Sunday, May 31, 2015
Have A Great Sunday
I'm taking a planned day off from blogging today. I'll see you bright and early on Monday morning so have an excellent Sunday and be good.
Saturday, May 30, 2015
Ocean Cleaning
minds.com: The world's first ocean cleaning system will be deployed in 2016
One young man saw the problem early in his life. Boyan Slat, at the age of 18, gave a riveting Ted Talk unveiling his plan to clean the pollution using passive flotation devices and the ocean's own current.
The currents pull the sea life under the floatation devices but the lighter-than-water plastics float into the barriers. What would have taken humanity 70,000 years to clean with boats and nets can be cleaned, instead, in decades.
Coldplay's Game Of Thrones - The Musical
If you're hooked on 'Game Of Thrones' like I am, you will love this.
Friday, May 29, 2015
POS
This makes me furious, I don't know where to start. This guy pushes the country into an impeachment of Clinton while he himself is guilty of sexual impropriety. Can the people of the United States sue this guy? My contempt of the GOP has reached a new unheard of place.
LA Times: What's behind the Dennis Hastert scandal: 'It was sex,' official says
LA Times: What's behind the Dennis Hastert scandal: 'It was sex,' official says
Fish Belief
BBC: Alberta 'creationist' finds 60m-year-old fish fossils
"No, it hasn't changed my mind. We all have the same evidence, and it's just a matter of how you interpret it," he told the paper.
"There's no dates stamped on these things."
GOP Hypocrite Of The Hour
Ah the web we weave - Hastert you will recall led the charge to impeach Bill Clinton on Clinton's sexual impropriety as it were. Hmm, I wonder what Hastert was trying to hush up. Let's go out on a limb here, sexual impropriety possibly...
WaPo: Former House speaker Dennis Hastert indicted over alleged secret payments
WaPo: Former House speaker Dennis Hastert indicted over alleged secret payments
...charges that he violated banking laws in a bid to pay $3.5 million to an unnamed person to cover up “past misconduct.”
Bernie
The NYT gets tough on Bernie here, but the article is mostly about a campaign stop with an older audience.
NYT: Bernie Sanders’s Message Resonates With a Certain Age Group: His Own By PATRICK HEALY
NYT: Bernie Sanders’s Message Resonates With a Certain Age Group: His Own By PATRICK HEALY
Protest
The Free Thought Project: Women Across the Country go Topless to Protest Police Brutality Against Women
The Market On Friday
Good morning. It is a perfect 65 degrees and magnificently sunny here in the Upper Hudson Valley. This is the cream of the weather as far as this blind traveler is concerned. Why is it that time moves incredibly quickly in the warm months and slowly in the cold ones. Regardless, the weekend is almost here and we can guiltless-ly indulge our wanton laziness.
At 8:40 a.m. ET futures are lower and the price of oil per barrel is down now trading just above $57 for light crude. The market is poised to open lower.
Well just plain old dang and crap, the newest revision of the first quarter GDP has it that our substantial US economy shrunk in the first quarter by .7% instead of the original .2% growth number. The economy has dieted and as you know two negative quarters in a row equals a technical recession. Crap, just when you thought things were starting to spark. No doubt this will be downplayed and thrown under the truck of a miserable and brutal winter.
CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open
At 8:40 a.m. ET futures are lower and the price of oil per barrel is down now trading just above $57 for light crude. The market is poised to open lower.
Well just plain old dang and crap, the newest revision of the first quarter GDP has it that our substantial US economy shrunk in the first quarter by .7% instead of the original .2% growth number. The economy has dieted and as you know two negative quarters in a row equals a technical recession. Crap, just when you thought things were starting to spark. No doubt this will be downplayed and thrown under the truck of a miserable and brutal winter.
CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open
...renewed nervousness about the fate of Greece setting the tone....it was possible Greece would have to leave the eurozone.
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Help Is On The Way
Beyond tragic in all directions.
Gawker: Suicidal Man's Girlfriend Calls for Help, Cops Fatally Shoot Him
Gawker: Suicidal Man's Girlfriend Calls for Help, Cops Fatally Shoot Him
Earl For The Week
U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged about 16.5 million barrels per day during the week ending May 22, 2015, 237,000 barrels per day more than the previous week’s average. Refineries operated at 93.6% of their operable capacity last week. Gasoline production increased last week, averaging about 10.2 million barrels per day. Distillate fuel production increased last week, averaging 4.9 million barrels per day.
U.S. crude oil imports averaged 6.7 million barrels per day last week, down by 503,000 barrels per day from the previous week. Over the last four weeks, crude oil imports averaged over 6.8 million barrels per day, 3.4% below the same four-week period last year. Total motor gasoline imports (including both finished gasoline and gasoline blending components) last week averaged 775,000 barrels per day. Distillate fuel imports averaged 248,000 barrels per day last week. source
US Army Corps Of Engineers
Has anyone told our bright GOP politicians that the US Army Corps Of Engineers knows about global warming and works to ameliorate its effect on the environment. Don't these bright GOP boys need to remove their funding or something, maybe add it to Rick Perry's must do away with list...
USACE: How Does Climate Change Affect USACE Mission Areas?
USACE: How Does Climate Change Affect USACE Mission Areas?
The most important influences of climate change on Corps missions are changes in temperature; changes in precipitation quantity, intensity and form (snow vs. rain); and changes in sea levels, winds and wave patterns.
India's Heatwave Continues
Guardian UK: India heatwave death toll rises as awareness campaigns launch - Country suffers one of the worst bouts of hot weather for several years, with more than 1,000 heat-related deaths in southern state of Andhra Pradesh alone
...asking people to stay indoors between 1pm and 4pm and advising them to wear broad-brimmed hats and light-coloured cotton clothes, use umbrellas and drink lots of fluid.
But meteorologists say the number of days when temperatures approach 45C (113F) has increased in the past 15 years.
Flood
Now if I were a crazed xtian fundie type who somehow managed to allow the reality of global warming to penetrate into the gray matter, I might say something incredibly dumb like - "God is venting his wrath on Texas for its stupid politicians who relentlessly deny global warming and do nothing to ease its inevitable harsh changes on the environment." But I'm not, so I won't.
Apparently Bill Nye got it back in heaps from the fundie right for talking about global warming and extreme weather events like the Texas floods. Apparently you can't link the two. Uh oh, isn't that a violation of Bill's Constitutional Right Of Free Speech which the Tea Party allegedly so adamantly defends?
Guardian UK: Texas floods: cities brace for more as officials warn of rivers overflowing - Houston area gets respite from weather but rain still making way downstream. Crews continue searching for nine people feared dead
Apparently Bill Nye got it back in heaps from the fundie right for talking about global warming and extreme weather events like the Texas floods. Apparently you can't link the two. Uh oh, isn't that a violation of Bill's Constitutional Right Of Free Speech which the Tea Party allegedly so adamantly defends?
Guardian UK: Texas floods: cities brace for more as officials warn of rivers overflowing - Houston area gets respite from weather but rain still making way downstream. Crews continue searching for nine people feared dead
Global Warming - It's Not A Theory
Clean Technica: Global Warming Is Not A Theory. It Is A Measurement.
What is so hard to understand about global warming? It is the same physical process that occurs in a car on a hot day that we all experience. The visible light rays from the sun, distributed in a spectrum determined by the sun’s surface temperature (about 5,500C) easily penetrate the car’s glass windows and are absorbed by the car’s interior which gets warm and often hot to the touch. These warm or hot surfaces then reradiate in a spectrum different from the sun’s radiative spectrum because of their vastly different surface temperatures.
Hedges' Latest
Reading Chris Hedges is like getting the strongest dose of smelling salts possible and even if you are already conscious, it startles you more awake.
Truthdig: Our Mania for Hope Is a Curse by Chris Hedges
Truthdig: Our Mania for Hope Is a Curse by Chris Hedges
The yearning for positivism that pervades our corporate culture ignores human nature and human history. But to challenge it, to state the obvious fact that things are getting worse, and may soon get much worse, is to be tossed out of the circle of magical thinking that defines American and much of Western culture.
Bernie
You read Bernie's list and think - of course, excellent. America is not this smart unfortunately. America is about shooting itself in the foot to spite it's leg.
AlterNet: 20 Big Ideas From Bernie Sanders to Reverse Inequality, Expand Safety Nets and Stop America's Plutocrats - Sanders outlines his platform in a major hometown speech. By Steven Rosenfeld
AlterNet: 20 Big Ideas From Bernie Sanders to Reverse Inequality, Expand Safety Nets and Stop America's Plutocrats - Sanders outlines his platform in a major hometown speech. By Steven Rosenfeld
The Market On Thursday
Good morning. It is 73 degrees and cloudy here in the Upper Hudson Valley. Sunshine is expected for most of the day. We see that Golden State finished off the Rockets last night. Now we are in for an excellent NBA championship series as the Cavaliers play the Warriors. I will be watching and can't help but feel a little remorse seeing that three of Cleveland's best players were former Knicks. In fact in some ways the Cavaliers are the former Knicks. The Knicks did not do this well with those players and the deciding factor is LeBron arguably the best player ever in all of basketball. Let's what Curry can do versus LeBron. It's also nice to see that two teams that have been out of the playoffs this late into the season are now playing each other. Hats off to all Cleveland and Golden State fans, the many decade long drought is over.
At 8:40 a.m. ET futures are down and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open lower.
The first time weekly layoff number came in at 282,000 which still shows an improving job market. I believe this morning's information on gas and oil inventories will be telling.
CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open
At 8:40 a.m. ET futures are down and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open lower.
The first time weekly layoff number came in at 282,000 which still shows an improving job market. I believe this morning's information on gas and oil inventories will be telling.
CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open
Government data on pending home sales from April will be released at 10 a.m.
Later in the morning, Wall Street will get the latest information on natural gas and crude oil inventories.
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
Booby
Salon: Bobby Jindal reaches peak stupid: One-time GOP savior embraces hate speech to appease bigots, wingnuts - Governor who urged GOP not to become "stupid party" now fans hate, spouts nonsense. Think he's running in 2016? by Sean Illing
Which leads us to, hehe -
The Borowitz Report: Louisiana Breaks Off Trade Relations with Ireland By Andy Borowitz
Jindal reached peak stupid in January 2015, when he staged a massive prayerapooloza in Louisiana....Here’s a passage drawn directly from the rally materials:
“We have watched sin escalate to a proportion the nation has never seen before. We live in the first generation in which…homosexuality has been embraced…While the United States still claims to be a nation ‘under God’ it is obvious that we have greatly strayed from our foundations in Christianity. This year we have seen a dramatic increase in tornadoes that have taken the lives of many…and let us not forget that we are only six years from the tragic events of Hurricane Katrina…”
Which leads us to, hehe -
The Borowitz Report: Louisiana Breaks Off Trade Relations with Ireland By Andy Borowitz
Flakka
A drug that causes violent aggression, help...
CNN: What is flakka (aka gravel) and why is it more dangerous than cocaine?
Palm Beach Post: Police: Flakka smoking West Palm man beats woman, holds her captive
CNN: What is flakka (aka gravel) and why is it more dangerous than cocaine?
Palm Beach Post: Police: Flakka smoking West Palm man beats woman, holds her captive
Alpha-PVP is chemically similar to other synthetic cathinone drugs popularly called "bath salts," and takes the form of a white or pink, foul-smelling crystal that can be eaten, snorted, injected, or vaporized in an e-cigarette or similar device. Vaporizing, which sends the drug very quickly into the bloodstream, may make it particularly easy to overdose. Like other drugs of this type, alpha-PVP can cause a condition called "excited delirium" that involves hyperstimulation, paranoia, and hallucinations that can lead to violent aggression and self-injury. The drug has been linked to deaths by suicide as well as heart attack. It can also dangerously raise body temperature and lead to kidney damage or kidney failure. source
Clean Water
NYT: Obama Announces New Rule Limiting Water Pollution By CORAL DAVENPORT
The rule has attracted fierce opposition from several business interests, including farmers, property developers, fertilizer and pesticide makers, oil and gas producers and a national association of golf course owners.
122 F
Many of the affected areas are humid, can you imagine 122F coupled with humidity, unbelievable.
BBC: No let-up in massive India heatwave
BBC: No let-up in massive India heatwave
Heatwave conditions have also been prevailing in large parts of India, including in Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Orissa, Rajasthan and the capital, Delhi, with temperatures nearing 50C (122F) in some areas in the past week.
The Market On Wednesday
Good morning. It is 75 degrees and sunny here in the Upper Hudson Valley. The logo indicates rain today at some point, maybe it will. Have you seen the headlines on Baltimore. Apparently the police are not arresting people and as arrests are plunging, violent crime is rising. So please be careful if your travels take you to Baltimore. It would appear that the police are actively restraining from their job. No doubt this is a reaction to the multiple arrests of officers coming from Freddie Gray.
At 8:40 a.m. ET futures are modestly higher and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open higher.
Two things caught my attention in this morning's article. One is that oil is now trading near $57 a barrel so there is a decline going on of roughly $3 to $4 a barrel. Second is a eurozone meeting of G7 finance ministers and the topic will definitely include the plight of Greece as that country continues to be under tremendous economic pressure with its debt and stability - tough being a citizen of that country over the last few years.
CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open
At 8:40 a.m. ET futures are modestly higher and the price of oil per barrel is down. The market is poised to open higher.
Two things caught my attention in this morning's article. One is that oil is now trading near $57 a barrel so there is a decline going on of roughly $3 to $4 a barrel. Second is a eurozone meeting of G7 finance ministers and the topic will definitely include the plight of Greece as that country continues to be under tremendous economic pressure with its debt and stability - tough being a citizen of that country over the last few years.
CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open
The International Monetary Fund has declared the Chinese yuan is "no longer undervalued," after spending years criticizing China for keeping its currency from strengthening too much against the U.S. dollar.
Tuesday, May 26, 2015
'Ghost Riders In The Sky'
Vaughn Monroe
The Doors based their hit 'Riders On The Storm' on this song.
The Doors based their hit 'Riders On The Storm' on this song.
Naturally
The 'health food' movement began earnestly in the late 60s and into the 70s. I was involved in that I worked as a manager of a food co-op back in the 70s. Jump ahead 40 years and we see companies like McDonald's, Subways, and Taco Bell doing away with artificial ingredients. 40 years, that's how long this has taken. Let's hope the movement to get away from CO2 emissions can get done sooner. We don't have time to waste.
Guardian UK: Taco Bell and Pizza Hut join companies doing away with artificial ingredients - Fast-food chains join McDonald’s and Subway in nixing artificial dyes and flavors as they face pressure from smaller rivals positioning themselves as wholesome
Guardian UK: Taco Bell and Pizza Hut join companies doing away with artificial ingredients - Fast-food chains join McDonald’s and Subway in nixing artificial dyes and flavors as they face pressure from smaller rivals positioning themselves as wholesome
The Market On Tuesday
Good morning. It is 75 degrees and cloudy here in the Upper Hudson Valley. It looks like we could be in for a lot of rain over the next week with temperatures in the 80s. So be it, everything is growing like crazy out there, it's very lush. Our garden went in this holiday weekend and we are off to a Summer of fine fresh vegetables. Vegetables are so good for the body, lots of greens, cabbage, tomatoes, fine fine food. I wish I knew a bit more about how plants are able to absorb certain nutrients out of the soil, why each plant has it's own particular nutrient need which we absorb when we eat them. What makes a tomato become red with particular elements, that kind of question.
At 8:30 a.m. ET futures are slightly lower and the price of oil per barrel is down, with light crude now below $60 a barrel. The market is poised to open lower.
Looks like the morning will be filled with a lot of economic data on housing, consumer confidence, and durable goods. Notice the report on China now importing record amounts of crude. Notice that Charter Communications is planning to buy Time Warner, I never used Time Warner - Fios Verizon here.
CNN: Stocks: 4 things to know before the open
At 8:30 a.m. ET futures are slightly lower and the price of oil per barrel is down, with light crude now below $60 a barrel. The market is poised to open lower.
Looks like the morning will be filled with a lot of economic data on housing, consumer confidence, and durable goods. Notice the report on China now importing record amounts of crude. Notice that Charter Communications is planning to buy Time Warner, I never used Time Warner - Fios Verizon here.
CNN: Stocks: 4 things to know before the open
The Census Bureau reports data on April durable goods orders at 8:30 a.m. ET. The influential Case-Shiller real estate index will be released at 9 a.m.
At 10 a.m., the government releases new home sales figures, and the Conference Board reports consumer confidence data for May.
Monday, May 25, 2015
Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo - On Meditation
You might not have heard of Jetsuma Tenzin Palmo but she is really something. Raised in England, she trained in Asia at an early age and is now a world traveling teacher and meditation master.
The Drought
A future California remark - 'Thanks for the glass of water but please don't tell me where it came from...'
LA Times: Turning sewage into drinking water gains appeal as drought lingers
LA Times: Turning sewage into drinking water gains appeal as drought lingers
Brainwashed
Respected GOP economist Bruce Bartlett tells the Conservative world that they live in a bubble and are brainwashed by Conservative media. Ya think? It's only taken a major Conservative 16 years to recognize something that liberals understood way back when. That's not bad, Conservatives usually don't react quite so quickly, 16 years is remarkable...
It becomes easier to understand why there is such strange and fact free information coming out of the right. If the only source of information one gets literally all week long comes from FOX then to Limbaugh then to Drudge then back to FOX, one could easily conclude that this is the entirety of news in the world and that this must be what everyone understands to be true. It is the Conservative echo chamber, most famously seen in action when Karl Rove was shocked to see that Mitt Romney lost the election in 2012. The echo chamber had convinced the Conservative world that Romney was a shoe in. Nothing has changed here, in fact one could easily argue that the echo chamber has become more radical and fringe based.
SSRN: How Fox News Changed American Media and Political Dynamics by Bruce Bartlett
Raw Story: Ex-Reagan adviser: Fox News is ‘self-brainwashing’ Republicans into a radical fringe party
It becomes easier to understand why there is such strange and fact free information coming out of the right. If the only source of information one gets literally all week long comes from FOX then to Limbaugh then to Drudge then back to FOX, one could easily conclude that this is the entirety of news in the world and that this must be what everyone understands to be true. It is the Conservative echo chamber, most famously seen in action when Karl Rove was shocked to see that Mitt Romney lost the election in 2012. The echo chamber had convinced the Conservative world that Romney was a shoe in. Nothing has changed here, in fact one could easily argue that the echo chamber has become more radical and fringe based.
SSRN: How Fox News Changed American Media and Political Dynamics by Bruce Bartlett
Raw Story: Ex-Reagan adviser: Fox News is ‘self-brainwashing’ Republicans into a radical fringe party
Voices From The Conservative Bubble
AlterNet: 5 Despicable Right-Wing Moments this Week You Might Not Have Heard About - You'll never guess who's really to blame for ISIS' recruiting success. By Janet Allon
5. Pat Robertson has an excellent idea for treating eating disorders. “This can be treated as a demonic possession thing,” Robertson said. “It is like a demon and it needs to be rebuked and cast out.”
Wall Street Is Closed On Memorial Day
Good morning. It is 63 degrees and overcast here in the Upper Hudson Valley. Sunshine and temperatures in the high 80s are expected today. I hope you are enjoying your extended holiday weekend. I'm looking forward to the town parade later this morning. Tough job being a soldier, somehow I missed the draft during the Vietnam War. My lottery number was not called and then Nixon ended the draft for people starting in the year of my birth. Since then it's been a volunteer military, as we know. We would all like to see our federal government do a much better job of getting our Vets the proper health care and follow up care they deserve.
Wall Street is closed today for the holiday. The article I've posted has some unsettling information. Oil imports are presently rising with China now with record crude imports. What can be said here, we need to see carbon dioxide emissions decline. The price we are paying and will pay for more CO2 emissions is very steep.
Reuters: Oil prices edge down as dollar strengthens
Wall Street is closed today for the holiday. The article I've posted has some unsettling information. Oil imports are presently rising with China now with record crude imports. What can be said here, we need to see carbon dioxide emissions decline. The price we are paying and will pay for more CO2 emissions is very steep.
Reuters: Oil prices edge down as dollar strengthens
"Global oil demand continues to surprise to the upside..."
In China, crude imports hit a record 7.4 million barrels per day in April...
Sunday, May 24, 2015
In America Increasing Support For Gay Marriage
2011 - 53% yes
2014 - 55% yes
2015 - 60% yes.
NPR: 60 Percent: Record Number Of Americans Support Same-Sex Marriage In Poll
2014 - 55% yes
2015 - 60% yes.
NPR: 60 Percent: Record Number Of Americans Support Same-Sex Marriage In Poll
Brawlers
The brawling Twin Peaks bikers. It's interesting, some of these guys look to be seniors. Now you might think that at 60 years old or so one might wise up a bit. Nope, not at all, this is a life long commitment.
Leading
from May 14th.
NPR: Now, Ben Carson Leads In A Republican Poll
NPR: Now, Ben Carson Leads In A Republican Poll
Both Bush and Carson sit atop the Fox poll at 13 percent each among Republican primary voters.
Ireland
Here is what potential US President Jeb Bush said regarding gay marriage just last week: "It's at the core of the Catholic faith, and to imagine how we are going to succeed in our country unless we have committed family life, a child-centered family system, is hard to imagine..."
Governor Bush, one of the planets most loyal Catholic countries, Ireland, just voted in favor of marriage equality. Governor Bush, a Catholic convert himself, might consider taping this news to his forehead, he seems to need to 'evolve' just a tad on this issue. If he becomes president perhaps he can invade Ireland...
Guardian UK: Ireland becomes first country to legalise gay marriage by popular vote - Referendum result gives yes vote 62% and no 38% as equality minister declares he is proud to be Irish
Governor Bush, one of the planets most loyal Catholic countries, Ireland, just voted in favor of marriage equality. Governor Bush, a Catholic convert himself, might consider taping this news to his forehead, he seems to need to 'evolve' just a tad on this issue. If he becomes president perhaps he can invade Ireland...
Guardian UK: Ireland becomes first country to legalise gay marriage by popular vote - Referendum result gives yes vote 62% and no 38% as equality minister declares he is proud to be Irish
The result means that a republic once dominated by the Catholic church ignored the instructions of its cardinals and bishops.
Refugio, Santa Barbara Oil Spill
Guardian UK: California oil spill despoils coastline in tar-blackened reprise of 1960s disaster - An area known as the Galápagos of the north is again mired in foul-smelling black goo as newer operators exploit depleted oil resources amid patchy regulation
The Texas-based operator, Plains All American Pipeline, has estimated that up to 105,000 gallons leached into a storm drain before the supply was cut off, and that about 20,000 gallons of that travelled the extra quarter-mile to the ocean.
Global Warming - Jebberish
Mashable: Jeb Bush finds new ways to be inaccurate about global warming in 2016 race
"It's this intellectual arrogance that now you can't have a conversation about it even."
Saturday, May 23, 2015
Self
Guardian UK: Uber’s first self-driving car spotted in Pittsburgh - A car fitted with cameras and laser scanners has been seen driving on public roads in the US, as Uber’s research centre starts testing technology
Uber chief executive Travis Kalanick has been bullish about his desire to automate the company’s cars and cut out the human element of the taxi service, which is its largest operating cost.
Earl
Market Watch: Oil ekes out a 10th straight weekly gain
Analyst Tim Evans at Citi Futures said in a report that the oil market is showing some confidence that the market will rebalance as demand grows and U.S. shale-oil production declines.”
Have A Great Saturday
work by Franz Marc
Many of my Facebook friends post articles about animals. I'm sure you've seen some of the clips, photos, etc that are floating out there. Most of the articles are directed at wanting an increased ethical treatment for all animals, the movement opposing animal cruelty is very strong.
This last week on this blog I've posted examples of work created by the artist Franz Marc. Marc died in WW1, all of his work predates WW1, roughly 1916. Marc was concerned with the fate of animals. It strikes me that many artists often times predate a strong movement in society seen decades or even centuries later and Marc was one of those people as the subject of his artwork was the ethical treatment of animals.
Many of my Facebook friends post articles about animals. I'm sure you've seen some of the clips, photos, etc that are floating out there. Most of the articles are directed at wanting an increased ethical treatment for all animals, the movement opposing animal cruelty is very strong.
This last week on this blog I've posted examples of work created by the artist Franz Marc. Marc died in WW1, all of his work predates WW1, roughly 1916. Marc was concerned with the fate of animals. It strikes me that many artists often times predate a strong movement in society seen decades or even centuries later and Marc was one of those people as the subject of his artwork was the ethical treatment of animals.
Friday, May 22, 2015
The Market On Friday
Good morning. It is 59 degrees and sunny here in the Upper Hudson Valley. Sunshine is predicted along with temperatures in the high 60s. The long weekend is almost here and hooray for that. The vegetable garden is a top priority along with lots of house maintenance activity. Hell, I may even break out the grill and see what kind of vegetable concoctions I can create. Over the last few months I've been switching back to a mostly vegetarian diet. I have eaten some fish here and there and that's about it. Generally speaking I feel lighter, not really weight-wise, just some kind of overall feeling. The more I kept reading about the modern state of meat production in the USA, the more I got repulsed. I think if you want to eat meat the best way to go is with locally grown small farmer types who overall seem to do it all better. But hey opinions are easy to find and
I certainly understand budgets and needs and even tastes. It's not like I didn't participate in eating meat for many many years. So, no trip laying here.
At 8:45 a.m. ET futures are slightly higher and the price of light crude per barrel is down yet still floating above $60. The market is poised to open higher.
The holiday weekend means that Wall Street will be closed on Monday. One suspects that many traders are already on vacation and so that usually leads to special pre-holiday trading patterns today. Inflation is on everyone's mind as a government report comes out and as Janet Yellen speaks on the topic this afternoon. With interest rates still incredibly low and with gas prices also lower, inflation is not high on people's minds at this moment, but hey medical costs, the daily cost of maintaining a household - ouch.
CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open
At 8:45 a.m. ET futures are slightly higher and the price of light crude per barrel is down yet still floating above $60. The market is poised to open higher.
The holiday weekend means that Wall Street will be closed on Monday. One suspects that many traders are already on vacation and so that usually leads to special pre-holiday trading patterns today. Inflation is on everyone's mind as a government report comes out and as Janet Yellen speaks on the topic this afternoon. With interest rates still incredibly low and with gas prices also lower, inflation is not high on people's minds at this moment, but hey medical costs, the daily cost of maintaining a household - ouch.
CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open
...Fed chair Janet Yellen is due to give a speech about inflation at 1 p.m. ET.
In Japan, the central bank said it would maintain its monetary stimulus program at the same pace and predicted the moderate economic recovery would continue.
Thursday, May 21, 2015
Props To Rand Paul
Not a fan of Paul, but here he did the right thing, unfortunately the result was not good.
Guardian UK: Rand Paul ends marathon filibuster but fails to block Patriot Act - Republican Rand Paul steps down after more than 10 hours in bid to halt the federal government’s collection of its citizens’ phone records
Guardian UK: Rand Paul ends marathon filibuster but fails to block Patriot Act - Republican Rand Paul steps down after more than 10 hours in bid to halt the federal government’s collection of its citizens’ phone records
Bernie
As New York is a solid blue state, in the primary I will vote for Bernie given the likelihood that it will be a choice between only Sanders and Clinton. That could change. I expect Hillary to win the nomination though. Considering her challenger will likely be Jeb or Walker with a very very wacky Tea Party VP on the ticket, I'll will begrudgingly vote for Hillary.
AlterNet: 6 Awesome Things About Bernie Sanders You Might Not Know - Sanders should not be underestimated. By Evan McMurry
AlterNet: 6 Awesome Things About Bernie Sanders You Might Not Know - Sanders should not be underestimated. By Evan McMurry
The Market On Thursday
Good morning. It is 48 degrees and cloudy here in the Upper Hudson Valley. We've had a cooling trend and it was back to jackets, sweaters, and winter blankets for a day. Allegedly the temperature goes back up to 70 degrees later today. I hope you are okay and not too traumatized from David Letterman signing off. We'll miss him, what a distinctive character. I just discovered some new tenants on the property. There's a cherry tree very close to the back of the house and high up around the second story of the house parallel to a window we can a robin's nest. Mom is very active bringing food back to her babies. It's really a joy to watch.
At 8:45 a.m. ET futures are modestly lower and the price of light crude is once again rising and approaching $60 a barrel. The market is poised to open lower.
Weekly first time layoffs just came in at 274,000 and the trend continues to be positive on employment. Notice that Transocean and BP have reached some settlement claims surrounding the huge Gulf oil spill of 5 years ago.
CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open
At 8:45 a.m. ET futures are modestly lower and the price of light crude is once again rising and approaching $60 a barrel. The market is poised to open lower.
Weekly first time layoffs just came in at 274,000 and the trend continues to be positive on employment. Notice that Transocean and BP have reached some settlement claims surrounding the huge Gulf oil spill of 5 years ago.
CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open
Shares in the oil drilling services firm Transocean are rising by about 2.5% premarket after the company said it had reached two settlements related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill in 2010.
Wednesday, May 20, 2015
Middle East Attrocity, Iraq War, Jeb, Neocons
I've been mulling over a few of the articles we've been looking at lately and I wanted to try to draw some connections here.
First, we have one aspect of the Middle East arising over and over. That would be the intense brutality. The brutality comes in all directions, from the state, in war, in severe trauma, etc. We know about sexual torture as a political tool, beheadings by ISIS and the Saudis, self immolation, suicide bombings, rape, chemical warfare, a list of atrocities that defies the alleged civilized time that we live in.
You could make the argument that in the USA we see similar brutality given our history of lynchings, shootings of all types, rapes, and even our method of sterilized warfare as unmanned drones drop smart bombs guided by a generation of video game enthusiasts. Okay, at least as far as I know, the USA does not carry out criminal state executions by beheading - plus one for the USA.
For now though, let's put the atrocity list onto the Middle East where the sense of living a peaceful ordinary harmonious life is in all likelihood within a few hundred miles of severe change.
Go back to the Bush 2 administration and the Iraq War. We are seeing a lot of recent squirming from the GOP on how to best express the run up to that failed war and it's failed aftermath. We have Jeb now making the claim that brother George was mislead into war through faulty info from intelligence agencies.. This is not true of course, the neocons in the Bush administration under the guiding hand of Cheney wanted this war real bad and 9-11 gave them the cover, excuse, and all the cooked 'intelligence' the best fantasy writer could ever invent.
One meme that comes through over and over from the neocons is this sense of spreading American democracy. As no one in the Bush 2 administration has come forth with the real reason for going into Iraq, we can postulate that this neocon idea of an American Century, a spreading of Americanism throughout the world at this alleged opportune time was high on the probable list of reasons. Oil no doubt was there as well.
But let's go back a second to the list of atrocities that appear frequently in the Middle East - the sexual torture, beheadings, etc etc, all these almost biblical based methods that are used at this present time. We have a Middle East culture of antiquity existing now with tribes and deep rooted hatreds and rivalries. People are executed for their religious beliefs, or non religious beliefs, sexual preference, sexuality, and often just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Now I can make my point. The Bush administration, Jeb, Rubio, the neocons, the GOP, all of them were and still remain clueless regarding this crazed notion that one could impose a new set of political values onto this region. Just take a look at how people treat each other in the Middle East with sexual torture, beheadings, and the rest of the atrocities. That is old school, real real old school, it's antiquity. The atrocities are just the tip of the iceberg in a culture that has even more antiquity in its total being, not just its atrocities. You can't change antiquity with quick regime change. The next GOP president is going to want to invade ISIS or Iran or Iraq again or all of it. Why?
First, we have one aspect of the Middle East arising over and over. That would be the intense brutality. The brutality comes in all directions, from the state, in war, in severe trauma, etc. We know about sexual torture as a political tool, beheadings by ISIS and the Saudis, self immolation, suicide bombings, rape, chemical warfare, a list of atrocities that defies the alleged civilized time that we live in.
You could make the argument that in the USA we see similar brutality given our history of lynchings, shootings of all types, rapes, and even our method of sterilized warfare as unmanned drones drop smart bombs guided by a generation of video game enthusiasts. Okay, at least as far as I know, the USA does not carry out criminal state executions by beheading - plus one for the USA.
For now though, let's put the atrocity list onto the Middle East where the sense of living a peaceful ordinary harmonious life is in all likelihood within a few hundred miles of severe change.
Go back to the Bush 2 administration and the Iraq War. We are seeing a lot of recent squirming from the GOP on how to best express the run up to that failed war and it's failed aftermath. We have Jeb now making the claim that brother George was mislead into war through faulty info from intelligence agencies.. This is not true of course, the neocons in the Bush administration under the guiding hand of Cheney wanted this war real bad and 9-11 gave them the cover, excuse, and all the cooked 'intelligence' the best fantasy writer could ever invent.
One meme that comes through over and over from the neocons is this sense of spreading American democracy. As no one in the Bush 2 administration has come forth with the real reason for going into Iraq, we can postulate that this neocon idea of an American Century, a spreading of Americanism throughout the world at this alleged opportune time was high on the probable list of reasons. Oil no doubt was there as well.
But let's go back a second to the list of atrocities that appear frequently in the Middle East - the sexual torture, beheadings, etc etc, all these almost biblical based methods that are used at this present time. We have a Middle East culture of antiquity existing now with tribes and deep rooted hatreds and rivalries. People are executed for their religious beliefs, or non religious beliefs, sexual preference, sexuality, and often just being in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Now I can make my point. The Bush administration, Jeb, Rubio, the neocons, the GOP, all of them were and still remain clueless regarding this crazed notion that one could impose a new set of political values onto this region. Just take a look at how people treat each other in the Middle East with sexual torture, beheadings, and the rest of the atrocities. That is old school, real real old school, it's antiquity. The atrocities are just the tip of the iceberg in a culture that has even more antiquity in its total being, not just its atrocities. You can't change antiquity with quick regime change. The next GOP president is going to want to invade ISIS or Iran or Iraq again or all of it. Why?
Saudi Employment Opportunity - Low Level Civil Service Jobs
Looks like we got some work here, anybody need a job? Plenty of opportunity to get a head...
Guardian UK: Saudi Arabia advertises for eight new executioners as beheading rate soars - Jobs classified as ‘religious functionaries’ at lower end of civil service scale - 85 reported executed so far this year, rivalling total for whole of 2014
Guardian UK: Saudi Arabia advertises for eight new executioners as beheading rate soars - Jobs classified as ‘religious functionaries’ at lower end of civil service scale - 85 reported executed so far this year, rivalling total for whole of 2014
The Market On Wednesday
Good morning. It is a cool 49 degrees, it's windy, and it's sunny here in the Upper Hudson Valley. I woke up last night in the deep part of the morning around 3 a.m. and the wind was ripping. I'm thinking there are some limbs and maybe even some trees down in this area. Tonight is the last David Letterman appearance. Certainly we will miss him and as we know everything always changes, nothing stay permanent. I'm usually in bed and sleeping by the time the show goes on so I've pretty much missed most of his work. But what I've seen over the many years, I really liked. Another American popular icon heads off into the sunset. We wish him the best and I do so appreciate his liberal leanings.
At 8:45 a.m. ET futures are slightly higher and the price of oil per barrel is slightly up now trading just above $58 a barrel for light crude. The market is poised to open higher.
There is a lot of activity this morning surrounding retail company quarterly reports and companies like Yahoo and Alibaba. For my money, hehe, I believe a report from the Fed will have a lot of pull on investors' thinking this afternoon.
CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open
At 8:45 a.m. ET futures are slightly higher and the price of oil per barrel is slightly up now trading just above $58 a barrel for light crude. The market is poised to open higher.
There is a lot of activity this morning surrounding retail company quarterly reports and companies like Yahoo and Alibaba. For my money, hehe, I believe a report from the Fed will have a lot of pull on investors' thinking this afternoon.
CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open
The Federal Reserve will publish the minutes from its latest policy meeting at 2 p.m. ET.
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Oil Spill At Refugio State Beach
California is really getting hit with it lately...
Reuters: Ruptured pipeline spills 21,000 gallons of oil on California coast
Reuters: Ruptured pipeline spills 21,000 gallons of oil on California coast
Kurdish Women
Open Democracy: Self-immolation in Kurdish Iraq by Sophie Cousins - Why has self-immolation become an alarmingly common trend in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein?
Many women feel trapped in arranged marriages and with few other options turn to suicide to escape. Another form of abuse taking place across the region is coerced self-immolation. In essence, as one NGO worker explained to me, the woman is told by her husband or male relative “tomorrow you will not be here, make yourself disappear”. And she does just that.
Upper East Side Culture
NYT: Poor Little Rich Women
A wife bonus, I was told, might be hammered out in a pre-nup or post-nup, and distributed on the basis of not only how well her husband’s fund had done but her own performance — how well she managed the home budget, whether the kids got into a “good” school — the same way their husbands were rewarded at investment banks.
Global Warming - Fossil Fuel Subsidy
Here's your taxes at work supporting global warming...
Guardian UK: US taxpayers subsidising world's biggest fossil fuel companies - Shell, ExxonMobil and Marathon Petroleum got subsidises granted by politicians who received significant campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry, Guardian investigation reveals
Guardian UK: US taxpayers subsidising world's biggest fossil fuel companies - Shell, ExxonMobil and Marathon Petroleum got subsidises granted by politicians who received significant campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry, Guardian investigation reveals
Lies
I posted the NYT article a few days ago, but just in case you might have missed it.
AlterNet: Paul Krugman Drops Epic Truth Bomb on Latest Round of Lies About Iraq War - The war was no mere mistake: The Bush administration wanted a war and concocted the intelligence. By Janet Allon
AlterNet: Paul Krugman Drops Epic Truth Bomb on Latest Round of Lies About Iraq War - The war was no mere mistake: The Bush administration wanted a war and concocted the intelligence. By Janet Allon
The Market On Tuesday
Good morning. It is 60 degrees, cloudy, and raining on and off here in the Upper Hudson Valley. It's good, we can use the rain even though the greenery is quite lush out there at this time. How about Jeb Bush invoking Catholicism in his drive to capture the fundie vote. Does the man even look at any data at all? The vast majority of Catholics in the USA support gay marriage. Then we've got GOP candidates like Rubio and Bush tap dancing all over the place in an attempt to both support and reject the Iraq war. Let's not forget that the Bush-Cheney regime cooked the information to go to war.This meme that given the intelligence they had we had to go to war - baloney, it was intelligence that the neocons cooked up.
At 8:45 a.m. ET futures are modestly higher and the price of light crude is down now below $59 a barrel. The market is poised to open higher.
Looks like we might be in for another record setting day on Wall Street. Quantitative easing measures in the eurozone make investors on Wall Street giddy with glee. Today there will be lots of quarterly reports from the retail sector, American consumerism drives the global economy. Also there will reports on housing from the Federal government. Enjoy the day.
CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open
At 8:45 a.m. ET futures are modestly higher and the price of light crude is down now below $59 a barrel. The market is poised to open higher.
Looks like we might be in for another record setting day on Wall Street. Quantitative easing measures in the eurozone make investors on Wall Street giddy with glee. Today there will be lots of quarterly reports from the retail sector, American consumerism drives the global economy. Also there will reports on housing from the Federal government. Enjoy the day.
CNN: Stocks: 5 things to know before the open
Investors are reacting to comments from a senior official at the European Central Bank, who was reported to have said the ECB would step up its bond-buying in May and June before liquidity tails off over the summer.
Monday, May 18, 2015
Marco Rubio Speaks To Fox News About The Iraq War
In this clip Rubio reminds me of a little child who puts their fingers in their ears and starts saying, nah nah nah I can't hear you. GOP presidential candidates are in a tricky spot, they have to both support the Iraq war while at the same time they simultaneously reject it.
NBA Draft
The announcement will be Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET.
NYT: N.B.A. Draft Lottery Fates Are Sealed in Secret Before Envelopes Are Opened By VICTOR MATHER
NYT: N.B.A. Draft Lottery Fates Are Sealed in Secret Before Envelopes Are Opened By VICTOR MATHER
Heating Up In Chicago
Summer in Chicago means frequent shootings.
Chicago Tribune: 49 people shot in Chicago over weekend: 'Whole bunch of shots'
Chicago Tribune: 49 people shot in Chicago over weekend: 'Whole bunch of shots'
No No No
If you follow the link and read the article's excerpt below, you will see that Jeb is invoking Catholicism in his call for 'traditional marriage'. Jeb is allegedly opposed to gay marriage and apparently is making this a center piece in his present social policy as he runs for president.
According to Pew Research, the majority of Catholics in the USA, 59%, (Changing Attitudes on Gay Marriage -March 2014) support gay marriage. Clearly this is Jeb's political calculation to make sure he conquers the fundamentalist vote while simultaneously knowing that the Supreme Court will more than likely agree to gay marriage as the law of the land in a month or two.
One of the bigger tasks of a president is to nominate Supreme Court judges. Jeb's announcement here likely means that he would nominate fundamentalist leaning judges during a Bush III presidency.
WaPo: Jeb Bush: No constitutional right to same-sex marriage
According to Pew Research, the majority of Catholics in the USA, 59%, (Changing Attitudes on Gay Marriage -March 2014) support gay marriage. Clearly this is Jeb's political calculation to make sure he conquers the fundamentalist vote while simultaneously knowing that the Supreme Court will more than likely agree to gay marriage as the law of the land in a month or two.
One of the bigger tasks of a president is to nominate Supreme Court judges. Jeb's announcement here likely means that he would nominate fundamentalist leaning judges during a Bush III presidency.
WaPo: Jeb Bush: No constitutional right to same-sex marriage
"It’s at the core of the Catholic faith, and to imagine how we are going to succeed in our country unless we have committed family life, a committed child-centered family system, is hard to imagine," he said. "So, irrespective of the Supreme Court ruling — because they are going to decide whatever they decide, I don’t know what they are going to do — we need to be stalwart supporters of traditional marriage."
Limit It
Excellent decision Mr. President. I would think that reversing this action would be one of the very first acts of a GOP president.
NYT: Obama to Limit Military-Style Equipment for Police Forces By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS
NYT: Obama to Limit Military-Style Equipment for Police Forces By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS
The Market On Monday
Good morning. It is 68 degrees and sunny here in the Upper Hudson Valley. We are in for another day in the 80s. I hope you had a good weekend, I did. I enjoyed seeing a production of 'The Night Of The Iguana'. It was civic theater, nicely done by all actors. How about that biker brawl in Texas. You know, I have very little sympathy for these guys, still 9 people dead. WTF! What a pointless way to go - tragic and utterly unnecessary. Guys and their macho nonsense, will it ever stop - probably not.
At 8:50 a.m. ET futures are modestly lower and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open lower.
The morning is getting off to a slow start allegedly surrounding more fighting in the M.E. I don't get it, isn't there always fighting in the M.E. Retailers will be coming out with quarterly reports this week and recall that consumer spending, oh consumer, is right at the heart of the economy. Make money and spend it - repeat every day over your entire lifetime. Oil has floated up to over $60 a barrel again with renewed expressions that oil may go up to $80 a barrel by the end of the year. There are guesses and then there are predictions based on understanding.
CNN: Stocks: 4 things to know before the open
At 8:50 a.m. ET futures are modestly lower and the price of oil per barrel is up. The market is poised to open lower.
The morning is getting off to a slow start allegedly surrounding more fighting in the M.E. I don't get it, isn't there always fighting in the M.E. Retailers will be coming out with quarterly reports this week and recall that consumer spending, oh consumer, is right at the heart of the economy. Make money and spend it - repeat every day over your entire lifetime. Oil has floated up to over $60 a barrel again with renewed expressions that oil may go up to $80 a barrel by the end of the year. There are guesses and then there are predictions based on understanding.
CNN: Stocks: 4 things to know before the open
It's a big week for retail earnings...
...the National Association of Home Builders release its monthly housing market index at 10 a.m. ET.
Sunday, May 17, 2015
Oil
Reuters: Iran says hopes to return oil exports to pre-sanctions level
Javadi (the managing director of the National Iranian Oil Company) said he expected the oil price to rise to around $80 a barrel by the end of 2016.
By The Numbers
Addicting Info: 2015 By The Numbers: Red States Nearly Twice As Dependent On Gov’t Than Blue States
That’s right, ‘Murican patriots, Teabaggers and rural racists, while you scream “lower taxes” and “kick ’em off of food stamps” from your federally funded rooftops, your EBT cards, roads, bridges and state governments are once again the “drain on the economy” you so vehemently oppose.
Hot
In Albany NY on Sunday May 17th at 5:15 pm, it is 86 degrees, very sunny, and ever so slightly breezy. We might be in for a very hot Summer.
The Borowitz Report - Bush Says Iraq Question Unimportant Since He Clearly Will Never Be President
New Yorker: Bush Says Iraq Question Unimportant Since He Clearly Will Never Be President
"If you’re running in a Republican primary and can’t beat a scientist (Ben Carson), you might as well put a fork in it.”
Jeb's Prescription
Jeb wants to replace Obamacare with Apple watches. God help us.
Slate: Jeb Bush Prescribes an Apple Watch a Day for America's "Disease System" By Beth Ethier
Slate: Jeb Bush Prescribes an Apple Watch a Day for America's "Disease System" By Beth Ethier
That Old Time Religion
Pew Research: America’s Changing Religious Landscape - Christians Decline Sharply as Share of Population; Unaffiliated and Other Faiths Continue to Grow
While the drop in Christian affiliation is particularly pronounced among young adults, it is occurring among Americans of all ages.
Saturday, May 16, 2015
Stop
It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop. - Confucius
Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning. - Albert Einstein
A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous. - Ingrid Bergman
Do The Monkey
This is a very concise description of what the practice of meditation does as explained by meditation master Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
"First, you develop a sense of accuracy in relating with your thoughts and your mind—with the neuroses of all kinds of things that develop in one’s mind. Secondly, you put all that into a certain perspective, as workable. You make a relationship with your thoughts; you work with the thoughts. This process can be represented by the analogy of trapping a crazy monkey. We have this big project of setting a trap and trapping this monkey. The monkey-mind is caught in the trap because of the constant practice of meditation, which provides a camouflage. Being completely still, it is complete entrapment."
The Drought
Finally, some good news.
The Weather Channel: Record Rainfall in Parts of Drought-Stricken California, More Rain Next Week
The Weather Channel: Record Rainfall in Parts of Drought-Stricken California, More Rain Next Week
Parallel Sentencing
I am unequivocally opposed to the death sentence. I favor life imprisonment.
Guardian UK: Mohamed Morsi sentenced to death by Egyptian court - Judgment handed out against Islamist former president over charges of espionage and jailbreak nearly two years after overthrow
Guardian UK: Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev sentenced to death - Jury votes unanimously to send Tsarnaev to death for his role in the Boston Marathon bombing, which left three dead and more than 260 injured
Guardian UK: Mohamed Morsi sentenced to death by Egyptian court - Judgment handed out against Islamist former president over charges of espionage and jailbreak nearly two years after overthrow
Guardian UK: Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev sentenced to death - Jury votes unanimously to send Tsarnaev to death for his role in the Boston Marathon bombing, which left three dead and more than 260 injured
Robert Reich - Ten Ideas To Save The Economy #3: Expand Social Security
I suspect most of us completely agree with Mr. Reich.
Friday, May 15, 2015
Destruction
Another ancient city is about to be destroyed.
Guardian UK: Isis reaches gates of ancient Syrian city Palmyra, stoking fears of destruction
Guardian UK: Isis reaches gates of ancient Syrian city Palmyra, stoking fears of destruction
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