Archive - Nov 2015

After East Chicago re-elected an accused drug dealer and murderer as councilman, we thought the bar had dropped as low as it gets for the ignorance of an electorate. But, no! Bridgeport, Connecticut residents just took the proverbial biscuit by re-electing Mayor Joseph P. Ganim - who during his last 'reign' was convicted of 16 felonies including racketeering, extortion, and bribery.

With the winter of 2015 so far shaping up to be what some have dubbed "abnormally hot", we thought that at least this year the weatherconomists would keep their mouth shut: after all, if you blame cold weather for an underperforming economy, you better say nothing at all if the weather is warmer than usual as it has been in October and November. Alas, it was not meant to be, and so, without further ado, here are everyone favorite economweathermen from Goldman Sachs, warning everyone that, drumroll, yes, Winter Is Coming.

Within the last week China appears to have hit the panic button with regards the seemingly unstoppable collapse of commodity prices. First, desperate Chinese producers began to demand a QE-for-commodities bailout; then, following the well-trodden (and failing) path of China's equity market maipulation, authorities began to crackdown on "malicious" commodity short-sellers. So why now? Why focus attention on the commodity markets? Perhaps this chart holds the key...

At least 151 people have been put to death since Saudi Arabia's current King Salman rose to power after the death of King Abdullah in January 2015, dramatically higher than the total of 90 in 2014. As Amnesty International warns, "it is clear that the Saudi Arabian authorities are using the guise of counter-terrorism to settle political scores."

Moments ago the Colorado Springs police responded to a call of an active shooter in the parking lot of a Planned Parenthood clinic, adding that the area has not been secured, the department said. 

Usually, an identity crisis is temporary. Eventually, people discover a healthy identity for themselves and a sense of stability returns to their lives. But, under such constant political mismanagement and widespread criminality, what chance is there for a stable future? Very little it seems.

And Even If It Wasn't, It Was An Illegal War Crime

"it's not just energy...it's everywhere!"

D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier is an outspoken proponent of gun control (in a district which already has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation). So, when asked by 60 Minutes how people should respond to being near an active gunman, Lanier's response was bemusing as The Washington Times reports, saying that the "best option for saving lives before police can get there" would be for citizens to try to subdue, or even kill, the gunman.

It's the kind of business plan that would be laughed out of a business school classroom. "The co-ops were essentially amateur exercises." Why not scrap the perverse ACA regulations and admit it was a pipe dream to ever assume young, healthy people could be coerced into paying several times their expected costs to cover other people’s excessive spending.

“China has for decades proudly proclaimed its lack of military facilities on foreign soil, so seeking long-term military access at a quasi-base level is a massive about-face… China is poised to cross the Rubicon.”

In a statement, the People’s Bank of China thanked the IMF for the recommendation and said it was “an acknowledgment of the progress in China’s recent economic development, reform and opening up”.