XIAM007 - Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World: 06/18/11

Saturday, 18 June 2011

48 % Of Americans Believe Another Great Depression Is Likely In The Next 12 Months – 19 Reasons Why They Are Not Crazy -

Do you believe that the U.S. economy is steamrolling toward a depression? If so, you are not alone. According to a recent CNN poll, 48 percent of Americans believe that “another Great Depression” is likely within the next 12 months. Americans have been waiting for almost three years for a “recovery” to materialize, but instead there are all kinds of signs that the economy is about to get worse yet again. Inflation is rising but wages are not. There are millions of Americans that would do just about anything to get a decent job. The “misery index” is the highest it has been in almost 30 years. All of the recent polls show that the American people are more pessimistic about the economy than at any other time in recent memory. World financial markets are incredibly unstable right now and many analysts are expecting a repeat of 2008 (or worse). Meanwhile, our state and local governments are drowning in debt, the federal government is drowning in debt and governments all over Europe are drowning in debt. No, it is not crazy for 48 percent of Americans to believe that we are about to go into another Great Depression.

Just think about that statistic for a moment. Nearly half of the country expects the economy to fall to pieces at some point over the next year.

So do I agree with them?

Yes, I certainly believe that an economic collapse is coming. But that doesn’t mean that it will necessarily happen within the next year. The United States is in the midst of a long-term economic decline, and the next big financial crisis could potentially happen in 2011 or 2012.

But it might not.

There are so many variables and it is so hard to predict with certainty the exact timing of how things will play out.

However, it is true that incredibly painful economic times are coming. Our long-term economic future looks unbelievably bleak.

So anyone that believes that we are headed for another depression is certainly not crazy. The following are 19 reasons why it is perfectly rational to be pessimistic about the U.S. economy right now….

#1 Today, 25 million Americans are either unemployed or underemployed. 6 million of those have been out of work for at least 6 months. The average duration of unemployment in the U.S. is now close to 40 weeks.

#2 The unofficial misery index, which is calculated by combining unemployment and inflation, is now at a 28 year high.

#3 Sadly, if unemployment and inflation were calculated the same way that they were back in the 1970s, the misery index would actually be much, much higher. According to John Williams of Shadow Government Statistics, the current “real” rate of inflation is approximately 11.2%instead of the 3.6% figure that the U.S. government wants us to believe.

#4 Greece is on the verge of complete and total financial collapse. The yield on two year Greek bonds is up to 28 percent. The European Central Bank and the German government have been fighting over what to do to solve the Greek crisis. The truth is that without a bailout the Greek government will default. If Greece defaults, it would be a huge nightmare for world financial markets.

#5 Neil MacKinnon, an analyst at VTB Capital, is warning that a Greek implosion could set off a 2008-style financial crisis….

“The risk of a ‘Lehman moment’ for the eurozone is increasing”

#6 Spain is also potentially a major problem. The Spanish economy is more than twice the size of the Greek, Irish and Portuguese economies combined. Over the past 12 months, the yield on 10 year Spanish bonds has been rising steadily, and many believe that Spain could be the tipping point that pushes the sovereign debt crisis in Europe over the edge.

#7 State and local governments all over the United States are cutting their budgets and are implementing brutal austerity measures. For example, one small town in Alabama has actually decided that they are simply going to stop paying pension benefits to their retirees. In other areas, teachersand police officers are being fired in massive numbers. UBS Investment Research is projecting that state and local governments in the U.S. will combine to slash a whopping 450,000 jobs by the end of next year.

Radioactive tea from Japan detained in France - cesium content exceeded the permitted norm twofold -

A consignment of radioactive tea from Japan was detained by customs officials in France. The cesium content exceeded the permitted norm twofold. Reportedly, the tea was en route from Shizuoka Prefecture, central Japan.

Japanese green tea radioactive intercepted at the airport of Roissy, AFP, June 17, 2011:

Google Translation

A lot of green tea from Japan, containing twice as much cesium as the maximum permissible level, was intercepted at the airport of Roissy in Paris, and must be destroyed, said Friday that the direction of consumption (DGCCRF) in a statement.
This is a lot of 162 kg of dried leaves from the Shizuoka Prefecture (center). This is the first time that radioactive products are detected in France as part of the controls put in place following the accident in Fukushima.
Laboratory testing revealed contamination by cesium 1,038 Bq / kg, exceeding the maximum permissible level set at European level, which is 500 Bq / kg for this type of product, says the DGCCRF.
The product has been quarantined and will be subject to destruction by a specialist.
DGCCRF decided to “establish a systematic monitoring of all plants from the same Japanese prefecture” and “will enter the European Commission to add the prefecture of Shizuoka prefecture to the list for which EU rules impose a control systematically from Japan.”

Jewish court sentences DOG to death by stoning - says DOG is the reincarnation of a lawyer who insulted the court -

According to Ynet, the large dog made its way into the Monetary Affairs Court in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighbourhood of Mea Shearim in Jerusalem, frightening judges and plaintiffs.
Despite attempts to drive the dog out of the court, the hound refused to leave the premises.
One of the sitting judges then recalled a curse the court had passed down upon a secular lawyer who had insulted the judges two decades previously.
Their preferred divine retribution was for the lawyer's spirit to move into the body of a dog, an animal considered impure by traditional Judaism.
Clearly still offended, one of the judges sentenced the animal to death by stoning by local children.
The canine target, however, managed to escape.
"Let the Animals Live", an animal-welfare organisation filed a complaint with the police against the head of the court, Rabbi Avraham Dov Levin, who denied that the judges had called for the dog's stoning, Ynet reported.
One of the court's managers, however, confirmed the report of the lapidation sentence to Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot.
"It was ordered ... as an appropriate way to 'get back at' the spirit which entered the poor dog," the paper reported the manager as saying, according to Ynet.
Certain schools of thought within Judaism believe in the transmigration of souls, or reincarnation.

Read more - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/israel/8583317/Jewish-court-sentences-dog-to-death-by-stoning.html

Two New York State Park Police officers hoisted to safety near Niagara Falls by a Canadian helicopter -

Two New York State Park Police officers have been hoisted to safety by a Canadian helicopter after they became trapped on the upper Niagara River.

The New York officers were trying to rescue a boat that was trapped on the river early Saturday morning.

But their boat was stymied by the fog and got trapped about a quarter mile from Niagara Falls at about 4 a.m.

Once the fog cleared, the officers were rescued by an Ontario Parks Police helicopter at about 8:15 a.m.

Officials tell The Buffalo News that the people on the first boat were brought safely to shore at about 3 a.m.

Reports say the helicopter was owned by a company that does helicopter tours.

A comedian impersonating Obama made racially tinged jokes at the Republican Conference before being pulled off the stage -

A comedian impersonating President Obama made racially tinged jokes Saturday at the Republican Leadership Conference before being pulled off the stage by an event organizer.

The Obama impersonator, Reggie Brown, said that while the First Lady celebrated all of Black History Month, the bi-racial president only celebrated half the month.

Brown also said: "My mother loved a black man, and she was not a Kardashian."

Flashing a picture on the screen of Fred Sanford of “Sanford and Son” fame, the comedian said that’s what Obama would look like when he got older.

Brown didn’t just limit his jokes to Obama, though. He also mocked Mitt Romney’s Mormon faith, ridiculed Newt Gingrich’s faltering campaign and suggested Tim Pawlenty needed a spinal transplant.

As Brown was preparing to make a Michele Bachmann joke, one of the conference’s officials came out to the lectern and told the comedian to leave the stage.

It was a remarkable display and came just one day after two high-profile Republicans —- Haley Barbour and Bobby Jindal — urged activists to focus only on going after Obama on policy and not engage in personal attacks.

The winner of the 2011 Republican Leadership Conference Straw Poll is . . . RON PAUL! -

The winner of the 2011 Republican Leadership Conference Straw Poll is . . .
RON PAUL! -

As has become typical at GOP cattle calls, Ron Paul captured the presidential straw poll at the Republican Leadership Conference here, easily besting his nearest competitor, Jon Huntsman.

Paul won 612 votes to Huntsman's 382. Michele Bachmann came in third with 191 votes and Herman Cain finished behind her, taking 104 votes.

Paul was edged by one vote at this same event last year, but this straw poll success has become de rigeur at such gatherings. And, just as they have at recent CPACs, Paul's backers in the crowd here let out loud cheers when the results were announced from the stage while the regular Republicans in the audience booed the Libertarian-leaning Texas congressman's success.

The more notable result was Huntsman's second place. The former ambassador was slated to speak to the confab, but backed out, citing a cold. That the little-known and pragmatic Huntsman would finish between Paul and Bachmann — each of whom enjoy a passionate following among more ideological activists — is surprising.

Rumors circulated here that Huntsman campaign had paid for supporters to attend the conference and a spokesman for the candidate, Tim MIller, didn't deny that they had.

"Not commenting on internal strategy," said Miller, adding: "The result demonstrates that young conservatives are responding to his record of success in Utah, willingness to take the debt problem seriously, and foreign policy message,"

The GOP's effective frontrunner Mitt Romney narrowly defeated Paul here last year but got only 74 votes this time. Romney didn't show up this year. Neither did Tim Pawlenty, who won just 18 votes.