The Edge of the Abyss, Part II

About a month ago, I wrote about our Economy being at the edge of an abyss. Was anybody listening?

[excerpt / to read the full article click on LINK, below]

"Even Goldman Sachs Secretly Believes That An Economic Collapse Is Coming

Goldman Sachs is doing it again. Goldman is telling the public that everything is going to be just fine, but meanwhile they are advising their top clients to bet on a huge financial collapse. On August 16th, a 54 page report authored by Goldman strategist Alan Brazil was distributed to institutional clients. The general public was not intended to see this report. Fortunately, some folks over at the Wall Street Journal got their hands on a copy and they have filled us in on some of the details. It turns out that Goldman Sachs secretly believes that an economic collapse is coming, and they have some very interesting ideas about how to make money in the turbulent financial environment that we will soon be entering. In the report, Brazil says that the U.S. debt problem cannot be solved with more debt, that the European sovereign debt crisis is going to get even worse and that there are large numbers of financial institutions in Europe that are on the verge of collapse. If this is what people at the highest levels of the financial world are talking about, perhaps we should all start paying attention.…………….."

Source Credit:

http://www.yolohub.com/featured/even-goldman-sachs-secretly-believes-that-an-economic-collapse-is-coming

General Electric does it again!

you might find the following article from snopes.com interesting: http://www.snopes.com/politics/business/ge.asp

General Electric is planning to move its 115-year-old X-ray division from Waukesha, Wis., to Beijing. In addition to moving the headquarters, the company will invest $2 billion in China and train more than 65 engineers and create six research centers. This is the same GE that made $5.1 billion in the United States last year, but paid no taxes-the same company that employs more people overseas than it does in the United States.
 
So let me get this straight. President Obama appointed GE Chairman Jeff Immelt to head his commission on job creation (job czar). Immelt is supposed to help create jobs.

I guess the President forgot to tell him in which country he was supposed to be creating those jobs.
AND, IT’S 1, 2 , 3…WHAT ARE WE FIGHTING 4?.........

New Math Quiz, 2011-12

Ran across this a few weeks ago. Wish they had made these quizzes more pertinent back in the day!

Michelle Rhee, Eat your heart out, baby!
Schools are finally starting to teach practical math that these kids can use in real-world situations!

TAG____________________
GANG/CREW NAME______________
CRIB_________________

1. Lajames has an AK-47 with a 200-round clip. He usually misses 6 of every 10 shots and he uses 13 rounds per drive- by shootin. How many mofos can Lajames ice on a drive- by before he gotta reload?

2. Leroy has 2 ounces of cocaine. If he sells an 8 ball to Antonio for $320 and 2 grams to Juan for $85 per gram, what be the street value of the rest of his shit?

3. Dwayne pimps 3 ho's. If the price is $85 per trick, how many tricks per day must each ho turn to support Dwayne's $800 per day Crack habit?

4. Raul wants to cut the pound of cocaine he bought for $40,000 to make 20% profit. How many ounce bags will he need to make to gets the 20% upside?

5. Ray-Ray gets $2000 for a stolen BMW, $1500 for stealing a Corvette, and $1000 for a 4 x 4. If he steals 1 BMW, 2 Corvettes and 3 4x4's, how many more Corvettes must he steal to make the 10k for his brother's bail?

6. Pedro got 6 years for murder. He also got $10,000 for the hit. If his common-law wife spends $100 of his hit money per month, how much money will be left when he gets out?

7. If an average can of spray paint covers 22 square feet and the average letter is 3 square feet, how many letters can be sprayed with three 8 oz. Cans of spray paint with 20% paint left over?

8. Tyrone knocked up 4 girls in the gang. There be 20 girls in his gang. What be the percentage of bitches Tyrone knocked up?

9. Lafawnda is a lookout for the gang. Lafawnda also has a Boa Constrictor that eats 5 rats per week and a cost of $5 per rat. If Lafawnda makes $700 a week as a lookout, how many weeks can she feed her snake with one week's income? 

Mo points:
10. Marvin steals Juan's skateboard. As Marvin skates away at 15mph, Juan loads his 357 Magnum piece. If it takes Juan 20 seconds to load his piece, how far away will Marvin be when he gets whacked?

Yo, wazzup wid da points________________

           

The VFW Magazine comes of age.

I think I can say with some certainty that the VFW Magazine has finally come of age. September’s issue is chock full of the type of reporting/articles that reflect accurately just what it is the U.S. Military is involved in (and has been for the past ten years).

The first notable section, “Washingtonwire”, contains an article citing Private sources of grant money to research PTSD & TBI. This is a monumental step in caring for our Veterans by getting the Private sector involved. On the second page of “Washingtonwire” is a disturbing, outrageous story that comes out of Texas. It seems that, once again Texas feels it is above the Constitution of the United States of America, and the VA Cemetery Director has banned the free use of religious prayer at all funerals. Only after review and approval can you quote from your chosen Religion when laying a loved one to rest. I will be interested in seeing how long it is before they change their tune on that one.

The second notable section, having to do with honoring the fallen from 9/11, aptly draws the line between Heroes and Victims. This has been a somewhat controversial subject in recent months. As a Nation, we need to recognize who are “Heroes”; who are “victims”, and who are innocent bystanders caught in the crossfire.

The third notable section all too briefly mentions our Women in Uniform and the vast varieties of roles they play in today’s Military. Old traditions die hard, but this is an area that begs for more exposure.

The fourth notable section is reasonably self-explanatory. The lineage of conflict listed here points directly to the fact that nobody wins in this God forsaken part of the World, ever!  As a Viet Nam Veteran, I know the consequences of engaging in Military actions such as this. Any definition of “Nation Building” must include the word “Colonialism” in it. I realize that we don’t necessarily see it that way, but the rest of the World does. Wouldn’t our Country be better off if our young were not constantly put in harm’s way to the point of being placed in an early grave? Wouldn’t we be better off if our young Soldiers could assimilate back into Society with all their body parts still attached, without the horror of PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and TBI (traumatic brain injury)? This list goes on and on, unfortunately.

There certainly are wars and armed conflicts that need to be fought. With our National History being relatively gregarious, our Government should  by now know exactly when and where to take up arms in defense of Liberty and Justice.

Source credits:
VFW Magazine, September, 2011, vol. 99, no.1
http://digitaledition.qwinc.com/publication/?i=77175 
pages 10-11   « Washingtonwire » section
pages 12-14   Honoring Heroes & Victims, there is a difference
page   41        Female Engagement Teams, it’s about time
pages 44-45   Short History of Fighting in Afghanistan

The 95% Solution

Our Government does work in mysterious ways. Just coming to light is a little news report from CNN that a there is a company in Pakistan that manufactures Ammonium-Nitrate ( remember Oklahoma City). The company, Pakarab Fertilizers has an international sales and distribution company, International Petro-chemicals, selling its product. International Petro-chemicals is already a publicly traded stock in Asia. They have hired lobbyists here in the U.S. to have their stock listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

This might not normally get your attention, but three things jump off the page, with a very little research. First, their major supplier on raw material is Iran. Secondly, it is a known fact that this fertilizer is illegally being shipped to Afghanistan, where is has been a banned substance for more than six years. Thirdly, it is a know and documented fact that 95% of all I.E.D.’s in Afghanistan are concocted using Ammonium-Nitrate. The U.S. Dept. of Defense has been aware of this third fact for over ten years.

Shortly, I suppose, you will be able to buy stock in a foreign company whose primary customer is the Taliban, across the border, who use this substance to kill American Service Men and Women.

You have got to be kidding me!

NightWatch 20110831 - KGS - on Pakistan Ammonium Nitrate production:

Pakistan-Afghanistan: Update. US officials told the media today that the main ingredient in most of the homemade bombs that have killed hundreds of American troops in Afghanistan is fertilizer produced by a single company in Pakistan, where the US has been pushing unsuccessfully for greater regulation. Enough calcium ammonium nitrate fertilizer for at least 140,000 bombs was legally produced last year by Pakistan's Pakarab Fertilizers Ltd., and then smuggled by militants and their suppliers across the porous border into southern and eastern Afghanistan, according to US officials.

Comment: Today's official statement understates the problem. There are two large Pakistani fertilizer factories that produce ammonium nitrate fertilizer and multiple distributors. According to one US official assessment, 95% of all ammonium nitrate fertilizer imported into Afghanistan is used for bomb making.

Only drug farmers use ammonium nitrate as fertilizer because of its price. Other Afghan farmers generally favor urea-based fertilizers and natural fertilizers because they are much less expensive. Only the Taliban and drug syndicates can afford to pay to...Read More on Minstrel Boy... [control/click to follow link]

source credits:

1]  http://www.blogowogo.com/blog_article.php?aid=3633025

2]  http://minstrelboy.blogspot.com/2011/09/nightwatch-           20110831-kgs-on-pakistan.html

3]  google search / ammonium-nitrate, Pakistan

4]  LA Times

5]  CNN, cable news