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Saturday, February 25, 2012
Greece Is Just A Preview Of What's Coming For The Rest Of Us
From Chris Martensen at ZeroHedge: Funfun! Excerpts:
All eyes are on Greece these days, with hopes the situation there can soon be resolved and the global recovery kicked into high gear.
Sadly, those hopes are misguided claims Ben Davies, CEO of Hinde Capital. In fact, he says, Greece's pain foreshadows the future awaiting the rest of the world.
It all comes down to simple math. Greece has increased its debts at a rate far faster than its income has grown. At some point, the debt became so large that the country could no longer service it.
What makes the rest of the PIIGS(Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain) immune from a similar fate? Or Japan? Or the US? Or the OECD, in general?
Nothing.
And:
The cold hard fact Greece is facing is that it's now at the point where extraordinary losses need to be taken. The problem is, no one wants to take them. And all the sturm und drang being exhibited by Brussels, the ECB, sovereign debt holders, and other world leaders is nothing more than a frantic game of hot potato.
The one thing we can be confident of is that at some point, these losses will be taken. The market will eventually force it.
And the second thing we can predict is: we don't know what will happen when they are. There is so much complexity in the counterparty exposure to Greece debt - as well as the much larger derivative exposure tied to this debt - that anything between "not much" and "worldwide financial conflagration" could be possible.
Not specific, but scary, nonetheless..
All eyes are on Greece these days, with hopes the situation there can soon be resolved and the global recovery kicked into high gear.
Sadly, those hopes are misguided claims Ben Davies, CEO of Hinde Capital. In fact, he says, Greece's pain foreshadows the future awaiting the rest of the world.
It all comes down to simple math. Greece has increased its debts at a rate far faster than its income has grown. At some point, the debt became so large that the country could no longer service it.
What makes the rest of the PIIGS(Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain) immune from a similar fate? Or Japan? Or the US? Or the OECD, in general?
Nothing.
And:
The cold hard fact Greece is facing is that it's now at the point where extraordinary losses need to be taken. The problem is, no one wants to take them. And all the sturm und drang being exhibited by Brussels, the ECB, sovereign debt holders, and other world leaders is nothing more than a frantic game of hot potato.
The one thing we can be confident of is that at some point, these losses will be taken. The market will eventually force it.
And the second thing we can predict is: we don't know what will happen when they are. There is so much complexity in the counterparty exposure to Greece debt - as well as the much larger derivative exposure tied to this debt - that anything between "not much" and "worldwide financial conflagration" could be possible.
Not specific, but scary, nonetheless..
Friday, February 24, 2012
Japan Earthquake: Before and After
From The Atlantic, via Gawker. Excerpts:
In just over two weeks, Japan will be observing the one-year anniversary of the disastrous magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that struck its east coast in March of 2011. The destruction was unprecedented and the loss of life and property were staggering -- more than 15,800 are confirmed dead, with another 3,300 still listed as missing nearly a year later. Photographers documented the many faces of this tragedy and have now returned to give us a look at the difference a year can make, re-shooting places that were photographed during and immediately after the quake. Collected here are 20 of these pairings. They are interactive: Starting with number 2, click the images to view a fading before/after comparison.
Amazing photos. Really; Check it out.
In just over two weeks, Japan will be observing the one-year anniversary of the disastrous magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami that struck its east coast in March of 2011. The destruction was unprecedented and the loss of life and property were staggering -- more than 15,800 are confirmed dead, with another 3,300 still listed as missing nearly a year later. Photographers documented the many faces of this tragedy and have now returned to give us a look at the difference a year can make, re-shooting places that were photographed during and immediately after the quake. Collected here are 20 of these pairings. They are interactive: Starting with number 2, click the images to view a fading before/after comparison.
Amazing photos. Really; Check it out.
Claim surfaces of Anne Frank baptism by Mormons
More Creepy than Weird, or more Weird than Creepy? Either way, Super Off-Putting. Century Link News. Excerpts:
A new claim has surfaced that the Mormon church has posthumously baptized a Holocaust victim, this time Anne Frank.
The allegations come just a week after The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints apologized when it was brought to light that the parents of Holocaust survivor and Jewish rights advocate Simon Wiesenthal were posthumously baptized by church members at temples in Arizona and Utah in late January.
Researcher Helen Radkey, a former Mormon who revealed the Wiesenthal baptisms, said this week she found Frank's name in proxy baptism records dated Feb. 18, showing the ritual was performed in the Santo Domingo Temple in the Dominican Republic.
The Mormon church almost immediately issued a statement, though it didn't mention Frank by name.
"The Church keeps its word and is absolutely firm in its commitment to not accept the names of Holocaust victims for proxy baptism," the Salt Lake City-based church said. "It is distressing when an individual willfully violates the Church's policy and something that should be understood to be an offering based on love and respect becomes a source of contention."
I didn't realize that Mormons baptized people after their deaths, with or without their approval; That that was Policy.. Not until Mitt Romney's actively-Atheist-in-life Father-In-Law got baptized, that is..
Unsettling, and Un-Necessary. Unless of course, South Park was right. Then, I'll say, "Thanks, Mormons!".
A new claim has surfaced that the Mormon church has posthumously baptized a Holocaust victim, this time Anne Frank.
The allegations come just a week after The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints apologized when it was brought to light that the parents of Holocaust survivor and Jewish rights advocate Simon Wiesenthal were posthumously baptized by church members at temples in Arizona and Utah in late January.
Researcher Helen Radkey, a former Mormon who revealed the Wiesenthal baptisms, said this week she found Frank's name in proxy baptism records dated Feb. 18, showing the ritual was performed in the Santo Domingo Temple in the Dominican Republic.
The Mormon church almost immediately issued a statement, though it didn't mention Frank by name.
"The Church keeps its word and is absolutely firm in its commitment to not accept the names of Holocaust victims for proxy baptism," the Salt Lake City-based church said. "It is distressing when an individual willfully violates the Church's policy and something that should be understood to be an offering based on love and respect becomes a source of contention."
I didn't realize that Mormons baptized people after their deaths, with or without their approval; That that was Policy.. Not until Mitt Romney's actively-Atheist-in-life Father-In-Law got baptized, that is..
Unsettling, and Un-Necessary. Unless of course, South Park was right. Then, I'll say, "Thanks, Mormons!".
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
Evidence of ADVANCED technology thousands of years ago in Peru
NOT IN OUR HISTORY BOOKS. Indeed. From Godlike Productions. I'll let the original poster's videos do the heavy lifting here..
Video One: Video Two: Video Three:
Don't believe it? Ok, then; Let's here YOUR theory! The precision of this masonry suggests mathematical knowledge and construction skills not normally attributed to neither the Incas nor this time period. And yet, here's the evidence..
More, please..
Video One: Video Two: Video Three:
Don't believe it? Ok, then; Let's here YOUR theory! The precision of this masonry suggests mathematical knowledge and construction skills not normally attributed to neither the Incas nor this time period. And yet, here's the evidence..
More, please..
Monday, February 20, 2012
Hey, Look At That! Religious And Political Repression, Shame, And Hypocrisy Strike Again!
GOP Candidate And AZ Sheriff Admits He’s Gay After Accusations Surface That He Dated An Illegal Immigrant Gosh, where to start? Do as I say, not as I do? Pay no attention to the man behind the closet door? Anti-immigrant, but he gots a taste for the hot sauce? Oh, Sheriff Babeu, this is what happens when you throw your lot in with what should be your sworn enemies: People point and laugh when your hypocrisy is exposed! From Mediate. Excerpts:
Arizona is currently in the midst of a very fiery sex scandal as Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, a well-known anti-illegal immigrant proponent and Republican Congressional candidate, has been exposed as gay by a source telling the Phoenix New Times that he was Babeu’s ex-lover, and that Babeu threatened him with deportation several times when he refused to promise to keep the affair under wraps. Babeu responded by admitting in a press conference that he was gay, stepping down (from)the Romney campaign(Ha!), and denying the rumors that he threatened anyone with deportation.
..
As the relationship soured, Babeu allegedly sent his lawyer’s after Jose. “The latest of the alleged threats were made through Babeu’s personal attorney, who’s also running the sheriff’s campaign for Congress in District 4,” according to the New Times. José provided text messages and the above photos, as well as an Adam4Adam (think OKCupid’s less self-important gay cousin) profile. Gay culture and politics blog Towleroad reports that the couple met through a Gay.com (Match.com’s less self-important gay cousin) profile. José began, he says, working with Babeu by keeping his social media and web work up to date, but they eventually began an affair. The Tuscon Citizen, another local publication, is deeming this a “sex slave operation,” but that doesn’t seem to be based on any information not in the Phoenix New Times report.
Turns out, Jose's not here illegally! Let's see, Babeau and Jose dated for over five years, and the Sheriff doesn't know his immigration status! Keen.. Observational.. Powers.. Bonus: This was the guy from the McCain "build the fence!" commercial! If this scandal were dessert, I'd have diabetes!
Already, some conservative sites(Won't link to these idiots) are calling out anyone calling out Babeau as "gay hating progressives." Ask yourselves, douchebags, wasn't it social conservatives that made faggotry a life or death political issue in this country? It's not "gay hating" as much as it is "hypocrisy hating," especially when there are sooooo many more important issues our country should be dealing with! Damn, people! Grow the fuck up and stop caring who kisses who, and concern yourself with what's crumbling faster: Our economy, or our Infrastructure!?!
Also: Will Fox News ever have Babeau back as a guest?
Arizona is currently in the midst of a very fiery sex scandal as Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu, a well-known anti-illegal immigrant proponent and Republican Congressional candidate, has been exposed as gay by a source telling the Phoenix New Times that he was Babeu’s ex-lover, and that Babeu threatened him with deportation several times when he refused to promise to keep the affair under wraps. Babeu responded by admitting in a press conference that he was gay, stepping down (from)the Romney campaign(Ha!), and denying the rumors that he threatened anyone with deportation.
..
As the relationship soured, Babeu allegedly sent his lawyer’s after Jose. “The latest of the alleged threats were made through Babeu’s personal attorney, who’s also running the sheriff’s campaign for Congress in District 4,” according to the New Times. José provided text messages and the above photos, as well as an Adam4Adam (think OKCupid’s less self-important gay cousin) profile. Gay culture and politics blog Towleroad reports that the couple met through a Gay.com (Match.com’s less self-important gay cousin) profile. José began, he says, working with Babeu by keeping his social media and web work up to date, but they eventually began an affair. The Tuscon Citizen, another local publication, is deeming this a “sex slave operation,” but that doesn’t seem to be based on any information not in the Phoenix New Times report.
Turns out, Jose's not here illegally! Let's see, Babeau and Jose dated for over five years, and the Sheriff doesn't know his immigration status! Keen.. Observational.. Powers.. Bonus: This was the guy from the McCain "build the fence!" commercial! If this scandal were dessert, I'd have diabetes!
Already, some conservative sites(Won't link to these idiots) are calling out anyone calling out Babeau as "gay hating progressives." Ask yourselves, douchebags, wasn't it social conservatives that made faggotry a life or death political issue in this country? It's not "gay hating" as much as it is "hypocrisy hating," especially when there are sooooo many more important issues our country should be dealing with! Damn, people! Grow the fuck up and stop caring who kisses who, and concern yourself with what's crumbling faster: Our economy, or our Infrastructure!?!
Also: Will Fox News ever have Babeau back as a guest?
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Zero Hedge Nails It..
Guest Post: When Debt Is More Important Than People, The System Is Evil From Zero Hedge. The excerpt is from the site, red emphasis theirs, light colored emphasis mine:
The ethics of debt, at least in the officially sanctioned media, boils down to: nobody made them borrow all those euros, and so their suffering is just desserts. What's lost in this subtext is the responsibility of the lender. Yes, nobody forced Greece to borrow 200 billion euros (or whatever the true total may be), but then nobody forced the lenders to extend the credit in the first place. Consider an individual who is a visibly poor credit risk. He would like to borrow money to blow on consumption and then stiff the lender, but since he cannot create credit, he has to live within his means. Now a lender comes along who can create credit out of thin air (via fractional reserve banking) and offers this poor credit risk $100,000 in collateral-free debt at low rates of interest. Who is responsible for the creation and extension of credit? The borrower or the lender? Answer: the lender. In other words, if the lender is foolish enough to extend huge quantities of credit to a poor credit risk, then it's the lender who should suffer the losses when the borrower defaults. This is the basis of bankruptcy laws--or used to be the basis. When an over-extended borrower defaults, the debt is cleared, the lender takes the loss/writedown, and the borrower loses whatever collateral was pledged. He is left with the basics to carry on: his auto, clothing, his job, and so on. His credit rating is impaired, and it is now his responsibility to earn back a credible credit rating....The potential for loss and actually bearing the consequences from irresponsible extensions of credit was unacceptable to the banking cartel, so they rewrote the laws. Now student loans in America cannot be discharged in bankruptcy court; they are permanent and must be carried and serviced until death. This is the acme of debt-serfdom.
Much more at the link. Required reading.
The ethics of debt, at least in the officially sanctioned media, boils down to: nobody made them borrow all those euros, and so their suffering is just desserts. What's lost in this subtext is the responsibility of the lender. Yes, nobody forced Greece to borrow 200 billion euros (or whatever the true total may be), but then nobody forced the lenders to extend the credit in the first place. Consider an individual who is a visibly poor credit risk. He would like to borrow money to blow on consumption and then stiff the lender, but since he cannot create credit, he has to live within his means. Now a lender comes along who can create credit out of thin air (via fractional reserve banking) and offers this poor credit risk $100,000 in collateral-free debt at low rates of interest. Who is responsible for the creation and extension of credit? The borrower or the lender? Answer: the lender. In other words, if the lender is foolish enough to extend huge quantities of credit to a poor credit risk, then it's the lender who should suffer the losses when the borrower defaults. This is the basis of bankruptcy laws--or used to be the basis. When an over-extended borrower defaults, the debt is cleared, the lender takes the loss/writedown, and the borrower loses whatever collateral was pledged. He is left with the basics to carry on: his auto, clothing, his job, and so on. His credit rating is impaired, and it is now his responsibility to earn back a credible credit rating....The potential for loss and actually bearing the consequences from irresponsible extensions of credit was unacceptable to the banking cartel, so they rewrote the laws. Now student loans in America cannot be discharged in bankruptcy court; they are permanent and must be carried and serviced until death. This is the acme of debt-serfdom.
Much more at the link. Required reading.
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