Top 9 Skyscrapers Under Construction

From: http://www.businessinsider.com/tallest-skyscrapers-under-construction-2013-4

9. Busan Lotte Town Tower - 1675 ft
8. Pentominium, Dubai - 1693 ft
7. Dalian Greenland Center - 1699 ft
6. CTF Tianjin Tower - 1739 ft
5. One Trade Center NYC - 1776 ft
4. Goldin Finance 117 - 1959 ft
3. Shanghai Tower - 2074 ft
2. Ping An IFC, Shenzhen - 2126 ft
1.  India Tower, Mumbai - 2362 ft.

Ok, first you need to remove India Tower and Pentominium because they will never be built.

And then you missed a few:
Wuhan Greenland Center - 2087 ft
Lotte World Tower, Seoul - 555m (1821 ft).
CTF Guangzhou - 530m (1739 ft)
Zhongguo (China) Zun Beijing - 528m (1732 ft)
KFL Centre Shenzhen - 518m (1699 ft) (cancelled)

I hate these reverse lists.  So the real list is as follows:

1. Ping An IFC, Shenzhen - 2126 ft
2. Wuhan Greenland Center - 2087 ft
3. Shanghai Tower - 2074 ft
4. Goldin Finance 117, Tianjin - 1959 ft
5. Lotte World Tower, Seoul - 555m (1821 ft).
6. One Trade Center NYC - 1776 ft
7. CTF Tianjin Tower - 1739 ft
8. CTF Guangzhou - 530m (1739 ft)
9. Zhongguo (China) Zun Beijing - 528m (1732 ft)
10. Dalian Greenland Center - 1699 ft
11. KFL Centre Shenzhen - 518m (1699 ft)
12. Busan Lotte Town Tower - 1675 ft

They are all in China or South Korea except for 1 WTC.


See also: Top 20 Skyscrapers in 2016
25 Tallest Skyscrapers Under Construction

The One Trade Center will be the 3rd tallest building on Earth upon completion, then will probably be the 7th tallest in 2016, and the 10th in 2020.

The world's largest hedge fund and biggest tax avoider

Source:  http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2012-09-30/presenting-worlds-biggest-hedge-fund-you-have-never-heard

Its called Braeburn Capital and is located in Reno, NV.  It manages the $100 billion+ "sovereign wealth fund" of the Republic of Apple.  When you buy Apple stock you are really buying shares in this hedge fund.  Most of its actual cash is in bank accounts in Ireland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and the British Virgin Islands.  It won't send the cash back to the US because it would have to pay capital gains taxes of 20% on it. Apple - the biggest tax "avoider" in the world.

Apple's latest strategy is to issue bonds to raise cash domestically to pay dividends and buy back stock.  Can the interest on the bonds be paid from the off-shore accounts?

See also: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/29/business/apples-tax-strategy-aims-at-low-tax-states-and-nations.html

Margin Credit and Stock Prices

Source: http://www.calibratedconfidence.com/2013/03/charts-at-glance.html

When the blue line rises above the red line, is that a sign of a crash?  Where is the more recent data?

The source appears to be  http://www.nyxdata.com/nysedata/asp/factbook/viewer_edition.asp?mode=table&key=3153&category=8

Here is the data for the last 3 months:
Jan 2013  $364,107 (bn)
Feb 2013 $366,139
Mar 2013 $379,522

I don't know what the numbers mean, but if they drop, that's a problem.  This will happen after the stock prices drop so its not a leading indicator.  Anyways it shows that the stock market is built on a foundation of sand.



Source: http://www.advisorperspectives.com/dshort/updates/NYSE-Margin-Debt-and-the-SPX.php

Warning sign?

=======================================================

Source: http://pragcap.com/nyse-margin-debt-approaches-all-time-high

Another chart.

Signs of Deflation

These are indexes that show that deflation is occurring:

1.  Technology in general. Moore's law states that computing power doubles every two years.  It is not directly about price, but prices per gigabyte or other measure decrease every year.

2.  Gold prices, as shown by the massive dropoff on April 12-15, even though prices have recovered a little since then.  The price of gold was almost $1800/ounce just 6 months ago.

3.  Military spending. It was over $700 billion 2 years ago, but may be $620 billion in 2013, and it will continue to drop until 2016.

4.  Overall government spending.  It was $3599 bn in 2011, and 3538 bn in 2012, although it is expected to be 3685 in 2013.

5.  M2 less monetary base.  I recently posted a chart about this.

6.  Import prices.  (On Fred - Import: All Commodities (IR)).

7. Crude oil prices.  They were over $110, but now are under $100/barrel.  Oil production in North Dakota and Texas is booming, but the demand isn't there.

Why are real estate prices and the stock market still rising?  Because of QE4 or whatever this is.  The money has to go somewhere. As soon as the Fed stops the flow, the stock market will crash.

Deflation makes debts more expensive to repay.  Once deflation sets in, it spreads.    I think deflation is a good thing.  It is like losing weight.  Every so often the economy has to go on a diet.

M2 less Monetary Base

If the Fed ended quantitative easing now, M2 would be dropping.

GDP rises even when the federal deficit falls

Source: http://www.aei-ideas.org/2013/04/the-austerity-chart-paul-krugman-doesnt-want-you-to-see/

So much for the argument that "now is not the time for austerity".

National Debt shrinking

The debt owed by the public as of 4/25/2013 is $11,882 billion.  As of 3/25/2013 it was $11,895 billion.  So it is less than it was 1 month ago.  The IRS must have had a very good tax season.

A shrinking debt hasn't happened for a very long time and I don't expect it to ever happen again so I am making a note of it.  Is this part of the deflationary trend including gold?

Also:  "The U.S. Treasury forecasts that it will pay down $35 billion of debt in the second quarter of 2013."
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/us-treasury-to-pay-down-debt-2013-4

So the $12 trillion dollar mark of debt held by the public and the $17 trillion dollar amount of total national debt may not occur until July.

Gold and Monetary Base

Source:  http://azizonomics.com/2013/04/29/on-the-relationship-between-the-size-of-the-monetary-base-and-the-price-of-gold/

There was a correlation but it has broken down.

Medicare Unfunded Liabilities

Many moons ago, I wrote an article (called "Obamacare saves $30 trillion") that has an error in it that I just noticed.  It has to do with Medicare Unfunded Liabilities.  I have 2 different numbers for January 1, 2009.  I can't find which number is correct, thus this article.

====================================================================
So to start with, I will go to the source - the Medicare Trustees Report, and I will start with 2008.  So what was the Medicare Unfunded Liability as of January 1, 2008 for Hospital Insurance only, for both a 75 year time frame and infinite time frame?

2008 75-year unfunded:
"The present value of future expenditures less future tax income, decreased by the amount of HI trust fund assets on hand at the beginning of the projection, amounts to $12.4 trillion. This value is referred to as the 75-year “unfunded obligation” for the HI trust fund and is 7 percent larger than last year’s value of $11.6 trillion."

2008 infinite unfunded:
"over the infinite horizon, the HI unfunded obligations are projected to be $34.4 trillion."
======================================================================
What about 2009?  Look at the 2009 Medicare Trustees Report.

2009 75-year unfunded:
"The present value of future expenditures less future tax income, decreased by the amount of HI trust fund assets on hand at the beginning of the projection, amounts to $13.4 trillion. This value is referred to as the 75-year “unfunded obligation” for the HI trust fund and is 8 percent larger than last year’s value of $12.4 trillion.

2009 infinite unfunded:
"over the infinite horizon, the HI unfunded obligations are projected to be $36.4 trillion."
======================================================================
Now look at 2010, using the 2010 Medicare Trustees Report.

2010 75-year unfunded:
"The present value of future expenditures less future tax income, decreased by the amount of HI trust fund assets on hand at the beginning of the projection, amounts to $2.4 trillion. This value is referred to as the 75-year “unfunded obligation” for the HI trust fund and is substantially lower than last year’s value of $13.4 trillion."  The difference is because of "the provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act".

2010 infinite unfunded:
"Over the infinite horizon, the HI program is thus projected to have a surplus of $0.6 trillion."

So these are the correct numbers.  Obamacare supposedly saved $37 trillion in Medicare costs over the infinite horizon.
=====================================================================
For the sake of completeness, these are the 2012 numbers.  The 2013 will be out shortly as well.

2012 75-year unfunded:
The present value of future expenditures less future tax income, decreased by the amount of HI trust fund assets on hand at the beginning of the projection, amounts to $5.3 trillion. This value is referred to as the 75-year “unfunded obligation” for the HI trust fund, and it is significantly higher than last year’s value of $3.0 trillion.

2012 infinite unfunded:
"Over the infinite horizon, the HI program thus has a projected deficit of $4.8 trillion."

Bad Debts

Source: http://thebornagaindebtor.blogspot.com/2013/04/commercial-banks-delinquency-and-charge.html

Gold Angles

 

Source: http://armstrongeconomics.com/2013/04/25/the-gold-rally/

Angles

Source:   http://armstrongeconomics.com/2013/04/27/dow-the-future/

Gold and Interest Rates

Are changes in interest rates a leading indicator for the price of gold?

Interest Rates

SP and Revenue

They all seem to converge.

S and P

Gold

It will keep falling.

Deficit Spending

Disaster waiting to happen?

I think so, by 2015 or 2016.

Growth in M4

I previously defined "M4" for my own purposes as M2 + the public debt - treasuries held by the Fed.  I think this is probably the best measure of the broad money supply, and it is growing at about 10% per year.

Growth comes from: 1) private banks making loans, 2) the Fed monetizing MBS, and 3) the Treasury issuing debt.

Growth in Public Debt vs Change in Gold Price

This compares growth in the Debt Held by the Public to growth in the price of gold.  Although it isn't a perfect correlation, I assert that deficit spending causes inflation, which influences the gold price.  Reductions in the rate of growth of the public debt cause a decrease in the growth of the gold price.

That would partially explain the decrease in the price of gold.

TCMDO change

I was going to quit posting but I started thinking about this.  Let me explain what is happening in the graph.

First, assume that TCMDO = wealth.  So debt owed by person A is an asset of person B.  If this is true, then you want the TCMDO level to increase year after year.  This is the Green line, and it shows debt increasing about 10% every single year, even during recessions, dating back to about 1955.  That is until the Great Recession, when it actually fell below zero.  It is now growing at about 3%, which is still not enough to account for interest and inflation.

The Blue line is the private sector, and it is hovering barely above zero.  You would expect this to grow at least 5% just to account for interest, so there is ongoing debt destruction and writeoffs going on.

The Red line is the government debt, and it is growing about 10%/year, but on a downward slope.

I expect the Green line to be about 3% for as far as the eye can see.

Two Decades of Stagnation

I started this blog to warn of a financial collapse of the US and how to prepare for it.  I now don't believe that will happen.  Instead, I think we are facing two decades of stagnation and malaise.   See this chart:


Source: http://www.planbeconomics.com/2013/04/could-interest-rates-stay-low-until-2027.html

We are caught in a trap.  Our whole system is based on ever-increasing amounts of debt.  There is now over  $80 trillion of debt in the system.  This number must increase every year or we will fall into a depression.  The reason why interest rates are being kept at extremely low rates is to allow this debt to be serviced.  If interest rates were at a higher, more natural level, then it would be obvious that most of this debt couldn't be paid back.  So the trap is that we can't allow a default, but we can't grow too fast.

Why two decades?  Well the Social Security Trust Fund will go broke by 2033, so something must happen by then, but probably not until then.  The result is, like I said, stagnation and malaise. Zombiefication.   I really have no interest in watching paint dry.   So this is probably my last post on this site.

I will continue to monitor things and post if something really unusual happens.  This would either be signs of a systemic collapse, as opposed to a recession (the next one will come by about 2016), or signs of hyperinflation, (which I will define as sustained increase in the money supply of 2+%/month).  I think my definition of M4 is useful, but it's quite easy to calculate, and so I won't keep doing it, unless I notice a significant change in it.

I don't believe the financial projections published by the OMB or CBO.  But I am amazed by the transparency of the US Treasury.  It is awesome that they can publish the US debt to the penny on a real-time basis.  Our national debt will never be repaid.  But so long as people have faith in the US government and use the debt as a form of money, this is not a problem in the short-run.

So I guess I am saying goodbye here, with a whimper, not a bang.  There are lots of other financial blogs out there, so check them out.  I am going to leave this blog here for archival purposes for a while.

Was a bombing photo staged?

See: http://chartistfriendfrompittsburgh.blogspot.com/2013/04/cabin-fever.html

One photo shows a black woman with ripped jeans.  Another photo doesn't show her but shows a man with a bone sticking out.

I don't know what to say.

See also: NY Daily News Runs Doctored Photo

===============================
Now someone is claiming that Suspect #1, Tamerlan, is still alive and in custody.

Is this the rail price?

http://imgur.com/gallery/JT8DdBl

Open your eyes
Look at the price and see
I'm just a poor boy, I need no rail tyranny ...

420 - the rest of the story

On April 20, 1964, Boulder District Court Judge William Buck declared that Colorado laws banning marijuana use were unconstitutional.  The stunned Colorado Supreme Court overruled Buck and reinstated the law the following year.

Massive explosion near Waco, Texas

A massive explosion and fire rocks the town of West, Texas (near Waco, Texas), almost exactly 20 years after the massacre of the Branch Davidians.  70 people may be dead.

Liebestraum

And here is the Spike Jones version. (Spike Jones was an early version of Weird Al).

Family Guy predicted Boston Marathon tragedy

Fox has pulled from websites a recent episode of "Family Guy" that depicts mass deaths at the Boston Marathon, and has no immediate plans to air it again.  The episode originally aired March 17.  

Read more: http://www.myfoxny.com/story/22000697/fox-pulls-family-guy-episode

You are the woman that I've always dreamed of

Bomb Squad on scene before explosions

Coincidence

"Two huge explosions rocked the Boston Marathon finish line at Copley Square just before 3 p.m. today, killing two and causing scores of casualties, including several traumatic amputations on streets crowded with runners, spectators and post-race partiers."
http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/04/officials_100_plus_injured_2_dead_as_two_huge_blasts_rock_boston

"A third event just after 3 this afternoon at John F. Kennedy library is now being called either a fire or “an incendiary” device and it is too soon to say if it is tied to the explosions at the finish of the Marathon."
http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2013/04/third_explosion_confirmed_at_jfk_library

"Boston Police are now saying a reported explosion at the John F. Kennedy Library is not related to the two explosions at the Boston Marathon finish line."
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2013/04/15/third-explosion-reported-at-jfk-library/

=========================================================
"Investigators have a suspect — a Saudi Arabian national — in the horrific Boston Marathon bombings."
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/authorities_under_suspect_guard_y2m8cJO29uC2PDGIjYBalO

"Reports of a person of interest in custody were premature, and police now say they have no suspects"
http://www.tmz.com/2013/04/15/bombs-at-the-boston-marathon-joey-mcintyre/

=========================================================

Police have not found any other explosives beyond the two that went off.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/roommate_calls_saudi_national_quiet_vKFFJMC0WCaQmAofxNDHmO

At a Tuesday morning press conference, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick said there were no additional undetonated explosives that were found near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. "It's important to clarify that two--and only two--explosive devices were found yesterday," Patrick said. "There are no unexploded bombs." 

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/04/16/Boston-Terror-Update-No-Undetonated-Explosives-Found-3-Dead-176-Injured

 Authorities found and dismantled three other explosive devices.
http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1304/15/pmt.01.html

"There were conflicting reports about how many devices there were. One law enforcement official said there had been four: the two that exploded at the marathon and two others that were disabled by the police."
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/16/us/explosions-reported-at-site-of-boston-marathon.html

"Authorities found at least three other unexploded devices, including one at St. James and Trinity Streets and another in Newton, a town outside of Boston."
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2013/04/boston-bombing-three-dead-over-100-injured.html
================================================
The Boston Globe tweeted that "There will be a controlled explosion opposite the library within one minute as part of bomb squad activities".  http://www.naturalnews.com/images/Boston-Globe-Twitter-April-15-2013.jpg

While there is no confirmation yet on whether the blasts were the result of a terrorist attack, Stevenson said something he saw before the race was unusual.  "At the starting line this morning, they had bomb sniffing dogs and the bomb squad out there," he said. "They kept announcing to runners not to be alarmed, that they were running a training exercise."

http://blog.al.com/live/2013/04/boston_marathon_explosion_univ.html

It’s now becoming clear that members of the Boston bomb squad had advanced notice of the horrific bombing that took place at the marathon today. As an eyewitness reports, once the bombs went off, officials began announcing, “this is just a drill!” This logically means they were all informed of the “bomb drill” beforehand. Otherwise, why would they respond with, “this is just a drill” ?

http://www.globalresearch.ca/official-story-unraveling-for-boston-marathon-bombing-clear-evidence-points-to-bomb-squads-prior-knowledge/5331559

"Radio host Alex Jones declared that the two explosions near the finish line at the end of the Boston Marathon that have resulted in multiple injuries and at least three deaths appear to him to be a “false flag” operation. The accusation suggests that Jones believes the government, or some other powerful entity, is behind the explosions and intends to utilize this event to justify a political agenda."
http://www.mediaite.com/online/alex-jones-declares-boston-a-false-flag-operation-fbi-behind-every-domestic-terror-plot/

================================================

"“We still do not know who did this or why and people shouldn’t jump to conclusions before they have all the facts”.  President Obama

Nothing to see here.  Move along folks.

The April Curse continues

I was going to avoid doing this in hopes that the April curse would be broken.  Since it continues, here is my list.  It only includes events from 1980 on.

April 15, 1980 - Jean-Paul Sarte, existentialist, dies
April 18, 1980 - Zimbabwe comes into being. It was formerly known as Rhodesia
April 20, 1980 - hundreds of Berber activists arrested in Algeria, in a critical point during the Berber Spring
April 22, 1980 - Military coup in Liberia. A number of former officials are publicly executed.
April 23, 1980 - Soviet sub catches fire off Japan, 9 die
April 19, 1981 - Hayden Christensen, actor who plays Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars, is born
April 15, 1983 - Corrie ten Boom, Dutch author and holocaust survivor, dies
April 18, 1983 - U.S. embassy in Lebanon bombed by Islamic terrorists, killing over 60 people
April 15, 1984 - Christopher Thomas shot 10 people (8 children and 2 women) execution style on Palm Sunday in Brooklyn
April 20, 1984 - during the Good Friday Massacre, the Montreal Canadiens and Quebec Nordiques get into a brawl that lasted for a full hour
April 19, 1985 - ATF siege of Aryan compound in Arkansas, ending peacefully
April 5, 1986 - Libyan agents bomb a Berlin disco, killing 4 and injuring 230
April 15, 1986 - US military bombs Libya in response to the Berlin bombing
April 26, 1986 - Chernobyl disaster, worst nuclear disaster in history
April 21, 1987 - terrorist attack by Tamil Tigers in Colombo, Sri Lanka, killing 106
April 23, 1987 - 28 construction workers killed in an apartment collapse in Bridgeport, Ct
April 9, 1989 - Soviet troops fire on protestors in Tbilisi, Georgia, killing 20, leading to Georgia's independence. It is celebrated today as a public holiday.
April 15, 1989 - Hillsborough, UK disaster, killing 96 people in a stampede at a football match. It is the deadliest stadium-related disaster in British history.
April 15, 1989 - Hu Yaobang, Chinese reformer, dies of a heart attack, and 100,000 gather to mourn, leading to the Tiananmen Square protests
April 19, 1989 -  On this day in 1989, a 28-year-old female investment banker is severely beaten and sexually assaulted while jogging in New York City’s Central Park.
April 19, 1989 - gun turret on the USS Iowa explodes, killing 47 sailors, in an act of sabotage
April 15, 1990 - Greta Garbo, American Actress, dies at the age of 84
April 4, 1991 - Sen. John Heinz dies when his plane collided with a helicopter over Merion, PA. His widow, Teresa Heinz, later marries John Kerry, 2004 presidential candidate.
April 5, 1991 - Sen. John Tower was killed in an suspicious airplane crash near Brunswick, Georgia
April 10, 1992 - IRA bombs the Baltic Exchange building in London, killing 3 and causing £800 million in damages
April 21, 1992 - California resumes executions after a 25 year hiatus, gassing Robert Alton Harris
April 22, 1992 - Guadalajara, Mexico explosion in sewer system kills over 200
April 29, 1992 - Rodney King riots in Los Angeles, killing 53 people and causing over $1 billion in damages
April 19, 1993 - Waco tragedy - 76 people, including cult leader David Koresh, died in a fire after a siege by the ATF
April 19, 1993 - George Mickelson, governor of S. Dakota, dies in a plane crash near Dubuque, Iowa along with 7 others. This was the same date as the end of the Branch Davidian siege.
April 19, 1993 - Fire in psychiatric institute in South Korea, kills 40
April 22, 1993 - Holocaust Museum opens in Washington DC
April 24, 1993 - Bishopsgate bombing in London, killing 1 and causing over £1 billion in damages, near the Baltic Exchange bombing the previous year
April 6, 1994 - Rwandan Genocide begins, killing at least 500,000
April 20, 1994 - Serbian army bombs hospital in Goradze Bosnia, 47 killed
April 22, 1994. Former Pres. Richard Nixon dies at the age of 81
April 19, 1995 - Oklahoma City bombing by Timothy McVeigh killing 168 people
April 19, 1995 - white supremacist Richard Snell executed in Arkansas
April 3, 1996  - US Sec. of Commerce Ron Brown is killed in a suspicious plane crash
April 18, 1996 - In Qana, Lebanon, Israeli forces shell a UN compound, killing at least 106 civilians
April 27, 1996 - Former CIA director William Colby dies in a suspicious boating accident
April 28, 1996 - The Port Arthur massacre was a killing spree in which 35 people were killed and 23 wounded, mainly at the historic Port Arthur prison colony, a popular tourist site in south-eastern Tasmania, Australia.
April 18, 1997 - Red River Flood begins with a dike breached in Grand Forks, ND
April 24, 1997 -  trial of Timothy McVeigh begins in Denver
April 15, 1998 - Pol Pot, Cambodian dictator, dies
April 19, 1999 - The German Bundestag returns to Berlin
April 20, 1999 - Columbine High School massacre, killing 15 including the assailants
April 18, 2000 - Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe vilifies white farmers as enemies
April 19, 2000 - Air Philippines flight 541 crashes into a hill near Davao, killing 131
April 22, 2000 - six-year old Elian Gonzales seized by Federal agents and sent to Cuba
April 23, 2000 - Gulf Air flight 72 crashes near Bahrain, killing 143
April 28, 2000 - Carlos Ghigliotti, who was investigating the Waco incident, died of an apparent heart attack at his home in Washington DC
April 11 2001. The Ellis Park Stadium disaster was the worst sporting accident in South African history. 43 people were crushed to death.
April 18, 2002 - a plane crashes into a tower in Milan, Italy killing 3 and injuring 60
April 22, 2004 - Train fire and explosion in Ryongchon, North Korea kills at least 160 and levels several buildings
April 22, 2004 - Pat Tillman, NFL star, was killed or possibly assassinated in a "friendly fire" incident in Afghanistan
April 6, 2005 - White supremacist Matthew Hale sentenced to 40 years in prison for trying to kill a federal judge
April 19, 2005 - Cardinal Ratzinger, former Nazi, elected pope and becomes Pope Benedict XVI
April 20, 2005 - New bankruptcy law in US passes, making it more difficult to declare bankruptcy.
April 22, 2005 - Zacarias Moussaoui (a French citizen of Moroccan descent) pleads guilty to conspiring with other al-Qaeda members as part of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
April 16, 2007 - Virginia Tech massacre, killing 33 including the assailant Seung-Hui Cho
April 18, 2007 - Qinghe Special Steel Corporation (China) disaster. A ladle holding molten steel separated from the overhead iron rail, fell, tipped, and killed 32 workers, injuring another 6.
April 20, 2007 - Johnson Space Center shooting in which the gunman killed one person before committing suicide
April 23, 2007 - death of former Russian President Boris Yeltsin
April 20, 2008 - more than 10,000 people gather at CU-Boulder to smoke marijuana and celebrate "420", a counterculture holiday
April 20, 2008 - Pope Benedict XVI visits Ground Zero in New York, and celebrates Mass at Yankee Stadium.
April 29, 2008 - Roland Carnaby, possible CIA agent, was killed by Houston police after a high speed chase
April 3, 2009 - Binghampton, NY. Shooter kills 14 (including himself) at immigration center
April 7, 2009 - Gunman opens fire at Korean Christian retreat center in Temecula, CA, killing 1, injuring 4
April 12, 2009 - The Zimbabwean Dollar is abandoned, as its value had disappeared because of massive hyperinflation
April 19, 2009 – Easter (varies from year to year)
April 21, 2009 - Holocaust Remembrance Day (varies from year to year)
April 5, 2010 - Upper Big Branch Mine disaster occurred roughly 1,000 feet (300 m) underground in Raleigh County, West Virginia at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch coal mine located in Montcoal. Twenty-nine out of thirty-one miners at the site were killed.
April 10, 2010 - The Polish president and 95 other people died in an airplane crash in Russia en-route to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Katyn massacre
April 14, 2010- Neo-Nazi Bill White sentenced to 30 months in prison
April 14, 2010 - Eruption of a volcano in Iceland which severely disrupted airline traffic in Europe for a week.
April 18, 2010 - US Pres. Obama was forced to cancel a trip to Poland to attend the funeral of the Polish president due to the volcanic plume covering Europe
April 19, 2010 - In Canada over 400 hundred of straw bales caught on fire and blazed out of control.
April 20, 2010 - Deepwater Horizon oil rig explodes in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers and causing a massive spill covering at least 2500 square miles
April 11, 2011 – The accident at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station is officially raised to Level 7, which is the same level as the Chernobyl disaster.
April 15, 2011 – Income tax due
April 15, 2011 – Atlas Shrugged, the movie based on the book by Ayn Rand, opens
April 18, 2011 - A landslide in Indonesia's East Java province kills 100 people
April 19, 2011 - Fidel Castro resigns as dictator of Cuba
April 20, 2011 - A pipe bomb is found at Southwest Plaza Mall, only 1 mile from Columbine.  Earl Albert Moore later pled guilty to the incident.
April 20, 2011 - Neo-Nazi Bill White has his conviction for promoting violence on his website overturned as a violation of his First Amendment rights
April 21, 2011 - Students at Stony Creek Elementary School, about 2 miles from Columbine, were evacuated due to reports of a suspicious man in the building.  The strange man was there because he had to use the restroom.
April 21, 2011 - Japan declares it illegal to enter evacuation zone around Fukushima
April 6, 2012 - Earl Albert Moore sentenced to life in prison for placing an explosive device in Southwest Plaza on April 20, 2011, the anniversary of the Columbine shootings.
April 12, 2012 - Charles Manson, now 77, faces his 12th parole hearing.  It will probably be his last.
April 13, 2012 - A Massachusetts Institute of Technology researcher facing federal charges of traveling to Colorado to have sex with a mother and her two children has apparently killed himself in prison in Englewood, Colorado, less than 5 miles from Columbine High School.
April 15, 2012 - 100th Anniversary of birth of Kim Il-Sung, dictator of North Korea
April 17, 2012 - Teenager in Spokane, WA arrested after threatening to do a "Columbine-style shooting" at his high school.
April 20, 2012 - Mt. Popocatépetl erupts in Mexico
April 20, 2012 - Pakistani jet flying near the Islamabad airport carrying 127 people, crashes with no survivors
April 20, 2012 -  In Norway, mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik, gives chilling testimony of how he killed 69 innocent children.
April 20, 2012 - George Zimmerman, who killed Trayvon Martin, granted $150,000 bond.
April 20, 2012 - The Secret Service, instead of focusing on security arrangements in Colombia, parties with a group of at least 20 prostitutes.  The story comes to light after one cheapskate decides to stiff the escort, Dania Suarez, who becomes instantly famous as a result of the scandal. At least 11 Secret Service agents are being investigated.
April 20, 2012 - Michael Cormier, a respected forensic technician for the Los Angeles County Coroner, who likely worked on the autopsy of Andrew Breitbart, died under suspicious circumstances at his North Hollywood home on April 20, the same day Breitbart’s cause of death was finally made public.
April 21, 2012 - Train crash in the Netherlands injures 117
April 21, 2012 - Charles Colson, Nixon adviser, dies
April 23, 2012 - The English Defence League celebrates St. George's Day.   The SPLC says that St. George's cross is a racist symbol associated with the crusades.
April 26, 2012 - Teenager in Stoughton, Massachusetts, arrested after threatening a "Columbine-style shooting".
April 5, 2013 - A deadly prom night crash in Salem, Oregon on April 30, 2005 is remembered through a mock crash and rescue event.
April 5, 2013 - Megachurch Pastor Rick Warren's son, Matthew Warren, commits suicide after struggling with mental illness and depression.
April 6, 2013 - Rehtaeh Parsons, a 17 year-old Canadian girl, commits suicide after being allegedly raped by 4 boys who were never prosecuted.  This brought back memories of Amanda Todd, a 15 year-old girl from British Columbia, who killed herself on October 10, 2012 after being bullied.
April 7, 2013 - Justice Williams, a 9 year-old girl from Bronx, NY, commits suicide.
April 8, 2013 - Margaret Thatcher, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, dies at the age of 87.
April 10, 2013 - 20 year-old Dylan Quick stabs 14 people with a knife at Lone Star Community College in Houston
April 12, 2013 - Two women are shot at New River Community College in Virginia, 4 days before the anniversary of the Virginia Tech shootings in 2007.
April 12, 2013 - North Korea threatens to fire a nuclear missile at Tokyo unless Japan removes its missile defenses.
April 12, 2013 - 3 teenage boys accused of raping 15 year-old Audrie Potts are arrested in California.  She killed herself on September 10, 2012, eight days after the rape.  The boys posted naked pictures of her online, which was critical evidence that lead to their arrests.
April 13, 2013 - Kirk Franklin shoots himself in the head in the infield of a NASCAR race in Ft Worth, TX.
April 15, 2013 - convicted murderer Justin Helzer hangs himself in his cell in San Quentin, California.
April 15, 2013 - The price of gold drops 9%, the biggest one day drop since gold futures trading began.
April 15, 2013 - Terrorist attack at the Boston marathon kills at least 12 people and injures over 100.  A Saudi national is the suspect.  April 15 is Patriot's Day in Boston, which celebrates the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775, which started the American Revolution.

============
April 12, 1961 - Yuri Gagarin, first astronaut in space
April 15, 1990 - Birthday of Emma Watson

Singapore Airport

Source: BusinessInsider.com

Happy Birthday Glorious Supreme Leader

Waiting for the fireworks to start ...

Solfeggietto Rock

8 year old guitarist

Water park in China

Source: http://imgur.com/gallery/fjveQ

Why is the price of gold dropping like a rock?

     Source: http://www.goldprice.org

The price of gold dropped from 1564 to 1477 today, a drop of 5.18%.  Why?  I have no idea.  But I have some guesses.

Some people think that gold is a bubble that is collapsing. Other people think that gold prices are being manipulated.  I think something else is going on.

Look at this gold price chart from October 2008:

     Source: www.kitco.com

The price of gold dropped 20% between Oct. 10, 2008 and Oct. 24, 2008.  Why?  Because people were panicking and wanted their wealth in a "safe haven", the US dollar.

I think the same thing is going on now.  People are panicking because of 1) Cyprus, 2) North Korea, and 3) fears of a recession.  Even though the Fed continues to print money like mad, the velocity of M2 continues to drop.  Real interest rates continue to be negative.  "Friday's selling looked like a panic and was set off by a 0.4% fall in retail sales for March, a larger-than-expected ​decline."  Gas prices have fallen about 4%.

I'm not saying that it is a recession, but that people are afraid that it will occur.  I think people and businesses are hoarding cash, so much so that they don't even trust gold.  So in other words, something big is happening or soon will happen.  Has North Korea started WW3 yet?

Not another April shooting

"Two women have been shot at a community college campus housed in a mall in southwest Virginia. The shooting comes just four days before the anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre.  April 16 marks the sixth anniversary of the shootings, in which a student gunman killed 32 students and faculty before taking his own life. The tech is close to New River Valley Mall."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2308260/Two-women-shot-gunman-opened-Virginia-community-college-campus.html

How the West Went Bust

The Second Great Depression

New Dubai Squad Car

Source: http://www.myfoxny.com/story/21943175/bling-patrol-dubais-550000-squad-car

The Detroitification of Philadelphia

"In my mind this is an example of government gone wild. It is clear why Philadelphia has 26% less population today than it did in 1950. After 60 years of Democratic Party rule, the city is a shambles. The productive hard working people left as the liberal do-gooders took their hard earned money and redistributed to the unproductive people. This created a culture of entitlement and lack of individual responsibility among those remaining in West Philly and many other sections of Philadelphia. In a society where you succeeded or failed based upon your own efforts and actions, people are motivated to succeed. Failure would mean a hard life of not being able to afford the basics of life like a house, food, TVs, cell phones, etc. Studying hard in school, getting married, working at a job, and raising a family is how you slowly but surely get ahead in life. By providing the poor with housing, food, education, cable TV, and not making them accountable for having  children out of wedlock, the government has created an intolerable fiscal and social situation. West Philly is now inhabited by a class of people incapable of functioning like normal human beings. Most of the children are born out of wedlock. 50% of the kids drop out of school. The unemployment rate is 50%. Only 20% of the households are occupied by married people. Philadelphia is broke. Pennsylvania is broke. The United States is broke. When the money stops flowing to the ignorant entitled masses of West Philly all hell will break loose. It is not a question of whether this will happen, but when."
--http://www.theburningplatform.com/?p=27516

See also:  Update from the 30 blocks of squalor

The Astounding World of the Future!

New 2014 Budget

Here are screenshots from the new budget:

I don't know what "other mandatory programs" are.  Anyways I will let this sit a few days before ripping it to shreds.

More Than Words

How many Ambassadors to Brussels do we need?

In the news today was the story that Truman Hall, the residence of the Ambassador of the United States to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), needed landscaping and a $700,000 budget was allocated for that purpose.

But it made me think - is this a different Ambassador than the one to Belgium?  Just for clarity, the US Permanent Representative to NATO is Ivo Daalder, and the official website is http://nato.usmission.gov/.   I can't find the address listed anywhere, but this is presumably for security purposes.

The US Ambassador to Belgium is Howard W. Gutman and their official website is:  http://belgium.usembassy.gov/.  Their address is Embassy of the United States of America, Regentlaan 27 Boulevard du Régent, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium.

The US Ambassador to the European Union is William Kennard and his official website is: http://useu.usmission.gov/.  Their address is Rue Zinnerstraat 13, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium.

And of course, these are separate from the US Ambassador to the Netherlands, (position empty since Sept. 2011), with website http://thehague.usembassy.gov/, and the Ambassador to Luxembourg, Robert A Mandell, website: http://luxembourg.usembassy.gov/.  And the US Ambassador - Robert Mikulak - to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague, Netherlands.

So these aren't all in Brussels, but that is 6 in a very small area.  Can't any of these be combined?  Well, maybe that is why a new ambassador to the Netherlands hasn't been appointed yet.

=============================
The intended ambassador to the Netherlands, Timothy Broas, was removed from consideration for the apppointment in July 2012 after he got a DUI.  Why hasn't anyone else been nominated?  Well, you have to raise $500,000 to get the seat and no one else cares that much to do it.

=============================
Update: June 23, 2013.  Ambassador Howard Gutman allegedly solicited underage prostitutes, so he will be replaced by Denise Bauer.  Her only qualification was that she raised $500,000 for Obama's re-election in 2012.  What a joke.

List of Tax Havens

A tax haven doesn't have an exact definition, but it is characterized by: low taxes, lack of effective exchange of information, lack of transparency, and no requirement of substantial activity in the jurisdiction.

These are the Big 7, according to a 1994 paper:
Hong Kong
Ireland
Lebanon
Liberia
Panama
Singapore
Switzerland

Here is a list by region:

Caribbean/West Indies/Atlantic
Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Turks and Caicos, U.S. Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Curacao, Sint Maarten, Jamaica

Central/South America
Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, Uruguay

East Asia
Hong Kong, Macau, Malaysia (Labuan), Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Mongolia

Europe/Mediterranean
Andorra, Austria, Channel Islands (Guernsey, Jersey, Sark), Cyprus, Gibraltar, Isle of Man, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland, Campione d'Italia, Madeira (Portugal)

Indian Ocean
Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles

Middle East
Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, UAE

Pacific
Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Samoa, Nauru, Niue, Tonga, Vanuatu

Africa
Liberia, Morocco (Tangier Exportation Free Zone), Djibouti, Ghana

==================================================
What is THE top tax haven today?  Probably the British Virgin Islands.  Over 40% of all the offshore companies in the world are located in the BVI, and many Chinese businessmen set up their companies in the BVI.  But the banking infrastructure of the BVI is underdeveloped (it has only 7 banks) so most BVI companies bank elsewhere, mostly in the Cayman Islands or Singapore.

What are the other leading tax havens?
Cayman Islands - has 75% of the world's hedge funds.  The Cayman Islands and other Caribbean Banking Centers own over $200 billion of US Treasuries.
Bermuda - leader in insurance, with over 1/3 of the world's leading insurance companies located there
Jersey - favorite tax haven of the City of London
Mauritius - the emerging financial capital of Africa
Singapore - ranked 4th among global financial centers in the world (behind London, New York and Hong Kong).  Many Hong Kong and Singapore financial advisers recommend that their clients register businesses in the BVI.

Cyprus would have been on this list until the recent banking crisis destroyed confidence in it.

==============================================
Luxembourg is the EU's top tax haven. "Luxembourg's government says that 141 banks from 26 countries have settled there.  For decades, Luxembourg has cultivated its reputation as an investor's safe haven. Around 2.1 trillion euros ($2.73 trillion) are held by Luxembourg's investment banks."

===============================================
The Top 10 according to the Tax Justice Network:
10. Bahrain
9. Germany
8. Japan
7. Jersey
6. Singapore
5. USA
4. Hong Kong
3. Luxembourg
2. Cayman Islands
1. Switzerland

==============================================
The Top 10 according to Forbes:
10. Delaware
9. Luxembourg
8. Switzerland
7. Cayman Islands
6. City of London
5. Ireland
4. Bermuda
3. Singapore
2. Belgium
1. Hong Kong

Belgium?
============================================
And yet another list:
10. Bahamas
9. Nevada
8. Wyoming
7. Gibraltar
6. Bermuda
5. Switzerland
4. Cayman Islands
3. British Virgin Islands
2. Hong Kong
1. Channel Islands

Another view of the endgame

In a nutshell:  first, a crisis in Europe, and the Fed steps in as the global lender of last resort.  A rapid devaluation of the dollar by 10% or more will cause flight from US government debt, causing money markets to collapse.

"To me, the most likely driver is a wave of corporate defaults coming from the Euro zone, forcing the Fed to become the lender of last resort (in fact, they already are) and triggering a repudiation in US Treasuries. As a consequence, the repudiation of US Treasuries would further spark the fall of the money market and probably that of a commodity market clearinghouse.  In this context, the price of gold would not fall."

--http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-04-08/guest-post-template-nobody-watching

The Fed would be forced to buy up almost all US debt.  But to do so it would have to pay very high interest rates, (unlike the 0.25% it pays today), higher than the interest it is receiving.  This would bankrupt the Fed.  Of course the Fed wouldn't actually be bankrupt because it can issue its own currency.  But this is where hyperinflation begins.

See: http://sibileau.com/martin/2012/11/22/anatomy-of-the-end-game/

Mid-year budget review

The CBO just released their March 2013 monthly budget review on Friday, and I think it would be interesting to review it because this covers the first half of the fiscal year 2013.

I had previously done a budget projection in January for what it is worth, and wanted to compare the two.

Revenues are at 1197 ytd, which would make this only 2394 yearly, still less that the 2596 I was projecting.
Defense spending is way down.  Only 315 has been spent year to date, making this 630 on a yearly basis, way less than the 671 I was projecting.  This is a significant drop and is 6% less than 2012.  Net interest expense hasn't increased since last year.  Other expenses are down 8.7% from last year.   Actual expenditures are at 1798 ytd, 3596 yearly, way less than the 3701 that I thought would occur.  Entitlement spending continues its relentless march upwards, increasing about 6% from 2012.

The bottom-line:  The deficit ytd is 601, annual 1202.  It look like there will be another trillion dollar deficit.  The sequester cuts are working, and government spending is shrinking, except for entitlement spending.

=====================
Obama will likely have his first year without a trillion dollar-plus deficit in 2013. The CBO forecasts that it will slip to $845 billion this year and then drop down to $476 billion by 2016, Obama’s last full year in the White House.
Read more at http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/Articles/2013/02/05/CBO-Warns-of-Exploding-Debt-in-Four-Years.aspx

The CBO believes in fairy tales and engages in wishful thinking.  The only way for the deficit to drop to $850 billion this year would be for revenues to increase by 33% for the rest of the year.  I don't think the deficit will ever drop below $1 trillion/year.

Dubai

Source:  http://dedmaxopka.livejournal.com/68119.html

Plane crashes in mid-October

Missouri Democratic Senate candidate Mel Carnahan died in a private plane crash on Oct. 16, 2000, just three weeks before the 2000 elections.

On Oct. 24, 2002, just two weeks before the 2002 elections, Minnesota Democratic Senate candidate Paul Wellstone was killed in a plane crash. His wife died with him. Wellstone had been projected to win the election.

On October 16, 1972, just weeks before national elections, two other Democratic Congressmen were killed in a mysterious plane crash. Thomas Hale Boggs, Sr. of Louisiana was the Majority leader of the House of Representatives at the time. Congressman Nick Begich of Alaska was with him in the plane. Their bodies were never found. Congressman Boggs had been involved with the Warren Commission investigating the Kennedy assassination.  He dissented from the single bullet theory supported by the majority. Some believe that he was murdered to stop his investigation into the assassination.

Oct 6, 1962 - Texas millionaire Tom Slick, who financed expeditions in search of Big Foot, was killed in an airplane crash that some say was under suspicious circumstances.

Oct 6, 2000.  Charles B Yates, former state senator from New Jersey, dies while piloting an aircraft near Martha's Vineyard.  All 4 people aboard were kiled.

Oct. 12, 2000. Gary McPherson, Co. State Rep., dies in a plane crash in British Colombia.

Oct. 12, 1997 - John Denver, singer and songwriter, dies in a plane crash in Monterrey Bay, Calif. 

O n October 31, 1999, EgyptAir Flight 990 plunged into the Atlantic ocean soon after takeoff, killing all 217 people aboard. The flight-data and cockpit voice recorders were recovered within weeks, and the story they told seemed shocking but conclusive: at a moment when the captain was out of the cockpit, the copilot, Gameel al-Batouti, disengaged the autopilot and calmly pushed the airplane into a steep dive. 

New April Tragedies

I have written before extensively about the curse of April.  I am not going to repost my old list, which has hundreds of entries, in the hopes that perhaps I am mistaken and this is all an enormous coincidence.  Maybe these types of events happen in every month and I am just more aware of them in April.  I will however, post any new information that I find.  There are already many new events:

Genocide Awareness Week, beginning April 8, at Scottsdale Community College near Phoenix.  There is also Holocaust Remembrance and Genocide Awareness Week beginning April 8 at George Washington University.

50th Anniversary of the USS Thresher submarine disaster, which occurred on April 10, 1963.  This was the deadliest submarine disaster in US history, and 129 men died during deep-dive testing off of Cape Cod.  "The Navy believes the failure of a brazed weld allowed sea water to spray onto electrical panel, causing an emergency shutdown of the sub's nuclear reactor. The ballast system also failed, preventing the sub from surfacing.  Filling with water, Thresher descended deeper and disintegrated under the crushing force of the ocean. Its remains rest on the ocean floor at a depth of 8,500 feet."

80th Anniversary of the USS Akron on April 4, 1933.  This was the world's worst airship disaster, in which 73 of the 76 passenger and crew on board perished. 

Prom Safety Awareness events.  A deadly prom night crash in Salem, Oregon on April 30, 2005 is remembered through a mock crash and rescue event. "High school students looked on as paramedics removed their peers from mutilated vehicles and carried their bodies on stretchers — some to an emergency helicopter, others to a hearse."

April 5, 2013 - Megachurch Pastor Rick Warren's son, Matthew Warren, commits suicide after struggling with mental illness and depression.

April 5 - 80th anniversary of Executive Order 6102, signed by FDR, which criminized the possession of gold by private citizens. "FDR’s gold confiscation meant private owners were obliged to take their coins, bars or gold certificates to a bank, and exchange them for dollars at the prevailing rate of $20.67 per ounce. Over the next year, the president then raised his official gold price to $35 per ounce, effectively cutting 40% off the dollar in a bid to stoke inflation and spur the economy. " -
--http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2013/04/05/governments-still-heavy-handed-80-years-after-fdrs-gold-confiscation/

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2013/04/06/4471100/deadliest-submarine-disaster-in.html#storylink=cpy

12 steps to a crash

According to one blogger, the great crash has begun and is continuing in slow motion.  Here are the 12 dominoes.

"Cyprus has turned out, against all the odds, to be the first domino to head towards the second domino. That Number Two will be the eurozone bond market going from sick to dead. Only events can dictate the exact order of dominoes after that one. But there follows a sensible attempt to suggest one.

The third will be the release (0r leak) of official capital flight figures from Brussels. The fourth will be a consequent acceleration of capital flight. The fifth will be the release of Q3 eurozone economic data.

The sixth will be a Chinese export slowdown. Few people grasp this, but the EU represents 16% of all Beijing’s exports – just one percentage point behind the US.

The seventh will be Berlin backing away from further involvement, while maintaining a vice-like grip over Cyprus. The eighth a Greek default alongside Italian political stalemate. The ninth a chaotic German election. The tenth a major French banking collapse. The eleventh a banking sell-off on Wall Street, and the Dow starting to slide as the White House mirage fades.  The twelfth….the hyper-acceleration of a gold rush as global stockmarket confidence implodes."
--http://hat4uk.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/the-saturday-essay-why-the-eurozones-capital-incontinence-is-the-beginning-of-the-end/

The Eurozone bond market is still alive, as interest rates have risen only modestly in the last month.  So if this is step 2 it looks like it isn't going to happen soon.

How Americans live today

Brought to you courtesy of the next President of the World, Kim Jong Un.

The best-looking Attorney General

Obama called California Attorney General Kamala Harris the "best-looking Attorney General" and then he got in trouble for being sexist and he apologized.  But I want to investigate this further.  Is she the best-looking Attorney General?  She certainly is attractive, but she is not the best-looking.  The award goes to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi.



Obama apologized for calling Kamala Harris the best-looking Attorney General, as well he should.



My fellow citizens,
Yesterday I said that California Attorney General Kamala Harris was "by far the best-looking attorney general in the country".  I called her to apologize for the distraction created by those comments.  I do not want in any way to diminish the attorney general's professional accomplishments and her capabilities.  I fully recognize the challenges women continue to face in the workplace and they should not be judged based on appearance.
So I want to set the record straight.  Ms. Harris is not the best-looking attorney general in the country.  Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi is.  I apologize to anyone who was offended by my previous remarks.  Thank you.

Kish - the Vegas of Iran

The Flower of the East


Source: skyscrapercity.com

See: My Hyperinflation Vacation
A trip to the Iranian resort island of Kish illuminates the pressures, limits, and strange consequences of economic sanctions.