Hurricane Sandy Satellite Photos: Before And After -

Hurricane Sandy Satellite Photos: Before And After

While New Yorkers living south of 34th Street have to live in cold and dark for an indefinite period of time (ConEd has been firm electricity will be restored by the weekend, it has been far more vague just which weekend it had in mind), the biggest devastataion from Sandy took place further south, primarily along the New Jersey coastline. In order to get a sense of the devastation that has taken place, we present images from the NOAA's satellite photo tracker, which shows aerial comparisons of the Jersey and Delaware coastline before and after. Because while one can contemplate navels in very broad terms if any wealth is created or destroyed due to Sandy breaking many windows at the macro level, any and all people who lived in the affected territories below will have a far more practical answer to this stupid question.

Mantoloking before:

Mantoloking after:

New Jersey coastline after:

New Jersey coastline before:

New Jersey coastline before:

New Jersey coastline after:

New Jersey coastline before:

New Jersey coastline after:

New Jersey coastline before:

New Jersey coastline after:

New Jersey coastline before:

New Jersey coastline after:

New Jersey coastline before:

New Jersey coastline after:

Atlantic City coastline before:

Atlantic City after:

Atlantic City before:

Atlantic City after:

GM Channel Stuffing Soars To Record - GM auto inventory at a massive 98 days of supply -

GM Channel Stuffing Soars To Record - GM auto inventory at a massive 98 days of supply - 

For a few months there, we were worried that GM may have actually found a (government-funded) natural subprime buyer of its vehicles after the company managed to keep its channel stuffing in check for several months. Those fears ended today with the company's October car sales report, according to which GM sold 4.7% more cars, or 42,759 in absolute terms (from 153,005 to 195,764) in October than September, below expectations of a 7.8% increase. So far so good. What however will hardly get any mention from Government Motors cheerleaders is that GM auto inventory at dealers as of October 31 was a record 739,034 (a massive 98 days of supply), an increase of 49,700 from October's 689,334. In other words, the entire incremental rise in sales, and then some, was due to the firm stuffing dealers with even more inventory than they can possibly handle!

Read more - 
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-11-01/gm-channel-stuffing-soars-record

Argentina Lowers Voting Age - one of only a handful of nations where 16-year-olds can vote -

Argentina Lowers Voting Age - one of only a handful of nations where 16-year-olds can vote - 


Argentine lawmakers approved a bill lowering the country’s voting age, a move that could rally youth support as President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner tries to revert a slide in her popularity ahead of congressional elections next year.
The lower house approved the bill in a 131-to-2 vote yesterday, converting Argentina into one of only a handful of nations where 16-year-olds can vote. The government-backed bill, which passed the Senate in early October, allows young people to cast ballots two years before voting becomes mandatory at age 18.

Argentina's President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. Photographer: Paul J. Richards/AFP/Getty Images
Fernandez has courted young voters since being elected in 2007, naming members of the government-aligned “La Campora” youth group to top positions and tapping funds from the social security agency to provide students with free laptops. Expanding the suffrage may help build support for the government even further as the opposition tries to capitalize on growing frustration with Fernandez’s handling of the economy, political analyst Carlos Fara said.
“The government believes that the more politically active young people will vote for the ruling party,” said Fara, who runs Carlos Fara & Asociados in Buenos Aires.

Read more - 
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-01/argentina-lowers-voting-age-as-fernandez-tries-to-regain-footing.html