Daily news sites

Christine Neumann-Ortiz, Primitivo Torres and Francisca "Kika" Meraz
Voces de la Frontera staff at Washington, D.C. immigration reform protest.

The latest employment report is out. I see that 23% of the jobs added over the last three months were in retail trade. Wow, is that really where we can expect the jobs of the future to be? The long-term trend in the following chart would argue otherwise.


Click to enlarge.

I'm not suggesting that I can use 2nd order polynomials to accurately predict the future. That said, this is certainly a trend I would not want to bet against. For what it is worth, those red diamonds made lousy entry points for stock market investors.

I'm told that the blue diamond is an excellent entry point though, repeatedly, on CNBC. Please forgive me if I choose to pass.

This is not investment advice.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: All Employees: Retail Trade
St. Louis Fed: Population

Demonizing Masculinity
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
****************

Whatever happened to real men?  If that question leaves you a little stunned, a little off balance, a little peeved, a tad amused, or even a little angry, then I MAY have made my point, already! 

Our 21st century American society is so screwed-up today that, honestly, I don't think we even know what a REAL man is anymore.

Today we have at least three kinds of males:  heterosexual, homosexual, and metrosexual.

I think we understand the first two well enough, at least, for the purposes of this "diatribe." So, let's look at the metrosexual because I fear that is the genus of males that is really screwing up the world view of what a REAL man is these days.

When you "Google" metrosexual the following seems to be the agreed upon definition, at least on the Internet:

"Metrosexual is a neologism, derived from metropolitan and heterosexual, coined in 1994 describing a man (especially one living in an urban, post-industrial, capitalist culture) who is especially meticulous about his grooming and appearance, typically spending a significant amount of time and money on shopping as part of this. The term is popularly thought to contrast heterosexuals who adopt fashions and lifestyles stereotypically associated with homosexuals, although, by the definition given by the originator, a metrosexual "might be officially gay, straight or bisexual."

For a shining example of a metrosexual male one only has to look as far as the Oval Office of the White House today. At least that is my opinion. 

It is also my opinion that metrosexuals are not much use to anyone. They are sort of like drones -- except LESS useful.

It is also unfortunate, in my view, that they are able to, occasionally, aid in the reproduction of another human being with a roughly fifty-fifty chance of producing another male who, after years of instruction and indoctrination, will become another adult metrosexual male further reducing the role of contributing males in American society and intensifying the weak strain of masculine DNA in the approximately three billion chemical base pairs of the American genome.

It is said that today women do not want real men as mates.  What they really want is another sensitive female for a "husband."  Enter -- the metrosexual. 

Many blame the women's feminist movement for destroying men.  Feminists have taken the role of men upon themselves.  I must tell you as a man myself, women acting and sounding like men is not becoming, in the least, to me, anyway.

These ladies, er, women, will tell you they don't need men.  OK.  That's fine. But women of such a mind set should realize that men, sure as hell, don't need them, either.

Back when the movies actually had male actors who not only portrayed real men, and were, in fact, real men, real man roles were far more easily defined on screen and off.  This was also before the day of the feminist movement.

John Wayne was the supreme example of what being a real man looked like on screen.  Fortunately, according to those who knew him personally,  he was the same man off screen.  Then there was Gary Cooper, James Cagney, Clint Eastwood, Steve McQueen, Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas, Sean Connery, Charlton Heston,  Lee Marvin,   and a few others who wore their masculinity without apology.

Try coming up with a short list like that today.  I'm thinking Sam Elliott, Tom Selleck,  ..., ..., uh, gimme a few minutes.

Oh well, moving right along ...

Consider this from Wilbur Smith at the Daily Mail, a UK newspaper:

"The world has changed. Today, men are afraid to say what they think, to stand up for their beliefs, to fight for what has become an unfashionable cause. Women’s rights have been the great driver of so many social changes in the past 40 years. But what about men’s rights?

One of the worst inventions of the 20th century was political correctness.

It has forced a generation of males to keep their masculinity under wraps. It has made millions of men too timid to admit their true views about the world. It’s not fashionable to be a macho man today, is it?

Even the concept of a ‘hero’ is not politically correct. In this new climate of supposed equality, uniformity is to be treasured above the outstanding."  SOURCE: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-1376688/Wayne-Rooney-Whatever-happened-real-men.html#ixzz2ajftNzW6

Now a few words from an insightful lady at "Coffee Talk Mom." 

"What happened to the real men? The men who make decisions (leader), lock the doors at night (protector), check the oil in all of the cars (thinker). I have a feeling that we "do it all" moms are kicking ourselves in the butt! After all, our controlling natures have taken away the very essence of who men really are…What do you expect from your man? Maybe we need to be better with the quick communication skills men have."   SOURCE:  http://www.coffeetalkmom.com/my-blog/2011/09/whatever-happened-to-real-men.html

It seems humans need role models.  Boys need men to teach them how to be men, and not perpetual boys. And the real men role models just aren't there today.  Now, in 2013, you see,  we idolize wimps and sissies. 

Whatever happened to testosterone?   You know -- the hormone that gets things done!   Now we are cursed with a new ailment called "Low-T."   

I just read that the military is going to have to redesign its uniforms to fit the female form ... tucked in at the waist, let out at the buttocks.  There's goes the army.

The question is, I believe, what does all this mean for our country?  For the answer, simply look about you.  We are a nation in indisputable decline.  We are leaderless.  Our Congress is pathetic, our President is a metrosexual, our military has just been feminized, and we are preparing to elect a woman as the next President of  the United States. There is NO LIGHT at the end of the tunnel. 

I hear it referred to as the "New Normal" in America.  Believe me.  It's NOT NEW and it's NOT NORMAL!  What it is  -- is a perversion of the natural order.  (A normal society does not place its women in harm's way intentionally.  It is they who reproduce life and perpetuate the species.  A normal society protects them at all costs ... even when they don't want to be defended -- or think they don't.) It is an abberation.  It is an abberation that has already cost America its leadership role on the world stage and has us a fair distance down the slippery slope to becoming a third world country.

Real men would not have allowed placing women in combat roles in the US military.  But then, real men in positions of leadership in America would not have allowed the country to decline as it has.

Yeah, I'm old, and I am a romantic in the sense that I am idealistic and, some would say, unrealistic.  But I long for a return to the days when men were men -- and the women were glad of it.

© J. D.Longstreet

Sweet Tarts
Street acrobats

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Those anxiously awaiting the next construction boom may have to wait a very long time. As seen in the chart, we're still sitting at the very top of the long-term exponential decay channel.

Is this really as bad as it looks?


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As seen in the chart above, the answer would probably be yes. It is as bad as it looks. The uptrend from the pit of despair (November 2009) is over. Now we're heading back down again. Further, we're actually below the declining trend line.

For what it is worth, I am still firmly in the permabear camp. I cannot understand the optimism in the face of overwhelming long-term evidence to the contrary.

August 1, 2013
Stock market roars to record highs, S&P 500 closes above 1,700 for first time


It can "roar" without me, just like it did from 2004 to 2007. This is not investment advice.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: All Employees: Construction / All Employees: Total nonfarm
St. Louis Fed: Real Total Construction Spending Growth per Capita

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

E.W. Jackson (Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin)

And they wonder why their membership is declining. This is just one reason among many.

SALON
- In a local radio interview this morning, Virginia Republican lieutenant governor nominee E.W. Jackson said the Democratic Party is “anti-God” and that Christians should leave it.

Jackson has said in the past that he thinks believing in God and voting Democratic are fundamentally incompatible, so WLEE host Jack Gravely asked if he still believes it. Gravely explained that he’s a Christian and tends to vote Democratic, just like his parents and family. Jackson didn’t back down.

“You are saying for us, we’re all wrong, leave that party. And all I’m saying to you is, if you said it before, you still have to believe it, why did you say it?” Gravely asked. “Oh, oh, oh I do believe it,” Jackson responded.

He continued: “I said it because I believe that the Democrat Party has become an anti-God party, I think it’s an anti-life party, I think it’s an anti-family party. And these are all things I think Christians hold to very dearly.”{Read More}

Find the audiohere.

Oy Vey, the republican fundie hyperbole.

Via: Memeorandum

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

A young freshman at Georgia Georgia State has started a White Student Union to celebrate Euro and Euro-American heritage and culture. White students make up 38% of the student body and Patrick Sharp is of the mind that whites (being a minority), as well as students of other ethnic backgrounds and cultural heritage should enjoy the same right of association as the rest of the students do in their Student Union organizations. The young man has a valid argument. Excerpts from The Raw Story.

“If we are already minorities on campus and are soon to be minorities in this country why wouldn’t we have the right to advocate for ourselves and have a club just like every other minority?” Sharp told the paper. “Why is it when a white person says he is proud to be white he’s shunned as a racist?”

“You know, to say this is some closeted or curtained white supremacy, it’s pretty — and I’ll go ahead and turn their words around on them — it’s pretty ignorant and closed-minded,” he explained to WXIA. “It’s a pride organization, it’s a cultural organization, what we have is not hate for any other group… Whites are becoming a minority… We have a voice, we’re unique people, and we have every right to make that voice heard.”

Video from WXIA, Aug. 1, 2013.

Will this young man's beliefs and actions spur honest and open discussion as it well should or will it be ignored? Or even worse, used by the race hustlers Sharpton and Jackson et all to fuel controversy and their agenda? Via: Memeorandum

Two days ago I was in New York to attend a great Fall & Holiday Preview at Sam Edelman Showroom and I was pleasantly surprised with their new collection. I also had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Sam Edelman in person! Along with this event I had a few other mini meetings and for all these I  opted for a easy breezy butterfly print dress and bold accessories to complete the look.

Eddie Sotelo, aka, "El Piolin de la Mañana" and Alberto Cortez

For or Against the Constitution?
A Commentary by J. D. Longstreet
******************

Before we Americans put forth a new slate of candidates for upcoming elections -- and I refer to ALL elections from the city council to the county commissioners, to the state legislature, to the US House and Senate,  and finally, to the office of the President of the United States -- we must come up with a new, er, qualification, ah,  litmus test, if you will.

We must determine -- and insist -- that candidates swear (or affirm) that they support the constitution.  Here,  let me make it clear when I say "the constitution," I mean the original document as written by the Founding Fathers.  

It seems our politicians just mutter the words of the oaths they take, when being sworn into office, and never actually examine the words they speak -- and swear to -- before God.

It has become abundantly clear that NOT ALL our representatives actually support the US constitution.  It has ALSO become clear that our President does not support the constitution.

It is high time we make darn sure the lawmakers representing us DO support it, or are considered disqualified to hold office ... period.

Now.  On to "state's rights!"

Much is being made, especially in the leftist media (I realize "leftist" and "media" is redundant!), concerning so many states passing nullification laws which seek to neutralize a great many overreaching federal laws affecting the states.

Students of history -- and there are precious few of them left -- understand that these nullification laws are not just jabs in the eye of the federal government. They are, in fact, the first step(s) a state takes before it secedes.  But there is more here than immediately meets the eye.

It is becoming clear that if Obamacare is not repealed the secession movement in America will ramp up -- and ramp up quickly.  These nullification laws are, at the moment, a safety valve to release some of the building pressure within the states to reclaim their sovereignty, or, at least -- SOME of it.

Only the weak-minded believe the members of the state legislatures passing nullification laws do not know that, constitutionally, federal law supersedes state law.  They KNOW that! 

So why, then are they passing worthless nullification laws?  Well, they are hoping for the safety valve effect we mentioned above and ... they are trying, desperately, to stave off full blown rebellion down the road aways.

Look:  Nullification by the states today is the right of states to choose to not enforce any federal act that fails to conform to the limits on the authority of the federal government set by the constitution, itself!    That, dear reader, is perfectly legal.


Does this surprise you?  If we had a mainstream media, a national press corp,  that was doing its job, rather than sniffing after Obama like dogs in heat, you'd already know that the sovereignty movement is alive and well across the country. 

Consider this little quoted remark made by James Madison in "The Federalist:"  "The powers delegated to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the state governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, [such] as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce. The powers reserved to the several states will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people."

It is said that state sovereignty died at Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia, in April of 1865 when Lee surrendered to Grant.

The people of the states are, again,  longing for their own government -- sans external control from Washington.

"On May 3-4, 2013, Rasmussen Reports polled the opinions of 1,000 likely voters. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points."  Here is a snippet from that report:  " ... What is even less favorable to the administration’s program to exalt the federal government above the states is the poll’s finding that 44 percent of those who participated in the survey believe states retain the right to nullify any act of the federal government they deem constitutionally invalid."  SOURCE: http://www.thenewamerican.com/culture/item/15333-rasmussen-poll-reports-majority-of-u-s-support-nullification

The state sovereignty movement has been quietly gaining momentum over the past few years all across the US.  "... Almost half of the state legislatures are considering or have representatives preparing to introduce resolutions which reassert the principles of the 9th and 10th Amendments to the Constitution and the idea that federal power is strictly limited to specific areas detailed in the Constitution and that all other governmental authority rests with the states."  SOURCE:  http://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2009/02/09/state-sovereignty-movement-quietly-growing/#.Ufk2YKwpiRQ

As Michael Boldin says in his article entitled: "Some Good News For A Change:"  "A government that claims the power to collect and monitor anything and everything you say or do, use drones to spy on people without a warrant, require millions to pay a fine for doing nothing – and so much more – that’s not the government of a “free country.”  It’s not even close."  SOURCE:  http://tenthamendmentcenter.com/

Americans ARE waking up, albeit, slowly.  Hopefully, it isn't TOO slow.

Eventually, there will be a showdown.  When it comes, it will either be in the courts -- or the streets -- or BOTH.  But it IS coming.

Finally:  In the Virginia Resolution of 1798, James Madison wrote the following:

"In case of a deliberate, palpable, and dangerous exercise of other powers, not granted by the said compact, the states who are parties thereto, have the right, and are in duty bound, to interpose for arresting the progress of the evil, and for maintaining within their respective limits, the authorities, rights and liberties appertaining to them."

And Madison went on to say:

" ... that a spirit has in sundry instances, been manifested by the federal government, to enlarge its powers by forced constructions of the constitutional charter which defines them; and that implications have appeared of a design to expound certain general phrases… so as to destroy the meaning and effect, of the particular enumeration which necessarily explains and limits the general phrases; and so as to consolidate the states by degrees, into one sovereignty, the obvious tendency and inevitable consequence of which would be, to transform the present republican system of the United States, into an absolute, or at best a mixed monarchy."

The time has come for the people of the United States to decide if they are for or against the Constitution.  May Providence guide our decision.

© J. D. Longstreet

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See Also:
Trend Line Disclaimer

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

America Has Become A Drone Society
By:  J. D. Longstreet

It is a painful time for Americans of my age.  We have the memories of an America, glorious and honorable in her past… a past, which has been forgotten and erased, in  many cases, from the history books of America’s students. Above all things our America was honorable. A young American today would be hard pressed to define “honor.”  To define “dishonorable” is much easier. 

As we Americans view ourselves in that inner mirror, we can know that even today, America can be defeated… only by herself. And that is the shameful path we have chosen. 

One of our Founding Fathers and President, John Adams, once said: “Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide."

Americans of my generation, who still recognize a republic, when we see one, also recognize when that republic is gone. The American republic is gone … replaced by a socialist government… complete with Central Planning. 
You see, the new socialist government in America has grasped the American economic system, and by doing so, it now has absolute power over the American people. It will now rapidly proceed to destroy our liberty.  Indeed, it has already begun.

There are a few basic, fundamental truths people who live in a republic know.  Truths, which we Americans, have forgotten because our horrible public education system failed to educate our children over the past two generations.  They are truths which all people who want to live free know.   Now, I am not referring to living free under a socialist government and in a socialist society as we have now chosen.  These are truths FREE MEN and FREE Women (like we used to be) know.

William Boetcker, an outspoken political conservative and Presbyterian minister is perhaps best remembered for his authorship of a pamphlet entitled The Ten Cannots.  In that pamphlet he summed up so much of what modern day Americans have forgotten.  Some the most applicable “cannots” which would apply today are summed up in the few lines which follow.  Please read them and pay careful attention to what the Rev. Boetcker is saying.

“You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot help small men by tearing down big men. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot lift the wage-earner by pulling down the wage-payer. You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich. You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot establish security on borrowed money. You cannot build character and courage by taking away men's initiative and independence. You cannot help men permanently by doing for them what they could and should do for themselves.”

The good reverend NAILED it!  But our elite intelligentsia in the US Congress and in the White House doesn’t get it.  Voltaire captured the current US Congress a very long time ago when he said:  "In general, the art of government consists in taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other."

One of our Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson, would notice immediately the deep stain of socialism on the fabric of the American Republic were he to see it today under Democratic Party control.  Jefferson said: "To take from one, because it is thought that his own industry and that of his fathers has acquired too much, in order to spare others, who, or whose fathers have not exercised equal industry and skill, is to violate arbitrarily the first principle of association, 'the guarantee to every one of a free exercise of his industry, and the fruits acquired by it.”

If President Obama has said anything approaching truth during his meteoric rise to the Office of President and his "Bull in a China Shop" actions since taking up residency there, it is the words he uttered declaring that things will get a whole worse before they get better.  That is true.  Right up until the country collapses, of the weight of its government, things are going to decline. 

The true movers and shakers of America understand what is happening and they are worried sick. They are seeking cover until after the collapse.  Then they hope to, once again, try to build an America from the wreckage left by the socialists masquerading as democrats in charge of our government today.

It would seem, the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off.  For the next few years we are left to stumble about in the darkness of socialism on our own.  For, you see, my fellow Americans, we got ourselves in to this mess and it is up to us to get ourselves out of it.

Unfortunately, in the "bee hive" that once was America, Obama's fundamental change has, indeed, changed us from a colony of workers to a colony of drones.  No colony, insect or human, can long endure in a drone society.

© J. D. Longstreet 

Click to enlarge.

Returning to the gold standard median (in blue) will not be allowed! We must malinvest exponentially again (in red)!

The post-war international gold-US dollar standard


Malinvestment


Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

The rest of the world takes great delight in the economic data released today. Perhaps few bothered to look at real disposable personal income growth?


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Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Real Disposable Personal Income Growth

by Findalis
Monkey in the Middle

A man accused of helping a Saudi woman convert to Christianity was sentenced to six years in prison and 300 lashes. The daughter was also sentenced to six years and 300 lashes, causing her to flee, reportedly to Sweden, where authorities are trying to find her and extradite her back to Saudi Arabia.

Nigeria continues to be the most dangerous nation for Christians—where more Christians have been killed last year than all around the Muslim world combined. In one instance, Boko Haram Muslim militants stormed the home of a Pentecostal pastor and secretary of the Christian Association of Nigeria, and opened fire on him, instantly murdering him.

Separately, other Boko Haram gunmen killed 14 Christians, including the cousin and two nephews of the Rev. Moses Thliza, head of a Christian organization dedicated to preventing AIDS and caring for AIDS patients and orphans: Said Thliza: "My cousin, Bulus [Paul] Buba, was dragged out at gunpoint from his house by the Boko Haram members. They collected his car keys, demanded money and asked him three times to renounce his Christian faith, and three times he declined to do so [prompting them to execute him]. The attackers met three guards on duty, killed two of them by cutting their necks with knives, and then proceeded to take the third guard, Amtagu Samiyu, at gunpoint to lead them to where the keys of the deputy governor's house is."

As for some Christians observing a wake two kilometers away, Boko Haram Muslims asked to know what was going on there, and when they learned that people were saying prayers for an elderly Christian woman who had died, they charged in and shot into the crowd. "The attackers went there and shot indiscriminately at the worshippers, killing eight Christians—two women and six elderly men," said Thliza. "In all, we buried 14 Christians. Some were injured and taken to the hospital." Despite all this, when the Nigerian government tried militarily to confront and neutralize Boko Haram, the Obama administration criticized it, warning it not to violate the "human rights" of the Islamic terrorists.

Categorized by theme, the rest of May's roundup of Muslim persecution of Christians around the world includes (but is not limited to) the following accounts, listed by theme and in country alphabetical order, not necessarily according to severity:

Bosnia: The Serbian Orthodox church of Saint Sava in Sarajevo, where Muslims make up approximately half of the population, was "desecrated" and six of its windows panes broken. The unidentified vandals wrote "Allah" in dark paint twice on the church wall. A month earlier, unidentified persons tried to set the church on fire.

Central African Republic: According to the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace, since an Islamic rebel leader proclaimed himself president, the situation for Christians, has "deeply worsened." The organization warns against "the evil intentions for the programmed and planned desecration and destruction of religious Christian buildings, and in particular the Catholic and Protestant churches…. All over the country the Catholic Church has paid a high price." Several dioceses have been seriously damaged and plundered, and priests and nuns attacked (more information below, under "Dhimmitude.")

Egypt: Two Coptic Christian churches were attacked, one in Alexandria, the other in Upper Egypt. St. Mary in Alexandria was attacked by Molotov cocktails and bricks, causing the gate to burn and the stained glass windows to shatter. One thousand Christians tried to defend the church against 20,000 Muslims screaming "Allahu Akbar" ["Allah is Greater"]. One Copt was killed and several injured. In the village of Menbal in Upper Egypt, after "Muslim youths" harassed Christian girls—including hurling bags of urine at them—and Coptic men came to their rescue, another Muslim mob stormed the village church of Prince Tadros el-Mashreki. They hurled stones and broke everything inside the church, including doors and windows. The mob then went along the streets looting and destroying all Coptic-owned businesses and pharmacies and torching cars. Any Copt met by the mob in the street was beaten.

Iran: Because it refused to stop using the national Persian language during its services—which makes the Gospel intelligible to all Iranian Muslims, some of whom converted—the Central Assemblies of God Church in Tehran was raided by security services during a prayer meeting; its pastor taken to an unknown location, and the church was searched and its books, documents and equipment seized. Security agents posted a sign stating that the church was now closed. One local source said, "They constantly threaten the church leaders and their families with imprisonment, unexplained accidents, kidnapping and even with execution. We cannot go on like this." A number of its members have already been killed and its activities greatly restricted over the last few years.

Libya: The Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception in Benghazi was bombed. In the words of the Apostolic Vicar of Tripoli, "They put a bomb at the entrance of the corridor leading to the courtyard where there is the door of the church. The church, therefore, was not touched directly, but the attack is not a positive sign. The Church in Libya is suffering. In Benghazi the Coptic Church was hit, its chaplain was killed and now the Catholic Church. As I reported on other occasions, in Cyrenaica different religious women's institutes have been forced to close their doors, in Tobruk, Derna, Beida, Barce, as well as in Benghazi. The nuns who were forced to leave, served the population with generosity."

Syria: A violent explosion destroyed the church and convent of the Capuchin Franciscan Friars in Deir Ezzor. According to Fr. Haddad of the region, "It was the only church in Deir Ezzor [that] so far still remained almost untouched." It is not clear how it was destroyed, but some say a car bomb was placed next to the church. Fr. Haddad lamented that, as in other regions, "there are no more Christians" left in Ezzor, due to "all this hate and desecration."

Tanzania: During a service to mark its official opening, a new church in a predominantly Christian suburb was bombed, killing at least five people and wounding some 60. According to a local source, "This was… a well-planned attack. Even before it, the threat was given and we still have many threats. Pray for us, and that God will overcome all these in Jesus' name." He added that, "radical camps in the country were teaching young Muslims that Christians must be killed or live as second-class citizens," or dhimmis. Among those arrested, four were Saudi Arabian nationals. The bombing follows the slaying of two church leaders in February, and the shooting in the face of a third on Christmas Day. In October, several church buildings were torched and vandalized.

Egypt: Twenty-four-year-old Demiana Ebeid Abdelnour, a social studies teacher, was fired and arrested for comparing the late Coptic Pope Shenouda to Islam's prophet Muhammad, "as well as putting her hand on her neck or her stomach every time she mentioned [Islam's prophet] Muhammad," which was interpreted by some students under 10-years-old as disgust. She would be the last Coptic Christian victim to be arrested or imprisoned in a "defamation of Islam" spree that began under now ousted President Morsi. One Coptic activist wondered, Why is defamation of religion a one-way street, only for the benefit of the Muslims, while Christianity is defamed every day?" He added that Sheikh Abu Islam, who tore and burned the Holy Bible, has not been detained.

Iran: Vahid Hakkani, a Christian prisoner in Shiraz, is suffering from internal digestive bleeding. Although doctors have diagnosed his condition as critical, and have recommended urgent surgery, prison officials have not allowed his transfer to any hospital. Earlier, Hakkani and other Christians were gathered for worship in a house-church when they were arrested "for participating in house-church services, evangelizing and promoting Christianity, having contact with foreign Christian ministries, propagating against the regime and disturbing national security."

Kashmir: Two Christians accused of carrying out "acts of proselytism," for distributing pamphlets and publications with biblical passages to some young Muslims, were savagely beaten by a mob, and later arrested by police, "who rescued them from a secure lynching." Separately, the "United Jihad Council" said that Christian missionaries in Kashmir are "highly reprehensible" and have a "hidden agenda [to] exploit the poor and the needy, offering them economic aid to convert them to Christianity." He noted that "Islam is the religion of peace and harmony, and that protects minorities. However, anti-Islam activities [evangelization] cannot be tolerated." The United Jihad Council accordingly calls on all Christian missionaries "immediately to leave the valley of Kashmir," warning, "If not, they will suffer the consequences."

Kazakhstan: Despite the nation's president recently boasting that, "Kazakhstan is an example to the world of equal rights and freedoms for all citizens" and that, "religious freedom is fully secured" in the country, the Barnabas Fund states that the government "has instructed people to report any individuals who speak about their faith with others in public to the police," as "talking about one's faith with others constitutes missionary activity, which requires personal registration… Compulsory prior censorship of all printed and imported religious literature is another way in which the state controls Christian activity. Confiscation of religious books appears to be increasing, with Christians amongst those most likely to be targeted."

Morocco: A fatwa by the government's top Islam authority, partially based on the teachings of Islam's prophet Muhammad, calls for the execution of those Muslims who leave Islam, causing many Christian converts to live in fear. Lamented one Christian: "The fatwa showed us that our country is still living in the old centuries—no freedom, no democracy. Unfortunately, we feel that we aren't protected. We can be arrested or now even killed any time and everywhere. The majority of the Christian Moroccan leaders have the same feeling. We are more followed now by the secret police than before. Only the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ gives us courage and peace."

Saudi Arabia: A Christian Lebanese man, accused of helping a Saudi women convert to Christianity, was sentenced to six years in prison and 300 lashes. Even so, the father of the woman claims the punishment is not sufficient. The daughter was also sentenced to six years and 300 lashes, causing her to flee, reportedly to Sweden, where authorities are trying to find her and extradite her back to the Saudi Arabia. Another man, a Saudi national who reportedly forged a travel document to help the woman flee, was sentenced to two years in jail and 200 lashes.

Central African Republic: Christians are being terrorized, killed, and plundered by Islamic militants, who seized control of the country in March, even as international media and government ignore the crisis. In what one pastor is calling "a reign of terror," Muslims are tying up, beating and forcing Christians to pay money to save their lives. Many have been killed or wounded. The Barnabas Fund states that "rebels have a hit list of pastors and other Christian workers, and that places of worship are being attacked. Christian property is being looted. In one incident towards the end of last month, Seleka [Islamic] troops seized all the collection money given at a gathering of church leaders. Many Christians have fled their homes to the countryside and are too fearful to return. More than 200,000 people are internally displaced, while 49,000 refugees have been registered in neighbouring countries." On 10 May, Human Rights Watch released a report citing "grave violations" committed by the Seleka rebels against civilians, including pillage, summary executions, rape and torture. One pastor of a besieged church was shot dead when he went out holding a Bible aloft as a sign of peace.

Egypt: Mohamed Abu Samra, secretary-general of the Islamic Jihad Party, asserted that "it is permissible to kill some Christians today," justifying it by adding "Those who came out with weapons, their blood is allowed for us [to spill], as a fighter is not considered dhimmi." In Islamic law, a dhimmi is a non-Muslim who is permitted to exist provided he pays monetary tribute and lives as a submissive, lowly subject, according to Koran 9:29. Those Coptic Christian activists who vocally called for the removal of former Islamist president Morsi were not doing that, thereby becoming fair game for killing.

Indonesia: After an earlier Christmas Eve attack, during which members of Filadelfia Batak Christian Protestant Church were pelted with rotten eggs, dung and plastic bags full of urine, the pastor was attempting to leave the scene with his wife when Abdul Aziz, the leader of the mob who had earlier threatened to kill him, moved to attack him. Because the pastor stopped the Muslim agitator's blow with his hand to protect his wife and himself, he is now facing assault charges. Islamic law, based on the "Conditions of Omar," forbids Christians from raising their hands to Muslims, even in self-defense. The church has been meeting outside and in homes since its building was sealed off by authorities to appease Islamists in 2010—despite its having met all conditions for a building permit, as well as a Supreme Court ruling that a permit should be granted.

Pakistan: Over the course of five days, a Muslim mob tortured Javaid Anjum, a teenaged Christian student to death, because he dared drink water from the tap of an Islamic seminary while on a long journey to visit his grandfather. When Muslims discovered he was Christian, they forced him into the seminary, where they tried to force him to renounce Christianity and convert to Islam. When he refused, for five days, Muslim seminary students electrocuted him, broke his arm, and pulled out his fingernails. The electric shocks caused his kidneys to fail and he eventually died.

Because the persecution of Christians in the Islamic world is on its way to reaching pandemic proportions, "Muslim Persecution of Christians" was developed to collate some—by no means all—of the instances of persecution that surface each month. It serves two purposes:

1. To document that which the mainstream media does not: the habitual, if not chronic, Muslim persecution of Christians.
2. To show that such persecution is not "random," but systematic and interrelated—that it is rooted in a worldview inspired by Sharia.

Accordingly, whatever the anecdote of persecution, it typically fits under a specific theme, including hatred for churches and other Christian symbols; sexual abuse of Christian women; forced conversions to Islam; apostasy and blasphemy laws that criminalize and punish with death those who "offend" Islam; theft and plunder in lieu of jizya (financial tribute expected from non-Muslims); overall expectations for Christians to behave like dhimmis, or second-class, "tolerated" citizens; and simple violence and murder. Sometimes it is a combination.

Because these accounts of persecution span different ethnicities, languages, and locales—from Morocco in the West, to India in the East, and throughout the West wherever there are Muslims—it should be clear that one thing alone binds them: Islam—whether the strict application of Islamic Sharia law, or the supremacist culture born of it.

Eddie Sotelo, aka, "El Piolin de la Mañana" and Alberto Cortez
"It's been a great run with Univision," said Sotelo, who was recently elected to the National Radio Hall of Fame and whose show was syndicated nationally on over 50 stations.
"We thank Eddie for the contributions that he has made while at Univision Radio," said Jose Valle, President of Univision Radio, Inc.

 Marisabel Cabrera

July 3, 2013
6 ways the Fed hurts retirees

"The most important thing investors can do right now is ensure that they are properly positioned for the impending rising interest rate environment." - Nathan Kubik, a Certified Investment Management Analyst at Carnick & Kubik


Click to enlarge.

As seen in the chart, the peak was set on July 5, 2013 (the very next trading day after his quote). The exponential trend in red failed and a new exponential trend in blue took its place. How long the new trend lasts is anyone's guess, but as a long-term believer in death of real yields theories, I'd be more tempted to buy 10-year treasuries than sell them right now.

I wonder what it takes to become a certified investment management analyst at Carnick & Kubik? Perhaps having the name Carnick or Kubik helps? Zing! ;)

In all seriousness, hindsight clearly shows that "most important" and "impending" were both opinions, not facts. It never fails to amaze me how much the financial "experts" can't seem to tell the difference.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Custom Chart

The following chart shows the Leading Index of the United States. I have added a 5-year moving average in red and a trend channel to go with it.


Click to enlarge.

The following chart shows the year over year change in the Leading Index of the United States. I have added short-term trend lines in blue and an apparent long-term floor in red.


Click to enlarge.

The following chart shows the real GDP per capita in the United States divided by the real GDP per capita in Japan. As seen in the chart, real GDP per capita growth has been extremely synchronized between the two countries since 2000 (a flat horizontal line in the chart means we're growing or shrinking at exactly the same pace). I might even argue that we've finally caught their disease.


Click to enlarge.

The 2-year treasury bond in Japan yields 0.11%.
The 1-year treasury bond in the U.S. yields 0.11%.

We don't seem to believe yet that ZIRP could be with us for a long time, even though it has already been with us for nearly 5 years. Perhaps investors expect the leading indicators to start ramping back up again at some point? I think they might, but only after the next recession, and even then only temporarily. Just an opinion. Sigh.



This is not investment advice.

Source Data:
St. Louis Fed: Leading Index for the United States
St. Louis Fed: Leading Index for the United States (YoY Change)
St. Louis Fed: Real GDP per Capita: U.S. vs. Japan

Fired Palermo Pizza workers will get rehired with back-pay after eight months of the National Relations Labor Board (NRLB) decision to reinstate them.