Quote of the day

It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important.

Martin Luther King Jr.

Some pics (entrance of our community with playground)

Ben Bernanke hated by everyone now?

Ron Paul receives cheers from the trading floor and Ben Bernanke... well he is just a puppet on a string for the dumbest president ever, gotta stay on the president's level when answering some intelligent questions of course. This is amazing (economy problems explained below this post):

Gold +$800 // Oil +$95 // Euro Dollar 5 year chart(from 1:1 to 0.68) // 1.47 in euro terms

This was the "interview", Bernanke is lying and you can see it at the end.


Some extra information to understand the crisis:

The FED doesn't show the M3 anymore which is a measure of the money supply. They just stopped showing number to the public. No one knows how much money has been printed, oops, I mean created. When money is created inflation rises. Prices become more expensive and people loose purchasing power. The same amount of income buys you less goods or services, even though you earn the same amount as last year you are getting poorer in REAL terms.

To check inflation you have the consumer price index (CPI). Inflation is the rise in prices of day to day goods. A low inflation is good for the economy +/-2%, a high or negative in/de flation is bad for the economy. The problem is that the government takes all goods and services that rise, out of the CPI which means the CPI doesn't represent the real inflation. The CPI is manipulated by the government to le the people think that inflation is under control (about 2%)

The debt that the US government has, is owned by foreign countries. If they stop buying that debt (and that won't take too long before they cease to do that), the US government will have to devaluate the dollar. All foreign/imported goods are going to get more expensive. Think Mercedes, BMW, French Wine/cheese, ... Combine that with the price rise of all other American goods due to inflation and the collapse of the Us dollar.

Americans have a incorrect view that a lowering dollar is good for the ecnomy and for the US consumer: Products made in the US and sold in dollars will be very cheap to foreigners when the US dollar further declines/collapses. US companies will want to sell their products outside the USA because they will be able to get more money(in $) for their products. This will lift inflation in the US even more .... Us consumers will have to compete against foreigners for US made products.

Foreclosure Tsunami

The number of Valley homeowners losing their homes to foreclosure has shot up 566 percent so far this year, a result of the housing market’s slowdown and rising interest rates on a variety of risky mortgages.
Through October, there were 7,139 foreclosures, according to the data research firm Information Market. That compares with 1,072 foreclosures for the same period last year.
Last month alone, 1,396 Valley homes fell into foreclosure, compared with 934 in September.
Additionally, in October, 3,438 homeowners fell behind on their mortgage payments, and lenders took the first step toward foreclosing by filing a notice for a trustee sale. During September, 2,830 of those pre-foreclosure notices were filed in Maricopa County.\

Below a picture that puts the foreclosures in perspective:

Listings (huizen te koop) are shown with green signs, foreclosures are represented by gavels (zwarte schuine streepjes). This is a suburb of Phoenix (El Mirage).

Source: http://www.housingdoom.com/

Quote of the day

In the beginning there was nothing. God said, 'Let there be light!' And there was light. There was still nothing, but you could see it a whole lot better.

Ellen DeGeneres

That's F****** frightening

Killing a few hundred thousand of people who did no harm to anyone, children, women, families, citizens like you and me, and not feeling bad about it...

Article:
Hiroshima bomb pilot Paul Tibbets dies aged 92

US: The pilot of the aircraft which dropped the world's first atomic bomb used in warfare, Paul Tibbets, died yesterday aged 92.Mr Tibbets flew the B-29 bomber Enola Gay which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945.He insisted almost to his dying day that he had no regrets about the mission and had no problem sleeping.

It was the first use of a nuclear weapon in warfare."I knew when I got the assignment it was going to be an emotional thing," Mr Tibbets told the Columbus Dispatch in a story published on the 60th anniversary of the bombing. "We knew it was going to kill people right and left.

But my one driving interest was to do the best job I could so that we could end the killing as quickly as possible."

He said in a 1975 interview: "I'm not proud that I killed 80,000 people, but I'm proud that I was able to start with nothing, plan it and have it work as perfectly as it did."You've got to take stock and assess the situation at that time. I sleep clearly every night."

Americans have a very weird moral standard. They are horrified when you tell them that people eat "horse meat" but killing human beings, a few thousand here and a few hundred thousand there, no one gives a s***...

Use bombs for military targets not for killing citizens, would be rational reasoning. Their reasoning for killing hundred thousands of citizens was there was going to be a bloody invasion.

WTF!!!

The USA is the one and only REAL expert in bloody invasions LOL.

Geneva Convention:

Some of the central principles underlying laws of war are:
Wars should be limited to achieving the political goals that started the war (e.g., territorial control) and should not include unnecessary destruction
Wars should be brought to an end as quickly as possible
People and property that do not contribute to the war effort should be protected against unnecessary destruction and hardship

Holidays

Monday the 12th of November we have a holiday: Veterans day.

[object]">Veterans Day is an American holiday honoring military veterans. Both a federal holiday and a state holiday in all states, it is celebrated on the same day as Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world, falling on November 11, the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.)
Veterans Day is largely intended to thank veterans for their service, to acknowledge that their contributions to United States national security are appreciated, and to underscore the fact that all those who served - not only those who died - have sacrificed and done their duty.[1]
The holiday is commonly misprinted as Veteran's Day or Veterans' Day in calendars and advertisements.

November 21st we have an early release. We' re not sure how "short" that early release day is. We don't have any school on Thursday(22nd Thanksgiving) and Friday(23rd) too:

In the United States, Thanksgiving is a four day weekend which usually marks a pause in school and college calendars. Families and friends gather for a reunion, a day of thanks, and a festive meal.
Thanksgiving meals are traditionally family events where certain kinds of food are served. First and foremost, turkey is the featured item in most Thanksgiving feasts (so much so that Thanksgiving is sometimes facetiously referred to as "Turkey Day"). Stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, corn, turnips, yams and pumpkin pie are commonly associated with Thanksgiving dinner. Often guests bring food items or help with cooking in the kitchen as part of a happy, communal meal.
In keeping with the holiday theme of giving thanks, during the socializing or meal, people talk about what they are thankful for or tell about experiences during the past year which have caused them to feel grateful.

The solution for the Belgian problem

Let's sell Brussels to the European Union for 2 500 000 000 euro, which would erase the debt of Belgium. With no debt load, let's split up the country so the eternal money flow in the "Wallonian" abyss finally stops.

Belgian Politics: Do or Die day

As usual the Flemish parties will give in and there will be no vote in the commission...that is a 99% probability.

That's what I would call a LOSS LEADER

Toshiba's $99 HD DVD player

Quote of the day

When I was younger, I could remember anything, whether it had happened or not.
Mark Twain

(1835 - 1910)

When it takes over 150 days to form a government ...

do you think those parties are fit to work / operate together for the next 4 years?

Looks I was not the only one...

Ron Paul receives 4.2 million dollars in donations in 1 day !!!

Ron Paul Raises More Than $4.2 Million

By JIM KUHNHENN (AP)

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, aided by an extraordinary outpouring of Internet support Monday, hauled in more than $4.2 million in nearly 24 hours. Paul, the Texas congressman with a libertarian tilt and an out-of-Iraq pitch, entered heady fundraising territory with a surge of Web-based giving tied to the commemoration of Guy Fawkes Day. Fawkes was a British mercenary who failed in his attempt to kill King James I on Nov. 5, 1605. He also was the model for the protagonist in the movie "V for Vendetta." Paul backers motivated donors on the Internet with mashed-up clips of the film on the online video site YouTube as well as the Guy Fawkes Day refrain: "Remember, remember the 5th of November."Paul's total deposed Mitt Romney as the single-day fundraising record holder in the Republican presidential field. When it comes to sums amassed in one day, Paul now ranks only behind Democrats Hillary Rodham Clinton, who raised nearly $6.2 million on June 30, and Barack Obama. Paul spokesman Jesse Benton said the effort began independently about two months ago at the hands of Paul's backers. He said Paul picked up on the movement, mentioning in it speeches and interviews."It's been kind of building up virally," Benton said.T he $4.2 million represented online contributions from more than 37,000 donors, fundraising director Jonathan Bydlak said Monday night. Paul has been lagging in the polls behind Republican front-runners. But he captured national attention at the end of September when he reported raising $5.2 million in three months, putting him fourth among Republican presidential candidates in fundraising for the quarter. Paul as of Monday had raised more than $7 million since Oct. 1, more than half his goal of $12 million by the end of the year, according to his Web site.Paul advocates limited government and low taxes like other Republicans, but he stands alone as the only GOP presidential candidate opposed to the Iraq war. He also has opposed Bush administration security measures that he says encroach on civil liberties.

I've donated for RON PAUL

I can't vote so I have to help him in some other way.

It is the first time in my life I donate for a political campaign. It was my moral duty to support a "future" President that has at least twice the IQ than the one that sits in the Oval Office right now.

The fact that they had an initiative on the internet to get as much money as possible on this november 5th, helped me to pull the trigger. I am always in for some fun. WEBSITE LINK

The biggest company in the world is now called ...

PetroChina, it is the first company to exceed 1 TRILLION dollars of market cap (market cap = number of shares * value of shares).

That was close ...

Arizona nuclear plant normal after pipe bomb found

HP rip off

Hewlett-Packard is a real rip-off company. I ordered a HP C3180 for $70 on amazon a few months ago. To my surprise I noticed the ink cartridges are a meager 5ML, yes you read it correctly FIVE ml ...
A cartridge costs about $13, if we assume the cartridge itself costs $3 to produce. They charge $10 for 5 ml, which converts to $2000 per liter (1/4 of a gallon).
HP ink is now officially MORE expensive than gold and platina.
Luckily I bought 85 ml for $13 using the internet (incl shipping, no taxes) to refill my cartridges...

Quote of the day

Money frees you from doing things you dislike. Since I dislike doing nearly everything, money is handy.

Groucho Marx (1890 - 1977

Showing the face of King Tutankhamun to the public

As a World Studies teacher, this is a major event.
In Egypt tourists can look look the young pharaoh King Tutankhamun in the eye. From today on the mummy will be showed in a climate controlled coffin of plastic at his Pyrimad in Luxor, Egypt.

LINK: Click on these words on the right hand top under "video": Bekijk de beelden van de ophaling van de mummie.
It will take a few seconds to load.

The way they take him out of that coffin is so amateuristic ... if the first one drops the body, he breaks in a gazillion pieces...

To refresh your memory: The story of Tutankhamun

Chinese Stock Market Crash

China Mobile, China's biggest mobile operator, has a market cap of $380 billion. More than Vodafone, America Movil en NTT Domoco … COMBINED...

PetroChina, China's biggest oil company, has a market cap of $450 billion. More than Royal Dutch Shell, Total and BP. Exxon Mobile is the only one that has a larger market cap.

Bank of China, China's biggest bank, has a market cap of $360 billion. That is a HIGHER market cap than Citigroup and Bank of America, COMBINED...

Baidu.com, China's biggest search engine, has a book value below $10, however the latest quote is $410 ...

I am not sure which event will trigger a market crash in China, but I'm pretty sure it won't take too long...