Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Barker's Newsbites: Tuesday, January 29, 2013


Yep... no newsbiting yesterday... but I'll make up for it today by posting a "double" newsbites theme song video today!

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7 comments:

William R. Barker said...

http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-as-dow-flirts-with-14000-are-stocks-cheap-20130129,0,7716581.story

Last week the broad Standard & Poor's 500 index closed above 1,500 for the first time in five years.

This week the Dow Jones industrial average has been flirting with 14,000, a level it hasn't seen since October 2007.

(*SNORT*) (*SHAKING MY HEAD*)

* AND YET... THE ECONOMY SUCKS.

* INDEED... THE FACT THE ECONOMY SUCKS IS WHY THE MARKETS ARE ONCE AGAIN INFLATING INTO BUBBLE TERRITORY.

* FOLKS... IT'S ALL ARTIFICIAL. IT'S ARTIFICIAL INTEREST RATES PLUS MONETIZATION POLICIES PLUS OLIGARCHICAL CONSPIRACY...

(*JUST SHAKING MY HEAD*)

* AHH... THE SHEEPLE... THE POOR, IGNORANT SHEEPLE...

January 29, 2013 at 12:35 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jan/29/arrests-signal-9-percent-jump-illegal-immigration/

Even as President Obama travels to Las Vegas Tuesday to call for legalizing illegal immigrants, the latest numbers from the U.S. Border Patrol suggest that the flow across the nation’s southwest border jumped by 9% last year.

(*PURSED LIPS*)

In his first term Mr. Obama said he had fortified the border so much that it could now be deemed secure, and Congress could turn its attention to passing an overhaul of the broader immigration system.

(*RUEFUL CHUCKLE*)

January 29, 2013 at 3:06 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://thehill.com/blogs/on-the-money/economy/279857-report-fiscal-outlook-not-improved-by-debt-deal#ixzz2JOAYHF2u

The nation's long-term fiscal outlook hasn't significantly improved following the recent agreement between Congress and the White House over tax and spending issues, according to a new analysis.

* THEY NEEDED "A NEW ANALYSIS" TO COME TO THIS CONCLUSION...?

(*SNORT*)

Michael A. Peterson, president and COO of the Peterson Foundation, [which ran the study and came up with the analysis, says,] "The primary goal of any sustainable fiscal policy is to stabilize the debt as a share of the economy and put it on a downward path, and yet our nation is still heading toward debt levels of 200% of GDP and beyond."

* TO MICHAEL A. PETERSON, PRESIDENT AND COO OF THE PETERSON FOUNDATION, I SAY... "DUH!"

The report concludes that the recent round of deficit-reduction measures won't make major improvements because they fail to address most of the major contributors to the debt and deficit, including rapidly rising healthcare costs.

* BUT... BUT... BUT... OBAMACARE...???

(*SMIRK FOLLOWED BY A SNICKER*)

Debt is now projected to grow from 72% of GDP in 2012 to 87% in 2022...

* WHICH IS THE WRONG DIRECTION...!!! MEANING DEBT IS INCREASING - NOT DECREASING...!!!

[D]ebt will continue to grow between now and 2022, and will accelerate significantly after that.


* AND... WILL... ACCELERATE... SIGNIFICANTLY... AFTER... THAT...

* FOLKS... VIOLENCE... REVOLUTION... IT'S THE ONLY ANSWER I SEE. (THEORETICALLY THAT IS...) (*WINK*)

January 29, 2013 at 3:16 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130129/AUTO01/301290398#ixzz2JO6IUkY9

The Obama administration approved the sale of most of bankrupt battery maker A123 Systems' assets to Chinese firm Wanxiang Group Corp.

(*JUST THROWING MY HAND UP*)

In November, Michigan's two senators and 11 House members raised concerns that the acquisition of bankrupt battery maker A123 by a Chinese company may pose a "threat to U.S. national security." In a letter to Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner — who chairs the Committee on Foreign Investment, which reviews the sale of U.S. companies — Sens. Carl Levin, D-Detroit, Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing, and members of the House raised concerns.

Rep. Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, said Tuesday the decision hasn't "changed my opinion that the core technology developed by A123 and the intellectual property that goes along with it can be separated along A123's business lines. It is also apparent that this technology was developed using taxpayer dollars through President Obama's stimulus program and is now falling into the hands of a foreign company. American taxpayers should not be funding technology that will in turn be used in competition against American companies."

(*BLINDING MIGRAINE HEADACHE*)

Congressman Huizenga said he is "currently looking into legislative solutions to prevent both taxpayer-funded and sensitive technologies from being sold to foreign companies in the future."

* FOLKS...

(*PAUSING FOR A MOMENT TO JUST SIT IN STUNNED SILENCE*)

U.S. Sens. John Thune, R-S.D., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, also criticized the decision. "Technology produced by A123 and funded by U.S. taxpayers should not simply be shipped off to China so that the military applications for these materials can be reproduced abroad, Thune said. Grassley agreed: "We don't have any answers on whether U.S. national security concerns are protected. The only thing that's clear is a foreign-owned company will benefit from the millions of dollars given to A123 through the president's stimulus package. That's troubling."

President Barack Obama hailed A123 and even invited the company's CEO to the Rose Garden in April 2010. A123 had vowed to create 3,000 jobs by the end of 2012, but only has 1,300. It won $249.1 million in grants from the Obama administration in 2009 to build battery plants in Romulus and Livonia, but has only spent $132 million. It also received more than $125 million in tax credits and funding from the state of Michigan.

In December, Wanxiang won a bankruptcy court auction to acquire most of A123 for $256.6 million, including its grid and commercial business assets and its U.S. facilities in Michigan, Massachusetts and Missouri.

* BUT, HEY... FOLKS... THE MARKET IS UP...

(*SAD LITTLE CHUCKLE AS A TEAR SLIDES DOWN MY CHEEK*)

January 29, 2013 at 3:28 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.politico.com/blogs/under-the-radar/2013/01/house-holder-may-near-deal-on-fast-and-furious-contempt-155525.html

A deal may be near in the Operation-Fast-and-Furious-related dispute that led the House of Representatives to cite Attorney General Eric Holder for contempt last year.

* YEAH... IT'S CALLED SURRENDER.

(*SNORT*)

* LISTEN... FOLKS... BOEHNER MIGHT AS WELL BE ON THE OBAMA PAYROLL. (AND PERHAPS HE IS...)

January 29, 2013 at 3:36 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100412936

Twitter, along with other tech companies in San Francisco, may receive local tax breaks for agreeing to give "charitable contributions" that in Twitter's case includes giving away promoted tweets to local organizations and volunteering.

* I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE FUCK THIS MEANS...

According to documents from San Francisco's government website, the tax deal — which requires companies with over $1 million in payroll expenses to negotiate a Community Benefits Agreement with the city...

* HUH...??? (FOLKS... IS SAN FRANCISCO STILL PART OF AMERICA...???)

...exempts approved companies...

* WOW...

...located in the North of Market/Tenderloin Community in the city from the local 1.5% payroll tax on employees that are hired once the company moves into the neighborhood.

* PUTTING ASIDE THE PROPRIETY OF THE TAX ITSELF... NOW THEY'RE NOT EVEN GONNA ADMINISTER THE TAX UNIFORMLY...?!?!

* FOLKS... EVERY DAY AMERICA MOVES FURTHER TOWARDS FASCISM...

January 29, 2013 at 3:43 PM
William R. Barker said...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/9832588/Anna-Wintours-boyfriend-owes-US-government-1.2-million-in-taxes.html

* THESE ARE THE DEMOCRATS, FOLKS... THESE ARE THE OLIGARCHS... THIS IS THE "THEM" vs. THE "US."

January 29, 2013 at 3:47 PM

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