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Thursday, July 31, 2014

Which is Hotter - ATM Or Picnic Table

Hard choice - no pun intended...

Newser: Cops: Man Tried to Have Sex With ATM - Then Lonnie Jackson Hutton allegedly tried to have his way with a picnic table

Ebola Update

Reuters: Sierra Leone declares emergency as Ebola death toll hits 729

Thud

CNN: Dow down 225 as stocks end July with a thud
Heavy selling overseas, driven by worries about Argentina's latest debt default and more problems with a big Portuguese bank, offset good economic data in the United States released Wednesday.

'You Are The Everything'

R.E.M.

Have A Great Thursday

work by Thomas Cole

The Onion - Study Finds College Still More Worthwhile Than Spending 4 Years Chained To Radiator

The Onion: Study Finds College Still More Worthwhile Than Spending 4 Years Chained To Radiator

Maddow - Press Perpetuates Bob McDonnell Legal Defense

TRNN - IRS Failing To Regulate Dark Money Political Spending

The Drought

Food Business News: California drought costing billions

Christie Watch

NJ.com: 5 reasons Chris Christie and other N.J. governors have held special sessions

Global Warming - Denier Supreme - James Inhofe

Slate: James Inhofe Slammed on Global Warming

Promoting Stupid

AlterNet: Right-Wing Backlash Against 'Smartypants' Like Neil deGrasse Tyson - Conservatives elites delight in tearing down smart, educated people.

The Market On Thursday

  Good morning. It is 63 degrees and overcast here in the Upper Hudson Valley. It looks like we are in for more rain. This has been the rainiest, thunder storming Summer in my memory. One thing we can definitely say is that the greenery around these parts is very lush, California we are not, not even close. This place has plenty of water for the time being.

  At 8:45 a.m. ET futures are significantly lower and the price of oil per barrel is significantly down. The market is poised to tank at the opening bell.

  Gulp...Hang onto your hats, we are in for a ride at the opening bell. Billions in valuation will be wiped away in an instant. Who can explain it, not me. Corporate second quarter reports are good, the second quarter GDP first estimate came in with 4% growth, unemployment is down, job growth continues, yet we are floundering. I will venture a guess that global events are rocking the market - Argentina is a mess, the M.E is a mess, the Ukraine is a mess, and to top it off - we've got the Ebola Virus spreading. Shit. Lock your doors! Seriously though, the market is a reactive 4 year old, no offense to 4 year old children - but you know what I mean.

CNN: Stocks: 4 things to know before the open
European markets were broadly in the red in early trading. Germany's benchmark Dax index was declining by nearly 1%.

Asian markets ended with mixed results.

Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Space Sounds

Fascinating

Have A Great Wednesday

work by Thomas Cole

The Onion - Report: Majority Of CIA Now Ready To Install Female World Leader

The Onion: Report: Majority Of CIA Now Ready To Install Female World Leader

Maddow - Congressional Failures Put US At Disadvantage

TRNN - Obama Joins EU In Sanctioning Russia As Ukraine’s Civilian Death Toll Mounts

The Drought

Time: Unprecedented California Drought Restrictions Go Into Effect

Christie Watch

NYT: What Is Chris Christie Doing in Iowa?

Global Warming - New Zealand

International Business Times: New Zealand's Largest Glaciers Record Severe Ice Loss Due to Global Warming

Heightened Negativity Bias

  A long extensive article that I want to get back to. Still if conservatives have an overblown negativity reaction then I still don't get the global warming denial. Global warming would seem like a perfect object for fears and worries. Can somebody explain this to me?

AlterNet: Secrets of the Right-Wing Brain: New Study Proves It — Conservatives See a Hostile World - Phony WMD, Benghazi, birthers, truthers -- turns out there's a scientific explanation for deniers and Tea Partyers

The Market On Wednesday

  Good morning. It is 63 degrees and overcast here in the Upper Hudson Valley. The weather logo is predicting sun today. I hope that's the case as I want to do some outside work on this old house later this afternoon.

  At 8:45 a.m. ET futures are moderately higher and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open higher.

  Wow, lots of stuff is going on this morning. It's just been reported that the first GDP estimate of the second quarter has the US economy growing at a 4% pace. That's rather amazing. Recall that there was a contraction during the first quarter along with worries of another recession. A recession is generally calculated as two consecutive quarters of contraction. Well not so, apparently there is a fluffiness out there powered by you oh consumer. Beyond that there is a bevy of second quarter corporate reports along with a very critical response from the Fed on the state of quantitative easing. I would say that if the day takes a downturn in the afternoon, it would be a result of the Fed's action on Q.E. along with fears of rising interest rates. Considering the Fed has taken a very expansive relaxed view one doubts that they will all of a sudden move towards austerity measures.

CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open
At 2 p.m. ET, the Federal Reserve will release a statement outlining its latest monetary policies.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

EPA Clean Power Hearings

EPA.gov: EPA to Hold Public Hearings on Clean Power Plan/ Public hearings being held in
  Starting tomorrow, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will hold four, two-day public hearings, across the country on the proposed Clean Power Plan. The hearings will be held in Washington D.C., Atlanta, Denver and Pittsburgh, and will provide the opportunity for interested parties to comment on the proposed rule before it takes effect. The Washington D.C. hearing will be held on July 29 and 30.

  At the direction of President Obama and after an unprecedented outreach effort, EPA released the Clean Power Plan, which for the first time seeks to cut carbon pollution from existing power plants, the single largest source of carbon pollution in the United States. EPA predicts that when the proposed plan is fully implemented in 2030, carbon emissions from these sources will be 30 percent below 2005 levels.

110 And Counting

MSNBC: Americans have witnessed more than 100 mass shootings since 2009

God Gave Us Coal

Alabama.com: Pray God blocks EPA plan, chief regulator of Alabama utilities tells consumers

Have A Great Tuesday

work by Thomas Cole

The Onion - T.J. Maxx Job Application Just Asks Prospective Employees How Much They Plan To Shoplift

The Onion: T.J. Maxx Job Application Just Asks Prospective Employees How Much They Plan To Shoplift

Maddow - Boehner Resurrects Debunked Smear Circa Romney 2012

TRNN - Reaganism And Thatcherism Were Intellectually Dishonest - Heiner Flassbeck On RAI Part 1

The Drought

SF Gate: California drought: As land sinks, farmers' brainstorm on water

Christie Watch

NJ.com: N.J. Politics Roundup: Christie's pension talk and retirements; bridge scandal update

Global Warming - The Cost Of Inaction

US News: White House: Climate Inaction Could Cost $150 Billion - Senior administration officials urge lawmakers and industry groups not to be penny wise and pound foolish.

Recovered

AlterNet: What Recovery? You Probably Became Poorer In the Last 10 Years - From 2003-2013, ordinary Americans lost a third of their wealth.

The Market On Tuesday

  Good morning. It is 60 degrees and sunny here in the Upper Hudson Valley. A slightly cooler sunny day is expected. Perusing the news I was struck by article at CNN - 1 in 3 U.S. adults have 'debt in collections'. It's easy to understand why this is occurring. Wages are flat, good jobs are scarce, health care even if one has insurance is not affordable, students loans are crippling young people, food prices are beyond ordinary means, housing is extremely expensive, and all of this keeps increasing. We are a nation of debtors. The nation itself is a debtor. A person's worth is now evaluated according to how much they can borrow. What is the worst type of money? It is credit of course.

  At 8:30 a.m. futures are moderately higher and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open higher.

  Investors have a lot to chew on. There's the onslaught of second quarter reports, a Fed meeting, and reports on housing and consumer sentiment. Notice that Russia is feeling the heat from the E.U. and Japan, sanctions are coming. One wonders where the pressure on Russia will lead. Unfortunately the Middle East has a lot of warring left in it and that pressure will also effect markets globally.

CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open
European officials continue to work Tuesday on details of new sanctions that could restrict Russia's access to European financial markets, arms and energy technology.

Japan introduced its own sanctions on Russia, largely reflecting previous measures adopted by the EU.

Monday, July 28, 2014

Have A Great Monday

work by Glenn Klotz

The Onion - Report: Most Americans Have Enough Saved For Retirement To Live Comfortably On Streets

The Onion: Report: Most Americans Have Enough Saved For Retirement To Live Comfortably On Streets

TRNN - New Senate Bill Fails To Address Root Causes Of Central American Migration

The Drought

note - Only a conservative paper would call the California drought - 'a dry spell'.

WSJ: California Marinas Docked by Drought - Dry Spell Brings Hard Times to State's Lake and River Tourism Industry

Christie Watch

WaPo: For Chris Christie, New Jersey pension battle presents a test for 2016

Global Warming - US Coal

WaPo: Not in my backyard: US sending dirty coal abroad

Reich On The Wealthiest Americans

AlterNet: America's Wealthiest Are Increasingly 'Earning' Their Fortunes by Inheriting Them - Six of today’s 10 wealthiest Americans are heirs to prominent fortunes.

The Market On Monday

  Good morning. It is 65 degrees and overcast here in the Upper Hudson Valley. Rain and thunderstorms are predicted for the day. Speaking of thunderstorms, this Summer has been chocked full of them. Parts of yesterday and all through last night we were literally getting hammered with thunder, lightning, and rain. The new dog is afraid of the boom sound so she is having a rough Summer. We've learned a little bit about how to calm her, lots of dogs do this, some get very active from the sound. A neighbor's dog once literally jumped out of the window out of fear of thunder. Fortunately it was on the ground floor and the dog was fine.

  At 8:45 a.m. ET futures are slightly down and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open lower.

  It looks to be a busy week for investors. Beyond the second quarter reports, there will be numbers on the GDP, a Fed policy meeting, and eventually numbers on employment in July. There is a lot to examine and the results will affect the market's direction and that goes without saying. Relatively speaking and in spite of Friday's 130 point drop, the indexes are fluffy.

CNN: Stocks: 4 things to know before the open
...the gross domestic product and monthly payroll reports due later this week, as well as the meeting of the Federal Reserve policy meeting scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday.

'Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy'

The music of Tchaikovsky

Sunday, July 27, 2014

Idiots

What is with these guys, what freakin idiots.

Yahoo: Gaza truce efforts go up in smoke
The Islamist Hamas movement fired more rockets at Israel Sunday, despite claims it had accepted a UN request for a 24-hour extension of a humanitarian truce in war-torn Gaza.

Thirteen Years Later

NY Post: 2,500 Ground Zero workers have cancer

Enjoy

I love it when this type of jiu-jitsu happens on FOX.

Raw Story: George Will stuns Fox panel: ‘Preposterous’ that U.S. can’t shelter child refugees from violence

USB Bio-Lab

Guardian UK: Christofer Toumazou's 'lab on a chip' makes preventing illness possible - Greek-Cypriot engineer wins European inventor award for USB device that decodes patient's DNA within minutes outside a lab
"My dream was to have a handheld consumer device with … a little USB stick that could look at rapidly screening for genetic mutations of particular diseases, whether it is a predisposition to type two diabetes [or] whether to a type of breast cancer," said Toumazou in his office in the Institute of Biomedical Engineering.

Ebola

CNN: American doctor in Liberia infected with Ebola

ABC News: Nigeria Death Shows Ebola Can Spread by Air Travel

'A Minor Swing'

Biréli Lagrene

Wildfires

Reuters: California wildfire near Sacramento forces hundreds to flee

Have A Great Sunday

work by Albert Bierstadt

The Onion - Roger Goodell To NFL Players: 'Murdering Your Wife Will Result In Automatic 4-Game Suspension'

The Onion: Roger Goodell To NFL Players: 'Murdering Your Wife Will Result In Automatic 4-Game Suspension'

The Drought

LA Times: San Francisco breaks heat record amid California drought, heat wave

Christie Watch

IBT: Chris Christie, In Colorado, Slams Legalized Marijuana -- Unlike Rand Paul, His 2016 GOP Rival

Jeb Watch

On "Dec. 23, 2008, as the president (George W. Bush) put his pen to the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008". This law is quite a bit about what you need to know concerning the influx of immigrant children into the USA. It was GW Bush that set up today's calamity that partly ties Obama's hands in how these children are handled. Notice that Jeb Bush is now essentially disputing his brother's law. Jeb is positioning himself for a 2016 run as well, make no mistake. Lordy Lordy do I despise hypocrisy and this is about as blatant as it gets.

Politicus USA: Act of Love? Jeb Bush, ‘Moderate Republican,’ Calls for Deportation Of Migrant Children

Global Warming - Refrigeration

NYT: What Do Chinese Dumplings Have to Do With Global Warming?

How Much

AlterNet: 5 Healthy Foods You Can Easily Overeat - Foods such as hummus can be good for you — but only if you exercise portion control.
The recommended serving of nuts to eat is 1 ounce. That translates into a handful (a golf ball's worth) or the amount that can fit into an Altoids tin.

Saturday, July 26, 2014

Safe


Have A Great Saturday

work by Albert Bierstadt



The Onion - Executioner Enters Lethal Injection Room With Bag From Home Depot

The Onion: Executioner Enters Lethal Injection Room With Bag From Home Depot

Maddow - Will Do-Nothing Congress Do Nothing On VA?

TRNN - West Bank Protests Surge As Israeli Defense Minister Warns Of Possible Troop Surge In Gaza

CNN: Mideast gets a breather as 12-hour cease-fire holds

The Drought

The absolute worst drought rating is "exceptional", not "severe" or "extreme". California is now moving towards 50% of the state in "exceptional" drought.

WaPo: This animation shows how awful the California drought is this year

Christie Watch

NJ.com: Chris Christie 6th among Republican 2016 contenders in Florida poll

Hillary Watch

KTBS: Poll shows Hillary Clinton frontrunner in Florida

Global Warming - Understanding Tipping Point

Science 2.0: Synchronization Of North Atlantic, North Pacific Led To Global Warming That Ended The Ice Age

Hot For War

AlterNet: The Interventionist Starved Neo-Con Hawks Are Trying to Drag Us Back Into More War - Amid the crises in Iraq, Gaza and Ukraine, hawks are calling for U.S. military intervention.

Friday, July 25, 2014

Near Miss

NASA: Near Miss: The Solar Superstorm of July 2012
Analysts believe that a direct hit by an extreme CME such as the one that missed Earth in July 2012 could cause widespread power blackouts, disabling everything that plugs into a wall socket. Most people wouldn't even be able to flush their toilet because urban water supplies largely rely on electric pumps.

'Black Jesus'

trailer

Have A Great Friday

work by Frederic Edwin Church

The Onion - Obama To Cut Costs By Packing Lunch Every Day For U.S. Populace

The Onion: Obama To Cut Costs By Packing Lunch Every Day For U.S. Populace

Maddow - Botched Executions Expose ‘Barbarity’ Of Lethal Injection

TRNN - Obamacare Subsides On The Line

The Drought

CS Monitor: California to water-wasters during drought: no more Mr. Nice Guy! After the California governor's call for a voluntary 20 percent cutback actually yielded a 1 percent increase in water use, officials are ramping up efforts to change outdoor residential water use to deal with the drought conditions.

Christie Watch

Time: Chris Christie Battered By His GOP Rivals on Governors’ Circuit

Global Warming - Scientific Consensus

Scientific American: How to Determine the Scientific Consensus on Global Warming - An academic feud swirls around how best or even whether to express the scientific consensus around climate change

La Différence

  Readers of this blog know that we have covered the ongoing examination of the differences between liberals and conservatives for several years. More data has come out, it doesn't at first glance seem to be all that revealing or different from what we've already read. But I do like seeing it back in the headlines. One question here - if conservatives are so reactive to perceived threats because their physical fear experiences are intense, then why the general denial of global warming by conservatives? If anything could be a perceived threat, this is it.

AlterNet: Scientists Discover the Fascinating Psychological Reason Why Conservatives Are…Conservative - Right-wing ideology is tailored to a particular psychological profile.
A large body of political scientists and political psychologists now concur that liberals and conservatives disagree about politics in part because they are different people at the level of personality, psychology, and even traits like physiology and genetics.

That conservatives respond much more rapidly to threatening and aversive stimuli (for instance, images of "a very large spider on the face of a frightened person, a dazed individual with a bloody face, and an open wound with maggots in it..."

The Market On Friday

  Good morning. It is 62 degrees and sunny here in the Upper Hudson Valley. It looks like we are in for a beautiful day in this area, not too hot and not too humid yet sunny. We are reading about another horrible plain crash this time over Mali. I believe this is the third major crash in the last week. It's a difficult thing to think about.

  At 8:45 a.m. ET DOW futures are slightly lower and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open lower.

  What can we say, the morning reads like a blah period for investors. Poor results from Amazon, and how can that be considering I alone am always buying books and such from them, sanctions by the EU on Russia/Ukraine, another airliner down, continued M.E. misery...Fortunately the weekend is almost here and we can calmly put these things out of the mind and be content.

CNN: Stocks: 6 things to know before the open
Shares of Amazon fell nearly 10% in premarket trading after the company posted a larger than expected loss.

Time is running out for Argentina to avoid defaulting on its debt...

Thursday, July 24, 2014

Have A Great Thursday

work by Frederic Edwin Church

The Onion - Study Finds Only 5% Of Americans Have Correct Amount Of Pride In Country

The Onion: Study Finds Only 5% Of Americans Have Correct Amount Of Pride In Country

Maddow - Witnesses Describe Two Hour ‘Gasping’ Execution

TRNN - Big Oil And The Nigerian Frankenstein

The Drought

Bottom line here - we are witnessing a monstrous disaster unfold right before our very eyes. California is dry as a bone and there's no immediate help in sight.

LA Times: Major California reservoirs below 50% capacity as drought wears on

Christie Watch

NJ.com: Chris Christie to get a glimpse of Colorado in wake of marijuana remarks

Global Warming - Californians At Odds Over Gas Prices Vs Greenhouse Gas Reductions

Fresno Bee: Poll: Californians support global warming rules - unless gas prices rise

Here Come The Re-Neocons

AlterNet: 7 Ways U.S. Foreign Policy Would Be Even More Disastrous If There Were a Republican in the White House - Conservatives scapegoat Obama over foreign crises, but their solutions would be far more scary.

The Market On Thursday

  Good morning. It is 67 degrees and hazy here in the Upper Hudson Valley. The weather logos predict a pleasant day. If the weather holds late this afternoon I am coating the front steps with some weatherproofing sealant. Well we've had another ghastly botched execution yesterday - read here. I've stated my case many times, I am not a proponent of the death penalty although I might waver on someone like Hitler or Pol Pot. One wonders if these ongoing botched executions are turning public opinion against the death penalty. Americans don't seem to care to much as long as it's out of sight and out of mind, when the problem becomes headline news then we've got a new type of attention and a new attitude.

  At 8:30 a.m. DOW futures are slightly higher and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open slightly higher.

  Second quarter corporate reports continue to come in beating expectations and the general concerns over warring activity in the Ukraine and the Middle East are on burner 2 at the moment. We see that jobless claims are down to 284,000 and that number, the lowest since 2006, will add a little fuel to the re-emerging bull.

CNN: Stocks: 6 things to know before the open
China's factories are motoring again after a dismal start to the year...

The big risk for Europe's recovery remains an escalation in the dispute with Russia over Ukraine.

...GM recalled another 718,000 vehicles.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Have A Great Wednesday

work by Frederic Edwin Church

The Onion - New Anti-Abortion Legislation Requires Doctors To Scale 18-Foot Wall Surrounding Clinic

The Onion: New Anti-Abortion Legislation Requires Doctors To Scale 18-Foot Wall Surrounding Clinic

Maddow - Plane Crash Exacerbates Russian Isolation

TRNN - Police Brutality And The Failure Of Liberal Democrats

The Drought

LA Times: California drought: Record heat gives some cantaloupe crops sunburn

Christie Watch

Politico: Rob Astorino to Chris Christie: ‘Consider stepping down’ from RGA

Global Warming - Who Are The Deniers

Guardian UK: The strange relationship between global warming denial and... speaking English - Polling from IPSO Mori shows US clearly the worst in its climate denial, followed by UK and Australia, reports Climate Desk

Food Control

AlterNet: These Top 10 Food Companies Control Nearly Everything We Eat - A new map puts our food system in a whole new light.

The Market On Wednesday

  Good morning. It is 74 degrees and hazy sunny here in the Upper Hudson Valley. There is a chance of thunderstorms later today.

  At 8:30 a.m. ET futures are slightly higher and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open higher.

  At this instant investors are focused on second quarter earnings reports. So far the majority of reports have beaten expectations and as a result we are seeing record highs in the DOW. At the moment that momentum will continue into today's opening bell but with world events intruding into the investment field of play  in the last week especially, who knows what calamity could change this focus.

CNN: Stocks: 4 things to know before the open
"It's a market that's shifted its focus over the last 24 hours back to earnings."

...70% of companies have so far beat expectations on earnings and revenue. He said that normally only 58% of companies beat on revenue.

Tuesday, July 22, 2014

Who Makes The Rockets

I've been wondering who is supplying Hamas with rockets. My thought was, why doesn't Israel and the USA simply offer the suppliers a lot more money and in this way derail the entire supply chain. In my opinion that would be well spent tax dollars. Turns out Hamas is now manufacturing it's own weapons.

Reuters: Analysis-Hamas homemade rocket industry bypasses crumbling supply lines
"(The armed groups) have unveiled new rockets and launchers that they have made themselves: a development that makes the militants less dependent on rockets that are smuggled into the Gaza Strip to threaten Israel's main population centres," according to Jane's Intelligence, a London-based consultancy.

'When A Baby Elephant Sees The Sea For The First Time'

Have A Great Tuesday

work by Frederic Edwin Church

The Onion - Man’s Anxiety Not About To Let Depression Muscle In On Turf

The Onion: Man’s Anxiety Not About To Let Depression Muscle In On Turf

TRNN - 'We Are Going Through Hell' - Report From Gaza

The Drought

San Jose Mercury News: California drought: 'Water cops' being hired by Bay Area agencies to root out water waste

Christie Watch

ctpost.com: Protesters greet Chris Christie at Foley fundraiser

Global Warming - Record Heat In June

SF Gate: Global warming: June’s heat was record-breaking, for the planet, California and San Francisco

Natural Selection

AlterNet: The Corporate Takeover of 'All Natural' Food - The hunger for profits had compromised food labeling.

The Market On Tuesday

  Good morning. It is 70 degrees and sunny here in the Upper Hudson Valley. Thunderstorms are predicted for sometime later today. I listened to Obama yesterday as he spoke about the downed airliner in the Ukraine. I thought he got all the major points across. What a pointless tragedy, the guilty parties need to be put away in prison for the rest of their sadistic lives far removed from reasonable society.

  At 8:30 a.m. ET futures are modestly higher and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open higher.

  As far as I can see second quarter results have been at or above expectations but the indexes have not moved much due to the "tensions" in the world. This morning it is corporate results that are taking the lead and propping up futures. One can never predict if this will hold through the day but if more results come in above expectations, well then it could turn markets in the positive direction through to closing. What can we say it is a volatile period with the Ukraine and the Middle East boiling. Throw something else unexpected into that mix and you get the idea.

CNN: Stocks: 4 things to know before the open
Shares in Chipotle were surging by roughly 10% in premarket trading after the fast-food chain posted earnings that beat expectations.

... tensions in Ukraine appeared to ease slightly.

Monday, July 21, 2014

Have A Great Monday

work by Frederic Edwin Church

The Onion - Man Needs Verbal Assurance That Hand Stamp Will Get Him Back In

The Onion: Man Needs Verbal Assurance That Hand Stamp Will Get Him Back In

TRNN - White Racism, Left Politics, And The Spectrum Of Acceptable Opinion

The Drought

NPR: Despite California's Drought, Taps Still Flowing In LA County

Christie Watch

NJ.com: 5 trends from Chris Christie's 2014 campaign trail

Global Warming - Siberian Story

Tech Times: Giant hole in Siberia may be because of global warming as new details emerge

Watch Your Step

AlterNet: 5 Innocuous Activities That Can Get You Put in the Govt.'s Anti-Terrorism Database - 5 U.S. citizens say they were put into a counter terrorism database for harmless activities like photographing landmarks.

The Market On Monday

  Good morning. It is 68 degrees and overcast here in the Upper Hudson Valley. Rain is predicted right through to Thursday, another wet week. I hope you had a good weekend. I was playing with my ensemble yesterday at a private party. I must say it was a lovely time and the food was outstanding. I do like Indian food especially when it is homemade.

  At 8:25 a.m. ET futures are moderately lower and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open lower.

  Wow, check out the settlement that tobacco is being told to pay out to the widow of a smoker that died from cancer - $23.6 billion. That is amazing, however investors deplore this sort of thing and react by tanking the stock. It's all about profits, and not about doing the right thing. Otherwise, it is world events that are shaking markets. We have an ongoing critical horrible mess in the Middle East and a downed airliner. World events have taken a strong central seat as it were, and all we are left to do it see how it all plays out but for the time being rattled is the keyword.

CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open
Shares in tobacco giants Reynolds American and Philip Morris International were falling heavily premarket after a Florida jury ordered R.J. Reynolds Tobacco to pay $23.6 billion to the widow of a long-time smoker who died of lung cancer.

Investors are still worrying about the fallout from the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 in eastern Ukraine.

Saturday, July 19, 2014

'Life Of Pi'

trailer - I just watched this film, borrowed the DVD from the library. It's stunning, if you have not seen it, put it on your to do list.

Have A Great Saturday

work by Frederic Edwin Church

The Onion - Report: Majority Of UFO Abductions Committed By Alien That Person Knows

The Onion: Report: Majority Of UFO Abductions Committed By Alien That Person Knows

TRNN - Privatization, Public Health, And The Detroit Water Crisis

How Much Water

The Mayo Clinic: Water: How much should you drink every day?
The Institute of Medicine determined that an adequate intake (AI) for men is roughly 3 liters (about 13 cups) of total beverages a day. The AI for women is 2.2 liters (about 9 cups) of total beverages a day.

The Drought

LA Times: California drought will probably worsen this summer, expert says

Christie Watch

NYT: 10 Questions for Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey

Global Warming - Svalbard

National Geographic: Global Warming Boosting Reindeer on Norwegian Island—For Now

Steel Yourself

AlterNet: The Next National Nightmare: A Republican Majority Congress in 2015 - The Washington Post predicts the Republicans will win big this fall.

Friday, July 18, 2014

Troy NY, Poverty Up Close

Slate.com: A New Way to Talk About Poverty in Troy, New York

Have A Great Friday

work by Frederic Edwin Church



The Onion - Everyone In Middle East Given Own Country In 317,000,000-State Solution

The Onion: Everyone In Middle East Given Own Country In 317,000,000-State Solution

Maddow - Accountability Elusive In Civilian Plane Deaths

TRNN - 'Evacuate To Where?' - Report From Gaza And Israel

The Drought

LA Times: 80% of California is now in extreme drought, new data show

Christie Watch

HuffPo: Chris Christie Aide Says She Deleted Texts To Governor Amid Bridge Scandal

Global Warming - The Jet Stream

Guardian UK: Is global warming causing extreme weather via jet stream waves? A new study investigates how changes to atmospheric winds are making weather more extreme

Authoritarianism US Style

AlterNet: America Is Ripe For Authoritarianism - The pitiful state of the economy makes the U.S. vulnerable.

The Market On Friday

  Good morning. It is 62 degrees and sunny here in the Upper Hudson Valley. The weather logos predict a hot humid day in the 80s. We were all very discouraged to hear about the Malaysian liner shot down over the Ukraine. Talk about a senseless act of violence, that one ranks as one of the most pointless outrages if there ever was one. What is so troubling is knowing the brutal panic and extreme fear that those poor passengers experienced. They didn't have a chance.
  Guitar legend Johnny Winter passed away on Thursday. When I was a kid there was a solid year or two when I tried to copy his style. People went to his shows all over the world right up to the end.

  At 8:15 a.m ET futures are slightly higher and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open higher.

  Tragic world events have affected global markets and Wall Street is not immune. The Malaysian airliner tragedy and Israel's invasion demonstrate that people fundamentally want to live in a harmonious world and this extends right into economies.

CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open
...fear of escalating tensions in Ukraine after a Malaysia Airlines plane crashed in the east of the country.

...Israel had sent ground troops into Gaza.

Thursday, July 17, 2014

2012 Re-Post


Have A Great Thursday

work by Martin Johnson Heade

The Onion - Police Department Reduces Costs By Using Same Evidence For Every Investigation

The Onion: Police Department Reduces Costs By Using Same Evidence For Every Investigation

Maddow - Weak Faith In GOP Support Stalls Border Deal

TRNN - All Governance In Libya Remains Contested

The Drought

Mercury News: California drought: Blame L.A.? Not so fast, Southern California water officials say

Christie Watch

CBS: Will Chris Christie find a welcome crowd in Iowa?

Global Warming - Hottest Quarter On Record

Voice Of America: Global Warming Reaches New Records
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, average global temperatures in April, May and June this year were the highest since the beginning of official records, in 1891.

The Japanese records, released on Monday, show that this year’s second quarter was about 0.68 degrees Celsius warmer than the average for the whole 20th century.

Rolling In It

AlterNet: Bombshell Study: America's Wealthy Even More Obscenely Rich Than Anybody Thought - Wealth inequality in the U.S. is even more astounding than previous statistics showed.

The Market On Thursday

  Good morning. It is 64 degrees and hazy sunny here in the Upper Hudson Valley. The weather logos are predicting sunshine right through the weekend. My favorite news story this morning comes from CNN - NASA: 'Close' to finding life on planets. Hopefully we can manage to hang around another 20 years and see what they dig up.

  At 8:00 a.m. ET futures are moderately lower and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open lower although some energy stocks might rally.

  The DOW is presently at the record high of 17,138 after Wednesday's trading. The morning's session looks like it will begin with a pullback and this appears to be based on global economic news. The U.S. is imposing new economic sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine and this is allegedly the cause of the morning's pullback. Meanwhile earnings season continues and the initial results indicate that investors view these results favorably.

CNN: Stocks: 4 things to know before the open
Russian stocks fell by nearly 3%, and the ruble slipped against the dollar, after the U.S. announced new sanctions related to the crisis in Ukraine.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Have A Great Wednesday

work by Martin Johnson Heade

The Borowitz Report - How To Look Smarter

New Yorker: How to Look Smarter

Maddow - Human Crisis Overlooked By Border Protesters

TRNN - How Close Are Iraqi Kurds To Achieving An Independent State?

The Drought

LA Times: California approves big fines for wasting water during drought

Christie Watch

CBS News: Ahead of Iowa visit, conservative group slams Chris Christie

Global Warming - Red States

HuffPo: Red States Are Way Ahead of Congress on Global Warming

Guinea Pig Face

AlterNet: Having a Facebook Account Is to Beg to Be Manipulated - You’re a guinea pig in research studies of how best to target, engage and monetize you

The Market On Wednesday

  Good morning. It is 67 degrees and overcast here in the Upper Hudson Valley. Rain is expected. I have a new personal theory about the Tea Party. I've been studying conflict resolution and one approach to conflict is the confrontation. It's not the only approach, it's just one approach. Confrontation is a very direct energetic approach. It is also a very judgmental approach and when mixed with anger you have high judgment directed with high anger. The trouble is this approach provides no sense of perspective. The angry judgmental person usually cannot put themselves in the object of their anger's shoes so to speak. So the downside is a tremendous amount of stupidity because the totality of the enemy is overlooked with angry judgment raining down focused on a small percentage of the enemy. The Tea Party is the bottom end of confrontation. They are the angry judgmental party. They completely lack perspective, that fundamental quality of negotiation when we put ourselves in the shoes of the other and attempt to find a common goal resolution.

  At 8:00 a.m. ET futures are modestly up and the price of oil per barrel is higher. The market is poised to open higher.

  We are reading that China's economy grew at a strong pace in the second quarter and that this has fueled optimism among investors. Is this enough to push the market higher, well at least at the opening bell it is.

CNN: Stocks: 4 things to know before the open
(China's) economy grew by 7.5% compared with the same period last year, despite continued worries about a slowdown in real estate. It was the first time the economy has accelerated in three quarters...

Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Louis 'Red' Klotz

His story is amazing.

Yahoo: Basketball entrepreneur Louis 'Red' Klotz dies

Have A Great Tuesday

work by Martin Johnson Heade

The Onion - Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl Recaptured By Taliban After Wandering Off Texas Base

The Onion: Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl Recaptured By Taliban After Wandering Off Texas Base

TRNN - Who Is The Unsung Hero Of The $7 Billion Citigroup Settlement?

The Drought

Salon: NestlĂ© is bottling water straight from the heart of California’s drought - The company is exporting a seriously limited resource with no oversight

Christie Watch

Politico: Chris Christie still acting like one to beat

Global Warming - The Future

Chron.com: Global warming: How hot 25 U.S. cities will be in the year 2100

Pushing It Right

AlterNet: Ultra Right Ideology Continues to Gain Ground From Europe to the U.S. - Parties that were previously considered fascist have pushed their way toward success by seeking to mainstream their public reputation.

The Market On Tuesday

  Good morning. It is 75 degrees, humid, and overcast here in the Upper Hudson Valley. Rain is expected today. We see that employees at Disney, Universal Studios, and SeaWorld have been arrested on pedophile related charges. This is sickening. Turns out that the pedophiles go where the children gather. If you were the parent of a young child would you take your children to one of these places now for a Summer get-a-way. Those places are going to take a large revenue hit and have to somehow try to rebuild confidence among the American public. This is very creepy.

  At 8:30 a.m. ET futures are modestly higher and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open higher.

  Investors will continue to parse second quarter corporate reports. So far it looks like it's all been positive. In addition Fed Chairperson Janet Yellen will speak before the Senate this morning on Fed monetary policy. That is big deal and her words will resonate through the markets today.

CNN: Stocks: 4 things to know before the open
...Citigroup reported...a $7 billion settlement with the federal government over mortgages it sold in the run-up to the financial crisis.

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen will deliver her semiannual monetary policy report to the Senate Banking Committee at 10 a.m. ET.

Monday, July 14, 2014

Risk

Reuters: As some high-risk assets take a hit, investors fear worse is to come

Have A Great Monday

work by Martin Johnson Heade

The Onion - Legal Dream Team Of Coworkers Counsel Woman On Strategy For Speeding Ticket

The Onion: Legal Dream Team Of Coworkers Counsel Woman On Strategy For Speeding Ticket

TRNN - Protestors Say No to Fracked Gas Export Expansion Plan

The Drought

San Jose Mercury News: Drought creates headaches for California recreation

Christie Watch

NJ.com: Chris Christie plans to issue executive order on Common Core standards this week

Global Warming - Facts

Guardian UK: 8 charts that show how climate change is making the world more dangerous - Disasters including storms, floods and heatwaves have increased fivefold since the 1970s, UN finds

President Paul

AlterNet: Shockingly, Rand Paul Could be the GOP Nominee and Trouble for the Dems. Young male voters are drawn to Libertarian positions on social issues.

The Market On Monday

  Good morning. It is 73 degrees and sunny here in the Upper Hudson Valley. The weather logo predicts rain, thunder, and lightning today. At the moment it is gorgeous out but it's a little humid. I hope you had a good weekend. Yours truly was extremely fatigued this weekend. The combination of work and some health related issues that have hit me this year compelled me to spend a good deal of the afternoons over the weekend simply napping and resting. It's pretty unexciting stuff but I do feel refreshed and more alert this morning. Napping, it is so delicious.

  At 8:40 a.m. ET futures are modrately higher and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open higher.

  It will be a telling week for investors as a bevy of second quarter corporate reports take center stage. It should become clearer by Friday how well corporate America is doing and that reflects on the value of equities. So it's time to watch and see what happens. I need to reassert my personal opinion that to a great extent the direction of the market and in particular when it goes higher, does not correspond to the economy on Main Street. When Wall Street is blazing, Main Street can remain static. However the opposite does not hold true. When Wall Street tanks, Main Street feels it real bad.

CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open
China's economy is in danger of missing its growth target as risk balloons in the country's real estate sector, according to a CNNMoney survey of economists. China is due to publish second quarter GDP data on Wednesday.

Sunday, July 13, 2014

Maher - GOP And Fox News Refuse To Stop Telling 'Zombie Lies' About Obama

Melo

Knicks fans around the world including myself have let out a collective sigh of relief now that one of the very top basketball players in the game, Carmelo Anthony, has re-upped with the Knicks.

NYT: Carmelo Anthony Said to Agree to Re-Sign With the Knicks

Have A Great Sunday

work by Martin Johnson Heade

The Onion - Study Finds Humans Only Animals Capable Of Recognizing Former Selves In Mirror

The Onion: Study Finds Humans Only Animals Capable Of Recognizing Former Selves In Mirror

TRNN - An Occupier's Peace Or A Just Peace - Shir Hever On Reality Asserts Itself Part 4

The Drought

The Sacramento Bee: California braces as drought sparks early fire season

Men's Health - The Environment

The Spectrum: Men’s health impacted by environment too

Christie Watch

Politico: Chris Christie dings Obama, won’t rule out 2016

Global Warming - Japan

Japan Times: Rising tide: long-term ramifications of global warming on the country’s coastline - In the wake of recent reports pointing to a likely depletion of sea ice in Antarctica, we examine the long-term ramifications of global warming on the country's coastline.

Narcissists

Guardian: The age of entitlement: how wealth breeds narcissism - As people get richer, they are more likely to feel entitled, to exploit others, and to cheat. That extends to politics too

Howl

AlterNet: 5 Pathetic Failures of the American Media This Week - Here's a rundown of some of the worst media howlers of late.

'Warm Bodies'

trailer - lots of fun, sweet idea, enjoyable, you'll like it.

Saturday, July 12, 2014

Have A Great Saturday

work by Martin Johnson Heade

The Onion - Man Failing To Heed Harsh Lessons Of Past Orders Sonic Bacon Cheeseburger Toaster

The Onion: Man Failing To Heed Harsh Lessons Of Past Orders Sonic Bacon Cheeseburger Toaster

Maddow - GOP Wary Of Boehner Lawsuit Backfiring

TRNN - India's Next Budget: Subsidies For Big Business And Debt For Citizens

The Drought

LA Times: Huntington Lake summer fun drying up in California drought

Christie Watch

NJ.com: Newtown dad to Chris Christie: My child isn't 'trivial'

Men's Health - Vegetables

Tri-City Herald: Plant-rich diets vital to men's health

Global Warming - UN Roadmap

Not to be the pessimist here, but everything I read indicates we are well beyond a 2C rise.

Guardian UK: UN issued with roadmap on how to avoid climate catastrophe - Report is the first of its kind to prescribe concrete actions that the biggest 15 economies must take to keep warming below 2C

Bike Lanes Please

AlterNet: The Little Thing Our Cities Can Do to Inspire Millions More People to Bike - Protected bike lanes help riders feel less exposed to danger, and are also appreciated by drivers and pedestrians, who know where to expect bicycles.

Friday, July 11, 2014

LeBron

NYT: LeBron James to Return to Cleveland Cavaliers, Leaving Miami Heat

Have A Great Friday

work by Martin Johnson Heade

The Onion - Criminal Prosecuted To Fullest Extent Of Budget

The Onion: Criminal Prosecuted To Fullest Extent Of Budget

Maddow - Tough Guy Talk Not Helpful On Border Matters

TRNN - Security, Refugees, And Profit At The U.S. Border

The Drought

SF Gate: Report: El Niño unlikely to end California drought

Christie Watch

CBS: GOP governors group, led by Chris Christie, nets record sums of cash

Global Warming - Health

Biz Journal: Study: Kidney stones connected to global warming

Stay Bald

AlterNet: Commonly Used Drug Can Make Men Stop Enjoying Sex—Irreversibly - Some of the symptoms reported include impotence and thoughts of suicide and depression.

The Market On Friday

  Good morning. It is 66 degrees and sunny here in the Upper Hudson Valley. The weather prediction is for a day of sunshine, rain is not mentioned. It's just about the beginning of the weekend and it's been a long tough week. I'm looking forward to winding down for a few days.

  At 8:30 a.m. ET futures are modestly higher and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open higher.

  On Thursday markets were bitten by fears over Portugal's banking, recall that this is not the first time that has occurred. Today there is a rebound over that fear and investors might once again focus on second quarter reports with the first big bank report (TBTF) from Wells Fargo presently being parsed for signs of life. Enjoy the weekend.

CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open
Major European exchanges were all higher in early trading on Friday, bouncing back after worries over a Portuguese bank eased.

Wells Fargo will report earnings before the opening bell, giving investors some insight into the health of the banking sector. Wells Fargo's Profit Edges Up Despite Lower Revenu

Thursday, July 10, 2014

Winning The Hearts And Minds...

CNN: America to Sarah Palin: Enough!
...would prefer that the former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential candidate be less outspoken in political discourse. That includes nearly two-thirds of Democrats, a majority of independents, and nearly four in 10 Republicans.

Have A Great Thursday

work by Martin Johnson Heade

The Onion - British Royal Family Places Queen Elizabeth In Nursing Home

The Onion: British Royal Family Places Queen Elizabeth In Nursing Home

Maddow - Help For Immigrant Children Grows Amid Border Furor

TRNN - Six-Month Anniversary Of Major Chemical Spill In West Virginia

The Drought

Uncover California: California fast-food restaurants hiking prices as drought persists

Christie Watch

The Daily News: Lupica: Gov. Chris Christie refusing to meet with Sandy Hook victim's parents shows he has no guts - The New Jersey governor was supposed to be better than this. But what we get from him here is cheap, obvious political pandering. It is what he is always accusing others of doing, especially anybody who commits the felony in New Jersey of disagreeing with him.

Global Warming - Deniers Become Optimists!

Slate: The Climate Optimists - Conservatives have a new line on climate change: “It’s real, but it’s nothing to worry about!”

Lessons To Be Learned

AlterNet: 10 Things Europe Does Way Better Than America - Europe is so much ahead of America when it comes to such things as health care, better sex ed, and less violent crime.

The Market On Thursday

  Good morning. It is 62 degrees and sunny here in the Upper Hudson Valley. The weather logos are indicating that we are in for a couple of clear sunny days, rain in not expected. It was literally raining cats and dogs here on Wednesday in the early evening. I seriously thought that at one point the rain was coming down not in drops but as one solid sheet of water. It was a soaker. We are witnessing another horrible mass shooting this time down in Houston and yes children were tragically shot to death in this one. Are we becoming emotionally immune to these monstrous events? I mean seriously, what do you do? There's nothing out there that gives us any reason to think that it's going to stop. America is a good place but we are now also the land of the mass shooting.

  At 7:10 a.m. ET futures are significantly lower and the price of oil per barrel is down. Unless something miraculous happens, the market is poised to tank at the opening bell.

  So much for Alcoa's decent return on late Tuesday, today it's about the economic recovery in Europe or should we say the lack there of. It's a wreck and the best advice is to chalk the day up as a write off unless that surprise ameliorating factor rears its head later today. Time to go back to sleep...

CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open
...fears about Europe's recovery, indicating that investors could be in for a rough day.

Shooting

ABC News: 4 Children Among 6 Killed in Houston-Area Shooting

Wednesday, July 09, 2014

Year To Year

NY Times: How Birth Year Influences Political Views

Have A Great Wednesday

work by Martin Johnson Heade

The Onion - Few More Items Knocked Off List Of Desirable Traits In Partner As Woman Turns Year Older

The Onion: Few More Items Knocked Off List Of Desirable Traits In Partner As Woman Turns Year Older

Maddow - Bogus Story Exposes Risks Of Conservative ‘Invented News’

TRNN - IDF Plans To Intensify Military Operations In Gaza

The Drought

NBC L.A.: California Drought Creates Extreme Fire Danger, Low Water Reserves - Lake Mathews in Riverside County can hold 182,000 acre feet of water at full capacity. It currently has about 78,000 acre feet.

Chris Christie

Politico: Joe Scarborough slams Chris Christie on guns

Global Warming - New Heights In Denial Stupidity

WTF?

National Journal: Kentucky Senator on Global Warming: 'There Are No Coal Mines on Mars'
"I don't want to get into the debate about climate change. But I will just simply point out that I think that in academia we all agree that the temperature on Mars is exactly as it is here. Nobody will dispute that. Yet there are no coal mines on Mars, there's no factories on Mars that I'm aware of. So I think what we're looking at is something much greater than what we're going to do."

Propped

AlterNet: 5 of the Worst Pundits Spreading Propaganda About the Middle East - Corporate media absolves the U.S. of blame for the bloody crisis in Iraq.

The Market On Wednesday

  Good morning. It is 71 degrees and sunny here in the Upper Hudson valley. The logos are once again predicting rain and thunderstorms sometime today. We got doused late yesterday and the thunder and lightning were spectacular. The pattern of this Summer is getting more familiar - lots of rain and thunder, humidity, nice pleasant mornings, and lots of bugs.

  At 8:30 a.m. ET futures are slightly higher and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open higher.

  Alcoa kicked off the earnings season with a strong report delivered late Tuesday afternoon. This was regarded as a cause for optimism. However the Fed will be releasing notes on a June meeting today and that will take precedence over pretty much everything. Will the interest rates and gradual easing of Q.E. continue as is or will there be a change. This is a big deal.

CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open
The Federal Reserve will post minutes from its two-day June meeting at 2 p.m. ET.

"Alcoa kicked off earnings and there was quite a positive reaction to the result..."

Tuesday, July 08, 2014

Alcoa Sizzles

USA Today: Alcoa kicks off earnings season with bang
The company reported an adjusted quarterly profit of 18 cents a share, which tops earnings expectations by 50%.

Have A Great Tuesday

work by Martin Johnson Heade

The Onion - Environmental Study Finds Air In Chicago Now 75% Bullets

The Onion: Environmental Study Finds Air In Chicago Now 75% Bullets

Maddow - Koch-Backed AG Helps Hide Chemical Plant Dangers

TRNN - 220 Thousand Metal Workers Are On Strike In South Africa

The Drought

NBC News: Water-Guzzling Pot Plants Draining Drought-Wracked California

Christie Watch

HuffPo: Chris Christie Defends Refusal To Meet With Sandy Hook Parents

Global Warming - Meat

WaPo: How much your meat addiction is hurting the planet

Showdown

AlterNet: Gun Nuts’ Sick Power Trip: What’s Really Behind the 'Open Carry' Crusade - Why do gunslingers want to terrify others? A desire to change how you think and behave by conditioning -- or fear.

The Market On Tuesday

  Good morning. It is 70 degrees and sunny here in the Upper Hudson Valley. The weather logo is suggesting we get rain today. Could be. We see that Israel is in the process of bombing Palestinian Hamas targets. I would have thought that in my lifetime I would have seen at least some progress towards peace there but it's not going to happen. Think about all the animosity that still sits in the minds of many Southerners 150 years after the end of the Civil War. This forms the basis for a huge portion of the intense divisiveness in Washington DC with no abatement in sight whatsoever. In fact it's just the opposite as the animosities are even stronger and growing. So tell me what kind of chance Israel and Palestine have towards a reasonable and near future peace - the answer is no chance at all.

  At 8:30 a.m. ET futures are modestly lower and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open lower.

  After today's closing bell, Alcoa will kick off the second quarter corporate report season. The immediate future of the market barring a major global calamity will be found in the tea leaves of the reports. Once again investors are at the precipice, will the reports indicate a good reason to push the indexes higher, or not. We know many of the factors - quantitative easing, employment, consumer spending, etc etc.

CNN: Stocks: 4 things to know before the open
Aluminum producer Alcoa reports earnings after the closing bell, marking the start of the quarterly results season.