Attention continues to focus on north Africa where now Libya is in the throes of rebellion. There is a good chance that Qadaffi may be out of power soon. If so Libya would join its neighbors Egypt and Tunisia in having had populist revolutions. There is also the possibility of turmoil in neighboring countries like Yemen, Algeria and most ominous for oil prices and the fledgling economic recovery, Saudi Arabia.

Speaking of the economic recovery the job numbers crossed two psycological barriers this month as the official unemployment rate, the U3 went below the 9% level to 8.9%. The total, or true unemployment rate is now below 16% clocking in at 15.9. Many say that the improvement of the U3 number is superficial as discouraged workers are not returning to the job market as quickly as many projections would lead one to predict.

The threat of a US government shutdown has been temporally averted but is still likely at some point later on in the year. There is supposed to be a vote to raise the US debt limit as awell as various budget battles that have the potential to trigger a shutdown.

Thus, between the threat of government shutdown, the oncoming oil price rise caused by instability in the middle east and the lackluster performance of what is supposed to be an economic recovery, we remain near the edge of another economic free fall.

Originally Posted by herbal tee

Thus, between the threat of government shutdown, the oncoming oil price rise caused by instability in the middle east and the lackluster performance of what is supposed to be an economic recovery we remain near the edge of another economic free fall.

If this is your reaction to relatively good news, I would hate to hear your response to the next untoward event. Perhaps to cheer things up a bit, here is an excerpt from a Barron's article today:

THE UNDERSTATED 192,000 GAIN in nonfarm payroll employment probably reflects the vagaries of seasonal adjustment.

The actual tally of job change from one month to the next is usually quite different from the headline figures reported. As with virtually all economic data, in order to adjust for "normal seasonal variation" in the monthly figures—and to try to get at the underlying trend—the numbers are seasonally adjusted. This is done according to extremely sophisticated statistical methods. But since there is always drift in seasonal patterns, it's ultimately an art as much as a science.

This time, the art might have gotten too artsy. The BLS reported that, before seasonal adjustment, February's nonfarm payroll gain ran not at 192,000, but 816,000, a figure that rivals not-seasonally-adjusted gains in February 2005 and February 2006—years when increases after seasonal adjustment were much higher than 192,000. In fact, according to the calculations of Wrightson ICAP's chief economist, Louis Crandall, the seasonally adjusted gain last month would have exceeded 300,000 had last year's seasonal factors been used.

I don't know if we have reached the magical "hand off" from the government to the private sector, but we are getting close.

James50

Originally Posted by James50

If this is your reaction to relatively good news, I would hate to hear your response to the next untoward event.

Being an economic bear has saved my neck twice.
The first time was back in 1998-99. At the time I was living and working in Charlotte. I was the warehouse manager for a company that supplied parts for a lot of companies in what we now call the dot.com bubble.
Long story short, as 1998 went on I became more and more uneasy about things. It just seemed like everything was too good to last. My company extended credit to people that I would not have. There were other problems on the horizon too. To use an analogy, I felt about like a farmer with very good crop yields. But my yields were good because my rich soil was volcanic soil-and occasionally I would see little cracks in the earth with telltale smoke rising out of them. So in early 1999, which is as soon as I could, I quit farming on old smokey and took a position with a company down here. I got out of the dot.com game about a year before the bubble popped.

The other time was in 2005 when I saw that the housing bubble was a bubble. See, by 2005 I started longing to move back to a larger city and began a job search. I had a real hot job prospect. It was in Durham, North Carolina . Since moving would entail disposing of my house here in such a way that I could afford to live where ever I went, I did a search of the hosing market in Durham. Talk about sticker shock!
I'm not the McMansion type, all I require is a decent 1200 to 1500 square foot house in a neighborhood that doesn't experience gangland type shoot outs every night. In short, I looked for another starter home to replace that starter home that I would be leaving behind. In 2005 starter homes in the Durham area were over 200k. It was like a light going off. Most people in the market for starter homes can not afford a home price of greater than 200k. I saw that it couldn't last. To make a long story short, if I had taken the job in Durham I was planning to sale my own house while prices were high and just rent in Durham until after the crash hit. In the end I didn't take the job in Durham, because I saw problems with the company in Durham and I stayed here. Nevertheless, the whole experience allowed me to see an 8 trillion dollar bubble that Greenspan and the other so called experts were blindsided by a few years later.

I expect to see more people get blindsided this year especially after gas goes over $4 a gallon.

Originally Posted by James50

I don't know if we have reached the magical "hand off" from the government to the private sector, but we are getting close.

James50

Beyond what I've written above I plan to reserve judgment on that until around labor day or so.

Originally Posted by herbal tee

Speaking of the economic recovery the job numbers crossed two psycological barriers this month as the official unemployment rate, the U3 went below the 9% level to 8.9%. The total, or true unemployment rate is now below 16% clocking in at 15.9. Many say that the improvement of the numbers is superficial as discouraged workers are not returning to the job market as quickly as many projections would lead one to predict.

I could see the discouraged workers as being a factor for the U3 rate, but doesn't the U6 rate (15.9) actually include discouraged workers?

Originally Posted by The Wonkette

I could see the discouraged workers as being a factor for the U3 rate, but doesn't the U6 rate (15.9) actually include discouraged workers?

Of course.
Sorry, I should have clarified that.

The original post has been fixed. :

Post tsunami meltdown possible.

Originally Posted by Yahoo.news

By ERIC TALMADGE and YURI KAGEYAMA


IWAKI, Japan – Cooling systems failed at another nuclear reactor on Japan's devastated coast Sunday, hours after an explosion at a nearby unit made leaking radiation, or even outright meltdown, the central threat to the country following a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami.

The Japanese government said radiation emanating from the plant appeared to have decreased after Saturday's blast, which produced a cloud of white smoke that obscured the complex. But the danger was grave enough that officials pumped seawater into the reactor to avoid disaster and moved 170,000 people from the area.

Japan's nuclear safety agency then reported an emergency at another reactor unit, the third in the complex to have its cooling systems malfunction. To try to release pressure from the overheating reactor, authorities released steam that likely contained small amounts of radiation, the government said.

Japan dealt with the nuclear threat as it struggled to determine the scope of the earthquake, the most powerful in its recorded history, and the tsunami that ravaged its northeast Friday with breathtaking speed and power. The official count of the dead was 763, but the government said the figure could far exceed 1,000.

Teams searched for the missing along hundreds of miles (kilometers) of the Japanese coast, and thousands of hungry survivors huddled in darkened emergency centers that were cut off from rescuers and aid. At least a million households had gone without water since the quake struck. Large areas of the countryside were surrounded by water and unreachable. Some 2.5 million households were without electricity.

Powerful aftershocks continued to rock the country, including one Sunday with a magnitude of 6.2 that originated in the sea, about 111 miles (179 kilometers) east of Tokyo. It swayed buildings in the capital, but there were no reports of injuries or damage.

The explosion at the nuclear plant, Fukushima Dai-ichi, 170 miles (274 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo, appeared to be a consequence of steps taken to prevent a meltdown after the quake and tsunami knocked out power to the plant, crippling the system used to cool fuel rods there.

Disasters in Japan, continued revolutionary unrest in north Africa, labor disputes in America.
We certainly do live in interesting times!

Reprinted in full.

Originally Posted by Booman Tribune

Still Raining Stupid

by BooMan
Tue Apr 19th, 2011 at 01:26:19 PM EST
I peeked out the window and it's still raining Stupid out there. Who vetoed a birther bill, who would have signed it, what's Trump really up to, Palin is/is not running for president, unions/the media/the president were mean to some Republican, the GOP isn't serious, the president is down in the polls but fine for reelection, Libya is becoming the clusterfuck I knew it would be, people are still pretending to care about the debt, we're all pretending anything is possible in this political climate...

It makes it hard to write about politics. Maybe I'll write about something else. I wonder what that should be?

Sometimes it helps to have someone else say it.

The president's speech on sunday night May day, 2011.

Flooding in Memphis.

Originally Posted by Yahoo.news

By John Branston John Branston – Sat May 7, 6:40 pm ET

MEMPHIS, Tennessee (Reuters) – Memphis area residents were warned on Saturday that the Mississippi River was gradually starting to "wrap its arms" around the city and rise to record levels as flooding moves south.

"It's a pretty day here, and people get a false sense of security," said Steve Shular, public affairs officer for the Shelby County Office of Preparedness. "The mighty Mississippi is starting to wrap its arms around us here in Memphis."

Nearly 3,000 properties are expected to be threatened. Rising water flooded 25 mobile homes in north Memphis Saturday morning. There were 367 people in shelters in Shelby County Saturday.

"Our community is facing what could be a large-scale disaster," said Shelby County Mayor Mark H. Luttrell, Jr., in a statement.

Water has covered Riverside Drive and is creeping up Beale Street, although below the level of businesses and residences. Most of downtown Memphis is on a bluff, so landmarks like historic Sun Studio, where music legends Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash got their starts, were not seeing flooding. Tour guide Jake Fly said people north and south of the city are "really feeling it."

"We're all hoping this river is going to crest soon, man," said Fly. "Man, it's something to see."

The National Weather Service forecast that the river will crest Wednesday in Memphis at 48 feet, just under the 1937 record. No significant rain is forecast for the next few days in the area. The weather service expects record crests in Mississippi at Vicksburg on May 20 and Natchez on May 22.

No deaths or injuries have been reported in the Memphis flooding, but the spectacle has drawn sightseers -- an activity being discouraged by emergency officials.

A very good friend of mine grew up in Memphis.
And she has roots to the parts of Alabama that saw tornado damage recently.

The nationwide U3 is now back up to 9 %. The U6 for this month is 15.9% which is up from 15.7% last month.

North of the border the partisan balance may be changing. As posted elsewhere on this forum, the Conservatives have won at least 167 seats which ensures them an outright majority. The loyal opposition in the new parlament is led by the New Democratic Party who have won at least 102 seats. The once dominant Liberals are reduced to third party status. There may be a merger of the Canadian true left. It may well be that the old Canadian Liberal Party will not survive this 4T. Canada be 4T.

It's not over yet.

Originally Posted by NHK World

No.1 reactor is in a "meltdown" state

Tokyo Electric Power Company says the No.1 reactor at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant is believed to be in a state of "meltdown".

The utility company said on Thursday that most of the fuel rods are likely to have melted and fallen to the bottom of the reactor. Earlier in the day, it found that the coolant water in the reactor is at a level which would completely expose nuclear fuel rods if they were in their normal position.

The company believes the melted fuel has cooled down, judging from the reactor's surface temperature.

But it suspects the meltdown created a hole or holes in the bottom of the reactor causing water to leak into the containment vessel.

It also suspects the water is leaking into the reactor building.

Will there be a Chernobyl like dead zone in Japan soon ?

On yeah, and Osama bin Laudin is reportedly still dead.
Team USA head coach Barrak Obama is enjoying a winning streak because of this.
If we were a parliamentary system he'd likely dissolve Congress and call for an election right about now.
Much like Thacher did in the UK after putting down Argentina that menace to world civiliz....naah, just a menace to British Antarctic interests in the Falkland Islands War of 1982.

I track what our Congresscritters are doing. This week's score:

1) Drill, baby, drill! Two bills, one for the gulf and one for the Outer Continental Shelf (3-9 nautical miles from the shore on out to 200 nautical miles. Question - where are the fish the fishing industries are trying to supply us with located?) --- Passed, our one GOP representative for, our two Democrats against.

2) We can haz safety regs plz? Defeated, same breakdown - our Democrats Yes, our Republican No.

3) Ban on oil exports - duh? I thought the entire point of drilling at home was so we weren't dependent on foreign countries' oil? Defeated. Same lineup as safety regs.

4) The Intelligence budget, passed overwhelmingly. Lotsa goodies for the spooks, but hey, they earned it, is the sentiment, I think. All 3 in favor. For what it's worth.

Note: It's really handy having our state's representatives split by party - you can pretty well track what bills passed or were defeated along party lines.

The rising price of gas has taken its toll on the economy as the U3 is now at 9.1%, up from an even 9% last month.
However the U6 managed to dip slightly to 15.8%, as opposed to last month's 15.9.
The economy only added 54k new jobs last month. It needs to add about 125k just to keep the unemployment rate stable.
However, as gas prices are now falling it is likely that the economy will stabilize a bit at least short term.

Fighting in Libya continues as well as in Iraq and Afghanistan. And President Obama continues to enjoy a bit of an uptick in his approval rating. However, this may stem more from the fact that the Republicans have backed the Ryan plan to destroy Medicare for everyone below the age of 55 and most Democrats have yet to jump on that familiar bandwagon that leads to trying to out Galt the Randian party.

Everything looks like it is up in the air relative to next year's election.
Stay tuned.

Meltdown or ont this may or may not be a big scandal soon.

Originally Posted by The Nation

A shocking report prepared by Russia’s Federal Atomic Energy Agency (FAAE) on information provided to them by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) states that the Obama regime has ordered a “total and complete” news blackout relating to any information regarding the near catastrophic meltdown of the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant located in Nebraska.

According to this report, the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Plant suffered a “catastrophic loss of cooling” to one of its idle spent fuel rod pools on 7 June after this plant was deluged with water caused by the historic flooding of the Missouri River which resulted in a fire causing the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) to issue a “no-fly ban” over the area.

Russian atomic scientists in this FAAE report, however, say that this OPPD statement is an “outright falsehood” as all nuclear plants in the world operate under the guidelines of the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES) which clearly states the “events” occurring at the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant do, indeed, put it in the “Level 4” emergency category of an “accident with local consequences” thus making this one of the worst nuclear accidents in US history.
Though this report confirms independent readings in the United States of “negligible release of nuclear gasses” related to this accident it warns that by the Obama regimes censoring of this event for “political purposes” it risks a “serious blowback” from the American public should they gain knowledge of this being hidden from them.

And everybody knows that we have the best news media that money can buy.

Originally Posted by herbal tee

Meltdown or ont this may or may not be a big scandal soon.

And everybody knows that we have the best news media that money can buy.

Obama regime has ordered a “total and complete” news blackout

This is utterly ridiculous. Obama can't order the press to do anything.

James50

Originally Posted by James50

This is utterly ridiculous. Obama can't order the press to do anything.

James50

A direct order, no. But they have a tool almost as effective.

Access.
It's called access.
The same dynamic that was at work when the Bush II era 'vulcans' manipulated news cycles to justify the invasion of Iraq.

It is very likely that double dip, or is it a triple dip at this point, is upon us. The U6 is now back up to 9.2% and the U6 is now at 16.2%

Give me that austerity religion
give me that austerity religon
give me that austerity religion
It's good enough with beans.

And the countdown to fiscal meltdown aka the debt ceiling getting breached is less than a month away.


How's that wonderful hand off to the private sector going fer ya?

In other wonderful labor related news both the NFL and the NBA continue their player lockouts as this microcosm of the larger continuing redistribution of all wealth from labor to ownership continues.
Overseas the so called Socialist government Greece has agreed to a debt package the screws the common people but accomplishes the all important task of bailing out the big euro banks.

The meltdown in Japan continues even though it's not in the news and the for, or is it five, or is it six, military actions in the middle east continue.

Good times for all.

Ya'll have a good summer.

There has been a large aftershock in the part of Japan that has the melted down nuclear reactors. The shaking, which registered at 7.1 on the Richter scale, was felt as far away as Tokyo.


There is a new nation in the world today, South Sudan.
It is a nation that is slightly smaller than Texas but larger than France land has a population of somewhere between 8 and 12 million, many there suspect that the Sudanese government deflated the numbers as much as they thought that they could get away with, and it may grow a bit as one region still officially in the Sudan, Abyei, is supposed to get to vote on succeeding from Sudan to South Sudan.

Here in the US, the Kabuki dance over the possibly unconstitutional debt ceiling is off again due to Republican insistence that any tax hikes passed to cut the deficit be accompanied by other tax cuts of equal size, thus defeating the purpose of the taxes in the first place.
Talk about moving the goal posts.

First, the dismal numbers.

Originally Posted by Bureau of Labor Statistics

U-3 Total unemployed, as a percent of the civilian labor force (official unemployment rate)
9.1



U-6 Total unemployed, plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force, plus total employed part time for economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all persons marginally attached to the labor force
16.2

The president plans to make a speech in a few days announcing a jobs package that the house will promptly refuse to pass.

Speaking of the US House, several members of which who "serve" districts hit by hurricane Irene say that they will refuse federal money for their districts.

Libya is no longer under the control of the Ghadaffi family but the rebels do not have complete control of the country at this point.

In the EU the austerity experiment continues and the contraction of the economy in the euro zone also continues.


And Osama bin Ladin is still dead.

First, the numbers. The U3 remained at 9.1% for the 3 rd straight month/ The U6 rose three tenths of a point to 16.5%. The economy is clearly rolling it way to full employment.... in 2035.


In what most Americans will see as an unwanted blast from the past the Eric Holder's Federal DA's in California are once again making noises about using Federal muscle--not against corrupt banks, not against politicans on the but against that all important scource of all of California's problems-- medical marijuna.

Originally Posted by KGO-TV/abclocal

Federal officials are warning California medical marijuana dispensaries they must shut down within 45 days or face criminal prosecution and having their property confiscated.



The state's four U.S. attorneys sent letters Wednesday and Thursday notifying at least 16 pot shops or their landlords that they are violating federal drug laws, even though medical marijuana is legal in California. The attorneys are to announce their coordinated crackdown at a Friday news conference.

The move marks an escalation of the conflict between the government and the medical marijuana industry.

I guess that the Tenth Amendment only applies when a state wants a waver from regulating a toxic industry or adhering to a higher standard for education ect.

And in Alabama, a state which has never been known for its gentility the war against brown people has been one upped with a new law that essentially make it illegal to have clean water if one can not document their American citizenship.

Originally Posted by al.com

The Montgomery Water Works and Sanitary Sewer Board began enforcing a section of the new law on Sept. 1 by requiring new ap*plicants for service to first prove they are legally in the United States, according to the filing. The water board suspended the policy after being notified that Black*burn had temporarily sus*pended implementation of the state law.

Allgood Water Works also posted a sign on its office that "to be compliant with new laws concerning immi*gration, you must have an Alabama driver's license or an Alabama picture ID card on file at this office before Sept. 29 or you may lose water service."

In Britain the Cameron minsitry remians wedded ti the idea that the British economy, with the exception of the banking sector , can be bled back to health.


Finally in the US there is a new populist movement that I've become personally involved with. We have a thread that you may have already looked at on this.

PS: Sorry if I wasn't snarky enough in this post.

Originally Posted by herbal tee

And in Alabama, a state which has never been known for its gentility the war against brown people has been one upped with a new law that essentially make it illegal to have clean water if one can not document their American citizenship.

I wonder what the Alabama state department of health thinks about this provision, given that many waterborne diseases such as cholera, dystentry, and typhoid fever are highly contagious.

It appears thata climax th military art of the Libyan 4T may have occured. In the last month long time dictator Quadaffi has bee killed and th very last towns within Libya that were loyal to him have been taken by the opposition.

Neigboring Tunisia has held the first election since its revolution and an Ilamic party that promises to be "moderate" has won the election. How moderate Islamic moderation is remains to be seen.

The monthly job figures for the US are here. Briefly the offical is at U3 is at an even 9% now and the "true number" U6 is down to 16.2%. These numbers are a bit better than the had been but it may be temporary. I don't have a link here but from what I understand many American are now taking on debt again to maintain their lifestyle.
And tis likely means that barring stimulus such as either lower fule prices or government action suc as creating relief type jobs th current level of spending will not be maintainable. The long contraction continues.

The NBA lock out is threatening the regulat major league basketball season. Some cites have hockey for a diversion but with the NFL season now roughly half over we may well see a winter of the very discontented if thingsocntinue as they are past the new year.

No jobs or homes for US vets.

Originally Posted by RT Question More

America’s veterans are returning home from wars to staggering unemployment and homelessness rates. RT reports on what life post-war is like for thousands of US servicemen.

*Their job is to defend their country’s interests, but once that job wraps up, their country has no interest in them any longer. Tens of thousands of American war veterans are simply being discarded.

“They are coming home to a disproportionate rate of homelessness, of foreclosures and evictions. In 2010 a whopping 75,000 Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in the United States were homeless; were sleeping on the streets,” said Iraq war veteran Michael Prysner to RT.


War veterans include 55-year-old Joe Mangione. After 16 years of military duty, he is homeless on the streets of New York with health problems he can’t afford to take care of and no job.

“Just to sit here like this, it’s not easy. It’s degrading! It’s just demoralizing. I had no resources. I can’t collect unemployment because I was hurt and was working cash. And that unemployment runs out anyhow,” said the veteran.


Mangionesays all the US military machine cares about is money, while the people who risked life and limb are disposed of once they’ve served the purposes of politicians.


“It’s a bunch of deceptions. It’s about numbers. As long as they keep the numbers up, the recruiter gets his money; he gets his promotions; his bonuses. They care for themselves. They don’t care about us. They care about their own bank notes,” said Mangione.

The US is winding down its operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, but the damage to the people who fought in those wars remains.


“We have a VA system that is unable to provide us with the services that we need, the services that we are entitled to as a result of us signing a contract and putting our lives on the line for our country,” said war veteran Eli Wright.


Unemployment rates among war veterans are staggering.


“They are coming home to an unemployment rate of about 30 percent for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. This is triple the national average,” said Michael Prysner.


Joining the military used to be considered a great career step that led to a life of honor; these days this couldn’t be further from the truth.


“Joining the U.S. military is probably one of the stupidest retirement or career moves you can make as a human being,” said Ted Rall.


The editorial columnist and author believes military service is one of the biggest hoaxes in American history.


“They’re defending the borders, they’re expanding the empire – we owe them. They’ve lost their minds, and they lost limbs, they’ve lost their time and they took risks, they deserve it. Somehow, generation after generation, America keeps screwing its vets,” said Rall.


There are said to be 18 suicide attempts a day among veterans in America, hundreds each month – handling the realities of being forgotten at home is tough.

Be all that you can be.

Originally Posted by herbal tee

No jobs or homes for US vets.



Be all that you can be.

It is shameful and I don't think it will be allowed to continue.

I was talking to my late sister's husband yesterday. He is 55 years old and is an manager for an organization that provides retraining and job placement to low income workers. They also help with assistance on putting together resumes, coaching on job interviewing, and even clothes for people to wear on job interviews if necessary. To me this seems like a pretty valuable agency especially in this day and age. He has been at his at his job for close to 20 years now, but now he is terribly worried his office closing down due to budget cuts. He has already had to layoff several employees which he just feels sick about, and he is worried about his own job. Plus has reached the age that a lot employers find undesirable to employ...and he still has ten more years before he is eligible for social security. He also has a son in college now.

So if his agency closes down, not only is there little prospects for him, but also no help for all the other people that it serves.

Is anybody's job secure anymore? My brother Scott, who used to be a psychiatrist until the "bean counters" drove him up the wall, processes L & I (Labor & Industry) claims for the state of New Mexico. Apparently his job has become vulnerable.