New Topic
| First Patron | Diners Review | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Padre Mellyrn |
Ok I know the economy is bad, but |
Lead | |
|
I swear to the goddess, I just saw a policeman making his rounds on campus, not in a car, or on a motorcyle, or on a bike even. Now he was doing his rounds on
a "razor" scooter, the kind you propel by using your foot to push against the ground. Now that is sad.
|
|||
Monkeypro |
Change we can believe in Dept: | ||
|
Yep, that's part of Obama's new "green" health reform plan. Park all the police cruisers to prevent trips to the donut shop.
:-) :-) :-)
~We must be the change we wish to see in the world.
-Mahatma Gandhi |
|||
Eliza DoLots |
|||
|
I've seen this....but then, we have a lot of beach to police and sometimes, it's too crowded to ride a bike. I suspect that as this is a mode of
transportation used by the kids, it's the best choice for the officers policing the kids.
The police that work the San Diego Zoo parking lot (which is ginormous so does warrant a fairly constant police presence during business hours) ride horses because it puts them above the height of the cars so gives them better visibility (and, they know that the animal lovers going to the zoo will pet and coo over the horses). |
|||
Padre Mellyrn |
|||
|
Horses make sense: for one thing they are worth ten patrolman for any kind of volume control. Bikes have been used for a long time and in the city and campus
they are de rigour. Some areas are too crowded for patrol cars and in other areas, only bikes are allowed.
But Razor scooter? I mean is this saying that the can't even afford new bikes? Inquiring minds would like to know. |
|||
Monkeypro |
More sucky employment news | ||
|
I just heard a CNBC financial analyst talk about unemployment numbers. He said he expects unemployment to rise to over 10 percent sometime in 2010.
He also suggested that if we were to account for those people who have used up their unemployment benifits (which are not counted), and those who are underemployed (working temp or part time when one desires full time work), the REAL unemployment numbers would be close to 17 percent. Forecasts of an eventual return to pre-meltdown employment numbers ranged from just over 2 years (2012) to 10 years (2019). In addition, I heard Alan Greenspan comment that in order to stop unemployment from rising the economy needs to add jobs at a rate of "more than 100,000 a month". Instead of doing that, the economy is still losing jobs. So the economic situation continues to royally shit the bed. That's great news for armed services recruiters, who easily sign up desperate people for enlisted service in dangerous places like Iraq and Afghanistan. So instead of jumping out a window and bouncing off the sidewalk, some people are choosing to get blown up in a foreign country for the benifit of Exxon and Halliburton. Ain't life grand. :-) :-) :-)
~We must be the change we wish to see in the world.
-Mahatma Gandhi |
|||
Padre Mellyrn |
|||
|
humm, sucky economy, people signing up in droves to die in a foriegn land for corporate greed, while the current president has a house and senate full of rabid
people hating members who feel the people owe them everything to do nothing.
We the unwilling, lead by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful, and never has so many done so little with so much for no one. Can we say "vietnam, tonkin gulf, and Ford" |
|||
Monkeypro |
US forces meet recruiting goals thanks to recession | ||
|
-- US forces meet recruiting goals thanks to recession --
Link: http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=108669§ionid=3510203 ***** Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:07:35 GMT After more than 35 years, the US military has met all of its recruiting goals, as hundreds of thousands of American youths enlist amid an economic meltdown. The Pentagon, which made the announcement on Tuesday, said high unemployment, which just hit a 26-year-high of 9.8 percent, as well as a multi-billion dollar effort to attract volunteers helped the recruiting. Bill Carr, deputy undersecretary of defense for military personnel policy, said the "recession was a force" which allowed the defense forces "to be, for much of the year, in a very favorable position." The official also added that in the last fiscal year, the Defense Department spent some $10,000 on advertising, marketing and other budget items per recruit, while the Army disbursed more than twice that amount, $22,000. He also noted that hefty enlistment bonuses "for the military's success" were also an important factor in the youths' willingness to wear the uniform, despite the near-certainty that they will go to war. The military has not seen such recruitment since the all-volunteer force was established in 1973, after Congress ended the mandatory draft following the Vietnam War, during which the US lost more than 50,000 soldiers. In recent years, the military, specifically the US Army, has struggled to fill its ranks, leading it to be much more flexible in enforcing its recruitment provisions, admitting more high school dropouts, overweight youths, and even felons. However, during the current budget year, which ended September 30, the Defense Department brought in 168,900 active-duty troops, or 103 percent of this year's goal, while the National Guard and reserve forces reached 104 percent of the goal. This brings the number of active duty members of all the US armed services to about 1.4 million, not including nearly 880,000 'selected reserves,' ready to be called up. ***** Yep, things are bad, -which is good for the merchants of death who have effectively created an "economic conscription" of our youth into service of their interests. :-) :-) :-)
~We must be the change we wish to see in the world.
-Mahatma Gandhi |
|||
Eliza DoLots |
|||
|
We're assuming we'll have lots of tricker treaters this year because it's essentially sanctioned begging for food....
|
|||
Monkeypro |
The horror of halloween reality | ||
|
Gads... buy up some boxes of pre-fixed peanut butter crackers, cans of tuna and spam...
What is really going to be ugly is when all these recruits return back from those wars to find NOTHING for them at home. I do not wish to diminish their honor or service, but one has to worry about how many potential Timothy McVeighs might be in the mix...
~We must be the change we wish to see in the world.
-Mahatma Gandhi |
|||
Monkeypro |
This simply can't be true | ||
|
Check the story below. I've been to some of these auctions. Plus I've watched the results of lots more on the internet. I have NEVER seen or heard
prices like those quoted in this article. Like for instance a "nine-bedroom, four-bath property" that had been for sale for a year that fetched just
$15,000 at auction.That didn't fuckin happen. Or the "five-bedroom, three-bath" home that brought just $16,000 at auction. No way that happened
either.
But hearing stuff like this scares the shit out of me. I wonder what I'll hear tomorrow... -- At foreclosure auctions, broken dreams on sale -- Link: Click here ***** CHICAGO (Reuters) - The seven-bedroom, three-bath house in this city's West Garfield Park neighborhood had once been someone's American Dream. But at a recent auction of about 100 foreclosed houses and condos, it was just Property No. 20 -- and drawing no bids from a roomful of buyers despite its bargain-basement price. "Any interest in this home at $7,000?" fast-talking auctioneer Renee Jones asked the crowd. "If not, we'll move on." Saddled with swollen portfolios of foreclosed and unsold properties in the housing crisis, U.S. lenders and builders are turning to professional auctioneers to help them unload the unwanted real estate in a hurry. It is an open question whether the auctions indicate that the U.S. real-estate market is recuperating or is still in intensive care. But the rapid-fire, under-the-hammer sales -- usually resorted to only after every other effort to market a property has failed -- are on the rise across the United States, providing a colorful burst of activity in a corner of the weak economy that needs all the life it can get. "Over the last two years, we've progressively seen more and more of these," said Chris Longly, the deputy executive director of the National Auctioneers Association trade group. "It's a sign of the times." Hard data on the number of foreclosed properties being sold at auction are hard to come by. "The foreclosure market is a moving target right now," said Dave Webb of Hudson & Marshall, one of the biggest auctioneers in the market. But Hudson & Marshall and its rivals say they are gearing up for more in the coming months, convinced that a moratorium on foreclosures earlier this year only postponed what they believe is an inevitable avalanche of new repossessions. "The foreclosures are going to explode again," said Webb. DREAMS ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK The cadence and rhythm of the auctions, and the great deals that many buyers walk away with, make the events exciting to watch -- and make it easy to forget the heartache that lies behind almost every forced property sale in a country where home ownership is often equated with "The American Dream." At the weekend Chicago event, Jones managed to race through the 100 properties up for bid in less than two hours. When a home did not immediately attract interest or the minimum price, Jones, wielding her gavel in front of a giant tote board, wasted no time moving on. Kendi Kiogora, a 28-year-old first-time home buyer, said she felt like she "won the lottery" when she bought a one-bedroom, one-bath apartment in Chicago's trendy South Loop neighborhood, with skyline views and heated parking, for just $105,000 -- $62,000 less than its last listed price. Real-estate professionals in attendance were less euphoric. Antonette Taylor, an agent at a brokerage that plans to start holding auctions this fall, said the low prices -- most sold for 30 to 50 percent below their last deeply-discounted list price -- made her "a little nervous for my sellers." Other troubling signs: buyers passed on almost half the properties offered in Chicago and fewer than 100 bidders showed up for the event, which also attracted some online buyers. "We're having a difficult day," said Tom Atkins of Zetabid, the company holding the auction. "There was a $1,000 property that no one bid on. You'd think a slum lord at the very least would buy it and put a (federal housing assistance voucher) renter in there for $600 a month." Atkins said bidders at auctions are generally evenly split between first-time homebuyers and veteran investors. Zetabid has a special VIP area near the auctioneer's dais so bidders can raise their paddles with one hand even as they sign contracts with the other. Among the investors was Thomas Smith, 48, who paid $16,000 for a five-bedroom, three-bath home in Englewood, a notoriously violent neighborhood on Chicago's South Side he called "the murder capital of the world." Smith figured another $15,000 in repairs would render the place rentable and said his ideal tenants would be "people...who fell off the ladder a little bit. I'm not trying to make a million dollars or anything." BETTER THAN NOTHING Later, when the nine-bedroom, four-bath property that David Kosak's boss had been trying to sell for a year went under the hammer, it fetched just $15,000 -- less than one-third its last list price but a figure the 23-year-old broker's assistant called "better than anything we've gotten." Asked if he thought the auction activity might be a sign the property market was improving, Kosak was less upbeat. "If it's getting better, we're not seeing it," he said. "We only do foreclosures, and we're only getting busier." Whitney Tilson, a managing partner of T2 Partners and Tilson Mutual Funds and the author of "More Mortgage Meltdown: 6 Ways to Profit in These Bad Times," said there is a reason Kosak's office is getting busier. After Barack Obama's election as U.S. president last year, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two government-sponsored mortgage giants, imposed a foreclosure moratorium that lasted about four months. Many private banks followed suit. As a result, there was a gap in the pipeline of foreclosed homes that pushed into late spring. That helped auction prices stabilize for a few months and permitted some analysts to claim the market had found its bottom. But the moratoriums have now expired. With the mortgage modification and foreclosure prevention efforts championed by the Obama administration unable to keep pace with defaults, as many as 7 million homes and condos may eventually enter foreclosure before the dust finally settles, according to a report by Amherst Securities Group issued in September. "There are a lot of things that have temporarily stabilized the market," Tilson said. "But those things are going away ... Delinquencies are spiking. This is going to be a mess." ***** :-) :-) :-)
~We must be the change we wish to see in the world.
-Mahatma Gandhi |
|||
Padre Mellyrn |
|||
|
One reason that I was so strict on my purchase. I had set the value I wanted to pay, and did that based on one person making a steady salary.
They tried to use home to bouy up the economy. Interesting when George W. Bush was Governer and ran his states surplus into the ground and turned it into a ten billion debit, he was asked what about it, since he created it on his watch, and his reaction "well I won't have to be there when it comes due, will I?" So he did it to the american people, and that last thing they tried to help stop the collapse, was houses. Everyone and his brother was running around selling and re-selling homes for 10 to 20 times the market value, accounting for inflation and the future. I hope this means that some people get the homes they need for thier families. But this buy to sell needs to stop. We are selling the same damn houses to each other. |
|||
Monkeypro |
EBay profits down 29% from same qtr last year | ||
|
-- EBay profits continue to fall --
Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8319657.stm *** Wednesday, 21 October 2009 23:01 UK Profits at online auction giant eBay have fallen by 29% as it continued to struggle amid the weak economy. It made $350m (£211m) in the third quarter from $492m in the same period a year earlier as customers showed reluctance to spend. But the firm's overall sales rose 6% to $2.4bn as more people used its PayPal division to pay for things online. Shares fell 5% in after-hours trading as it forecast the fourth quarter would continue to be tough. Revenue from internet communications service Skype, rose by 29%. Earlier this year eBay agreed to sell the business for about $2bn though will keep a 35% stake. *** The bottom has fallen out on EBay. People who are sitting on huge inventories of stuff are practically giving it away to have some positive cash flow. That's why EBay's profits are down. It's bad for sellers, but insanely good for buyers. Just the other day I bought an auction lot of 28 IBM laptops for $1.99 each. Yep, under 2 dollars. Unbelievable! -And all but 3 of them work! I got everything with shipping for under $100. I can finally park my trusty old IBM ThinkPad 750c for something lots newer. So I'm happy, but I'm also scared shitless. EBay pickens these days are sorta like raiding the mainstreet storefronts of those abandoned towns around Chernobyl just after the word got out. You may become rich in posessions, but they will soon be worthless and you will glow in the dark... :-) :-) :-)
~We must be the change we wish to see in the world.
-Mahatma Gandhi
Last Edited By: Monkeypro
10/21/2009 22:09.
Edited 1 times.
|
|||
Padre Mellyrn |
|||
|
Don't think you have to worry about glowing in the dark, much.
|
|||
Monkeypro |
Don't "Bogart" that job | ||
|
The economy just got better... by ONE job. (Hey, it's a step in the right direction).
-- US paper seeks pot correspondent -- Link: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8319950.stm *** A US newspaper says it has received well over 100 applicants for the post of marijuana critic - many of whom have offered to work for free. The alternative Denver newspaper, Westword, is seeking a writer for its weekly review of Colorado's booming medical marijuana dispensaries. But there is a catch - candidates must have a medical ailment allowing them to enter a dispensary and use marijuana. Fourteen US states now allow the sale of some sort of medical cannabis. 'Stoned' "Keep in mind this isn't about assessing the quality of the medicine on site; it's about evaluating the quality of the establishment," says the Westword job posting. "After all, we can't have our reviewer be stoned all the time." States like Colorado and California, where medical use is legal, have seen an explosion in the number of pot shops - ranging from upmarket clinics to dingy drugs dens. The dispensaries sell more than a dozen varieties, from White Widow to the less expensive Afghan Gold Seal. Some cost up to $130 (£78) an ounce. But the writer of Westword's Mile Highs and Lows column is expected to focus on the dispensaries, not the drugs. "Compensation will be meagre," says the posting. It says the paper can't pay for marijuana purchases, "although that would be pretty cool." *** What America needs: More "roll your own" type jobs. Now that's the spirit! :-) :-) :-)
~We must be the change we wish to see in the world.
-Mahatma Gandhi
Last Edited By: Monkeypro
10/22/2009 13:50.
Edited 2 times.
|
|||
Padre Mellyrn |
|||
|
And I totally agree; the pot plant is still hemp, and from hemp we get fiber for clothes and books, edible oils which can be recycled much easier. Its a
commodity, its viable, and its renewable. That means 'taxes'.
|
|||
Eliza DoLots |
|||
|
I considered applying for that job...but really...I'd want to get stoned...
|
|||
Monkeypro |
One more good reason that Monkey loves Leadville, Colorado | ||
|
-- Medical marijuana dispensary opens here --
Link: http://www.leadvilleherald.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=4635 *** 10/22/2009 4:18:00 PM Cloud City Compassionate Care has opened as a medical-marijuana dispensary in the commercial zone of Leadville. Co-owner Dan Berggren described the shop as an alternative medicine clinic, much like a chiropractor or acupuncture therapist. Clients will include only those who hold a medical-marijuana registry identification card from the state of Colorado. The dispensary will be able to get quality plants genetically engineered to target different symptoms, according to co-owner Dan Pedrow. Patients will have a choice in the form in which the medical marijuana is dispensed. There are smokables, edibles and tinctures. In the edibles category, the clinic has a whole list of baked goods, including a line of gluten-free baked goods. These are baked in a Food and Drug Administration-approved kitchen. The baker's specialty, according to Pedrow, is cheesecake. To access the products available in the dispensary, cardholders must designate the owners of the dispensary as their caregivers. The caregiver is meant to know the symptoms and the patient well, said Pedrow. The dispensary plans to have a relationship with its customers in order to best match the treatments to the clients' needs, said Josh Sodic, third co-owner. Dispensaries: a new industry in Colorado This is the first dispensary to open in Lake County, but not the first in the state of Colorado. Many communities are starting to see these businesses open, and local governments are reacting to the new industry as it grows. Boulder recently placed a moratorium on opening dispensaries in order to establish regulations. Other communities have prohibited them outright. A Northglenn ordinance sets up a policy that is much like that regulating liquor licenses, which requires a background check on the owners. This ordinance also mandates a business and sales -tax license. One cause for the increase in this industry is a new policy from the U.S. Justice Department. It recently sent out a memo indicating that the federal government will not be prosecuting medical marijuana cases in states that allow the use of the drug for that purpose. According to the Associated Press, this is a significant departure from the Bush administration, which insisted on enforcing marijuana laws regardless of state laws. Colorado is one of 14 states that has legalized the use of pot for medical use. Seventeen states have the issue on the ballot for the November election. State position on dispensaries Currently there are no regulations at the state level that control the dispensary industry. Amendment 20 set up no guidelines for the distribution of medical marijuana. "This vacuum has given rise to problems I and other law-enforcement leaders have highlighted over the past few months," said Colorado Attorney General John Suthers on the issue. One of the issues mentioned by Suthers is the increase in crime in the neighborhoods surrounding dispensaries run from residences. Another issue, according to Lake County Sheriff Ed Holte, is in enforcing the law. Local law enforcement is left without a direction for confiscating plants and turning cases over to the district attorney's office. If plants are confiscated, they have to be kept alive, which can be expensive. "This vacuum also has left Colorado's towns and cities to grapple with the state's burgeoning marijuana trade," said Suthers. Suthers has asked that Colorado lawmakers come up with a regulatory scheme to clarify the law on this subject. The rules at this dispensary There is a group called Sensible Colorado that is trying to work with the state to come up with the regulations for dispensaries. Cloud City Compassionate Care is also working with this group, which helped with the operating policies of the dispensary. Each client will have a packet of paperwork to complete, which includes proof of a medical marijuana registration identification card. Another rule, which complies with state law, is that no product can be consumed on site or in the presence of the public. The clients sign a contract that says they will only consume in the privacy of their homes, said Pedrow. The security system installed in the new clinic is a closed system, said Sodic, meaning that if a wire is cut to try to bypass the system it will go off. It includes motion sensors on each door and window, said Pedrow. Video cameras alert the owners of someone approaching the shop long before that person gets to the door, said Berggren. The cops are just around the corner, he added. The sign for the business will not flaunt the marijuana leaf, said Berggren. There is too much tourism traffic in Lake County for that. The business is also collecting sales tax and has indicated that it will be joining the chamber of commerce. The city discussion The dispensary, as a clinic, is an allowed use in the commercial zone, according to Padriac Smith, administrative services for the city. There is no definition for a dispensary or pharmacy in the city's land development code. This is an oversight in the code that the planning and zoning commission will be working on. Another dispensary is going through the process for a conditional use permit to open on East 7th Street. *** Leadville is a town of approximately 2600 people. It will apparently have not one, but TWO medical marijuana dispensaries. Sweet... At Leadville's altitude of 10,200 feet, these dispensaries will be the "highest" in the USA. :-) :-) :-)
~We must be the change we wish to see in the world.
-Mahatma Gandhi |
|||
Padre Mellyrn |
|||
|
well I am hoping we get 'legalize it' reeferrundum on the ballot this year.
|
|||
Eliza DoLots |
|||
|
San Diego has so many medical marijuana clinics it's funny. All have onsite doctors willing to prescribe for you and some offer a free trial joint....
|
|||
Padre Mellyrn |
|||
|
Let's face it, sativia smoking is not all that far back in time. In the late seventies there were still farmers who remember growing both. And we need to
stop importing hemp, that was grown in twenties and was used by the U.S. Navy for hawsers.
No reason can't have a cash crop literally in all aspects. You can't eat cotton very well, cotton seeds aren't particuarlay tasty, the stalk of the plant is useless and cotton damages soil, it is very harsh. I promise I would help with the hemp crop by smoking more. |
|||
Monkeypro |
Monkey talks shit about good shit | ||
|
Yea, but can we export it as a domestic product?
For instance, will they "call for Phillip Morris" or perhaps Marlboro ganja in Amsterdam? ~Yo, man... screw that Mauwi Waui stuff, we want the Kansas Kryptonite". :-) :-) :-)
~We must be the change we wish to see in the world.
-Mahatma Gandhi |
|||