Mish Today, In Toto

Reflections on the "Recovery"

One year ago the official unemployment rate was 9.7%. Today it is 9.6%.

One year ago U-6 unemployment was 16.8%. Today U-6 is 16.7%

click on chart for sharper image

For more details on the jobs report, please see Jobs Decrease by 54,000, Rise by 60,000 Excluding Census; Unemployment Rises Slightly to 9.6%; A Look Beneath the Surface

For all the trillions of dollars in stimulus and additional trillions of dollars in bank bailouts and trillions of dollars of expansion of the Fed's balance sheet, this is all we have to show for it.

Moreover, the economy is clearly slowing already by many economic reports including new home sales, existing home sales, the regional Fed manufacturing surveys, sentiment measures, and consumer spending trends. The only major discrepancy is ISM.

This week, none of that matters. However, I would like to point out that bear market rallies end, not on bad news, but on good news. It will be interesting to see how much more good news there is, and the market's reaction to it.

Mike "Mish" Shedlock
http://globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
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Africa Can Feed Itself

It always did, indeed, the Roman empire rather depended on grain exports from Africa to maintain itself.  What is new is the reverse imperialism introduced by USA, in which local farmers are wiped out by USA grain exports, making the entire country dependent on the imperialists, as opposed to the imperialists are dependent on the colonies.  Nowadays we have more interesting things to extract, like chromium, rare earth materials and that radioactive stuff, I forget what it is called, which is necessary for cell phones.  And of course, gold, silver, diamonds and other common goodies...

Africa is short of food now for the same reason Ireland was once short of food: imperialists manipulated the food supply, with the connivance of enough Irishmen to make it work. So it is in Africa:  African Yale graduates do business with their American Yale graduate co-horts to arrange matters that benefit a few Americans but lay waste to wide swathes of Africa.

This was the factual situation that Pol Pot worked from when he carried out his scorched earth policy in Kampuchea.  That was appalling, but policies have consequences, and every USA citizen needs to have solidarity with the people who suffer under USA policies.

For the USA government, and their handmaidens, the NGOs, to get out now would not end the problem. Farming requires cultural capital, it is handed down from generation to generation, and is lost if one generation is out.  These very many "organic farmers" in USA are learning this the hard way.  USA policies one devastated our country, and may soon again.

The only way to heal this, is after we bring home the Hamiltonians, and prosecute them, is for small business to trade, and begin the healing process.

Top photo, Finbarr O'Reilly, bottom photo Dorothy Lange.

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CEO Mag Quotes Me

It's always a surprise what is used in an article after an interview, but as long as they spell the name right...

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ADD: If It Is A Disease, Why I Don't Want A Cure.

I am so glad I was in grade school before the powers that be discovered the disease known as ADD/ADHD.  Of course, there is no such disease, this made-up disease is merely a means of suppressing individuals who cannot sit still in school through soul-killing monotony.  I'll say it again, if teachers cannot keep up with lively students, drug the teachers with speed, not the students with ritalin.

Everyone says ritalin is overprescribed, but never in their instance.  Parents are conditioned to reflexively accept what doctors tell them, and to become a doctor today, you have to get with the program.

At wikipedia, one would expect far more on the controversy of ADD/ADHD, but even there, the powers that be allow only trace reference.  But let's look at what the site calls a problem, with my comments after each bullet.

Predominantly inattentive type symptoms may include:^[34]

• Be easily distracted, miss details, forget things, and frequently switch from one activity to another
• We are renaissance people...
• Have difficulty focusing on one thing
• We are renaissance people, we get it faster than you can teach it...
• Become bored with a task after only a few minutes, unless doing something enjoyable
• This is an illness...?!
• Have difficulty focusing attention on organizing and completing a task or learning something new
• Only when it is banal or unimportant, in spite of what you say...
• Have trouble completing or turning in homework assignments, often losing things (e.g., pencils, toys, assignments) needed to complete tasks or activities
• We share...
• Not seem to listen when spoken to
• When the speaker is boring: how is you being boring constitute me being ill...?
• Daydream, become easily confused, and move slowly
• Right... we work on serious things, which we are obliged to do in the mind, since you could care less about our creativity...
• Have difficulty processing information as quickly and accurately as others
• As defined by you, not by us...  we are not your little brown-nosers...
• Struggle to follow instructions.
• Only because your are tedious...

Predominantly hyperactive-impulsive type symptoms may include:^[34]

• Fidget and squirm in their seats
• So let us wander around the room, or school... or neighborhood...
• Talk nonstop
• Generally what we have to say is more interesting than what you have to say, and we are a sharing tribe...
• Dash around, touching or playing with anything and everything in sight
• Well, how come you have it out, are are an inquisitive tribe...
• Have trouble sitting still during dinner, school, and story time
• We "make hay while the sun shines..." can't sit around wasting time...
• Be constantly in motion
• You envy our energy...
• Have difficulty doing quiet tasks or activities.
• We save that for sleep time...

and also these manifestations primarily of impulsivity:^[34]

• Be very impatient
• You are tedious to us.
• Blurt out inappropriate comments, show their emotions without restraint, and act without regard for consequences
• You mean no matter how much you try to oppress us, we keep on happily?  We are genuine, frank? This is a disease...?
• Have difficulty waiting for things they want or waiting their turns in games
• Right, we prefer martial arts, tennis, skiing... games where you don't have to wait for the non-ADD/ADHD people to get it together... so this is a disease...?

  No way would I ever give up my inquisitiveness, my energy, my fascination with the world around me so that I can "focus" and be a good little automaton.  If you cannot keep up with us, then may I recommend angel dust, speed or cocaine? What?  That is offensive?  But drugging irrepressible youths is   not offensive?

Set my people free!

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Sixth Sense Computing

Pretty impressive stuff...  start at about 4 minutes 20 seconds to get right to the meat, and then watch the second video too...  to get how he got to these very cool things go back and watch the beginning...  This is just an example of an industry with sooooo much yet to be done...  we are still about 2000 BC when it comes to computer development cycle...

And of course, he is not locking any of this up in IPR, so it will be available to everyone, open source software.  Read the comments, how people are coming up with variations, developing ideas.

I am working on a book editor, a whiteboard that allows 50 pages at one to be projected, with all of the editing that now takes a computer and a printer.  These applications are exciting...

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Very Smart Roads

And if we can integrate all of this with maglev, we'd have the industry to fix the economy.  The only problem I see is they got their funding from a fedgov grant, which means this will follow political lines rather than market lines. Sigh. O well...  it least it is movement.  Thanks to Dennis for this tip...

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Why We Want Mexican Immigration

Well, quite a bit of immigracion is hispanic, from sources all over South America.  People who work hard, love their families, and honor their parents, as the bible says, will live long in the land and it will go well with them (deut 5-16).  Not only Hispanics, but Moslems as well.  More Christians should try it.

And look what Hispanic immigration is bringing with them...  do we have anyone working today in USA music as good as this guy?  I wish I had musical talent, and to be able to shout "mi mariachi!" and let the band take it away...  wow.  And by the way, this is your Sunday entertainment for this week.

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