text:
Welcome to life in the Grifter Archipelago
by Barry Ritholtz - October 22nd, 2010, 8:24am
Matt Taibbi's new book, Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America, comes out next month. There is an excerpt at RollingStone.com that is well worth your time to read:
"America is quite literally for sale, at rock-bottom prices, and the buyers increasingly are the very people who scored big in the oil bubble. Thanks to Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley and the other investment banks that artificially jacked up the price of gasoline over the course of the last decade, Americans delivered a lot of their excess cash into the coffers of sovereign wealth funds like the Qatar Investment Authority, the Libyan Investment Authority, Saudi Arabia's SAMA Foreign Holdings, and the UAE's Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
Here's yet another diabolic cycle for ordinary Americans, engineered by the grifter class. A Pennsylvanian like Robert Lukens sees his business decline thanks to soaring oil prices that have been jacked up by a handful of banks that paid off a few politicians to hand them the right to manipulate the market. Lukens has no say in this; he pays what he has to pay. Some of that money of his goes into the pockets of the banks that disenfranchise him politically, and the rest of it goes increasingly into the pockets of Middle Eastern oil companies. And since he's making less money now, Lukens is paying less in taxes to the state of Pennsylvania, leaving the state in a budget shortfall. Next thing you know, Governor Ed Rendell is traveling to the Middle East, trying to sell the Pennsylvania Turnpike to the same oil states who've been pocketing Bob Lukens's gas dollars. It's an almost frictionless machine for stripping wealth out of the heart of the country, one that perfectly encapsulates where we are as a nation.
When you're trying to sell a highway that was once considered one of your nation's great engineering marvels — 532 miles of hard-built road that required tons of dynamite, wood, and steel and the labor of thousands to bore seven mighty tunnels through the Allegheny Mountains — when you're offering that up to petro-despots just so you can fight off a single-year budget shortfall, just so you can keep the lights on in the state house into the next fiscal year, you've entered a new stage in your societal development.
You know how you used to have a job, and a house, and a car, and a wife and a family, and there was food in the fridge — and now you're six months into a drug habit and you're carrying toasters and TVs out the front door every morning just to raise the cash to make it through that day? That's where we are. While a lot of this book is about how American banks used bubble schemes to strip the last meat off the bones of America's postwar golden years, the cruelest joke is that American banks now don't even have the buying power needed to finish the job of stripping the country completely clean.
For that last stage we have to look overseas, to more cash-rich countries we now literally have to beg to take our national monuments off our hands at huge discounts, just so that our states don't fall one by one in a domino rush of defaults and bankruptcies. In other words, we're being colonized — of course it's happening in a clever way, with very careful paperwork, so we have the option of pretending that it's not actually happening, right up until the bitter end."
Griftopia will be the last remaining post-crash books I can muster the strength to read, as I am suffering from post-bailout/recession/collapse fatigue.
I don't always agree with Taibbi's conclusions, but he manages to tap into the Zeitgeist of the nation's angst better than anyone else.
Griftopia: Bubble Machines, Vampire Squids, and the Long Con That Is Breaking America
Exclusive Excerpt: America on Sale, From Matt Taibbi's 'Griftopia'
Matt Taibbi
Rolling Stone, Oct 18, 2010
Category: Bailouts, Really, really bad calls
Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor implied. If you could repeat previously discredited memes or steer the conversation into irrelevant, off topic discussions, it would be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your discourse . . . you are, after all, anonymous.
90 Responses to "Welcome to life in the Grifter Archipelago"
b_thunder says:
As the Amazon's description writes "The financial crisis that exploded in 2008 isn't past but prologue. "
I'm afraid this is true, this is not beginning of the end, but the end of the beginning. So, there will be many more new books worth reading…. until after a decade of right-wing fevers and left wing chills, books similar to this one will be banned.
There's no was to resolve this 100% peacefully. The "Rally to restore Sanity" and similar voices (in the wilderness) is not nearly enough to change the regime.
chartist says:
High oil and gas prices were the price of peace, at least to a degree, in the middle east…..You either give them the money through the gas pump or you pay through ever higher military expenditures and loss of rights within this country.
Alaric says:
This book sounds like utter rubbish !
BR – for someone who considers himself an analysts focused on data, it is surprising that you would want to read this unsupported editorial…..
BR: As I have written (repeatedly) in the past, I don't always agree with Taibbi's conclusions, but he manages to tap into the Zeitgeist of the nation's angst better than anyone else.
Damned, that is a pretty sentence . . . I may have to move it to the actual body of the post.
Alaric says:
I would suggest that readers of this blog would be much better served if they read the chapter on the social effects of the Great German Inflation in Bresciani-Turroni's "Economics of Inflation" rather than Tiabbi's tripe…
Particularly since the Fed is going to embark on a money printing extravaganza!
number2son says:
for someone who considers himself an analysts focused on data, it is surprising that you would want to read this unsupported editorial
It's a prologue, friend. You know what that means? Ok, I'll tell you. It is the introduction to the major themes of the book that the author intends to develop at length in the pages that follow. To provide support, as it were.
ACS says:
Short term bubbles, like the run to $147 in oil, can be manipulated but let's be honest, the long-term uptrend is the result of two factors: increased demand mostly thanks to our suicidal relationship with China and Dollar debasement thanks to our inability to live within our means.
BennyProfane says:
Griftopia – now, that's a great word.
Alaric says:
number2son –
Tiabbi states that two banks "artificially jacked up the price of gasoline over the course of the last decade" – really?
Show me the data / show me the facts.
BR: Goldman Sachs changed the weighting of Oil repeatedly over the years of the influential GSCI (commodities index), must notably dropping the weighting before the 2006 election. (Perhaps that qualifies as manipulation?)
They have since sold the index.
What's your problem? Maye you ought to talk to someone who lives in PA and knows exactly what went on? And knows that Taibbi, as much as you might hate him for whatever reason, is right. Republicans, and a some Democrats, want to turn us into a banana republic. Do you not see that?
ubnutsagain says:
Who is Matt Taibbi, I ask myself, and what are his credentials for such an all-sweeping book?
From http://www.matttaibbi.com …
"Taibbi spent his childhood in the suburbs of Boston, Massachusetts. He attended Concord Academy and Bard College at Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, then spent a year abroad at Saint Petersburg Polytechnical University. His father is Mike Taibbi, an NBC television reporter.
"In 1992 Taibbi moved to Uzbekistan, but was forced to leave six months later after writing articles critical of the country's president, Islom Karimov. Afterwards, Taibbi worked for The Moscow Times as a sports editor, before moving on to work in Russia and Mongolia as a professional athlete and as a correspondent for Montsame, the Mongolian National News Agency.
"Taibbi then took a break from journalism and turned to professional sports. He was one of the first Americans to play Russian pro baseball, playing center field for Spartak Moscow. While playing professional basketball in Ulan Bator, Mongolia, Taibbi contracted a serious case of pneumonia and returned to Boston for treatment. After recovering with his family, he returned to Russia and became editor of the expat paper Living Here. He then joined Mark Ames in 1997 to co-edit the controversial English-language Moscow-based, bi-weekly free newspaper, The eXile. Taibbi said about that experience, "We were out of the reach of American libel law, and we had a situation where we weren't really accountable to our advertisers. We had total freedom."
'In 2002, he returned to the U.S. to start the satirical bi-weekly The Beast in Buffalo, New York. He eventually left The Beast, declaring that "Running a business and writing is too much." Taibbi continued as a freelancer, writing for The Nation, Playboy, New York Press (where he wrote a regular political column for over two years), Rolling Stone, New York Sports Express (where he was Editor at Large), but with reservations. "For me, it's a career failure. I wanted to be a novelist," he announced at an NYU lecture. In 2004, while Taibbi followed the democratic campaign of the 2004 US presidential election, he wore a gorilla suit in front of campaign staffers and took LSD at a major debate.[dead link]
"Taibbi left the New York Press in August 2005, shortly after his editor Jeff Koyen was forced to quit over issues raised by Taibbi's column "The 52 Funniest Things About The Upcoming Death of The Pope." "I have since learned that there would not have been an opportunity for me to stay anyway," Taibbi later wrote.
"Taibbi went on to serve as a Contributing Editor at Rolling Stone, penning feature-length articles on both domestic and international affairs and a weekly political column titled "The Low Post" for the magazine's Web site. Taibbi continues to write for the print edition of Rolling Stone, but has stopped contributing to his online column. A later online column titled "Year of the Rat" was meant to document the 2008 election season, but it ended after only a few postings.
"Taibbi served as a special correspondent for Real Time with Bill Maher offering political coverage of the 2008 presidential campaign, and he has made several guest appearances on MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show to discuss the 2009 economic crisis.
"In 2009 in Rolling Stone he described Goldman Sachs as "a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money."
"Taibbi also writes a column called the "The Sports Blotter" for the free weekly newspaper the Boston Phoenix. The column provides a rundown of the arrests, civil suits, and criminal trials involving professional athletes.
"In 2008, Taibbi was awarded the National Magazine Award in the category "Columns and Commentary" for his Rolling Stone columns."
As for what he brings to this particular table of ideas … maybe his book is worth reading, but my gut says it isn't.
dead hobo says:
To some extent, this is just a book on basic and fundamental applied international economics. To balance trade, outflows must equal inflows. Cash flows out of country for oil and other imports. Cash returns via exports or sale of debt or sale of assets, such as Chicago parking meters. With the annual deficits at historic high amounts now and for the coming several years, the things mentioned in this story will become commonplace. The debt will have to be repaid via higher taxes, the printing press, or more asset sales. Or exports (ha ha).
QE2 will enhance this process by causing commodity prices to rise substantially. This will cause more cash to flow out of country. As a result, more of the US will have to be sold to balance the books. The Fed and its printing press will help demise the US economy and the domestic ownership of US assets in the future by this process. It's as inevitable as gravity. The Fed is essentially turning the US over to foreigners, although the time lag will be so long between QE2 and the payback they will be able to evade responsibility.
The fact that crooks and incompetents control the US negotiating position in the repatriation process doesn't help us much, either. The crooks are probably thinking, "Thanks for the free money. The chumps will pay higher prices now, we'll get rich and/or keep our jobs, and maybe someone down the road will stiff the foreigners for trusting us to pay them back. At least we won't have to pay for it."
RandyClayton says:
At the time oil ran to about $150 a barrel the world economy was yet to see the financial crisis.
Look at a chart of daily world oil production. It's been flat now for a decade. As predicted by peak oil theory, production will not grow past 85 million barrels per day.
The financial crisis and worldwide recession has reduced oil demand. Once the world economy recovers and growth resumes oil prices will rapidly rise and eclipse the old highs.
The idea that brokers could buy enough oil contracts to move oil to $150 per barrel is preposterous. They cannot take delivery like the Hunt brothers did when they manipulated silver prices by buying and taking delivery of an entire year of silver consumption back in the late 70′s or early 80′s.
Mannwich says:
Here come the character assassinations in all colors and stripes. So predictable. The Stockholm Syndromers are out in full force. Still. Or maybe these are the folks who have the most to lose when others tell the truth?
JMelville says:
Maybe Mr. Taibbis' next book can catalogue the bankrupting of PA by a bloated, corrupt state legislature and their enablers the unions. That world marvel the Turnpike hasn't changed in 60 years and the price to ride keeps going up! PA — a great place to be FROM.
Mannwich says:
The fact that anyone thinks oil at $150/barrel in 2008 wasn't at least partially the result of some shenanigans by connected players is delusion writ large. It's astonishing. These must be the same people who still think that our "markets" are somehow legitimate.
Mannwich says:
The old canard – the "evil unions" did it!! That's it. It was the UNIONS that destroyed this great nation. Good grief.
dougc says:
It's amusing how outraged people are about what happened but blissfully ignored those who predicted what the results of our trade, tax and monetrary polcies would be. Instead of pondering the past, spend a few minutes reading what forward thinking people like Marc Faber predict will happen/
dead hobo says:
Mannwich Says:
October 22nd, 2010 at 9:50 am
The old canard – the "evil unions" did it!! That's it. It was the UNIONS that destroyed this great nation. Good grief.
Plus the CRA, liberals, taxes, the left wing media, and everyone else who gets in the way of the right people taking over.
Mannwich says:
@dougc: Who exactly here on this blog "blissfully ignored" anything in recent years? Sometimes I think that is a far more pleasing alternative though.
Alaric says:
Calvin Jones – "What's your problem?"
My issue is this: there are quite a few unsubstiantiated opinions in Mr. Taibbi's work and as someone who spends quite a bit of time trying to understand markets, I rate unsubstiantiated opinions pretty low in quality.
As Mr. Ritholtz likes to say, 'where is the data' behind these assertions…..?
Mannwich says:
@dead hobo: Don't forget, and "those people". Wink, wink, nudge, nudge.
Petey Wheatstraw says:
ubnutsagain Says:
Who is Matt Taibbi, I ask myself, and what are his credentials for such an all-sweeping book?
In addition to the resume you provide, minimally, his credentials would have to include ownership of a pencil or computer, some paper, and at least some continuing proficiency in English composition. And he makes a living off of journalism. And he has a publisher.
What's with everybody listening to their guts nowadays? The only time I listen to my guts is when I'm hungry, need to take a dump, or puke.
Petey Wheatstraw says:
Alaric Says:
"My issue is this: there are quite a few unsubstiantiated opinions in Mr. Taibbi's work and as someone who spends quite a bit of time trying to understand markets, I rate unsubstiantiated opinions pretty low in quality."
Agreed. I've read a bit of Taibbi's writing, and having done so, I find your opinion of his work to be unsubstantiated.
Mannwich says:
@Alaric: But here's the thing – if more in the MSM did was Taibbi was doing, namely peeling back the veil on some of the shenanigans that have gone on, and still go on, much to the detriment of the country, maybe more people will start paying attention so that we fix these issues. Taibbi, writing for the ROLLING STONE of all publications, is filling a void that other so-called "journalists" are leaving for him to explain these complicated things in a straightforward (and often caustic, witty) manner that most people can understand. You and others here may prefer data but I can tell you the vast majority (by far) in this country couldn't give a rat's ass about data.
number2son says:
Show me the data / show me the facts.
Read the book.
Mannwich says:
I also love how one has to somehow have "credentials" to be able to do real investigative journalist work and writing. That's been one of our biggest issues as a country for way too long – our bent towards only listening to those who have "credentials", namely an Ivy League pedigree. It's quite elitist rubbish if you ask me.
dougc says:
@mannich. This did not start 2 years ago it began in 1981 with politicans telling us that the way to balance the budget was to cut taxes and "eventually the trade imbalance would turn around". etc
dead hobo says:
Re the price of oil:
The Fed isn't completely responsible. Nobody knows how much of the price of oil is caused by trading systems, long only index funds, and the like that cause oceans of money to chase hot commodities like oil. The Fed will only make this process worse with QE2 oriented asset inflation. The SEC and CFTC share massive blame here, also. Via their incompetence and slavish obedience to commodity moguls, exchanges, and brokerages, the SEC and CFTC are also highly responsible for giving the US away and lowering out standard of living, likely in perpetuity.
Alaric says:
(1) "BR: Goldman Sachs changed the weighting of Oil repeatedly over the years of the influential GSCI (commodities index), must notably dropping the weighting before the 2006 election. (Perhaps that qualifies as manipulation?)"
I agree with you here, however, it is very questionable to assert that this drove oil prices higher…..
Perhaps a better story is the mapulation of government CPI statistics since Chairman Martin in the 1970s (and the inherint conflict of interest here)
(2) BR: As I have written (repeatedly) in the past, I don't always agree with Taibbi's conclusions, but he manages to tap into the Zeitgeist of the nation's angst better than anyone else."
I agree here to an extent, however, would argue that the more meaningful Zeitgeist is and will be that caused by the Fed's zero interest rate policy, Debt Monetization, and its effect on older people living off fixed incomes (ie, what where traditionally referred to as the "Rentier Class".
The forced confiscation of assets of the Rentier Class by the Fed is and will be more of a theme than the 'blame the banks' theme once more people realize the intent of the Fed.
Mannwich says:
Agreed dougc, but I was just a wee kid in '81 and only began really opening my eyes within the past 5-7 years.
Alaric says:
Manwich – "ROLLING STONE of all publications, is filling a void that other so-called "journalists" are leaving for him to explain these complicated things in a straightforward (and often caustic, witty) manner that most people can understand."
I would suggest that if you want to understand the mechanics of world commidity markets, something other Rolling Stone is probably appropriate….
Dow says:
The asset stripping is everywhere.
California seals deal to sell 11 state properties
By David Siders, Sacramento Bee, October 12, 2010
The recession-battered state said Monday that it will sell 11 office properties for $2.3 billion to a group of private investors based in Texas and Irvine, all but finalizing an agreement between Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and lawmakers to raise cash in the budget crisis.
The state would lease the buildings back for at least 20 years. The deal is controversial because of questions about the long-term costs of renting.
Here are the 11 state-owned buildings that will be sold under a $2.3 billion deal announced Monday.
• Attorney General Building, Sacramento
• California Emergency Management Agency Building, Sacramento
• Capitol Area East End Complex, Sacramento
• Franchise Tax Board Complex, Sacramento
• Department of Justice Building, Sacramento
• San Francisco Civic Center, San Francisco
• Elihu M. Harris Building, Oakland
• Public Utilities Commission Building, San Francisco
• Judge Joseph A. Rattigan Building, Santa Rosa
• Ronald Reagan State Building, Los Angeles
• Junipero Serra State Building, Los Angeles
Also for sale are a variety of properties through out the state. It's a dream come true for developers.
State Surplus Property For Sale – including historic buildings:
• 2nd Orange County Fairgrounds
• California Institution for Men Chino
• Downtown San Diego Office Building
• Fred C. Nelles Youth Correctional Facility
RiskAverseAlert says:
The fascist Ed Rendell is as dull as a butter knife, as is our fascist commander in chief. These men are easily buried on the political scene with thoughtful recitation of American history during times of crisis. Contrasting their economic policies with those implemented in Italy during the reign of Benito Mussolini offers a truthful, useful starting point for counterpoising the American System of Political Economy as understood by Alexander Hamilton, J.Q. Adams, Henry Clay, Matthew Carey, Abe Lincoln and FDR, just to name a few. The voices of many seditious souls among us can be silenced in an instant.
No doubt, the sanctity of freedom of political association here in the U.S. requires grave crisis to pave the way for sweeping away those utterly uncreative, failed personalities such as we find in leadership positions today. Judging by systemic fraud coming to light in the build out of the residential mortgage backed securities market, the very lynch pin to our contemporary, wildcat credit system is about to blow. Hello grave crisis and buh-bye fascists.
Mannwich says:
Fair enough, Alaric, but the rest of the country won't be digging anywhere near as deep into the commodity markets as you and others do here, so for me, Taibbi is better than nothing.
ACS says:
dougc, 1981? I guess things were peachy-keen back in the 1970s.
Transor Z says:
dead hobo Says:
October 22nd, 2010 at 9:54 am
Mannwich Says:
October 22nd, 2010 at 9:50 am
The old canard – the "evil unions" did it!! That's it. It was the UNIONS that destroyed this great nation. Good grief.
Plus the CRA, liberals, taxes, the left wing media, and everyone else who gets in the way of the right people taking over.
And the anti-foreclosure consumer lawyers. Don't forget them. Because their salaries tend not to support $200 greens fees. Lowlifes.
Alaric says:
Mannwich —- Respectfully disagree – uninformed analysis and these blanket generalizations are ultimately harmful….Think Palin, etc….
Mannwich says:
@Transor: LOL. Exactly. What are the little people thinking trying to get in on the action a little for themselves? Bunch of dirtbags.
Mannwich says:
@Alaric: Well, we agree to disagree. I happen to think that Taibbi is SLIGHTLY more informed than the likes if Sarah Palin.
Mannwich says:
I guess you must work in the industry, Alaric? That's cool. I'd have to drink the Kool Aide of the industry that I worked in as well, or at least sip it from time to time (or fake sipping the Jim Jones juice).
Alaric says:
Mannwich – I agree with you; here is something to ponder: if Taibbi had a reality show, what sort of reality TV show would it be?
dougc says:
@asc. At least in 1970 we had an economy.trade policies and tax policies that allowed us to come back. We can argue about where to place the blame but it is futile , I repeat read what forward thinking people that have been right in the past about whatn is going to happen J Rogers and M Faber are examples.
dead hobo says:
Mannwich Says:
October 22nd, 2010 at 10:21 am
@Transor: LOL. Exactly. What are the little people thinking trying to get in on the action a little for themselves? Bunch of dirtbags.
I give up. I think it's time to trust in the competence and intentions of our leaders. In fact, I'm going to purchase me some stocks just to buy and hold for a decade or so.
Alaric says:
Mannwich – I work for myself…..
ToNYC says:
Writing is an still considered an Art and not a Science. The fact that the word pictures and images that Matt constructs are not Representational enough to anyone in particular is their issue. The ideas he expresses are not only his own, but a horror movie that he envisioned that others have been seeing in the collective consciousness. Take it or leave it.
DeDude says:
You don't need to have credentials to write in a topic, you need to have facts in support of your opinions and analysis. Matt Taibbi has had a pretty good track record of being able to support what he says with facts. He tend to push his opinion a bit beyond what the facts can bear but that is part of getting people to think and realize that there is something to what he says. So he definitely deserves to be heard out on this one. I don't think that all of the past decades oil price increase is caused by manipulation, but that is not what he is saying anyway. If anybody thinks they can explain the jump in oil from $80 to $150 and back down to $80 by natural supply and demand – I would love to see their data.
DeDude says:
"it began in 1981 with politicans telling us that the way to balance the budget was to cut taxes"
I know they offered us all a free lunch and the sheeple thought that was great. They did not advertise that the free lunch to most people was a few carrot sticks, whereas the first class section of the restaurant was served caviar and champagne. Now they tell us that we have to wash all the dishes, while the first class section is being served truffles and cognac. And the brainwashed sheeple chants "no new taxes" while the cruelest of all taxes, inflation, is getting ready to send them out to wash the toilets with their bare hands and no brush.
@Dow — "California seals deal to sell 11 state properties"
I wonder if they have clear title?
Hee hee hee
DeDude says:
"The Fed will only make this process worse with QE2 oriented asset inflation"
Just like Greenspan in his single minded pursuits forgot about the collateral damage of low interest rates, the current Fed is also neglecting to analyze the collateral damage of their "solutions". To bad that our system for policy making has become so dysfunctional that we all we seem able to get done is slowing the sinking of the ship.
Mannwich says:
@bergie: "Titles", "money", these are just concepts, illusions, if you will.
ubnutsagain says:
"That's been one of our biggest issues as a country for way too long – our bent towards only listening to those who have "credentials", namely an Ivy League pedigree. It's quite elitist rubbish if you ask me."
Sounds like criticism of the Obama Administration.
Mannwich says:
Exactly ub. Obama was let into "the club" and is now drinking huge gulps of the Jones-juice. Not just him either. W, Clinton, HW, and most high level positions in government, banking and big corporate America. The oligarchy lives on.
daf48 says:
Wasn't blogs like these a marvel of brilliance! A chance for people who don't have a say in the way things are done, to sound like they know what went wrong, when in fact they are vessels for a particular meme.
The unions are to blame! No, it was the bankers! Blah, Blah, Blah. There's a Muslim over there, let's get out of here! If it were possible to have a perfect world, don't you think all our Best and the Brightest would've figured it out by now? No?
Most of our systems are run on the basis of dead ideas, and so you get the Tea-Party railing against a changing world. When the Global Economic system appears to be leveling the playing field between the US and the rest of the world, fear arises that my comfort level may take a haircut.
So as the French take to the streets to oppose Neo-Liberalism, We take to the blogs.
ACS says:
Well the Alexander Hamilton I've read about conspired to cheat holders of Revolutionary War debt while starting the first central bank. Aaron Burr was ten years too late.
Patrick Neid says:
"You know how you used to have a job, and a house, and a car, and a wife and a family, and there was food in the fridge — and now you're six months into a drug habit and you're carrying toasters and TVs out the front door every morning just to raise the cash to make it through that day? That's where we are."
That's why Rolling Stone fans and others read Taibbi. A new kind of gonzo.
apachecadillac says:
In reply to ubnutsagain–maybe Taibbi does bring something to this particular intellectual table–at least, if you buy the idea that it takes one to know one.
VRWC says:
The country IS waking up to the public union problem;
The Chris Christie Clones
And even liberals are waking up to the slimy union educrats who have destroyed our K thru 12 system;
Stranded_in_CA says:
Wow, Matt sure has some of the posters here screaming like stuck porcines and doing full out character assassination. Could it be that these good fellas are neck deep in the very things that Taibbi exposes and condemns? Probably.
And exposure is the last thing these people want. Might scare off customers, err victims.
ewmayer says:
I think Barry meant to say
"I don't always agree with Taibbi's Sturm-und-Drang-filled Weltanschauung, but he manages to tap into the Zeitgeist of the nation's angst better than anyone else, without indulging in cheap Schadenfreude."
I bet the lib-arts chicks at NYU really go for that sort of schmart-sounding stuff. "So, do you kommen hier often, babykuchen?"
Stranded – Yes.
Alacaric – To say that your chosen profession gives you a slightly biased viewpoint of this topic would be a gross understatement.
You can choose to ignore Taibbi because he apparently doesn't have the right "credentials". Many of us will choose to ignore you because your are knee deep in this world of money.
packman says:
Mannwich Says:
"The fact that anyone thinks oil at $150/barrel in 2008 wasn't at least partially the result of some shenanigans by connected players is delusion writ large. It's astonishing. These must be the same people who still think that our "markets" are somehow legitimate."
It all depends on how you define "shenanigans". There's a big difference between "manipulation" and "speculation". The disagreement lies in whether oil prices were the former or the latter; both views IMO are very valid and not delusional. In the latter case the markets are still legitimate – just flawed by human nature.
(And P.S. the line between manipulation and speculation is also sometimes gray – e.g. if you're a big player and decide that company XYZ is a good buy, and buy a million shares, and that purchase actually makes the share price go up $1 – is that manipulation, or just speculation?)
red_pill says:
Taibbi's a clever sensationalist writer. What he's talking about is no different than what wealthy empires including ours have been doing for centuries but I guess it's ok when we do it but not vice versa. The swf's in the aggregate are still dwarfed by the size of our investments abroad. If we invest in stocks abroad that is the same exact thing as buying that turnpike.
You forgot the Muslim founders of Acorn.
And the man behind the curtain is still laughing all the way to the bank.
Alaric says:
Thor – "To say that your chosen profession gives you a slightly biased viewpoint of this topic would be a gross understatement. You can choose to ignore Taibbi because he apparently doesn't have the right "credentials". Many of us will choose to ignore you because your are knee deep in this world of money."
1. I am a private speculator (not a banker, etc) – I have been interested in markets for quite a long time and have been around long enough to remember when economics textbooks had a chapter on inflation….
2. I do not ignore Taibbi – I simply do not give him much creedence since many assertions are not backed up with factual data that can be substansiated.
3. I have more of an interest these days in "money" and in particular Fed policy because I must, since the Fed is going to intentionally devalue the currency – I would suggest that everyone pay attention….the last ones off the train are going to be very hurt indeed after the experimentation runs its course…
Taibbi and Jon Stewart, both ridiculed by the MSM, Faux News, and apologists of the right.
The only truth tellers these days are a much reviled (or revered) journalist, and a cable network comedian; both whom use irreverent and scathing techniques to reveal how rotten this country has become.
Sure, sure, shoot the messenger, but you cannot deny their message.
Mannwich says:
Them too, dss. Meanwhile, after the rapacious capitalists complete their pillaging of the country, We the Sheeple can sit around and complain to each about how it was "those people" (and Clinton, Obama, Pelosi, and Reid) who ruined the country. It won't be entirely true but it will make us feel good emotionally so we press onward with the histrionics. It feels too good not to.
Even when shown the "numbers or the facts" they will continue to protest. It's the American way these days. Black is white, up is down. The brainwashing is complete and on view every day.
Mannwich says:
@Alaric: I certainly agree with your last point. Checked out your site too. Interesting stuff.
Alarcic – Going to have to agree with Manny here. We'll agree to disagree. ;-)
Also – keep in mind Taibi's audience. For the most part it is not us, it's middle America. People with very little understanding of how all of these things work and how all the parts fit together.
His overall message is what matters I think.
They have the strategy perfected, demonize everyone in America who stands in their way, use propaganda or scare tactics to herd the sheeple's minds into tiny little pens, and repeat the same thing over and over again: Liberals are evil and are at the root of all of our problems, Obama is a Muslim, Brown people should be deported (except for my brown people as I need them to mow my lawn, clean my house and take care of my kids), tax cuts for the wealthy and corporations stimulate the economy, and did I mention that Obama is a Socialist Muslim?
The brainwashing is complete when you have senior citizens on Medicare and Social Security railing against the welfare state and big government and the lower classes complaining about the "death tax".
Nothing surprises me anymore in America.
FrancoisT says:
"I would suggest that if you want to understand the mechanics of world commidity markets, something other Rolling Stone is probably appropriate…."
And I would suggest that true comprehension comes from data analysis and Zeitgeist synthesis. Take disease for instance (my field). I can data-drown you about the fine points of the molecular mechanisms of neoplasm (a.k.a. cancer) but in the end, no true comprehension of the phenomenon can be achieved if you have no idea of what it'll do to a human being in flesh and blood.
Now, it may be the case that you feel more at ease with cold and hard data, and that's fine. But don't denigrate the importance of the other side of the coin, ie. the Zeitgeist; you'll be missing something crucial.
That said, remember Sherlock Holmes: For 50 that can think synthetically, one can think analytically.
Alaric says:
Hi FrancoisT –
I do not disagree with you generally, we all need to have context for data/informaiton, say a "big picture" view to analyze information.
I am not convinced, however, that (1) Taibbi's "Zeitgeist" accurately reflects the state of the nation…..or (2) that his narratives accurately illustrate what occurred in the oil market in particular during the last peak.
We can definitely differ on (1) above, based on how we view politics, etc, however (2) the narrative on the last oil price peak – should be based on more factual data…..and also questions unasked, such as – how could prices be driven so high without general shortages in the U.S. (outside of the southeast where there were shortages)?
Sunny129 says:
If Matt Tabbi has written some thing 'unsubstantiated' on GS, don't you think he would be under libel suits neck deep? He has some 'balls' to take on the God's broker! Before Vampire Squid essay, was there any MSM reporter reporting on GS? I know there was GS666.com.
I don't believe everything he says blindly but he has guts and spine to speak 'truth on the reality of things' covered by 'kool aid' of MSM controlled by Corp. Did any of those multi million earning wh*res MSM out there in the Media do any 'objective' reporting in public's interest?
Focus on the messages and not try to belittle or beat up the messenger complaining he is not perfect. Are you? Does any one else?
Alaric says:
Sunny129 – it is quite difficult for plaintiffs to win libel suits here in the US…….
I have a simple formula for this stuff — I'll read it if I have the time and it has a reasonable chance of being entertaining. I certainly wouldn't expect to learn anything, change anything I think or do, or otherwise better myself or society.
The only "pre-judging" I would do is to assume it has some sort of ax to grind (agenda), is overly sensationalistic and emotional (in order to garner an audience and make money), and that it is largely based on subjectively chosen, non-primary-sources.
In other words, just like everything else published and broadcasted.
@Sunny129 — "If Matt Tabbi has written some thing 'unsubstantiated' on GS, don't you think he would be under libel suits neck deep."
Please go look up "absence of malice."
ToNYC says:
In all of this there seems to be little focus that the ZIRP program has been embedded since the mid 00"s and has robbed the good savings (the only real wealth medium of storage/and source of real currency medium of exchange as product of specialization). The FRS has invented flash crash cash to smoke and mirrors us out of the chamber of debt horrors they have enabled to fantasize a job depletion economic model. Why the Tea Party doesn't have for its first Plank: Repeal the Federal Reserve Act of 1913 and replace it with a real Domestic GNP algorithm run by MBA students at MIT Sloan without the benefit of political porkers.
freitagfan says:
The US doesn't buy much oil from the middle east so really it's Europeans and Asians putting US Dollars into their pockets.
The banks didn't manipulate the price of oil. Oil price manipulation has been repeatedly looked at throughout the decades and they never have shown proof of a sustain price change.
If you can't get these major facts correct, I guess the rest is just a crap shoot?
VennData says:
"Those guys in Islamic garb at Sovereign Wealth funds scare me, too."
— Juan Williams
ubnutsagain says:
"In reply to ubnutsagain–maybe Taibbi does bring something to this particular intellectual table–at least, if you buy the idea that it takes one to know one."
I gotta tell ya … I love your nuance, said in ignorance, of course … but what the hell, it's all in good fun.
ToNYC says:
Islamic Sovereign Wealth was brought to you by Standard Oil, their heirs and successor trustees, etc.
Keep your independent pedal to the metal…that surgically rips out your lungs from behind the curtain of your blissful and fearsome ignorance.
san_fran_sam says:
Maybe we should run some ads on TV asking why US Corporations hate America.
that always seems to work for the Republican Party.
san_fran_sam says:
But, you know, i can't entirely blame the corporations on this. They are just trying to make as much profit for themselves in the short-run as they can. And they could not care less about the country or the American people or the long term. Or is it that could not care more?
Maybe they just don't care. Period. Full stop.
SANETT says:
It's not as bad as it seems….while on the surface we're turning fenceposts into firewood the more predatory the deals are the more likely the terms will get changed by whatever compulsion is necessary. At some point the law of the schoolyard will prevail — the kid who loses his lunch money is the skinny one with the Coke bottle glasses. The other sides of these deals can't defend their own countries without US help — how do they plan to inflict the long term fiscal and societal pain that their deals imply? Can't happen here? Sure it can. It can happen anywhere, as anyone owning Brazilian bonds knows by now. A little tax here, an eminent domain proceeding there…..they're not buying this stuff, they're getting temporary use until we get irate enough to take it back — as they say in old westerns, all nice and legal like.
ravenchris says:
Protect yourself and the future, do not reelect incumbents.
Endeavor not to idolize money.
bulfinch says:
Time to defend your stance. You've repeatedly insisted in one way or another that Taibbi's reporting is apocryphal, so provide support for why this is; that, or risk seeming merely snotty and bitter.
Inveighing against the narrator's style is one thing, but don't miscast the underlying framework as rubbish just because it doesn't comport with your understanding of how things tick. Your opinions on Taibbi's writing are big and fat, but so far, insubstantial.
bulfinch says:
Also – keep in mind Taibi's audience. For the most part it is not us, it's middle America. People with very little understanding of how all of these things work and how all the parts fit together.
I am rather convinced that if we could measure the difference between your grasp of 'how all of these things work and how all the parts fit together' against that of the Middle-American Rolling Stone-reading rabble, the difference would fit in your eye.
As for me…I know everything. It's a burden sometimes, but I can take it.
bulfinch says:
…the ONE thing I apparently don't know, however, is how to quote the original poster.
A says:
For better or worse, in democracies such as ours, we, as disconnected voters, have the right to choose the levels of incompetence, corruption and waste, that we prefer.


text: Comments on the entry: Slinky on pace to smash SU records - syracuse.com https://blog.advance.net/cgi-bin/mte/mt-search.cgiindex=comment&template_id=entry_comments_feed&search=&limit=20&affiliate=syr&filter_entry_basename=slinky_on_pace_to_smash_su_rec&searchall=1&IncludeBlogs=4837 2009-11-12T23:16:31Z Movable Type Enterprise 4.29-advance Comment on Slinky on pace to smash SU records tag:blog.syracuse.com,2015:/orangewomen//4837.8501053 2009-11-12T23:16:31Z 2009-11-12T23:16:31Z Thank you for your comments. The reference to a program "on the rise" relates to Syracuse's own progress. An overall record of 48-44 obviously wouldn't indicate progress if you were talking about a powerhouse program like UConn or Tennessee. Syracuse, cwagnergolf http://blog.syracuse.com/divots/ Comment on Slinky on pace to smash SU records tag:blog.syracuse.com,2015:/orangewomen//4837.8494355 2009-11-12T15:00:51Z 2009-11-12T15:00:51Z Forgot to mention Fact 5: A whining loss to Division II Alaska Anchorage last year (a good D-II team but not a team on the rise loses to -- and this was not an exhibition game). scrot1over Comment on Slinky on pace to smash SU records tag:blog.syracuse.com,2015:/orangewomen//4837.8494254 2009-11-12T14:53:33Z 2009-11-12T14:53:33Z The story on Nicole is very nice. She is quite deserving of honors and credit. HOWEVER, Chris Wagner's stories regarding the Orangewomen are written by someone who is influenced by the need to keep Quentin Hillsman happy (and thus maintain scrot1over

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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- The Big Picture - http://www.ritholtz.com/blog -
Brace yourself, Bertha — Its NFP Day
Posted By Barry Ritholtz On May 6, 2005 @ 6:17 am In Economy,Psychology | Comments Disabled
Well, its that time of the month again. Not that — its time for the monthly release of the Non-Farm Payroll [1] data from BLS [2]. (Yeah!)
As is our wont in the things, we (once again [3]) are taking the under [4] (Tsk, not even a nod [5]).
What are the expectations, and how might they play out? Consensus is for an optimisitic (no surprise there) 175,000 new jobs. That translates into modest job creation over the 150,000 required just to keep up with population growth.
Given that the economy is — pick your poison: in a "slow patch" or
simply slowing — that 175k number may be a bit on the high side. I'm sticking
with what's been working, and once again, "taking the Under."
The WSJ's Ahead of the Tape [6] column today reports that "An index based on how the major economic numbers are doing relative to expectations put together by Merrill Lynch economist David Rosenberg is at its lowest level since hitting a record low last fall. Coincident with the drop in Mr. Rosenberg's index has been a sharp drop in long-term interest rates. Since hitting a year-to-date high of 4.64% a little more than a month ago, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note has fallen to 4.16%."
Surprisingly, the Dismal set has only modestly ratched down their expectations. As we have discussed previously [7],
the reason for their losing streak is likely their poor choice of data sets
for comparison. They remain inaccurate but precise – they are consistently wrong, but mostly err to the upside. That reflects an error in their models. Instead of looking at all post WWII recession
recoveries as a baseline, they should be comparing this environment
with other post-buble, post-crash eras: 1929, 1972, Japan 1989. Perhaps that
frame of reference would improve their forecasting accuracy.
From a sentiment/psychology perspective, it would be nice to see numbers being wrong cause expectations were too low for a change.
The real oddity here is how today's data — good or bad — might play out. Is good news good, or is good news bad? Is a strong number perceived as too strong, thus given higher expectations of the Fed tightening cycle continuing? Or, is a weak number, while ominous for the economy, provide some relief, reducing pressure on the Fed?
In the present environment, I think bad news is bad. The Fed is tightening not because of wage pressure; We know there is tons-o-slack in the Job market. Unless we see a boffo number — +300k — its hard to imagine that good news is anything but good news. It makes the so-called soft patch more likely to be just that.
The downside risk is another stinker: A poor number increases the likelihood that the soft patch ain't, and is instead a genuine slowing as the economic stimulus fades.
We'll find out in an hour or so . . .
Jobbing Jobs [6]
Ahead Of The Tape
Justin Lahart
May 6, 2005; Page C1
Article printed from The Big Picture: http://www.ritholtz.com/blog
URL to article: http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2005/05/brace-yourself-bertha-its-nfp-day/
URLs in this post:
[1] Non-Farm Payroll: http://www.bls.gov/ces/home.htm
[2] BLS: http://www.bls.gov/
[3] once again: http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2005/03/my_expectations.html
[4] taking the under: http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2005/03/the_mystery_of_.html
[5] nod: http://online.wsj.com/article/1,,SB111533257141226256,00.html?mod=COLUMN
[6] Ahead of the Tape: http://online.wsj.com/article/1,,SB111533257141226256,00.html
[7] discussed previously: http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2005/04/understanding_t_1.html
Click here to print.
Copyright © 2008 The Big Picture. All rights reserved.


text:
- Filed Under
A man ran from police and had to be tased Thursday evening after an officer questioned him about two televisions he was loading into his vehicle in a Walmart parking lot, according to a police report.
Michael Frazier was loading two televisions into his vehicle at the Madison Street Walmart at around 8:20 p.m. Thursday when an officer noticed that the boxes still had their security straps on them, the report said.
When the officer approached Frazier, 24, and asked if he had the receipts for the televisions, Frazier turned and ran away toward the Pizza Hut, according to the report. The officer ...


text:
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Hospedería La Corredera offers accommodation for tourists. Located in the Plaza de la Corredera, one of the most... Maggiori informazioni »
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News Releases by Email
October 30, 2013
More than 25,000 documented on 26 index beaches.
28 monkeys seized, placed in licensed facilities.
Meeting will take place at the Lake Placid Elks Lodge from 6-9 p.m.
October 29, 2013
The Nov. 1-March 1 closure has been eliminated in state, federal waters.
Changes will provide further protection for iconic fish.
October 28, 2013
All safety precautions and resource laws are of vital importance, on both public and private lands.
October 25, 2013
Bill Coleman honored by Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.
October 21, 2013
Sponsored by the Guy Harvey Foundation, the Wildlife Foundation of Florida and Florida Sea Grant.
October 18, 2013
Nov. 15-17 at the Elks Lodge in Tavernier.
Additional 6 days of archery hunting, 5 days of muzzleloading gun hunting.
FWC Facts:Inflatable PFDs are prohibited for personal watercraft use.
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text:
The latest slip: appearing on a radio show, she said that Americans are worried about "the rise of the soviet Union."
The gradual tightening of the soviet noose plays out in public and private ways.
This teacher says that the wretched soviet regime will vanish and life will return to normal.
Wallner brings the 1970s soviet Union to life in this suspenseful tale of love and espionage during the Cold War.
If he had his way, American would look like the old soviet Union.
Did she ever tell you why she didn't want to return to the soviet Union?
And this we are trying to do in negotiations with the soviet Union.
I was surprised when I read in the papers overseas that he had gone to the soviet Union.
In passing, it is of interest to note that only once did soviet Russia agree to toss.
Did you at any time get any evidence to indicate that she was in touch with any soviet officials at all, the consul general?
1917, from Russian sovet "governing council," literally "council," from Old Russian suvetu "assembly," from su "with" (from *su(n)- "with, together," from PIE *ksun- "with") + vetu "counsel." The whole is a loan-translation of Greek symboulion "council of advisers." As an adjective from 1918.


text:
Slimer! And the Real Ghostbusters (1988–1990)
Episodes feature the Ghostbusters as well as their secretary Janine. But the main star of this show is their pet ghost Slimer, who's joined by some new friends and some new enemies.
Stars:Frank Welker, Jeff Altman, Dave Coulier | See full cast and crew »


text:
One more round to go and it is fitting that the final should be fought between two highly experienced and accomplished players. Tommi Hovi from Finland has two Pro Tour titles to his name. Jelger Wiegersma from the Netherlands has a Pro Tour Top 8 from New Orleans and has blitzed the European Grand Prix circuit in recent years with multiple Top 8 finishes. A title still eludes him though. Maybe that can be fixed here…
Hovi has a strong removal heavy black deck with a splash of blue and red. Wiegersma is running a very quick white-green deck.
Wiegersma started with a Slagwurm Armour that Hovi needed to pick up and read. He followed it with a Mask of Memory and then a Skyhunter Cub to put it all on. Hovi's first play was a Spikeshot Goblin, normally a problem for white-green, but not currently troubling Wiegersma's 3/3 flier. It became even less of a problem when Wiegersma Arrested it.
Hovi had a Crystal Shard but no blue mana to activate it cheaply and so he had to take another hit from Wiegersma's Cub and allow the Dutchman to dig deeper into his deck with the Mask. Another Cub joined the fun and attacked on the ground. Thankfully it was small enough for Hovi to Irradiate, but Wiegersma got to draw another 2 cards from the flying Masked Cub.
The situation was very bad for Hovi. Wiegersma chose to blow up a Grand Furnace with a Viridian Shaman rather than his Shard. Hovi replaced it but didn't seem to have a lot to do apart from sit there like a good goldfish and get slapped down to 5 by Wiegersma's Cub, Transfixer and Shaman.
Hovi returned his own Goblin at end of turn. The next drawstep wasn't helpful and the Finn packed it in to go to game two. Wiegersma's deck had given him a blisteringly fast start while Hovi's had stayed in bed.
Wiegersma 1-0 Hovi
Wiegersma showed no signs of hanging around in game two as he followed a turn 1 transfixer with a Den-Guard. Hovi's deck also came out fast with two Alpha Myr's and a Spikeshot Goblin.
Then Wiegersma seemed to hit a stall as he passed turns 3 and 4 without playing a spell. Hovi shot the Transfixer and then finished off the Den-Guard when it blocked one of the Myrs.
Now it Wiegersma's turn to face a bettering as Hovi fetched back the Myr with a Moriok Scavenger. Wiegersma tried to stem the bleeding with a Skyhunter Cub and Fangren Hunter. The next turn was pretty bad though as Hovi Terrored the Hunter end of turn and Scimitar'ed up his Goblin to kill the Cub. Wiegersma took 7 from the attack.
The next turn Wiegersma had to play out the two one toughness monsters in his hand: a Slith Ascendant and Copper Myr. Hovi shot the Slith and sent in the team. Wiegersma Turned to Dust the Scimitar and then went to ambush with Raise the Alarm. Hovi was about to cast Wail of the Nim before he realized it would kill his Myr's anyway. He took it back and said "I declare nothing," to laughter from the spectators.
The Myr's died but it didn't help Wiegersma as he was overrun a couple of turns later.
Hovi 1-1 Wiegersma
When he didn't play anything on turn 2 Hovi could have been forgiven for thinking Wiegersma had a slow start this game. Wiegersma was just waiting for the end of Hovi's turn to bring a couple of Soldiers into play with Raise the Alarm. He followed that with a Skyhunter Cub and then a Leonin Den-Guard while Hovi's deck looked to have gone to sleep again. Sac'ing a Chromatic Sphere for red didn't help and his Crystal Shard looked too slow.
Hovi brought out an Alpha Myr but he could see how bad the game was going when Wiegersma cast Viridian Shaman and forced him to bounce his own Myr rather than destroy the Shard. Wiegersma swarmed in for more damage leaving Hovi at a fragile 3 life.
Hovi drew his card, but it couldn't deal with Wiegersma's horde and so the match and title went to Jelger Wiegersma. Finally the Dutchman had his major title.
Jelger Wiegersma beat Tommi Hovi 2-1
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text:
David Benda: Economy still tough for Lehigh and other cement makers
Good news that Southern Aluminum Finishing, after six years of starts and stops, finally got its new production plant in Redding running this month.
SAF's workforce has gone from five to 20 and the company could hire more people in 2013.
But the economy continues to be a struggle for many in the north state.
Lehigh Cement's Jim Ellison echoed a theme I've heard more than once over the years when I spoke with him last week:
"We are breaking new ground in this economy right now," said Ellison, who's been at the plant north of Redding nearly 30 years. The plant off Wonderland Boulevard has been running below capacity for roughly four years. It was built in 1959 and started production in 1960.
I phoned Ellison after reading last Sunday's front page story on special districts.
The article mentioned Lehigh and how it's been operating every other month. That has cost the Mountain Gate Community Services District. Lehigh is one of the district's largest water customers.
Ellison explained that the plant does not go dark for a month. Rather, the kiln, where lime and shale is heated and processed into clinker (the foundation to make cement), has been running a month on and month off because demand for Lehigh's product has plummeted due to the construction downturn. Cement made at the plant is trucked to markets from Portland, Ore. to Stockton.
While Lehigh's workforce has been stable through the down times, the approximately 90 employees there today are about a quarter less than the 120 before the Great Recession hit.
Dave Zwicke, senior regional economist for the Portland Cement Association (PCP), the trade group that represents cement companies in the U.S. and Canada, said employment in the industry fell 30 percent from its 2007 peak through 2011.
But the industry has started to turn. Shipments last year were up 9 percent over the prior year and are expected to increase 8 percent in 2013 over 2012.
Zwicke, however, noted the increases are relative to such a low starting point that they can be deceiving. Talking about the rebounding wood products industry, Sierra Pacific Industries' Mark Pawlicki told me the same thing in November.
"We are starting to see a re-emergence of residential construction, and we think residential will be the growth leader ... in terms of cement demand in construction," Zwicke said by phone from his office in Skokie, Ill.
However, public sector construction, where typically half of all the cement produced by PCP members is used, remains stagnant. Given current fiscal conditions, Zwicke doesn't expect that to change.
"It has been very challenging times for many plants in the U.S.," Zwicke said.
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States.
Weeks before Kennedy was killed in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, he came to Shasta County to dedicate Whiskeytown Dam, one of 20 dams and reservoirs in the federal Central Valley Project that today provides water and power to farms and cities. Whiskeytown was Kennedy's only stop in California.
He came here on Sept. 28 and spent 40 minutes at the dam. A monument commemorating his visit sits near the dam. Visitors can push a button and listen to a portion of Kennedy's speech.
Ten years ago, Whiskeytown National Recreation Area and Turtle Bay Exploration Park held a weekend of events celebrating the dam's 40th birthday and Kennedy's visit. It was a big deal, drawing National Park and Bureau of Reclamation officials and politicians. Visitors were shuttled from Shasta High School to the event on RABA busses.
Any plans for Whiskeytown Dam's 50th?
"We do plan to do some sort of anniversary event in September," Whiskeytown Chief Ranger Jim Richardson said last week. "We haven't decided on what, but we have already kicked that around within our staff."
Turtle Bay also has talked about doing something but has no specific plans yet.
Foreclosures are down and the number of homes on the market in Shasta County is way down.
The result is an uber-competitive housing market, especially for homes under $200,000, where multiple bids are not uncommon.
The Shasta Association of Realtors reported last week that there were about 600 homes for sale. That's about a two months' supply, I am told.
But Bob Sprenkel, a residential appraiser in Redding, said if you take out the vanity listings (those "overpriced" custom homes that seem to be perpetually on the market) the inventory is even tighter.
There are fewer bank-owned listings on the market today and that is factoring in the declining inventory of homes for sale. Things won't change much unless the move-up buyer re-enters the market and/or more new homes start getting built.
Will that happen in 2013?
Meanwhile, a recent Bloomberg article talked about the economic recovery and how homebuilders have helped fuel the rebound.
"U.S. home sales and prices are poised to rise in 2013, solidifying a recovery that began last year after a half-decade slump that was the deepest since the Great Depression," the Bloomberg article said. Aware that the number of distressed homes for sale is shrinking, homebuilders "are responding by adding supply."
Closer to home, north state homebuilders are watching Redding City Hall, waiting for a report that will advise council members on whether impact fees, the money builders pay for streets, sewers and parks, will go up July 1. Builders warn that any increase in fees could send home construction back into hibernation.
The deep discounts in impact fees builders here have received since late 2011 have helped them compete with the bank-owned inventory, contractors like Palomar Builders' Jeb Allen have said.
Stay tuned.
It's been a year since Chico Volkswagen opened its Redding Service Center on Cypress Avenue.
Owner Mark Abouzeid hopes to open a full-service dealership in Redding before 2016.
"We have already secured the funding to do it, but the business case needs to be there for it to work," Abouzeid said, "and that will depend on how many cars we push out into that area."
Abouzeid has new cars on display in Redding, but any sale technically goes through Chico.
"We are able to broker new cars out of Redding," Abouzeid said.
Opening a new VW dealership could mean moving from his present location, though Abouzeid said that corner of Cypress and Athens Avenue could ultimately house a dealership.
"We are trying to find the ideal location and our intent is to open there (Redding) and we are working on that," Abouzeid said.
Chico VW's business doubled in 2012 compared with 2011. Business at the service center in Redding also has been building.
The Redding location has seven employees.
"It's been growing great; we are seeing a lot of people," Abouzeid said of Redding.
Reporter David Benda can be reached at 225-8219 or firstname.lastname@example.com. He's on Facebook and on Twitter @DavidBenda_RS.
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The Oldest Living Bubble
on ESB
|The Oldest Living Bubble
|First appearance:
|"Atlantis SquarePantis"
|Latest appearance:
|SpongeBob's Atlantis SquarePantis
|List of objects
The Oldest Living Bubble is a bubble at Atlantis that SpongeBob and Patrick popped in the episode "Atlantis SquarePantis." It is one of Atlantis's most prized possessions, being one million years old. Patrick touches the big round case which holds the bubble, and it almost falls off the pedestal.
The bubble touched the sides of the case but it doesn't pop. A few seconds after the incident, SpongeBob and Patrick decide to take a photo with it. The flash of the camera pops the bubble. After worrying for a while, SpongeBob and Patrick found out that they only popped a replica.
Lord Royal Highness showed them the real bubble at the dinner table. Patrick, as dim-witted as he is, popped the real one with a flash of his camera. Sandy saved them from being attacked by the Atlantis guards and headed safely back to Bikini Bottom. The bubble was then replaced with "an amazing talking speck" (Plankton).
- Camera Flash


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Sultex Sells Machinery To Iranian, Turkish Weavers
Sultex Ltd., Switzerland, has received machinery orders from denim weavers in Iran and Turkey.
Iran-based Zarjean ordered 60 Sulzer Textil G6500 rapier weaving machines for its Ilam plant in western Iran. They will be used to weave high-quality, fancy denim fabrics.
"The outstanding performance and the high versatility of the G6500 together with the unbeatable after-sales service of Sultex made it very easy to decide between several suppliers," said S.M. Behbahani, Zarjean's owner.
High-quality denims are among the fabrics woven using Sultex's G6500 and P7300 HP weaving machines.
Two Turkish denim weavers have ordered a total of 106 Sulzer Textil P7300HP projectile weaving machines. The machines will be installed in plants in eastern and central Turkey for the production of high-quality, vintage and fancy denim.
According to Sultex, the P7300HP, introduced in May 2004, produces denim fabric with a compact,
uniform surface and a silky touch. The company also has received large orders for the machine from
manufacturers in Iran, Italy and Japan.
January 2005


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Search Results
The Great Uganda Gorilla Safari
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Year-Round / Custom Pricing


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The Spark Of Innovation: Zippo Manufacturing
Fri, 06/20/2014 - 1:00am
They roll off the assembly belt like little bars of burnished gold. The Zippo windproof lighter has remained virtually unchanged over the last 77 years. But the company behind the Zippo lighter has accomplished the near impossible — the company has grown and adapted to today's fickle market while remaining a steadfast American icon.


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December 1, 2015
Stay Connected Anywhere
Less than two months on the job is long enough for Marshall County's new sheriff to know he wants to stick around in the position.
43-year old Dan Hargrave filed this week for election to a four-year term.
Hargrave was a county commissioner when he took over as sheriff in March to fill out the term of retired sheriff Kenny Coggins.
So far the Republican is the only candidate to file for the November race.
Click Here to access the online Public Inspection File
Viewers with disabilities can get assistance accessing this station's FCC Public Inspection File by contacting the station with the information listed below. Questions or concerns relating to the accessibility of the FCC's online public file system should be directed to the FCC at 888-225-5322, 888-835-5322 (TTY), or firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Remember this selection
My Account
Melbourne, one of the most beautiful cities in Australia, hosts numerous visitors every year, who choose to start their journey to the magnificent continent in this beautiful city. A visit to Melbourne can include the fabulous attractions the city has to offer, as well as the magnificent destinations nearby, such as the Great Ocean Road, Phillip Island, and many more. If you are planning a flight to Melbourne, it is recommended to take a good camera and comfortable shoes, since there are many enchanted spots in every corner. The weather in Melbourne may deceive you sometimes, however it is considered usually stable and comfortable in comparison to the weather in Sydney. The summer in Melbourne starts around November and lasts through April, and it is caharcterized with warm temperatures. In some rare occasions the temperatures can be substantially high. The winter in Melbourne starts in May and lasts through October. The winter can be very cold, however the temperatures do not reach the freezing point, and the weather is quite reasonable.The summer time attracts many tourists to the city, who arrive from around the globe. For that reason, many attractions may be crowded. During the winter the tourists can enjoy a relaxed winter atmosphere. Whether it is the summer or the winter, Melbourne offers countless attractions, and it suits everyone. Whether you want to experience the taste of an exceptional continent, meet great people, learn about a special tradition or enjoy a vibrant and friendly city – Melbourne is the place for you!EL AL flights to Australia take off from TLV airport and land at MEL (VIA BKK/HKG) international airport. El Al operates 6 flights per week to this destination. In EL AL flights you can experience a safe and enjoyable flight with a varied VOD entertainment package.
Special deals for Scheduled flights to Frequent Flyer Club membersFlights to Cairo and more destinations with EL ALSpecial deals flights to EL AL destinationsInformation on benefits, Special Price for tickets on sale and more.
All rights reserved by EL AL LTD. Contents may not be used without prior written permission from EL ALטיסות אל על – ELAL Airlines - Израильские авиалинии Эль Аль


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Friday evening at 7:00 p.m. (until approximately 9:00 p.m.)
Saturday morning at 9:30 a.m. (until approximately 12:00 p.m.)
Clubhouse 3, in the Lobby.
Congregation Sholom of Leisure World, Seal Beach, is a Conservative Synagogue, which offers inspiring religious services that appeal to Jews from a wide range of backgrounds.
Our professional staff responds to the needs of the congregation with meaningful, moving worship services. Our members share a special feeling of community at the Sabbath and Holiday services, which are held throughout the entire year.
Our social functions encompass traditional Jewish activities as well as other special occasions answering the spiritual and secular needs of an enriched Jewish life.
Whether you are new to our area or just new to our congregation, we hope you will find your spiritual home with us here at Congregation Sholom. Join us at Sabbath Services Friday evenings at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday mornings at 9:30 a.m.
For further information contact us at (562) 431-0113 or P. O. Box 2901, Seal Beach, CA 90740.
This site is provided by Leisure World | Seal Beach, CA 90740 | (562) 431-6586


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sridhar row wrote:Hi all, I took the exam today and failed. I only got 58%. The SCJP 6 Exam was very hard and even though they have increased the time, the questions are so hard that i lost time trying to get them right and ended up not having enough time. I think everytime i cracked a hard question i got a much harder question..wonder if the questions are based on ones strengths!?!?
Even though there were only a couple of questions from the newer version, there were some questions that are not covered in the SCJP 5 study guide by K&B. So my advice if you are planning to take SCJP 6 please don't. Wait for the SCJP 6 study guide.
[ May 30, 2008: Message edited by: sridhar row ]


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Nick Castellanos waits to take grounders at the 3rd base before playing against the Atlanta Braves at Spring Training In Lake Buena Vista, Florida on Saturday, March 3, 2012. JULIAN H. GONZALEZ/Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
On Wednesday, Nick Castellanos heard from the Tigers that he will have a shot at winning the third base job. / Leon Halip/Getty Images
To become re-accustomed to third base, Nick Castellanos is now taking approximately 600 ground balls there per day. He plans to keep doing so six days per week until spring training starts in February.
Im taking them both off the machine and off the bat, he said. Forehand plays, backhand plays, balls right at me, one-hand drill everything.
If he hadnt moved from third base to the outfield, he figures hed be taking about 150 to 200 grounders per day. To compensate for the time he missed at third, hes taking about 400 extra grounders per day. That gets him up to 600.
I have a pretty good opportunity, and I dont want to squander it, he said.
The opportunity arrived Wednesday when the Tigers named him their primary third baseman for next season. Castellanos, who will turn 22 in March, will get his first crack as a big-league regular at the position he converted to from shortstop when the Tigers drafted him in 2010.
I love third base, he said on the phone today. I love playing the infield. Im happy to get to go back to it.
Why does he like it more than the outfield, which hes played for the last 1½ seasons?
In the infield, Im more in tune with the game than in the outfield, he said. I think it also helps me with my hitting. In the infield, you dont have time to think about at-bats after they happen.
Think, as in dwell unnecessarily.
You have to get your focus to play third, he said.
When the Tigers traded Prince Fielder last month, Castellanos knew he might be headed back to third. Fielders arrival two years ago had sent Miguel Cabrera to third and Castellanos to the outfield.
On Monday of this week, having heard nothing about his position for next year, Castellanos resumed taking 150 to 200 grounders per day at third, just in case.
On Wednesday morning, manager Brad Ausmus told him he was moving back to third, the result of Cabreras return to first. So Castellanos, who lives in south Florida, immediately increased the off-season regimen to those 600 grounders or so per day. The drill takes 1½ to two hours. When he arrives in spring training, he should be plenty warmed up for the hot corner.


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Crash.Net Le Mans News
'Rocky' comes out fighting to put Audi on top
8 June 2011
Audi drew first blood in the opening practice session for this weekend's 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours – the 79th edition of the round-the-clock La Sarthe classic – as defending race-winner Mike Rockenfeller put the #1 Audi Sport Team Joest R18 TDi at the top of the timesheets...but there was, in truth, little to choose between the German manufacturer and fellow powerhouse Peugeot.
'Rocky' became the first driver to dip beneath the 3m28s barrier in the four-hour session's dying moments, joining team-mate André Lotterer in breaking the erstwhile Peugeot hegemony at the head of the timing screens, with the two countrymen separated by just over three tenths of a second.
Local hero Sébastien Bourdais ultimately led the Peugeot charge in third – albeit half-a-second adrift of Rockenfeller's late flyer – with Alex Wurz putting the #7 908 fourth, narrowly ahead of Allan McNish in the third of the works Audis. The leading five cars all concluded the session blanketed by less than three-quarters of a second. The all-French #8 Peugeot wound up sixth, with the early pace-setting Oreca Peugeot seventh.
The first of the petrol entries – the #16 Pescarolo – was almost five seconds further in arrears still in eighth, making something of a mockery of the ACO's recent engine-equalisation regulations, with the Rebellion Racing Lola and the best-placed of the two Oak Racing machines rounding out the top ten. The two factory Aston Martin Racing AMR-Ones, meanwhile, languished in the region of 20 seconds shy of the outright pace, down in 21st and 24th places.
Strakka Racing set the pace in LMP2 – placing 15th overall – ahead of the Nissan-powered Team Oreca Matmut entry. LM GTE Pro was an all-BMW affair up at the front, the Augusto Farfus/Jörg Müller/Dirk Werner car pipping the sister machine piloted by Andy Priaulx/Dirk Müller/Joey Hand by just under four tenths of a second. Initial LM GTE Am honours went the way of the Gulf AMR Middle East Aston Martin Vantage.
The major drama of the session was suffered by Raymond Narac at the wheel of the #76 IMSA Performance Matmut Porsche 997 GT3 RSR, when – just over an hour into practice – the Frenchman went off at the Porsche Curves and backed the LM GTE Pro car heavily into the tyre barriers, leaving debris strewn across the track and bringing out the red flag.
There were other – albeit far less serious – issues for the Proton Competition Porsche 997 GT3 RSR, which Horst Felbermayr Jnr beached in the gravel trap with just over 20 minutes to go, whilst a rubbing tyre on Oliver Gavin's Corvette was the catalyst for brief flames beneath the wheel arch of the LM GTE Pro machine. There were punctures, finally, for the #66 JMW Motorsport Ferrari, #71 AF Corse Ferrari and #79 Jota Aston Martin.
The first two-hour qualifying session will get underway at 10pm local time (9pm BST), but in the meantime, to see the full list of practice times,
click here


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Over-the-Rhine Recreation Center
1715 Republic St.
Over-the-Rhine, Ohio, 45202
513-381-1893 | Website
Neighborhood: Over-the-Rhine
Serving downtown Cincinnati ,specifically in the Over-the-Rhine, Pendleton, Mohawk and West End neighborhoods. Facilities include a gymnasium, roller rink, indoor deep-water pool, fitness center, kitchen, game room, teen lounge, study room and art room. Open noon-8 p.m. Monday-Thursday 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday.
Park/Public Space Info
No aditional information available.
Price: None


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Risk Management accepts bylined stories on all topics related to risk. Because we receive a large volume of submissions each month, please familiarize yourself with the following procedures before contacting us.
- All articles and story pitches should be sent to Editor in Chief Morgan O'Rourke (212.655.5922). Send a summary or the finished article and we'll go from there.
- Your submission has a much greater chance of publication if it is on a topic we are interested in covering. Before submitting, take a look at our Editorial Calendar, which should give you a good idea of what kinds of stories the magazine is currently most interested in. If you have a story idea that does not appear on the editorial calendar, let us know. Nothing is set in stone and there may still be a place in the magazine for your idea.
- As a monthly publication, we work well in advance of its publication date, so a general rule of thumb is you should query us about a story three months prior to whichever month you wish to appear in.
- Do not promote a particular company, product or service. All articles must be factual, insightful and vendor-neutral.
- We don't like bulleted lists. Write an article with sentences rather than as an outline to establish a narrative flow. If you want to do a "10 Reasons Why …" style article that can work as well.
- Be original. We will be more interested in your pitch if we haven't heard it ten times before or already run the same article. To this end, try to familiarize yourself with our archives before submitting an article or pitch.
- Risk Management uses the AP style guide for the most part. If you have any questions about style, please feel free to ask.
- Feature stories generally should be 1,800-2,000 words.
- Shorter articles (400, 600, 1,000 or 1,200 words) are also accepted for our ForeFront section or online publication. Tell us your idea and we'll find a place for it if it fits Risk Management.


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by Shahid Yusuf & Kaoru Nabeshima
Price: US$41.04 (SGD57.00*)Format: Paper Back, 352 pagesPublished: 2006, USA, 1st EditionISBN: 9780821356227SB#: 041129 (102)
This substantial World Bank/Stanford Economics and Finance study explores growth factors in East Asia, and focuses on the situation of the six global cities of Bangkok, Beijing, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo. An account is given of the socio-economy of each city as it faces the need for change and radical innovative strategies in its post-industrial future. With bibliography and index.
* Actual charges are made in Singapore Dollars (SGD). SGD1.00 = US$0.72


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[Alliance Times] Naxxramas, Dragonblight – In the past years Naxxramas, was one of the main staging areas for the Scourge offensive in the Eastern Plaque Lands but recently the Scourge has been beaten back by the fragile alliance between the Lordaeron Alliance and the Horde. In the Lich King's retreat back to Northrend, Naxxramas followed in his wake. Now that the precious Alliance between the Horde and the Lordaeron Alliance has been shattered, the Lich King feels he has enough strength to retake Northrend. Naxxramas was sent to begin the offensive on Wintergarde Keep.
With me stands bold adventurers from a smaller alliance one of friends and family seeking to destroy the evil with in Naxxramas. For the past month's they have been going into the hellish depths of Naxxramas seeking to deal a fatal blow to the Leaders. On July 19, 2009 The guild For Honor And Adventure has defeated the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. The next challenge awaits these brave souls in the Plaque Quarter, Good luck!
Good Job Everyone!


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Divorce -- Text Message Style!
Just when you think technology can't be used for something even stranger, our friends in Malaysia have found a way to raise the bar -- divorce using text messages on wireless phones.
Islamic law permits men to divorce their wives by clearly stating "I divorce you" three times. Malaysian lawmakers (stemming from a court decision) have therefore stated that as long as the message is clear and concise, text messages on mobile phones is an acceptable way of serving one's wife with divorce.
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INSEMTIVES - Incentives for Semantics
On the following pages we present information, events and results that have a highly community-driven focus.
- News
The latest news from the INSEMTIVES projects.
- Blog
The INSEMTIVES blog covers news and updates on topics highly related to the project.
- Tutorials
All tutorials organized by the INSEMTIVES project.
- User Advisory Board
All information on the INSEMTIVES User Advisory Board.
- Game Challenge
Link to the INSEMTIVES Game Idea Challenge.
- Collaborators
A list of collaborating projects.
- Showcase
Check out the showcase of tools developed by the INSEMTIVES project!
- LinkedOpenData
Description of the INSEMTIVES LOD dataset.


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The Blog
The Economy Is Still Bad
11:01 AM, Apr 27, 2012 • By GEOFFREY NORMAN
Some words and phrases from this Reuters story about the morning's GDP numbers:
So, do we break out the Veuve and sing "Happy Days Are Here Again"?
Not so much. The headline for the story reads:
And the essential datum is:
Which, in technical language, means the economy is still bad.
Recent Blog Posts
The Weekly Standard Archives
Browse 19 Years of the Weekly Standard


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Click to View Story from Los Angeles Times
Click to View article from Glendale News-Press
Click to View article From San Fernando Valley Business Journal
Click to View a Video from Happy Parent
Click to View Student Poem Graduation 2010
TOBINWORLD has been in existence in the Los Angeles Area since October, 1977. It was brought about by the concern of one mother, Judith Weber, to provide her severely autistic son with an appropriate education. As other parents learned of her efforts to educate her son, they asked if she could help their children, which she did. Soon the school district urged her to start a school and she named it TOBINWORLD, after her son, Tobin. In just eight years, her school grew from 12 students to over 275 with a student body from kindergarten to 12th grade. TOBINWORLD serves students ages 5 years through 22 years. As of this school year we have over 280 students who live in communities throughout the greater Los Angeles area, representing more than a dozen school districts. The school is located in Glendale in five beautiful brick buildings.
In January 1998, TOBINWORLD II was opened in Brentwood, California, one of the fastest growing cities in the Bay Area. TOBINWORLD II is a smaller version of TOBINWORLD.


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|Ten-year survival of the cemented MS-30 femoral stem: increased revision rate in male patients.
MedLine Citation:
|PMID: 20166359 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE
|This retrospective study evaluated the clinical and radiographic results of 337 consecutive matte surfaced, straight cemented MS-30 femoral stems implanted with first -to second-generation cementing technique. The median age of the patients at time of surgery was 72 (27-91) years. The median duration of follow-up was 10 (0.1-14) years. A Kaplan Meier survival analysis was performed. At follow-up, 113 patients (120 stems) had died and 13 (13 hips) were lost to follow-up. Twenty-one hips had undergone femoral revision, 13 for aseptic loosening, five for infection, two for dislocation and one for periprosthetic fracture. Survival analysis with revision of the femoral component for any reason as the end point was 91% (95% CI: 87-96) and for aseptic loosening 94% (95% CI: 90-97) at 12 years. Females (n = 245) with 99% (95% CI: 97-100) had significantly better survival compared to males (n = 92) showing 80% stem survival (95% CI: 67-91) at 12 years (p < 0.001). Median Harris Hip score (HHS) was 82 (25-100) points. Male patients had a higher activity score than female patients (p = 0.04). Femoral Dorr type A was associated with a higher risk of failure. THA with the MS-30 stem revealed satisfactory midterm results despite relatively crude cementing techniques. However, the higher revision rate in males and Dorr Type A is of concern.
|Daniela Witte; Michael Klimm; Dominik Parsch; Michael Clarius; Steffen Breusch; Peter R Aldinger
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Publication Detail:
|Type: Journal Article
Journal Detail:
|Title: Acta orthopaedica Belgica Volume: 75 ISSN: 0001-6462 ISO Abbreviation: Acta Orthop Belg Publication Date: 2009 Dec
Date Detail:
|Created Date: 2010-02-19 Completed Date: 2010-03-11 Revised Date: -
Medline Journal Info:
|Nlm Unique ID: 2985165R Medline TA: Acta Orthop Belg Country: Belgium
Other Details:
|Languages: eng Pagination: 767-75 Citation Subset: IM
|Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, University of Heidelberg, Germany.
Export Citation:
|APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex
|MeSH Terms
Aged, 80 and over
Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip*
Bone Cements
Middle Aged
Pain Measurement
Sex Factors
Treatment Outcome
Reg. No./Substance:
|0/Bone Cements
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Previous Document: No change detected by DEXA in bone mineral density after periacetabular osteotomy.
Next Document: Periprosthetic femoral fractures: outcome after treatment with LISS internal fixation or stem replac...


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- Filed Under
To G.W. Krieger Elementary School third-graders Ella Doxsee and Jennifer Cwik who raised roughly $5,300 for new playground equipment at their Poughkeepsie school.
Word of mouth and a newspaper article is what got the project rolling. The girls used morning announcements, social media and an article published in the Poughkeepsie Journal to spread the word and collect donations from classmates, parents, the community and family members throughout the country.
Poughkeepsie City School District Superintendent Laval Wilson said, at a ceremony honoring the girls for their contribution, that the new equipment will be an inspiration for other students to make a difference at their schools or communities. "It's a very encouraging adventure for these youngsters," he said. "It's a very fine Krieger school project that we can all be proud of."
To the City of Beacon on its 100th birthday. Thought Beacon was older? Well, parts of it are. A hundred years ago, on May 15, 1913, the villages of Matteawan and Fishkill Landing merged - to form the City of Beacon. An entire week was devoted to commemorate the city's centennial organized by civic-minded nonprofit "I Am Beacon." In fact, the celebration will kick off a year's worth of events.
The March Through Time parade started at City Hall and ended at Memorial Park for a festival. It included antique cars, the Beacon City School District, the Fire Department, Howland Library, the Beacon Sloop Club and other organizations. The festival included a performance from Beacon's beloved Pete Seeger.
To the first
Armed Forces on the Hudson Day, held May 19 at Waryas Park in the City of Poughkeepsie. The event drew a crowd of more than 400 for a flag ceremony that honored several local military personnel and volunteers. Military veteran Assemblyman Kieran Lalor, R-Fishkill, said he was "inspired" by the day. "In a couple of years, this park will be packed for this and we can all say we were at the first one," Lalor said. "Holidays like Memorial Day are so important but active duty service members can get lost in the shuffle."


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Camp Equipment
BSA® Backpacking Chair$49.99This BSA-exclusive, top-quality design combines affordability with strength and durability. The sturdy frame-with 250-lb. weight capacity-is made from anodized aluminum tubing with reinforced aluminum alloy joint hubs for added stability. Learn More
Grand Trunk™ Collapsible Camp Stool$39.99Super lightweight, compact design is also amazingly comfortable. Stool's legs collapse so you can just fold it up, slip it into a backpack or tote, and enjoy a portable resting place wherever you go. Ideal for backpacking, campouts, beach trips, picnics, and travel of any kind, this simple micro-stool weighs in at just 22 oz., but it can hold a 250-lb. adult just fine. Nylon shell; aluminum legs. Imported. Learn More
Therm-A-Rest® Trail Seat$19.99Sit more comfortably just about anywhere with this all-purpose, self-inflating seat cushion. Lightweight and compact, it fits easily in your pack or duffel and is ideal in a car, boat, camp or stadium seat. Olive polyester with urethane foam fill. Made in the USA. Learn More
Foldable ShovelOriginal Price:$14.99 Current Price: $9.98Positive-fit locking collar. Serrated edge for sawing. Opens to 23" folds to 10". BSA logo blaze orange color. Learn More


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Saukei 2 You
One of the hottest black gay versatile porn stars in his first exclusive video. Mr. Saukei has starred in many films for several companies, but this is his only film shot exclusively for Flava Works with seven hot scenes!
Studio: Flava Works, Inc | Production Year: 2008
Performers: Sixty Nine Carmell Mr. Sauki Dre Tastee Merecio
Tags: black action compilation safe-sex
All Comments
THIS IS A "hOT" FLIX!!!!
The bottoms name is Saukei as it says in the title and on the side.
thats hot
The Bottoms name is "TASTEE"
what is the bottoms name
saukei is just the best yow!!!!!!! :-D


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Author has written 52 stories for Sailor Moon, Ronin Warriors, Rurouni Kenshin, Soul Calibur, Teen Titans, Final Fantasy X, Fire Emblem, Sailor Moon X-overs, Vandread, Dragon Ball Z/Sailor Moon, Naruto, Evangelion, Winx Club, Tokyo Mew Mew, Tenchi Muyo, Final Fantasy X-2, Outlaw Star, and Dragon Ball Z.
Updated December 16, 2014
Not much to report at the moment. Finally uploaded chapter one of the story Ebony and Ivory in the Fire Emblem category. For fans of Leanne/Naesala I suggest you check it out and let me know what you think
New Stories: Ebony and Ivory (Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn) (12/16/14)
Recently Updated: nothing right now but I am making adjustments to my current works. I'll keep you posted!
Current Obsessions: COFFEE!!! Discovering new music
Song of the Day: I Forgive (But I Won't Forget Your Name) by Lacuna Coil
Hi there! I am Lacuna: a stitch of random things. I love writing, reading and music. I enjoy art of all kinds and am interested in modeling.
I'm a nerd of all sorts. Love anime, manga, video games, cartoons, comics, books…. I love writing fan fiction and also love reading the fiction of others as well :)
I don't really have much to say about myself. If I somehow pique your interest feel free to message me. I'm always up for a good conversation.
Here are a few of the 'basics' for those who are still trying to figure me out….
Real Name: Rochelle
*Social Media*
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ElyonMontgomery
Twitter: @LacunaTheLost
I guess the last thing I have to say is this…
Universal disclaimer: I don't own any of the anime, cartoons, movies, shows or games I write about on this website. They are the property of their respective owners. I do, however, own my Original Characters and the plots of each of my stories.
Until I think of anything else that needs saying that will be all. Thank you for reading and I hope I can continue to keep you entertained.
Love and Kisses,
|The Ever-Lasting Tale of Souls and Swords
|Games Soul Calibur