Update from the Heartland
No.419
21.12.09 – 27.12.09
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
No.419
21.12.09 – 27.12.09
Blog version: http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/
To all,
The follow-up news items:
-- On the morning of Christmas Eve, Congress moved one hurdle closer to passage of the massive health care reform legislation [227, 292, 360, 368 & sub] {Senate: HR 3590; 60-39-0-0(1)}. Now, the two chambers must reconcile the their versions into one final bill. Since the Senate amended the House bill, the House can approve the Senate amended version, or a conference committee will be charged with reconciliation, which in turn must be voted upon by both chambers. The President’s new target date – 20.January, the State of the Union report to Congress and the Nation.
-- On 18.December.2009, Iranian troops under orders from the Islamic Republic of Iran crossed the Iraqi border, took control of a producing oil well, planted the IRI flag, and claimed the well as Iranian property. Interesting! The IRI regime chose this time to make such a statement – nearly 30 years after the beginning of the Iran-Iraq War – and after the public disclosure of the IRI’s nuclear trigger research [137 et al + 418]. Could this be a test of Allied will? So it shall be . . . “Cry Havoc! and let slip the dogs of war.”
On the day Christian’s celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, we were extraordinarily lucky . . . there but for the grace of God! Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, attempted to detonate an explosive charge (sewn into his underwear) on a trans-Atlantic flight from Amsterdam [AMS / EHAM], while on approach to Detroit [DTW / KDTW]. Northwest Flight 253 – an Airbus A330-323X aircraft in Delta livery – landed safely with only minor injuries to passengers (other than the attacker). Reportedly, the perpetrator has talked freely with investigators and has claimed to be an al-Qaeda operative. He supposedly used 80 grams of explosive material – PETN (PentaErythritol TetraNitrate), a military grade explosive commonly used in Detcord or as an accelerant in high-order devices, and allegedly acquired in Yemen. Based on the material and the result, I suspect the detonator either malfunctioned or was not sufficiently intimate with the explosive material, as it burned relatively slowly rather than rapidly.
The Wall Street Journal reported on an FBI investigation into a computer-security breach at Citigroup's Citibank subsidiary that apparently resulted in a theft of tens of millions of dollars by computer hackers who appear linked to a Russian cyber-gang. I suspect there is more of this type of criminal activity we have not heard about, and I am afraid we are going to see more of these events.
News from the economic front:
-- The government revised the 3rd Quarter U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) [398, 408, 413] for the third and final time to a +2.2% annual rate– down from the +3.5% initial estimate, then revised lowered again to a +2.8%, now below the Wall Street forecasts of 2.7% growth.
-- The National Association of Realtors reported that U.S. previously owned home sales in November rose 7.4% to a 6.54M annual rate, while inventories of previously owned homes decreased by 1.3% to 3.52M units available for sale, representing a 6.5-month supply at the current sales pace.
-- Ford Motor Company announced that it is close to selling its loss-making Volvo unit to Geely Automobile – the largest private automotive company in the People’s Republic of China – and expects to close the deal in 1Q2010. Ford acquired Volvo in 1999 for US$6.45B, and needs to sell the Swedish component to raise precious cash and focus on its three core brands: Ford, Lincoln and Mercury.
-- The Commerce Department reported American personal spending rose by 0.5% in November, while incomes increased by 0.4%. Both figures came in slightly lower than economists' expectations, though the gain in income was the largest in six months. October spending was revised down to +0.6% from +0.7%, while incomes were revised up to a +0.3% from +0.2%. While the positive signs are not overwhelming, they are positive.
-- The Commerce Department also reported new single-family homes sales decreased 11.3% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 355,000. Economists had estimated only a 1.2% decrease to a 425,000 annual rate.
Comments and contributions from Update no.418:
“Not sure where you were going for a while...talking about the two pilots who overflew Minneapolis and then moved on to sex. For a minute, I thought you were insinuating that instead of falling asleep or working on their laptops, other "shenanigans" were going on. And then again, that might be it.”
My reply:
The NW 188 pilots & sex . . . the thought had crossed my mind, i.e., what could have been that distracting? Laptops . . . never bought it. Asleep . . . possible, but highly unlikely for both pilots, for that long, with no apparent pre-fatigue issues. At this stage, with all the government, Press and public attention, I doubt either pilot has the courage to stand up, tell the truth, and accept the consequences, plus if it was sex, it had to be homosexual, which carries its own stigma, unfortunately.
Another contribution:
“I have pretty much reached my limit with Obama and his leftist cronies. The Copenhagen Summit was a joke. What was it I read? A non-binding agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions? Which basically means if no one feels like doing it, they won't. And for our "illustrious" SecState Hillary Clinton to just promise a 100 billion bucks to Third World nations to supposedly combat global warming. We're in the middle of a recession! And how much of that money will really go to "combat global warming?" more likely it will go into the pockets of dictators and their friends. Global warming/climate change, whatever you want to call it is a scam! There are a bunch of reports saying our planet is cooling. And no debate is allowed in the mainstream. If you're not onboard with the mantra, that global warming is caused by man and we need to wreck the economy and everyone's freedom to stop it, then you are shouted down and you must be silenced. Why are they so afraid of debate if they are so sure of their stupid stance!? Probably because they know the "science" they spew is bullcrap, and they just want to grab power for themselves. But then again, that's what happens when something goes from being an issue to being a religion, with a buffoon like Al Gore as their deity. Why can't Obama concentrate on getting our economy back on track instead of pretending to save the world and desperately trying to make everyone in Europe and the Middle East love him? Oh yeah, I have the answer. Because he's a narcissist! The world revolves around him and his wife. I can't help it, but with everything he is doing to this country, not defending us, trying to socialize everything, I have no respect for him or that troll Harry Reid or that hag Nancy Pelosi. Maybe name-calling is juvenile, but they have shown through their actions in the health care debate that they have no respect for the opinion of the American people, whom they work for, so why should I have any respect for their them?”
My response:
My opinion remains the same. I don’t really think whether the Earth is warming or cooling [as it has been doing for eons, long before hominids walked upright], or whether humans have any effect whatsoever on the temperature of the Earth, is relevant to the fact that we should not be polluting our air, water or soil. So, I conclude, for whatever reason suits each individual’s fancy, we need to clean up our act and respect the Earth. It is the only one we have . . . so far.
We can rail against the President and his policies, but he is not a dictator. He does not decide the law or make the rules. We have processes that have been tried and true for more than 200 years . . . all intended to moderate the political whimsy of the moment. I, for one, have faith in the American political system, despite its many mistakes. Those mistakes are largely self-correcting in time.
Anyway, at the end of the day . . . keep the faith. All will be right with the World . . . in time.
My very best wishes to all. Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
The follow-up news items:
-- On the morning of Christmas Eve, Congress moved one hurdle closer to passage of the massive health care reform legislation [227, 292, 360, 368 & sub] {Senate: HR 3590; 60-39-0-0(1)}. Now, the two chambers must reconcile the their versions into one final bill. Since the Senate amended the House bill, the House can approve the Senate amended version, or a conference committee will be charged with reconciliation, which in turn must be voted upon by both chambers. The President’s new target date – 20.January, the State of the Union report to Congress and the Nation.
-- On 18.December.2009, Iranian troops under orders from the Islamic Republic of Iran crossed the Iraqi border, took control of a producing oil well, planted the IRI flag, and claimed the well as Iranian property. Interesting! The IRI regime chose this time to make such a statement – nearly 30 years after the beginning of the Iran-Iraq War – and after the public disclosure of the IRI’s nuclear trigger research [137 et al + 418]. Could this be a test of Allied will? So it shall be . . . “Cry Havoc! and let slip the dogs of war.”
On the day Christian’s celebrate the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, we were extraordinarily lucky . . . there but for the grace of God! Nigerian Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, attempted to detonate an explosive charge (sewn into his underwear) on a trans-Atlantic flight from Amsterdam [AMS / EHAM], while on approach to Detroit [DTW / KDTW]. Northwest Flight 253 – an Airbus A330-323X aircraft in Delta livery – landed safely with only minor injuries to passengers (other than the attacker). Reportedly, the perpetrator has talked freely with investigators and has claimed to be an al-Qaeda operative. He supposedly used 80 grams of explosive material – PETN (PentaErythritol TetraNitrate), a military grade explosive commonly used in Detcord or as an accelerant in high-order devices, and allegedly acquired in Yemen. Based on the material and the result, I suspect the detonator either malfunctioned or was not sufficiently intimate with the explosive material, as it burned relatively slowly rather than rapidly.
The Wall Street Journal reported on an FBI investigation into a computer-security breach at Citigroup's Citibank subsidiary that apparently resulted in a theft of tens of millions of dollars by computer hackers who appear linked to a Russian cyber-gang. I suspect there is more of this type of criminal activity we have not heard about, and I am afraid we are going to see more of these events.
News from the economic front:
-- The government revised the 3rd Quarter U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) [398, 408, 413] for the third and final time to a +2.2% annual rate– down from the +3.5% initial estimate, then revised lowered again to a +2.8%, now below the Wall Street forecasts of 2.7% growth.
-- The National Association of Realtors reported that U.S. previously owned home sales in November rose 7.4% to a 6.54M annual rate, while inventories of previously owned homes decreased by 1.3% to 3.52M units available for sale, representing a 6.5-month supply at the current sales pace.
-- Ford Motor Company announced that it is close to selling its loss-making Volvo unit to Geely Automobile – the largest private automotive company in the People’s Republic of China – and expects to close the deal in 1Q2010. Ford acquired Volvo in 1999 for US$6.45B, and needs to sell the Swedish component to raise precious cash and focus on its three core brands: Ford, Lincoln and Mercury.
-- The Commerce Department reported American personal spending rose by 0.5% in November, while incomes increased by 0.4%. Both figures came in slightly lower than economists' expectations, though the gain in income was the largest in six months. October spending was revised down to +0.6% from +0.7%, while incomes were revised up to a +0.3% from +0.2%. While the positive signs are not overwhelming, they are positive.
-- The Commerce Department also reported new single-family homes sales decreased 11.3% in November to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 355,000. Economists had estimated only a 1.2% decrease to a 425,000 annual rate.
Comments and contributions from Update no.418:
“Not sure where you were going for a while...talking about the two pilots who overflew Minneapolis and then moved on to sex. For a minute, I thought you were insinuating that instead of falling asleep or working on their laptops, other "shenanigans" were going on. And then again, that might be it.”
My reply:
The NW 188 pilots & sex . . . the thought had crossed my mind, i.e., what could have been that distracting? Laptops . . . never bought it. Asleep . . . possible, but highly unlikely for both pilots, for that long, with no apparent pre-fatigue issues. At this stage, with all the government, Press and public attention, I doubt either pilot has the courage to stand up, tell the truth, and accept the consequences, plus if it was sex, it had to be homosexual, which carries its own stigma, unfortunately.
Another contribution:
“I have pretty much reached my limit with Obama and his leftist cronies. The Copenhagen Summit was a joke. What was it I read? A non-binding agreement to cut greenhouse gas emissions? Which basically means if no one feels like doing it, they won't. And for our "illustrious" SecState Hillary Clinton to just promise a 100 billion bucks to Third World nations to supposedly combat global warming. We're in the middle of a recession! And how much of that money will really go to "combat global warming?" more likely it will go into the pockets of dictators and their friends. Global warming/climate change, whatever you want to call it is a scam! There are a bunch of reports saying our planet is cooling. And no debate is allowed in the mainstream. If you're not onboard with the mantra, that global warming is caused by man and we need to wreck the economy and everyone's freedom to stop it, then you are shouted down and you must be silenced. Why are they so afraid of debate if they are so sure of their stupid stance!? Probably because they know the "science" they spew is bullcrap, and they just want to grab power for themselves. But then again, that's what happens when something goes from being an issue to being a religion, with a buffoon like Al Gore as their deity. Why can't Obama concentrate on getting our economy back on track instead of pretending to save the world and desperately trying to make everyone in Europe and the Middle East love him? Oh yeah, I have the answer. Because he's a narcissist! The world revolves around him and his wife. I can't help it, but with everything he is doing to this country, not defending us, trying to socialize everything, I have no respect for him or that troll Harry Reid or that hag Nancy Pelosi. Maybe name-calling is juvenile, but they have shown through their actions in the health care debate that they have no respect for the opinion of the American people, whom they work for, so why should I have any respect for their them?”
My response:
My opinion remains the same. I don’t really think whether the Earth is warming or cooling [as it has been doing for eons, long before hominids walked upright], or whether humans have any effect whatsoever on the temperature of the Earth, is relevant to the fact that we should not be polluting our air, water or soil. So, I conclude, for whatever reason suits each individual’s fancy, we need to clean up our act and respect the Earth. It is the only one we have . . . so far.
We can rail against the President and his policies, but he is not a dictator. He does not decide the law or make the rules. We have processes that have been tried and true for more than 200 years . . . all intended to moderate the political whimsy of the moment. I, for one, have faith in the American political system, despite its many mistakes. Those mistakes are largely self-correcting in time.
Anyway, at the end of the day . . . keep the faith. All will be right with the World . . . in time.
My very best wishes to all. Take care of yourselves and each other.
Cheers,
Cap :-)
4 comments:
The health care "reform" is probably better forgotten at this point. It doesn't even remove the protection the insurance companies currently have from anti-trust laws, and it's mostly one enormous piece of pork for the health insurance industry. On top of that, it creates fines for people like me who cannot buy coverage. (I find it reasonable to think that any potential subsidies will be removed for budget reasons by the time the bill takes effect for adults in 2014.) My decision on that issue will come down to whether the fine is higher than the cost of some useless "coverage" that will be offered me under the new law. We need health-care reform; this goes in the wrong direction.
What struck me about the attack on Flight 253 was the response of the passenger, Jasper Schuringa of Amsterdam, who subdued the terrorist until the air crew could help. This terrorist had a burning object in his hands, surely a more fearsome weapon than the box cutters said to have been used on 9/11. In fact, the burning object turns out to have been an explosive device, which Mr. Schuringa, a video director and producer, probably realized. I applaud and thank Mr. Schuringa, but it makes me wonder about all those people on the flights of 9/11 who faced only box cutters. I have used box cutters at work; they're not very scary. That's still an odd feature of 9/11 to me.
As far as the plane that overflew Minneapolis, we might as well treat that one as comic relief based on the logical assumption that if they were low on fuel or in some other serious situation, they probably would have paid more attention. If they were having sex, I would think they would have potential partners other than one another. In any case, I find it difficult to think of any other distraction that would account for the behavior and would not show up on routine drug tests.
I reach a very similar conclusion to your other correspendent about the results of the Copenhagen climate summit. I feel certain that his or her political viewpoint is very far from mine, but we both noted the term "non-binding" and the amount $100 billion. "Non-binding" means "do as you damn well please." $100 billion means "we can make each other wealthy."
I differ with the other correspondent on the reality of global warming. This is old news for me. I wrote a college paper on global warming in 1991 (and got an A on it). Back then, those supporting the hypothesis of global warming were the ones being shouted down and silenced. The information today remains essentially the same, supported by subsequent data, and the politicians still seem not to realize that Mother Nature varies nothing based on what they say. A deal like the Copenhagen result does not change the climate in the least.
Cap, Hi, my e-mails to you are being returned as Spam! Now 5 attempts!
Peter Suffolk. U/K
MrMacnCheese,
A bit slow in my normal processes this week . . . the honey-do list seems to grow longer the more I do. I need to go back to work . . . to get back to normal. LOL
“Long journeys begin with small steps.” You have named a few of the weaknesses in the nearly evolved health care reform bill. I do not dispute or argue your illumination of those flaws. Perhaps the bill does go in the wrong direction, but it is an attempt to resolve an important failure of the American culture. It will be a step on a long journey. We will see its weaknesses, and we will fix them.
I have more to say on the Christmas Day terrorist attack in Update no.420. I’ll save further comment on NW Flt 253.
Good observation on NW Flt 188. To my knowledge, the two pilots were the only people in the cockpit during the entire time frame. I’m having a hard time understanding that level of distraction as well. Unfortunately, we may never know what happened.
Copenhagen . . . time shall tell the tale.
Global warming . . . I just don’t see the human cause element. The fact that glaciers are melting is an undeniable fact, but the cause is not so well understood. My point is and has been: if human habitation is causing global warming, we need to change our ways; if human habitation has nothing to do with climate change, we still need to change our ways.
“That’s just my opinion, but I could be wrong.”
Cheers,
Cap
Peter Suffolk,
Not sure what the problem is. I've tested via an alternate addy. Seems OK. I need to check more. Please be patient.
Cheers,
Cap
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