Unequal Wealth

Unequal Wealth | Truthout

..very good article..well worth a careful read... jury's still out on how we're going to do in surviving all this.. but at the moment, it does not look promising... who leads us out from this doomsday mess...
... whoever wins on election day.. we lose...

... and I just fail to believe a good portion of the current crop in office do not see what is happening.. they just do not have an answer, or they just do not care... being mainly involved in positioning themselves to survive in a way that works best for them...
...same what the oligarchs are doing..

..it's an enormous gamble....

...some are beginning to make a stand against a 'broken & corrupt' system......
... 64k question, will this new struggle be enough to turn the tide...

... and is there enough time...  ...how many 'last chances' are we gonna get...

 

The World Is Broken.... Disasters Are Merging

Nomi Prins: Disasters Merging - Book Review - Truthdig

The numbers are growing... more and more will be feeling the effects of just how devastating the past policies of 'grab what you can' and to hell with the rest of humanity have brought to our world.

There are numerous layers upon layers in our society that are insulated and have yet to realize the extent of just how bad things have evolved. Throughout history there have always been people suffering, but now it is different in numerous ways...
...we are fast approaching a time (if we have not already arrived) when it gets to the point where  there is no turning back.

Hundreds of millions are very much at risk... the majority of those with resources are 'advantaged' and will be somewhat insulated (not completely though, that just ain't gonna be possible)... they always are, but untold numbers of others will suffer terribly.
It's been building for a long time. You can't do what we've done to each other... to civilization and the world in general for such a long period of time... and escape scott-free.
We're unequivocally going to be paying a HUGE price.. only a matter of how bad it gets... and when the reality really sinks in, hitting home to the majority... that's really gonna be a BAD time in history.

Are we now able to somehow miraculously force a 180 degree turn... well, we just have to wait and see what happens. The numbers of 'protesters' are substantially increasing... major question... have we really reached our 'tipping point'... or is there still enough time?
Most NEVER thought this generation would be here for this.. maybe that was the plan for the 'powers that be'... a good number HAVE to understand what is happening.

And in the event there is a possibility for partial escape... how do we create a recovering world economy that provides dignified livelihoods to all who are willing to work, without undermining the natural systems that we, and our future must rely on?
A real solution will require a vision that is both humble in terms of the material wealth we can expect... and ambitious about the fairness, mutual support, and quality of life we can build.
“We owe such an effort to people who are already suffering and dying on the front lines of the catastrophic convergence, and to the next generation who will inherit the mess. And, we owe it to ourselves.”

Who would have expected it would come down to this kind of crap-shoot with our future.
All would all love to be absolutely dead wrong bout what's gonna happen...  it just ain't playin out that way.

   

.. thoughts of John...

It has been a very emotional past week, for it was exactly one week to the day we were informed of the passing of one of our most dear relatives and friends... John Ward, of Alexander/ Weaverville, North Carolina. (Cindy, John's wife is Bernadette's niece.. one of Bern's older brother John's two daughters.)

JW isn't just 'special'.. he is 'giant-sized special' to both of us... and to many, many others that had met and know him throughout his all too short but amazingly full life.
Up until today, thoughts about John, and his lovely and loving family... his wife Cindy, and their two beautiful daughters Kady and Samantha have been bouncing around in my head, but with all going on the past week, there's not been adequate time or near enough composure to put anything in writing.

Samantha, Cindy, John, Kady

Before traveling to North Carolina this past Saturday (along with Bernadette's sister Laurie), we spent a very difficult couple of days 'on our own'... all that changed dramatically once we arrived in North Carolina on Saturday afternoon.

What began then, and did not lessen until we got on the plane three days later and returned home to Canaan was something beyond true comprehension, unless you were fortunate enough to have been one of those present for the entire wonderful shared experience.

You see, John had a totally unique quality among people, he loved helping others so much it was what he dedicated most his entire life to doing. He knew an awful lot about most everything, especially things needing help & repair.. and he assisted folks in building and repairing most everything... themselves as well.

I came across a saying most recently.. and every time now it will come to mind when I think of John...

"When I do bad, I feel bad... and when I do good, I feel good... that is my religion."

John's full time religion and passion was doing good... helping others. It's hard in today's world to find this belief practiced to the level he took it, and we feel most blessed to have him forever a part of our lives... as his love and spirit will never separate from us.

At John's memorial service on Sunday afternoon, once the people began arriving they needed to wait patiently in line for almost forty-five minutes before they were able to say their goodbye’s to John, and offer condolences to Cindy and her family... and this remarkable line of people of all ages, from all walks of life went on for somewhat over two solid hours... John once again 'closed the joint.'
It was something absolutely astounding and marvelous to behold, as Cindy and Sam and Kady's grace, warmth, patience & strength was amazing to witness. Without doubt, John is one of a kind, but it was well evidenced there and then, life with a truly loving family is a 'full partnership' of equals in every respect.

The next day there was a gathering and celebration of John's life at a local pub in Weaverville.. the hundreds of people attending, celebrating the life of a man they all knew and loved dearly. We ate and drank, laughed & cried, and spoke about the wonderful times we all shared with John.
It was obvious from the way all spoke about John, we were all feeling the exact same emotion at the exact same time. John made people 'feel better' just by being around him.. and his life gave each of us an example how to build on ours.

I consider myself most fortunate, for I've had several individuals in my life by their example and personality have made me want to be a better person... among them, my most dear mother Josephine.. my life partner - my dearest Bernadette.. and there has been John.

September is an absolutely beautiful time of year.. I now have two dates during the month to emphasize for me how precious and fulfilling life is...
... this past 9.3 Bern and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary... and  now 9.14 to celebrate the exemplary life of a dearly beloved friend.

Several of the folks in this close knit community expressed the desire to keep John's celebration of life moving forward, by each year holding some form of community event in his honor and memory. It is hoped it comes to fruition, and we will support it in whatever manner necessary to ensure its' success, and we wholeheartedly would look forward to attending.

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

John had an unbridled passion for all things regarding the great outdoors.. 

...and he spent his final hours doing one of the things he loved most.. 

...mountain biking on the backwoods trails (whenever I now see this video I think of JW) 
up in the mountains of western North Carolina....

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

The hole in all our hearts at this moment is enormous... time should help soften our now exposed and raw emotions... but unequivocally will never lessen the intensity of love we all share.

You can shed tears they are gone,
or you can smile because they have lived.

 
You can close your eyes and pray they'll come back,
or you can open your eyes and see all they have left.

 
Your heart can be empty because you cannot see them,
or you can be full of the love you all shared together.

 
You can turn your back on tomorrow and live yesterday,
or you can be happy for tomorrow because of yesterday.

 
You can remember them only that they are gone,
or you can cherish their memory and let it live on.

 
You can cry and close your mind,
be empty and turn your back.

 
Or you can do what they would want:
smile, open your eyes, love and go on.

Conversations With Great Minds - Bill McKibben

Hartmann: Conversations With Great Minds - Bill McKibben (Part 1) | Truthout

Watch both parts of this interview...

We have choices... what we do and where we go from here determines our future fate.

   

.. trouble for the Bill of Rights...

... catching up on some back reading built up while away.. came across this exceptionally well done and important talk by Glen Greenwald (the brilliant young independent journalist writing at Salon.com)..

...would have liked to have sent it on to an attorney we had dinner with one night on the recent cruise.. had a lengthy discussion with him regarding the current US policy of targeted assignations, and detention/ imprisonment... (he was all in favor...)

.. we are in increasingly serious trouble if we cannot wrestle back control....(as we move ever further away from democratic and legal principles)...

... long-term trouble for the Bill of Rights...(well worth a listen to the full audio)


   

"Pay no attention to man behind the curtain."

 ... nothing needs to be added to this succinct 700 word piece from Steve Pizzo.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Levers of Power and Wealth Are No Longer 

Connected to Anything Real

by BuzzFlash, blog.buzzflash.com/node/12984
September 3rd 2011

STEPHEN PIZZO FOR BUZZFLASH AT TRUTHOUT


"Pay no attention to man behind the curtain."
That was the famous line from Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy caught a glimpse of the fake wizard desperately pulling switches and punching buttons in a vain attempt to impress his visitors of his power.
I think about that scene a lot lately. I see that image in my head when I read about of one attempt after another by our leaders, or other leaders around the world, furiously trying every old trick in the book to get things back to "normal."

So far nothing has worked. Nothing is normal any more, anywhere. If Chicken Little were around today he'd be booked solid on cable talk shows. Hell, he'd probably have his own show.
I've felt for some time now that this turmoil we're experiencing is a horse of an entirely different color -- something we've never live through before. This is no recession -- at least no recession I've seen in my 66-years. I hardly noticed any of our previously declared recessions.

I sure as hell notice this one

Whatever the hell this is, it's no recession. It's something else.
One of the biggest distinctions between this -- let's just call it a "mess" -- and previous recessions is the number of things going wrong all at the same time.

If it were just the banks and bankers getting caught one again with their grimy mitts in the till, we have survived those kind of muggings many times before.
If it were just another cyclical disruption in domestic labor markets, we've seen that before  too and, after a few lock-outs, some worker protests and strikes, things settled back down and everyone went back to work.

But this time the meltdown of financial markets exposed some breathtaking evidence; an enormous hunk of what had been counted as "wealth" was actually just valueless concoctions, the value of which depended entirely on the current holder finding a greater fool to pay more for it than they did.  When we ran out of fools, those assets immediately morphed into liabilities. (As Warren Buffet put it recently, "You never really know who's swimming naked until the tide goes out.") Trillions of dollars in "wealth" vanished at the click of mouse.

Then there's the job market. Outsourcing -- oh it was all great fun until someone lost an eye. In our case that eye was nearly the entire US manufacturing base. With that went jobs.. millions and millions and millions of jobs. America, which less than 70 years earlier had been dubbed "the arsenal of democracy," for our vast ability to produce, has become instead the arsenal of bickering, bluster and bullshit.

Then there's the rest of the world.

After the fall of the Soviet Union only one super-power remained standing. So it seemed logical for the rest of the developed world to hitch their wagons to ours and shaping their fiscal policies, economies and policies to accommodate ours. They took short courses in the Chicago School of economics where they learned that the less government interferes with the private sector the better. And they learn the magic of "leverage," borrowing, and that "deficits don't matter."

Some learned our bad habits better than others. And now they're sharing beds alongside ours in intensive care. (A satirical movie title comes to mind: "Fiscal Jackasses")
While the wreckage of the world's free market systems continue their collapse, nearly the entire Arab world picked now to decide this is moment in history to rearrange their own deck chairs -- usually at gun point. And, of course, we decided that, rather than deal with our own growing problems at home, to jump right into the Arab world's business -- at gun point.

As I've said before-- this time it's different because there are too many disturbances in "the Force"--  all at once. The center not only cannot hold, but has not held.

So, pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

We are in for it. And, the man, men, women, World Bank, IMF, the Fed -- you see furiously working behind those curtains, can pull those levers and buttons all they want. 
It won't do any good this time. Because all those levers are no longer connected to anything real.

... Take 5: Trip to Europe - August 2011

 Had been planning and looking forward to this trip for quite some... 
.. regrettably, our friends from the U.K will not be making the cruise with us, as they had to cancel at the last minute.. but we look forward to seeing them sometime while we are in London, and maybe as well when we visit the south of France...
...in the event you might want to come along on a day to day tour recap... glad to have you visit with us... 
...all our love... bj & bern


Day 1. Wednesday - August 10th
Flight out of JFK at 9:30am.. took off one hour late (had to replace an engine oil gauge).. but still arrived on time at Heathrow at 9:30pm... met by car service and drove to The Bowood Hotel in Derry Hill.. arrived just before midnight.. had drink & something to eat at the hotel bar and off to bed.

Day 2. Thursday - August 11th
After breakfast, took a taxi over to Chippenham to pick up our rental car.
Then went out to visit Stonehenge.. started to downpour while we were in line to enter, so left the line to see the site and drove over to Avebury, another famous stone circle site... spend most all afternoon at this pleasant little village. Stonehenge will have to wait for another day.
Had dinner at the Shelburne restaurant at Bowood that evening.

Day 3. Friday - August 12th
Went to visit  the National Heritage Village of Lacock, one of the picture perfect villages close in the area... fans of the Harry Potter films know it well for the Lacock Abbey, where a good portion of some scenes from several of the movies were filmed.
Around lunchtime we drove over to the nearby Village of Bradford-on-Avon, a charming small village set on the river, and referred to by many as 'the mini-Bath.' Had a very nice and leisurely lunch at The Three Feathers restaurant and spent the remainder of the afternoon touring the many sights of the town.
That evening had dinner at The Landsdowne Arms pub... just outside the 'Golden Gate' at Bowood.

Day 4. Saturday - August 13th
Started off with a visit to the world famous City of Bath in the morning. It's said Bath is the second most visited location in England after the city of London. It was terribly busy on this Saturday, so we just walked about for a couple-three hours, then went of to visit.Corsham, a pretty little village not far from Bath, with one of the most famous tourist locations in the area... Corsham Court..
From Corsham we went to visit Stonehenge..another location in Britain that is known by most everyone.
And then a couple of final stops to visit some of the most recent crop circle formations just outside Yatesbury.. very nearby the Silent Circle.
This one below we did not see.. the two we did were much less elaborate, and in all probability were of the man-made variety...

Temple Farm, near Rockley, reported August 7th

Day 5. Sunday - August 14th
Traveling over to Twyford this morning (90 min east of Bowood) to visit with Trish, Mark, Ryan, Michael and Maryann... and have lunch along the river at the St George & Dragon Pub.
Then back to Bowood for a long sunset walk around the golf course pathways... our final night in the English countryside.
We enjoyed our stay at Bowood very much and look forward to returning.. maybe to rent the Queenwood Lodge... want to come along?


Day 6. Monday - August 15th...
After breakfast on to Chippenham to return the rental car and pick up the train to Paddington Station in London.. and then a cab to The Millennium Hotel In Grosvenor Square in Mayfair. ..
.. we used up half a tank of gas in the four days... cost 60 pounds to fill it back up.. folks in the US are spoiled... would take almost $200.00 to fill that tank up here in the UK !! (..these prices will be coming to us in America pretty soon !!)...
after checking into the hotel in London and getting settled in, we went for a long walk on Grosvenor Street over to Regent Street and then back towards the hotel on Piccadilly.
Had one heck of a huge piece of English beef for dinner at Goodman Restaurant not far from the hotel.

Day 7. Tuesday - August 16th...
After breakfast today we go over to Buckingham Palace for 'the dress' tour..
they told us 8,000-9,000 people a day tour the palace during summer... seemed like all 9k were there same time as us !! Queen's doin okay with all the cash registers ringing at the numerous 'Royal' gift shops, and all the tour tix being sold...
...to be fair though, it is a very well done tour, the palace and grounds are amazing.. and the ticket does grant you a one year pass to return.
Tonight we do seafood at Scott's restaurant on Mount Street a couple blocks away from the hotel.. said one of the best seafood places in the area... we'll see.
Yes.. it is one of the best restaurants we have found in town.. upscale all the way.. pricey, but you get the goods delivered.. will definitely return.

Day 8. Wednesday - August 17th...
In the morning we take the underground to the Waterloo rail station to head out south to meet up with Brenda (she's 1/2 of the couple from the UK we normally go cruising with).. we're doing lunch with her and then a visit to Mac & Mac Interiors in Farnham.. to see a certain 'Betty' chair we thinking about purchasing for the dining room out in Nevada.... ultra contemporary look... like it allot..

Our friend could not make lunch (she was not feeling well).. but we did venture out to Farnham by rail (an easy journey).. took a look at the Cattelan Italia 'Betty' chair and decided it will work. The price was less than the quotes we got from companies in the States.. so we'll more than likely be ordering them from the store here in England.

... we tried to find this chair in showrooms out west that carried the brand.. but none of them had the chair 'on the floor', and we were not about to buy them sight unseen. So, we had to travel 40 miles outside London to the small town of Farnham to view them.

Dinner that night was at a place Bern came across in the dining section of the NYT in May... the St. John Hotel restaurant off Leicester Square. The meal was exceptional.. very eclectic, intriguing and well prepared food, and service that was top notch... a great find from a piece in a recent NYT by Bern.

Day 9. Thursday - August 18th...
In the morning we'll head over to Knightsbridge and walk-around Harvey Nichols before having a late lunch at  'Dinner'  the new Heston Blumenthal restaurant that Bern again read about in the NYT (tried to go for dinner, but they are solidly booked weeks and weeks in advance). 

So how was it... great !! Blumenthal's restaurant at the Mandarin Oriental is very trendy, very busy, very expensive... and VERY good !! A starter I had was from a recipe circa 1390 by a chef of Richard II... (and it was fantastic!).  Glad we were able to make it there for lunch... believe we'll be skipping dinner this evening though.

Day 10. Friday - August 19th...
Grab some breakfast and afterward catch a cab to the Waterloo rail station.. then off to Southampton to meet up with the cruise ship.
London was an enjoyable stop, although the weather was much cooler than expected or normal for August... overall we have seen very little of the sun since arriving in England a week and a half ago.
The trip down to the Port of Southampton was pretty easy by rail.. a short cab ride to the ship and we were on board having lunch by 1pm. Rest of the day spent setteling in and getting accustomed to the new surroundings on-board the Regent Seven Seas 'Voyager.'

At dinner last night in the ship's main dining room we were seated at the same table with a couple that also lives in Nevada.. in Henderson.. in a community just a couple of miles from us... and another couple Dave & Carol that were on the Regent cruise we took to Peru a couple years back.. and they were also part of a very small group that went on a side trip to Machu Picchu as well.... what are the odds.

The ship set sail at 6pm for Le Havre, France... the first stop on the 14 night cruise ending in Monte Carlo...

Day 11. Saturday - August 20th...
We're free in the morning.. after lunch we go on tour to Deauvill & Pays d'Auge.
We docked in the morning in the small picturesque Port of Honfleur... it is a very quaint and pretty place, easily one where more time can be spent wandering the many wonderful old and very charming streets and numerous enticing shops and restaurants.. an extremely pleasant surprise. 

The afternoon tour stopped at a Calvedos winery.. a place that could have easily been skipped.. but the stop at Deauville was an eye opener. 
Deauville is an outstanding Normandy resort town... with its racecourse, harbour, international film festival, marinas, conference center, villas, Grand Casino and sumptuous hotels, Deauville is regarded as the "queen of the Norman beaches" and one of the most prestigious seaside resorts in all of France. Before visiting here, we had never thought much about it before but it is without a doubt a premier world class destination, and could be somewhere that we could easily look forward to returning to sometime in the near future.
It was too bad Deauville was not an all-day tour stop... spending so little time there was unfortunate.

The ship pulled out to sea at 6pm... tomorrow is one of out two 'at sea' days.. time to catch our breath and do absolutely very little.

Day 12. - Sunday, August  21st...
At sea today... sailing from Normandy to Bordeaux... weather is slightly overcast, sea relatively calm, just some slight rolling side to side from the sea swells.
We're scheduled to arrive at Bordeaux mid-day tomorrow.


Day 13 & 14 - Monday & Tuesday, August 22nd & 23rd...
Still under way, we are scheduled to be docking around noon today. We have a scheduled tour of a chateau & winery this afternoon. Afterward we'll probably stay in Bordeaux for a few hours, then return back to the ship for a late dinner (or should we come across a restaurant on shore we'd really like to try, we'll eat there).
The ship overnights in Bordeaux.
Bordeaux was a very relaxing port stop... being right at the waterfront promenade and being able to walk right into the city both day and night was great.

Day 15 - Wednesday, August 24th...
From 8am to 8pm today the ship was at anchor at Saint Jean de Luz, on the Cote Basque, France.. only a very short distance north of the Spanish border. A small, very picturesque little fishing and tourist village on the coast. Weather was misty for most all the day but not enough rain to make things uncomfortable.
We'll took a coach tour to the resort city of Biarritz. It's a city which lies on the Bay of Biscay, and it is a very luxurious seaside town, popular with tourists and surfers.

The town lies in Basque territory, and Basque flags and symbols are prevalent throughout Biarritz. It is a bid deal, world class French resort town... a place that's definitely worth returning to sometime soon.


Day 16 - Thursday, August 25th...
Early this morning we entered the Port of Bilbao, Spain, ... we also today take a tour and visit the nearby resort town of Getxo

Bilbo is really a fairly good sized city, spread out among the surrounding mountains.. and the Guggenheim Museum is the tourist 'show' centerpiece.. an amazing construction.
Getxo is right alongside Bilbo, and one of the suburban areas that expanded population as Bilbo grew in size over the past couple of decades.


Day 17 - Friday, August 26th...

Today we are in La Coruna, Spain... most of the older period buildings in the town were taken down, leaving it with much less appeal... the physical location and the several very large municipal beaches are very nice... well worth a walk about.

La Coruna -Plaza de Raizor

This was really more of a port stop for those passengers wanting to go on the all day tour to Santiago de Compostala.. the main inland attraction.

Day 18 - Saturday, August 27th...
Oporto, Portugal is the port stop.. and our tour is to the nearby medieval city of Guimaraes.

Oporto, Portugal

After returning to the ship from the tour, we went back out into Oporto for a very nice walk around the city and the bustling riverfront filled with cafes and lots of people.. on a warm late-summer afternoon, it was a very memorable experience.

Day 19 - Sunday, August 28th...
Lisbon, Portugal is our stop today... capital and largest city in the country.. 1/4th of the population lives in Lisbon. The city is the seventh-most-visited city in Southern Europe, after Istanbul, Rome, Barcelona, Madrid, Athens, and Milan, with almost 2 million  tourists in 2009.
We're off in the morning to tour the oldest district in Lisbon.. Alfama district....the Lisbon Cathedral... and the Ajuda National Palace.

Alfama District in Lisbon

Day 20 - Monday, August 29th...
The port stop is Cadiz, Spain... but we leave the ship at noon to travel to Seville for the day... we do not return to the ship until 8pm.
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville.
One of the highlights of the tour is a visit to the Alcazar Palace... a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The upper levels of the Alcázar are still used by the royal family as the official Seville residence.

Alcazar - Patio de las doncellas

 Another significant highlight of the city is the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See.. or the Seville Cathedral.. a magnificent Gothic structure.. the 3rd largest cathedral in the world after St Peter's in Rome, and St Paul's in London.

Cathedral of St Mary of the See.. or the Seville Cathedral

Seville is a special city.. in normal times a very beautiful and livable place... but as many of the villages, towns, and cities we have visited on this trip to date, it too is having it's fair share of economic difficulties.
With unemployment for it's young people approaching unbelievably high levels.. there are no jobs for university school graduates. And as you walk the main streets and boulevards the numbers of empty storefronts is quite apparent, evidencing just how deep the recession has hit... they too do not know what will bring them out from this crisis.
(With budget troubles everywhere, you wonder just how much longer many of these kinds very costly 'attractions' we have been visiting will be able to be maintained and kept open.)


Day 21 - Tuesday, August 30th...
In the very early hours of the morning we passed through the Strait of Gibraltar, on our way from Cadiz to our next port stop in Barcelona.. arriving there early tomorrow morning.
We spend all day today at sea... time to nurse the colds we both have caught, and catch up on some needed rest.

Day 22 - Wednesday, August 31st...
Arrive in Barcelona in the morning... in all of Europe, one of our favorite cities to visit... lots of street life, and magnificent architecture to enjoy.
Las Ramblas...with its world famous Boqueria Market...  Avenue de Catalunya... and Passeig de Gracia... all wonderful street to stroll for hours.
Then there is the old 'Gothic Quarter' of the city, with it's narrow streets and buildings that seem to have been there forever.
A week would be too short a time to spend in this magnificent city... we will be back again soon.

Day 23 - Thursday, September 1st...
We had to take the day off from touring the Provence countryside (our scheduled tour was to be Aix-en-Provence) just north of the port stop of Marseille, France. We just felt a bit too weary and battling sore throats from our colds (Bern visited the ship's doctor to get some medicine to help).
Will maybe go out after lunch (depending how we feel), and see some of the sights of Marseilles.

Day 24 - Friday, September 2nd...
Arrive in Monte Carlo, Monaco in the morning and departed the ship. We meet up with Stephen (our friend living in Monaco), and spent a very pleasant morning at his port apartment overlooking the Monte Carlo harbor. We then picked up a car at a nearby location, and headed over to a small hotel Le Mas Candille just outside the very small town of Mougins just northwest of Monaco for four nights.
Arriving at the town a bit tired we just walked about the old town for a couple of hours.. had dinner on the dining terrace at the hotel (lovely), and went early to bed.

Day 25 - Saturday, September 3rd...
Our 35th wedding anniversary... we were not feeling to well... our severe colds having their way with us. But we did manage to get down to visit with Stephen down in Cannes... just a short drive south from where we are staying in Mougins. We had some lunch at a spot along the beach...

... and then afterward spent a couple hours with him at his apartment on the Rue de Antibes.
We returned back to Mougins late afternoon and had dinner at a restaurant in Mougins.

Day 27 - Sunday, September 4th...
With the 90% chance for rain the entire day, we still decided to make the drive down to Nice to meet up with Dave & Carol for lunch on the beach. Was good seeing them again after leaving the ship, and walking around Nice for a few hours was great.. (and although it did shower a couple of times, all in all it was not too bad a day).
We had dinner back in Mougins again that evening.

Day 28 - Monday, September 5th..
We had thought we'd be taking a drive over to St Paul d'Venice, but still not feeling decided to spend the morning strolling around Mougins and having lunch in one of the town restaurants.

Dinner will also be in Mougins, at one of the several top restaurants for which the town is noted... L'amandier des Mougins

Day 29 - Tuesday, September 6th...
Today we leave Mougins mid-morning and travel to Nice to fly into London for our connecting flight back to New York... we're scheduled to arrive in JFK in the evening around 8pm.

All That Glitters...

Since we have been back up in the northeast on this trip, we've been running into folks asking about how 'tough' a market it is out in the desert in southern Nevada.
We'll it ain't pretty.. in fact, numbers are fairly dismal.. and those back on the opposite coast are too distant to feel any of the actual effects of what's happening out west (although Florida's got a good idea)... the whole region California, Nevada, Arizona has been reeling.

Mortgage delinquencies are recently falling slightly in southern Nevada, but there's still a world of hurt, even after the 90-day mortgage delinquency rate for Vegas homeowners dipped to its lowest level in nearly two years, as a research firm has just recently reported.
California-based CoreLogic said just shy of 17% of homeowners with a mortgage were delinquent 90 days or more in May. The delinquency rate has fallen steadily since it was 21% in February 2010.
To put that into context though... the national rate is 7.3%. And it must be noted, as the California-based RealtyTrac reported this week Vegas continued to post the nation’s highest foreclosure rate for all metropolitan areas during the first six months of 2011. And of note and more alarming, 1 in 4 of Nevada's foreclosures involve a decision to walk away from the mortgage even though the homeowners have the ability to make payment, according to a new study. They're just so much underwater, they've lost faith paying on a mortgage more than what the property is now worth.

The State of Nevada had 11,000 foreclosure filings in May, meaning one in every 103 homes had some type of foreclosure filing, RealtyTrac reported. (Putting that Nevada number into perspective... in New York State it is only 1 in 3,000!)
The City of Las Vegas had one filing for every 89 homes, which is more than six times the national average... one in every 19 housing units had a foreclosure filing during the first six months of 2011. Filings fell 18% from the last six months of 2010, and were 18% lower than the first half of 2010. Phoenix ranked second in the nation behind Las Vegas.

According to Standard & Poor’s Vegas-area home prices fell in May for the eighth consecutive month. According to widely-followed S&P's Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, Las Vegas home prices are now 60% below their peak during the economic boom of 2005-2006. The report said Vegas prices fell 1% from April to May and were down 6.6% from May 2010.
With the deep recession continuing locally, Vegas home prices have been depressed by high unemployment (14%.. and in fact it's more than likely to be much higher than what's being reported) and resulting foreclosures. Despite recent declines in foreclosure filings, Nevada still leads the nation in the percentage of homeowners losing their homes.

Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported the median price of a single-family home sold in June locally was down 1.2% from May, and down 11% from one year ago.
(Nationwide, S&P said prices for its 20-city composite index rose 1% from April to May, but were down 4.5% from May 2010.)
"These data all support a continuation of the ‘bounce-along-the-bottom’ scenario we have witnessed in the housing market over the past two years."

And Nevada real estate agents are growing more pessimistic about the market... 82% of Nevada real estate professionals now said home prices would decline over the next six months, according to s survey conducted by California research company HomeGain. The survey found that real estate professionals in Nevada are more pessimistic about prices than in the second quarter of 2010, when 42% thought prices would rise and 29% thought they would decline.
During the first quarter, 71% said prices would decrease over the next six months... NONE said prices would increase!!  Nationally, 50% of agents said they expect home price decreases over the next six months, and 12% expect increases.

Where we go from here is really just anyone's guess... we're in territory never close to what's been seen before. Of all the subcontractors we used in building process... most every one of them has quit their business, some in the area for decades, with top reputations.. Others are now just barely holding on... there is NO high end home market to speak of left in town. When you're going to have to fund $300-400 or more a square foot for construction... and when it's finished, it will only be worth maybe half of that... why should you chose to do it... some are, but those numbers are ridiculously small.
There are some great buys on existing properties.. if it would be that values would level off for awhile. But as previously mentioned that's yet to happen... and as more jobs across the country continue to be lost, there is probably little chance it will.

This town is driven by big hotel and resort projects. From design through construction, they can take upwards of 15 years to finish, and they employ tens of thousands of people. None are on the drawing board at this time, so figure if things would begin to recover sometime over the next 5 years, it would really not be for a couple of decades until any real effects were felt in the local economy from such  projects.

But the town continues on with life, and for the moment still offers lots of fun. More than 40 million people a year consistently keep comin through... room prices are way down, and there's lots of comps being offered,  of which we're taking advantage. We've been staying at Aria, Bellagio, The Cosmopolitan multiple times, with some meals and free play thrown in... seeing shows and having an overall good time.
So come on out and visit, we expect they'll be able to keep the lights burning on the Strip for at least a few more years.

In our development MacDonald Highlands, there were to have been upwards of 1,000 homes, including a small percentage of that number being condominiums. The entire project was expected to be a 10-12 year build-out. It's now been over 15 years and half the homes are in. There are a few big homes still in various stages of construction (some of the very large structures take up to 36-48 months to complete), but they're an exception.. and it would take 100 years to finish the community at the present pace of development. Foreclosure rates in the area are higher than average, the median age being 37, everyone was speculating and constantly 'moving up'. Leveraged to the hilt, 'livin the good life,' they never heard of, or if they did, follow the rule not to have all your eggs in one basket.

We'll keep ya posted... if there are signs of life with an increasing pulse out here, ya then might be able to say there could be a light at the end of the tunnel for the economy...
... keep your fingers crossed...
... warm regards... talk soon...

Holidays... the bad kind...

This is as good an issue on the table right now to discuss as any... if we cannot get up off our butts, pick up the phone and get the word out to our representatives that enough is enough, and this kind of crap MUST stop... than we deserve every bit of BS the super-rich-and-powerful are willing to cram down our impassive throats... scheming to plunder as much wealth from the economy, the treasury, and us as they can get their slimy hands on. For these guys, there is absolutely no end to how much is too much.. and there is no such belief as 'shared-sacrifice.'

We all have cellphones.. in the address book of each of those phones should be the well used contact numbers of the offices of the characters we 'elected' to represent us. Not having the billions to spend, as the super-wealthy and powerful do, to hire 'in-the-pocket' lobbyists to get our voices heard... so on the phones we have to be our own lobbyists.

These greedy one-way bastards that are repeatedly corrupting our system of government are counting on us not doing anything much at all to stop them. And the really sick part of this whole thing is they know the system is being stretched to its breaking point, and is going to crash pretty damn soon (just like the creators of all Ponzi schemes realize), and you know, they defiantly say 'I-D-G-A-S.' They're so fat now they truly believe they can withstand any downturn, no matter how huge, and come out smellin roses. It's been proven to them, they're 'protected'.. they've bought and paid for it again and again.

What these a-holes are blindly ignoring at their own peril (AND OURS) is what they're doin to the physical world around them.. they're devastating it... what a shameful time in our history... and unless they get stopped... it's via con dios for all of us.. our 'end of days.'

So that's it folks... get in the pols ears now.. or just sit back, and wait for the mother of all calamities to come crashing over us. Somethin's gonna happen irregardless... what we're talkin here is just how much easier (or worse off) we make it on ourselves...
... oh yea, and especially on the kids & gk's too... cause they're definitely the ones gonna be on the receiving end of the most dreadful part of all of it!

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

 

"Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will. Find out just what any people will quietly submit to and you have found out the exact measure of injustice and wrong which will be imposed upon them...

... and these will continue until they are resisted with either words or blows, or with both."
-- Frederick Douglass

Corporate Tax Holiday in Debt Ceiling Deal: Where's the Uproar? | Common Dreams

... world's apart... where we are headed....

There are two films watched most recently that should be looked at as two streams of the same thought. One film called 'Inside Mecca'... the other 'The Third Jihad.'
It is getting more difficult writing about these kinds of movies. Crying wolf again and again, will have the obvious diluting effect... for these films that would be exceptionally dangerous.
We're facing today many planet altering situations... this is another that once it sinks in, you realize that yes... all things being equal... 'it' is going to happen... and 'when' appears to be getting much closer.

Nat-Geo's Inside Mecca deals with more than just place.. it tells much of the story behind the meaning of just what the location and term signifies.. and it does it pretty well. It takes the viewer on the 'Hajj,' recounting the preparation for the Hajj, the journey to Mecca, and the various rituals associated with this Pillar of Islam. Most interestingly, the viewer learns about the meaning of the Hajj for the Muslim pilgrim.

But the story would not be complete without then viewing The Third Jihad.  The Third Jihad documentary alerts Americans to the dangers radical Islam poses to the U.S. and all Western civilization as a whole. The film focuses on radical Islam's war against liberal ideas, its violent, anti-democratic agenda as well as its human and civil rights abuses against women, blacks, homosexuals, Christians and moderate Muslims, under the tenants of Sharia Law.
Putting the two films together creates the total thought provoking experience.

Once you have seen these two films you'll be part of what is probably an extremely small group... not that it should be, for dialogue concerning the message is too important, but that's just the way the world is working right now. On one side, there is an ever expanding momentum.. and the other is unknowing, and/or uncaring... a life-transforming mixture.

These is a great deal of controversy surrounding The Third Jihad, many say it is nothing more than hateful propaganda against Muslims. But this should not deter you from watching it, and making your own judgments as future events unfold. Ignoring it completely can prove to be exceptionally dangerous.
I find it extremely curious there was such a clamor from the Muslim world over the cartoons of a Danish artist.. yet there is hardly a murmur from that same community concerning such a controversial film-work.

There is an enormous transformation taking place in the world, on multiple levels, and from all appearances there is going to be a constant clash of non-assimilating cultures.
Take a look, decide for yourself... you owe your future at least the little time involved.
(Both films can be seen on Netflix - 'Watch Instantly.')

.. a price not written on the menu.

After watching this film last night I had a very tough time getting the ideas and images out of my head.. as a result, had a miserable night's sleep. It's a difficult thing to get one's brain around such a harsh realization.

Charles Clover's short summary is a good place to begin.
'As reassurances from official sources the seas are being ‘managed’ scientifically is absolutely impossible to believe. Enforcement of rules meant to prevail in the oceans has proved wanting most everywhere. Even in some of the best-governed democracies, experts admit what is taking place is completely out of control.'

What we are doing to the oceans is a reflection of exactly how we are treating the rest of the planet.. and results will be similar.

Be sure and watch this film... it is absolutely too important to miss....  
(btw... it is a very well done documentary... and a Netflix 'Watch Instantly' selection).

________________________________________

Seafood to Avoid - Don't Eat Endangered Fish and Seafood

Our Love Affair With Fish Is Unsustainable | Truthout

... truthout ...

.. one impressive lineup of articles... MSM's time is over...
...if you want to stay on top of what's really happening, you can't do better than to subscribe to an INS (independent news source) site such as 'truthout.com'...

__________________________________________________________________


Friday 15 July 2011
War With Iran? US Neocons Aim to Repeat Chalabi-Style Swindle
Ali Fatemi and Karim Pakravan, Truthout: "In 1991, Iraqi exiles set up the Iraq National Congress (INC) with funding from the CIA. Under the leadership of Ahmad Chalabi, and flush with tens of millions dollars in US government funding, the INC allied itself with the neoconservatives in Washington and unceasingly beat the drums of war, presenting itself as the popular democratic alternative to Saddam Hussein and feeding faulty intelligence to an eager media and Bush administration. Eventually, they succeeded in dragging the United States into disastrous war that cost Americans and Iraqis their lives and caused incalculable damage to American prestige and power. Now, history may be repeating itself."
Read the Article

Why Banks Aren't Lending: The Silent Liquidity Squeeze
Ellen Brown, Truthout: "Whether by accident or design, federal policymakers still have not got it right. While we are waiting for them to figure it out, states can nurture and protect their own local economies with publicly owned banks, on the model of the Bank of North Dakota (BND). Currently the nation's only state-owned bank, the BND services the liquidity needs of local banks and keeps credit flowing in the state. Fourteen states have now initiated bills to establish state-owned banks or to study their feasibility. Besides serving local lending needs, state-owned banks can provide cash-strapped states with new revenues, obviating the need to raise taxes, slash services or sell off public assets."
Read the Article

Bill Moyers: The Murdoch Scandal and a Lesson for Corporate Media (Video)
Bill Moyers, broadcast journalist and author of "Bill Moyers Journal: The Conversation Continues" talks with Rachel Maddow about the investigation into questionable conduct by Rupert Murdoch's news organization and the dangers of media empires and corporate conglomerate controlled media.
Watch the Video

Kucinich: Debt Political Theater Diverts Attention While Americans' Wealth Is Stolen
Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio) spoke on the House floor about the massive transfer of wealth from the American people to the hands of the few by virtue of wars, energy policies and monetary policies. He called upon Americans to witness Wall Street's theft of Main Street, which has left millions of everyday Americans out of work and seniors facing cuts to Social Security to pay for tax cuts for the rich.
Read the Article

Congress and Its Colonialist Agenda
Stephen Zunes, Truthout: "Based on a resolution unanimously adopted by the Senate (S.Res. 185) on July 29 and by a 407-6 majority in the House (H.Res. 268) on July 7, Congress went on record reiterating their 'strong opposition to any attempt to establish or seek recognition of a Palestinian state outside of an agreement negotiated between Israel and the Palestinians.' It called on Palestinian leaders to 'cease all efforts at circumventing the negotiation process, including through a unilateral declaration of statehood or by seeking recognition of a Palestinian state from other nations or the United Nations.'"
Read the Article

On the News With Thom Hartmann: Tax Cuts for Billionaires and Two Unpaid Wars Bankrupting America, and More
In today's On the News segment: S & P rating agency putting US "AAA" rating on negative watch, Murdoch under investigation in US and Britain, Quinnipiac poll shows majority of Americans blame bad economy on George W. Bush, tax cuts for billionaires and two unpaid wars bankrupting America, Minnesota shutdown is over, and more.
Read the Article and Watch the Video

Eugene Robinson | Make My Day
Eugene Robinson, The Washington Post Writers Group: "Those words suggest President Obama has had it up to here with the preening and posturing of Republican 'negotiators' who won't negotiate. Who could blame him? Obama's warning to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor came at the abrupt conclusion of Wednesday's talks about the debt-ceiling crisis. The unamused president asked whether Ronald Reagan would have put up with such time-wasting nonsense, then uttered another memorable line: 'I've reached my limit. This may bring my presidency down, but I will not yield on this.'"
Read the Article

US Recognizes Rebels in Libya
Sebnem Arsu and Steven Erlanger, The New York Times News Service: "The United States formally recognized the rebel leadership in Libya as the country's legitimate government on Friday. The move, made at an international gathering here to discuss the five-month-old conflict in Libya, ratcheted up the diplomatic pressure on Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi amid a continuing NATO-led bombing campaign to push him from power."
Read the Article

Jeremy Scahill | The CIA's Secret Sites in Somalia
Jeremy Scahill, The Nation: "As part of its expanding counterterrorism program in Somalia, the CIA also uses a secret prison buried in the basement of Somalia's National Security Agency (NSA) headquarters, where prisoners suspected of being Shabab members or of having links to the group are held. Some of the prisoners have been snatched off the streets of Kenya and rendered by plane to Mogadishu. While the underground prison is officially run by the Somali NSA, US intelligence personnel pay the salaries of intelligence agents and also directly interrogate prisoners."
Read the Article

Cliff Schecter | For God's Sake - Stop Talking
Cliff Schecter, Truthout: "The US takes pride in its separation of church and state, but the current political scene is 'strangely' religious. Lately, there would seem to be a whole lot more people who have a direct channel to the Big Guy Upstairs than one could have humanly thought possible. It is oft said that 'God works in mysterious ways.' But when Michele Bachmann hears voices telling her to run for president, am I the only who thinks the most likely explanation is a batch of bad clams or one too many nights role playing 'The Book of Eli' with her equally demented husband Marcus?"
Read the Article

The Predicted Job Collapse Now in Progress
Jack Rasmus, Truthout: "While politicians and business press pundits last March-April were proclaiming the jobs crisis was over, the prediction came that 'March-April's Job Gains Will Collapse This Summer.' That prediction is now underway with the latest June jobs numbers from the US Department of Labor reported July 8 showing only 18,000 new hires occurring in June. The preceding May jobs report showed an almost as dismal 54,000 jobs created."
Read the Article

Deal Is Made for Ending Shutdown in Minnesota
Monica Davey, The New York Times News Service: "The governor of Minnesota and the state's Republican lawmakers announced on Thursday that they had, at last, reached a deal on the state's budget, bringing what is expected to be a swift reopening of government services."
Read the Article

Teaching Gay History Becomes Law in California
David Siders, McClatchy Newspapers: "California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation requiring public schools to teach students about the contributions of gay and lesbian people, making California the first state to adopt such a measure. The legislation requires instruction in the social sciences to include the role and contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Americans, as well as people with disabilities and members of other cultural groups. It would prohibit teaching from textbooks or other instructional materials that reflect adversely on people because of their sexual orientation."
Read the Article

Click here for more Truthout articles

BUZZFLASH DAILY HEADLINES

Is the Tea Party just another name for an anarchy party?
Granted, given that the Tea Party was financially turbo-charged by the Koch Brothers (Americans for Prosperity) and Dick Armey's FreedomWorks, it's a challenge to define members of the loose-knit group. It's clear, for instance, that a significant segment of the party consists of individuals who are venting their racist gripes with President Obama.
But if you look at the corporate media conventional wisdom perception of how the Tea Party impact plays out on Capitol Hill, it is an uber anti-government force that believes taxes of any kind are akin to theft.
This is not just an eccentric BuzzFlash at Truthout theory; there is indeed a school of libertarian economic theory known as anarcho-capitalism. In fact, the son of Milton Friedman - the guru of the Reagan-era school of economics, which now seems liberal compared to the Cantor/Bachmann/Tea Party theories - is one of its foremost adherents. David Friedman believes in the primacy of the individual and property, without the interference of any governmental entity, including laws.
As excerpted from "Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarchism," by Peter Marshall, the extremity of what is being played out by the GOP Tea Party wing is a bit chilling:

Anarcho-capitalism has recently had a considerable vogue in the West where it has helped put the role of the state back on the political agenda. It has become a major ideological challenge to the dominant liberalism which sees a role for government in the protection of property. The anarcho-capitalists would like to dismantle government and allow complete laissez-faire in the economy. Its adherents propose that all public services be turned over to private entrepreneurs, even public spaces like town halls, streets and parks. Free market capitalism, they insist, is hindered not enhanced by the State....

Anarcho-capitalists, according to "A History of Anarchism," "maintain that even the minimal state is unnecessary since the defense of person and property can be carried out by private protection agencies."
The major area that anarcho-capitalists (and Ayn Rand adherents) would have a falling out with most Tea Party adherents is over social issues, in which anarcho-capitalists have no interest. For example, without a government of laws, it would be hard to legislate against gays, immigrants etc. In short, the government dreaded by the Tea Party could not be used by them to establish authoritarian, moralistic control over people.
But when it comes to economic theory, Eric Cantor, for example, certainly sounds a lot like an anarcho-capitalist.
Mark Karlin
Editor, BuzzFlash at Truthout Rebekah Brooks, Head of Murdoch's UK Print Empire Resigns Over UK Phone-Hacking Scandal
Read the Article at CNN

Cantor's Last Stand?
Read the Article at Talking Points Memo

Sarah Palin Movie Debuts to Empty Theater in Orange County
Read the Article at The Atlantic

Greenpeace Attacks Clothing Suppliers in China Over Hazardous Chemical Pollution
Read the Article at Bulldog Reporter

How Florida Is Making It More Difficult to Vote in a Democracy
Read the Article at Talking Points Memo


Click here for more BuzzFlash headlines

 

Reaching a limit...

"The impact on daily living for the U.S. population could be severe.Our authors predict in addition to increased costs, states and cities will see their pension funds drained. The government will be forced to sell off infrastructure, including roads and transport, to private corporations. People will be increasingly charged for privatized utilities that were once regulated and subsidized. Commercial and private real estate will be worth less than half its current value. The negative equity that already plagues 25 percent of American homes will expand to include nearly all property owners. It will be difficult to borrow and impossible to sell real estate unless we accept massive losses. There will be block after block of empty stores and boarded-up houses. Foreclosures will be epidemic."

Global Plans To Replace The Dollar

Some weighty thoughts.. tough decisions... can it - does it...  get 'that bad'... and if there's a chance... when.
It was really not that long ago hardly anyone would have thought this kind of gamble was even in the realm of the possible.


 

Untold Millions At Risk...

Look at the first four countries on this list...
...with groundwater supplies increasingly in trouble world over, (U.S. included), it will not be very long before there are catastrophic issues about how the world is going to feed itself in the near future.

In India, groundwater-based irrigation systems are experiencing difficulties in different parts of the country as shallow aquifer levels are getting out of reach due to fast depletion of the groundwater table. Shallow tube-wells (STWs) now cannot draw water for about 46 percent irrigated cropland during dry season thanks to current level of groundwater declination.

In China's north plain, that country's breadbasket, 30 cubic kilometers (1.059 trillion cubic feet) more water are being extracted each year by farmers than are being replaced by the rain. Groundwater is used to produce 40 percent of the country's grain. The state paper China Daily admitted the nation "may be plunged into a water crisis" in less than 20 years, when its population is scheduled to peak at 1.6 billion.

The tube-well revolution, whose technology is adapted from the oil industry, has also swept water-stressed countries like Pakistan and Vietnam, where precious underground reserves are likewise being depleted. "Vietnam has quadrupled its number of tube wells in the past decade to one million, and water tables are plunging in the Pakistani state of Punjab, which produces 90 percent of the country's food.
Tube wells are sucking groundwater reserves dry, driving Asian countries towards environmental catastrophe.  
Arsenic poisoning is another additional and major calamity resulting from tube wells.

Tens of millions of these wells have been drilled over the past decade, many of them beyond any official control, and powerful electric pumps are being used to haul up the water at a rate that far outstrips replenishment by rainfall. The extraction is providing many countries with a lavish harvest in thirsty crops like rice, sugar cane and alfalfa, but the boom is bound to be cruelly short-lived, and the rebound soon to come extremely harsh.

Water tables are falling so dramatically within a short time, some landscapes could become arid or even be transformed into desert. In the case of India, smallholder farmers have driven 21 million tube wells into their fields and the number is increasing by a million wells per year. Nobody knows where the tube wells are or who owns them. There is no way anyone can control what happens to them.
Half of the India's traditional hand-dug wells have already run dry, as have millions of shallower tube wells, causing some despairing farmers to commit suicide.

When the balloon bursts, untold anarchy will be the lot of rural countrysides.

List of countries of the world ordered by irrigated land