Flying in the US may become even less pleasant

[Millie]

Originally Posted by Twobit Whore

Housing market must vary from place to place because we just sold a house in a town that isn't really growing at all in no time flat. Realtors were clamoring to represent it for us and we had at least a dozen lookers in the first couple of weeks. It wound up selling for 50% more than was paid for it 10 years ago when it was built.

The housing bubble is popping at different speeds in different parts of the country, because in certain areas demand still outpaces supply. But even those areas will be hit soon enough. Even places that have remained relatively protected from the bubble due to high per capita income and fixed inventories of housing (LA, NYC, Miami, etc.) are now starting to feel the burn. These are markets whose pundits claimed they were "immune" to the nationwide housing crunch, and right now those pundits are eating their words.

Regardless, if you've owned a house for 10 years, you're still going to see a positive return on that house if you sell it today. If you've owned a house for 5 years, there's a decent chance you'll still be able to sell it for a small profit. If you've owned your home for fewer than 5 years, you're in for a world of pain. And all of that is only half the issue, because as buyers read about the housing crisis, their confidence plummets, and they're less willing to buy (or pay what you want for the place), and the market plummets even further. It's a vicious cycle.

[Lejina Bloodbath]

Originally Posted by Zarcath

and why is their procedure to use lethal force? I don't see how that would prevent a triggering device from going off, can't they use tranq darts or some shit?

If you're dead, you can't press the button.

Tranq darts take time to take effect.

The safest way to dispose of a suicide bomber is several rounds in the head. Even then it's not 100% effective, hence why you want to isolate the suspect as much as possible, so if he blows up, he will take the smallest number of victims with him.

A student with an expired visa ran away from the cops in the subway of London a couple years ago shortly after a bomb alert. Thinking he may be the bomber, the first guy to get to him slammed him on the ground and emptied a mag in his skull, strictly following the procedure.

Don't blame the security of Boston on that one, it was the girl being extremely stupid.

[Zarcath]

Originally Posted by Deris

Smart Terrorists would just blow up a a couple of schools around the country. Talk about widespread chaos and the economy crashing.

Honestly to get this outcome you wouldn't need to have mass deaths in the 400+ range, just off 1-2 kids in a couple of schools across the country and let the parents freak out.

@Lejina - I see.

[Tolanin]

Originally Posted by Zarcath

Honestly to get this outcome you wouldn't need to have mass deaths in the 400+ range, just off 1-2 kids in a couple of schools across the country and let the parents freak out.

@Lejina - I see.

and those few hundred people dieing would see a draft go into effect and the invasion of the rest of the middle east, prolly killing hundreds of thousands of muslims in the process, hmm i wonder why they dont do that.. hmm.

[kudos]

Originally Posted by TKarrde

There's no way that will be passed.

Right?


.... right?

In the name of "terrorism" it will be passed. Terrorism is the new "think of the children" bullshit politicians use to get shit passed.

[Twobit Whore]

Removed lame autoplay video.

[GrobbeeTrull2.0]

I live in Clark County, Ohio. Look it up under "Counties in the NATION with the highest foreclosure rate".

Houses aren't moving here. Period. All the poor people that WERE in houses, already defaulted. All of the middle class people who are struggling to keep their houses, some of them are starting to default.

How do you buy a house again, if you've defaulted on a mortgage previously? Hrm.

If our county is an indication of things to come, I smell mass-emmigration. Our population of approximately 100,000 in the whole county has been cut to about 80% that in the past TWO YEARS.

No jobs in the area (except in the Assurant Insurance call center!) other than menial labor, etc etc. If you want to see recession, you need look no further than Springfield, Ohio.

To top it all off, I'd have to buy my yuan NOW if I want a good deal for when I go to China two years from now. Otherwise, I'd have to spend 2-10x as much. Fuck.

[Rythonn]

Originally Posted by Twobit Whore

Annoying video

That shit is annoying since it is loud and plays automatically.

[Twobit Whore]

Yeah I didn't realize that until too late and the other embedding option was broken.. TERRORISM!

[Rythonn]

You missed a chance to say Don't tase me bro!

[Lejina Bloodbath]

What's up with those terrorists using M16 anyway?

Someone call Eduardo, I bet he has a clever explanation.

[tad10]

Originally Posted by Millie

In theory, this seems reasonable, but in practice, the reason no one buys our products is because they're an order of magnitude more expensive than products produced in China -- and weakening the dollar isn't going to solve that problem. So, in effect, all he's doing is precipitating a US dollar currency collapse via inflation while not accomplishing his goal of righting trade imbalances. Besides, we're not a manufacturing economy anymore, and we've outsourced all our manufacturing -- so his attempts to "level the playing field" in that area are for naught in the first place.

1. Yes, Virginia, the US is still a manufacturing economy.

In N.C., A Second Industrial Revolution - washingtonpost.com

2. The side effect of the lowered dollar is to give China a big fuck-you. Which I'm all for. So here's hoping the dollar drops more.

[Millie]

Originally Posted by tad10

1. Yes, Virginia, the US is still a manufacturing economy.

In N.C., A Second Industrial Revolution - washingtonpost.com

2. The side effect of the lowered dollar is to give China a big fuck-you. Which I'm all for. So here's hoping the dollar drops more.

What you don't understand is that it's not giving China a "big fuck you." China's currency will remain lower than ours no matter how far ours falls. They're playing one step ahead of us.

Rather than trying to outcompete China in cheapness of labor and exports, which we cannot fundamentally do without devolving from a developed into a developing nation, we have to face the facts. Dropping the dollar to RMB levels or below is ludicrous and will tank our economy more than it helps address any trade imbalances with China. We're playing right into their hands.

The problem is that success is oftentimes its own worst enemy. Nature abhors a vacuum, but the global economy loves one. Global investment goes to wherever costs are cheapest, eventually driving up costs in that location until another new player comes along with even cheaper costs. The goal isn't to remain the low-cost player indefinitely, because that's impossible. China can't keep it up forever. Nor can we get back there. We passed that stage in our development over a century ago.

I could go on, but your grasp of this subject needs some brushing up. It's about as pointless arguing about this with you as it is arguing with a college student about graduate level subjects. I don't mean that as an insult to your intelligence, because you're probably not a dumb person. Rather, I mean that you should read some more on this subject before trying to discuss it. Your lack of fundamentals is holding back your ability to speak to the details.

[Khorum]

We seriously need a grass roots "Minuteman"-type organization for airport security. It'd be an inspiring way for citizen-soldiers to express their patriotism in a manner that was actually productive. Not to say that sniping pregnant wetbacks in the desert isn't productive, but in an airport setting they'd have direct participation in securing our democracy. Plus we'd get to taze neo-hippie cunts like that MIT bitch with the fake bomb.

[tad10]

Originally Posted by Millie

What you don't understand is that it's not giving China a "big fuck you." China's currency will remain lower than ours no matter how far ours falls. They're playing one step ahead of us.

Yuan hits 60th new high against dollar

UPDATE 2-Fed rate cuts don't tie China PBOC's hands - Zhou | Banking & Financial | Reuters

There's only so much china can do to control the yuan. I was never suggesting that we go to a 1 dollar = 1 yuan rate -- they have spent trillions to keep the yuan artificially low in relation to the dollar. It isn't just about lowering our export costs, it is also about raising their prices.

* * *

As to the big Fuck You. China still has the world's largest reserves of $. So the declining dollar hits them in the wallet. Well I am aware they no longer peg the yuan to the dollar but to a 'basket of curriencies' (which is what the dollar, yen and euro?) they still have enormous reserves and the dollar is still part of the basket. This means that our heroes in wall street (if noone else) can continue to make a good deal of money betting that the yuan will inch up. With their gains coming straight out of the wallet of China's central bank.

In any event this is far afield from the original topic.