Ford Forecasts 2010 Profit
Posted on January 29, 2010
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Ford Forecasts 2010 Profit, some good news for a change.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aTTwGK0nh9b8&pos=4
Jan. 29 (Bloomberg) — Ford Motor Co. forecast a 2010 pretax operating profit and posted $2.7 billion in net income for last year as Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally reaped the benefits of his recovery plan after three annual losses
Fourth-quarter earnings were $868 million, or 25 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier net loss of $5.98 billion, or $2.51, Ford said yesterday. Excluding one-time costs, profit was 43 cents a share, beating analysts’ estimates.
What Have the Presidents’ Done to America?
Posted on January 25, 2010
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I have watched television talking heads and pundits expound on the insane debt levels that President Obama and the Democratic Congress has been heaping upon us lately, but each time I hear it, my doubt increases. I keep cringing at hearing how President Obama is leading us to economic oblivion by the growth in the size of the Federal Debt. The increase in the Federal Debt is clearly obvious but the big picture was just not clear in my mind. I went looking for some graphs that would show me exactly what was happening over the last one hundred years and frankly, I could not find anything that told me what I wanted to know in a nice, clear graphic. So I set upon the task myself.
Taking computer in hand, I went to various Federal government websites and pulled down the actual accumulated debt numbers since 1900 and compiled it in a spreadsheet. I then went to the website of the Congressional Budget Office and pulled down the projected deficits they expect for the years 2010, 2011 and 2012 and added that to the debt totals on my spreadsheet. I broke out the data by the various Presidents’ terms in office and generated a bar graph. Finally, I converted that graph to a pdf as well as a jpg to post to this blog site (click on image to get a larger view).
Though it is a little difficult to see, I did color code the bars in the graph by each President’s term in office. This graph does not take into account what a federally mandated health care system or a cap and trade system would do to us. While the MSM pundits and economists are screaming about the current projected deficits, it appears to be no worse a condition than what occurred under President George W. Bush or for that matter President Ronald Reagan. In fact, the only recent president that has managed to even slow down the growth curve for even two years was President Bill Clinton.
So I ask the question, why is that? Why has every president since the end of WWII either let the debt stay as it was or let it increase incrementally? The answer is, because we told them to do it. That is right, we the people of America have told them, our presidents to do this to us. We did this through the voting booth.
”A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always vote for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.” Alexander Tytler, The Lifecycle of Civilizations, 1790
The bottom line is this, every single rascal that has been playing at being President of the United States since the American public voted Franklin Roosevelt in, has promised us something for nothing. Every single one has done exactly what we told them to do. This has progressed now to where we can no longer even service the interest on our debt that we the people created. Blaming a president for our dilemma is really too simplistic. It is a case of “be careful for what you wish for, you just might get it.” The bad news is, the time has come to now to pay up.
As I look at where we are heading, I am drawn back to all those economic courses I took in getting my various college degrees. Then in my usual engineering fashion, I try to take my knowledge and drive it down to its basic components to better understand the overall picture. So here it is:
One, we can no longer service our debt. The basic concept behind any borrowing is that debt is OK so long as you can afford the payments. Debt payments usually include principle and interest. However, we as a nation will be at the point on our Federal debt were we will not even take in enough taxes to cover just the interest payments in 2010. We will actually have to increase our debt to make the payments on the debt.
Two, too much money chasing too few goods leads to inflation. The Romans did this by pouring pot metal into their gold and silver; the Germans did this when the Weimar Republic printed money to pay off WWI debts due to the agreement they made at Versailles. Inflation also occurred in China in the 1930’s, in France in the 1800’s, and the Ukraine in 1994 for the same reasons. It is occurring in Zimbabwe today again because of the printing presses making easy money. It will be occurring in the US very soon as all the money spent to bail out companies “too big to fail” works its way into circulation.
Three, so long as there is no money available for small businesses to create jobs we will all suffer. There is a reason small businesses cannot get loans. Banks see them as too great a risk because their assets (homes, land, building and equipment) have fallen so far in value that for most people and small businesses, their current debt is already greater than their net worth. The fact is if you want to start up a small business, banks want you to put your home equity up as collateral. If your home equity is gone because of the depressed housing market, you do not get the loan. This also applies to commercial assets and buildings. As a result of devalued asset levels, no jobs are being created and people are spending less buying goods and services. This is leading to more job layoffs instead of job creation. As joblessness increases and sales drop off for businesses, the government tax revenue plummets. Our Federal deficit problem increases exponentially.
The only way to break this cycle is to cut government spending. We cannot take the Ronald Reagan approach or the Bill Clinton approach to solve our problem as the debt occurred in each of their terms of office. In November 2010 we will get a chance to elect a new slate of Congressmen. I suggest each of you consider not Republicans or Democrats when you vote. Just don’t believe their promises. Our only hope of a national recovery is to vote into office people that will actually cut Federal social services and the military. It will take a “meat cleaver” approach to solve our economic problem now, not just simple government reform. Many people will scream and cry in pain as their free handouts developed over the last seven decades comes to an abrupt end, but those handouts will end one way or another. Our only alternative to a drastic reduction in government spending and services will be total economic collapse. This will lead to war, societal collapse and ultimately, as Alexander Tytler predicts: dictatorship.
In the end, when I ask “What have the Presidents done to America?” The sad answer is, “exactly what we told them to do.” Now is the time to break this cycle of voting for whoever makes the biggest promise of a handout and take our country in a new direction. A direction to fiscal responsibility.
Clayton
The Geography of a Recession
Posted on January 24, 2010
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This is a stunning graphic of the national unemployment picture by county since January of 2007. It has more impact if you enlarge it to full screen mode by clicking on the icon on the lower right corner in the bar below the map (the icon with four arrows pointing in opposite directions).
Haiti Oil Reserves Bigger than Venezuela’s
Posted on January 22, 2010
Filed Under General | 2 Comments
Haiti is full of oil say Daniel and Ginette Mathurin
The website www.metropolehaiti.com is reporting that the Haiti Oil reserves are significantly greater than those located in Venezuela.
“Scientists Daniel and Ginette Mathurin indicate that Haitian soil is rich in oil and fossible fuel base on data which were collected by Haitian and foreign experts. ‘We have identified 20 oil sites,’ says Daniel Mathurin stating that 5 of them are considered ‘very important’”.
“Ginette Mathurin says these deposits are declared strategic reserves of the United States of America. He said that, ‘Haiti’s oil reserves are larger than those of Venezuela. An Olympic pool compared to a glass of water, that is the comparison to show the importance of Haitian oil reserves compared to those of Venezuela.’”
Now we know why we sent 16,000 US troops in Haiti.
Clayton
Silence is betrayal (MLK anti-war speech)
Posted on January 20, 2010
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War - and the Theories of a Conspiracy Nut
Posted on January 19, 2010
Filed Under General Insanity | 1 Comment
“Naturally the common people don’t want war: Neither in Russia, nor in England, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood. But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. … Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the peacemakers for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” — General Hermann Goering, President of German Reichstag and Nazi Party, Commander of Luftwaffe during World War II, April 18, 1946. http://www.examiner.com
OK, I am a conspiracy nut. I think that the last real war that the US forces engaged in occurred when the Southern Confederacy fired on Fort Sumter in 1861. Virtually every war we have been engaged in since that time has been thrust upon us by our own United Stated Government and our elected officials for political and self-financial gain. For those of you who do not want to read my following historical references, I will jump to the conclusion right now. We are going to experience another false flag attack on US forces in the very near future, before the end of 2010, that will make the US citizenry once again clamor for involvement in war.
Since 1898, US wars have been predicated on aggressive attacks on US forces with the exception of the Iraqi War that was based on the false information of Saddam Hussein having control over vast quantities of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD’s). In every case, there is sound argument that the actual aggression against US forces did not happen or were staged for the sole purpose of fomenting the US citizenry to rise up and demand military retaliation. In every case, US support for a war was locked. Of course, to date, no WMD’s have ever been found in Iraq. http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Remember the Maine and to Hell with Spain
This was the battle cry after the Spanish forces supposedly placed mines in Havana Harbor in Cuba that resulted in the sinking of the USS Maine.
Multiple studies of the wreckage of the Maine, including the ones done by divers ordered to investigate the blast by President McKinley at the time of the disaster, have concluded that coal bins ignited and set off a munitions explosion stored next to them and located directly in the blast area of the ship where the outward torn hole in the hull is located. The most famous of these studies was the Rickover Report done in 1976. Understand we also paid a tax on the war with Spain on our telephone bills from 1898 until 2005. Plus we gained considerable territories around the globe as well on the conclusion of the war. Regardless of the evidence, the US government chose instead to go to war with Spain claiming the USS Maine was destroyed by a Spanish mine.
“To help pay for the Spanish-American War, congress enacted a “temporary” tax of 3 percent on long-distance telephone bills. This was essentially a tax on the rich, as only about 1,300 Americans owned phones in 1898. Although the Spanish-American War ended in 1898, the temporary tax was only abolished in… 2005. Over its lifetime, the 107-year-old tax generated almost $94 billion - more than 230 times the cost of the Spanish-American War.
“The Spanish-American War put a large nail in the coffin of Spain’s global empire. And by the end of 1898, the United States, which was founded in opposition to imperialism, found itself in control not only of Cuba, but of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Hawaiian Islands.” http://www.conspiracy-times.com
The Sinking of the RMS Lusitania
The first clear indication of increased peril to RMS Lusitania was the extraordinary notice placed in American newspapers by the German Embassy on 1 May 1915, the day the Cunarder sailed: “Travellers intending to embark on the Atlantic voyage are reminded that a state of war exists between Germany and her allies and Great Britain and her allies; that the zone of war includes the waters adjacent to the British Isles; that, in accordance with formal notice given by the Imperial German Government, vessels flying the flag of Great Britain, or of any of her allies, are liable to destruction in those waters and that travellers sailing in the war zone on ships of Great Britain or her allies do so at their own risk.“ http://www.gwpda.org/
“It’s also not clear to me whether rifle bullets are “explosive” enough to be responsible for the damage to the ship. The German U-boat commander insists he fired just one torpedo; the ship incurred significant damage, but was then destroyed by a secondary explosion.
“What had caused the second huge explosion? The Lusitania’s secret cargo manifest gives some clues. Among the mundane items were 3863 “boxes of cheese”, each weighing 40 pounds. Their destination was a Liverpool post-office box number, which turned out to belong to the Superintendent of the Naval Experimental Establishment at Shoeburyness! Then there were the 323 bales of “furs”, destined for the Liverpool firm of B.F. Babcock and Co. Babcock’s had never dealt in fur, but had previously received several shipments of gun-cotton, a commodity known to be highly explosive when coming into contact with water..” http://tywkiwdbi.blogspot.com2/
1,198 people were killed when the Lusitania was sunk. Her manifest showed that she carried 4,200,000 rounds of rifle cartridges, 1,250 empty shell cases, and 18 cases of non-explosive fuses. The Cunard Line considered this legitimate cargo to be included on a cruise liner with civilian passengers entering a war territory. The Lusitania was torpedoed by a German U-boat on 7 May 1915 and sank in 18 minutes, eight miles (15 km) off the Old Head of Kinsale, Ireland. This event dragged the US into WWI.
December 7, 1941, a date that will live in Infamy
The supposed “sneak attack” by Japanese forces on the US Navel Base in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii may not have been that at all. In fact, it appears President Roosevelt had been expecting the attack for some time.
“On October 7, 1940, Lieutenant Commander Arthur McCollum of the Office of Naval Intelligence submitted a memo to Navy Captains Walter Anderson and Dudley Knox. Captains Anderson and Knox were two of President Roosevelt’s most trusted military advisors.
“The memo detailed an 8-step plan to provoke Japan into attacking the United States. President Roosevelt, over the course of 1941, implemented all 8 of the recommendations contained in the McCollum memo. Following the eighth provocation, Japan attacked. The public was told that it was a complete surprise, an “intelligence failure”, and America entered World War Two.
“This memo, which proves that the government of the United States desired to lure Japan into an attack, was declassified in 1994.”
To read the full article and see copies of the report: http://whatreallyhappened.com/
Gulf of Tonkin
On the night of August 4, 1964, the U.S. Navy destroyers Maddox and Turner Joy reported that they were being attacked by North Vietnamese torpedo boats in the Gulf of Tonkin. This attack on US forces that resulted in the US Congress demanding that we take military action in Vietnam, never really happened.
“Almost everyone on the two destroyers believed, during the incident, that they were under attack. Some still believe so, while others have since decided that what had appeared on radar screens, as torpedo boats had actually been false images generated by weather conditions, birds, or American planes overhead. Consideration of all of the evidence—the testimony of U.S. personnel from the two destroyers and of pilots who were overhead, declassified U.S. records, communications intercepts, interrogation of North Vietnamese torpedo boat personnel captured later in the war, etc.—leads to a clear conclusion: there was no attack.” http://www.clemson.edu/
Yet, this false flag event even gets worse with the latest information.
“The National Security Agency has kept secret since 2001 a finding by an agency historian that NSA officers deliberately distorted critical intelligence during the Tonkin Gulf episode that helped precipitate the Vietnam War” http://www.sfgate.com/
As if looking at the Vietnam War memorial wasn’t already sad enough.
Fort Sumter
“The bombardment lasted through the night until the next morning, when a shell hit the officers’ quarters, starting a serious fire that threatened the main magazine. The fort’s central flagpole also fell. During the period the flag was down, before the garrison could improvise a replacement, several Confederate envoys arrived to inquire whether the flag had been lowered in surrender. Major Anderson agreed to a truce at 2:00 p.m., April 13, 1861.
“Terms for the garrison’s withdrawal were settled by that evening and the Union garrison surrendered the fort to Confederate personnel at 2:30 p.m., April 14. No one from either side was killed during the bombardment.
“The bombardment of Fort Sumter was the first military action of the American Civil War. Following the surrender, Northerners rallied behind Lincoln’s call for all of the states to send troops to recapture the forts and preserve the Union. With the scale of the rebellion apparently small so far, Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers for 90 days. For months before that, several Northern governors had discreetly readied their state militias; they began to move forces the next day. The ensuing war lasted four years, effectively ending in April 1865, with the surrender of General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.
“Charleston Harbor was completely in Confederate hands for the four-year duration of the war, leaving a hole in the Union naval blockade. Union forces retook the fort just days after Lee’s surrender and the collapse of the Confederacy. On April 14, 1865, four years to the day after lowering the Fort Sumter Flag in surrender, Anderson (by then a major general, although ill and in retired status) raised it over the fort again.” http://en.wikipedia.org
Final Comments
One last conspiracy to throw in that even though it did not lead to war, it did lead to a change in America that was similar to the resolution of a war, the murder of Martin Luther King.
“MLK assassinated by US government: King family civil trial 1999 decision. Why didn’t you know this? Martin Luther King’s family and his attorney, William F. Pepper, won a civil trial that found US government agencies guilty in the wrongful death of Martin Luther King. The 1999 trial, King Family versus Jowers and Other Unknown Co-Conspirators, is the only trial ever conducted on the assassination of Dr. King. The King family’s attempts for a criminal trial were denied, as suspect James Ray’s recant of what he claimed was a false confession was denied.”
http://www.examiner.com/
Even though the late Martin Luther King was proven in court to have been killed by the United States government, there has never been any criminal charge brought or trials of the accused held. Even though this conspiracy has been proven in court, most American’s still consider this to be simply another conspiracy theory. The fact is the US government has been in the business of killing Americans for its own evil ends for a very long time. I do not think that our current cast of clowns running Washington has improved this situation one lick. I have written a considerable amount in this blog about our present national economic outlook and the impending food shortage on the immediate horizon. From where I sit, the only conclusion for these troubles, the only way out of complete moral outrage by the US citizenry as things go from bad to worse will be if our US government again takes us to war. They will do this to once again give Americans a common enemy. That is why I say look for a major attack on US forces this year and look for it to be bad enough for everyone in the Main Stream Media and Washington to start demanding that we launch a military action in retribution that will only lead to full scale war.
I guess I can now consider myself a full fledged “conspiracy nut.” I did not even get into the false claims about dead babies that led to the US involvement in the 1991 Kuwait-Iraq war. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ib6wL55EoM
Clayton
US is sending 10,000 troops to Haiti. Is there oil there too?
Posted on January 17, 2010
Filed Under Economy | 4 Comments
The US is sending 10,000 troops to Haiti. A recent 20 billion barrel oil discovery puts Cuba in the big league of oil producing nations. Since we have troops everywhere else on the planet where oil can be found (except for Russia), including the recent opening of seven new military bases in Colombia near the Venezuela border, I can only conclude the world oil companies are about to discover oil reserves in Haiti as well. Telling me we are sending troops to Haiti to help in the aftermath of the earthquake devastation makes little sense to me as we have other organizations that could be of greater help there in this crisis.
Clayton
Movement of the Doomsday Clock Minute Hand to be Televised
Posted on January 12, 2010
Filed Under General Insanity | 2 Comments
The last time the minute hand on the Doomsday Clock was moved was in January of 2007. On Thursday, January 14, 2010 at 10:00 AM EST the movement of the minute hand will be televised live. The Internet Web feed can be watched live at http://www.TurnBackTheClock.org. In January of 2007, the minute hand was set to 5 minutes before midnight. Though the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (BAS) are not yet saying which way the hand will move, does anyone want to take bets it will be inched closer to midnight? On the Doomsday Clock midnight represents the time of nuclear war.
“Founded in 1945 by University of Chicago scientists who had helped develop the first atomic weapons in the Manhattan Project, The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists subsequently created the Doomsday Clock in 1947 as way to convey both the imagery of apocalypse (midnight) and the contemporary idiom of nuclear explosion (countdown to zero). The decision to move the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock is made by the Bulletin’s Board of Directors in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes 19 Nobel Laureates. The Clock has become a universally recognized indicator of the world’s vulnerability to catastrophe from nuclear weapons, climate change, and emerging technologies in the life sciences.” BAS Announcements 01/01/2010
Clayton
The Ark of the Covenant in Yemen?
Posted on January 6, 2010
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Is the real reason we are going to war in Yemen, an impoverished country with no hostile history towards anyone, is because the Ark of the Covenant may be located there? This fascinating article from Viewzone claims that this may be so.
Why Yemen is the next war front.
Clayton
I was Thinking About Making Some 2010 Predictions
Posted on January 1, 2010
Filed Under General Insanity | 3 Comments
I was thinking about making some 2010 predictions but I decided I really did not like making such prognostications in a financial environment that is so “on-the-edge” as the one we are confronting this New Year’s Day. So many things are unsettled, it is hard to see where they are going to end up. Frankly, our three choices for 2010 look like “bad,” “terrible” and “disastrous.” So, let us review where we stand and where things could settle out this coming year.
Food
Food is my number one concern. All things considered the world has about a 10-month’s supply needed to take us through the next 12 months. Unfortunately, the real issue with food is the distribution so the food shortages will not spread equally around the globe. I expect that continents like Africa and SW Asia (India and Pakistan especially) will suffer mega-famines. In the industrialized world, there will be shortages but not full-scale famine. There is hunger in our inner cities already and it will grow worse as a result of the unemployed ranks continuing to grow. The big issue though will be the price of food. I expect prices to skyrocket. This will make things real hard on the people living on fixed incomes such as retirees and pensioners. The only good thing I see on this is that it appears sunspot activity is now increasing and has been doing so through the month of December 2009. If this continues, the world will get on a more normal weather pattern making 2010 harvests a little better. But this corrected weather pattern will be too little, too late for those farmers around the world that have gone bankrupt last year and can no longer get financing to plant their fields this spring. This is mostly due to the failed 2009 harvests and the current rotten banking conditions.
Banking
Well, it has been over one year since the November 2008 financial collapse and as a country we have not reduced our personal or governmental debts one iota. The fact is our governmental debts have dramatically increased due to bailouts and failed stimulus programs. Our overall personal debts have climbed due to the miserable employment situation as well even though individual savings are up. Property values have slumped back to where they were in the 1980’s and will likely continue to fall to where they were in the 1970’s. This will bankrupt a whole slew of banks and businesses currently on-the-edge financially in the process. The FDIC is already broke and my expectation is that other US inner cities will follow the model of Detroit and be stunned as their buildings and infrastructure collapse over the next year. I recently watched a YouTube video showing that whole skyscrapers are now being abandoned in Detroit. Where will this all end? I think it will end with a complete banking melt down as the debt on buildings and homes held by banks will force them into receivership and FDIC control. Make sure you have cash stored in a secure place in your home as you may need it should there be a run on banks this year.
Cities and States
Speaking of Detroit, expect to see several cities and states declare insolvency in 2010 as their tax collections plummet due to the unemployment and loss of business. Look for California, Michigan and New York to be the most likely candidates to go first. This will result in a dramatic loss of services from these governments including the loss of police and fire department personnel. How it will affect schools is also at question but since most governments are locked into union contracts with teachers, the disruptions will likely result in strikes and walkouts as funds dry up. All of this will of course result in increasing unemployment figures as government workers join the swelling ranks of the unemployed.
Gold and Silver
What should you do about gold and silver? Buy some. Buy as much as you can afford. With the Tungsten filled Gold bars fiasco still unwinding, government financial collapses and the impending food shortages, the only thing that will hold any value at all will be precious metals. My expectation is that 100 ounces of silver purchased today will likely be enough to pay off a house mortgage in a couple of years.
War
According to Ron Paul the US is now attacking Yemen . Meanwhile, Noble Peace Prize recipient Barak Obama is increasing the overall troop strengths in the Middle East to 222,000. This is up from War Monger George Bush’s total of 189,000. The real wild card in this mess though is Israel. They want desperately to attack Iran despite warnings from the US, Russia, China, the EU and whole groups of other third world countries. My guess is that Israel will have to do something dramatic in order to drag the US in on this fool plan and this time blowing up trade towers in a false flag operation will not work. Israel just called in all their envoys from around the world for an emergency meeting . This tells me they are planning something big in the very near future. I think they are planning on a major Gaza operation that will likely draw Syria into a war with them setting off a chain reaction forcing Iran to attack Israel. This will be a clever move on Israel’s part to get the US to once again do their dirty work for them and defend Israel by attacking Iran in retaliation. Look for oil to jump from $78 per barrel to over $200 per barrel the next day. This could likely put the entire world on a war footing. It will also result in more US debt.
I think that 2010 will make us wish for the good old days of 2009 in a relatively short time. Let us hope we are all smart enough to prepare for feeding and taking care of our own in the days ahead. Let us also hope we are smart enough to throw out the entire Congress and place individuals into office who will actually try to solve problems rather than support the people who paid for them to get elected. The sad part is I don’t think we are really smart enough to do such a thing.
Yes, I was thinking about making some 2010 predictions and I don’t like it.
Clayton
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