Monday, May 18, 2015
Friday, May 15, 2015
Unlucky July 17
On July 17, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, on board from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down over Ukraine, killing all 298 people aboard. It first flew on July 17, 1997, exactly 17 years before.
That's a lot of 17s. But wait, there's more.
On July 17, 1996, TWA 800 crashed into the ocean near New York City, shortly after takeoff, killing all 230 people aboard. There is speculation that it was shot down by a missile. There are still major conspiracy theories about it.
But wait, there's more.
On July 17, 2007, TAM Airlines Flight 3054 crashed during landing, killing all 181 passengers aboard. It was the deadliest air disaster in Brazilian history.
But wait, there's more.
On July 17, 2000, Alliance Air Flight 7412 crashed in Patna, India, killing 60 and leaving 3 survivors.
See also: Space Tragedies around the end of January
Update:
On July 19, 1989, United Airlines Flight 232 crash-landed in Sioux City, Iowa, killing 111 and leaving 185 survivors. It suffered a catastrophic failure of its tail-mounted engine.
On July 16, 1999, John F Kennedy Jr died in a plane crash into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha's Vineyard. Two other people also died. On an unrelated note, there is a conspiracy theory that Hillary Clinton somehow caused this, because she was elected Senator from New York in November 2000 and JFK Jr was also running for the same seat.
On July 17, 2018, two small planes collided over the Everglades near Miami, killing 4 people.
That's a lot of 17s. But wait, there's more.
On July 17, 1996, TWA 800 crashed into the ocean near New York City, shortly after takeoff, killing all 230 people aboard. There is speculation that it was shot down by a missile. There are still major conspiracy theories about it.
But wait, there's more.
On July 17, 2007, TAM Airlines Flight 3054 crashed during landing, killing all 181 passengers aboard. It was the deadliest air disaster in Brazilian history.
But wait, there's more.
On July 17, 2000, Alliance Air Flight 7412 crashed in Patna, India, killing 60 and leaving 3 survivors.
See also: Space Tragedies around the end of January
Update:
On July 19, 1989, United Airlines Flight 232 crash-landed in Sioux City, Iowa, killing 111 and leaving 185 survivors. It suffered a catastrophic failure of its tail-mounted engine.
On July 16, 1999, John F Kennedy Jr died in a plane crash into the Atlantic Ocean near Martha's Vineyard. Two other people also died. On an unrelated note, there is a conspiracy theory that Hillary Clinton somehow caused this, because she was elected Senator from New York in November 2000 and JFK Jr was also running for the same seat.
On July 17, 2018, two small planes collided over the Everglades near Miami, killing 4 people.
Thursday, May 14, 2015
More on the April Curse
These are just some notes for completion, largely taken from the comments from a post in April 2012. I was sure I had posted about the Mutiny on the Bounty and a search didn't find it. So here they are for the sake of completion. Add these to the prior list
- April 18, 1587 - John Foxe, who wrote Foxe's book of martyrs, dies
- April 23, 1616 - Miguel Cervantes, author of Don Quixote, dies on the same day as Shakespeare. (Another source says that he died on April 22).
- April 13 (April 2 o.s.), 1743 - Thomas Jefferson born
- April 28, 1758 - James Monroe born
- April 15, 1783 - Congress ratifies the peace treaty signed in November 1782
- April 19, 1783 - Gen. Washington informs his troops that hostilities have ended, exactly 8 years after they began
- April 28, 1789 - Mutiny on the HMS Bounty
- April 17, 1790 - Benjamin Franklin dies
- April 23, 1791 - James Buchanan born
- April 27, 1822 - Ulysses S Grant born
- April 4, 1841 - William Henry Harrison died of pneumonia only 1 month after inaguration, the first victim of Tecumseh's curse
- April 16, 1859 - Alexis de Tocqueville dies
- April 23, 1860 - William Wordsworth, American poet, dies
- April 9, 1865 - Gen. Robert E Lee surrenders at Appomattox Courthouse
- April 26, 1865 - John Wilkes Booth shot by a Union soldier.
- April 27, 1865 - In the greatest Maritime disaster in US history, the Sultana, a Mississippi River steamboat, exploded near Memphis Tennessee, killing an estimated 1800 of her 2427 passengers, when three of the boat's four boilers exploded and she burned to the waterline and sank.
- April 20, 1871 - "Third Force Act" passed. Congress authorizes President Ulysses S. Grant to declare martial law, impose heavy penalties against terrorist organizations, and use military force to suppress the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).
- April 18, 1874 - David Livingstone, adventurer, dies and is buried in Westminster Abbey
- April 15, 1889 - Father Damien, who ministered to people with leprousy on the island of Molokai, dies
- April 15, 1912 - Kim Il-Sung, dictator of North Korea, born
- April 15, 1912 - John Jacob Astor IV, the richest man in the world at that time, dies when the Titanic sunk
- April 21, 1930 - A fire at Ohio State Penitentiary kills 320 inmates, and many burn to death when they are not unlocked from their cells
- April 4, 1933. USS Akron crashes in the ocean. This was the world's worst airship disaster, in which 73 of the 76 passenger and crew on board perished
- April 30, 1939 - The 1939 World's Fair opened in Queens, NY
- April 26, 1942 - Benxihu Colliery (China) mining disaster. 1,549 miners lost their lives in the worst mining disaster of all time.
- April 12, 1945 - Franklin Roosevelt dies of a cerebral hemorrhage
- April 28, 1945 - Benito Mussolini is executed
- April 21, 1946 - John Maynard Keynes dies
- April 13, 1953 - the Central Intelligence Agency director Allen Dulles authorized the MK-ULTRA project
- April 28, 1953 - Hooker Chemical sells the Love Canal dump to the Niagara Falls City School District with a contract that mentioned toxic waste and disclaimed any liability
- April 18, 1955 - Albert Einstein dies
- April 10, 1963 - USS Thresher submarine disaster. This was the deadliest submarine disaster in US history, and 129 men died during deep-dive testing off of Cape Cod
- 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
- April 21, 1967 - A series of 17 tornadoes strike Illinois, including several in Chicago, killing more than 50
- April 24, 1967 - Soyuz 1 crashes, killing Cosmonaut Vladimir Komorov, the first fatility in space
- April 19, 1969 - Militant black students at Cornell Univ. use force to take over Willard Straight Hall demanding a black studies program
- April 20, 1971 - Supreme Court issues Swann v Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, upholding the use of busing to achieve racial desegregation in schools.
- April 20, 1975 - President Thieu of Vietnam resigns in protest over lack of US support
- April 27, 1978 - Willow Island disaster. A cooling tower for a power plant under construction in Willow Island, West Virginia collapsed, killing 51 construction workers.
- April 15, 1980 - Jean-Paul Sarte, existentialist, dies
- April 22, 1980 - Military coup in Liberia. A number of former officials are publicly executed
- April 15, 1983 - Corrie ten Boom, Dutch author and holocaust survivor, dies
- April 15, 1984 - Christopher Thomas shot 10 people (8 children and 2 women) execution style on Palm Sunday in Brooklyn
- April 19, 1987 - First episode of The Simpson's airs
- April 1989 - Jeff Rhodes - He was shot, mutilated and found burned in a trash dump. (This was on the list of people on the Clinton Body Count and I haven't been able to independently verify it).
- 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 21, 1992 - California resumes executions after a 25 year hiatus, gassing Robert Alton Harris
- April 22, 1993 - Holocaust Museum opens in Washington DC
- April 28, 1996 - The Port Arthur massacre of 28 April 1996 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. Martin Bryant, a 28-year-old from New Town, a suburb of Hobart, eventually pleaded guilty to the crimes and was given 35 life sentences without possibility of parole.
- April 15, 1998 - Pol Pot, Cambodian dictator, dies
- April 11, 2001. The Ellis Park Stadium disaster was the worst sporting accident in South African history. 43 people were crushed to death
- 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 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, 2008 - Pope Benedict visits Ground Zero
- 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 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 19, 2011 - Seventeen people died as the result of a helicopter crash in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh
- April 21, 2011 - Japan declares it illegal to enter evacuation zone around Fukushima
- April 20, 2012 - Mt. Popocatépetl erupts in Mexico
- 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 April 20, the same day Breitbart’s cause of death was finally made public.
- April 20, 2012 - Pakistani jet flying near the Islamabad airport carrying 127 people, crashes with no survivors
- April 21, 2012 - Train crash in the Netherlands injures 117
- April 21, 2012 - Charles Colson, Nixon adviser, dies
- April 17, 2013 - 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.
- April 24, 2013 - Dhaka, Bangladesh. An 8-story building containing a garment factory collapsed, killing 1,129, in the worst industrial accident ever to occur in Bangladesh
Initial Jobless Claims
Source: http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/ICSA
Initial Jobless Claims came in at 264,000 on 5/9/2015. They were at 262,000 on 4/25/2015. These were the lowest numbers since 4/15/2000, when they were 259,000. To get lower than that, you have to go all the way back to 1973 to get lower numbers.
This number will keep going done forever! Or not.
King v Burwell
Nancy Pelosi says the Affordable Care Act is "ironclad constitutionally". I'm not arguing about the policy impact (oh no 8 billion people are going to lose coverage), or about whether the judicial activists on the Supreme Court who embody the "living constitution" will find a 5th vote to uphold it. Or whether the IRS has the authority under the Chevron doctrine to interpret it. What I want to know is what would a literal reading of the statute reveal.
The statute is at https://democrats.senate.gov/pdfs/reform/patient-protection-affordable-care-act-as-passed.pdf.
It's 906 pages long and I haven't read it. I'm just going to quote a few key sections.
Section 1311(a) reads :"ASSISTANCE TO STATES TO ESTABLISH AMERICAN HEALTH
BENEFIT EXCHANGES".
Section 1321(c) reads: "FAILURE TO ESTABLISH EXCHANGE OR IMPLEMENT REQUIREMENTS.— (1) IN GENERAL.—If— (A) a State is not an electing State under subsection (b); or (B) the Secretary determines, on or before January 1, 2013, that an electing State— (i) will not have any required Exchange operational by January 1, 2014; or (ii) has not taken the actions the Secretary determines necessary to implement— (I) the other requirements set forth in the standards under subsection (a); or (II) the requirements set forth in subtitles A and C and the amendments made by such subtitles; the Secretary shall (directly or through agreement with a not for- profit entity) establish and operate such Exchange within the State and the Secretary shall take such actions as are necessary to implement such other requirements."
Section 1401 revises the Internal Code in Section 36B to allow for subsidies for premiums paid which cover "the taxpayer, the taxpayer’s spouse, or any dependent (as defined in section 152) of
the taxpayer and which were enrolled in through an Exchange established by the State under 1311 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,"
The magic phrase: "an Exchange established by the State under 1311" occurs only once in the document (in the section just quoted).
Other similar phrases:
"an Exchange established by the State under section 1311" (8 times)
"an Exchange established by the State under this section"
"an Exchange established under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act)"
"an Exchange established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act"
"an Exchange established under section 1311 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act"
"an Exchange established under section 1311 of such Act"
"an Exchange established under section 1311."
"an Exchange established under this subtitle"
"an exchange established by a State under section 1311 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act"
"In establishing an Exchange under this section"
"An Exchange shall establish a program"
"An Exchange may not establish rules"
"operate an Exchange under this section"
"through the Exchanges established under this title (other than Exchanges in States that elect to opt out".
"the Exchanges established under this title"
"the Exchanges established under section 1311 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act"
In my brief reading of the act, there is only one type of Exchange referred to. An exchange is distinguished from insurance purchased elsewhere ("health insurance coverage offered through an Exchange and outside of an Exchange"), and from other government programs ("streamlined procedures for enrollment through an Exchange, Medicaid, and CHIP"). I think it is very poorly worded. There should be the definition of an Exchange given one place in the act. A poorly drafted document should be construed against the drafter.
I reluctantly come to the conclusion that there is only one type of Exchange mentioned, which is one established by the State, or an alternative one established by the Secretary. My conclusion is not based on bias, policy, or a prediction of what the Supreme Court will do. I certainly don't think it is ironclad. And this has nothing to do with constitutionality, which is based on a very strained interpretation by Justice Roberts of the taxing powers of Congress.
The statute is at https://democrats.senate.gov/pdfs/reform/patient-protection-affordable-care-act-as-passed.pdf.
It's 906 pages long and I haven't read it. I'm just going to quote a few key sections.
Section 1311(a) reads :"ASSISTANCE TO STATES TO ESTABLISH AMERICAN HEALTH
BENEFIT EXCHANGES".
Section 1321(c) reads: "FAILURE TO ESTABLISH EXCHANGE OR IMPLEMENT REQUIREMENTS.— (1) IN GENERAL.—If— (A) a State is not an electing State under subsection (b); or (B) the Secretary determines, on or before January 1, 2013, that an electing State— (i) will not have any required Exchange operational by January 1, 2014; or (ii) has not taken the actions the Secretary determines necessary to implement— (I) the other requirements set forth in the standards under subsection (a); or (II) the requirements set forth in subtitles A and C and the amendments made by such subtitles; the Secretary shall (directly or through agreement with a not for- profit entity) establish and operate such Exchange within the State and the Secretary shall take such actions as are necessary to implement such other requirements."
Section 1401 revises the Internal Code in Section 36B to allow for subsidies for premiums paid which cover "the taxpayer, the taxpayer’s spouse, or any dependent (as defined in section 152) of
the taxpayer and which were enrolled in through an Exchange established by the State under 1311 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,"
The magic phrase: "an Exchange established by the State under 1311" occurs only once in the document (in the section just quoted).
Other similar phrases:
"an Exchange established by the State under section 1311" (8 times)
"an Exchange established by the State under this section"
"an Exchange established under this Act (or an amendment made by this Act)"
"an Exchange established under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act"
"an Exchange established under section 1311 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act"
"an Exchange established under section 1311 of such Act"
"an Exchange established under section 1311."
"an Exchange established under this subtitle"
"an exchange established by a State under section 1311 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act"
"In establishing an Exchange under this section"
"An Exchange shall establish a program"
"An Exchange may not establish rules"
"operate an Exchange under this section"
"through the Exchanges established under this title (other than Exchanges in States that elect to opt out".
"the Exchanges established under this title"
"the Exchanges established under section 1311 of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act"
In my brief reading of the act, there is only one type of Exchange referred to. An exchange is distinguished from insurance purchased elsewhere ("health insurance coverage offered through an Exchange and outside of an Exchange"), and from other government programs ("streamlined procedures for enrollment through an Exchange, Medicaid, and CHIP"). I think it is very poorly worded. There should be the definition of an Exchange given one place in the act. A poorly drafted document should be construed against the drafter.
I reluctantly come to the conclusion that there is only one type of Exchange mentioned, which is one established by the State, or an alternative one established by the Secretary. My conclusion is not based on bias, policy, or a prediction of what the Supreme Court will do. I certainly don't think it is ironclad. And this has nothing to do with constitutionality, which is based on a very strained interpretation by Justice Roberts of the taxing powers of Congress.
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
San Francisco House Prices
Source: http://www.zillow.com/san-francisco-ca/home-values/
They will keep going up forever - $2 million, $3 million. Or maybe the market will freeze up at some point and the prices will start to decline. What do you think?
See also http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-05-13/mark-hanson-full-blown-black-swan-lookout-mode-housing-bubble-20
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Unemployment is down to 5.4%
Source: http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/UNRATE
Just don't think about Labor Force Participation.
Monday, May 11, 2015
Seller's Market in Denver
The National Association of Realtors considers a six-month supply of homes available for sale a "balanced" market and the national average is at about 4.6 months. Metro Denver's supply, by contrast, is now under a month. And for homes under $400,000, it can be measured in days. About half of homes getting listed sell within seven days. "If a property is on a market for three weekends in this market at any price point under $400,000, then it is overpriced," she said. A balanced market would call for 7,332 detached homes available for sale in the $200,000-$399,000 price range in the metro Denver area, PorchLight estimates. But at the end of February, there were only 723 available in a seven-county area that includes Elbert County but excludes Boulder County. In the under-$199,000 market for attached homes, primarily condos and townhomes, metro Denver had 181 listings for sale in February versus the 2,652 that a "balanced" market would dictate.
Thursday, April 30, 2015
Em dashes, En dashes, Horizontal Bars and Hyphens
An em dash (U+2014) is the longest. It is the width of an upper case M. In Windows, it can be created with [Alt+0151], and in HTML with [ & mdash;]. It can be used in place of parenthesis or a colon or it can represent an abrupt change of thought. Example:
A horizontal bar (U+2015), also known as a quotation bar, is used to indicate quoted text. It looks exactly like an em dash, but technically it is a different character. Example: "―Oh Miss Douce! Miss Kennedy protested. You horrid thing!"
A minus sign (U+2212) is the same as a hyphen in ASCII, but technically it is a different character.
A hypen-minus (ASCII 45, U+002D) is used in ASCII where it is not necessary to distinguish between en dashes, hyphens, and minus signs.
A double hyphen-minus (--) is used in ASCII to represent an em dash.
Red, white, and blue—these are the colors of the flag.An en dash (U+2013) is half the width of an em dash. In Windows, it can be created with [Alt+0150]. It is used to indicate a range of numbers (although another source says that it may not be used to replace the word "to" or "through"). It is also used to indicate a paired relationship. Example:
For ages 3–5. McCain–Feingold.A hyphen (U+2010) is used to make compound words. Example: "a man-eating shark".
“The New York–Boston line"
A horizontal bar (U+2015), also known as a quotation bar, is used to indicate quoted text. It looks exactly like an em dash, but technically it is a different character. Example: "―Oh Miss Douce! Miss Kennedy protested. You horrid thing!"
A minus sign (U+2212) is the same as a hyphen in ASCII, but technically it is a different character.
A hypen-minus (ASCII 45, U+002D) is used in ASCII where it is not necessary to distinguish between en dashes, hyphens, and minus signs.
A double hyphen-minus (--) is used in ASCII to represent an em dash.
Inventory to Sales Ratio
Source: http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/TOTBUSIRNSA
It hasn't been this high since 2009.
Toronto is the new hot spot
Toronto is the hottest place for billionaires to move to or at least buy luxury homes, beating out San Francisco, Sydney, Miami, Los Angeles, New York, Paris, London, Dubai, and Hong Kong.
"[S]ales growth has now steadied in all cities, apart from Toronto. This was Toronto’s second best year on record, but it wasn’t just a function of supply and demand,” said Mr Conn. “This is one of the most stable financial and governmental systems in the world. It’s the major economic hub in Canada, with a net influx of people and an incredible rate of growth. The perception is it’s a safe place to invest, still relatively cheap, with an attractive rate of return.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/international/11572613/Snow-storms-and-ice-hockey-Billionaires-flock-to-the-worlds-new-luxury-homes-hotspot.html
"[S]ales growth has now steadied in all cities, apart from Toronto. This was Toronto’s second best year on record, but it wasn’t just a function of supply and demand,” said Mr Conn. “This is one of the most stable financial and governmental systems in the world. It’s the major economic hub in Canada, with a net influx of people and an incredible rate of growth. The perception is it’s a safe place to invest, still relatively cheap, with an attractive rate of return.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/property/international/11572613/Snow-storms-and-ice-hockey-Billionaires-flock-to-the-worlds-new-luxury-homes-hotspot.html
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
Eventually, there will be a massive correction, in which creditors will suffer sickening losses
Eventually, there will be a massive correction, in which creditors will suffer sickening losses. Nobody can tell you when that moment will arrive. We live in an “extend and pretend” world in which economies pathetically fight between themselves for any scraps of demand. One burst of money printing is met by another in an ultimately futile, zero-sum game of competitive currency devaluation. Both Keynsian and monetary economics seem to be in some kind of end game. What comes next is anyone’s guess.
Vegas only loses $943 million
The Las Vegas strip lost $943 million on revenues of $16.3 billion in 2014. (Source). This was better than 2013 when it lost $1.4 billion. (See Vegas is finished.)
A big chunk of that money was lost by Caesar's Entertainment, which lost $2.77 billion worldwide (including $2.67 billion of interest expense) on $8.5 billion of revenue in 2014. It owns or operates the following casinos in Las Vegas:
Through slight of hand, Caesar's filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy and only its namesake Caesars Palace was included (along with various casinos in Atlantic City and elsewhere).
In a logical world, the money losing casinos would be shut down. But Vegas is anything but.
===================================
The most profitable casinos in Las Vegas are:
A big chunk of that money was lost by Caesar's Entertainment, which lost $2.77 billion worldwide (including $2.67 billion of interest expense) on $8.5 billion of revenue in 2014. It owns or operates the following casinos in Las Vegas:
- Caesars Palace Las Vegas
- Octavius Tower
- LINQ Hotel
- Bally's
- Paris
- The Cromwell
- Planet Hollywood
- Flamingo
- Rio All-Suites
- Harrah's Las Vegas
Through slight of hand, Caesar's filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy and only its namesake Caesars Palace was included (along with various casinos in Atlantic City and elsewhere).
In a logical world, the money losing casinos would be shut down. But Vegas is anything but.
===================================
The most profitable casinos in Las Vegas are:
- Wynn
- Bellagio
- Venetian and Palazzo
- MGM Grand
- Mirage
All these made more than $100 million in profit last year.
Monday, April 27, 2015
Margin Debt hits an all-time high
http://www.nyxdata.com/nysedata/asp/factbook/viewer_edition.asp?mode=table&key=3153&category=8
What happens when this number hits an all-time high and then declines? Either an epic stock market crash or ... nothing. Just something to keep an eye on.
Friday, April 24, 2015
Is Manila the new Macau?
"City of Dreams Manila is a glimmering clutch of golden glass cubes rising from reclaimed land on Manila Bay. It is the second development to open within Entertainment City, which is now halfway to becoming a Las Vegas-style cluster of four casino-resorts. Manila is already reaping the rewards, said Julius Guevara, country director for the Philippines at real-estate consultancy Colliers. He said plans for four mega casinos have fueled a “revival” in Manila’s run-down bayside area, which has driven property values up and spurred road-building and other developments. City of Dreams Manila, with three luxury hotels and 380 gaming tables, has already created 5,000 jobs, Melco Crown said. The Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., the country’s gambling regulator and overseer of the Entertainment City plan, has said it expects the Manila strip to propel national gambling revenues to $10 billion a year by the end of the decade, enabling it to surpass the Las Vegas Strip and Singapore."
http://www.wsj.com/articles/manila-nears-goal-of-becoming-gambling-hub-with-new-city-of-dreams-1422879949
Saturday, April 18, 2015
The April Curse continues
I haven't said anything about the April Curse this year in hopes that it would go away, but no such luck.
April 8, 2015. - Dzhokhar Tsarnaev found guilty of 30 counts of murder in federal court.
April 14, 2015 - A jury was seated in the death penalty trial of Colorado theater shooter James Holmes, who "allegedly" killed 12 people at a movie theater in Aurora on July 20, 2012. The opening statements are expected for April 27.
And I didn't write this: Separated by 2 decades, the Oklahoma City and Boston Marathon bombings are linked by an enduring mystery
"Both McVeigh and Tsarnaev have hinted at what motivated them, and it was generally the same — anger at the government for killing people. ... For all of their differences, McVeigh and the Tsarnaev brothers had one major attribute in common as they began to plot their attacks: personal failure. McVeigh was a decorated Gulf War veteran who aspired to join the Special Forces but he failed to pass the physical and psychological requirements. Disappointed, he subsequently quit the Army, ending what he thought would be a lifelong career in the military. Back home in New York, he had a breakdown — and the disappointment of his life soon manifested into anger, alienation and the subsequent plot in Oklahoma City.
In Boston, Tamerlan Tsanaev was an immigrant who had never really assimilated to America. He had bet his life on boxing, hoping to do well enough to join the U.S. Olympic team and earn his citizenship. By all accounts, he was talented and might have made it, but after winning a few regional bouts, he was disqualified from a major tournament because he was not technically an American citizen. With no real job or skills, Tamerlan Tsarnaev struggled. He became increasingly angry, and according to the Boston Globe, he complained to his mother about hearing “voices” in his head, which she tried to quell by pushing him to embrace religion.
==============================
4/14/2015 - 400 migrants fleeing Libya drowned after their boat capsized. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/14/400-drowned-libya-italy-migrant-boat-capsizes
4/19/2015 - at least 800 migrants drown when their boat capsizes near Libya. Only 27 survived
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/11551278/Mediterranean-migrant-crisis-hits-Italy-as-EU-ministers-meet-live.html
4/19/2015 - ISIS executes at least 30 Christians in Libya. http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/19/africa/libya-isis-executions-ethiopian-christians/
4/24/2015 - 100 year anniversary of Armenian genocide, which Turkey denies
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3044292/Genocide-Christians-blood-soaked-depravity-exceeded-today-s-atrocities-Islamic-State-100-years-Turkey-faces-global-disgust-refusal-admit-butchering-MILLION-Christians.html
=============================
April 15, 2014 - Boko Haram, an Islamic terrorist group in Nigeria, kidnaps 276 schoolgirls from Chibok, Nigeria. On April 13, 2015, hundreds of people protest in Abuja.
April 25,2015 - 100 year anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli.
==============================
Update:
April 27, 1865 - In the greatest Maritime disaster in US history, the Sultana, a Mississippi River steamboat, exploded near Memphis Tennessee, killing an estimated 1800 of her 2427 passengers, when three of the boat's four boilers exploded and she burned to the waterline and sank.
April 8, 2015. - Dzhokhar Tsarnaev found guilty of 30 counts of murder in federal court.
April 14, 2015 - A jury was seated in the death penalty trial of Colorado theater shooter James Holmes, who "allegedly" killed 12 people at a movie theater in Aurora on July 20, 2012. The opening statements are expected for April 27.
And I didn't write this: Separated by 2 decades, the Oklahoma City and Boston Marathon bombings are linked by an enduring mystery
"Both McVeigh and Tsarnaev have hinted at what motivated them, and it was generally the same — anger at the government for killing people. ... For all of their differences, McVeigh and the Tsarnaev brothers had one major attribute in common as they began to plot their attacks: personal failure. McVeigh was a decorated Gulf War veteran who aspired to join the Special Forces but he failed to pass the physical and psychological requirements. Disappointed, he subsequently quit the Army, ending what he thought would be a lifelong career in the military. Back home in New York, he had a breakdown — and the disappointment of his life soon manifested into anger, alienation and the subsequent plot in Oklahoma City.
In Boston, Tamerlan Tsanaev was an immigrant who had never really assimilated to America. He had bet his life on boxing, hoping to do well enough to join the U.S. Olympic team and earn his citizenship. By all accounts, he was talented and might have made it, but after winning a few regional bouts, he was disqualified from a major tournament because he was not technically an American citizen. With no real job or skills, Tamerlan Tsarnaev struggled. He became increasingly angry, and according to the Boston Globe, he complained to his mother about hearing “voices” in his head, which she tried to quell by pushing him to embrace religion.
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4/14/2015 - 400 migrants fleeing Libya drowned after their boat capsized. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/14/400-drowned-libya-italy-migrant-boat-capsizes
4/19/2015 - at least 800 migrants drown when their boat capsizes near Libya. Only 27 survived
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/11551278/Mediterranean-migrant-crisis-hits-Italy-as-EU-ministers-meet-live.html
4/19/2015 - ISIS executes at least 30 Christians in Libya. http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/19/africa/libya-isis-executions-ethiopian-christians/
4/24/2015 - 100 year anniversary of Armenian genocide, which Turkey denies
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3044292/Genocide-Christians-blood-soaked-depravity-exceeded-today-s-atrocities-Islamic-State-100-years-Turkey-faces-global-disgust-refusal-admit-butchering-MILLION-Christians.html
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April 15, 2014 - Boko Haram, an Islamic terrorist group in Nigeria, kidnaps 276 schoolgirls from Chibok, Nigeria. On April 13, 2015, hundreds of people protest in Abuja.
April 25,2015 - 100 year anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli.
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Update:
April 27, 1865 - In the greatest Maritime disaster in US history, the Sultana, a Mississippi River steamboat, exploded near Memphis Tennessee, killing an estimated 1800 of her 2427 passengers, when three of the boat's four boilers exploded and she burned to the waterline and sank.
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