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John Osmond reports that the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales believes his party needs to embrace a national missionSeptember 25th, 2012
According to Owen Smith, Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, Welsh Labour's success in harnessing patriotism in support of progressive political aims holds key lessons for Labour across the whole of the United Kingdom. Writing in 25/25 Vision: Welsh Horizons across 50 years, a new book of essays the IWA is publishing this week to mark our 25th anniversary, Owen Smith says that, in delivering devolution Labour responded to a popular renaissance of Welshness. He says:
"It is this fusion of progressive politics with a national mission – this capture of patriotism from the right – that Labour needs to understand and adopt across the UK if we are to return to power and to shape the future of Wales and the other nations of the British state over the next 25 years."
Smith asks how realistic is it to expect Labour to capture a new British patriotism in a multi-cultural country where 'identity politics', compounded by immigration, devolution and political cynicism, may have fatally compromised the notion of a British 'nation':
"The answer is that we must. We must if we want to fulfil our mission of creating a more equal, just and fair society for all of the people of Britain. Because in the UK in 2012, as in 1945, or 1966 and 1997 – or 1789 in France, 1960 in the USA, and 1959 in West Germany – the lesson is that the Left needs the Nation if it is to galvanise its citizens behind a programme for national renewal through social and economic reform. We need the nation because without it there are no citizens, just consumers, clients, or customers. And we need the nation because it is the most effective means by which we enlist the majority of those divergent citizens to that uniting cause for egalitarianism, social and economic justice."
In pursuing this project Owen Smith says British Labour should learn how Welsh Labour managed to benefit from a surge in patriotism when many traditional parties of the left across Europe have failed to do so. He cites four reasons:
- Welsh Labour benefited from an 'institutional' strength of the left in Wales which made it a natural vehicle to express the new sense of Welsh national pride.
- Welsh Labour remained authentically linked to its radical roots, refusing to follow New Labour and instead committed to a collectivist community-driven delivery of public services. Smith says that in pursuing this endeavor, Welsh Labour has been fortunate in finding in Rhodri Morgan and Carwyn Jones two leaders who are "in instinct and action, undeniably Welsh and undeniably Labour".
- In a globalising world Welsh Labour acknowledged a sense of lost control by allowing greater local accountability.
- By embracing devolution Welsh Labour responded to a growing sense of Welsh identity that has overlain a previous adherence to class.
Within Britain Owen Smith believes a key lesson for Labour is to build on its heritage as a party of the left, rooted in the Trades Unions and representative of the concerns of ordinary working people across the whole of the UK. As he puts it:
"The post-Thatcher coalescence of British politics around a centre ground, from which orthodox wisdom says elections are won, has diminished our authenticity, blunted our language and stunted our ambition. Labour has to be the party of hope, the party that believes we can be better, and that our nation can be made to serve the many once more – not just the lucky few."
He says Labour needs to discover the radicalism that inspired it to create the Welfare State following Word War II, and calls for a "new national mission for the re-invention and renewal of Britain". He adds:
"That doesn't mean just recalling or celebrating those values, experiences or institutions – fair play, The War or even the NHS – that have defined Britain for previous generations. That isn't enough any more. Instead it means inventing and implementing the values, experiences and institutions that might define it for the next."
According to Smith, this might require "a new constitution, written perhaps, to enshrine national standards and common values and to frame a more formal, confederal architecture of British Government, including at a more local level in England, as in Wales and Scotland." And he goes on:
"It may entail the creation of a new National Care Service, as some Labour colleagues have suggested, to provide equitable and decent care for our burgeoning elderly population. Or a new period of national, civic service for our young, inculcating values of tolerance, responsibility and duty. Certainly, it will demand a new social contract around welfare, one which reconnects provision with contribution and desert. A National Day and a State of the British Union Address are other ideas that have been canvassed and that might usefully play a part in this task of re-invention.
"These new inventions could create a new spirit and rhetoric of fraternity and national solidarity – of common endeavour and collective enterprise – to replace the narrative of individual rights and personal achievement that has dominated our political discourse for much of the last 30 years. It might also provide a framework within which we could more easily recognise the gross inequality of wealth, education, opportunity and even life expectancy that persist in Britain, and enlist a majority in favour of their eradication."
In his essay Owen Smith also hints at some new constitutional thinking that is emerging in Welsh Labour. In a recent speech (here) Carwyn Jones made a bid for a new devolution settlement across the UK that would be decidely federal in character, a radical notion. In his essay Owen Smith speaks of a federal relationship between Welsh and British Labour. He says that devolution not only brought the National Assembly, but also an internal adjustment of Labour's internal operation into a
"…de factor federal structure that the Labour Party has adopted between Wales and Westminster. And both have allowed the creation of a new set of symbols and institutions of the new Welsh nation in a Welsh civic society, focused on a Welsh legislature and thinking geographically and politically in terms of Welsh-shaped solutions."
What is interesting about Smith's essay is the way he urges the Labour Party to engage simultaneously with both Welsh and British nationalism. Some will argue that there is a contradiction here. They will say that this is simply papering over the divisions between centralists and small 'n' nationalists within his party. However, in his intriguing used of the word 'confederal' to describe the architecture of future constitutional relationships across the UK, Smith may have hit upon something which has the potential for profound change. Only time will tell if it is merely a throwaway line, or a harbinger of real change.
Tags: Devolution, nationalism, Owen Smith MP, patriotism, Welsh Labour
10 Responses to:"Labour should fuse patriotism with progressive politics"
Celticus says:
Interesting as part of a flurry of thoughtful articles from Labour over the Summer. They are to be congratulated on that. On content, however, the usual 'Anglo-Saxon' confusion of 'state' and 'nation' makes analysis difficult.
The dog that didn't bark is any recognition of Labour's British nationalism and all its consequences: nuclear weapons, expeditionary warfare, casino capitalism, European exceptionalism, monolingualism, etc. So for "Welsh Labour" even in the 21st Century – nearly a century since they first adopted it in 1916 – British nationalism is an unmovable given.
Mark Jones says:
So, when stripped down, it is essentially British nationalism with a Welsh face. Business as usual for the Labour Party. If people fall for this then it really will expose the paucity of our sense of national identity.
Paul Flynn says:
Very encouraging flight from the excesses and errors of 'New' Labour. The more red water that can be flooded into Wales's eastern coast of Offa's Ditch the better.
Need to ponder the meaning on 'confederalism'. It sounds encouraging. There has been a continuing honourable presence of Welsh nationalism in the Labour Party. It has a tenuous long history that has been influential on the development of devolution. If Scotland opts for independence, the weather will change.
The lesson from Scotland appears to be that if Wales wants Devo-max, we should campaign for independence.
Gareth A.Ll. ap-Sion says:
I agree with Celticus's reaction to these views. It's sniffing the winds of change.
I can envisage Wales in the future being free to chart her own course and Welsh Labour will happily take all the credit and revisit Keir Hardie's dream of Welsh independence
Ian says:
This is a very interesting article and in fairness, it would never have been penned by the previous holder of Owen's post. However, perhaps the biggest problem Labour have with the 'nationalism' debate within the UK is not Scotland or even Wales, but England. The English question is perhaps one of the biggest challenges that Labour faces in post devolution UK and the fact that the 'E' word only cropped up once in this article, says a lot I suggest. You only have to re-visit Owen's boss's dire speech on this very topic in recent weeks, to see the problem they have at the heart of their party.
Owen Smith can perhaps give Ed a few tips on the consequences of devolution.
Howell Morgan says:
I humbly agree that the real problem with the current settlement is the unresolved position of England, which is in effect (particularly the productive part) the banker of last resort for rest of UK. There is a major problem coming down the line as with the vast immigration taking place into the south east/midlands of England there is a whole range of voters who have no sentimental ties with other parts of the UK, and only England really matters to them. Recently I was given medical assistance by an efficient nurse from the French Caribbean and when I told her I was from Wales, but staying in Northampton with family she replied "I've heard of Wales, and must visit some time!". What ever PF thinks of New Labour it did get elected with massive majorities over 3 general elections, and in Tony Blair it had a Leader of world class status and history will judge his performances in the round. Just finished Alastair Campbells last diaries and most certainly the opinion of the top level in government of the 'awkward squad', of whom PF seems to have one, is about as complimentary to him as he was of them. What ever the Scottish people decide is clearly up to them, and the 'tectonic plates' will surely have moved, which will only accelerate the devolution process in a much faster pace. What I cannot understand is how in an area where Scotland has total autonomy already, i.e Soccer it is failing abysmally and with one of the world giants in terms of support, ie. Glasgow Rangers, in its third division because of lack of money, why it would want to seperate itself? I disagree with PF as most people I know and respect are having very great doubts about the current settlement in terms of performance of the Welsh Government, except in the area of the Welsh language, where public money is keeping many of the favoured people in well paid employment. In conclusion without Labour MP's from the celtic fringe the English would have a permanent centre-right party in charge who could turn England into an economic powerhouse, particularly without the interference from Europe, so where would that leave little Wales?
comeoffit says:
When will Paul Flynn do the decent thing and join Plaid Cymru I wonder?! He seems to be profiting quite nicely from that old south Walian trait of being willing to even vote for a donkey if it has a red rosette on. I wonder how many of his voters are aware of just how nationalist his leaning has become of late.
Jon Jones says:
I read an interesting piece of mischief making recently on the subject of Scottish independence. The writer speculated that the Orkney and Shetland Isles might want to go their own way and split from Scotland, either remaining as British or declaring independence. The trouble is that such a position would mean that Wee Eck's books would no longer balance without the oil revenue. I believe that there has already been a European ruling that countries declaring independence must re-apply for EU membership. Does that apply to ALL countries in a fragmented Britain?
David Lloyd Owen says:
I imagine Mr Fynn's popularity in part stems from the fact that his views are seen as representing the majority of Welsh people, rather than those who lost the 2011 referendum so heavily.
comeoffit says:
Ah you mean the referendum that was sold as 'a tidying up exercise'? The one before which Carwyn Jones himself said "Tax varying powers are not on the table. If they were, then I'd be leading the NO campaign". Oh and remind me again of the turnout? Remind me also of what specific new laws have actually manifested as a result of these new powers (that wasnt devolved already!)
There is only one thing worse than a lying, devious politician and that is somebody who ignorantly sticks up for them.


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1. What is iForty?
A professional organizational composed of administrative professionals who support administrators on the University of Texas at Austin campus. iForty members get together once a month for an organized presentation (Orange Bag) on topics that range from how to improve software skills to learning new skills.
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Download the Membership Application from our Membership page.
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$25 per year.
5. When/where are the meetings?
The Orange Bags are held at a central location on campus during the lunch hour, 12:15-1:15 p.m., the third Wednesday of every month (except July/August). Please visit the Calendar for our upcoming Orange Bag Meetings.
6. What are the benefits of membership?
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subset: commoncrawl


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| jasmine1383
Reviews: 2
Omg. i just started watching the show because when i saw the commercial i thought it was going to be whack but when i started watching the show i was hooked. this i think is one of the greatest shows because of the people (sexy people(m♥riah && j♥rdan)) and its like a laguna beach but with black people. i am black so don't get offended. anyways, i love it and cant wait to watch it. if you haven't seen it yet then you are just missing out! Read more
Review posted on Saturday, August 4th 2007 at 1:57 am


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I have some amount of messages which are coming to my client from the server. Every messages have an unique key which is possible to be duplicated in messages I have already received. Which collection can I use in GWT to avoid duplication? HashMap seems not to be a case for GWT. Is there any other way to organize it?
You can use the standard java.util.HashMap in GWT without problems. Be sure you haven't accidentally imported the com.google.gwt.dev.util.collect.HashMap. It happened to me several times while using Eclipse's Organize imports feature..
For questions like this, you should take a look at the GWT JRE Emulation Reference. It contains the java classes of the Java runtime library that can be automatically translated by GWT. The link points to the JRE ER for GWT 1.6. to show you that HashMap wasn't just included in the latest version. (The JRE ER for the latest version can be found here)
As xor_eq points you should check the GWT JRE Emulation Reference Check the link to the latest version (or the version that you're running). The support for for HashMap was added to GWT sometime ago (in 2.0 I think), so you should have no problem.


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Quote tim_obrien:
The only trackball I've liked is the old big heavy (softball sized) Kensington trackball.
The newer ones are all too small and light.
Don't know if the newer Kensington's are still big and heavy.
I used one for 1-2 years, helped me to get rid of serious problems in my right hand. Disadvantage, bulky- to be really effective at preventing injury must be used with the extension pad so it was huge . Now, I am more careful and manage with pad and magic mouse. Keep on switching between the 2 to avoid injury. The only real advantage of MM over all other- it is the flattest and prevent me from unhealthy bend of wrist. The Kensington monster was the best as far as ergonomics and prevention of injury is concerned.
|Post Extras


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Program Requirements
The Coastal Semester is designed for undergraduate students of at least sophomore status. A declared major in the natural sciences is not necessary. At a minimum, all participants need to have satisfied a freshman-level writing requirement and have taken at least one college-level, lab science course. All students, regardless of national origin, disability or age, are eligible to apply. Hood College especially encourages applications from women and minority students interested in exploring the environmental sciences.
Hood College prepares students to excel in meeting the personal, professional and global challenges of the future. Hood is committed to the integration of the liberal arts, the professions and technology, to the exploration of values, a sense of community and to the preparation of students for lives of responsibility, leadership and service.
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The list below shows replacement parts grouped by category, then by product number.
In many cases, a single replacement may be applicable to a number of different products. If you are interested in a particular product and want to know which replacement parts apply, click the "Weather," "Automotive," or "Marine" button above and go to the page for that product. Then, click on "Replacement Parts" where it appears on the right hand side of an individual product page.


text: Home Culture Africans in America Rebrand the Continent In today's link roundup: How young people are working to change America's image of Africa. Plus: National Action Network's Breaking Barriers Award Goes to Glenn H. Hutchins. By: Jenée Desmond-Harris Posted: Jan. 25 2013 12:13 PM 0 Sandra Appiah (Facebook) Africans in America rebrand the continent: Young people like New York-based Ghana native Sandra Appiah are working to battle negative and stereotypical portrayals of Africa that have nothing to do with the place they know. NAN Breaking Barriers Award goes to Hutchins: Glenn H. Hutchins, co-founder of technology-investment firm Silver Lake and chairman of the National Advisory Board of the W.E.B. DuBois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard University, received the Breaking Barriers Award from the National Action Network at its annual King Day Luncheon on the 84th birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. The announcement was made by The Root's editor-in-chief, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., the Alphonse Fletcher University Professor and director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African and African American Research at Harvard. Tina Turner to give up U.S. citizenship: The singer has lived in the Zurich suburb of Küsnacht since the mid-1990s, and now she's making it official by giving up her U.S. passport. Prosecutors drop battery charge against Creflo Dollar: Prosecutors have dropped a simple battery charge against the Atlanta mega-church pastor, who completed an anger-management program after being accused of choking and hitting his teenage daughter, Reuters reports. Like The Root on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter. Get what we're watching delivered to your inbox everyday! Sign up for our daily video newsletter below. Powered by Livefyre 0


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202 min
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May 24, 2016
EAST LANSING - If you have tickets to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra's performance at the Wharton Center Thursday night, make other plans. Symphony musicians went on strike Monday over a proposed 33% pay cut. The Wharton Center announced that full refunds for Thursday's performance will be processed within the next few days, using the same method as the original payment. Patrons who purchase tickets by check or cash will be issued a refund check within the next few weeks.
Patrons with questions are encouraged to contact the Wharton Center Ticket Office at 517-432-2000 or 1-800-WHARTON.
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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Denver, CO 80236 Real Estate Overview
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At an elevation of 5,373 feet sits the city of Denver, Colorado. The approximate population of Denver is 17,157 residents. There are currently 15 properties for sale in Denver, CO.
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The Coalition's Arthur Yeager decried the decision:
It just confirms the long history of NHTSA in opposition to child restraints in school buses. There is a certain hypocrisy in their supporting seat belts in virtually every other type of vehicle under their control except for school buses
There are accident after accident [sic] where we can document that the cause has been [school bus] driver distraction. More kids are killed when their own school bus drives over them than by other drivers. Some of those kids are killed because the driver is distracted by kids jumping up and down on the bus.
Yeager also observed that children must be strapped in to ride in all other vehicles:
From their first ride home from the hospital, they have been secured by a restraining device. The very first time kids ever experience a ride without a seat belt is when they get on the school buses.
NHTSA Deputy Director Ronald Medford averred: We care deeply about schoolchildren and feel that the steps weve taken are in the best interests of safety. The analysis of the federal agency concluded that school buses are among the safest modes of motor transportation and that the costs of requiring seat belts would exceed the benefits. It noted that each year approximately 19 schoolchildren die in school bus-related accidents, and that only five of that number were passengers the other 14 having been in school bus loading areas.
Smaller school buses weighing less than 10,000 pounds already are required to have shoulder lap belts. The back seats are high and padded in front and back. The distance between rows of seats is also restricted to reduce the likelihood of trauma from a collision. If the bus did have a head-on collision generally the most violent of accidents the passengers would most likely be protected. In its response, NHTSA estimated that the cost of equipping each bench-style set with seatbelts would be between $375 and $600, a total of between $5,485 and $7,346 for each large bus. The cost would be borne by the school districts or local governments, which is to say that it would be a federal mandate which could easily run about $100,000 per small school districts.
Furthermore, each individual school district would be responsible for enforcing the mandatory wearing of seat belts. Even if local law enforcement were tasked with that mission, it would be difficult for a police officer to view from a lower elevation who aboard the bus was and was not wearing a seat belt. School bus drivers in addition to looking out for students getting on and off the bus, monitoring other traffic, and keeping on their tight time schedules would then also have to insure that each student buckled up and remained so.
Constitutionalists note that the seatbelt issue is not in the purview of the federal government at all; rather, it more appropriately (according to the Tenth Amendment) lies with local school boards and city and state governments.
The requested change in NHTSA regulations would not affect the two largest states, California and Texas, both of which currently require students on school buses to wear seatbelts.


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Total earnings: $17.2 million
Salary/winnings: $14.7 million
Endorsements: $2.5 million
Gasol is one of the most decorated European imports to the NBA. He won the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2002 and has been selected to four All-Star games. Gasol has two years remaining on his three-year, $60 million contract. The Lakers forward has endorsement deals with Nike, Banco Popular and San Miguel.
Photo: Getty Images


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Working Tweet Adder Coupon Codes May 2016
Tweet Adder Review
Tweet Adder 3 is the best twitter tool which allows you to automatically follow all the followers of another user, or users with keywords in their profile or tweets.
If your account and tweets are relevant, a large chunk will follow you back. And those that don't you can automatically unfollow to keep within Twitter's ratios.
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Can use to follow all the people on a hashtag, say #ces
Can also follow all the followers of a user. Say you had a weight loss website. You can follow all the thousands of followers of @LitenEasyAU and @JennyCraig
You can set it to unfollow the people who do not follow you back. Set how many users you want to unfollow, the delay between how you want to unfollow. Twitter has limits, once you get to 2000 people, you can only follow 10% more people than that follow you. So especially once you to get to following 2000 you may unfollow people who don't follow back
I have heard many people have also found that on keyword following you get more people following you back then when you try and just follow other peoples followers.
Using Tweet Adder for automatic following needs to be very tightly targeted in order to work, and used sensibly in conjunction with valuable tweeting. The more useful tweets you send out, the more tweets with popular hashtags, and definitely the more retweets and mentions you have the more followers you get.
Tweet Adder can give you a useful boost at the start, once you have a few thousand followers people often retweet and recommend you and you can go viral.
Use this link and Tweet Adder Promo Code TWDISC to save 20%


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Q10203 - HOWTO: Lighting a Reef Tank, Part 2
Metal halide lamps are now available in a wide variety of wattages as well as color temperatures. Wattage determines how much light is produced, with higher wattage bulbs producing more total light. However, the amount of light produced is not in a direct 1:1 ratio with the wattage. That is, a 1000-watt bulb does not produce four times as much light as a 250-watt bulb, it produces more light, but it is only a percentage increase. Color temperature refers to the spectrum of the bulb. The higher the color temperature of a bulb, in degrees Kelvin, the bluer the light that will be produced. That is, a lamp that is rated at 6500 degrees Kelvin like the Iwasaki 6500 bulb produces a light that appears greener relative to the light produced by a lamp rated at 20,000 degrees Kelvin such as that made by Radium. Many metal halides require a 100-200 hour burning in period until their true color comes out. So the color of a new bulb may be significantly different than the color of the bulb it replaced so this should be kept in mind when bulbs are replaced.
Initially it was thought that bluer lights, with higher Kelvin temperatures, would produce more useable light. That is, that the amount of total light that they were producing was equal to that of the lower temperature lights but that it contained a higher percentage of light with the PAR wavelengths. What has been found in some studies is that these bulbs do indeed produce a large percentage of their light in the blue spectrum, but they do this by producing less total light, particularly at both the red-orange and the green-yellow wavelengths. This may be important, as the main reason for using these bulbs is to get enhanced or vivid coloration in the SPS corals. This mat occur, but at the expense of more rapid growth. While the exact mechanism(s) for producing brightly colored SPS corals are only now beginning to be understood, it is known that only when strong lighting is provided will growth in these corals be strong enough to produce brightly colored tips. As a result high temperature bulbs may not necessarily provide the best light for optimal growth and coloration in all corals.
Another aspect of keeping a reef tank should not be neglected when considering bulbs: the pleasure of viewing the tank. While lower temperature (6500) bulbs may produce the most rapid growth and greatest amount of total light, the tank itself may appear stark and have a yellowish tint. In order for viewing of the tank to be as pleasurable as possible it usually is necessary to add some blue light. When these metal halides are used bulbs such as the PC Actinic bulb or the T5 Actinic blue bulb should be used in conjunction with them.
I have now experimented with a large number of bulbs as well as combinations of these bulbs. I have also seen several hundred tanks lighted successfully with virtually every combination of bulbs as well. It is my opinion that the best way to light a large SPS dominated tank at present is to use a combination of either 6500K bulbs or 10,000K and 20,000K bulbs with or without some additional Actinic fluorescent lamps. It should be noted that in order for this combination to maximize coral growth and coloration it may be necessary to replace the 20,000 bulbs approximately every 6 months as the intensity of these bulbs seems to drop off rapidly beyond this age. This is necessary as these bulbs not only produce a relatively lower temperature over time, but they also produce less light over time. As a result, they need to be replaced far more frequently than the 6500K or 10K bulbs, which do not need to be replaced until the 12-18 month mark. It has been my unfortunate experience that when lighting is inadequate corals fail. As a result I have learned that it is much cheaper to replace bulbs on a regular basis than it is to replace corals so I now replace the bulbs on an aggressive schedule as soon as their intensity diminishes by as little as 10%.
Another aspect of using metal halides that needs to be addressed is their ability to burn SPS corals if the corals are not gradually acclimated to them. Corals taken from less bright tanks or that are suddenly exposed to new bulbs can rapidly shed their zooanxthellae, which they can also do for a number of other reasons as well. To reduce the likelihood of this happening several precautions should be taken. Newly acquired corals should either be placed on the bottom of the tank and gradually moved up, or they should be screened from the light in some way. They should then gradually over 1-2 months be exposed to the full light. Similarly when lights are replaced or added, the photoperiod should be reduced and some means of reducing the initial intensity should be employed. This can be as simple as raising the lights up or placing some shade cloth or egg crate above the tank during the acclimation period. These little precautions can dramatically reduce the likelihood of losing corals due to burning.
Several other aspects of metal halide lamps need to be considered before the lamps are chosen. These lamps are generally expensive to purchase, expensive to run owing to the large amount of electricity they consume as well as the heat they produce. This last attribute should not be downplayed in that if a lot of these lamps are employed or if they are placed in a small or closed space it may be necessary to run a chiller or other means for removing the heat produced in order to keep the tank's temperature within the desired range. This will further add to the expense of using this light and it should not be down played when considering between the choices. One possible way to reduce these problems is to use electronic ballasts such as those manufactured by Icecap. These ballasts typically run much cooler than the older tar ballasts and thus send less heat into the room in which they are located. They come in a variety of sizes and will power lamps ranging from 175 to 400 watts. While it is my opinion that metal halides are the choice in lighting for large SPS tanks I have also seen SPS corals kept very successfully when only VHO fluorescent lights were employed. These tanks were smaller and the corals were placed high up in the tanks directly under the lights. In some of these tanks, the SPS corals were at least as brightly colored as those in tanks using metal halides. A method that combines the best of both worlds is to use mostly fluorescent or power compacts to light much of the tank and then to also use pendants to provide a spotlight affect from one or two metal halide bulbs. Aluminum pendants such as those manufactured by Aqualine can be used to focus the halide light on one or two spots where sps or other animals requiring bright light are located. The use of these pendants in this manner can also introduce dramatic lighting effects by producing strongly lit areas along with more dimly lit ones. This can enhance the viewing pleasure of a tank.
For smaller systems or where soft corals are the predominant coral kept metal halide lighting may not be the best choice for lighting a reef tank. Fortunately, improvements in fluorescent lighting now make them a viable alternative in many instances. Up until a few years ago it was not possible to get enough fluorescent tubes above a limited space to produce the desired amount of light. However, with the advent of very high output (VHO) fluorescent tubes and more recently power compact (PC) fluorescents and the even newer T5 lights, it is now possible to get the amount of light desired over even a relatively small space. In addition, there are now a wider range of color temperatures available for these bulbs as well a variety of sizes and wattages. The goal for optimal coral health and growth is still to provide 4-5 watts of light per gallon. Regardless of which type of bulb is chosen they should be in a 1:1 ratio of Actinic Blue type (12,000 or 20,000K) to the Daylight (6500K) or Actinic White type (10,000K0). I have used this combination for over the past 15 years and have seen it used in a large number of tanks with a great deal of success. This combination can be used whether power compacts or VHO fluorescents are chosen, there does not seem to be a significant difference.
The choice of PCs or T5s or VHOs used to come down to price, but with the price of these lights becoming closer it now comes down to which light looks best, with PCs or T5s being the best choice when only soft corals are being kept. There are several reasons for this with the first being that for smaller tanks the PCs and T5s provide more light over small areas than can be achieved with VHO tubes. All of the fluorescents also offer another advantage in that there is little likelihood that these bulbs will burn the corals. As mentioned above these lights also seem to provide the intensity and spectrum to allow for both growth and coloration in SPS corals, so these bulbs should not be limited to only soft coral tanks. As mentioned their only drawback is that for large tanks the number of bulbs and ballasts required to light the tank make them cost and space prohibitive.
These lights do have another potential application and that is in combination with metal halides in order to get more blue light over the tank. In tanks where only 1 or 2 metal halides are being used it is usually desirable to add some actinic lamps to balance the harshness of the metal halides. These lamps can be used to simulate sunrise and sunset so that the animals are not startled as would be the case if the halides just came on. Plus thee bulbs also cause some corals to biofluoresce and show beautiful colors, which greatly enhances their attractiveness.
Lighting a reef tank properly is usually one of the most expensive components of setting up a reef tank, so a lot of time should be taken to make sure that it is done right. When it is done properly the health of the corals is ensured and the tank is visually appealing. When a tank is properly illuminated the corals will grow rapidly, the colors of the corals and fish will be as brilliant as when they are on the reef and the entire set up will be quite impressive. So when deciding on which lighting option to choose take your time and try to view tanks similar to the one you want to set up illuminated by different systems. This will allow you to do it right the first time and avoid the really expensive step of having to do it a second time.
Mike Paletta is the author of
The New Marine Aquarium
Ultimate Marine Aquariums
. He has been in the hobby for over 15 years and has written numerous articles for Aquarium Fish Magazine, Tropical Fish Hobbyist and Aquarium Frontiers.
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Approved Comments...
what about leds? (editors note: this article was written prior to LED becoming readily available. Watch for an article coming out soon on LED from an MD staff member)
Approved: 2/9/2012
Good article but I agree you need to include the latest LED solutions. Are LED viable for reef systems? Are they capable of replacing Metal Halide?
Approved: 9/7/2011
Good article but need more info on the latest LED solutions that are coming up these days. Cost, Life expectancy, PAR ratings, PAR over life, life expectancy etc. This would help make upgrading systems more decisive or many of us would continue to wait longer before taking the plunge. We understand the benefits (Low energy usage, and no heat) anything else?
Approved: 6/10/2011
Found the information straight forward and useful
Approved: 6/12/2009
Nice article, but here are some issues. The tropical areas that corals come from are filled with weather variables. It is not enough to talk about wattage and kelvin temperatures. These corals can be subjected from poor to extreme lighting conditions in a random pattern, and sometimes for prolonged periods of time. Although bleaching events do happen from time to time in the wild, It is not that frequent. Why is it that miner fluctuations in reef tank lighting can cause bleaching and even necroses to occur? I think that the problems are inherent to the closed systems we keep. Light, along with all the other water parameters is to be considered. The oceans and their renewable elements, established currents, and unlimited food supply, without the consequence of toxic levels of nutrients in the water, all make for a system in harmony. We simply cannot recreate that.
Approved: 4/17/2009
This is certainly good information, but seems everyone talks about the virtues of one light versus another, but no one ever estimates how many of each type are needed for various size tanks. I would appreciate more practical examples. More light seems to be encouraged, but is there ever such a thing as overkill?
Approved: 3/27/2009
Great, but doesnt discuss LEDs.
Approved: 9/6/2008
Very informative. I am curious about the actual size of "larger" tanks.
Approved: 7/22/2008
very informative without being to complicated or verbose
Approved: 5/28/2008
Because it will help me understand how to replace the bulbs for my tank in particular.
Approved: 5/25/2008
This article reeally helped me in findng the replacement bulbs for my tank. Given the tank and lights came with the unit itself, but I wwas looking for different types of halides and the basic rules behind each kind including watts and Kelvin. Thanks for all your information, this will make it easier to find replacement bulbs
Approved: 4/13/2008
Need to elaborate on LED Lighting and its progress in Reefkeeping; PFO Lighting is good source
Approved: 4/6/2008
it doesnt talk about par differance between pcs vhos and halides. also its dated what about leds
Approved: 4/5/2008
Approved: 7/24/2007
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Harbour City Shopping Mall In Tsim Sha Tsui Stock PhotoAdult,Adults Only,Business,Casual Clothing,Ceiling,City,Colour Image,Consumerism,Customer,Flooring,Full Length,Harbour,Hong Kong,Horizontal,Incidental People,Indoors,Lifestyles,Luxury,Mid Distance,Only Women,People,Photography,Reflection,Retail,Standing,Television,Three People,WalkingPhotographer Kimberley CooleCollection: Lonely Planet Images Kimberley CooleThe interior of the Harbour City shopping mall in Tsim Sha Tsui, located along the west side of Canton Road, stretching from the Star Ferry Pier in the south to China Hong Kong City in the north.


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Got a minute?
Got a minute?
The National Employment Law Project (NELP) states that one of the major problems with unemployment insurance is its inability to keep up with changes in the workforce, including growth of part-time jobs, and the number of women who have joined the labor force.
The federal government has the duty to set minimum requirements for states to pay workers unemployment insurance. Currently, states must offer at least 26 weeks of jobless benefits to the eligible unemployed. When state funds run out, the federal government is also responsible for paying extended jobless benefits, which they are doing more often, due to the increase in long-term unemployment. NELP works with each individual state to improve unemployment insurance benefits and to decrease the gap between the labor force and eligibility for benefits.
NELP is advocating for part-time workers to enjoy more unemployment insurance benefits. Many women choose to work part-time in order to fulfill child care or family responsibilities, and the family depends upon their incomes. Should they lose their jobs, they are exempt from unemployment insurance in half of the United States, unless they actively seek full-time work during the period in which they are receiving benefits. If they look for the part-time work that they want and can accept, they are not allowed to receive benefits. This is illogical and puts their families in severe economic distress.
NELP's fact sheet on part-time workers and unemployment insurance lists nine states that offer part-time workers parity. In other words, if you work 20 hours instead of 40 hours per week, you have 50 percent parity. These nine parity states are the most favorable to part-time workers who suffer job loss:
Some other states offer part-time workers unemployment insurance based upon prior part-time work history, or offer much more limited benefits to part-time workers. As stated above, a full half of the states in the union still require full-time availability to receive unemployment benefits. Check the rules of your state here.
The fact that the other half of the nation has loosened the rules to allow unemployment insurance eligibility for part-time workers is a sign that we are getting closer to pay equity for women and part-time workers in the workplace. We still have a very long way to go.
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Years ago, back in the early eighties after reading too much Henry Miller to do a woman any good, I found myself in Paris, squatting in an old and dusty room above the legendary booksellers, Shakespeare & Company. Not the Shakespeare & Co of Sylvia Beach and her salons, but the Revised Edition of Shakespeare & Co., an entirely different store across from the Notre Dame, and under ownership of a goofy old soul, George Whitman.
George was already nearly ancient way back then, at least in the eyes of my youth, but he had the spirit of a prankster and the heart of a gentle clown -- not to mention the temper of a tyrant every now and then. His two-year-old daughter Sylvia played among the books and kept him chasing after her (and kept the gossip whizzing -- when an old goat like that has a child so young, who knows what other tricks he's got up his sleeve?), while a parade of travelers pretty much like myself vied for his attention, tea, and a spare bed among the endless books.
I was one of the lucky ones, parked in the prized room where every famous writer who'd passed through Paris was rumored to have written his or her masterpiece. I felt like Colette locked away by her husband, not to be let out until the day's story was done. An overstuffed day bed and walls full of books and handwritten manuscripts held tight with rubber bands or twine gave the room a magical, almost Victorian air. On a desk before a front window was an old electric typewriter where I would sit, day after day, hammering away the nonsensical rambles of untutored youth. The tourists would line up outside the window, pointing up to me, snapping photos, certain I must be some famous poet.
But like most of the people who passed through the store and received the generosity of George Whitman, I wasn't the least bit famous, just another rambling soul in search of good books, good conversation, and a good heart. And that's what we got at Shakespeare & Co., because for all the famous writers he might have known through his bookstore and his adventurous life (and it was the stuff of adventure), it was those who would never become famous that George gave so much of his time to tending.
He could be gruff and grouchy and when he was in a bad mood, we stayed away, swapping stories, myths and legends. Was he really descended from Walt Whitman? No, that was just a rumor he liked to keep alive. Did he really steal the name of the bookshop from Sylvia Beach? Well, some say she gave it to him, just like that. Did he really sneak off with Gregory Corso's manuscript and wouldn't give it back? Ah, well, that, yes, that one might be true, some say they actually saw it . . .
But then again, some said they actually saw Gregory Corso. It was while I was there that the manager at the time, a dark and suffering soul who wrote mystical poetry about the black, blood darkness of early dawns and unrelenting shorelines, grabbed me by the hand and rushed me out the door.
"Hurry, we have to get out of here, lock the door and let's go!" The skeleton key rattled in the lock as I tried to turn it with my shaking hands, then we ran down the stairs and through some alleys until we were well out of sight and out of breath.
"What's going on?" I asked, panting and laughing and feeling like some endangered heroine in a Polanski movie.
"Gregory Corso is back! He's come for his manuscript!"
"So we have to run away?" Another cross-cultural rule I'd yet to learn, no doubt. There's no making sense of the French sometimes.
"Yes, yes, I have it; right here, under my coat!"
"You have it, let me see!"
"No, I can't show it to anyone, George wants me to get it out of there."
"But it belongs to Gregory Corso, you should give it back to him."
"Of course I should give it back to him, but George wants to keep it. He says that Gregory owes it to him."
"Does he?"
"I don't know, probably not. I just know I'm supposed to get it out of the shop."
I felt like we'd committed a horrible crime, but there was something so terribly exciting about running away from Gregory Corso, even though I didn't have the faintest idea, at the time, of who he was, other than some poet. But I did know that whatever he owed anybody, he had a right to his own manuscript, and being a part of such a caper made me squirm.
Over the course of the next couple of weeks, there were many Gregory Corso sightings. "He was just here, you just missed him." "He just went upstairs -- no don't, he knows you're staying in the room, he'll want the manuscript." "He just came in here and had a terrible fight with George, you just missed it." "He's right there, no there, oh, no, too late, he's gone, he slipped past the Surrealists and he's gone."
I never saw Gregory Corso, and I never saw the mysterious manuscript, which, for all I know, never existed. And for that matter, I was never even certain that Gregory Corso existed. But at George's bookshop, anything could happen, and just knowing that, made every moment swell with possibility and expectation, no matter how otherwise dreary and uneventful it might be. And that was one of the gifts that George Whitman gave the world. Among the books and manuscripts and overstuffed chairs and beds and pots of tea, he created a community of curiosity and expectation, a place where anything might happen, and anyone might become someone at any given moment, just through the turning or the typing of some pages, the twist and turn of just the right word, the perfect image flung across an empty page. Or the perfect conversation shared among readers and writers and thinkers and travelers, hungering story tellers all.
George Whitman died this week, at the age of 98, in that very room I wrote in. And just in the nick of time, it appears, as booksellers throughout the world make way for the mega-sellers, and the communities that formed inside these wondrous shops now scatter to the cyber-corners of the world to chat in virtual time and space, eyes never meeting, hands never touching. With the passing of George Whitman, one of the last of the great booksellers has gone, but the tens of thousands of travelers whose lives he touched live on. Angels and demons, each of us, finding our place in a world gone weird, remembering the "Socialist Utopia disguised as a bookstore," as he called it, the little place of mystery and magic, the bookstore.


text: After reading the flashing lights + siren thread I figured I would post up about this. It seems putting strobes and wig wag kits on your 4x4 rig is becoming a more common thing. I don't know if one could argue any "safety" factor to it, but more than likely it is because people think it looks cool. So what are your guys opinions on this? I think the cost ratio outweighs the "neat/cool" factor that may be had. $200 for a kit to make your turn signals/tail lights flash rapidly isn't worth it in my book. Here is an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5iMOwAoLBC4 Another Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7oytOXdJ_4 This is a whole different direction that will probably bring up other issues not related, but it is interesting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmOMV5Z1Zss


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Apparently they're working on a design for the Sochi GP mascot. They tried making one of those traditional Russian dolls of Bernie, which has a smaller one inside, and a smaller one inside that. They got to the third level but it couldn't be seen by the naked eye, so they scrapped it...


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I'm trying to tweak the FDE's of a few aircraft that tend to be rather difficult to fly (mainly my Posky 767's and A330's). Is the FDE in the aircraft.cfg file or the *.air file, and how can I tweak it?
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Guest Post: Dr. Lacy Hunt On Debt Disequilibrium, Deleveraging, And Depression
Via Lance Roberts of StreetTalkLive,
May 3, 2012?
If you have not read the notes of the first three presentations here are the links to Niall Ferguson on "Civilization", Dr. Woody Brock on "American Gridlock" and David Rosenberg from Gluskin Sheff. The last presentation I will report on from Day 1 of the conference is Dr. Lacy Hunt from Hoisington Research. Dr. Hunt was a previous member of the Federal Reserve board and is the Executive Vice President of Hoisington Investment Management who has run arguably one of the best performing bond funds over the past 25 years. With that I present the notes from Dr. Lacy Hunt.
I want to begin by taking us back to the economic classroom. In any economic model there are two basic conditions - "Equilibrium" and "Transition"
For many years professors have drummed into students that equilibrium is the dominant condition and that transition occurs but it is generally smooth, unimportant and short. The commonest example is that of an airplane. When the airplane is on the tarmac it is at equilibrium. The takeoff and climb to altitude is the transition which is a generally short period relative to the overall trip. Once the plane reaches cruising altitude it is again back at equilibrium.
However, what we have learned is that equilibrium, in relation to economies, is very short. It is the transition periods that are long in nature. Economies consistently move towards equilibrium, achieve it temporarily, then began to transition again.
In the U.S. today, along with the rest of the world, we are currently engaged in "debt disequilibrium".
Currently, we simply have too much debt relative to GDP. This is not just a domestic problem. Excessive indebtedness is a global problem. Furthermore, as we take on consistently more debt, each additional increase in debt is becoming less effective, due to the law of diminishing returns, and eventually will produce a negative return. The reality is that for debt to be effective it must produce a positive return.
In the U.S. today the current debt to GDP ratio is roughly 360%. This is not the first time that debt to GDP has peaked. In 1875 the debt to GDP ratio peaked at 156.4% after the panic of 1873 following the collapse of the railroad boom. After that peak the economy remained in malaise for a very long period of time until the excess leverage was reduced. The process was repeated again in 1916 as debt to GDP hit 170.4%. This in turn led to the 1920-1921 depression where Federal spending was reduced by 50%, deleveraging happened very quickly and the economic cycle began to recover. However, this time the re-leveraging cycle quickly ensued in the roaring 20's which pushed debt to GDP to the next peak in 1933 at 299.8%.
Of course, the following gestation period and debt deleveraging cycle took a very long period of time as the psychological impact of the "Great Depression" changed behavior. It wasn't until 2003, 70 years later, before the debt to GDP ratio breached the 1933 peak at 301.4%. Debt since then has continued to soar rising another 80 points in 2009 to a peak of 382.8%. The debt deleveraging process has only just begun and if history is any guide it will be a very long and arduous process.
As stated previously by Dr. Woody Brock the addition of debt is acceptable as long as it produces a positive rate of return. Unfortunately, the U.S. has engaged in massive increases in the levels of debt but the average standard of living has not risen. The "debt disequilibrium" problem has now reached the point of producing negative impacts on the economy.
This is not just a domestic problem. It is a global problem. The Eurozone is at 450% of debt to GDP - which roughly 100 points higher than the US. The UK is at 470% and Japan is at 500% of debt to GDP.
Furthermore, Japan is the template of the US experience. This is not a popular view and is widely dismissed under various assumptions. However, Japan has done everything that the Keynesian and Freidmanite schools of thought have asked them to do. The results are not good. Yet, the current administration has failed to understand the consequences of those actions and have engaged upon the same path over the last decade.
The current debt problems occurred primarily between the years of 1998 to 2006. The issue that has yet to be realized is that you cannot solve a debt problem after the fact. It has to be resolved before it reaches critical mass.
In the early stages of a rising debt buildup it leads to both rising income and asset prices. It is in these early stages where actions should be taken to limit the debt buildup. However, since the corresponding increases in debt lead to a rise in incomes and asset prices - no one is willing to stop It The problem then becomes the crushing reality of declining prosperity as the negative ramification of excessive debt sets in.
"Debt is a two-edged sword. Used wisely and in moderation, it clearly improves welfare. But when it is used imprudently and in excess, the result can be a disaster." Stephen Cecchetti
Let's take a look at the U.S. versus China
Debt To GDP = 16.3%
Hidden Liabilities as % of GDP = 144%
Total Debt and Hidden Liabilities as % of GDP = 160%
PCE as % of GDP = 30%
Investment as % of GDP = 70%
China's growth target for 2012 = 7.5% - slowest in 22 years
Debt to GDP = 102%
Hidden Liabilities as % of GDP = n/a
Total Debt and Hidden Liabilities as % of GDP = 102%
PCE as % of GDP = 71%
Investment as % of GDP = 16%
China is an unsustainable model. The critical danger is their rapid deceleration in growth. While many people are looking at external factors to influence China's economy the reality is that the system can be disrupted purely by internal factors. It has clearly happened in the past.
4 Archetypes of the Deleveraging Process - McKinsey Global Study of 32 Countries.
There are only 4 major ways for a country to deleverage itself based on the study of 32 countries.
"Belt Tightening" — most common. (50% of countries studied)
"High Inflation" — (25% of countries)
Massive Default
Growing Out of Debt
Types 2-4 were relatively rare and occurred in conditions that are not present today in the mature economies. The record suggests that today's mature economies are most likely to deleverage through a belt tightening process as deflationary forces keep a lid on inflationary pressures even as currency printing increases.
The massive increase in debt in the U.S. economy over recent years is now having deleterious effects on the consumer. The personal savings rate is declining as consumer debt is being made available. In recent quarters we have seen huge increases in debt to fuel consumptive spending due to the stagnation of incomes and rising cost pressures.
What is very interesting to look at is the massive surge in student loan debt that is now becoming another concern. Student loans are increasing but not because there has been a sudden increase in the number of people attending colleges. The student loans have been going to fuel consumption.
If you want to know how weak the economy really is all you need to do is look at the 30-year bond. It is one of the best economic indicators available today. If economic conditions are robust then the yield will be rising and vice versa. What the current low levels of yield on 30 year bond is telling you is that the underlying economy is weak.
"The 30-year yield is not at these low levels DUE to the Federal Reserve; but in SPITE OF the Fed," Hunt said.
The actions of the Federal Reserve have continued to undermine the economy which is reflected by the low yield of the 30 year bond
The "cancerous" side effects of nonproductive debt are being reflected in real disposable incomes. Just over the last two years real disposable incomes slid from 5% in 2010 and -0.5% in 2012 on a 3-month percentage change at an annual rate basis.
This is critically important to understand. While the media remains focused on GDP it is the wrong measure by which to measure the economy. A truly growing economy leads to rises in prosperity. GDP does NOT measure prosperity — it measures spending. It is the measure of real personal incomes that measures prosperity. Prosperity MUST come from rising incomes.
GDP, on the other hand, can be distorted through government spending, which masks the effects of declining prosperity through weaker incomes. GDP does NOT lead to a increase in prosperity.
This brings us to the issues with various debt driven stimulus and liquidity programs. While they may have a short term positive effect they ultimately all have a diminishing rate of return over time. Take a look at the effect of the QE programs on the stock market.
QE1 - stocks increase 36.4%
QE2 - stock rise 24.1%
Operation Twist (Stealth QE 3) - stocks gain 12.9%
While the liquidity interventions by the Fed have increased stock prices — it has also continued to create pressure on the average American by deteriorating prosperity.
The Velocity of Money
The velocity of money is at what speed is money moving through the economic system. The commonest measure is: GDP (nominal) = Money X Velocity
The velocity of money tells you the effectiveness of debt relative to the overall economy. From 1953 to 1980 the velocity of money was stable which was showing that the loans being made by banks to individuals and businesses were being put to productive uses. Today, as debt is taken on, it is no longer the case as additional bank lending produces little return. In other words there is relatively little return for each dollar lent.
The increases in debt without a productive return will ultimately lead to a larger proportion of government debt in the economy, versus private debt, with no relative increase in GDP. To put this into perspective - without changes to the current system government spending will reach 40% of GDP by 2050. This will not happen as the system will collapse long before then.
While we should be in the process of working off debt and deleveraging the system — in actuality we are doing the opposite and in 2013 we will be at 110% of debt to GDP.
To put this into an investment perspective let's take a look at "20 Year Periods With A Negative Risk Premium" A negative risk premium is when there is a negative return between the total return of stocks versus the total return of bonds. This will not be the first time this has happened.
1874-1894 = S4.4% in stocks vs. 5.4% in bonds = -1% equity risk premium
1928-1948 = 3.1% vs. 3.9% = -0.8% equity risk premium
1991-2011 = 7.8% vs. 8% = -0.2% equity risk premium
The bad news is that with the massive total increases in debt combined with the current policies being implemented under the current administration it is very likely that could extend the current 20 year cycle much longer. This has profound investment ramifications for individuals going forward.
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Hidden Liabilities as % of GDP = n/a
Well it's over a quadrillion...
"In the economics of development, there is an iron-clad rule that "income is all".
a low-wage economy is an underdeveloped economy because it keeps aggregate consumer demand below its optimum level,
causing overcapacity in the economy that needs to be absorbed by export.
Workers income is the key factor in generating national wealth in a country.
Export through low-wage production is merely shipping under-priced national wealth outside the national border without adequate compensation by under-pricing labor within the nation
This "income is all" rule has been mostly obscured in recent decades during which globalized foreign trade promoted by neoliberals has pre-empted domestic development as the engine of economic growth in all market economies around the world.
low local wages retard domestic economic development by reducing aggregate purchasing power in the domestic market to cause overcapacity that rely on export.
This epic of financial capitalism has produced little real wealth
but it has been an effective tool for shifting existing wealth from those who produced it to a small group of plutocrats via a state / financial nexus.
The only proposed solutions emanating from the plutocrat / state are for more of the same policies that have destroyed the American economy, polity and culture.
The sad truth is that the economic elite benefit from our declining wages and the looting of our social resources in direct proportion to what we lose.
The economic elite has launched a class war against us and they have indicated every intention of seeing it continue.
As of 2007, the top 1% of households (the upper class) owned 34.6% of all privately held wealth,
and the next 19% (the managerial, professional, and small business stratum) had 50.5%,
which means that just 20% of the people owned a remarkable 85%,
leaving only 15% of the wealth for the bottom 80% (wage and salary workers).
In terms of financial wealth (total net worth minus the value of one's home), the top 1% of households had an even greater share: 42.7%.
whereas early post-war reforms had favoured the productive over the speculative use of capital,
this priority was reversed as the controls that had restricted the international movement of financial capital during the 1950s and 1960s
were gradually loosened and as, in the process, finance and industry were increasingly de-coupled.
It also sparked the transformation of what had, in effect, been a public international monetary order
into what became essentially a private network. Financial re-liberalization had begun.
In general, liberal market economies have deep and liquid stock markets
in which widely dispersed shareholder ownership makes it possible for investors to use the take-over mechanism as a means of profiting from under-valued companies
During the 1960s, the theoretic identification of the stock market as an 'efficient market' for corporate control and the development of Agency Theory combined to legitimize the stock market's role in restructuring industry.
This increasingly focused management's attention on financial markets and the delivery of 'value' to shareholders – diverting their attention from the strategic development of the enterprise itself
Especially in the UK and the US, this resulted in a wave of hostile takeovers –
financed through debt from the increasingly resurgent financial markets –
and requiring asset stripping to repay the leverage.
This 'hollowed out' industry on a massive scale, shifting the focus of business from making 'things' to making 'money'.
In turn, the habituation of consumers to high levels of indebtedness not only fuelled bubbles
it also made consumption increasingly sensitive to changes in monetary policy.
Financialization and its destabilising influence were thus becoming all pervasive.
Market players have by now become seasoned to the "risk on, risk off" ("Roro") dynamic.
The investing world then turned essentially bimodal with the Lehman Brothers collapse.
Assets now behave as either risky assets or safe havens, and their own fundamentals are secondary.
In a world where most asset classes are synchronised, it becomes very difficult to achieve diversification.
It also means that since most individual assets are dominated by a common price component,
it becomes increasingly futile to invest in them based on their usual fundamentals.
The [post-Lehman] uncertainty helped turn investing bimodal, where every price has been contaminated by systemic risk.
Everything became a bet on whether we were closer to a global recovery or to deeper crisis.
this does a respectable job of explaining why markets have evolved into pathological trend-following speculative bubbles
- everywhere - and why hedge funds, exchange-traded funds and other market wagering vehicles proliferate.
And the bigger the bubbles inflate, the greater the systemic fragilities -
and the more confident the speculators become that policymakers have no alternative than to continue delivering the goods.
And, at this point,
the powerful sophisticated players just love that "Roro" holds policymakers securely hostage.
Your swastika scares me, your mind gives me comfort. Very prescient, I'm sure.
Those are the words of Doug Noland, one of the truly brilliant souls who really did (honestly) see it all coming from years back.
a low-wage economy is an underdeveloped economy because it keeps aggregate consumer demand below its optimum level,
But without that and the rest, how can we support the aggregate demand by US citizen middle class?
The elite do the bidding of the US citizen class. Their own elite aggregate demand is amply satisfied.
Confuse-us say you are really out of it. If elite was doing the bidding of US middle class, they would be increasing taxes on themselves and making wild speculation much more regulated to increase productive investments. Also, they would not be sending out jobs and technology to China, India, Mexico, etc. They might even have actual border controls so that there isn't 20 million illegal immigrants bidding down the price of their labor.
Meanwhile, buyers of muni bonds are having a difficult time finding sufficient quantity. Despite dire warnings from Meredith Whitney, demand for munis is outstripping supply:
The purchase of both treasuries and munies continues for one reason - the general populace (I refuse to use that idiot "sheeple") have some kind of faith in the US and our various levels of government. All those panting for economic gloom and doom fail to realize this central point - as long as folks think the dollar is sound and the government is the safest investment, no real changes will come. When it does, the effects will be almost instananeous and profound.
Less talk, more action. Prosecute the fucking fraud already.
Just how does fraud go about prosecuting itself?
Better ask JP Morgan about that.
Oh, that ole "your money, or your life" routine. Gotcha.
We don't even have a growth target.. LOL!!
He lost me with "the debt should be used wisely and moderately" line.
Nope, not how it was designed. But hey, he has a PHD. OOoooooooooooooo.
Got to give him credit though for discussing the disaster that is the negative marginal utility of debt. He even linked it to the student loan bubble funding fuel consumption.
That's pretty brave for a status-quo guy, when they only know they need more debt, or they're toast.
Yeah, it's what he's been taught and what he believes, not him personally, but through flawed education.
If you are taught wrong, you don't know it because there is no reason to check, coupled with the fact there were no
computers, so checking meant a whole lot of leg work and speed reading in the library. It was there, but who has time?
His wealth is in paper, I'm sure. Take as much as you want.
Oops got the wrong guy. Thought he was a different Hunt.
Release Lacy Hunt. Free Him. Great Post Dr. Hunt!
Based on the below we will have a 1% or less rise in stock prices if QE 4 is used to transfer the wealth of US citizens to the banksters. Hopefully they are working on something better than QE4. Like shrinking FED Government and arresting the Fraudsters that are taking down this country.
'QE1 - stocks increase 36.4%
QE2 - stock rise 24.1%
Operation Twist (Stealth QE 3) - stocks gain 12.9%'
You are absolutely wrong on intent (the FED wants to transfer money to banksters, etc) The FED desperately wants markets to rise specifically for the general populace a la the dot come boom so that consumer spending can expode. The 1% (a term that annoys me more than "going green") will do well regardless. They don't need a rise in stocks. The markets rise not only on technical data, news and QEs but also on perception. If you THINK the market is going to rise you will hazard an investment.
For someone who was on the Fed board he seems to have a good grasp of the issues. A rarity, I'd say.
I don't follow his logic on the 30 yr bond, though. In my world, growing prosperity pushes down the cost of long-term debt, as default risk should be diminished. Then again, he's talking about "default-proof" Treasurys, so is the rate pressure he speaks of the competition between government and industry for financing during the good times?
I think Mr. Hunt meant, instead of higher rates, market-priced rates (which to him are the same thing). Whenever we try to buck economic trends (5-7% interest rates) all we do is build up pressure for a new explosion. What's happening is a complete rewriting of economic history. In the past, the FED gave markets wiggle room, allowing rates and money flows to rise and fall naturally, but now central planning has taken over and that necessarily involves trying to manage the tiniest details.
If you want to know how weak the economy really is all you need to do is look at the 30-year bond. It is one of the best economic indicators available today. If economic conditions are robust then the yield will be rising and vice versa. What the current low levels of yield on 30 year bond is telling you is that the underlying economy is weak.
I don't believe that is correct-
Look at 2001-bond yields fell when they opened the credit spigots and gunned the housing bubble which enabled the CDO market to flourish and the economy was rocking and yields fell and have remained low-i sometimes wonder how high or if at all yields would actually spike if the Fed stopped buying-
What the 30 yr bond reacted to was the same thing gold reacted to at the same time-which was credit risk-and (imo) it's what's keeping both the long bond and gold on the same track today-
I'm tired of seeing all this whining about gubmint debt. It is only an issue if you one day intend to pay it all off....which is impossible.
At some point, servicing the debt becomes the issue.
Yes, but no model can grasp the influx and reverberations of current policy. All of the bailouts, FNM, FRD, SLM to be...The hilarity, is it doesn't matter any more. The servicing is just an entry away...into the future we go. Might I suggest, Rome.
Only in a ZIRP-free world. Which I don't think we're going to see anytime before it all blows up anyway.
...and which they never intended to do! Just completing your thought.
The "transition" he should be discussing is this globalization monster that was unleashed. Like if were going to get cheap crap from China, how are we going to pay for it, like maybe becoming energy independant or smart tarriff or tax policy or someone with an idea that isn't just the tax cut extension. No it's all anarchy and we're all stupid and need more education I know.
GDP, on the other hand, can be distorted through government spending, which masks the effects of declining prosperity through weaker incomes. GDP does NOT lead to a increase in prosperity.
This is another way of understanding Biflation: declining incomes (we've been saying) in the face of increasing government spending (which takes many forms). All of which leads to declining "prosperity" (incomes plus net worth) in the face of rising prices (when rising GDP just reflects more inflation and not organic growth)
But it makes for good television before the election.
@Spastica : lol. Biflation is the net result of the abrogation of the supply/demand relationship. When there's an infinite supply of helicopter-delivered dollars intereacting with a world full of finite limits (on resources, time, people etc...). Economic theories have bumped up against reality.
"This is another way of understanding Biflation: declining incomes in the face of increasing government spending...which leads to declining "prosperity" in the face of rising prices"
Bravo!! If there was a better description of our current situation I have yet to read it. Notice that we have stopped talking about "making it big", getting the big car and large house, taking the vacation to Europe. It's the atmostphere of lowered expectations that is so damn depressing. Worse, the attitude comes right from the top - "we can take care of you your whole life and all you have to do is vote for us". This attitude is an extraordinary break with our aspirational past.
Hahaha. Ridiculous. I can buy a used Jaguar sports car that would have cost 70,000 new for 10 grand. hell when people start dying what's gonna happen to all that stuff in their garage? the fact of the matter is i'd rather have the problem of interest rates too low than interest rates too high. at least i know the problem: spending that promotes economic development and growth. since the bulk of government in the USA today merely "redistributes wealth" such that the politician can get the votes to increase his/her wealth dramatically it's really hard to see how this "electioneering model of development" is sustainable. A simple example: the State of Illinois is going to go broke....more than likely sooner rather than later. Does it matter? Not really. Given the massive amount of capital appreciation in the US over the past decade (and that includes the most valuable type of capital namely government capital) the folks will simply move to Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota while their hapless officials "go through the reset." Bankruptcy would probably be the best option...but i'm sure the others presented here would be considered as well (tolls have already doubled thanks to the President's great "infrastructure build out.") There is no substitute for honesty in public policy...let alone accountability (in anything?)...and we have none of that right now. Public schools will have to be closed, public works will have to sold (probably to foreign interests thus giving them all the money), highways and airports will be privatized, prisons shut down, the war machine will grind to a halt...etc, etc. i don't find any of this as part of a "disequilibrium" at all however but simply a simple rationalization of over-promising and over indebting in order to deliver. once interest rates (and not gold in my view which is purely about capital appreciation...all of which has been moving along quite nicely at all levels thank you very much) issue the "coup de grace" by surging higher then the true cost of these "promises" will be seen and born out...and hopefully once recognized can then at least be solved. We're still living in "Age of Delusion" however and i have no hope for those who simply take a formulaic approach to the issues rather than focusing in on the data and trying to include as much "theory" as possible in order to explain it.
its friday - FUCK THIS SHIT.
http://beforeitsnews.com/story/2095/785/We_Are_Preparing_For_Massive_Civ...Department of Homeland Security buying up enough ammo to wage seven-year war against the American people http://www.naturalnews.com/035649_DHS_ammunition_domestic_war.html
I don't know anything about the DHS issue you're writing about.
Interestingly, TopGunSupply.com, a relatively large online purveyor of weapons has curiously run out of most of their stock of AR weapons about two months ago.
All of a sudden, every line of Sig Sauer weapons was completely sold out within about two days and has yet to be replenished. Nearly two months have gone by, and TopGun has not gotten ANY Sig tactical weapons back in stock.
When I called and asked them about the apparent loss of their entire inventory of a product that is likely in increasing demand in the market place.. they gave me the run around and said that they don't have a clue when they will get the next shipment of what are arguably one of their larger product lines back in stock.
Just sayin'
I continue asking this question: Why in the world would our government (composed of friends, neighbots, teachers, union leaders, doctors, etc) spend the time and effot to wage war on the American people? (real war - not the financial war) And why would it take seven years? They could subdue most cities in a few days with tanks, howitzers and planes.
More to the point, does anyone with an atom of sense think a police state results in future prosperity? The 1% would be the first to oppose such nonsense since they realize that if brute force is all that matters, they are high on the agenda.
Is just me, but I don't see anyone except some households de leveraging
It HAS NOT started yet and won't until TSHTF and it too late.
although i do have material objections to parts of the article, i will commend you profusely for this superb observation, "...GDP does NOT measure prosperity — it measures spending..."
and to make the point clearer, people should provide a companion to per capita income - one which removes the top 1% and top 10% income before dividing by the constant denominator......the latter two numbers will be paltry in comparison to the general raw number which covers up the greed and filth of the plutocratic class....
and i can hear the whining asshole bernie marcus mew about how he is busy creating value while everyone else is sitting on their butts looking for a free handout - to which i reply bullshit. someone needs to occupy his penthouse.
Can someone please /Cc. Jamie Coleman @ Forexlive.com this post? That ass hat doesn't get it!
Bruce Krasting gave him a"talking to. The post; http://www.forexlive.com/blog/2012/05/03/can-we-put-the-us-debt-myth-to-...
These are excellent points and go to the core reasons Fed policies have limited true growth and favored corruption in the system leading to the dot com disaster, the mortgage and housing bust and, now, the coming legal robbery of investors through the Jumpstart Our Business Startups or "JOBS" law signed April 5 that lifts the limit of the sale of unregistered securities, Reg D securities, from $5 million to $50 million before requiring SEC registration.
Says Richard Benson of Benson's Economic and Market Trend regarding JOBS: "Having spent 30 years on Wall Street, we know how this story plays out. Indeed, if Goldman Sachs and Citibank creating bad mortgage securities to profit by selling them to suckers is still fresh in your memory you should know how this story ends...
"Those targeted by these investment scammers selling slimy securities will certainly be the older Americans who survived the last two bubbles, but are getting zero interest at the bank. Retirees can't live on zero interest so they are ripe to be sold hope and Ponzi-style investments that pay them interest with their own money until the principal is gone."


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