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Bernanke Must Have Lost My List of Questions:
By Caroline Baum
Apr 27, 2011
(Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke speaks about the outlook for Fed monetary policy, the impact of ending the central bank's $600 billion bond-buying program on financial markets and the U.S. economy. Bernanke's remarks were made at his first news conference following a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee. Federal Reserve policy makers said the economy is recovering at a “moderate pace” and a pickup in inflation is likely to be temporary, as they agreed to finish $600 billion of bond purchases on schedule in June. Bloomberg's Peter Cook and Michael McKee report. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke took questions from the press for 45 minutes yesterday. His answers were direct, as complete as they could be (given the vagaries of economic forecasting) and even at times groundbreaking. We learned, for example, that when the Fed assures us of low interest rates for an “extended period,” it means for “a couple of meetings.” “We don’t know with certainty,” Bernanke added. There was a lot left unanswered -- and unasked. (I’ll get to my preferred questions in a moment.)
Considering how momentous a break from tradition it was for Bernanke to hold the first post-meeting press conference in the Federal Reserve’s 98-year history, the immediate reaction was muted. The earth is still rotating on its axis, the New York Stock Exchange is set to open at 9:30 a.m. today as planned, and the gods of the markets seem at peace with the outcome. It’s true that, for anyone over the age of 40, the press briefing was a big deal. Prior to 1994, the Fed [....]
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-04-27/bernanke-must-have-lost-my-list-of-questions-commentary-by-caroline-baum.html
Employers give pay raises to prevent brain drain
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2011-04-30
BEIJING - Management from SOPO Group, a chemical products manufacturer in East China, recently promised to give its workers an average pay raise of 400 yuan ($61.6) following rounds of negotiations with worker representatives. The promise was delivered after workers complained that the group's initially proposed quota of a 300-yuan increase for every employee was not enough to compensate for their losses during the global financial crisis or to offset the impact of inflation. "SOPO will lose its attractiveness to skilled workers if the payment structure remains unchanged after recent price hikes," said Zang Guoying, a worker representative who participated in the negotiations. China's consumer price index (CPI), a major gauge of inflation, jumped 5.4 percent in March since the same period last year, its sharpest rise in nearly three years. Some price officials have warned that the country's inflation rate may remain high [....]
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2011-04/30/content_12426765.htm
The Hope and Change Sticky Note Campaign
April 28, 2011
by Jane Jamison
Hat tip to James Simpson for this latest Grass Roots Stealth Move!
Purchase a pad of large sticky notes. Write on each one, “How’s that Hope & Change working out for you?” Every time you stop to fill your vehicle with gas, place your sticky note somewhere on the pump before you drive away. DO NOT be destructive in ANY way! Place your sticky note somewhere, so as not to impede the next customer’s ability to read the pump’s digital readout.
After placing your sticky note, please consider taking a digital picture, then uploading it to our wall. Please tell us in which city and state the picture was taken. This is meant to be a “quiet” protest by our silent majority of Americans, to be served upon this administration!! Thank you all for your support!
Please Note: This is meant to be an ongoing event! Facebook limits the duration for any event created, to a term of not more than four months. It is my desire that we continue on with this event until Jan. 20th, 2013, when a new President will take his or her’s oath of office! Now, plan your trips to the office supply stores, America! We have a message to deliver! GO TEAM!!
Places to stick your stickies:
1. The Gym
2. Food Stores, on food items, indicate the price of the item.
3. Gas Stations
4. Doctor’s Offices
5. Restrooms, on the toilet, sink, mirror, door, towel dispenser, etc.
6. Self Check Out Machines, right where the change comes out.
7. Hunting Clubs
8. Bars
9. Shopping carts, on the handle, baby seat, etc.
10. Bulletin Boards in stores
11. Red Boxes
12. Leave Fliers in empty shopping carts
13. Your Electric and Water Meters
14. Flea Markets
15. Resort Areas you visit
16. The “Mom and Pop” stores.
17. Your Computer, Bulletin Board, Desk, etc. at work! It will generate some questions.
18. ATM’s, where the money comes out.
19. Fast Food Drive, on the order screen.
20. Fast Food Restrooms, on the toilet, sink, mirror, door, towel dispenser, etc.
21. Car Washes
http://www.uncoverage.net/2011/04/the-hope-and-change-sticky-note-campaign/
Special army unit ready to be deployed on American soil just before Nov. elections (Update)
April 13th, 2010
Anthony Martin; Conservative Examiner.
In October of this year, one month prior to the November midterm elections, a special army unit known as 'Consequence Management Response Force' will be ready for deployment on American soil if so ordered by the President. The special force, which is the new name being given to the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry, has been training at Fort Stewart, Georgia and is composed of 80,000 troops. According to the Army Times,
The key phrase is 'may be called upon to help with civil unrest.' This afternoon a local radio talk show host reported that he had been in contact with a member of the military. This military source stated that the armed forces have [....]
They may be called upon to help with civil unrest and crowd control or to deal with potentially horrific scenarios such as massive poisoning and chaos in response to a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-yield explosive, or CBRNE, attack.
http://www.examiner.com/conservative-in-national/special-army-unit-ready-to-be-deployed-on-american-soil-just-before-nov-elections-update
Obama, Gas Prices 'n' the Faculty LoungeBy Victor Davis Hanson
April 28, 2011
Are high gas prices a good thing?
That is not as dumb a question as it sounds. Examine a few revealing past remarks from President Obama and the cabinet officials who are now in charge of the nation's energy use and oil leases on federal lands. Then decide whether the current soaring gas prices are supposed to be good or bad.
In 2008, Sen. Ken Salazar (D., Colo.) - now secretary of the interior, in charge of the leasing of federal oil lands - refused to vote for any new offshore drilling. In a Senate exchange with minority leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.), Salazar objected to allowing any drilling on America's outer continental shelf - even if gas prices reached $10 a gallon. We can now see why the president appointed Salazar, inasmuch as Obama recently promised the Brazilians that he would be eager to buy their newfound offshore oil - while prohibiting similar exploration here at home.
From 2007 to 2008, Steven Chu, now secretary of energy, weighed in frequently on global warming and the desirable price of traditional energy. At one point Chu asserted, "Somehow we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe." Chu also lamented, "We have lots of fossil fuel; that's really both good and bad news. We won't run out of energy, but there's enough carbon in the ground to really cook us." In other words, $10 a gallon for gas would [....]http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2011/04/28/obama_gas_prices__the_faculty_lounge_109688.html
SAGE Commission already getting input
By Veronica Lewin
April 25, 2011
Officially formed last week, the governor's new Spending and Government Efficiency Commission is already getting input from state lawmakers and advocacy organizations on how New York can consolidate state government and save New Yorkers money. Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the formation of a 20-member Spending and Government Efficiency (SAGE) Commission April 19 after proposing its creation in January. "For decades, our state government has ballooned, evolving into the sprawling and inefficient bureaucracy we have today," said the governor. "It is time to consolidate the web of state agencies, authorities and commissions that have overlapping functions and missions and to make the remaining ones perform better and more efficiently."
The commission is being aided by the University at Albany's Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, which received a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation and McKinsey & Company to partner with the Cuomo administration to redesign government. The passage of the budget started the fusion of some state agencies. The Department of Correctional Services and the Division of Parole will merge to create the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision. The state Banking and Insurance departments will join to create the Department of Financial Regulation. The state will also merge the Foundation for Science, Technology and Innovation into the Empire State Development Corp. Now, according to the governor's office, the new commission [....]
http://www.legislativegazette.com/Articles-c-2011-04-25-76746.113122-SAGE-Commission-already-getting-input.html
Trump calls U.S. leaders "stupid"
Credit: Reuters/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus
WASHINGTON
Fri Apr 29, 2011 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - New York businessman and possible Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump called U.S. political leadership "stupid" and used the "F" word several times in remarks in Las Vegas on Thursday.
"When people are screwing you, you don't give them state dinners," Trump said of China. "We have weak, pathetic leadership. We have incompetent leadership."
"Our leaders are stupid," Trump said. "They are stupid people. Its very, very sad."
Trump's political spokesman Michael Cohen defended his boss's choice of language and his tone in the speech. "Mr Trump was asked to speak in Las Vegas and he clearly felt very strongly about the topic," Cohen said. "Mr. Trump is a patriot -- nothing gets him madder that watching America fall apart in front of his nose." Trump has not officially declared [....]
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/04/29/us-trump-expletives-idUSTRE73S5PC20110429
Ask Kim
4 Great Financial Books for Recent Grads
These primers will help your children learn the basics of investing and personal finance.
By Kimberly Lankford, Contributing Editor,
Kiplinger's Personal Finance
April 26, 2011
Can you recommend any good investment books for my two children, who are recent college graduates? They are novices about money and investing, so I am looking for good entry-level books.That’s such a wonderful idea to help your children get started after graduation with some basic tips about investing and personal finances. One of the best investing primers [....]
http://www.kiplinger.com/columns/ask/archive/4-great-financial-books-for-recent-grads.html?si=1
Tea Partier to MSNBCer: Media That Blame All Criticism of Obama on His Skin Color Are 'Racers'By Noel Sheppard
April 30, 2011
You've heard of Birthers and Truthers. Tea Partier and talk radio host Tony Katz on Thursday, while appearing on MSNBC News Live Contessa Brewer, called media members that blame all criticism of Barack Obama on the color of his skin "Racers"
TONY KATZ, TEA PARTIER: This is Obama failing to do his job.
CONTESSA BREWER, MSNBC HOST: That’s what a lot of people are saying it's not a laughing matter. They say that there are questions about him, not because there really are questions about where he is born, but because he is black. […]
KATZ: But this whole idea of race, you know what, if there are birthers and they're all crazy and silly for actually wanting to see a birth certificate, well let's talk about the racers, the people who believe that everything is a conspiracy about race. It's Obama’s race that people want to see the birth certificate. It's Obama’s race that people don't like the out of control spending. It's not his race. It's that he's awful. The policies are terrible. ObamaCare is a lie and a failure. QE1 and QE2 didn't work. It's crazy.
BREWER: There were people who took that very exact same stand when George W. Bush was president. They said the exact same words that you're saying about President Bush, and they never demand – wait, wait, wait, wait - and they never demanded to see a birth certificate.
Brewer was showing quite a touch of ignorance here since nobody questions the citizenship of George H. W. and Barbara Bush therefore making it absurd to want to see George W.'s birth certificate. At the same time [....]
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/noel-sheppard/2011/04/30/tea-partier-msnbc-media-blame-all-criticism-obama-his-skin-color-are-
Until Next Sunday....
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