Daily news sites| Find Breaking World News
Latest Updates

Hundreds Of Autos And People Pass By, But Only One Stops To Render Assistance

Ignacio (last name unknown)

Photos: HNG/HNNUSA

A 58-year-old man lays on a sidewalk in a Milwaukee South side busy intersection as hundreds of autos and people pass by without rendering aid.

August 17, 2013

Milwaukee,  WI (HNNUSA) - On Saturday,  Ignacio (last name unknown), 58, laid motionless at the Southeast corner sidewalk on S. Cesar E. Chavez Dr. and W. National Ave. while hundreds of drivers and people pass by without stopping to offer aid or to checkout,  if the man was alive. Some of those people just drove around and were video recording the motionless man as they went by.
A man riding a Diamond Back 21-speed bicycle was the only person or good Samaritan to stop around 3:20 p.m. and called police, who then got in touch with the fire department rescue unit to answer the call.
The man happened to wake up and respond to firefighters requests and got checked. Apparently, Ignacio is well known to some of them, who called him by name. 
The man had a squashed empty beer can next to him, but today he gets to survive another day. Ignacio was transported to a hospital for treatment, even though he had refused. It was either a hospital or be taken by police, according to a rescue responder. A firefighter decided to transport Ignacio to a hospital and called for an ambulance.
In 2010, S. Chavez Drive was upgraded by reconstruction ($1.6M facelift). Before the construction, at least 20,000 vehicles drove through Chavez Dr. a day and more than 147,000 per week. W. National Ave. is another busy avenue and thousands of vehicles go through the intersection with Chavez Drive.
Out of all those thousands of drivers and people that just passed by and ignored a motionless man regardless of his unfortunate luck and life style, only one turned out to be a caring Milwaukean or Good Samaritan. Kudos for him.

Professional & Business Services Employees per Capita


Click to enlarge.

Surely we can get this to 6% if we give it one more shot! Just throw the whole kitchen sink at it Ben! For the love of all that is holy, do not taper! We need it all!

It peaked at 5.951% in November of 2000. Good times.

It peaked at 5.950% in May of 2007. What a party.

In July of 2013, it reached 5.872%. So close! At the rate it's climbing, it's practically a "sure thing" to breach 6% by June of 2014, although a new record could be set as early as February. There's only one Christmas season left between us and the ultimate goal! With nearly 19 million jobs at stake, what could possibly go wrong (again)?

There's nothing magical about the 6% barrier of course, other than the fact that we've failed to go through it twice so far. Maybe the third time's the charm? Or maybe it isn't? Who knows?

And as for 6%, I wake up every day thinking that for every 16 humans or so that I know (including babies and the elderly), at least one needs to be a professional & business services employee (accountant, lawyer, janitor, landscaper, groundskeeper, financial manager, office clerk, security guard, and so on). That's the only way our country can truly prosper. Never mind that we only needed about 1/3rd as many 60 years ago. Those were crazy times and not at all as prosperous as what we have now.

If we don't have very nice places for lawyers to do their lawyering and for financial managers to do their managerizing, then what will become of this great country of ours!

This is not investment advice.

See Also:
BLS: Industries at a Glance: Professional and Business Services

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Professional & Business Services Employees per Capita

Trend Forecast- The Skirt(s)-


Trend Forecast - The Skirt(s)





Trend Forecast today: The Skirt(s)
In variations of shapes, colors and prints, these skirts are definitely a key piece in every closet and for all seasons. I'm looking forward to wear something like this in the Fall, paired with sweatshirts or sweaters but until then here are a few suggestions for this last month of Summer.
These colors are as a bag of jelly beans and I want them all!!
Happy Weekend!



                                                                                                 Outfit 1.

                                                                                                Top: Kenzo/ Here 
                                                                                                Skirt: Topshop/ Here 
                                                                                                Bag: Mary Katrantzou/ Here 
                                                                                                Shoes: Prada/ Here  


                                                                                                 Outfit 2


                                                                                                Top: J.Crew/ Here 

                                                                                                Skirt: Topshop/ Here 
                                                                                                Clutch: Asos/ Here 
                                                                                                Shoes: Schutz/ Here 




                                                                                                 Outfit 3.   


                                                                                                Top: Roksanda Ilincic/ Here 
                                  Skirt: Topshop/ Here ( Super Price)
        Clutch: Asos/ Here 
          Shoes: J.Crew/ Here 



Health and Personal Care Store Sales Have Gone Parabolic!


Click to enlarge.

If you are an optimist, I bet you were hoping that the parabola would be right side up. No such luck.

Should the 2nd order polynomial trend continue to its logical conclusion, then say goodbye to 1 million health and personal care store employees someday. Sigh.

Mall Rat Rap

If it's sold at a mall
Then it's due for a fall

If you pay with a card
Then online is not hard

If you get there with gas
Then just stay home and pass

If it fits in a box
Then do not buy the stocks

For those counting on Ben
He cannot change the trend!

Sorry, just a bit of e-commerce and monetary policy gallows humor, in very poor taste I might add.

This is not investment advice, but damn.

This post inspired by the following comment (as seen here).

I think "hanging out" and "being seen" account for a good deal of mall traffic. - Luke Smith

See Also:
Trend Line Disclaimer

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Two Issues Barely Addressed By Immigration Reform Activists, Clergy And Non-profit Orgs.

Private and public medical removals of ill patients and U.S. deportation of Veterans.


Two issues barely addressed by immigration reform activists, clergy, non-profit organizations, U.S. Congress and the Obama administration are the deportation of 800 ill patients by hospitals and U.S. Veterans.


U.S. hospitals illegally deporting seriously uninsured ill patients to foreign medical facilities  http://bit.ly/17M2iDL


Clip on two U.S. Veterans facing deportation:  http://alturl.com/3naok


U.S. Deported Veterans Can Only Become Americans Upon Death  http://bit.ly/QndvUo


Deported veterans: Banished for committing crimes after serving in the U.S. military http://bit.ly/14Vj9pV  and  WPvideo 


 ¡Justicia para nuestra gente!
Justice for our people!


Posted courtesy of HNNUSA as a public service and educational purposes. 

Ávila Beltran, "Pacific Drug Cartel Queen" Expected To Be Deport By Next Week

Sandra Ávila Beltrán

Ávila Beltrán is expected to be deported to Mexico by Tuesday or Thursday from El Paso. ICE also announced that 361 suspects were arrested nationwide targeting associates and members of the Mara Salvatrucha in 71 U.S. cities.

By H. Nelson Goodson
August 16, 2013

El Paso, Texas - On Wednesday, Sandra Ávila Beltrán, 52, aka, "Pacific Drug Cartel Queen" was transferred from a South Louisiana Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center to an El Paso ICE removal center for deportation. She is expected to be deported by next Tuesday or Thursday. Ávila Beltrán will be flown from Texas to Mexico City along with more than 130 other undocumented immigrants ordered to be removed from the U.S. under a program that discontinued turning them over to Mexican immigration authorities across the border from El Paso.
In July, a U.S. District Court of Southern Florida judge decided that Ávila Beltrán had served her time and ordered her release. Ávila Beltrán has been in the custody of ICE, since July 30.
She was extradited to the U.S. in August from Mexico. She pled guilty to a plea agreement with federal prosecutors for harbouring her former boyfriend, Juan Diego Espinoza Ramirez,  aka, "El Tigre" a Colombian convicted drug dealer associated with the Sinaloa Cartel. 
The Milenio Newspaper reported that Ávila Beltrán's Mexican attorney Jorge Alfonso Espino Santillan had said, Mexican federal authorities are expected to arrest his client for using drug money to operate an alleged criminal organization once she returns to Mexico. Mexican federal prosecutors have filed charges in a federal court in the state of Jalisco, according Santillan. 
Ávila Beltrán was previously indicted in the U.S. for alleged charges of organized crime and importing large quantities of cocaine to the U.S. for distribution. She was wanted in the U.S. for importing at least 9.6 tons of cocaine in 2001.
She was arrested in Mexico City in 2007 for organized crime and drug trafficking, but was acquitted in 2010 by a Mexican federal judge.
In 2001, she paid several million dollars in ransom for her son's release after he was kidnapped in Mexico drawing attention to the ransom playoff by Mexican federal authorities. 
Ávila Beltrán also paid to have a cosmetic doctor perform botox treatments while she was incarcerated.
Ávila Betrán was considered ruthless for her tactics used against rival drug cartel members. She is the niece of Miguel Angel Félix Gallardo, who is now serving a 40 year sentence in the U.S. for the homicide of a U.S. DEA agent in 1984.
In January 2010, her great uncle Juan José Quintero Payán, 69, was extradited to the U.S. for drug trafficing, using drug money to invest in U.S. real estate and laundering money, according to a federal indictment. 
In December 2011, Payán who was the founder of the Juarez Cartel was sentenced to 18 years in prison and fined $250,000 by a federal judge in San Antonio, Texas.
 In an unrelated ICE case, 361 suspects were arrested between July and August during a nationwide gang operation targeting members of the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13), including 263 gang members and associates from 43 different gangs in 71 U.S. cities and 98 others encountered during the operation: 84 non-gang members wanted on criminal charges and 14 for immigration violations.

Julian Assange Hitting the Nail On It's Head...

by: Les Carpenter
Rational Nation USA
Liberty -vs- Tyranny


Julian Assange may very well be correct. However, his recent statement that "The only hope as far as electoral politics… presently, is the libertarian section of the Republican party,..." will undoubtedly displease the liberal progressives democratic party as well as the the republican party, perhaps especially the RINO's and the militaristic MIC wing of the GOP. Which of course gives one EVERY rational reason to believe Assange is absolutely RIGHT.



Campus Reform - “The only hope as far as electoral politics… presently, is the libertarian section of the Republican party,” said Assange, in response to a question about the recent swell of college-aged and youth-based support for libertarianism.

“The libertarian aspect of the Republican Party is presently the only useful political voice really in the U.S. Congress,” said Assange. “[I] am a big admirer of Ron Paul and Rand Paul for their very principled positions in the U.S. Congress on a number of issues.”

Assange, who was speaking in an online video forum, hosted by the transparency organization OurSay.org, also praised American Journalist Matt Drudge saying he is responsible for breaking down the “self-censorship” of the American mainstream media.

"Matt Drudge is a news media innovator... It is as a result of the self-censorship of the establishment press in the United States that gave Matt Drudge such a platform and so of course he should be applauded for breaking a lot of that censorship,” said Assange.

Assange is refreshing in his honesty and understanding of the fatal flaw present in not only the American political landscape but the politics of nations in the universal sense.

The story's completion.

Via: Memeorandum

Quote of the Day

Quote of the Day
August 16, 2013
Amazon’s Secret Plan to Sell You Everything!

Forget your local grocery store. Grocers in Manhattan have been in decline for years without competition from Amazon. If that warehouse in New Jersey really is going to be home to AmazonFresh, it's simply going to end those puny, low-margin grocery chains' misery. It marks the beginning of the end of shopping as the whole world knows it; malls will collapse, chains will disappear. "Running errands" will no longer mean jumping from the grocery store to the pharmacy and then to the mall.

Have I mentioned lately that we live in the era of exponential trend failures?

Family Dollar Offers $10k Reward 11 Days After Employee Killed By Robber

Bill Melendez

Family Dollar offered $10K for information leading to the arrest of a  lone suspect that killed an employee at a Milwaukee south side store.

By H. Nelson Goodson
August 16, 2013

Milwaukee, WI - On Friday, Paul Murray, Regional Vice President for Family Dollar announced that a $10,000 dollar reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest of a lone suspect that fatally shot an employee after taking a mere $100. A suspect on August 6 walked into the Family Dollar store at the 4300 block of W. Oklahoma Ave. and robbed it, but after taking $100, the suspect fatally shot Bill Melendez,  44, in the head.
The suspect then fled the scene. Police were called at 3:33 p.m. to the crime scene, according to investigators.
The robbery was caught by video surveillance cameras. Police decribed the suspect as, a "Black male, mid 20′s, 5ft 10 to 6ft, medium build wearing dark sunglasses, black baseball cap with an emblem on the front, and a white t-shirt worn underneath a dark grey zip-up hoodie, matching sweatpants and black shoes."

When "Sure Things" Break Part II (Musical Tribute)


Click to enlarge.



In your house I long to be;
Room by room patiently,
I'll wait for you there like a stone.
I'll wait for you there alone.

See Also:
When "Sure Things" Break (Musical Tribute)

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Southside Kochanski's Concertina Bar Owner Kills Suspected Armed Robber

Andy Kochanski

Photo: Facebook

Three robbers, two of them armed walked into the Kochanski's Concertina Beer Hall to hold it up, one suspect ends up dead and two escaped from the crime scene.

By H. Nelson Goodson
August 16, 2013

Milwaukee, WI - On Thursday, three suspects, two armed walked into Kochanski's Concertina Beer Hall at 1920 S. 37th Street and attempted to rob the Polish bar around midnight. When the owner, Andy Kochanski pulled out a gun and fatally shot a 23-year-old suspect who was trying to rob the bar. The other two suspects then fled the scene without exchanging fire, according to Milwaukee Police spokesperson Lt. Mark Stanmeyer.
Kochanski claims he was protecting two patrons and himself at the bar. On Friday, he posted on his bar's Facebook (FB) page, that he had to do what he did and would do it again to protect his customers.
"I would like to state that I did what I had to do to protect my customers and myself. I have no regrets and would do it again if need be. PLEASE do not let this keep you from having a great time here. PLEASE do not let this tarnish this neighborhood. This could and has happened anywhere. You should ALWAYS feel safe here. Andy Kochanski"
His FB page generated support from followers and friends.
Kochanski confirmed that he will be open on Friday.
State Rep. Joshua Zepnick (D-9th Dist.) on Friday posted on his FB, "Andy is a friend and I've had fundraising events at Kochanski's which is in my District, at least one of these losers will no longer be threatening innocent customers of a neighborhood business. Milwaukee, do not let these things slow you down or stop spending in our city, together we can stop the violence and eliminate fear."
On December 2008, another attempted robbery at the bar resulted with one patron shot in the buttocks. He survived. 
Several masked men walked into the bar with a shotgun and a gun during a Christmas party and fired at Kochanski at the bar. Kochanski pulled out his loaded Glock .45 and began to shoot at the suspects. The suspects fired back, but fled the scene, according to the police report.

When "Sure Things" Break (Musical Tribute)


Click to enlarge.

Some trends are just not what they appear to be.



See Also:
Gold vs. Crude Foodstuffs & Feedstuffs

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Gold vs. Crude Foodstuffs & Feedstuffs

In theory, how far could gold drop in price relative to the basic necessity of food?

In the following chart, I'm adjusting the price of gold for inflation but instead of using the CPI I'm using the producer price index for crude foodstuffs and feedstuffs (which has doubled since 2000).


Click to enlarge.

It appears to me that gold could drop quite a bit more (relative to crude foodstuffs and feedstuffs). The exponential trend in blue has failed and the median is a long ways away. That doesn't mean that gold will drop of course. I'm simply saying that it could.

How to Live on a Deserted Island

5. Find food sources. The ocean is filled with life. Try constructing a low V shaped wall out of stones at low tide, with the point of the V pointing out to the sea. At high tide, fish should swim inside but become trapped as the tide flows out.

12. Find food... There are lots of edible roots and berries, but watch out! Some are poisonous. Only eat them if you are sure they are safe. The best, and most reliable source of food is bugs. Yes, bugs. They are everywhere and an excellent source of protein. If deciding to fish with the bugs instead, a hook can be fashioned by carving out a stick into a hook shape and putting a barb on it. Tie string to it and you're in business.

Note that there is no mention of borrowing money to buy gold.

Monex: How to Buy Gold

Or, you may elect financing of your precious metals, using as little as a 25% down payment and taking advantage of investment leverage of as much as 4-to-1, through our exclusive Atlas Account program.

I love the term "exclusive" to describe the account. Who would Monex exclude? Investors who would fold under the massive weight of a margin call?

As of 2006, I no longer own gold nor do I have any desire to buy it back at these prices (relative to the price of toilet paper anyway). That said, I figure it never hurts to buy a few extra large bags of rice at Costco though. Things happen.

In my opinion, we've replaced risk-free investments with risky free lunch investments. I'm not referring to gold specifically. I'm referring to the entire system. For example, here's another exponential trend failure. Check out dividends compared to crude foodstuffs and feedstuffs. Kind of ominous don't you think? That one definitely requires its own post. Coming soon to a blog near you! (Well, within 24 hours more than likely anyway.)

There is no safe store of value. - Alan Greenspan (1966)

We live in an era of epic exponential trend failures. Be careful out there. This is not investment advice.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

colorful shower curtains

Obviously I've got bathrooms on the brain as this is the second time this week I've written about them. All those pretty pictures have inspired me to do a bit of a refresh on my loo.


Full disclosure, I've already painted. (I'll share that soon) But I want to do more. For those who might not have seen it before, or who don't remember, we are talking about a rather petite space - check it out here - and it is our single solitary bathroom. That's right, go ahead and shed a tear for me.

So it will remain rather clean (in theory) and simple but I love the idea of giving a little pop with the shower curtain.
Natalie Clayman
Design Manifest
Bailey McCarthy via Rue Magazine
Kristen Ewart
You can barely peek at that wonderful pink herringbone shower curtain, but you can see how it finishes the space. Its also the bathroom in one of my all time favorite houses btw.

Tobi Fairley via Pinterest
via Pinterest
Jonathan Adler
M.E. Beck Design
Anna Spiro via Pinterest

So what do you think? Would you inject some color and (gasp) pattern into your shower curtain? Or do you like the classic crisp look of white? Are you a one curtain person, or a one curtain on each side kind of house?

Left Heaping Bovine Scatology On NC Voter ID Law ... J. D. Longstreet

Left Heaping Bovine Scatology On NC Voter ID Law    ...   J. D. Longstreet
Left Heaping Bovine Scatology On NC Voter ID Law
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet

*****************************

I'm a Tar Heel and I am fed up with the unadulterated bunk, and that's what it is -- BUNK -- being spread by the Democratic Party and the Mainstream Media about NC's newly passed Voter ID law.

At first their idiocy was almost funny, but no more.  Now it is vicious and hurtful and condescending and designed to show North Carolina in a bad light and I will not sit idly by and allow it to pass without challenge. 

Leftists have come to the WRONG state looking for a fight,  for it is here, rest assured, that you WILL find one -- and find one quickly!
   
The first thing you need to know, dear reader, is that the democrats are out of power in North Carolina after having had their way and ruling the state for a hundred and thirty some odd years. And it's not looking REAL good for them in 2014, or 2016, either.

THEY ARE LIVID! 

They feel betrayed by the Tar Heel voters and they are flailing about much as a drowning man will do when faced with imminent death.

The displays of their infantile behavior is an embarrassment to a conservative state.  And, YES, North Carolina IS a conservative state.  Even the bulk of democrat voters in NC are conservatives.  Heck, even my own Congressman is a conservative democrat! 

They are also, more or less, powerless and scared witless now that the GOP is in charge.   The dems are worried that the GOP will use the very same tactics they, themselves, used -- AND honed to a fine edge (and a fine art) -- over the nearly century and a half of creating a Democratic Party Fiefdom here on the Mid-Atlantic Coast.

You also need to know that we have a mainstream media here in North Carolina allied closely with the National MsM which, as everyone knows now, is the propaganda wing of the Democratic Party. 

North Carolina is also the home of the university known as the "Vatican of Liberalism" in the USA.  Their journalism school produces some of the finest liberal-minded media people in the world.  They march out each spring determined to save the world FROM itself and FOR progressivism/socialism and, well, just plain ole Marxism.

So, now, along with Texas, NC has a huge target painted on its back and is preparing to defend itself from all the Democratic Party venom  that is already spewing from that leftist political "brood of vipers."

Oh, for the record -- there really are only 50 states in the union, contrary to what our President might think, and 34 of those states already have some type of Voter ID laws.  That is nearly three-quarters of the states! 

So, what sort of ID must one have to vote in North Carolina in 2016?  "The bill will require voters to show photo identification -- a driver's license, passport, veteran's ID, tribal card -- beginning in the 2016 elections. Student IDs are not an acceptable form of identification."  SOURCE:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/12/north-carolina-voter-id_n_3745253.html

Oh, and the HuffPo did thoughtfully add this:  "The bill does provide for a "free ID" to be offered at DMVs, though the state estimates that between 203,351 and 318,643 voters registered in North Carolina lack ID, and that providing them with one would cost $834,200 in 2013 and 2014, and $24,100 every two years after that."

I'd like to thank the HuffPo for including the paragraph concerning the free Voter ID's provided at taxpayer expense to those who don't have them.  Many reports have left that little bit of important information out of their reporting.  I can't imagine why?  Must have something to do with the template of their narrative.   

"The bill also reduces early voting by a week, eliminates same-day registration, ends pre-registration for 16- and 17-year-olds and a student civics program, kills an annual state-sponsored voter registration drive and lessens the amount of public reporting required for so-called dark money groups, also known as 501(c)(4)s."  SOURCE:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/12/north-carolina-voter-id_n_3745253.html

Nearly all the reports fail to mention that if a voter turns up at the polls without a valid Voter ID, he/she will be allowed to cast a provisional ballot, and they almost always fail to mention that the hours available to cast an early ballot remain the same as they are currently, and voters will have ten days in which to vote early.

 

Personally, I don't think the law is nearly strong enough.  Heck, I'd like to see requirements that a voter must have an IQ of over room temperature, be able to read and write, be able to prove citizenship in both the USA and in North Carolina, be fluent in English, cast all ballots between sunrise and sunset on one day -- Election Day.  And that's just off the top of my head.

In my, ahem,  highly exalted, unassailable, opinion, casting a ballot is not nearly difficult enough.  Men and women died to preserve that privilege for us. To lie, cheat and/or steal in an election is blasphemy, or ought to be.

The lawsuits coming North Carolina's way were expected.  That accounts for the law being so carefully written.

When listening to (or reading) all the polling out of the Tar Heel state purporting to show how unpopular the new Voter ID law is, first we ask that you determine who the polling company is, whether it leans right or left, and who paid for the poll.  You will be surprised. 

And remember this, dear reader.  When a majority of the voters of North Carolina elected a majority republican General Assembly (state legislature) and then turned right around and elected a republican governor, that meant the voters wanted a change.  That is exactly what Tar Heel voters did.  And, so far, the majority of North Carolinians like it.  I'd go so far as to say a heck of a lot of NC democrats like it, too, but as the democratic party is an authoritarian organization, those democrats supporting the new Voter ID law will be compelled to hold their peace and keep their own counsel.

Either elections have meaning or they don't. If they have no meaning -- then what's the point?

Look, I am convinced that anyone who really is interested in the future of North Carolina -- and America -- will WANT to vote.  And, if they really WANT to vote they will make sure they have the proper identification.  It ain't rocket science.

Consider this:  " ... some seem to think that asking for a photo ID for voting purposes is somehow a violation of civil liberties or an attempt to prevent people from voting. The really interesting part is that it is usually liberals claiming that it is conservatives attempting to prevent people from voting when a photo ID law would apply equally to both liberals and conservatives. Heck, they would apply equally regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, weight, sexual orientation, income, health, disability, race, wealth, intelligence, marital status, attractiveness, employment status and everything else. Is there something wrong with preventing the dead, the illegal aliens, the young (under the age of suffrage) and other non-qualified people from voting ... "  SOURCE:  http://www.usmessageboard.com/politics/212534-list-of-things-that-require-photo-identification.html

Indeed!  What IS wrong with wanting, yea, demanding fair and honest elections?  And who, save for those whose intentions are unscrupulous, unlawful, and those who are morally defunct, would dare oppose a form of identification by which the people of a state can be sure the person seeking to cast a ballot is who he/she says he/she is -- and -- is, in fact, qualified to vote.

Everyone, and  I mean, EVERYONE knows there is far more to the democrat's opposition to voter ID than their plaintive cries of disenfranchisement.  It is pure superficial sympathy.

They are crocodile tears designed to elicit an empathetic response. 

It is simply another tool they use in manipulating the "useful idiots" who parade around on sidewalks allowing themselves to be humiliated and arrested -- making fools of themselves while the democrat bosses receive the accolades of the party hierarchy. 
No.  Here in North Carolina, this is about power:  Those who won it, those who lost it, and those who want it back. 

It's about power.  It's ALWAYS about power.

© J. D. Longstreet

Initial Claims vs. Employment (Musical Tribute)


Click to enlarge.

Return to the mean?

Never! A new era of permanent prosperity was unleashed thanks to the popping of the dotcom bubble, the popping of the housing bubble, and a nearly endless supply of ZIRP permanently putting a stop to all future recessions! Yes! It's a brand new day!



Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

Macy's Recovery

The following chart shows Macy's net income during the Christmas season in nominal dollars (not adjusted for inflation).


Click to enlarge.

My how the fallen have bounced!

About the only thing driving net income growth per diluted share lately has been an ongoing reduction in the number of diluted shares, and even that will face serious limits should the trend in this chart continue (might not).

Put another way, the cracks in this dam were evident long before Macy's latest warning.

August 14, 2013
Macy's Shoppers Remain Cautious

After reporting disappointing quarterly results and trimming its full-year earnings forecast, Macy's Inc. on Wednesday said it would boost its marketing efforts in the second half of the year to address a troubling slowdown in store traffic.

Good luck on that one! Boosting marketing efforts sounds expensive. For what it is worth, I'm not exactly bracing for a pick up in the second half. Macy's isn't either apparently.

That said, just opinions! Past trends do not necessarily predict the future. This is not investment advice.

Disclosure: I'm neither long nor short Macy's. As of 2004, I have no interest in gambling in the stock market (in either direction).

See Also:
Trend Line Disclaimer

Source Data:
Macy's Investor Relations

The Long-Term Death of Real Yields


Click to enlarge.

The black line shows the real interest rate investors earned on the 10-year treasury from the time of purchase (we don't know what the real yield is until 10 years have elapsed). The blue line shows what the real interest rate investors earned on the 10-year TIPS (we know instantly because the rate is the real yield).

If this downward trend kept the deflation monster at bay, then what's going to happen when the trend ends? Put another way, if 4+ years of ZIRP can't generate much inflation then what can? And how might the trend end? ZIRP has a 0% floor and we're glued to it.

As seen in the chart, interest rates are probably "tight" if the 10-year TIPS currently yields more than 0%. It now yields 0.57%. Tight!

Ben Bernanke should have never said the word taper. Just like the Japanese, we can't handle high interest rates any longer.

Want to know how to lock in Jeremy Siegel's mythical 3.5% real yields? It's really quite easy. First, invent a time machine. Second, travel back in time 16 years to July of 1997. And lastly, invest accordingly! Seriously.

Just opinions!

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: 10-Year Treasury Rate
St. Louis Fed: 10-Year TIPS Rate
St. Louis Fed: CPI

List Of The Churches And Institutions That Have Been Destroyed By Muslim Brotherhood Supporters Today

By Findalis of Monkey in the Middle

Hat Tip to Atlas Shrugs

Islamic supremacism in action. Muslim Brotherhood groups in the US like Hamas-CAIR are demanding that Obama support this violence and genocide.



CopticWorld regrets to inform you that today has been very destructive for Coptic Christians in Egypt. We are attempting to document all the destruction. You can see a list of the churches and institutions that have been destroyed at:
Tallying the destruction Coptic World Aug. 14, 2013, 10:15 p.m.
Please note that this situation is fluid and changing.



Churches
 Alexandria
  1. Father Maximus Church
Arish
  1. St George Church | Burned 
Assiut
  1. Good Shepherds Monastery |  Nuns attacked
  2. Angel Michael Church | Surrounded
  3. St George Coptic Orthodox Church 
  4. Al-Eslah Church| Burned 
  5. Adventist Church | Pastor and his wife kidnapped 
  6. St Therese Church 
  7. Apostles Church | Burning 
  8. Holy Revival Church | Burning 
Beni Suef
  1. The Nuns School 
  2. St George Church | al-Wasta
Cairo
  1. St Fatima Basilica | Heliopolis | Attempted Attack
Fayoum (Five churches)
  1. St Mary Church | El Nazlah 
  2. St Damiana Church | Robbed and burned
  3. Amir Tawadros (St Theodore) Church
  4. Evangelical Church | al-Zorby Village | Looting and destruction
  5. Church of Joseph | Burned 
  6. Franciscan School | Burned 
Gharbiya
  1. Diocese of St Paul | Burned 
Giza
  1. Father Antonios
  2. Atfeeh Bishopric
Minya
  1. Church of the Virgin Mary and Father Abram | Delga, Deir Mawas 
  2. St Mina Church | Abu Hilal Kebly, Beni Hilal 
  3. Baptist Church | Beni Mazar 
  4. Deir Mawas Bishopric
  5. Delga Church | Attacked 
  6. The Jesuit Fathers Church | Abu Hilal district
  7. St Mark Church | Abu Hilal district
  8. St Joseph Nunnery 
  9. Amir Tadros Church 
  10. Evangelical Church 
  11. Anba Moussa al-Aswad Church
  12. Apostles Church 
Qena
  1. St Mary’s Church | Attempted Burning
Sohag
  1. St George Church 
  2. St Damiana | Attacked and burned 
  3. Virgin Mary | Attacked and burned 
  4. St Mark Church & Community Center
  5. Anba Abram Church | Destroyed and burned 
Suez
  1. St Saviours Anglican Church 
  2. Franciscan Church and School | Street 23 | Burned 
  3. Holy Shepherd Monastery and Hospital 
  4. Good Shepherd Church (molotov cocktail thrown)- Relationship with Holy Shepherd Monastery unknown.
  5. Greek Orthodox Church 
Christian Institutions
  • House of Father Angelos (Pastor of Church of the Virgin Mary and Father Abram) | Delga, Minya | Burned 
  • Properties and Markets of Copts | al-Gomhorreya Street, Assiut
  • Seventeen Coptic homes | Delga, Minya | Burned
  • YMCA | Minya| Burned 
  • Coptic Homes | Qulta Street, Assiut | Attacked
  • Offices of the Evangelical Foundation & Oum al-Nour | Minya
  • Coptic-owned shops, pharmacy, and hotels | Karnak and Cleopatra Streets, Luxor | Attacked and Looted
  • Dahabeya Nile Boat | Minya| Church-owned 
  • Bible Society bookshop | Cairo | Burned 
  • Bible Society | Fayoum 
  • Bible Society | al-Gomohoreya Street, Assiut 


Sequin Finishes


bittersweet colours, Aryn K, Lucky Brand, Zara, sequins, street style, Summer 2013 trends, boyfriend jeans, Sequin Finishes

bittersweet colours, Aryn K, Lucky Brand, Zara, sequins, street style, Summer 2013 trends, boyfriend jeans, Sequin Finishes
bittersweet colours, Aryn K, Lucky Brand, Zara, sequins, street style, Summer 2013 trends, boyfriend jeans, Sequin Finishes
bittersweet colours, Aryn K, Lucky Brand, Zara, sequins, street style, Summer 2013 trends, boyfriend jeans, Sequin Finishes
bittersweet colours, Aryn K, Lucky Brand, Zara, sequins, street style, Summer 2013 trends, boyfriend jeans, Sequin Finishes
bittersweet colours, Aryn K, Lucky Brand, Zara, sequins, street style, Summer 2013 trends, boyfriend jeans, Sequin Finishes
bittersweet colours, Aryn K, Lucky Brand, Zara, sequins, street style, Summer 2013 trends, boyfriend jeans, Sequin Finishes
bittersweet colours, Aryn K, Lucky Brand, Zara, sequins, street style, Summer 2013 trends, boyfriend jeans, Sequin Finishes
bittersweet colours, Aryn K, Lucky Brand, Zara, sequins, street style, Summer 2013 trends, boyfriend jeans, Sequin Finishes
bittersweet colours, Aryn K, Lucky Brand, Zara, sequins, street style, Summer 2013 trends, boyfriend jeans, Sequin Finishes



Glamorizing the boyfriend jeans is not that hard these days. This is exactly what I did two days ago pairing a pair of blue jeans with this embroidered top that adds the perfect amount of glam and femininity to the whole look. I finished the look with a pair of nude sandals and a mini furry bag and I was good to go with my guy shopping :)
This is one idea of " how to sparkle for day"!




                                                                                    Top: Aryn K/option Here and Here 
                                                                                    Jeans: tanks to Lucky Brand/ Here
                                                                                    Sandals: Zara/ similar design HereHere and Here 
                                                                                    Bag: Valentina/ option Here