Shadow sez - "Close your eyes tight and click your heels 3 times, and the good times will be back!"

what? wha? wait! come back!

damn, now I'll never get those IQ points back.

Sorry CR, didn't mean to sound ungrateful with that.

Excuse me, I have to throw up now.

I like the title. A real attention grabber, as Mrs. Morris used to teach in my high school essay class.

It takes great chutzpah to proclaim the end, when to many, you are still in the middle innings.

I think the title could use a nice colon: "or how I learned to stop worrying and love the Fed."

The U.S. government’s response to the financial crisis and ensuing Great Recession included some of the most aggressive fiscal and monetary policies in history** that did not work**

This is pablum

Here's more interesting news
Financial reform law exempts SEC from information requests | Raw Story

thanks to the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, the SEC no longer has to provide information gathered from corporations to reporters or members of the public under freedom of information laws.

Thanks to freedom-of-information requests, "we now know that the SEC itself botched investigations of Bernie Madoff, who fleeced investors of tens of billions of dollars and now sits in prison," Reuteman said. "The SEC has been forced to institute internal reforms as a result of its own investigative shortcomings that came to light. ... But under the provisions in this new law, the SEC no longer has to comply with such requests for information."

Aaron Gee at American Thinker notes that President Obama sold the bill to the public by saying it "will finally bring transparency to the kind of complex and risky transactions that helped trigger the financial crisis."

Yes this is real hope and change you can believe in with

Like I've been saying financial reform my ass

"The Fed Expands Its Balance Sheet"

Didn't that happen around TARP?

Recessions do end. Sometimes they end up as Depressions.

Repost regarding the Japan inflation/deflation debate last night.

This is a very credible study that challenges the Japanese CPI and says that it is severely overstated.

Deflation in Japan: Worse than you think | vox - Research-based policy analysis and commentary from leading economists

On the face of it, Japanese deflation does not seem that severe. The latest monthly numbers suggest that over the past twelve months, the non-fresh food component of the CPI is falling at an annual rate of 0.1%. However, we believe that this number seriously understates deflation in Japan – maybe by an order of magnitude.

In a recent paper, “Defining Price Stability in Japan: A View from America,” we argue that the Japanese CPI is computed using methods that tend to overstate true inflation and that it differs markedly from a true cost-of-living index. Using a more sophisticated methodology – the one used in the US – inflation in Japan would be running at around minus 1%. This implies that between 1999 and 2006, deflation was probably double that suggested by the official statistics and that Japan is still immersed in a general deflationary environment. Moreover, if we compare the Japanese CPI to a true cost-of-living index, the gap widens to about 1.8 percentage points per year. The implications for the Japanese economy are hard to understate. These gaps are likely to significantly worsen Japan’s fiscal position in the future and have the potential to severely misguide the current debate about monetary policy in Japan. ...

Japan is experiencing real price deflation as the linked household income and expenditures perfectly indicated last night!

Im gonna make an offer on a car the owner cant refuse.

seriously, :iJustmightyall:

In the baseline scenario, real GDP, which declined 2.4% in 2009, expands 2.9% in 2010 and 3.6% in 2011, with monthly job growth averaging near 100,000 in 2010 and above 200,000 in 2011. Unemployment is still close to 10% at the end of 2010, but closer to 9% by the end of 2011. The federal budget deficit is $1.4 trillion in the current 2010 fiscal year, equal to approximately 10% of GDP. It falls only slowly, to $1.15 trillion in FY 2011 and to $900 billion in FY 2012.

I predict that the federal budget deficit will not decrease in 2012 and that unemployment will increase close to 11% by the end of 2010. But what do I know, I'm not an economist.

Mr Slippery wrote:

Maybe the model is great....for me to poop on.

Methinks the model is great for justifying FIRE bailouts and asset price supports to preserve bubble prices. I doubt it does anything else reliably.

Absolutely atrocious.

FOIA is what makes the US a great place to live.

Apparently benzene is a major one. They pull the "exploration well" scam to avoid regulation.

some investor guy wrote:

Tough crowd tonite.

Wednesdays are always tough. I'm saving my wit for the late (drunk) shift.

Their baseline predicts growth of 3.6% in 2011 and 5.1% in 2012. Seems a little optimistic to me.

How the Great Recession Was Brought to an End

"How Keynes got his groove back" would be a better title

I love it when people who didn't see this coming call it over.

ShadowInventory wrote:

Shadow sez - "Close your eyes tight and click your heels 3 times, and the good times will be back!"

Funny. My comment last night in its entirety:

" "

Rob Dawg wrote:

My comment

Sorry - didnt mean to plagarize you - I was out and about last night, not here... Just call me Mr. Vice President....

ShadowInventory wrote:

Sorry - didnt mean to plagarize you - I was out and about last night, not here... Just call me Mr. Vice President....

Oh no no no. I honestly thought it funny. The paper is such a joke that people don't even bother to refute it.

picosec wrote:

I'm saving my wit for the late (drunk) shift.

I'm here. Go.

EDIT: Oh wait, I guess it's not that late for most people. Damned timezone changes.

Blinder and Zandi Papers make the best joints ....

patientrenter wrote:

They have to. Their intent is to justify supporting bubble asset prices.

Just doing their job or do they really believe growth will be that strong? From reading Zandi, he seems earnest in his beliefs.

The paper is so boring that people don't even bother to read it.

Really. When has an economist ever been right anyway? Rarely, for all those technical terms being thrown around.

I called the recession back in December of 2007 and was one of the first - it can be documented by searching back thru the comments (I think). Take a look around you and keep your ear to the ground. Works better than dry expos'es.

And now that I've figured everything out, I'm calling it a day.

KM4 shares the SEC now doesn't have to fall under the FOIA thanks to FINREG.(2319 pages, many more surprises yet to come)
Adornos gives us the information that the base of the food chain that keeps us all alive has declined precipitously.

Blinder and Zandi give us their opinion that the Great Recession has ended by blatant support of the financial system over main street with the citizenry picking up the bill regardless of their voiced dissent against this course of action. Being highly regarded economists with a track record of spotting malinvestment and supporting policy to protect the economy by noticing obvious transgressions of risk and leverage leading to the largest economic collapse since GD1.

Well...

You decide which is the most important knowledge shared in this thread.

Outsider wrote:

Take a look around

I looked up the comments from the day that the SP500 hit it's peak, and there was a user Sauron who called it... nobody else... but then on that day there were no real indications that it was the top - that's always the way it is - 20/20 hindsight... I wonder where Sauron is now...

SPOOL wrote:

I think the title could use a nice colon: "or how I learned to stop worrying and love the Fed.'

+1

adornosghost wrote:

BBC News - Plankton decline across oceans as waters warm

That's spooky.

REBear wrote:

Plankton decline across oceans

==> Source of Half Earth's Oxygen Gets Little Credit

Half of the world's oxygen is produced via phytoplankton photosynthesis. The other half is produced via photosynthesis on land by trees, shrubs, grasses, and other plants.

==> Good luck on living on Earth, when the ocean is dead...

Doc Holiday wrote:

==> Good luck on living on Earth, when the ocean is dead...

We're trying... just give us a little more time.
~splat

Fluffy the Obese Persian Cat wrote:

And they just. Will. Not. Stand. For. That. Data be damned.

That seals it for me. Thanks.

Slippery slope. More transparency is necessary not less. Why put it in the bill if there wasn't any change to how the SEC responded to FOIA requests of pending investigations?

"The relevant clause in the new law states that the SEC "shall not be compelled to disclose records or information" if that information was obtained for the purposes of "surveillance, risk assessments, or other regulatory and oversight activities." Fox Business described that as amounting to "almost every action by the agency.""

Carte blanche to refuse just about any information requests going forward. Now solidified so there is no loop hole to argue against.

A few decades ago i did some plankton counts for a study. The task was to collect sea water samples at specific depths in the thermocline, apply sample to slide, stain, and then identify the various zoo-plankton by species (using a handbook and microscope) and count their numbers in the sample, and log the data. Its a fascinating world, a hundred of the critters can exist in a few drops of sea water. The size variation between the species is wide, on the scale of comparing an elephant to an ant, in the same sample.

Fluffy the Obese Persian Cat wrote:

Rob Dawg wrote:
That seals it for me. Thanks.
You may want to clarify your remark. It does not seem to pertain to anything.... except rhetorical gamesmanship.

YAD06

'.....thanks to the Dodd-Frank financial reform law, the SEC....[doesn't have to tell us squat about anything]"

I don't want to toot, but I said if Democratic Senator Russ Feingold thought this FinReg Bill was crap, it was.

1 currency now -yogi wrote:

I don't treat any expansion of FOIA exemption as a Nothingburger .

. . . and I don't like yakkers on cable shows spouting off half-truths based on misinformation cleverly spun.

Black Star Ranch wrote:

I don't want to toot, but I said if Democratic Senator Russ Feingold thought this FinReg Bill was crap, it was.

The bill clearly did not satisfy that progressive Senator and true American . . . but it did get 60 votes to end the filibuster that was keeping any positive action from happening.

Feckless Ness wrote:

In November, and in every subsequent election until Washington gets the message...

Nothing personal, but you'll be dead before Washington gives a shit about your approach to the problem.

KR2 wrote:

A few decades ago i did some plankton counts for a study. The task was to collect sea water samples at specific depths in the thermocline, apply sample to slide, stain, and then identify the various zoo-plankton by species (using a handbook and microscope) and count their numbers in the sample, and log the data. Its a fascinating world, a hundred of the critters can exist in a few drops of sea water. The size variation between the species is wide, on the scale of comparing an elephant to an ant, in the same sample.

I would also guess the population dynamics are crazy variable - as a result I bet they have no idea if the population numbers are really increasing, decreasing or the real implications of such change. In lakes an increase in algae usually signals eventual decline in oxygen as the critters die off & rot faster than the aquatic herbivores can harvest them or the remaining live algae can photosynthesize new O2. If you want to make sure lakes don't 'die' you try to limit nutrients so as to slow algae growth [make their numbers decrease].

So who knows...

sportsfan wrote:

filibuster that was keeping any positive action from happening.

...and this is considered "positive"? C'mon, SF......

Black Star Ranch wrote:

...and this is considered "positive"? C'mon, SF......

Oh, I definitely think the Dodd-Frank Bill is a positive step, and a comprehensive attempt at that.

Is it the greatest development since sliced bread? . . . no.

dryfly wrote:

I would also guess the population dynamics are crazy variable - as a result I bet they have no idea if the population numbers are really increasing, decreasing or the real implications of such change.

That's more or less what i was thinking too. You need a microscope to see into that world, plus the changes by salinity and temperature have a huge impact. Its a big subject. Humanity should be studying it 'very' closely.

picosec wrote:

. . . .

You're posting . . and in a humorous way. Does that mean it's okay to drink now?

True. They refer it to the justice department if they believe there has been criminal activity where it is usually settled with a fine and a letter stating no one was really guilty of anything criminal. How did GS state their fault:

"Goldman acknowledges that the marketing materials for the ABACUS 2007-AC1 transaction contained incomplete information. In particular, it was a mistake for the Goldman marketing materials to state that the reference portfolio was "selected by" ACA Management LLC without disclosing the role of Paulson & Co. Inc. in the portfolio selection process and that Paulson's economic interests were adverse to CDO investors. Goldman regrets that the marketing materials did not contain that disclosure."

Looks like fraud to the proles and seems to be willful negligence on their part but since the SEC decided it wasn't criminal and not necessary to forward to the Justice Department for a criminal investigation, then it wasn't, right? The ability of the media to investigate/report information it procures through the FOIA leads to transparency and forcing regulators to do their jobs. Cut out the step where the media can acquire the fodder they need to investigate what happens in the halls of power and your entire system of governance becomes what exactly? Looks like just another step in us all finding out.

KR2 wrote:

Humanity should be studying it 'very' closely.

We agree 100%.

Financial reform law exempts SEC from information requests | Raw Story 

This is a cable yak show? What part is misinformation?

Feckless Ness wrote:

From Reuters yesterday. Wall Street shifting campaign contributions toward Republicans:

A leading or lagging indicator? Causal or effect?

Black Star Ranch wrote:

All I'm saying is, sometimes a 'compromise' is in fact a sell-out and giveaway - especially if both sides of the deal are on the same team.....

Politics is the art of compromise, someone said, and it is not unlike working in the sausage factory.

The implicit assumption you make, though, that "both sides . . . are on the same team" is not one I share.

If that were true, why would "one side" announce unanimous opposition to passing anything at all? Why would they take that position after Senators Dodd and Corker had agreed on almost everything or, as Senator Corker said "reached the five yard line." My answer is because one of those sides is fully engulfed by the FIRE industry and always has been and will never allow any regulation that they can stop with a minority of 40.

When the result of 'one side' appointing the regulators is for the fat old white guy head of the OTS showing up at a press conference on regulations with a chainsaw, the picture should be really clear to everyone.

Am I suggesting the 'other side' is not influenced or even potentially corrupted by FIRE money, of course not. They are just the lesser of two evils. Would I prefer a government without evils? Of course. I just haven't seen one yet.

The biologist responsible for this study found a way to be pretty sure it wasn't an anomaly:

"Worm has now unearthed more than a century of data taken using an instrument called a Secchi disk, which measures the transparency of ocean water.

"The Secchi disk is a beauty because it is the simplest oceanographic instrument," Worm says. "It has also been in continuous use since it was invented in the late 1800s, and it hasn't changed since then."

Basically, oceanographers lower the white disk on a rope and note how deep it is when it disappears from view. Oceanographers have taken half a million measurements like this throughout the world's oceans, so Worm and his colleagues collected piles of that data and looked for trends.

"What we found was that phytoplankton was declining in 8 out of 10 large ocean regions," he says.

And the trend was pretty dramatic, averaging 1 percent per year, year after year, according to their study in this week's Nature."

The Food Chain's Weak Link: Tiny Ocean Plants Dying : NPR

Goldman regrets

That really turned my stomach. "Regret" has no legal consequences and does not belong in a settlement document. They might as well have promised to get back to doing God's work.

"Nothing personal, but you'll be dead before Washington gives a shit about your approach to the problem."

in Canada that method resulted in the Conservative party going from a majority to less than 10 seats overnight back in the late 80s. Washington would be shitting their pants if that model was followed here.

KR2 wrote:

Harbinger?

For certain - we have plant capacity to produce something like 3 cars for every 2 cars people can realistically afford to buy. A third of the capacity will have to be shuttered. We need more [and better] mechanics - not more new car production capacity.

dryfly wrote:

A leading or lagging indicator? Causal or effect?

Bet hedging doesn't make the dice land differently, does it?

Feckless Ness wrote:

Wall Street shifting campaign contributions toward Republicans

The version I heard on The News Hour (I believe) was that Wall Street gives nominally equal amounts to both parties.

Hmmm. I wonder why they'd do that?

Externalized Costs wrote:

Looks like fraud to the proles and seems to be willful negligence on their part but since the SEC decided it wasn't criminal and not necessary to forward to the Justice Department for a criminal investigation, then it wasn't, right? The ability of the media to investigate/report information it procures through the FOIA leads to transparency and forcing regulators to do their jobs. Cut out the step where the media can acquire the fodder they need to investigate what happens in the halls of power and your entire system of governance becomes what exactly? Looks like just another step in us all finding out.

I just don't see it as a major problem, though you and yogi do. I have posted on this site on at least a couple of occasions that the First Amendment to the Constitution is one of the very few things in this world (outside of immediate family) that I would be more than willing to die to protect.

As far as the SEC investigations go, I don't need cable jockeys spewing half-baked analysis of what they think is going on. Let the SEC finish and publish. If criminal activity is suspected, it should be referred to DOJ.

What's a helluva lot more important than the letter of the rules is WHO is enforcing them.

Feckless Ness wrote:

From Reuters yesterday. Wall Street shifting campaign contributions toward Republicans:

Democrats recognized their challenge early and moved aggressively to raise funds. The DCCC had $34 million in cash as July began, twice the National Republican Campaign Committee's $17 million.

Only publicly financed campaigns will help. It is ludicrous to think that politicians will kill themselves to preserve a bad system. Fix the system and get better politicians.

I no longer care what is causing global warming, but rather what is being done about it.

Unfortunately, as with financial reform, you have to know what (and who) caused the damage to know what to do next.

Humanity should be studying it 'very' closely.

in the meantime, damn the torpedos, full speed ahead! Party on, dudes!

1 currency now -yogi wrote:

Unfortunately, as with financial reform, you have to know what (and who) caused the damage to know what to do next.

Try and stop as many people from breathing as possible. It's the only way !
~splat

1 currency now -yogi wrote:

Financial reform law exempts SEC from information requests | Raw Story

This is a cable yak show? What part is misinformation?

How about the part that the SEC is not exempt from [any] "information requests," which is what the headline implies?

If the ICC is investigating a trucking company for crossing state lines with live cattle, are you entitled to know all the potential implications of that issue before the investigation is concluded? I don't think so.

Blue Guy Red State wrote:

I repair computers for a living so I live in a fairly data-driven world and consider myself an empiricist. I no longer care what is causing global warming, but rather what is being done about it. Right now we fiddle while the world burns. An unaffordable luxury.

What conclusions do you trust?

An hour ago I mentioned the most important tree in the world. Do you trust YAD06?

RE wrote (quoting Feckless Ness):

Democrats recognized their challenge early and moved aggressively to raise funds. The DCCC had $34 million in cash as July began, twice the National Republican Campaign Committee's $17 million.

...and how much of her own money has Meg Whitman put up so far?

A: "...gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman - who has spent nearly $100 million of her own money on her campaign..."

Whitman may give $30 million to state GOP

Can you understand the apathy of non-millionaires?

Rob Dawg wrote:
YAD06 ... om mani padme hum
YAD06.... om mani padme hum
YAD06.... om mani padme humbug.

Sorry Dawg. If and when I want a little cult weirdness, I go to yoga class, not Repubo-Libertarian denialist websites. The sense of belonging is about the same..... and I get a little much needed exercise.

I figure the Four Horsemen of the New World Order can execute my Foul Intent without my help at least for 2 hours a week.

You and that whole pesky "rule-of-law" fetish...

Feckless Ness wrote:

I don't care if they care. I care whether you and the commetariat and enough of the voting public give a shit. The way I see it, no one gets a second term until they ALL start paying attention.

I'm wasn't suggesting your response wasn't rational, though it is emotional. I was suggesting that whoever is not the incumbent will play to that emotion, regardless of whether that candidate would be better or not for your life and for what you want to see accomplished in this world.

Baby and bathwater come to mind.

Washington as a whole, though, will not change in my lifetime and probably not in yours either.

RE wrote:

Has never worked and will never work. If the incentives are wrong the system will not work. No chance. It is a pipe dream.

Dream bigger, RE.

RE wrote:

The system is rigged.

Wouldn't it need to be first designed to be rigged? What about your constitution. That was rigged to succeed. Something happened along the way.

The headline doesn't imply "all" in the slightest. It implies that the new law exempts some requests which used to be allowed, which is detailed in the article (not on cable). And it is not a minor issue.

picosec wrote:

Can you understand the apathy of non-millionaires?

I understand apathy about things we can't control. I'm not voting for any incumbents. That's within my control. Yours too!

Feckless Ness wrote:

I understand apathy about things we can't control. I'm not voting for any incumbents. That's within my control. Yours too!

I don't see why I should vote for somebody who serves me even worse than my incumbent. It is a silly suggestion. I want my incumbent to have his priorities straight, i.e. serve his constituents not his lobbyists who pay for his reelection.

sportsfan wrote:

Washington as a whole, though, will not change in my lifetime and probably not in yours either.

You're probably right, sportsfan. And yet, the possibility exists. I don't figure the odds when I'm deciding whether to do the right thing or not.

Cui bono?

What would your international cabal of scientists gain from promoting global warming? What would international corporations gain from denying global warming? Compare and contrast, please.

Live in a big university town, have yet to see any of the professors' yachts or private jets. Are they hiding them?

What does any of that have to do with FOIA?

I thought you were a First Amendment guy. How can the press write about things the government is allowed to keep secret?

G'night all.

There are very few absolutes. Things are going badly for the human race and we have not the wit or wisdom to change the course. Call me a defeatist but the opponent we face is ourselves and evolution or a higher power isn't reacting quickly enough to provide ponies for us all. Wish I was part of the select few guaranteed a pony but they saw me coming a long ways off and barred the door.

1 currency now -yogi wrote:

Regulators have no independent authority; they derive all their powers by delegation from the other branches.

Correct, . . . and in the Dodd-Frank Bill they just got a helluva lot of delegation, didn't they?

poic wrote:

Canadians are in many ways much more lazy, laid back, status quo driven then Americans. If they can obliterate one of their main political parties overnight why can't it happen in the US?

An excellent question!

Edit: another good question is: How can we make it happen in the U.S.?

Feckless Ness wrote:

I'm not voting for any incumbents.

Article in SF Chronicle a couple days ago estimated that there were TWO Californial House districts that will be competitive this next election due to gerrymandered district lines. Your vote isn't going to make a difference.

Sorry for the cynicism; it just comes too easily.

I'll come right out and admit it:

One free rider driving his SUV guzzler alone 20 miles is not ever going to be a matter of life or death. Probably not ten, or even a thousand. So obviously we should never have any regulation of emissions.

1 currency now -yogi wrote:

It implies that the new law exempts some requests which used to be allowed, which is detailed in the article (not on cable).

The headline didn't say SOME. It said "exempt from" as in exempt from period.

I know the article wasn't a cable show. It's what the cable jerks do with the partial information that is the evil the legislation seeks to address. Given the impact cable jerks seem to have on stupid people, that is a real evil worth addressing.

poic wrote:

Canadians are in many ways much more lazy, laid back, status quo driven then Americans.

But for my nationally induced apathy, I'd respond to that.

If they can obliterate one of their main political parties overnight why can't it happen in the US?

Multi party parliamentary system.

I don't think your electoral college would allow the obliteration of one of the 2 parties.

Global Warming Turns 35!
RealClimate: Happy 35th birthday, global warming!

adornosghost wrote:

Global Warming Turns 35!
RealClimate: Happy 35th birthday, global warming!

Too bad RC censors comments. Science FTW! Hell yeah!

dryfly wrote:

Its blind faith like that that is killing reform.

It's not blind faith and it's not killing reform. Reform, however defined, is made possible by the bill, which is all the bill becoming law can do. Real reform, as in how it is implemented, is now up to the regulators. We probably won't know the true impact of regulatory reform for several years.

I do have some blind faith which namely is that 'one side' is always on the side of 'all regulations are bad,' so I don't support that side.

If Feckless Ness or anyone else can create a viable third party, please copy me on the memo.

Bubblisimo Gerkinov wrote:

I don't think your electoral college would allow the obliteration of one of the 2 parties.

Actually, all we would need is one more election tossed into the House of Representatives and things might get interesting.

(I'm just dreaming.)

adornosghost wrote:

And always win.

Noticed that did you? Sadly not one in five here know about our inside joke.

Dawg-
one in five would be optimistic.

Feckless Ness wrote:

The party doesn't matter. Behavior matters. Politicians like public office. They like the perks, the importance, the celebrity status, the power. We have it in our power to make them work for it.

By all means, make them work for the privilege of elected office. Contact the candidates and state your opinions on things that matter to you. If everyone would do that, they might be a little more responsive.

(Then again, I'm still dreaming.)

The samsara of life is a bit overwhelming tonight--
I'm off to escape into some Iain Banks - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

dryfly wrote:
Its blind faith like that that is killing reform. A saying from the farm crisis: raise more hell and less corn. Feingold is from the corn belt & gets it.

Yes. But, what would you actually suggest doing? Really doing? As either a citizen, or an elected official, now that this Frankenstein Finreg monster is law?

yogi, the banksters are "appalled" at the prospect of a Warren nomination.

"Appalled" these days is defined as "it happens to be your ox that's getting gored."

Of course the financial news community wants free and unlimited access to government investigations.

adornosghost wrote:

RealClimate: Happy 35th birthday, global warming!

Excellent link, thanks. Puts it nicely in perspective. ( i'm very unread on the subject, and that historical context helps a lot)

sportsfan wrote:

If Feckless Ness or anyone else can create a viable third party, please copy me on the memo.

Mull this. Raise more hell and a lot less corn. We don't need a third party to do that.

So in short, the plankton were providing a CO2 buffer, and that's dropping dramatically, meanwhile the natural cold cycle is rebounding with force. No wonder the Arctic is opening up in real time.

Fluffy the Obese Persian Cat wrote:

Yes. But, what would you actually suggest doing? Really doing? As either a citizen, or an elected official, now that this Frankenstein Finreg monster is law?

If you believe reform needs to be made - really believe it - then take it to the streets. That will get their attention - nothing else will break their attachment to lobbyist dollars - nothing. Teabaggers got that right [though I don't agree with their direction or politics].

Until that happens nothing changes.

dryfly wrote:

Mull this. Raise more hell and a lot less corn. We don't need a third party to do that.

I am certainly capable of being a hellraiser. Unfortunately, the impeachment of the POTUS for getting a perk of office from someone not his spouse convinced me long ago that America had reached the point where it was no longer viable. In fact it seemed that its then-current condition was grave. Hence, the modified limited dropout that has become my life.

The two subsequent national elections only confirmed that I saw what was coming. 2008 was so weird I haven't even digested what it meant. The idea of re-engaging hasn't been an issue. I'm not Maverick, I'm not flying an F-14 and this isn't Top Gun.

KR2 wrote:

So in short, the plankton were providing a CO2 buffer, and that's dropping dramatically, meanwhile the natural cold cycle is rebounding with force. No wonder the Arctic is opening up in real time.

I do hope this study gets more attention in the scientific journals and, if verified, in the main stream media. Personally, I don't have enough knowledge of marine ecosystems to do anything but think this is one more way we're not doing right by this rock we call home.

Rob Dawg wrote:
I prefer to hold to values and science rather than close my mind.

Given the way you habitually game an argument Rob, I cannot believe this statement. You regularly, almost reflexively, use tactic that are only used in bad faith.

Throwing out obscure little snippets of information in order to get the "other guy" to screw up first is just the most recent case in point.

Rob Dawg wrote:

Notice no reference to the far more prevalent opinions of an impending Ice Age at the time.

Yes, i know the saw, that's the oil-slick in the road of short term. Then we can debate the one-time-only effect of 300 yrs of industrial revolution, and so on. For me, this article explains what i see happening. Others may see a different reality, but i'm not in that camp. I have to go with what i see, and can make sense of.

Warren is one human, and she isn't my hero.

Will she resist capture or be another tool, even as a czarina? Are we supposed to rely on a personality or two to preserve the integrity of the system, or use the law itself?

Fuck corporate "privacy". Accused humans have the right to sealed grand jury minutes as ever. I'm waiting for one reason why the SEC needs to communicate in secrecy.

I look forward to the blogs that advocate the virtues of AGW.
CR is not that blog.

sportsfan wrote:

What's your proposed Amendment?

FOIA not to be abridged. Maybe some technical legalisms thrown in as necessary.

USA is a republic (as far as I know): government works for the people and the people have a right to know what is done on their behalf.

sportsfan wrote:

Funny how that idea gets a little lip service and no real action on either side of the aisle: Life in America.

It is interesting, isn't it? Just about looks like real democracy is more of a threat than corrupt politicians...

Throwing out obscure little snippets of information in order to get the "other guy" to screw up first

Infuriating. I'm waiting for an apology on the "spiking" garbage, but I don't expect it.

dryfly wrote:

That is in itself a form of protest - more potent than voting in my opinion. It is a form of taking it to the street.

LOL, you almost make it seem like it's a noble endeavour (I'm playing a Canadian on the internet tonight).

Agreed it's a form of protest. Not as sure it has any potency whatsoever. While I have posted that I'm as willing as the next jerk to man the barricades if the cause requires it, there is nothing in the modified limited dropout that has taken it to the street or helped to steer this country in any particular direction. In some ways it's more of a personal abdication of responsibility for what is happening and that, unfortunately, is an all too prevalent notion in this country already.

I do, however, still vote.

Jackrabbit wrote:

sportsfan wrote:

What's your proposed Amendment?

FOIA not to be abridged. Maybe some technical legalisms thrown in as necessary.

Okay, but it already was quite limited in nature when it was first passed into law.

I've used FOIA dozens of times. Among other things, I can tell you how many pairs of socks I was issued on my first day in the Army. Some agencies, however, were not quite as forthcoming with information given the numerous exemptions contained in the original law. I still see the current exemption for some SEC info as a minor item.

Fluffy the Obese Persian Cat wrote:

This might be part of an effective attack...but only part of it. And I don't know how to mobilize enough Americans to have a visual/newsworthy impact with this method.

It takes leaders for sure - like in the civil rights era - but more than that it requires a sense of anger 'it isn't working'... then usually leaders rise from the ranks. If this 'recession' drags on and the current crop of dems & gops continue jacking off like they have - those leaders will rise. Hopefully not ugly ones either.

It doesn't take a huge number to effect change - they just need to be motivated & persistent. If this lingers it will happen.

Until then - a lot more will drop out - Soviet saying: they pretend to pay us, we pretend to work. That attitude won't make American crony capitalism work - the are counting on us to bust ass so they can prosper. I'm guessing this will be the #1 form of 'peaceful protest' if this thing isn't fixed. I know more than a few doing it now already.

sportsfan wrote:

I do, however, still vote.

Sometimes there are those to vote against even if there is no one to vote for.

1 currency now -yogi wrote:

"Saint Warren" will save the people...

They will make sure the system is thoroughly 'Warren Proofed' before they give anyone like her the keys.

Failed regulation got us here... so the white knight riding in on a horse to save us is..... a new regulator
~splat

1 currency now -yogi wrote:
Throwing out obscure little snippets of information in order to get the "other guy" to screw up first
Infuriating. I'm waiting for an apology on the "spiking" garbage, but I don't expect it.

Only a lunatic "waits for" an apology on the internet.

Neither you nor Sportsfan are going to get much sympathy from me on the issue of Rob Dawg and rhetorical tactics. You are lawyers; you should have been trained to excel at this AND you should have had him pinned in 10 seconds or less. All I have is years of exposure to my father's Jesuit law school training, passed on to me in an informal fashion.

Thanks to freedom-of-information requests, "we now know that the SEC itself botched investigations of Bernie Madoff, who fleeced investors of tens of billions of dollars and now sits in prison," Reuteman said. "The SEC has been forced to institute internal reforms as a result of its own investigative shortcomings that came to light. ... But under the provisions in this new law, the SEC no longer has to comply with such requests for information."

If this doesn't bother you, you're too old. Do I expect government to tell me everything? Are you insane? That's exactly why I scream and shout when they take away or diminish my right to use judicial process to force them to act "in the sunshine".

Jackrabbit wrote:

Someone wrote previously that the exemption was not limited. If it is only for "some SEC info" then what info is being excluded from the public?

From the article:

The relevant clause in the new law states that the SEC "shall not be compelled to disclose records or information" if that information was obtained for the purposes of "surveillance, risk assessments, or other regulatory and oversight activities."

The subtext of most of these discussions is ridiculous. Until the Federal Reserve is abolished, there will be no 'reform', no 'transparency', and, most of all, no meaningful differences between any of the tentacles involved - SEC, FDIC, the T itself, FHA/FNM/FRE. And until every single element of the legislative and executive wing isn't captured by the largest handful of financial firms, the discussion threatens to veer from the pathetic to the comic.

Honestly, it is like talking about branches of the politburo circa 1950. I humbly suggest a focus on something more intellectually stimulating and worthy of discussion - like stock tips, or whether or not the Bengals can win the AFC.

You are lawyers; you should have been trained to excel at this AND you should have had him pinned in 10 seconds or less.

As you say, it's the internet, where Calvinball is played, not a courtroom.
I have no doubt that he would have been sanctioned or held in contempt, had his cause of action or defense dismissed with prejudice, or had the majority of his questions or testimony stricken under the rules of evidence if we had been before a judge.

I don't suggest that those rules should apply to a blog, but I was never trained in "rhetorical tactics", as you put it. That's not law.

sportsfan wrote:

So, I gather you think the Patriot Act wasn't such a good thing, huh?

It's abuse to pursue purely criminal case is not a good thing. Everyone's a terrorist when the Feds want shortcut the process and get their way without oversight ? Great idea there.
~splat

Until the Federal Reserve is abolished, there will be no 'reform', no 'transparency', and, most of all, no meaningful differences between any of the tentacles involved - SEC, FDIC, the T itself, FHA/FNM/FRE.

I agree that's the crux, but it may not happen while I can stay solvent, so I'm stuck reading the fucking bill for the next few weeks. The law is 2300 pages to defeat transparency, but crazy fringe lawyers like Mark Lane took apart the Warren Commission Report, which was 20+ VOLUMES without so much as a table of contents or index. At least we have the net and the computer's redactive tools.

I was watching "The US versus John Lennon" the other night. The Michigan appeals court denied an appeal from a guy's drug conviction. Lennon sung a song about it, drawing attention to the case. The Court reversed itself over the weekend.

If some of the obvious deficiencies of this bill are publicized, a "maverick" Democrat like Grayson or Feingold could easily sponsor an amendment, and let's see the Republicans dare to flip-flop. There's still an election scheduled for November.

Presumably, you are aware that you can invoke the judicial process to seek a resolution of any dispute you may have with any agency over that agency limiting your 'right' to the information you seek under the FOIA.

And the court must apply the law including the exemptions. I wouldn't want the court to substitute its judgment for that of Congress, unless my Constitutional rights were being violated. I don't get your point. How can I use FOIA if the agency is exempted?
If I don't trust Warren 100%, how do you think I feel about the other clowns?

I missed it, but I remember something about South Park getting into it with Comedy Central. I am not an expert, but it's my understanding that separation of mosque and state is very weak in some Muslim societies. It's very difficult to make a purely free speech artistic statement without appearing deliberately offensive and provocational.

Even in liberal New York City, a "patriot" will try to score cheap popularity points with simplistic legal nonsense. Chris Ofili - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hillary Clinton will never outlive her sleazy pandering to the anti-flag-burning crowd.

Oh, I know that the FB guys were trying to be offensive, but it really made me wonder how a 'true believer' would distinguish between five random representations; if one of them were actually the prophet or some other guy. The Catholics put clues into the stained glass to tip off which saint you're looking at, but how would a Muslim know who he was looking at?

1 currency now -yogi wrote:

usually enough to check Congressional power.

Aren't you a resident of NYC, yogs? No, they aren't that close. And, guess what - the politicians that aren't in districts that are locked down by one party or another (districts like ours in the wealthier parts of the coasts, or the more cretinous parts of the south) are totally indistinguishable in terms of party affiliation. Witness Bayh's constant analingus on Bernanke in testimony.

1 currency now -yogi wrote:

What happened on Facebook?

Everybody Draw Mohammed Day - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A protest page on Facebook against the initiative, named "Against ‘Everybody Draw Mohammed Day'", attracted about the same number of supporters. Subsequently, Facebook was temporarily blocked by Pakistan, impacting Facebook with millions of dollars of losses; the ban was lifted after Facebook agreed to block the page for users in India and Pakistan.

Greedy fuckers. Facebook will eventually get replaced by an open source alternative. It sounds like a great idea. Satire must be protected no matter how offensive to anyone. The Theo Van Gogh episode shows how easy it is to chill free speech.

Norris acknowledged, "I said that I wanted to counter fear and then I got afraid."[2][27] On April 29, Norris suggested that "Everybody Draw Mohammed Day" be called off: "Let's call off 'Everybody Draw Mohammed Day' by changing it to 'Everybody Draw Al Gore Day' instead. Enough Mohammed drawings have already been made to get the point across. At this juncture, such drawings are only hurtful to more liberal and moderate Muslims who have not done anything to endanger our first amendment rights."[28] On May 1, Norris posted a marked up version of her original cartoon, apologizing to Muslims.

She's freaked.

Wow, really interesting overnight.

Yogi, the media likes to portray voters, consumers, as stupid but the data we get here suggests otherwise. Consumers are repairing balance sheets and hunkering down and this is beyond those in exceptional distress. Interestingly, I think the old and very worn out buttons used by both parties to divide voters, divert voters from issues is indeed becoming worn out except to those who are entrenched and will never move. Those entrenched in party lines despite all evidence that neither is competent ranks are shrinking, deservedly so. Parties don't need contributions form the little people to conduct their campaigns, this is part of the problem. This is one key to the corporate capture of governments.

I like to back up and look at things with a long view. The endless 'analysts' politically have become just a lot of noise rather than providing any meaningful insights. It is sad, ratings trump real reporting or honest debate on both sides. Then it gets really silly, obtuse and but useful to distract from more pressing problems and matters. Another key in the whole scheme of things, no prioritization despite pressing needs and problems evident in media and government and society. In my world, triage was all important. This required a naked eye objective assessment of who and what required attention first. In crises, it was all hands on deck to manage the risks, to assess the needs, to operate as a team to achieve the goals. It translates elsewhere but unfortunately, is rarely applied. Be it economics, be it a natural disaster of magnitude, the system is broken beyond repair. There is no team work as political fortunes trump the needs of the many or their best interest versus that of a corporate special interest.

This is a off view of the situation with minutia creating hot points publicly that present themselves/ But these are a symptom that gain a lot of traction socially and politically but do little to repair damage..do much to distract from what is screaming for attention but gets little.

Technically, the capture of R&D and honest scientific analysis absent political or corporate interests has reached a breaking point. This pains me most. It risks everything including lives of innocent who require that honest assessment and processes they cannot decipher for themselves.

carry on..just early morning useless rambling.

Threat on Molly Norris' life
On July 11, 2010 it was reported that Yemeni-American cleric Anwar al-Awlaki had put Molly Norris on a hitlist. In an English-language Al Qaeda magazine named "Inspire," Al-Awlaki wrote "The medicine prescribed by the Messenger of Allah is the execution of those involved." and was quoted as saying "The large number of participants makes it easier for us because there are more targets to choose from in addition to the difficulty of the government offering all of them special protection,". But even then our campaign should not be limited to only those who are active participants." FBI officials have reportedly notified Norris warning her they consider it a "very serious threat."

Salman Rushdie is still alive and publishing, although I wouldn't want to have his neck. I don't see that "the system is broken beyond repair." I watched the vote get counted in Minnesota, and it was fair. Bush v. Gore was not, but the injustice was not cause for revolution. I agree with Greenchutes that any "reform" which apparently increases the power of the Fed has to be largely a sham, but that doesn't mean there aren't intelligent reforms in the bill, just as the Constitution was a great progressive document even with its absurd contradictions on slavery.

The anti-incumbent victories are real even though we fell just short in Nebraska. If Lincoln loses, I hope it sends a message to Obama to butt out of local "internal" Democratic politics. I'm already pissed that he ambushed Paterson in favor of Cuomo here in NY. In the spirit of triage, we can only "work" with FinReg as passed, which means attacking the worst parts as loudly as possible, and promoting the good [if any]. Sometimes you must compromise but that doesn't mean you should ever keep quiet.

1 currency now -yogi wrote:

I'm already pissed that he ambushed Paterson in favor of Cuomo here in NY. In the spirit of triage, we can only "work" with FinReg as passed, which means attacking the worst parts as loudly as possible, and promoting the good [if any]. Sometimes you must compromise but that doesn't mean you should ever keep quiet.

That one is a real head-scratcher for me. When Obama 'visited' Patterson, I was gobsmacked to be honest. Of course NY is in horrible chaos and is still without a budget like CA. There's plenty of drama there and its instructive the state where Wall Street wealth is housed is in so much trouble.

I don't see FinReg having many 'good parts'. The only hope is that Elizabeth Warren can excise some of the more abusive practices that are still legal and widely used. It will be a battle because she is will be under the Federal Reserve's umbrella creating an instant conflict of interest in my eyes.

Compromise can be constructive. Unfortunately the middle class have now been compromised out of existence for all practical purposes. The end result is just beginning to play out. Deaf, dumb and blind in DC are so far removed and get fed bull hockey for 'data and evidence' via the federal reserve and others that I don't see any hope of compromise in the reverse. The interests of money have a pit-bull grip on that.

Seriously C!

I have a friend in Greece too and dang it all, he's on vacation so I can't get a street view of this.

Yogi, the nurses strike in Minnesota (I think) got a lot of negative press but at least part of their sentiment got out. It wasn't really about money, it was about staffing issues and quality of service issues with horrible ratios of RNs:patient. In some of the larger metro hospitals, a lot of H1b staffing for RNs is evident with the same issues developing that happens in other industries. I've watched over the decades those duties once only RNs performed being approved to less skilled workers. Subsequently, problems have developed.

Back to Greece: I think this is a big fat My friend there told me there are all kinds of scandals appearing of govt officials, not the least of which is the accusation that central bank of Greece shorted their own bonds. Jeeze, humm...wonder who brokered that?

It was pretty dull on the Asia front today, so forgive some juvenilia. Equities did mainly immaterial things, with the exception of an emerging signal from Hang Seng China-related indices that are performing worse than the overall exchange. With lags, could be looking at some weakness to end the Shanghai rally in a week or so. Sovereigns did better, JGBs ticked up ahead of some mid-length supply coming on, and half an eye to the UST 7y results. Aussie bonds widened just on 3bp from the 1y out. NZ hiked official cash rates again, giving some forex wobbles. There are some copper/China correlations that I'm mulling over.

C

Bloomberg featured the story yesterday.

NYS Ins. Comm. Dinallo is running for AG, but he's also been a very good regulator. I asked him to run for Schumer's seat and he just laughed.

Yogi -

Don't know that you are or are not inclined to read the New Yorker. There's a July 26 issue piece on Volcker and FinReg which doesn't undertake the kind of drilling down which interests you, but does shed some light on the cut and thrust of getting it done.

Without quite saying so, Cassidy shows the pointless deadline - Obama wanting passage before G20 - as the trigger it was, shifting leverage to a few holdouts and inviting cuts and alterations in the process.

Anyway, here it is:

Paul Volcker and preventing financial collapse : The New Yorker 

Blinder and Zandi stand on the shoulders of this man.

The stock market crash of 1929 and the subsequent Great Depression cost Fisher much of his personal wealth and academic reputation. He famously predicted, a few days before the crash, "Stock prices have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau." Irving Fisher stated on October 21 that the market was "only shaking out of the lunatic fringe" and went on to explain why he felt the prices still had not caught up with their real value and should go much higher. On Wednesday, October 23, he announced in a banker’s meeting “security values in most instances were not inflated.” For months after the Crash, he continued to assure investors that a recovery was just around the corner. Once the Great Depression was in full force, he did warn that the ongoing drastic deflation was the cause of the disastrous cascading insolvencies then plaguing the American economy because deflation increased the real value of debts fixed in dollar terms. Fisher was so discredited by his 1929 pronouncements and by the failure of a firm he had started that few people took notice of his "debt-deflation" analysis of the Depression. People instead eagerly turned to the ideas of Keynes. Fisher's debt-deflation scenario has made something of a comeback since 1980 or so.

I'll try to read it. I have to leave for the airport in a few. last minute packing...

Foreclosure activity up across most US metro areas - Yahoo! News

http://www.weblinks247.com/indexes/idx24_usd_en_2.gif 

Falling dollar falling stocks.....interesting day on tap.

Police gun down rampaging pregnant cow at California State Fair

In the second bizarre incident at the State Fair in a week, Cal Expo police shot an agitated, pregnant dairy cow that twice escaped her confines and knocked over an officer as she bolted through the fairgrounds Tuesday morning. Neither the cow nor her calf survived the shooting. Just days earlier, two armed men – possibly employees of a food vendor – walked into a cash-counting room and left with $100,000 in a bag. They haven't been seen since.

As a commenter said, "No one had a rope? Go to the rodeo, cowboys compete by taking a steer down by the neck. The only thing wrong here is a vet from a University and a bunch of cops don't know a thing about agriculture at an agricultural exposition. Not much could have been dumber than shoot an "escaped" cow at the State Fair."

What could I add to that?

Nanoo-Nanoo wrote:

It is her legacy not to ever be diminished, ever, as it can't be, it is a stone carving that won't erode even with the passage of time.

A testament to her character and influence is that a year and a half after her passing, she leaves a gaping hole in so many people's lives. Many a time while slogging through one of her 5000 word posts, of which I understood very little, I remember thinking of the precision and care that went into them; almost like an engineer describing some arcane mechanical process so that the untutored could comprehend the workings of a magical, mechanical monster.

It's funny that you should mention stone carvings and erosion. Erosion is how I see the day to day degredation of the monstrous machine mankind has rendered. Though catastrophes loom large in the microcosm, the participants fully involved, each is but another feature erased by the latest breath of wind-borne dust.

Rajesh wrote:

They frown on tazering kids.

No they don't.
404 Not Found

The link works, too lazy to fix the 404.

This was intentional on my part. Truth and care, courage and discipline endure and is our final hope in the failing flawed processes of man's making.

First hand experience, personally and professionally, in witness to the ravages of the big C and battling it perhaps impacts my admiration of her more profoundly. Words become inadequate when considering it. She didn't retreat or take the easy path. It is humbling and inspirational.

That gaping hole won't ever be filled but we are left with her legacy to soothe and comfort; educate and inform and again I say, her unique beautiful spirit still lives here and it will never be diminished, ever.

Geithner's Thursday: Launching Regulatory Financial Hell
On Thursday afternoon, Treasury Secretary Geithner will meet with the heads of the agencies that will contribute "expertise and talent" to the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau established under the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

The meeting will serve to formally begin an ongoing process of interagency collaboration around the stand-up of the Bureau, including discussions regarding the consolidation of regulatory responsibilities and staff to improve coordination and efficiency in consumer protection.

Meeting attendees will include Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, Federal Reserve Governor Elizabeth Duke, FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, HUD Secretary Shaun J. Donovan, NCUA Chairman Debbie Matz, Comptroller of the Currency John C. Dugan, and OTS Acting Director John E. Bowman. OMB Director Peter Orszag also will attend

Yup all the financial geniuses in one room....Thanks be to Gee bus that we are honored with such greatness in these United States, with these " Geniuses " at the helm I worry not.

Waiter one puke bucket please.

Interesting, Shill. Setting up the bureau prior to appointing its chief.

On Blinder and Zandi - a fine, forensic job in my estimation. Our collective experience of the source metrics' usefulness in 2008 shouldn't detract from our estimate of their work, only it should expose it as potentially incorrect in its conclusions.

Nice job. But we'll see.

Must get about a hectic day. Thanks all.

Gnomester -

Don't remember your saying how the lavender is set out. Have seen it used in knot gardens to spectacular effect.

YouTube - Exploding Cow in Iraq

Read The Bill: H.R. 5741 - GovTrack.us

Mr. RANGEL needs to go.

The coyote choir is checking in here, must be 20 strong.

Black Star Ranch wrote:

Good law - git 'er dun!

Yes, let's make sure all the gangbangers get some professional small team assault and fire control training.
Maybe they'll even teach them to make IEDs like we did with the "freedom fighters" in the 'stan when they were fighting the Russians.
What could go wrong?