Saturday, June 18, 2011

What the talking heads don’t tell you about the NBC/WSJ poll internals

Datechguy's Blog » Blog Archive » What the talking heads don’t tell you about the NBC/WSJ poll internals: "One can spin it any way you want but if you look at the internals of this poll the bottom line is Barack Obama is hemorrhaging his popularity and barring some cataclysmic failure on the GOP side or incredible success on his side he is not going to win re-election."

IMF cuts U.S. growth forecast, warns of crisis

IMF cuts U.S. growth forecast, warns of crisis - Yahoo! UK & Ireland Finance
"The International Monetary Fund cut its forecast for U.S. economic growth on Friday and warned Washington and debt-ridden European countries that they are 'playing with fire' unless they take immediate steps to reduce their budget deficits"

Four suspects involved in separate Muskegon shootings, including two fatal, aggressively sought by authorities; Police urge public to help

Four suspects involved in separate Muskegon shootings, including two fatal, aggressively sought by authorities; Police urge public to help MLive.com
"The hunt for the suspects will continue to be aggressive until the men are apprehended, Olson said. Authorities are urging anyone with information about the suspects' whereabouts to come forward."

It's the culture, stupid!

Clarifying the View of Retirement Debt

Clarifying the View of Retirement Debt
"And then there's OPEB.
Barclay's did not include the unfunded liabilities of state and local retiree health coverage obligations (OPEB or 'other post-employment benefits') which are at least double and likely triple the size of the unfunded pension obligations reported by the public funds using conventional actuarial methods.
If you add the OPEB obligations, then 'we have a problem, Houston' as the percentage of revenues required to defease retirement promises this way would then jump to 15 to 20 percent of an average employer's annual tax revenues."

The Door is About to Shut for Americans

The Door is About to Shut for Americans
"Anyone aware of the US Government's real financial situation knows that time is running out.
The Government has $15.5 trillion in admitted debts but those debts, when calculated under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP), or 'honest accounting', is over $70 trillion.
$70 trillion divided by 300 million+ Americans works out to $233,000 per person in US Federal Government debt and obligations.
Or nearly $1 million per family of four.

That does not included personal debt, state debt or municipal debt."

The euro has not brought Europe closer – it has ripped it apart

The euro has not brought Europe closer – it has ripped it apart - Europe, World - The Independent
"The scale of Greece's problem is simply stated: her national debt will approach 160 per cent of GDP on current trends.
Here in the UK we are supposed to be in crisis because that ratio is heading for about 75 per cent.

Unless the Greek economy grows at an astonishing rate, the interest on that debt simply cannot be paid out of any conceivable tax take, while the spending cuts and austerity packages are conspiring to push the economy into depression"

Congressional Gym Price Tag?

Congressional Gym Price Tag? Video - ABC News
"Congressional Gym Price Tag?
Jake Tapper tracks taxpayers' dollars subsidizing exclusive gym."

Democrat: We Need 'Analysis of How Christian Militants … Might Bring Down The Country’

Democrat: We Need 'Analysis of How Christian Militants … Might Bring Down The Country’ CNSnews.com
"At a congressional hearing on Muslim radicalization in U.S. prisons, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) said that investigators needed to analyze Christian militants in America because they too might try to “bring down the country.”"

Assistant AG: ‘I Do Not Know’ Who Authorized Plan to Let Drug Cartels Get Guns

Assistant AG: ‘I Do Not Know’ Who Authorized Plan to Let Drug Cartels Get Guns CNSnews.com: "Ronald Weich, the assistant attorney general for legislative affairs at the Justice Department, told the House Oversight and Government Reform Commitee on Wednesday that he does not know who authorized the Justice Department’s “Operation Fast and Furious” which deliberately let operatives of Mexican drug cartels purchase guns at licensed U.S. firearms dealers and did nothing to intercept the gun purchaser or retrieve the guns even when they were under active surveillance by federal law enforcement officials"

Michigan State Spartans Cheerleaders | AthlonSports

Michigan State Spartans Cheerleaders AthlonSports
"Having shot college football games for over thirty years, we thought it would be a good idea to cull our archives for some of the cheerleaders we've shot over the years. Here are some of our favorites from the 80s, 90s and 2000s."

Bin collections: If only politicians were on the side of ordinary people

Bin collections: If only politicians were on the side of ordinary people Mail Online
"About a year ago, Oxford City Council kindly gave me a slop bucket.
It has sat unused outside our back door.
The idea of scraping old potato peelings and fish bones into this small receptacle, inevitably creating an almighty mess and stink, was a bridge too far.
Now, however, we shall all be forced to use them.
The Tory Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman has decreed that every household in England must press a slop bucket into action."

Friday, June 17, 2011

How Miserable? Index Says the Worst in 28 Years

How Miserable? Index Says the Worst in 28 Years - CNBC
"“Frankly, we have been stunned by the disconnect that we see between these optimistic calls over the past six to nine months and the reality of what is occurring in the global economy,” wrote Boston-based Hans P. Black in the Interinvest Review & Outlook."