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Big day at the WSJ & Other ‘tin hats’
Mark your calendar. 2/18/2011 might well be a day where history takes a
turn. Something that I have been waiting weeks for has finally happened.
The Wall Street Journal has written an editorial that is critical of the Fed and its reckless monetary policies.
To be sure this editorial is mild in its language. But when the Journal says things like this it is time to take notice:
Once
again the Fed seems to have worried about deflation long after the
threat had passed and even as price pressures from its easier policy
were preparing to build. Let's hope it turns out better than it did the last time.
The timing of this is also important. Bernanke is in Paris this weekend
at the G-20 party. He is going to get his head bashed by a number of
other attendees. The WSJ has just given them the ammo they need. At this
point not even the Journal has anything nice to say about Fed policy.
I think we might see a bit of a floodgate on this. Others in the MSM are
watching global inflation perk up and cause big problems. They will be
pointing their editorial finger(s) at Ben. Soon. Fed bashing is too much fun, after all.
It will be interesting to read the next article by Jon Hilsenrath at the
Journal. He has been a steadfast Ben supporter. That crowd is getting
smaller by the day. Maybe Jon will hitch a ride on a different (more
popular) theme. I can’t wait.
********************************************
Speaking of those folks wearing tin foil hats, I know a bunch of them.
This group is convinced that the real problem we face has nothing to do
with climate change or the economy. It’s solar flares that are going to
do us in.
I tend to worry about things that can actually be changed. Things that
are out of our collective control are not worth fretting about. If we
are going to get hit on the head with a meteor (or solar flares) there
is not much we can do about it, so why worry?
There might be some worrying this weekend. Some big flares are in the
works. They had a minor consequence on Chinese radio last night. A
picture of the light show in the Alps and a video from NASA on the flare
that caused it:
NASA video link
***********************************
An update on a lawsuit between the Justice Department and AMBAC. This has to be one of the nuttier stories around.
The IRS “mistakenly” paid AMBAC $700mm as a “tentative” refund
resulting from a big restatement of prior year income. Now the IRS
wants it back. But AMBAC is in the hands of the Wisconsin insurance
commission. So DOJ is suing the State of Wisconsin. I’m no lawyer, but I
know a few of the rats. They tell me the IRS will win this one. Wisconsin/AMBAC will lose.
Here’s the rub. AMBAC is insuring a mere $225b of municipal bonds. (8%
of all issuance) If they lose the fight with the IRS the will have no
equity to pay claims. So the bonds will come into question.That's a lot of bonds.
Will the pending blowup at AMBAC be the straw that breaks the muni
market’s back? I don’t think so. But there is a lot of ‘straws’ on that
camel right now. The poor beast will most certainly feel the weight of
this one.
This stuff can only happen in America. The DOJ suit may well force a broader bailout of the muni market. One step forward, two steps back.
A link to the 2/9 filling by DOJ. I liked this language:
40.
Defendants’ conduct is causing irreparable injury to the United States,
and the United States has no adequate remedy at law. Defendants’
conduct, unless enjoined, may cause a substantial loss of revenue to the
United States Treasury, specifically a potential $700 million federal
tax liability that may be rendered effectively uncollectible except from
the non-existent assets of the Segregated Account.
»
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Re Climate Change...Global Cooling. Re. Sun Solars Flares...probably not. Re Asteroids and Comets yes...and you can prepare provided you are not near where it hits!
Thanks, Bruce. It's a tremendous relief to know that those non-existent assets are being held in a segregated account. Rest easy, everyone.
The IRS lost in Wisconsin today. Expected result in a state court. It ain't over til it's over.
The "win" by the WI Insurance Commissioner does mean that he has control of the non-existing assets in the segregated account for the time being. A significant victory. But the ownership of the worthless assets will soon be tested in federal courts. There might be some justice in the end. The FEEBs will, no doubt, side with their brethren. Proper title to the non existing assets will be ceded (rightly) to The People.
A fitting end. The people will get what they deserve, non-existing assets. The lawyers who brought us this great victory will cost $50mm. Perfect.
Perfect, indeed. The people, who started out with nothing, will still have most of it left.
where can i go long Solar flare futures ???
DC bleeder resistor manufacturers. Power generation plant transformer manufacturers.
http://www.powertransformersblog.com/tag/electrical-power-transformers/
More Tin Hatters .. oh, wait
Alex Jones and Catherine Austin Fitts:
"Financial Coup d'Etat!!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OvjSpSLp-ZU
or how about Google and the NSA (not to mention Pres Obama's tech summit with Zuckerberg et al)
http://www.pcworld.com/article/217550/google_comes_under_fire_for_secret...
http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2011/02/twitter-google-facebook-...
i don't worry either, i love blue skies, some fluffy clouds and a full moon, bitch†
why would anyone believe anything coming out of the governments mouth these days?
how have otherwise intelligent people siezed upon this ridiculous global warming theory as true?
why would this frankly silly theory be true when everything else they say is bullshit?
climate has been changing on earth rather frequently for 4.2 billion years
sun come up, global warming
sun go down global cooling
warmer in sun than shade
water vapor accounts for 95% of earths greenhouse gas effect
man makes less than 1% of earths co2
1% of the far less than 5% effect of co2
so less than .0005% of greenhouse effect is our fault
simplest explanation for phallacy of premise
plenty of free non tax worthy pollution problems we could address
In regards to IRS versue AMBAC....does the IRS ever lose when it comes to big money?
PoofterPriest?
Ooo-were!
:~
So now the WSJ is only 10 years behind the power curve. Maybe that's progress.
"They're rioting in Africa. They're starving in
Spain. There's hurricanes in Florida and Texas
needs rain. The whole world is festering with
unhappy souls. The French hate the Germans. The
Germans hate the Poles. Italians hate Yugoslavs.
South Africans hate the Dutch and I don't like
anybody very much! But we can be tranquil and
thankful and proud for man's been endowed with a
mushroom shaped cloud. And we know for certain
that some lovely day someone will set the spark
off and we will all be blown away. They're rioting
in Africa. There's strife in Iran. What nature
doesn't do to us will be done by our fellow man."
- Merry Minuet, The Kingston Trio
Starts at about 7:20 in...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsYRFQASY6Q
Camel got a Fro, global cooling it is...
Perverted and brilliant. Two of my favorite things.
If you haven't seen it, check out Hogan's Kicking the Sacred Cow. Lots of good stuff on climate, Darwin, red shift, aids..., all the medias favorite crapola.
I think we're just in another solar max period - they happen every 11 years. Sit back and enjoy the pretty aurora.
yup, check out this article from 2006
http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2006/10mar_stormwarning/
Nice deployment of the quirky WSJ parlance to be sure... BK!
meanwhile...the USD is plummeting (still)...commodities are going parabolic (along with unemployment and global rioting)...the market is hitting new 2+ year highs day after day after day after day...and the momo monkeys couldn't be happier (and by happy I mean oblivious).
"Full Speed Ahead"
Captain Edward Smith - April 15, 1912
We need a Carrington Event to fry all the computers, so Wall Street can get off the hook by simply stating, "The information is gone, and we don't know who owns what".
Reset.
Love when you can
Cry when you have to
Be who you must
That's a part of the plan
Await your arrival
With simple survival
And one day, we'll all understand...
Dan Fogleberg, "Part of the Plan"
Hardening electronics against a solar flare is an engineering problem, replacing those that fail is a maintenance problem. Civilization can handle both.
Ten or fifteen years ago they tested something at Area 51 a few times. It fried the keyless entry systems of a few Camaros in Vegas. No big deal.
I'm a little confused by the middle section, Bruce.
We've got millions of people convinced that "climate change" (formerly known as "global warming") has everything to do with the activities of man, and completely discount activity of the sun. I for one think that the sun influences weather (crazy as that may sound).
Furthermore I find that the climate scientists have not been forthcoming with there methods of data collection or the data itself, claiming it is "proprietary." Now if I believed we were on the brink of disaster, I'd be handing out co-ordinates and thermometers screaming "go check it yourself!!!." I'd also be buying "farmland" inside the arctic circle, but that's just me.
Instead these so-called scientists, whose theories seem to morph to explain undeniable, observable realities, are proposing "economic" solutions to ecological problems.
Color me very, very skeptical.
I'm not "worried" about sun flairs, I'm just not sure I should put my faith in a "science" that still can't produce an accurate five-day forecast.
So what are you saying?
back in the 1930s' everything could be explaining in terms of psychology. now a hundred years later we have its sister science, economics as the key to all understanding. NOT Thoreau's economics however. I am constantly amused at how discredited his writing has become.
Perhaps that's because since Henry David Thoreau's time, desperation has grown a lot noisier.
"Instead these so-called scientists, whose theories seem to morph to explain undeniable, observable realities, are proposing "economic" solutions to ecological problems."
Sounds like Elliott Wavers to me!
__________
To believe that a puny, insignificant little animal can influence the life-cycles of planets and stars is just the most absurd thing I've ever tried to get my head around. (Besides spreads on sovereign issues and their influence on 4X...)
The definition of hubris is that you believe we (as in all of us...) have the power to trump God and Nature. I say you could stack all the Universally insignificant creatures on this planet one on top of the other and we still wouldn't make a blip in the Grand Scheme of Things. Ever.
In the immortal words of Stanley Kowalski, "...and some of them give themselves credit for more than they deserve."
I assume you know something about Socionomics. I tell people that it is most likely that the part of Elliotwave which is most useful, their 5 wave charting system, will be lost (as all technical analysis proves useless in a choreographed market) and his least useful and obtuse achievement will survive.
that's because, just like the market, a five day forecast is a lot harder to predict than big picture trends :/
P.S. - I'll believe anything, if there's a steady paycheck for me in it.
I sure hope it warms up more quickly because the past 1,000 years have been freezing compared to the 10,000 year average.
http://www.ofcomswindlecomplaint.net/images/ScreenQuality/fig2-Temp10000...
Much debate regarding 'climate change' legislation is driven by a paticular chart demonstrating a 'hockey stick' ramping in recent global temperatures. However, prior to this we were known to have been in a 'mini ice age' during the time of the Napoleonic Wars and American Revolution (with temperatures having dropped from previously much higher levels).
In fact, it is important to note that the 'estimates' for much of the 'hocky stick' graph were never even remotely realized. Global temperatures leveled and have actually fallen sharply by comparison in the most recent two years.
The fact is, if the measurements can be trusted, we are currently near the higher end of our temperature range as it relates to the past 1000 years. Yes, the rise appears to be somewhat rapid and maybe even driven by human activity. However, the more logical explaination to me right now is that this has possibly come about either naturally or as a result of more widespread advances in agriculture - with subsequent domestication and feeding of animals, as well as global population growth from increased food production, in general.
Considering the potential effects of assumed 'greehouse gases', it is then Methane (particularly from cows), not CO2, which could be considered the primary culprit.
"Agriculture is responsible for an estimated 14 percent of the world's 'greenhouse gases'. A significant portion of these emissions come from methane, which, in terms of its contribution to global warming, is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide."
http://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/methane-cow.htm
Assuming this is true, then why do global despots seek control of CO2 emissions rather than Methane? Clearly, this provides for them opportunity to dismantle coal-fired power plants and other industry. Further, it may even give them jurisdiction over our ability to exhale!
As an aside, we hear much talk about the depletion of 'non-renewable' resources. If so, then will not these decreasing fossil fuel supplies already act as the self-corrections on human CO2 emissions that are sought by our global puppet leaders?
Further, has not life on earth already coped quite successfully with much higher temperatures in the past, anyway? Will not receding glaciers open up more farmland in the Northern Hemisphere?
And will not more CO2 create more plant life and ultimately more oxygen in our air? I like oxygen, don't you?
Given all of the facts, is this worth handing over even more power to unelected bureaucrats who are clearly supported by a shadow government seeking to dismantle our Constitutional Republic?
At this point, I think not.
http://www.friendsofscience.org/index.php?id=3
I'm with you, chop.
I need a whole lot more convincing.......
Here's a space weather link, long presentation but at ~19mins she talks about astronomers threatening leaving the US over the censorship of actual space weather data: http://collegerama.tudelft.nl/mediasite/SilverlightPlayer/Default.aspx?p...
@mark
"What makes all doctrines plain and clear?
About two hundred pounds a year.
And that which was proved true before,
Prove false again? Two hundred more."
--Samuel Butler, 1860
Imagine a Twinkie...
Awesome reference!!!!
I agree with you on not worrying about things beyond our control. A few years back, when Yellowstone was having lots of earthquakes, there were a lot of folks sweating an eruption. My take, can't stop it, so why worry. Light up a big old stogie, pour an adult beverage, and enjoy them one last time, for the good times. If a meteor were coming, I'd be the one heading for the beech to watch the big wave come in, cigar in hand. ;-)
Bernanke is now blaming foreign investors for the financial crisis:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/eea1957c-3b5e-11e0-9970-00144feabdc0.html#axzz...
Just curious, does The Bernanke have a Secret Service detail with him?
Something like that and the online equivalent, you too can manage 10 trolls at a time: https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=d88e9d660336be91552...
unbelievable!!!!...wait, not really
That link is crazy !!!! People are getting paid to throw around gov't approved propaganda ? Reminds me of when the gulf spill happened , all of a sudden there was 20 guys on zerohedge who were experts, and after they disappeared as fast as they appeared . We are living in bizarre times
Just before the fall of the Soviet empire, people were paid to drive empty trucks around Moscow, to disguise the fact the economy was collapsing. I was there in 1989 and the guide told me, making no attempt to disguise his contempt for the regime.
I also remember feeling very smart as I was able to get 50 Rubles per Dollar on the black market, rather than the official 1 for 1 rate. I then ended up feeling rather stupid when I realized there was nothing to buy except on the black market, and they only took Dollars....
Anyway, we have all this shit to look forward to, because this is all too fucked to be fixed now, that ship sailed years ago.
It's funny, I sometimes comment at Seeking Alpha, which does the old plus minus thing. A few weeks ago, I commented about Bank of America and said that the value of the stock was entirely down to the courts, as a ruling on put backs could wipe out their equity. I decided I wanted to add something else, and went back literally 5 minutes later to find 8 thumbs down and zero thumbs up. There were also lots of thumbs down for other negative views. The thing is, there were no replies to my comment, but somehow 8 users had all decided it was a bad comment. What was amusing was a few hours later, there were 9 thumbs up, but still 8 thumbs down.
classic.
Thanks Bruce, great post.
Reply for Bruce; well, I'm not surprised its an important day; It's my birthday! I gotta good laugh out of the language in quote; those folks are sure enough experts on "uncollectable, non- existent assets"; ho, ho, ho.
Happy birthday to you, sir.
hmmm what name starts with the letter G and ends with N
and
Bruce are you suggesting that we can do something about climate change?
Blasphemy!
You clowns surrender to the omnipotent intellectual class and pay your carbon taxes.
Don't pay attention to Al Goreleone flying around in a G5 profiteering from fudged climate numbers, or his resulting carbon footprint. Just be good serfs, don't use fossil fuels, and surrender all civil liberties to this brave new world order.
You're confusing 'fudged' with 'updated', it's a common practice that real scientists of any stripe employ in light of new information.
Either that or you are merely confusing 'sophistry' with 'reason', which seems to be a common occurence too, when it comes to discussions on this subject.
Speaking of 'sophistry', I don't recall reading the part where Mr.Krasting advocated any of the 'solutions' you've outlined, perhaps you were just joking?