rick Perry can never be. That is why Rick Perry fears Ron Paul.
One of the cardinal rules of politics is "never attack down,” meaning a front-runner should never attack or respond to an opponent who is far behind. Yet that is what Rick Perry is doing. He is intimidated by Ron Paul, and responding to Ron Paul. Why? The answer is that Ron Paul is a true libertarian and a true conservative, while the latest version of Rick Perry, the man who once championed Al Gore, is a phony conservative and can't even pretend to be a phony libertarian.

As I have written repeatedly, Rick Perry is the ultimate pay-for-play government man, the exact opposite of a true conservative and a true libertarian. Ron Paul, whether one agrees with him or not, is the true libertarian and a genuine conservative in ways that Rick Perry can never be. That is why Rick Perry fears Ron Paul.

I completely disagree with the mainstream media and insider pundit consensus that Republicans now have a two-person race. I again predict that Rick Perry will self-destruct.

Mitt Romney has inherent problems that are very deep and explain why he cannot rise above a certain level of support and level of trust from Republicans or Democrats.

I believe a new Republican candidate will emerge well before the Republican convention and will write who I believe it is, and why, in the not-too-distant future.

For now it is fascinating to watch Ron Paul get under Rick Perry's skin, and into Rick Perry's head.

Rick Perry is afraid of Ron Paul.

Rick Perry should be afraid of Ron Paul.

Ron Paul's very presence reveals what a polyester impersonation of a conservative Rick Perry actually is.

The beneficiary of this will not be Mitt Romney, whatever other insiders instruct you to believe.

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On another political note, here is what the current regime's policies have created.

Record Number Americans, Or 46.3 Million, Lived In Poverty Last Year; 49.9 Million Without Health Insurance

The US Census Bureau has released its annual Income (not so much), Poverty (much) and Health Insurance Coverage report for 2010. The full thing is below but the highlights are as follows: i) Real median household income in the United States in 2010 was $49,445, a 2.3 percent decline from the 2009 median. ii) The nation's official poverty rate in 2010 was 15.1 percent, up from 14.3 percent in 2009 ? the third consecutive annual increase in the poverty rate.  There were 46.2 million people in poverty in 2010, up from 43.6 million in 2009 ? the fourth consecutive annual increase and the largest number in the 52 years for which poverty estimates have been published; and iii) The number of people without health insurance coverage rose from 49.0 million in 2009 to 49.9 million in 2010, while the percentage without coverage ?16.3 percent - was not statistically different from the rate in 2009. Breaking it down by ethnicity, living in poverty were 27.4% of all blacks, and 26.6% of all Hispanics. White, non Hispanics and Asians were doing better at 9.9% and 12.1% respectively. At this point we could interject with a joke about the "wealth effect", "edible iPads", and/or "health insurance", but frankly, all those are way overused by now. Hence, we leave such creativity to our readers.

From the Census Bureau.

Summary of Key Findings

     The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that in 2010, median household income declined, the poverty rate increased and the percentage without health insurance coverage was not statistically different from the previous year.
     Real median household income in the United States in 2010 was $49,445, a 2.3 percent decline from the 2009 median.
     The nation's official poverty rate in 2010 was 15.1 percent, up from 14.3 percent in 2009 ? the third consecutive annual increase in the poverty rate.  There were 46.2 million people in poverty in 2010, up from 43.6 million in 2009 ? the fourth consecutive annual increase and the largest number in the 52 years for which poverty estimates have been published.
     The number of people without health insurance coverage rose from 49.0 million in 2009 to 49.9 million in 2010, while the percentage without coverage ?16.3 percent - was not statistically different from the rate in 2009.
     This information covers the first full calendar year after the December 2007-June 2009 recession. See section on the historical impact of recessions.
     These findings are contained in the report Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010. The following results for the nation were compiled from information collected in the 2011 Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC):
Income

• Since 2007, the year before the most recent recession, real median household income has declined 6.4 percent and is 7.1 percent below the median household income peak that occurred prior to the 2001 recession in 1999. The percentages are not statistically different from each another.

Race and Hispanic Origin (Race data refer to people reporting a single race only. Hispanics can be of any race.)

• Among race groups, real median income declined for white and black households between 2009 and 2010, while changes for Asian and Hispanic-origin households were not statistically different. Real median income for each race and Hispanic-origin group has not yet recovered to the pre-2001 recession all-time highs. (See Table A.)

Regions

• Households in the Midwest, South and West experienced declines in real median income between 2009 and 2010. The apparent change in median household income for the Northeast was not statistically significant. (See Table A.)

Nativity

• Median income for households maintained by native-born householders declined between 2009 and 2010 in real terms. The change in the median income of all foreign-born households was not statistically significant. (See Table A.)

Earnings

• In 2010, the earnings of women who worked full time, year-round were 77 percent of that for men working full time, year-round, not statistically different from the 2009 ratio. The 2010 real median earnings of these men and women were not different from the 2009 earnings.

• Since 2007, the number of men working full time, year-round with earnings decreased by 6.6 million and the number of corresponding women declined by 2.8 million.

Income Inequality

• Based on the Gini Index, the change in income inequality between 2009 and 2010 was not statistically significant, while the changes in shares of aggregate household income by quintiles showed a slight shift to more inequality. The Gini index was 0.469 in 2010. (The Gini index is a measure of household income inequality; zero represents perfect income equality and 1 perfect inequality.)

Poverty

• The poverty rate in 2010 was the highest since 1993 but was 7.3 percentage points lower than the poverty rate in 1959, the first year for which poverty estimates are available. Since 2007, the poverty rate has increased by 2.6 percentage points.

• In 2010, the family poverty rate and the number of families in poverty were 11.7 percent and 9.2 million, respectively, up from 11.1 percent and 8.8 million in 2009.

• The poverty rate and the number in poverty increased for both married-couple families (6.2 percent and 3.6 million in 2010 from 5.8 percent and 3.4 million in 2009) and female-householder-with-no-husband-present families (31.6 percent and 4.7 million in 2010 from 29.9 percent and 4.4 million in 2009).  For families with a male householder  no wife present, the poverty rate and the number in poverty were not statistically different from 2009 (15.8 percent and 880,000 in 2010).

Thresholds

• As defined by the Office of Management and Budget and updated for inflation using the Consumer Price Index, the weighted average poverty threshold for a family of four in 2010 was $22,314.
  (See <http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/threshld/index.html> for the complete set of dollar value thresholds that vary by family size and composition.)

Race and Hispanic Origin (Race data refer to people reporting a single race only. Hispanics can be of any race.)

• The poverty rate for non-Hispanic whites was lower in 2010 than it was for other racial  groups. Table B details 2010 poverty rates and numbers in poverty, as well as changes since 2009 in these measures, for race groups and Hispanics.

Doubled-Up Households

• Doubled-up households are defined as households that include at least one "additional" adult: a person 18 or older who is not enrolled in school and is not the householder, spouse or cohabiting partner of the householder. In spring 2007, prior to the recession, doubled-up households totaled 19.7 million. By spring 2011, the number of doubled-up households had increased by 2.0 million to 21.8 million and the percent rose by 1.3 percentage points from 17.0 percent to 18.3 percent.

• In spring 2011, 5.9 million young adults age 25-34 (14.2 percent) resided in their parents' household, compared with 4.7 million (11.8 percent) before the recession, an increase of 2.4 percentage points.

• It is difficult to precisely assess the impact of doubling up on overall poverty rates. Young adults age 25-34, living with their parents, had an official poverty rate of 8.4 percent, but if their poverty status were determined using their own income, 45.3 percent had an income below the poverty threshold for a single person under age 65.

Age

• The poverty rate increased for children younger than 18 (from 20.7 percent in 2009 to 22.0 percent in 2010) and people 18 to 64 (from 12.9 percent in 2009 to 13.7 percent in 2010), while it was not statistically different for people 65 and older (9.0 percent).

• Similar to the patterns observed for the poverty rate in 2010, the number of people in poverty increased for children younger than 18 (15.5 million in 2009 to 16.4 million in 2010) and people 18 to 64 (24.7 million in 2009 to 26.3 million in 2010) and was not statistically different for people 65 and older (3.5 million).

Nativity

• The 2010 poverty rate for naturalized citizens was not statistically different from 2009, while the poverty rates of native-born and noncitizens increased. Table B details 2010 poverty rates and the numbers in poverty, as well as changes since 2009 in these measures, by nativity.

Regions

• The South was the only region to show statistically significant increases in both the poverty rate and the number in poverty -- 16.9 percent and 19.1 million in 2010 -- up from 15.7 percent and 17.6 million in 2009. In 2010, the poverty rates and the number in poverty for the Northeast, Midwest and the West were not statistically different from 2009. (See Table B.)

Health Insurance Coverage

• The number of people with health insurance increased to 256.2 million in 2010 from 255.3 million in 2009. The percentage of people with health insurance was not statistically different from 2009.

• Between 2009 and 2010, the percentage of people covered by private health insurance declined from 64.5 percent to 64.0 percent, while the percentage covered by government health insurance increased from 30.6 percent to 31.0 percent. The percentage covered by employment-based health insurance declined from 56.1 percent to 55.3 percent.

• The percentage covered by Medicaid (15.9 percent) was not statistically different from 2009.

• In 2010, 9.8 percent of children under 18 (7.3 million) were without health insurance. Neither estimate is significantly different from the corresponding 2009 estimate.

• The uninsured rate for children in poverty (15.4 percent) was greater than the rate for all children (9.8 percent).

• In 2010, the uninsured rates decreased as household income increased from 26.9 percent for those in households with annual incomes less than $25,000 to 8.0 percent in households with incomes of $75,000 or more.

Race and Hispanic Origin (Race data refer to those reporting a single race only. Hispanics can be of any race.)

• The uninsured rate and number of uninsured in 2010 were not statistically different from 2009 for non-Hispanic whites and blacks, while increasing for Asians. The number of uninsured Hispanics was not statistically different from 2009, while the uninsured rate decreased to 30.7 percent. (See Table C.)

Nativity

• The proportion of the foreign-born population without health insurance in 2010 was about two-and-a-half times that of the native-born population. The 2010 uninsured rate was not statistically different from the 2009 rate for native-born, the foreign-born overall and noncitizens but rose for naturalized citizens. Table C details the 2010 uninsured rate and the number of uninsured, as well as changes since 2009 in these measures, by nativity.

Regions

• The Northeast and the Midwest had the lowest uninsured rates in 2010. Between 2009 and 2010, there were no statistical differences in uninsured rates for any of the regions. The number of uninsured increased in the Northeast, while there were no statistically significant changes for the other three regions. (See Table C.)

Historical Impact of Recessions
Since 2010 represents the first full calendar year after the recession that ended in June 2009, one can compare changes in income, poverty and health insurance coverage between 2009 and 2010 with changes during the first year after the end of other recessions:

• Median household income declined the first full year following the December 2007 to June 2009 recession, as well as in the first full year following three other recessions (March 2001 to November 2001, January 1980 to July 1980 and December 1969 to November 1970). However, household income increased the first full year following the November 1973 to March 1975 recession, and the changes following the July 1990 to March 1991 and July 1981 to November 1982 recessions were not statistically significant.

• The poverty rate and the number of people in poverty increased in the first calendar year following the end of the last three recessions. For the recessions that ended in 1961 and 1975, the poverty rate decreased in the next full calendar year.

•      After the most recent recession, there was no significant difference in the uninsured rate during the first full year after the recession. However, in the year following the recessions that ended in 1991 and 2001, the uninsured rate increased.

 

Football, LPGA, and Scares

I'm so glad it's football season again.  Quite a bit has changed, but Tony Romo blowing games, remains.  The LPGA event at Pinnacle was a big success.  Yani Tseng won, again, but she had to do it in a playoff.  I like the event and it's great for NWA, but I'm ready to have my golf course back.  I know there were a lot of people on edge yesterday.  Afraid something bad was going to happen.  I wasn't one of those people.  However, I wasn't trying to travel.  What a nightmare that must have been yesterday.  Check out these headlines.

Airline: 3 detained in Detroit after flight

Unruly Passengers Create Tense Moments Aboard AA Flight From LAX To JFK

Security Scare Closed DFW's Terminal B Temporarily

Ex-NYPD officer detained at KC airport 

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Speaking of scares, can we end this nonsense with Greece?  They're broke and everyone knows it.  All this is doing now is holding the market hostage.

'Only a Matter of Time' Before Greek Default: Bove

Greece is unable to repay its debts, according to Richard Bove, banking analyst at Rochdale Securities, and given that the euro zone banking system has yet to mark sovereign debt holdings to market, many banks will be forced to raise new capital.

“Even though it is clear that Greece is unable to repay its debts and its banks are probably insolvent, no European or American bank has, to my knowledge, marked the sovereign debt to market,” Bove said in a research note on Sunday.

“No country, nor the Eurozone itself, wants to take on the burdens created by profligate nations. The banking system is unwilling to dilute its earnings by selling large amounts of capital to replace the losses that will develop if the troubled countries default.”

This has allowed a number of banks to take defensive action in a bid to lessen the pain when it comes, according to Bove.

“However, there can be no doubt that the debt of the troubled countries and, who knows how many others, will be restructured. Many of these countries will never be able to repay their debt. Simply increasing their debt burdens by continuing to lend them more money is no solution," he said.

Without debt relief, Bove said, Greece and potentially a number of other countries will default.

“It is only a matter of time. The default timetable could be accelerated, however," he said. “At some point, a 2008-style run on the debt of these institutions could cause a collapse."

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I have read about these ghost cities in China before.  However, you would think after a while they would stop building.  Some of you will remember a rant by Sam Kinison, edited for language ;)

THIS IS SAND. KNOW WHAT IT’S GONNA BE A HUNDRED YEARS FROM NOW? IT’S GONNA BE SAND! YOU LIVE IN A F–KING DESERT! GET YOUR STUFF, GET YOUR SHIT, WE’LL MAKE ONE TRIP, WE’LL TAKE YOU TO WHERE THE FOOD IS! WE HAVE DESERTS IN AMERICA — WE JUST DON’T LIVE IN THEM! 

The Chinese must be more Kevin Costner fans.  "If you build it, they will come." 

The Two Year Anniversary Of "China's Ghost Cities" Epic Keynesian Fail  

Two years ago we first covered the flip side of the Chinese real estate "boom" story by presenting the ghost city of Ordos. Today, on the two year anniversary of China's Keynesian miracle being exposed for the whole world to see, Al Jazeera goes back to Ordos to see if anything has changed. And while Paul Krugman may be shocked, shocked, that the Keynesian approach of building for the sake of building does not work not only in the US but pretty much everywhere, it will be no surprise to anyone, that as Al Jazeera concludes, "it's still pretty quiet, but here's the remarkable thing - the building has't stopped, somehow people are convinced that if you keep building, people will come. If not in a few years, then... eventually." And somehow we keep bashing the Fed as the only source of Einsteinian insanity, when it is the same cretins from the Princeton economics department in both the monetary and fiscal arena, who know one thing and one thing only - do whatever ultimately fails, just keep on doing it.

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I'm not sure I would pay $50-$100 a year to watch Glenn Beck, but I admire his entrepreneurial spirit.  Here is the link to Glenn Beck TV, if you are interested. 

Two Ways to Conquer - By Sword or By Debt

I get this question a lot.  "What do you think of the big move in the market today?"  Here is my response.  One-day moves have virtually no meaning. Attempting to assign meaning where there is none is a waste of time.  I was thinking about this topic because I've been watching CNBC every day.  They are in the business pretending to know what is going on in every market.  For example, yesterday's meaningless statistic was that the Dow Jones Industrials Average has moved 100 points or more in 17 of the last 22 sessions. Who cares? What I want to know is, did the values of the Dow 30 change much each day? If not, it sure looks like there's a great opportunity in there somewhere.

I do like Rick Santelli.  He seems to be one of the few who, at least, questions what really matters.  He completed destroyed Tom Friedman yesterday.



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Here is Mike Krieger's latest post:

There are two ways to conquer and enslave a nation.  One is by the sword. The other is by debt.
- John Adams

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

The Euro is Finished
To regular readers of my pieces over the last several years this may not seem like a particularly poignant statement.  After all, I have referred to the Euro and the U.S. dollar both as worthless political toilet paper for years.  The reason I bring it up right now is not to state the obvious long-term macro conclusion that the Euro is a foolish, unnatural creation that only political types twiddling their thumbs in a room could come up with.  No, rather the reason I say it now is because I believe the Sword of Damocles is now hovering right over it.

The only question in my mind at the moment regards the specifics of how it will end.  I would say that the majority of those that think there is a strong likelihood that the euro falls apart envision the PIIGS countries leaving or being thrown out.  While I certainly think this is a possibility, especially if Greece just calls it quits and then successfully transitions to its own highly devalued currency since this would for sure start the ball rolling and before long many of the other financially weak nations would also bail.  In such an event, I suppose what is left of the euro could be comprised of stronger Northern European nations and in that case what is left of the common currency could in fact strengthen materially versus other fiat currencies for which no such “restructuring” has occurred.  However, I am not convinced this is what happens.  The reason I am not convinced is because I don’t believe that the desired austerity measures will ever really go into effect in these nations and even if they did it would merely collapse those economies and the problem would not be solved.  As many have stated over and over (including myself) there is no conventional solution to this crisis.  There is far too much debt and there is no way real GDP growth can grow fast enough to counter this.  The debt will be defaulted on via restructuring/default or a dramatic destruction of the purchasing power of fiat currencies.  Nevertheless, the bureaucrats in Europe have such a deep love affair with their preposterous experiment they will turn a blind eye to all the transgressions of the PIIGS and continue to just pretend they have solved something with every new bailout scheme.

So that brings us to the other, and I think increasingly likely, outcome.  That is namely that the ECB continues to transfer wealth from the prudent and fiscally more sound nations (mainly Germany) to the periphery until the populace of Germany snaps.  I think that moment is very, very close at hand.  Once that tipping point is reached there will be no turning back.  The popular anger at the ECB and Euro will be so profound and so long festering that it will overwhelm all attempts to keep things together.  Germany could leave the Euro.  Or it could make it so difficult for the PIIGS that they are forced to leave.  Either way, Germany is EVERYTHING.  Nothing else in Europe matters right now besides the sentiment on the German street and it has become pretty clear lately which way that is going.  I am 100% convinced that Germany will play nice until that crucial moment is reached where it really is put up or shut up (we are close).  At that point, I have no doubt that Germany will do what is best for Germany.  In the event that Germany was to leave, the Euro would be gone forever.  It would become pure confetti overnight.  This is not my base case but it could happen.  Anything can happen right now.

The Fourth Turning is Global
All of this discussion about the euro brings me to a broader point.  While for obvious reasons I focus my attention on the United States because this is where I live and what I know best it is imperative for me to clarify my view that this Fourth Turing we are in is global in nature.  Remember, what really characterizes these shifts is the fact that the trends, institutions, political structures and parties, social mores, money systems, etc all die and are reborn during such episodes.  The last to get this of course are the elites and the political class who are always in bed together and seemingly at the height of their collective corruption once the Fourth Turning hits.  We see this everywhere at the moment, from the U.S. to the Eurozone to China.  What makes me laugh more than anything else are all these political hacks and financial “analysts” who keep saying that the answer to the crisis in Europe is a fiscal union in Europe.  That somehow this crisis will lead to the necessary resolve to form a fiscal United States of Europe, or some idiocy like that.  Sorry folks, it’s not going to happen.  This whole “problem, reaction, solution” playbook worked for the elite in the prior era but it will no longer work.  The playbook is out there.  It has been read and studied.  We know the playbook.  It’s not going to work this time.

Like I have said before, one of the key aspects of the new age we are entering will be a dramatic reversal of a lot of the unrestrained globalization that has occurred since World War II.  Things are going to be more local everywhere.  Such as the food we eat and the products we use.  The lack of any breakthroughs on the energy front as we confront resource constraints demand that this be the case.  This reality will change everything in every possible aspect of life on earth.  Things in general will be much less “top down” on the political front.  There is a “tide in the affairs of men” indeed and that tide will take the Euro and any ideas of a fiscal union out to sea forever.  The key thing for everyone reading this to do is to get prepared for the new world as much as possible before it comes suddenly.  This has always been the idea behind my pleading to buy gold and silver.  We will need new forms of money and exchange.  It cannot and will not be a fiat SDR or any ridiculousness such as that.  That notion represents the past trends and the already failed dreams of our parents generation of central planners and free lunches.      

Quick Thoughts on the Swiss Franc     
While the move by the SNB to basically link its currency to the dying Euro was shocking and will send shockwaves throughout the global financial systems for months to come, in many ways it was inevitable.  The central planners are still in control and they are getting increasingly desperate.  Part of their desperation manifests itself in acts to prevent markets from sending out signals to investors and the general population.  This is why Central Bankers print money and buy government bonds.  This is why the ECB is buying worthless PIIGS debt.  This is why the SNB decided to destroy its currency.  After all, if they agree to destroy the value of the Franc at the same pace as the Euro then it will become less clear to the currency market just how quickly purchasing power is being destroyed.  Of course, you can always tell in the commodities sector.  What the Swiss did is unfathomably bullish for commodities, in particular energy, food and precious metals.  Every rich person with a Swiss bank account in Swiss Francs will be scrambling to turn that into the one hard currency left:  GOLD.  That is what the Swiss said to us earlier this week.  They told every investor on the planet “we don’t want to have a hard currency.”  If you want a hard currency you have once option now.  Gold.  When people really figure this out it is going to be a mad scramble for physical metal the likes of which no one alive has ever seen.

Peace and wisdom,
Mike

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Here is my funny story of the day.

Dutch woman calls ex-boyfriend 65,000 times

AMSTERDAM (AP) — Dutch prosecutors are charging a 42-year-old woman with stalking after she allegedly called her ex-boyfriend 65,000 times in the past year.

The 62-year-old victim from The Hague filed a police complaint in August due to the persistent phone calls. Police arrested the suspected stalker Monday, seizing several cell phones and computers from her home in Rotterdam.

Hague prosecution spokeswoman Nicolette Stoel said Thursday the woman argued to judges at a preliminary hearing she had a relationship with the man and the number of calls she placed to him wasn't excessive. The man denied they had a relationship.

The court ordered her not to contact him again.

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I thought this was an interesting comparison of Facebook and Google.

 

The US - An Athlete That Got Fat

I hope everyone got a kick out of the animal edition.  I can't believe that moose got stuck in a tree.  Well I'm getting back to serious topics today.  I think Patriot Act might be the worst piece of legislation, ever.  If you think it was designed to keep us "safe" from terrorists, you're sorely mistaken.  It was just a way for the government to steal our rights.  Look at these statistics.

Patriot act warrants: 1,618 for drugs, 122 for fraud, 15 for terrorism.

Yay democracy!
 
I thought this first article was a great analogy for the US.

US Is Great Athlete Who Got Fat: Blackstone CEO

The CEO of private equity giant Blackstone believes America is like a once great athlete who has stopped training, let themselves go and put on a whole lot of weight.

“We actually have to relaunch America. It’s not just taxes, it’s not just spending, there’s a spirit and confidence that has been strained to breaking point” said Stephen Schwarzman in an exclusive interview with CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo

“We’re a bit like a great athlete who stopped training and gained a bunch of weight, we’ve got to get back into training,” he said.
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I'm not sure why Ron Paul continues to be ignored.  It's like they didn't even want to ask him questions during last nights debate.  I saw a poll on MSNBC that asked who won the debate last night.  There was 89,000 votes and 48% were for Ron Paul.  2nd place was Perry at 18%.  I tried to post it here but the format wasn't compatible.  This brings me to this headline in the Washington Times.

In wide field, it’s Romney vs. Perry - Front-runners in GOP contest relish chance to go head to head

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — Mitt Romney and Rick Perry wasted little time in going straight at each other Wednesday night, sparring over whether the former’s business experience or the latter’s decade as governor of Texas is better training for boosting jobs as the occupant of the White House.

“Michael Dukakis created jobs three times faster than you did, Mitt,” said Mr. Perry, referring to the former liberal Democratic governor who lost the 1988 presidential election.

“George Bush and his predecessor created jobs at a faster rate than you did, governor,” retorted Mr. Romney, a one-term Massachusetts governor who made his fortune leading a capital investment firm, as he pointed to the man whom Mr. Perry succeeded in 2000.

With the Republican presidential nomination on the line, the GOP field squared off at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in a nationally televised debate in which the candidates clawed at each other on their records and rhetoric amassed over years of government service.

But the moderators repeatedly brought the fight back to Mr. Perry and Mr. Romney, the two front-runners in the national polls.

Mr. Perry took fire over his state’s low rankings on education, Texas’s record-breaking pace of executions of criminals, and his move as governor to try to have all 12-year-old girls in his state inoculated against a sexually transmitted disease - something he acknowledged he would have done differently now.

Meanwhile, Mr. Romney was blasted for his decision as governor to sign a health care law that includes an individual mandate that every resident of his state purchase health care or face a fine.

“It was a great opportunity for us as a people to see what will not work, and that is an individual mandate in this country,” said Mr. Perry, while businessman Herman Cain said he had opposed former first lady Hillary Clinton’s 1990s health care plan, President Obama’s 2010 plan and “now I’m running against Romneycare.”

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Here is a guest post from ZeroHedge that caught my eye.  Mostly, I thought the picture was funny.

Obama - The Wimpy President

”I’ll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.” – Wimpy from the Popeye comic

Wimpy was a glutton, and would consume burgers at a ferocious rate but could rarely pay for his habit. The phrase implies the underlying feeling that the person will unlikely actually pay for the hamburger (or whatever) on Tuesday (or ever, for that matter). Does that describe the United States of America in general and specifically our Keynesian President Barack Obama?

Obama’s speech tomorrow night is no longer a secret. For whatever reason, the White House purposely leaks the major themes of the speech. Based on the Bloomberg article below I’d say my article from two weeks ago anticipating Obama’s plan is about 99% on the mark (http://www.theburningplatform.com/?p=20378).

How stupid and gullible can the American people be? One month ago Obama signed a supposed $2.1 Trillion deficit cutting bill over ten years with 60% of the identified cuts between 2018 and 2021 (TUESDAY). A full 1% of the total cuts ($21 billion) were slated for 2012. The left wing libtards screamed like a stuck pig about these horrific cuts that would destroy the American economy and starve orphans and old people. Paul Krugman’s head started to spin and green vomit was projected all over the NYT press office.

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Jobless claims rose more than expected.  Welcome to the recovery.

Animal Edition

It's really hard to find anything positive with the global economy.  I have read a ton of articles that would be worthy of the blog, but I decided to do something different today.  Here is The Animal Edition...

Drunken Elf Rescued from Swede's Apple Tree

A drunken elk desperate for just one more mouthful of fermenting apples lost its balance in the attempt, leaving it stuck in an apple tree in western Sweden.

When Per Johansson of Särö, south of Gothenburg, returned home from work on Tuesday it was dark outside and the rain was coming down hard. Suddenly Johansson heard a bellowing noise from the garden next door.

“I thought at first that someone was having a laugh. Then I went over to take a look and spotted an elk stuck in an apple tree with only one leg left on the ground,” Johansson told The Local.

The unfortunate elk was desperately entangled in the tree’s branches and was kicking ferociously as Johansson approached.

“I thought it looked pretty bad so I called the police who sent out an on-call hunter. But while we were waiting, the neighbours and I started to saw down some of the branches and then the hunter arrived with a saw as well,” said Johansson.

The group tried to make the elk more comfortable but to no avail.

It wasn’t until the fire brigade arrived on the scene and managed to bend the tree to the point where the exhausted elk could slide out of the branches that the animal was finally freed.

According to Johansson, it looked very much like the elk was severely drunk after eating too many fermenting apples.

Drunken elk are common in Sweden during the autumn season when there are plenty of apples lying around on the ground and hanging from branches in Swedish gardens.

While the greedy animal was reaching ever higher to reach the delicious but intoxicating fruit, it most likely stumbled into the tree, getting itself hopelessly entangled in the branches.

And from what Johansson could gather, this particular animal had been on a day-long bender.

“My neighbour recognised it as the animal that almost ran into her car earlier in the day. She was pretty sure the elk was already under the influence,“ said Johansson.

When the inebriated elk was freed, it lay for a while on the ground, seemingly unconscious.

After emergency services had ascertained that the animal was still alive, Johansson was told to keep an eye on it and call the hunter straight away if it seemed to be suffering.

But by the morning the hungover animal had stood up and cautiously moved a few metres away.

After a while it went on its way, although Johansson suspects it is still skulking around the neighbourhood.

“We often see elk stuffing their faces with apples around here but this is the first time we found one perched in a tree,” he told The Local. 

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Giant crocodile captured alive in Philippines

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Villagers and veteran hunters have captured a one-ton saltwater crocodile which they plan to make the star of a planned ecotourism park in a southern Philippine town, an official said Monday.
Mayor Edwin Cox Elorde said dozens of villagers and experts ensnared the 21-foot (6.4-meter) male crocodile along a creek in Bunawan township in Agusan del Sur province after a three-week hunt. It could be one of the largest crocodiles to be captured alive in recent years, he said, quoting local crocodile experts.
Elorde said the crocodile killed a water buffalo in an attack witnessed by villagers last month and was also suspected of having attacked a fisherman who went missing in July.
He said he sought the help of experts at a crocodile farm in western Palawan province.
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Obama to propose $300 billion jobs package: reports

 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama, facing waning confidence among Americans in his economic stewardship, plans some $300 billion in tax cuts and government spending as part of a job-creating package, U.S. media reported on Tuesday.
The price tag of the proposed package, to be announced by Obama in a nationally televised speech to Congress on Thursday, would be offset by other cuts that the president would outline, CNN reported, citing Democratic sources.
Bloomberg News said the plan would inject more than $300 billion into the economy next year through tax cuts, spending on infrastructure, and aid to state and local governments.
Obama would offset those short-term costs by calling on Congress to raise tax revenues in a deficit-cutting proposal he will lay out next week, the news agency reported, without citing sources.
The White House declined to comment on the reports
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And for my last animal picture!

Loaded Like The McLobster

I have a decent amount of material today.  Since it's Friday, I'm keeping it a little lighter.  However, I have a couple serious topics I want to get to first.  The big debate for a while has been "raise taxes or lower spending".  It is amazing how many ultra rich people think we should pay more taxes.  I couldn't state this better than the guys at Stansberry, so I'll use their quote.

 If you want to see what a group of power-mongering maniacs looks like, go no further than www.patrioticmillionaires.org. These people support higher taxes on incomes more than $1 million. A bunch of them have signed their names in support of it.

If they want to write the government a bigger check, what's stopping them? Nothing. But that's not what they want. They're a bunch of overeducated hypocrites (like Michael Steinhardt and Nouriel Roubini) who think they know how to run your life better than you do. They think they have all the answers. And by God, they're going to shove them straight down your throat.

You're not a fellow citizen to them. You're more like a goose who's been force fed to fatten up his liver so they can cut it out and eat it as foie gras. Warren Buffett started this baloney. Again, if Buffett loves the government so much, he can write them as large a check as he'd like. No one is stopping him.

Raising taxes on income is a great way to generate LESS tax revenue on those incomes, not more. (Of course, it's no great loss if the government has to shut down a bunch of the awful things it does.) This is destined to backfire and will likely lead us into recession. Maybe then we'll stop listening to people who think they're smarter than us… and start acting like we have spines and value our long-lost self reliance.

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Here is an example of what the "Federal Family" has done with a bunch of OUR money.  Solyndra, a California-based rooftop solar panel manufacturer founded in 2005. Two years ago, Solyndra became a darling of the Obama administration… He granted the firm $535 million in low-cost loan guarantees from the Department of Energy. (A major Solyndra investor was also a major campaign contributor in Obama's 2008 race.)

The government loan was supposed to create more than 1,000 jobs. The president visited the facility last May and said, "It is just a testament to American ingenuity and dynamism and the fact that we continue to have the best universities in the world, the best technology in the world, and most importantly, the best workers in the world. And you guys all represent that."

But yesterday, when Solyndra employees showed up for work, they were greeted by security guards with yellow envelopes (which contained information on how to collect their last paycheck). The company is declaring bankruptcy.
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Ok I'm going to lighten up a bit before I get back to a few serious issues.  I've worked real hard to control my weight over the last few years.  My entire family has change the way we eat.  I still think we could save a ton of healthcare money if we attacked obesity.  I lost 25 lbs and it's amazing how some ailments disappeared.  I could list you a handful of people I know who have done the same.  They no longer need certain meds or treatments.  Not to mention avoid type 2 diabetes.  So this brings me to what I see as a problem, but also tasty.

The 1,690 calorie mac n' cheeseburger

Denny's dastardly minds have done it again. The restaurant chain that fries mozzarella sticks between pieces of bread, have rolled out more gluttonously cheesy menu items. 

The most notable is the Mac n' Cheese Big Daddy Patty Melt: A burger patty layered with slices of cheese, macaroni and cheese, another layer of cheese, some kind of tomato-based "frisco" sauce and two pieces of buttered-up potato bread. Still hungry? It comes with a side of fries.

The 1,690 calorie count makes a lot more sense when you consider the sandwich is breakfast, lunch and dinner stacked on top of each other. It makes absolutely zero sense when you consider that it's got 500 more calories than a Carl's Jr. burger with fries, and large coke. It's about three times the calories of a KFC Double Down sandwich. And about 200 calories more than five (count 'em, five) Boston Market Mac and Cheese

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I stumbled across this article and it really brought me back to the good ol' days.  I never had a McLobster, but I would like to try one.  Click on the link to read about the McAfrika, McDLT, etc...

12 McDonald's Menu Items That Failed Spectacularly

McLobster

The McLobster is pretty much lobster meat shoved in a hot dog bun with "McLobster sauce" and shredded lettuce. Like its much more successful compatriot the McRib, it appears every once in a while across the country as a promotion, only to vanish weeks later.
The fabled McLobster drew some hype earlier this year when rumors swirled about its reappearance nationwide. It's currently only available in parts of New England and eastern Canada.

There are a couple factors that gutted the McLobster's hopes of making it to the big time. It costs a hefty $5.99, which consumers are reluctant to pay for a single sandwich. Plus, it's incredibly difficult to market a "quality" shellfish item at a fast food joint.

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Now most that know me understand my two least favorite things start with M and only have one different letter.  MOVING and MOWING!  So when I saw two yard related stories I had to post them.

4:30 a.m. mowing leads to Oklahoma City man's arrest

Phil Ray Gage, 40, was arrested on a complaint of disturbing the peace after a neighbor called police to report him for mowing a lawn at 2529 NW 33 at 4:30 a.m., Oklahoma City police said.
He was released by police at the scene after he signed a citation for disturbing the peace.
But Gage said he's been mowing in the early morning hours for 10 years, and nobody has complained before.
He said when he was arrested he was in the process of finishing up mowing his neighbor's yard.
“When the officer came up to me she asked me if I knew it was illegal to mow at that time of day,” Gage said. “I thought she was cracking a joke. Then she told me to get up against the car, and she put cuffs on me.”
Gage said he mows in the early morning hours because of the heat and because it fits his work schedule best.
Gage said the light from his neighbor's yard and his yard provides enough light for him to mow.
“I'm a carpenter, so I have to mow when I can,” he said. “That time is just what works best because of the heat and my job.”

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 Man finds $150,000 in garden

As the old saw goes, money doesn't grow on trees. But sometimes it sprouts up in the garden. An unemployed man in northern Illinois was out working in his backyard when he came across some serious green: bags filled with $150,000 cash.
Wayne Sabaj was headed to pick some broccoli to go with his roast. The carpenter spotted duffel bags that looked like trash by the peppers -- but they turned out to be a cash crop: stacks of $20 bills that added up to about $150,000. The 49-year-old, who is living with his dad, did not exactly jump for joy.
The out-of-work carpenter told ABC7, "I could really use this money." But with this money comes trouble. He explained, "With my luck, it would be bank robbery and I'd get caught and say I'd robbed a bank."


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I would like to everyone who owns or is thinking of trading the gold etf GLD to read this article.  I know I've mentioned some of these things before but it's important to know the truth about this type of investment.  


GLD Tracking GOLD

I received a recommendation from my personal precious metals broker.  I thought I would pass it on to you.  You know I can't recommend investments on here but I believe Susan knows what she is talking about.  If it's something you are interested in, let me know and I will give you her contact information.

A tremendous opportunity has presented itself within the gold market.  As investors around the world continue to diversify out of paper assets and into gold, there are additional ways within the gold market to protect and build your wealth.

There are three fundamental, powerful forces within the gold market that are converging to create perhaps the most attractive scenario in U.S. gold coins in years.

The three forces that are affecting this tremendous opportunity in investment grade gold are the price of gold per ounce, the price of the Double Eagle coin and the “premium” of the Double Eagle (the difference between their gold value and their selling price).

Since 2003, the Double Eagle premium has fluctuated from a low of 1.28 above gold to a high of 2.41. 

 

Based on the past eight years, there is a tremendous buying opportunity based on the premiums of the Double Eagle vs. gold.  Currently, the ratio stands at 1.38 ounces of gold equals 1 Double Eagle. 

As the price of gold rises, the premiums will have no choice but to increase creating a better profit potential than gold moving forward.

U.S. investors are just starting to move , 2010 through the 1st and 2^nd quarters  of 2011 bullion prices were pushed by foreign investors, as U.S. investors are beginning to move into metals the supply of double eagles are tightening and are primed to move ahead of bullion back to a 2.41 ratio.

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