XIAM007 - Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Tuesday, 7 December 2010

24 Signs That All Of America Is Becoming Just Like Detroit – A Rotting, Post-Industrial, Post-Apocalyptic Wasteland -

For years, people have been laughing at the horrific economic decline of Detroit. Well, guess what? The same thing that happened to Detroit is now happening to dozens of other communities across the United States. From coast to coast there are formerly great manufacturing cities that have turned into rotting, post-industrial war zones. In particular, in America’s “rust belt” you can drive through town after town after town that resemble little more than post-apocalyptic wastelands. In many U.S. cities, the “real” rate of unemployment is over 30 percent. There are some communities that will start depressing you almost the moment you drive into them. It is almost as if all of the hope has been sucked right out of those communities.
Meanwhile, the economic downturn has been incredibly hard on the finances of state and local governments across the United States. Unlike the federal government, state and local governments cannot use the Federal Reserve to play games with their exploding debt burdens. Facing horrific budget deficits, many communities have begun adopting “austerity measures” in an attempt to slow the flow of red ink. All over the nation, deep budget cuts are slashing police departments, fire departments and other basic social services, but it seems like no matter what many of these communities try the debt just keeps growing.
So when you combine economic hopelessness with drastic budget cuts, what you get are hordes of communities from coast to coast that are becoming just like Detroit. In the city of Detroit today, there are over 33,000 abandoned houses, 44 schools have been permanently closed down, the mayor wants to bulldoze one-fourth of the city and you can literally buy a house for one dollar in the worst areas. Many Americans thought that it was funny to make fun of Detroit, but little did they know that what happened there would soon start happening everywhere.
The following are 24 signs that all of America is becoming a rotting, post-industrial, post-apocalyptic wasteland just like Detroit….
#1 The second most dangerous city in the United States – Camden, New Jersey – is about to lay off about half its police.
#2 In the city of Camden, about the only “industries” that are truly thriving are drug-dealing and prostitution. It is estimated that there are literally dozens of open-air drug markets in Camden.
#3 The city of Newark, New Jersey laid off 13 percent of its police force just last week.
#4 Of 315 municipalities the New Jersey State Policemen’s union recently surveyed,more than half indicated that they were planning to lay off police officers.
#5 At least 1000 people now live in the 200 miles of flood tunnels that exist under the city of Las Vegas.
#6 All over America, asphalt roads are being ground up and are being replaced with gravel because it is cheaper to maintain. The state of South Dakota has transformed over 100 miles of asphalt road into gravel over the past year, and 38 out of the 83 counties in the state of Michigan have transformed at least some of their asphalt roads into gravel roads.
#7 The number of Americans on food stamps has hit yet another new all-time record. 42.9 million Americans are now enrolled and federal authorities fully expect that number to continue to skyrocket.
#8 The city of San Jose, California recently laid off 49 firefighters.
#9 Over the past year, approximately 100 of New York’s state parks and historic siteshave had to cut services and reduce hours.
#10 In 2009 alone, approximately 4 million more Americans joined the ranks of the poor.
#11 The state of Arizona recently decided to stop paying for many types of organ transplants for people enrolled in its Medicaid program.
#12 Many of the police in Arizona that patrol communities near the border with Mexico say that they are “outmanned” and “outgunned” and now live in fear of being taken out by drug cartel assassins.
#13 Gang violence in America is getting totally out of control. According to authorities, there are now over 1 million members of criminal gangs operating inside the country, and those gangs are responsible for up to 80% of the violent crimes committedin the U.S. each year.
#14 Oakland, California Police Chief Anthony Batts has announced that due to severe budget cuts there are a number of crimes that his department will simply not be able to respond to any longer. The crimes that the Oakland police will no longer be responding to include grand theft, burglary, car wrecks, identity theft and vandalism.
#15 One out of every six Americans is now enrolled in at least one anti-poverty program run by the federal government.
#16 The state of Illinois is so far behind on its bills that not even schools and essential social services are getting their money on time.
#17 The sheriff’s department in Ashtabula County, Ohio has been slashed from 112 to 49 deputies, and there is now just one vehicle remaining to patrol all 720 square miles of the county.
#18 As our local communities degenerate economically, it appears that they are falling apart morally as well. There are approximately 400,00 registered sex offenders in the United States as you read this.
#19 In a desperate attempt to save money, the city of Colorado Springs turned off a third of its streetlights and put its police helicopters up for auction.
#20 According to one recent study, approximately 21 percent of all children in the United States are living below the poverty line in 2010.
#21 According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, more than 25 percent of America’s nearly 600,000 bridges need significant repairs or are burdened with more traffic than they were designed to carry.
#22 In Georgia, the county of Clayton recently eliminated its entire public bus systemin order to save 8 million dollars.
#23 Things have gotten so bad in Stockton, California that the police union put up a billboard with the following message: “Welcome to the 2nd most dangerous city in California. Stop laying off cops.”
#24 Major cities such as Philadelphia, Baltimore and Sacramento have instituted“rolling brownouts” in which various city fire stations are shut down on a rotating basis. So if you live in one of those cities and you have a fire, you had better hope that your local fire station is not scheduled for a “brownout” that day.
As I have documented in article after article, the “American Dream” is rapidly becoming the American Nightmare. We were once a nation that was endlessly expanding, endlessly growing and endlessly becoming more powerful, but now just the opposite is happening.
All of this didn’t happen overnight. Back in 1982, Billy Joel could see what was starting to happen and he released a song entitled “Allentown” which captured the depression that many residents of once great steel cities were experiencing. The song started out with these two lines….

Well we’re living here in Allentown
And they’re closing all the factories down

Well, the United States has lost over 42,000 factories since 2001 and now all of America is turning into “Allentown”.
Unfortunately, things are going to get even worse. Thousands more factories and millions more jobs will be sent overseas. The debt loads of our state and local governments will continue to skyrocket. The truth is that city after city after city is going to start looking like something out of a third world country.
But perhaps you disagree. Perhaps you believe that America’s greatest days are just around the corner.

Read more - http://blacklistednews.com/24-Signs-That-All-Of-America-Is-Becoming-Just-Like-Detroit-%E2%80%93-A-Rotting,-Post-Industrial,-Post-Apocalyptic-Wasteland-/11791/0/5/5/Y/M.html

30 Ben Bernanke Quotes That Are So Stupid That You Won’t Know Whether To Laugh Or Cry

30 Ben Bernanke Quotes That Are So Stupid That You Won’t Know Whether To Laugh Or Cry -

ben-bernanke-with-headache

Did you see Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on 60 Minutes the other night? Bernanke portrayed the Federal Reserve as the great protector of the U.S. economy, he claimed that unemployment would be 15 percent higher if the Federal Reserve had sat back and done nothing during the financial crisis and he even started laying the groundwork for a third round of quantitative easing. Unfortunately, 60 Minutes did not ask Bernanke any hard questions and did not challenge him on his past record. It was almost as if they considered Bernanke to be above criticism. But someone in the mainstream media should be taking a closer look at this guy and his record. The truth is that the incompetence that Bernanke has displayed over the past few years makes the Cincinnati Bengals look like a model of excellence. Bernanke kept insisting that the housing market was stable even while it was falling apart, he had absolutely no idea the financial crisis was coming, he declared that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were in no danger of failing just before they failed, his policies have created asset bubble after asset bubble and the world financial system is now inherently unstable. But even with such horrific job performance, Barack Obama and leaders of both political parties continue to publicly praise Bernanke at every opportunity. What in the world is going on here?
Not that Bernanke is solely responsible. His predecessor, Alan Greenspan, was responsible for many of the policies that have brought us to this point. In addition, most of the other presidents of the individual Federal Reserve banks across the United States seem just as clueless as Bernanke.
But you would think at some point someone in authority would be calling for Bernanke to resign. Accountability has to begin somewhere.
The Bernanke quotes that you will read below reveal a pattern of incompetence and mismanagement that is absolutely mind blowing. Looking back now, we can see that Bernanke was wrong about almost everything.
But the mainstream media and our top politicians keep insisting that Bernanke is the man to lead our economy into a bright future.
It is almost as if we have been transported into some bizarre episode of “The Twilight Zone” where the more incompetence someone exhibits the more they are to be praised.
The following are 30 Ben Bernanke quotes that are so stupid that you won’t know whether to laugh or cry….
#1 (October 20, 2005) “House prices have risen by nearly 25 percent over the past two years. Although speculative activity has increased in some areas, at a national level these price increases largely reflect strong economic fundamentals.”
#2 (On 60 Minutes in response to a question about what would have happened if the Federal Reserve had not “bailed out” the U.S. economy) “Unemployment would be much, much higher. It might be something like it was in the Depression. Twenty-five percent.”
#3 (February 15, 2006) “Housing markets are cooling a bit. Our expectation is that the decline in activity or the slowing in activity will be moderate, that house prices will probably continue to rise.”
#4 (January 10, 2008) “The Federal Reserve is not currently forecasting a recession.”
#5 (When asked directly during a congressional hearing if the Federal Reserve would monetize U.S. government debt) “The Federal Reserve will not monetize the debt.”
#6 “One myth that’s out there is that what we’re doing is printing money. We’re not printing money.”
#7 “The money supply is not changing in any significant way. What we’re doing is lowering interest rates by buying Treasury securities.”
#8 (November 21, 2002) “The U.S. government has a technology, called a printing press (or today, its electronic equivalent), that allows it to produce as many U.S. dollars as it wishes at no cost.”
#9 (March 28, 2007) “At this juncture, however, the impact on the broader economy and financial markets of the problems in the subprime market seems likely to be contained. In particular, mortgages to prime borrowers and fixed-rate mortgages to all classes of borrowers continue to perform well, with low rates of delinquency.”
#10 (July, 2005) “We’ve never had a decline in house prices on a nationwide basis. So, what I think what is more likely is that house prices will slow, maybe stabilize, might slow consumption spending a bit. I don’t think it’s gonna drive the economy too far from its full employment path, though.”
#11 “Although low inflation is generally good, inflation that is too low can pose risks to the economy – especially when the economy is struggling.”
#12 (February 15, 2007) “Despite the ongoing adjustments in the housing sector, overall economic prospects for households remain good. Household finances appear generally solid, and delinquency rates on most types of consumer loans and residential mortgages remain low.”
#13 (October 31, 2007) “It is not the responsibility of the Federal Reserve – nor would it be appropriate – to protect lenders and investors from the consequences of their financial decisions.”
#14 (On the possibility that the Fed might launch QE3) “Oh, it’s certainly possible. And again, it depends on the efficacy of the program. It depends on inflation. And finally it depends on how the economy looks.”
#15 (November 15, 2005) “With respect to their safety, derivatives, for the most part, are traded among very sophisticated financial institutions and individuals who have considerable incentive to understand them and to use them properly.”
#16 (January 18, 2008) “[The U.S. economy] has a strong labor force, excellent productivity and technology, and a deep and liquid financial market that is in the process of repairing itself.”
#17 “I wish I’d been omniscient and seen the crisis coming.”
#18 (May 17, 2007) “All that said, given the fundamental factors in place that should support the demand for housing, we believe the effect of the troubles in the subprime sector on the broader housing market will likely be limited, and we do not expect significant spillovers from the subprime market to the rest of the economy or to the financial system. The vast majority of mortgages, including even subprime mortgages, continue to perform well. Past gains in house prices have left most homeowners with significant amounts of home equity, and growth in jobs and incomes should help keep the financial obligations of most households manageable.”
#19 “The GSEs are adequately capitalized. They are in no danger of failing.”
#20 (Two months before Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac collapsed and were nationalized) “They will make it through the storm.”
#21 (September 23rd, 2008) “My interest is solely for the strength and recovery of the U.S. economy.”
#22 “Economics has many substantive areas of knowledge where there is agreement but also contains areas of controversy. That’s inescapable.”
#23 “I don’t think that Chinese ownership of U.S. assets is so large as to put our country at risk economically.”
#24 “We’ve been very, very clear that we will not allow inflation to rise above 2 percent.”
#25 “…inflation is running at rates that are too low relative to the levels that the Committee judges to be most consistent with the Federal Reserve’s dual mandate in the longer run.”
#26 (June 10, 2008) “The risk that the economy has entered a substantial downturn appears to have diminished over the past month or so.”
#27 “Not all information is beneficial.”
#28 “The financial crisis appears to be mostly behind us, and the economy seems to have stabilized and is expanding again.”
#29 “Similarly, the mandate-consistent inflation rate–the inflation rate that best promotes our dual objectives in the long run–is not necessarily zero; indeed, Committee participants have generally judged that a modestly positive inflation rate over the longer run is most consistent with the dual mandate.”
#30 (October 4, 2006) “If current trends continue, the typical U.S. worker will be considerably more productive several decades from now. Thus, one might argue that letting future generations bear the burden of population aging is appropriate, as they will likely be richer than we are even taking that burden into account.”

Read more - http://blacklistednews.com/Say-What%3F-30-Ben-Bernanke-Quotes-That-Are-So-Stupid-That-You-Won%E2%80%99t-Know-Whether-To-Laugh-Or-Cry-/11792/0/13/13/Y/M.html

President Obama announced a 2-year pay freeze for federal employees - 1.1 million will still get $2.5 billion in raises -

President Obama spoke of the need for sacrifice last week when he announced a two-year pay freeze for federal employees.

But feds won't be too terribly deprived in 2011 and 2012. Despite the freeze, some 1.1 million employees will receive more than $2.5 billion in raises during that period.

Congress is expected to approve Obama's proposal, which cancels only cost-of-living adjustments for two years. Regularly scheduled step increases for the 1.4 million General Schedule employees — who make up two-thirds of the civilian work force — will continue. The size of those increases ranges from 2.6 percent to 3.3 percent and by law kick in every one, two or three years, depending on an employee's time in grade.

John Gage, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, called Obama's plan "wrongheaded" and driven by politics. But he said the news that step increases will not be affected takes some of the sting out of the decision.

"They're doing this as a symbol, but it's the wrong type of symbol to take it out on working people making basic wages," Gage said.

But Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, called the retention of step increases a hole in Obama's plan. He also said the administration should freeze hiring and reduce the federal payroll from $447 billion to $400 billion.

"Somehow, someway I think this country can survive on just a $400 billion payroll," Chaffetz said. He is the ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee on the federal work force, and could become chairman when Republicans take control of the House next year.

In addition to General Schedule employees receiving step increases, some of the government's roughly 187,000 wage-grade employees also will receive step increases.

And many employees will receive promotions, which also come with salary increases, Jeffrey Zients, the Office of Management and Budget's deputy director for management, said last week.

Many senior employees won't get raises, but will receive bonuses for good performance, although OMB and the Office of Personnel Management are telling agencies to cap bonuses at 2010 levels. OPM said it does not yet have information on fiscal 2010 bonuses, but the Asbury Park Press of New Jersey reported in June that the government paid $408 million in bonuses to 359,400 people, an average $1,135 each, in fiscal 2009.

Small dog diverts big plane - dog got loose and bit a flight attendant and another passenger - had to divert -

A USAirways flight from Newark to Phoenix was diverted to Pittsburgh this morning after a passenger's small dog got loose and bit a flight attendant and another passenger.
Flight 522 from Newark carrying 122 passengers landed at Pittsburgh International Airport, where medical personnel treated the two people who were bitten.
USAirways said the passenger with the dog was supposed to keep it in its cage under her seat, which is the airline's policy. But she took it out and the animal ran loose.
Although the dog is small and the injuries minor, the captain felt it was best to divert the plane.
USAirways was working this morning to find other flights for the passengers headed to Phoenix.

Saturday, 4 December 2010

A Cappella Niagara

A Cappella Niagara Christmas Music

December 04, 2010

Star Tile Centre

Fonthill, Ontario

Friday, 3 December 2010

Quantitative Easing Explained

Wednesday, 1 December 2010

Canada’s 5 major banks among numerous financial institutions across the globe which accessed funding from the U.S. Fed -

Canada’s major banks were among numerous financial institutions across the globe which accessed funding from the U.S. Federal Reserve as part of its efforts to stave off economic collapse.

Among the thousands of transactions revealed by the Fed on Wednesday were a number involving Canadian banks, which took advantage of one program to borrow roughly $111-billion (U.S.) through their operations in the U.S.

Obliged to disclose the information under a new financial-reform law, the Fed provided an unprecedented look Wednesday inside a host of programs it used starting in 2007 to shore up a tottering U.S. banking system. The records show in stark terms how the Fed acted as a lender of last resort to a variety of players in the U.S. and beyond, extending low-cost loans and other sources of funding in a desperate effort to get financial markets functioning again.

Five Canadian banks – Bank of Montreal, Bank of Nova Scotia, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Royal Bank of Canada, and Toronto-Dominion Bank – tapped into Fed loans through their U.S. units.

The five banks all borrowed money through a program known as the Term Auction Facility, which was created in late 2007 so banks could access Fed funding without the stigma attached to its traditional avenue for lending, known as the discount window.

Canada was far from the only country whose institutions tapped the program. Banks from Japan, Germany, South Korea, Israel, and Brazil also utilized the loans, which the Fed said were given to institutions in “generally sound financial condition.”

In exchange for the loans, the banks posted a broad range of collateral, from U.S. Treasury bonds to commercial real estate loans to mortgage-backed securities. All the loans made under the program were repaid in full, with interest, the Fed noted, and it wrapped up the facility in the spring of this year.

Canadian banks said the moves to seek loans from the Fed were dictated by strategy and not by necessity.

RBC accessed funding from the Fed “purely for business reasons – better pricing and collateral rules – and because they were the best deal for our shareholders at the time,” said Gillian McArdle, a bank spokesperson. “Our access to funding remained very strong through the entire crisis.”

Ms. McArdle later added a clarification, noting that “banks were generally encouraged to use these facilities by the Fed” to help kick-start lending in the economy.

For TD, participating in the Fed program was a chance to supplement our “already strong liquidity reserves and to do so in an economical way,” said Matthew Fortier, a spokesperson.

RBC borrowed the most of any Canadian institution, drawing on $43.6-billion in 2008 and 2009. The loans were made partly to its RBC Bank unit, which is headquartered in North Carolina, but the lion’s share went to the Royal Bank of Canada operation in New York.

The Bank of Nova Scotia and TD were next on the list, borrowing $27.7 billion and $27.5 billion respectively. A Scotiabank spokesperson noted the program provided “cost-effective funding.”

Bank of Montreal, which received loans of $6.8-billion under the facility, said its borrowing amounted to “testing and maintenance,” as demonstrated by the fact that it accessed the program “for short periods and [in] modest amounts,” according to a spokesperson.

A few Canadian institutions also participated in other Fed programs, including one set up to ease the blockage in the market for commercial paper, which are short-term borrowings critical to the finances of many companies. Both BMO and Scotiabank sold commercial paper to the Fed in October of 2008.

A representative for CIBC didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Rumor Roundup: Has NASA Discovered Alien Life? - event Thursday at 2 p.m. EST, to discuss an astrobiology discovery -

A NASA press release announcing "an astrobiology finding" -- something that will impact the search for extraterrestrial life -- has sent shockwaves through the blogosphere.

The press release simply announces an event, set for Thursday at 2 p.m. EST, to discuss an astrobiology discovery "that will impact the search for evidence of extraterrestrial life." Astrobiology is the study of the origin, evolution, distribution and future of life in the universe.

And the concept of NASA discussing alien life has everyone a-Twitter. Gawker, PC World, New Scientist and others have all speculated about the news -- even suggesting that the space agency may reveal that E.T. has finally arrived.

The reality may be less dramatic, though still intriguing: Based on the background of the four conference participants NASA cites, the announcement will probably concern lifeforms that live off of poisonous arsenic. Popular blogger Jason Kottke and others have concluded that the announcement will tie into the quest for life on Saturn's moon Titan.

"I'd say that they've discovered arsenic on Titan and maybe even detected chemical evidence of bacteria utilizing it for photosynthesis," Kottke theorizes, a hypothesis short of actually confirming alien life.

He notes that geobiologist Pamela Conrad was the primary author of a 2009 paper on geology and life on Mars, while oceanographer Felisa Wolfe-Simon has written extensively on photosynthesis using arsenic. Biologist Steven Benner is on the "Titan Team" at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory; they're looking at Saturn's largest moon as an early-Earth-like chemical environment. And ecologist James Elser is involved with a NASA-funded astrobiology program called Follow the Elements, which studies the chemistry of environments where life evolves, not just water, carbon or oxygen.

Despite the hype and rumors, Phil Plait of Discover Magazine urged rational calm, noting that an announcement of the discovery of extraterrestrial life "seems really unlikely." Plait called overreactions par for the course, citing a June press release about the lack of acetlyne in Titan’s atmosphere "that sparked vast speculation."

"Even though the press release was clear enough, it was misleadingly reported as NASA finding sings of life on Titan," Plait wrote.

Forbes blogger Brian Caulfield agreed, noting that "Thursday’s news is probably a big deal" but "probably just not that big a deal."

Of course, there is always the chance that NASA has discovered alien life -- right? We'll know for sure tomorrow. Stick with FoxNews.com for complete coverage of NASA's news conference Thursday at 2 p.m. EST and be sure to check out our Twitter feed for real-time updates.

Christmas Food Court Flash Mob at the Welland Seaway Mall, to sing Hallelujah Chorus - Must See! -

Thursday, 18 November 2010

China sentences woman to labor camp for Twitter post -

A Chinese woman has been sentenced to a year in a labor camp for retweeting a Twitter post that mocked Chinese protesters who smashed Japanese products during a recent demonstration, her fiance said Thursday.

On October 17, Cheng Jianping, under the username wangyi09, added a few words to a message written by her fiance, before resending it on Twitter.

Eleven days later on the day the couple had planned to marry, Cheng's fiance, Hua Chunhui was taken away by the police from his office in the southeastern city of Wuxi.

Although he was released 5 days later, Hua hasn't seen Cheng since. He learned from her family that she was taken away by the police from in front of the couple's apartment on the same day as his arrest.

Cheng, 46, was sentenced to one year in a Henan Province labor camp for disturbing social stability.
Cheng also has supported imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo on Twitter.
Hua said that the tweet was simply meant to be satire, with no intention of inciting anti-Japan sentiment. The Twitter message mocked young protesters who smashed Japanese products during a recent demonstration and suggested they smash the Japan Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo.

"This is ridiculous and a typical case of censorship jail," Cheng's lawyer Lan Zhixue said. "People should not be put in jail due to their sarcastic words."

Lan Zhixue and Hua have appealed Cheng's case to the Henan Provincial Department of Justice and People's Court, asking for medical parole for Cheng, who suffers from high blood pressure. The appeal also asks that she be removed from the labor camp.