joi, 4 octombrie 2012

Operation Educate the Educators

The White House Your Daily Snapshot for
Thursday, October 4, 2012
 
Operation Educate the Educators

Yesterday afternoon, Dr. Jill Biden spoke at a Joining Forces event held at George Mason University to celebrate the more than 100 colleges of education that have signed on to Operation Educate the Educators. The commitment will help prepare educators to lead classrooms and develop school cultures that are more responsive to the social, emotional, and academic needs of children in military families.

"As an educator and a military mom, today was personal to me," Dr. Biden said. "I know how much it means to a family when a teacher makes a special effort to support a military child in school."

Learn more about the celebration and Operation Educate the Educators.

Dr. Jill Biden and Chief of Staff of the Army General Ray Odierno laugh during a Joining Forces event celebrating the more than 100 colleges and universities that have signed on to “Operation Educate the Educators” at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Oct. 3, 2012. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

Dr. Jill Biden and Chief of Staff of the Army General Ray Odierno laugh during a Joining Forces event celebrating the more than 100 colleges and universities that have signed on to “Operation Educate the Educators” at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Oct. 3, 2012. (Official White House Photo by David Lienemann)

In Case You Missed It

Here are some of the top stories from the White House blog:

Launching the Equal Futures Partnership to Expand Women’s Political and Economic Participation
Closing the gender gap in women’s political and economic participation will help secure greater prosperity for everyone.

An International Approach to Military Mental Health
Rosye Cloud, Director of Policy for Veterans, Wounded Warriors, and Military Families, addresses the faulty perceptions surrounding military mental health, and explains how collaboration with our international partners will continue to strengthen the advancements we have already made.

Vice President Biden Marks Achievements of MRAP Task Force
The Vice President honors the Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected vehicle (MRAP) Task Force—the men and women who helped accelerate the production and fielding of protective vehicles to our forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, saving the lives of thousands of American service members.

Today's Schedule

All times are Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).

12:05 PM: The President delivers remarks at a campaign event

1:35 PM: The President departs Denver, Colorado

2:15 PM: The Vice President will deliver remarks at a campaign event

3:35 PM: The President arrives Madison, Wisconsin

4:40 PM: The President delivers remarks at a campaign event

6:05 PM: The President departs Madison, Wisconsin

7:55 PM: The President arrives Joint Base Andrews

8:05 PM: The President arrives the White House

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Seth's Blog : Do the (extra) work

Do the (extra) work

Do the extra work not because you have to but because it's a privilege.

Get in early.

Sweep the floor without being asked.

Especially when it's not your turn.

Not because you want credit or reward. Because you can.

The industrialist wants to suck everything out of you. Doing extra work as a cog in an industrial system is a fool's errand.

For the rest of us, the artist and the freelancer and the creator, we know that the privilege of doing the extra work is the work itself.

The habit of doing more than is necessary can only be earned through practice. And the habit is priceless.



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miercuri, 3 octombrie 2012

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis

Mish's Global Economic Trend Analysis


Romney Wins Debate #1 Hands Down; Style Over Substance; Tweedledum vs. Tweedledee

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 08:59 PM PDT

I watched the entire debate between President Obama and Mitt Romney tonight. As an independent voter, I have to say this was not even close.

Romney won the debate easily. He was confident, poised, respectful of Obama, and was willing to look at the president instead of the floor.

In contrast, president Obama kept looking down, kept shaking his head, and posture-wise seemed as if he was ashamed to be on the stage with Romney.

Style Over Substance

I still have to ask: Did either candidate really say anything we did not already know?

The answer is "not really". Obama kowtowed to unions and teachers. Romney kowtowed to the military. Did anyone expect otherwise?

We still do not know what differences there are, if any, between Obamacare and Romeneycare.

In terms of sound-bites, however, it was a blowout. Romney delivered, Obama didn't.

If you are an Obama supporter who sees it differently, then you are playing mind-over-matter political cheerleading.

In the pre-debate chatter Republicans stressed the debate would be about substance over style. It turns out there was no substance at all, rather a blowout of style over non-style.

Substance? What Substance?

We still do not know what budget cuts Romney will make. We just know that amazingly Romney will not cut Medicare.

Well, actually we do not know anything except that by some miraculous growth estimate, Romney pledges to not cut Medicare while raising military spending.

If you believe that, you may as well believe Obama's last pledge "Change You Can Believe In".

Bear in mind, president Obama never promised change. He only promised "change you can believe in".

People believed. Some still do. Some even believe Romney.

There Is No Choice

On the CNBC pre-debate show, Ron Paul said there is little difference between the two political parties.

Paul is of course correct. So is my friend Pater Tenebrarum who on September 28 stated There Is No Choice.
We have previously pointed out that there is actually no choice at all for the US electorate at the upcoming presidential election. This is because in terms of the policies they support, it is nigh impossible to differentiate between the two candidates. We were not just making an unsupported assertion – we offered proof, by showing a video in which they speak for themselves. If one cannot rely on their own words to represent what they stand for, what should one rely on?
Tweedledum vs. Tweedledee

Here is the video Pater referred to: Romney Obama the Same?



Bear in mind, I said the same thing as Pater on numerous occasions.


These kind of discussions tend to get me in hot water, but I really do not care. Play the video and see for yourself.

Two Great Pretenders

Tonight it was amusing to watch president Obama cite all of the things he agreed with Romney on, while watching Romney do a much better job at pretending there were big differences.

To be sure, there are some differences. Romney pledges to blow more money on military spending than Obama. Can he deliver? Probably not. At least let's hope not.

On the other side of the fence, it was sickening to watch Obama pledge to waste more money on education. However, it was even more sickening watching Romney pledge to do the same thing in a different way.

If Republicans really believed in smaller government, we would have it. How many years were they in control of both houses and the white house and fail to deliver?

Obama pledged to close Guantanamo and stop torture. Did He? In practice, is Obama much different than Dick Cheney?

Will The Debate Matter?

The only pertinent question is "will the debate matter?"

I rather doubt it. Neither Romney nor Obama really said anything of substance. In spite of a pathetic performance by the president, Romney did not deliver a knockout blow.

Unless minds change, and change dramatically (and I doubt they do) a stumbling performance by Obama will likely be good enough.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/


French Economy Implodes

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 03:55 PM PDT

As expected, at least in this corner, the French economy has started to implode. Service sector business activity is dropping at fastest rate since October 2011.

More importantly, the Markit Composite PMI sports the steepest rate of contraction since March 2009 with job losses accelerating at the fastest pace in 33 months and output plunging at the fastest rate in 42 months.
Key points:

Final Markit France Services Activity Index at 45.0 (49.2 in August), 11-month low.
Final Markit France Composite Output Index at 43.2 (48.0 in August), 42-month low.



Summary:

French service providers reported a steeper decrease in business activity during September. The latest fall in activity reflected a considerable drop in incoming new work. Companies adjusted staffing levels down accordingly, leading to an accelerated drop in employment. Input prices rose at a sharper rate but output charge discounting gathered pace, highlighting a deepening squeeze on companies' margins. Future expectations meanwhile dipped into negative territory for the first time since February 2009.

The seasonally adjusted final Markit France Services Business Activity Index – which is based on a single question asking respondents to report on the actual change in business activity at their companies compared with one month ago – posted 45.0 in September, down from 49.2 in August. The latest reading pointed to a marked rate of contraction in activity and the fifth decline in the past six months.
The seasonally adjusted final Markit France Composite Output Index – which measures the combined output of the manufacturing and service sectors – registered 43.2 in September, down from 48.0 in August. The latest reading was indicative of a substantial decline in activity and the steepest rate of contraction since March 2009.

Service sector activity declined in response to a further fall in new business during September. The rate of contraction in new work accelerated to the fastest in five months, with anecdotal evidence pointing to lacklustre demand conditions and clients delaying decisions on projects. Combined with a steeper decline in new orders in the manufacturing sector, overall new business across the French private sector fell at the steepest rate for 41 months.

Reduced workloads prompted French service providers to make further cutbacks to employment during September. The rate of job shedding accelerated to the sharpest for 33 months, with panellists indicating that staffing levels were lowered in response to declining activity and as part of cost-cutting efforts. Composite data signalled the sharpest reduction in employment since December 2009.
Right On Time

If that does not accurately describe implosion, what does? Looking for who or what to blame? Look no further than inane work rules and regulations made worse by the socialist government of president François Hollande.

On June 16, in "France Has At Most Three Months Before Markets Make Their Mark" I wrote ...
If socialists take control of both houses in French parliament as expected, president François Hollande would have free rein to carry out his stated policies such as hire more public workers, raise taxes on the rich, and Wreck France With Economically Insane Proposal: "Make Layoffs So Expensive For Companies That It's Not Worth It"
Well, three months have passed and the French economy is clearly imploding and Hollande has not even fully followed up on his economically insane promise regarding layoffs, but he has pressured companies to not do so, and he has also massively raised taxes (a splendidly stupid thing to do in recession).

You reap what you sow, and the implosion of France is now underway. Odds of France making its budget projections are in my estimation close to zero, but time will tell.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/


IMF Ready to Plunder Spain; IMF's Latest Trojan Horse Offer; English-to-English Translations

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 10:34 AM PDT

IMF chief Christine Lagarde says IMF ready to help Spain.
The International Monetary Fund stands ready to help Spain in multiple ways if Madrid seeks its aid, IMF chief Christine Lagarde said in a newspaper interview published on Wednesday.

"If Spain wants it, we could help in diverse ways, for example by simply auditing and monitoring reforms negotiated with its European partners without the IMF participating in financing," Lagarde told French daily Le Figaro.

"But we could also play a role in financing," she added.
Reflections on Translations

I frequently translate articles from Spanish, German, Italian and other languages. However, the biggest syntactical changes occur in seldom-offered elsewhere, yet, badly-needed English-to-English translations.

As a public service announcement, the Mish translation of the above statements by Lagarde is the same as the title of this post "IMF Ready to Plunder Spain".

IMF Trojan Horse

Any time the IMF offers money or help, it is an offer best refused. I have written about this before and offer this 2010 flashback To Ireland With Love



Mentally cross out "Ireland" and write in "Spain".

The IMF was not out to "help" Ireland. Rather the IMF was out to plunder Ireland for the benefit of banks in the UK, Germany, and France. The same Trojan Horse setup applies today.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/


Another Good Services ISM; Outlier or Strengthening Economy?

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 09:09 AM PDT

For the second consecutive month the Non-Manufacturing ISM surprised to the upside.

In September, the NMI™ registered 55.1 percent, indicating continued growth in the non-manufacturing sector for the 33rd consecutive month. A reading above 50 percent indicates the non-manufacturing sector economy is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates the non-manufacturing sector is generally contracting.

IndexSeptAugPercentage Point ChangeDirectionRate of ChangeTrend in Months
NMI™/PMI™55.153.71.4GrowingFaster33
Business Activity/Production59.955.64.3GrowingFaster38
New Orders57.753.74GrowingFaster38
Employment51.153.8-2.7GrowingSlower2
Supplier Deliveries51.551.50SlowingSame2
Inventories48.552.5-4ContractingFrom Growing1
Prices68.164.33.8IncreasingFaster3
Backlog of Orders4850.5-2.5ContractingFrom Growing1
New Export Orders50.552-1.5GrowingSlower3
Imports5049.50.5UnchangedFrom Contracting1
Inventory Sentiment6567-2Too HighSlower184


Last month I was asked if the services ISM changed my view of recession. I wanted to see the jobs report first. The household survey had horrendous results for the second month.

Household Survey

  • In September the number of people employed fell by 119,000.
  • In the last two months, the number of people employed fell by 314,000!
  • In the last year, the civilian population rose by 3,695,000. Yet the labor force only rose by 971,000.
  • In September Civilian Labor Force fell by 368,000.
  • In September those "not" in the labor force increased by 581,000 to a record 88.921 million
  • In August, those "not" in the labor force increased by 348,000 to 88,340,000 a record at the time

Thus in the last two months those "not" in the labor force increased by 929,000.  This is not demographics!

Since then data has been generally poor, but mixed. Home prices give further indication of a bottoming process. Yet, Durable Goods Orders Ex-Transportation "Unexpectedly" Drop, Down Third Month, July Revised Lower

Moreover, US CEOs Sharply Reduce Expectations for Economic Outlook, Hiring; Third Largest Plunge in 6-Month Expectations in History.

Curiously, even with this strong services ISM, employment is weakening although still positive.

All in all, it is the ISM numbers that seem out of sync with most of the rest of the data, especially household survey numbers.

Once again, let's see what Friday brings, but this time, one solid month will not convince me in light of other weakening data.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com/

"Wine Country" Economic Conference Hosted By Mish

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Damn Cool Pics

Damn Cool Pics


The Filipino Prisoners do 'Gangnam Style'

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 03:53 PM PDT


Due to insistent public demand, the world renowned dancing inmates of Cebu finally had their own version of Psy's Gangnam Style music video. Despite the heavy rain yesterday afternoon, Sept. 29, at least a thousand inmates of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC)
entertained guests.




Taiwan's Betel Nut Beauties

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 03:29 PM PDT

The areca nut is indigenous to Asia and the tropical Pacific. When sold, they are commonly wrapped in betel leaves and referred to as betel nuts. In order to increase the sales of this natural stimulant, Taiwanese women are known to walk the streets in sexy lingerie or skimpy outfits.




























































































Capcom's Resident Evil 6 Human Butchery

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 11:57 AM PDT

Capcom set up a human butcher shop in Smithfield Meat Market in East London to promote the release of the game Resident Evil 6. Yes it is real meat, though apparently it is not human meat. I don't know what kind of meat it is.


























Summer Fails

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 11:00 AM PDT

Funny summer fails. Even though summer is long over.
















































































Code Pink: Fighting Back Against Breast Cancer [Infographic]

Posted: 03 Oct 2012 08:48 AM PDT


Cancer is the epidemic of modern times. One of the most common manifestations of this disease is breast cancer, which affects not only one in eight women, but also thousands of men in the United States as well. In fact, only lung cancer is more destructive. And if someone you love gets breast cancer, it will cost more than just their health: treatment typically costs between $50,000 and $100,000, the latter of which is more than twice the annual median U.S. income. Early detection is the key to surviving breast cancer, so share this infographic, published by Online Nursing Programs, to help people learn more about beating this deadly disease.

Click on Image to Enlarge. Code Pink


Cat Sings Star Wars Theme Song

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 08:02 PM PDT


Your day was going just fine. And then this happened.


Only In Asia

Posted: 02 Oct 2012 07:51 PM PDT

These weird people and funny pictures only can be seen in Asia.