Cycling Tour of Tasmania Australia 2009

The Underground Tour of Tasmania NE (National Event) is a cycling classic that started last Tuesday and will end on Sunday October 4th. So far, there have been 4 stages because 2 of them were raced on Tuesday.
It began with 145 riders and at the end of today's stage there are only 128 left, many reasons for quitting, heavy rain being the main one today, but fortunately, Bernard Sulzberger (Fly V Australia Cycling Team) remains the leader and ended safely in the middle of a peloton of 40 riders.

Photo credit ©Shane Goss

The break away sensation of today's stage were  Rohan Dennin and Nathan Hass. It's too bad there's no video available to share this moment with you, but you can imagine how hard they worked in the middle of heavy rain and steep climbs. They didn't win, but kudos to you both for the great effort and the excitment!

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION after stage 4

1. Bernard Sulzberger (Fly V Australia) 1 hour 58.41 minutes,
2. Luke Durbridge (Team Jayco AIS), .06 sec,
3. Phillip Zajicek (Fly V Australia) .10 sec,
4. Ben Day (Fly V Australia) .16 sec,
5. Gene Bates (Caterpillar Underground Mining) same time,
6. Jai Crawford (Savings & Loans) .18 sec,
7. David Tanner (Jayco VIS) .21sec,
8. Rohan Dennis (Team Jayco AIS) same time,
9. Peter McDonald (Drapac Porsche) same time,
10. Kristian House (GHD) .22sec.

Kind Babysitter Faces Fines Jail

Lisa Snyder of Middleville, Michigan is a good neighbor, so kind that she had been watching about 5 children waiting at the bus stop. See, the parents of these children work and have to leave for work before the bus can pick them up. Lisa Snyder doesn't charge one penny for doing this, she is just a very nice neighbor who likes to help if it's in her hands to do so.
Somebody in the neighborhood didn't like her and reported her to the DHS -Department of Human Services- and now she faces a fine of up to $1000 USD or jail time (up to 60 days). The reason the DHS officials gave her was that she had been operating an “illegal child care home.” Now she had been advised by the Government officials that if she doesn’t get licensed, she will face severe monetary fines and even imprisonment.


HA! And I always thought that United States of America was a free country, where freedom and democracy reigned. But it seems that those days of REAL American freedom are disappearing little by little.
It's common these days to read stories like this one, and the worst thing of all is that the mainstream media does not care about reporting about all these cases where the Government infringes our freedom and peace.

Our personal freedom is at risk as the socialistic trending ideas grow more and more along all the states of America.

"Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom."-- Albert Einstein

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Bicycle Race Queen Music Video

"Bicycle Race", composed by Freddie Mercury and played by Queen so masterfully is one of my favorite songs -have hundreds- I like to listen to on my mp3 when I'm road biking at 48 km/hr, top speed, max heart rate -183 beats/min-, sweating and panting, sprinting out of the saddle and feeling my thigh muscles burn burn burn!

BICYCLE RACE

Bicycle bicycle bicycle

I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle

I want to ride my bicycle

I want to ride my bike

I want to ride my bicycle

I want to ride it where I like

You say black I say white

You say bark I say bite

You say shark I say hey man

Jaws was never my scene

And I don't like Star Wars

You say Rolls I say Royce

You say God give me a choice

You say Lord I say Christ

I don't believe in Peter Pan

Frankenstein or Superman

All I wanna do is

Bicycle bicycle bicycle

I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle

I want to ride my bicycle

I want to ride my bike

I want to ride my bicycle

I want to ride my

Bicycle races are coming your way

So forget all your duties oh yeah

Fat bottomed girls they'll be riding today

So look out for those beauties oh yeah

On your marks get set go

Bicycle race bicycle race bicycle race

Bicycle bicycle bicycle

I want to ride my bicycle bicycle

Bicycle bicycle bicycle

Bicycle race

You say coke I say caine

You say John I say Wayne

Hot dog I say cool it man

I don't wanna be the President of America

You say smile I say cheese

Cartier I say please

Income tax I say Jesus

I don't wanna be a candidate for

Vietnam or Watergate

Cause all I wanna do is

Bicycle bicycle bicycle

I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle

I want to ride my bicycle

I want to ride my bike

I want to ride my bicycle

I want to ride it where I like

35 Million Americans On Food Stamps

CLICK FOR A LARGER IMAGEIf you still have a full time job, or even a part time job, if you are still making enough money to live, put food on the table of your home and have a roof over your head, consider yourself one of the luckiest persons or if you believe in God then pray and thank him because there are millions and millions of people in the United States of America and all over the world who are living in extreme poverty and unhealthy conditions due to the most severe financial recession [since the Great Depression -1930's-] and the beginning of the Greatest Depression.
Of course, Mr. Bernanke, his money printer 'associates' and the leaders of the G20 cartel don't want to admit publicly that the global economy is worsening, that is why they are calling it 'A JOBLESS RECOVERY'.
What a farce!

But, what is the most troubling thing of all is, that most people are not aware of what is going on and of the lies that we are told by the mainstream media. That fact really worries me, that most people who are not interested in economy rely solely on what the talking heads 'report' on the TV news...and believe it.

I am blogging about this issue -the current financial crisis- not because I am an expert in economy. In fact, I am not an economist, I am a medical doctor, but I do read a lot about it and try to keep myself well informed at all times, I don't JUST assume that what people tell me is true. I investigate and try to find my own conclusions, and I would love it if my article could help anyone who is not fully aware of the severity of the global financial problems, to realize what is REALLY going on and try to get him/herself educated by learning about the deepening of this recession.

Read, investigate, ask yourself questions, look around and see how many retail stores are closing their doors every month, don't just believe what you hear on TV or what the politicians say, always ask 'why' until you get answers.
Remember, knowledge of the truth is the key to success.

American States with the highest number of participants on food stamps as of

-1. Texas -                 3.068 million participants
-2. California -           2.99
-3. New York -           2.57
-4. Florida -                1.77
-5. Illinois -                1.71

"What is telling with the data above is that Texas has 24 million people while California has 37 million yet Texas has more people receiving food stamps. Florida and Illinois have nearly the same amount of participants although Florida has 18 million people while Illinois has 13 million people.
When we look at food stamp participation we see the real pain in the economy.  I drive around many local areas in California.  In many lower to middle class areas you will see department store traffic down to levels unseen in decades.  Yet if you look at local dollar stores they are booming with traffic.  People are asking about tent cities or soup lines but some of the “hidden” pain is mitigated by people simply buying at lower priced stores.  After all, you can buy a loaf of bread, some sliced ham, a few cans of soup, and feed your family for a week.  Although this is living on the margins you won’t be starving either but might explain why we haven’t seen a gigantic jump in tent cities or soup lines." 
Comment by: My Budget 360

I will end this post with one question:
With unemployment rising and labor force decreasing, wouldn't the taxes that generate the money destined to pay for food stamps will eventually suffer serious cutbacks? If that happens, what are those millions of men, women, seniors and children are going to eat?

Finally, a word of advice. Keep yourself well informed, educate yourself, ask questions, research, investigate.
"Remember, knowledge of the truth is the key to success" ~Dr. Martha Castro, MD

Notes:
USDA
Reuters

Roman Polanski Arrested After 31 Years

Roman Polanski, 76 years old, has been arrested in Switzerland by Swiss police after raiding his hotel for being considered a fugitive by the Government of the US for more than 31 years after he had pleaded guilty to having unlawful sex with a minor in 1977. He spent 42 days in jail and after being bailed out he fled the country before being sentenced.

Roman Polanski was accused of raping a 13 year old girl in 1977 during a photographing modeling session at Jack Nicholson's house while he was away.  The girl told authorities that Polanski gave her champagne and part of a Quaalude. Samantha Geimer, the victim, said that even though she resisted and opposed sexual intercourse, he proceeded to perform oral sex, intercourse and sodomy on her.

Polanski has been living in France for the last 30 years and has been very careful not to travel to countries where he could have risked the possibility of being extradited to the US.

Well, I am always extremely happy when a pedophile, a rapist or any sexual pervert is caught and brought to justice. I just have three questions:

1. What was a 13 year old girl doing with a 44 year old man, both alone in a house with no one else around?!
2. Why wasn't he arrested for 30 years while he was living in France?! Pedophiles are pedophiles forever. They don't change. Did he continue to have sex with 13 year old girls in France and they allowed it?
3. Did Polanski just space out and forgot that Switzerland has an extradition treaty with the US?

One thing I have to say. I used to be a big fan of the Hollywood and all movie actors of the world, but lately I am truly disgusted with them.  I remember when most actors in Hollywood supported Woody Allen when he had sex with Soon Yi-Previn, daughter of his then wife, Mia Farrow. Even though he was never her legal stepfather, he certainly acted like a father-like figure to her since Previn was 7 years old. They are now married.

Allen and Farrow's only biological son, Ronan Seamus Farrow, said of Allen: "He's my father married to my sister. That makes me his son and his brother-in-law. That is such a moral transgression. I cannot see him. I cannot have a relationship with my father and be morally consistent.... I lived with all these adopted children, so they are my family. To say Soon-Yi was not my sister is an insult to all adopted children."

Most Hollywood actors/entertainers don't care about working for pedophiles nor perverts as long as they get famous and richer making their movies.
Now Mackenzie Phillips comes up with a book where she tells the world about her incestuous relationship with her own father!
Aren't these entertainers simply DISGUSTING?!

Hey, I have a message for Hollyweird: Act, make me laugh, jump, dance, make a clown of yourself, entertain me and keep your dirty laundry to yourselves. I don't care anymore about your pathetic lives. Seriously!

I don't care anymore about who you support, about how many children Angelina Jolie adopts, I don't care if an actor suddenly wants to represent the "peace" movement or the "green" movement or anything! They are just actors and they should focus on that, acting and keep their mouth shut about anything else.
Leave the REAL movement to us, regular citizens of the world.

LAST WORD:

Now that Michael Jackson is dead and there is nothing sensational  [for the TV channels, Oprah and other talk shows, newspapers, etc,] to sell next week, well, catching this pedophile is just great, isn't it?

"The victim, Samantha Geimer, who long ago identified herself publicly, has joined in Polanski's bid for dismissal, saying she wants the case to be over. She sued Polanski and reached an undisclosed settlement." --USA Today

Italian Guderzo UCI Woman Golden Champ

Italian professional cyclist Tatiana Guderzo sped up on a climb that was long enough and she was strong enough to make up for the time she lost on the individual time trial to Kristin Armstrong, being the ITT one of Armstrong specialties she crowned herself as the leader. Today, it was a different story and Guderzo went ahead Kristin by 19" making her the overall winner of the UCI cycling road race.
Enjoy your gold medal, Guderzo!

Guderzo raced as a team player, and won, and crowned herself with gold, now she sharing her triumph with her other teammates. Ah, refreshing, what a difference from Alberto Contador...

"I was a member of a team -Italian team- and it's fair to divide this gold between six athletes," Guderzo said. "We controlled the race from the first lap."
"We knew that Italy was very, very strong. We agreed that if we were together on the last lap, the one who felt better should make the break. I was the lucky one."

GENERAL AND FINAL WOMEN CLASSIFICATION

• Pos      Rider                           Country       Time  
• 1         Tatiana GUDERZO          ITA         3h33'25"
• 2         Marianne VOS                HOL               19"
• 3         Noemi CANTELE             ITA                19"
• 4         Kristin ARMSTRONG         USA               19"
• 5         Diana ZILIUTE                 LIT              1'07"
• 6         Judith ARNDT                 ALL              1'07"
• 7         Erinne WILLOCK              CAN             1'07"
• 8         Nicole BRANDLI               SUI               1'07"

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ARROGANT SURGEONS

It's been said that surgeons have a great ego and that they look all arrogant and feel superior.
Well, I think that surgeons do need to have an ego. There is a big responsibility that lies in our hands. When I say ego I don't mean to be rude to anybody, but to be self confident in what we do and perform. The life of our patients depends on what we know, how we feel, etc. Sometimes we are so worry about our patients welfare that we might seem arrogant to others, what they don't understand is that while we are eating or drinking coffee we are thinking about the patient we just did surgery on and hoping that everything went OK, thinking that we have to call the hospital to find out how the patient is doing, if the intake and outtake fluids are OK, vital signs, bleeding, etc..So, it's not only that we have huge egos, it's the huge responsibility we have that makes us appear "very important" to some students or people in general.

Cancellara Wins ITT UCI Cycling World Champs

Fantastic win by Cancellara-as expected-. His performance today was breath­ taking by any measure - He is one of the best cyclists ever­ against the clock and he is a fantastic rider to watch­ in action.

"One minute's difference is difficult [to achieve]. I knew I would be fast, I knew I was ready.
"Above all, I had prepared mentally. My tactic was to give it my maximum. Larsson was one of the favourites, and I had the advantage starting behind him. To take so much time out of him demonstrates that I did everything right." --Cancellara said.

"Last year I prepared well for Beijing, but I didn't have the confidence for the road race [in which he nonetheless won a bronze medal]," said Cancellara. "This year I am confident; I have the mental strength. My legs are ready but so is my head."
"I dream of doing the double," he said. "I said during the Vuelta that I think I can do it. I have the motivation, the determination, and the confidence. I always achieve what I say is a target, but of course the World Championship [road race] has its own rules. We have a six-man team. Others have nine, and the race will be very hard. But I have set the bar high, and I have the belief. If I didn't, I would stay at home."

"It's a great result for me, I'm in great form and racing at home in front of all these Swiss flags and supporters was a huge motivation for me," --Cancellara told reporters. "I will see how I feel tomorrow once I've had a rest and a good massage. But thanks to the racing I did in Spain and the training I've had, I feel confident that I can win on Sunday."

RESULTS

1. Fabian Cancellara, Switzerland, 49.8km in 57:55.74 (51.58kph)
2. Gustav Larsson, Sweden, at 1:27.13
3. Tony Martin, Germany, at 2:30.18
4. Tom Zirbel, United States, at 2:47.12
5. Marco Pinotti, Italy, at 3:02.88
6. Janez Brajkovic, Slovenia, at 3:08.49
7. Koos Moerenhout, Netherlands, at 3:11.59
8. Alexandre Vinokourov, Kazakhstan, at 3:20.95
9. Ignatas Konovalovas, Lithuania, at 3:33.88
10. Bert Grabsch, Germany, at 3:37.39

The Patriot Act And The Great Dictator

Few months ago I blogged about The Great Dictator movie where Charles Chaplin gives the most beautiful speech I have ever heard.
Today, I watched the movie and enjoyed his speech again, and I couldn't help to compare those times (40's) with these times we are living right now.
Nothing has changed, everything still the same. Have we evolved as human beings or just the machines that humans make have evolved?

Let's see. Countries still at war, people are separatists, there are riots and general discontent practically all over the globe, rising poverty and unemployment, freedom is being taking away little by little, governments want to control their people through fear and annihilation of the minds, and the worst thing of all is that people are complacent and apathetic.

The Patriot Act that President George W. Bush started has been extended by the current US President, Barack Obama. So much for a change, uh?

"You, the people, have the power - The power to create happiness! You, the people, have the power to make this life free and beautiful - to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy - let us use that power - let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world - a decent world that will give men a chance to work - that will give youth a future and old age a security.
By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power. But they lie! They do not fulfill that promise. They never will! Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people."

Health Is Overrated By President Obama

Nothing to post today. Nothing that is new for me anyways. Maybe I am getting the feeling that the health topic is becoming overrated...? With all this silly Obama talk about National Health System, aka national health care, aka Obamacare, aka access to medical care is a "right" thingie, oh please, constant appearances on TV to repeat the same thing all the time...brainwashing everyone?

Click on the image to enlarge

China Starts Mass Swine Flu Vaccinations

China is the first country in the world to start a mass swine flu vaccination on Monday, September 21st, in Beijing.

The mentioned country has a 1.3 billion population but only 5% will be vaccinated. In the US it will be a very different scenario, where 195 million H1N1 vaccines had already been ordered few months ago, and an extra order of 27.3 million (double doses) was placed today, bringing the grand total to 251 million dosages.

If we take in consideration that the total population of the US as of today is 307,512,007 then, 72.93% of Americans will be vaccinated.

I guess that is a pretty good percentage and if there are enough vaccines for all then, they can enforce the vaccinations upon people and make it mandatory...? Nuh, they just really care that all the good citizens of the US get well protected and stay strong and healthy...mmm...

"Flu shots are made of killed influenza virus, while FluMist is a live but weakened strain. The nasal spray is only approved in the United States, and is made by the Maryland-based MedImmune, an AstraZeneca PLC subsidiary. Four other companies are making flu shots for the U.S." --CDC


"What killed the program, though, was the observation in early December that people given the swine flu vaccine had an increased risk of developing Guillain-Barre syndrome, a rare, usually reversible but occasionally fatal form of paralysis. Research showed that while the actual risk for Guillain-Barre was only about 1 in 1,000 among people who had received the vaccine, that was about seven times higher than for people who didn't get the shot."--UCLA Public Health Education Department

Sources of information:
WHO
CDC

Dying US Economy Is Recovering Says FOMC

When a patient is dying from a terminal disease (where the patient would be the US economy and the terminal disease the financial problems), wouldn't it be cruel if his medical doctor didn't tell his relatives the truth so they can prepare for what it is to come?

Would the treating medical doctor be acting as a compassionate doctor or as a pathetic ignorant cruel liar who doesn't care about the well being of the dying patient's relatives?

YES, THE DOCTOR WOULD BE A PATHETIC IGNORANT CRUEL LIAR!

So why do they keep on lying to the US citizens about the future of the US economy?!

Come on, the G20, G8, the Fed, FOMC, the banksters, I mean, the bankers, they know that THERE IS NO RECOVERY yet. The global economy still sinking and all the bailouts in the world won't solve the problem, they are just keeping the patient in vegetative state.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Housing and manufacturing are finally crawling out of the ditch, at least temporarily.
The economic data to be released in the coming week are expected to show modest improvements, consistent with the 3.5% growth rate forecast for the current quarter, forecasters said.

The Federal Open Market Committee is expected to give its most positive assessment of the economy in more than a year following its two-day meeting mid-week. But the Fed officials will temper their enthusiasm, knowing that the recovery is still a weak thing that can't stand on its own yet.

The two reports on home sales, the data on demand for durable goods, and the FOMC meeting could be overshadowed by the Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh, or the tedious work of debating the health-care bill in the Senate Finance Committee.

MarketWatch consensus

date            report                          forecast         previous
Sept. 21     Leading indicators        0.7%             0.6%
Sept. 24     Jobless claims              550,000         545,000
Sept. 24     Existing home sales      5.40 million     5.24 million
Sept. 25     Durable good orders    0.7%              5.1%
Sept. 25     New home sales          443,000          433,000
Sept. 25     Consumer sentiment     70.1               70.2

"Most of the growth data in the coming week are likely to have a positive tone," wrote Joseph Brusuelas, an economist for Moody's Economy.com, who sees consumer and business spending gaining steam.
Economists Nigel Gault and Brian Bethune of IHS Global Insight agree on the short term forecast. This week's data "will continue to portray an economic recovery that is gathering momentum," they said. But they caution that the burst of growth this quarter isn't sustainable.

"The temporary boosts to spending and real growth connected with the 'cash-for-clunkers' program and the first-time home buyers credit will dissipate by the end of the year, and growth is expected to dip back below 2% in early 2010," Bethune and Gault wrote.
That's why they expect "FOMC to maintain an aggressive stance on monetary policy" in Wednesday's announcement.

FOMC

No one expects the FOMC to raise rates any time soon, but there is abundant speculation that the committee could take another baby step toward a more-normal policy. The Fed has been buying most of the mortgage-backed securities now being underwritten.

The FOMC will probably announce that it will slow the pace of purchases of MBS and extend them through the first quarter of 2010, according to economists for Barclays Capital and Bank of America's Merrill Lynch. The Fed has purchased about $850 billion of MBS, about two-thirds of the $1.25 trillion it committed to buying.
Bill McBride of the Calculated Risk blog figures mortgage rates will probably rise about 35 basis points after the Fed stops buying. Read more.

Housing

The slowdown in the Fed's support for mortgages is only one reason to believe the current boomlet in housing could fade next year. The other big reason: The $8,000 government subsidy for first-time home buyers expires on Nov. 30.
Buyers may be rushing now to complete sales before the deadline, and that flurry could be goosing home sales now. As many as 40% of home buyers this year have qualified for the credit, and the National Association of Realtors calculates that the credit boosted sales by about 350,000 this year (the other sales would have taken place anyway).

Sales of existing homes are expected to rise 3% in August, the fifth straight increase, to hit a two-year high of 5.40 seasonally adjusted annual units, according to a survey of economists conducted by MarketWatch. See Economic Calendar.
Sales of new homes are expected to increase about 2% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 433,000 in August, which would also be the fifth straight increase and the highest in a year.

"The housing market is picking up steam from a very depressed level," wrote economist for Merrill Lynch. "Foreclosures and the $8,000 tax credit are juicing the overall level of sales.

The big question is what happens after Nov. 30. Congress may extend or even expand the tax credit. Economists at Barclays say it won't matter. "There has been a fundamental shift in home buying owing to greater affordability and confidence, which is likely to be sustained even after the tax credit expires," they wrote in their weekly note.

Durables

The other big number of the week will be the August durable-goods orders.
The improvement in the Institute for Supply Management index above 50%, and the jump in the ISM new orders index to a five-year high of 64.9% bodes well for the manufacturing sector. Sales are rising faster than expected, said Brusuelas of Economy.com.

After soaring 5.1% in July on a surge in orders at Boeing, new orders are likely to come back down to earth in August, economists say.
The median forecast looks for orders to rise about 0.7%, led by autos, machinery, and tech. Orders for core capital equipment goods are expected to increase, and business investment in equipment could contribute to growth for the first time since late 2007.

Article by Marketwatch

Copying Beethoven Symphony 9

I just finished watching the movie "Copying Beethoven". I did not have the opportunity to watch it when it first came out in 2006, but now I'm watching it on a satellite TV channel and I am enjoying the astonishing music that this genius created, as well as the first-class acting of Ed Harris and Dianne Kruger.

One critic on the Rotten Tomatoes Website said: "It's not just that the movie plays fast and loose with his biography, inserting a nonexistent soul mate into his last, lonely days ... [but also that] it reduces Beethoven to a moldy cliché."

I respectfully disagree. To me, adding Anna Holtz to the fantastic life of Sir Ludwig Van Beethoven is like exploring what the feminine artistic side of this amazing musical genius could have been.

And why not to explore those possibilities, after all, music has its special universe that exists in each one's mind and soul, and this musical universe my friends is so vast and complex that has not yet being completely explored nor conquered, and that is the reason why I am enjoying this movie so much.

Cycling Amongst Dead Bodies In Tijuana Mexico

I had a lot of fun cycling in Tijuana this past weekend. I encountered only friendly and kind people, and the weather was just beautiful, perfect for my solo long road bike, 84 kms.
By the way, the car drivers were very respectful and always stopped to let me go, some others lowered their car windows to scream at me: vamos, vamos, tu puedes amiga, animo; which means: go, go, you can do it friend, let's go!
And I wondered, why is it that most -not everyone but most- people love to hate Tijuana?
The news about Tijuana in CNN is just horrible. I detest CNN, specially Lou Dobbs and his illiterate comments, so I do not watch that TV channel since I realized that what they report about what is going on in Baja California, Mexico is completely uneducated, bias and  racist, and frankly I don't like to be misinformed.
But this kind of news manipulation is not exclusive of CNN, many other TV channels just don't care about reporting news accurately. Anyways, this should be topic for a future post.

I recorded this video in Tijuana and I sincerely hope that you find it entertaining...and funny with the annotations I added to it.

Recession Over Bernanke Says Today

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

LOL, hahaha, OMG!
I can't stop laughing! Is this for real?!
I am trying to make a serious post, you know, something...professional, respectful, BUT I CAN'T STOP LAUGHING!
Unemployment rising, retail stores closing down everywhere, credit card defaults on the rise...am I going crazy or Bernanke is a fool who bases 'his' recovery on the current S&P rally that has been manipulated by himself, the elites of the world and the 'banksters'?
Bailing out companies that deserved to disappear from the market was not a good idea, cash for clunkers was another way to throw money into the trash pit, printing money desperately...what is Bernanke talking about?!

BERNANKE DECLARES 'recession is very likely over'

By Greg Robb, MarketWatch

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday that the recession has ended -- at least based on the numbers.

"From a technical perspective, the recession is very likely over at this point," Bernanke told a conference at the Brookings Institution. But "it's still going to feel like a very weak economy for some time," he added.

Bernanke said there is a risk that labor markets will remain weak through 2010 because growth will be too anemic to create jobs. Bernanke noted that many economists now expect the labor market to recover slowly.

Unfortunately, unless the economy can manage growth stronger than its long-term trend rate, "unemployment will be slow -- slow to come down," he said. "It will come down, but it may take some time."

After acknowledging that economic forecasting "is not one of your most precise sciences," Bernanke said most forecasters think economic growth in 2010 will be moderate because of "ongoing headwinds," including financial and credit problems, sectoral adjustments in the economy, the desire of families to pay off debt, and the need for the federal government to restrain its spending.

Bernanke also expressed confidence that Congress would complete work on new rules for Wall Street.

Many analysts have raised doubts that Congress could grapple with reforming the health-care system and the financial system this year. But Bernanke said he didn't share this doubt.

"I am quite confident comprehensive reform will be coming," Bernanke said.

One of the reforms that's needed is to provide some way to unwind big financial institutions "in a way that would impose market discipline, impose losses on creditors, but would avoid the disorderly chaotic type of collapse that we saw with Lehman a year ago."

The bulk of Bernanke's remarks was devoted to a defense of the response from the Fed and its global partners to the financial crisis. Read his prepared remarks.

Bernanke said global regulators acted swiftly in the wake of last September's financial crisis and succeeded in bringing the global economy back from the brink of collapse. There is no longer widespread fear of a financial collapse and economic activity is leveling out, he said.

Bernanke's prepared remarks were similar to a speech he gave in August at the Fed's annual retreat in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Since the August remarks, Bernanke was reappointed by President Obama to a second four-year term at the helm of the central bank.

Bernanke: Recession over

US Dollar Losing Its Power And Its Looks

I found this interesting article that tells us how the US dollar is losing its power and value in Asia. But let me add to this assertion that I have noticed that several countries of Latin America are currently trading with their local currency or even with the yuan, rejecting the American dollar in trading transactions.
Little by little, the USD is no longer the main currency, it's losing its looks and people do not have appetite for it anymore.
Will this mark the beginning of the end for the bill that I like the most, the 100 dollar bill? I hope not, but if it is, we better prepare for it.

Passionate Plea From Asia

by Larry Edelson   09-14-09

Martin’s off this week. So I’m writing you today from Asia with a passionate plea to our country — to its citizens and especially to our leaders in Washington.
We are now the laughing stock of Asia. Our dollars are no longer respected; our ambitions, no longer mimicked.
Our way of life, often based on consuming far beyond our means, is being flat-out rejected.
I can’t even exchange a $100 bill on the street here anymore: Most of the street money changers will take euros, Singapore dollars, even Chinese yuan. But fearful of losing their shirt with sinking exchange rates, they don’t want U.S. dollars.
Not long ago, I never traveled without my American Express card. Now, it sits in my office safe. Many in Asia no longer accept the card anymore. MasterCard and Visa are still OK, but they’re also losing market share to locally grown cards like Aeon.
The running joke in Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur is that the U.S. is the place where even your pet could get a credit card or a home mortgage.
So to Asians, the crisis we’re going through is our own fault. And although it was also caused by blunders in Western Europe and other regions, truth be told, they are mostly right.
The message is clear: We need to immediately stop living beyond our means. But can we?
Consider the facts:

• Through August, the federal deficit has already hit $1.38 trillion, or TRIPLE last year’s all-time record deficit of $454.8 billion. And in September alone, the administration expects another $200 billion in red ink, bringing the total for the year to $1.58 trillion.
• The U.S. government’s official debt is now at an all-time high of $11.8 trillion. That’s over $100,000 for each and every household in America.
• Both the administration and its opponents agree that, over the next 10 years, the cumulative federal deficit will be another $9 trillion, bringing the burden per household up to $177,000.
• The Federal Reserve is also in hock up to its eyeballs, with more than $2 trillion in liabilities on its balance sheet. That brings the total burden up to $194,000 per household.
• Perhaps worst of all, the unfunded government IOUs that are now starting to come due on Social Security, Medicare, and Federal pension payments are also ballooning higher and now stand at an estimated $104 trillion, or $886,000 per household.

Grand total: Each and every household in America is indirectly responsible for a debt burden of over 1 MILLION DOLLARS!
Bottom line:

Even assuming they can save 5 percent of their income year after year … and even assuming every single penny of their savings is thrown into the pot … in order to pay off the U.S. government’s debts and obligations, each American family — and descendents — would have to toil for the next 429 years.

Problem is, we haven’t borrowed all that money from ourselves. We’ve borrowed more than half of the outstanding national debt from overseas investors, who now fund fully 50 percent of our debt addiction.
But now …

America’s foreign creditors are haunted by the spectacle of Washington’s spending binge and are starting to recoil in horror.

That’s why in April, U.S. bond purchases by foreign central banks plunged 41 percent from the month before, while purchases by foreign private investors dropped 7 percent. All in a single month!
Yet even as investors flee in increasing numbers, our government continues to ramp up spending — trying to hawk even more U.S. debt to foreign lenders.
The Obama administration largely ignores the fact that overseas investors are getting tired of footing the bill for our borrow-and-spend addiction … and are also becoming increasingly skeptical of our ability to pay our debts.
The result: More foreign central banks, overseas fund managers, and investors flee, leaving the U.S. government with no choice but to pump out more and more unbacked paper dollars and dump them into the economy — further eroding their value.
Central banks over the last year have been actively replacing portions of their dollar reserves with the euro, the Canadian and Australian dollars … and gold. China alone recently announced it has quietly increased its gold reserves by more than 75 percent over the last seven years.
So it should come as no surprise that the widely watched U.S. Dollar Index, a measure of the dollar’s performance against a basket of six of the world’s major currencies, has plunged 15.1 percent since its high of March 4.
As you can see from the accompanying chart, that now puts the greenback in free-fall territory.
It’s plunging against the euro, the Japanese yen, the British pound, the Swiss franc, the Canadian dollar.
It’s even sliding against the currencies of lesser-developed economies like the Thai baht, the Philippine peso, the Indian rupee, the Malaysian ringgit, the Indonesian rupiah, and the Vietnamese dong.
And it leaves …
The U.S. and All Americans
Between a Rock and a Hard Place
Either …

• U.S. consumers and the U.S. government must slash spending drastically, accepting a deeper economic decline or …
• They will perpetuate the borrow-and-spend cycle, destroying the U.S. dollar and, ultimately, our standard of living.

I’d like to hear your thoughts on how we might get out from under this mess we find ourselves in — and, more importantly, what YOU are doing to protect yourself, your family, and your retirement from the dollar’s demise.
Just jump over to my personal blog to weigh in on this issue by clicking here.

Best wishes,
Larry

Source

David Zabriskie Tour of Missouri Leader

Photo by John Pierce - PhotosportFabuolus cyclist David Zabriskie takes stage 5 on Friday and places himself as the overall race leader of the Tour of Missouri 2009. Today, September 12, Chichi Franceso (Liquigas) won stage 6 and Zabriskie retained the yellow jersey.

"I looked at the first 3k and the last 3k (in preparation). The rest was pretty straightforward and not too technical. I was able to hold speed on the rollers and the last part was probably the hardest with the wind,"  "We have two days left here and I we know what we have to do. I think the team is very strong and we'll be able to do it (in Kansas City)." ~D. Zabriskie said to reporters.

"Tomorrow is another difficult day of concentration. I am really enjoying the moment. I am having a great time, and I'm on cloud nine," Zabriskie said at the post-race press conference about wearing the Missouri Tourism Leader's jersey into the Kansas City.

After recording the best intermediate split, the American rider was never challenged and pedalled into a 30-second advantage over Larsson with two stages of the week-long race remaining.
Zirbel, in third place overall, was 44 seconds adrift. Larsson could have ended the day closer to Zabriskie but lost time when he was twice forced to break suddenly to manouevre around race motorcycles that strayed into his path.
Haedo, a sprinting specialist who had never previously led a stage race in his eight-year professional career, finished well back in the field to trail Zabriskie by nearly five minutes.
The seven-stage Tour of Missouri continues on Saturday with a 177.4 kilometre (110.3-mile) trek from Chillicothe to St. Joseph. The $170,000 race concludes on Sunday with a circuit race in Kansas City. ~Reuters

GENERAL CLASSIFICATION after stage 6

1	David Zabriskie (USA) Garmin-Slipstream
2	Gustav Larsson (Swe) Team Saxo Bank
3	Tom Zirbel (USA) Bissell Pro Cycling
4	Marco Pinotti (Ita) Team Columbia-HTC
5	Dario Cataldo (Ita) Quick Step

If I Can't Walk I Can Fly...And BIKE!

Getting to know the story of Janine Shepherd brought back so many memories of my own. I recovered now from my car accident that I had back in 1991 when a drunk driver crashed me and my body almost shattered completely.
My physical injuries were severe and, just like Janine Shepherd, lost 5 litters of blood, my right knee and femur were completely destroyed, had 9 broken ribs and 3 of them penetrated both of my lungs.
Now I'm a long distant endurance cycling fanatic and a passionate amateur racer, 47 years old but look 20 years younger (lots of my friends and patients say so -trying not to be arrogant here-). Life is good now.

Get To Know Janine Shepherd

It was a beautiful Australian Summer sunny day in the Blue Mountains of Australia in 1988 when Janine Shepherd, an Australian cross-country skier, decided to go out to climb those beautiful mountains in the New South Wales as part of her training regime to get ready for the Olympics.
She was sweating and puffing and sprinting out of the saddle when suddenly she was run over by a truck.

Her neck and back were broken in six places, and her right arm, collarbone and five ribs fractured. Her right leg had been ripped open, she had sustained head injuries and massive internal injuries. She had severe lacerations to her abdominal area and had lost five litres of blood. The bleeding alone was enough to kill her.

Doctors warned her parents that she was not expected to survive her ordeal. Even if by some small chance she recovered, she would never walk again.

Her fighting spirit was rekindled watching small planes flying overhead. She made a decision: “ If I can’t walk, I’ll fly.” And fly she did. While still covered in a full body plaster cast, Janine was lifted into an aircraft for her first flight. That moment changed her life forever. Janine Shepherd

NEVER TELL US NEVER!

Some injured patients have family around to help them, some others don't ( I didn't, but I had my own strong and stubborn spirit to pull myself through ). But when in pain, physical, mental and spiritual terrible pain, we have to look inward and make ourselves strong enough to survive and make a change.

So, If Lance Armstrong did it, if Janine Shepherd did it, if I did it, and if many many other courageous men and women around the world have survived horrible tragedies and overcome pain and suffering, ANYBODY can do it. You can do it. Nothing is impossible in this life, absolutely NOTHING!.
Pull yourself through, get up and fight, conquer your own life and walk, fly...or BIKE!

Is The Financial Recession REALLY Over?

All this data is current and up to date. Lots of media and economists say that the recession is over and that we now have a jobless recovery.
Judge for yourself:

1. Media official unemployment rate 9.7%  -------------------------  Real Official unemployment rate 16.9%

Total number of American currently not working, 15 to 25 million people, depending on the percentage you use to calculate, the media or the real unemployment.
Total unemployed, plus all marginally attached workers, plus total employed part time workers, economic reasons, as a percent of the civilian labor force plus all marginally attached workers.

2. Real median household income fell 3.6% from 2007-2008

Real median household income fell 3.6 percent, the biggest annual drop since 1991, to $50,303 in 2008.
"This breaks a string of three years of annual income increases and coincides with the recession that started in December 2007," said David Johnson, head of Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division.

3. Poverty rate rose to 13.2 % in 2008.

The highest level since 1997, from 12.5 percent in 2007. About 39.8 million Americans were living in poverty, up from 37.3 million in 2007.
The government defines poverty as an annual income of $22,025 for a family of four, $17,163 for a family of three and $14,051 for a family of two.
"We project that with the continuing deterioration in the labor market, by 2009 a quarter of all children in this country will be living in poverty," said Heidi Shierholz, a labor market economist at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington.

4. Foreclosures are on the rise with foreclosures filings in August topping 300,0000 for a sixth straight month,
"The foreclosure numbers are largely unemployment related," said Morris A. Davis, a former Federal Reserve Board economist, in an interview with Bloomberg News.. "As long as 15 million Americans are unemployed, record foreclosures will continue."--Reported by Bloomberg on September 10, 2009

5. US FOR SALE

Foreign investors to buy US real state. Millionaire investors from China, Germany, Australia, Canada, UK will purchase American assets, bringing equity into the market and not depending heavily upon the availability of credit like the US investors.  US....SOLD!

6. Commercial mortgage defaults could surpass 7% by the end of this year.


7. Credit card deliquencies rose to 6/7%  in the Q2 of this year, being these ones the highest levels since the Fed started tracking the data in 1991.

So, is the financial recession really over?

Stay Smart Eat Your Veggies And Fruits!

Eating vegetables and fruits can improve your chances to stay mentally sharp, improve your cognitive performance and most probably you will avoid dementia in advanced age. Remember though, that having a peaceful and a stress free life full of physical activity and productive exercise, are also factors that contribute greatly to keep your brain cells young longer.

“It is known that there is a strong association between fruit and vegetable intake and the natural antioxidant defenses of the body against free radicals. It is also known that bad nutritional habits increase the risk of developing cognitive impairment with and without dementia. With this work we show a multiple link between fruit and vegetable intake, antioxidant defenses and cognitive performance, in the absence of disease and independent of age. Among other lifestyle habits, it is recommended to improve nutrition in general and fruit and vegetable intake in particular at any age, beginning as early as possible. This may increase our chances to remain free of dementia in advanced age.” --Explains, Dr. M. Cristina Polidori, currently at the Department of Geriatrics, Marienhospital Herne, Ruhr-University of Bochum, Germany.

Source of reference:

Polidori MC, Pratico D, Mangialasche F, Mariani E, Aust O, Anlasik T, Mang N, Pientka L, Stahl W, Sies H, Nelles G. High fruit and vegetable intake is positively correlated with antioxidant status and cognitive performance in healthy subjects. J Alzheimers Dis, 17:4 (August 2009)

Pop Up Pelosi Chicken Dance

Let's play a game. It's fun and you can burn tons of calories! It's called: The Pop-Up Pelosi Chicken Dance. You just need to listen to President Barack Obama tonight and follow Pelosi. Let us start learning how this game works. Watch carefully:


Now, let's bet on how many times PELOSI will jump up off of her chair to applaud Obama as soon as he finishes every little sentence during his Health Care speech tonight. Twenty? Or maybe she just won't be sitting today.

White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters on Air Force One this morning that President Obama has not yet put the finishing touches on his planned address this evening to a joint session of Congress.

"He's still working on it," Gibbs said. "…he came back from Camp David Monday with many handwritten pages of notes that he gave to the speechwriters. He got another draft incorporating more edits last night, and worked on it with the speechwriters before he left this morning. So my sense is he'll be tinkering with this some this afternoon, but my sense is this thing will be locked sometime this afternoon." Source

The Hypocrisy of Michael Moore

Compare these two pictures and the irony of them. Michael Moore on the right, hates the evil's of the over-consumption of Capitalism. Is not gluttony considered an act of over-consumption of food? You know, to feed that 500 pound body he must spend a lot of money every day.
The picture on the left was not taken in Auschwitz, it was taken in one of the Cuban hospitals with "free health care" that Moore loves so much. It is sad for me to see this. But I have to show it to expose this liar -Moore- who enjoys the attention and the green dollars he makes from his dishonesty.

POINTS TO PONDER about Michael Moore, a dishonest corrupt cheap propagandist film maker whose only purpose is to promote a totalitarian political system that would only bring dismay and poverty to the United States of America.

1. How can a 500 pound man tries to 'educate' us about all the 'evils' of over-consumption?

2. How can a millionaire who owns a million dollar apartment start a war against capitalism?

 "I walk among them. I live on the island of Manhattan, a three-mile-wide strip of land that is luxury home and corporate suite to America's elite..... Those who run your life live in my neighborhood. I walk in the streets with them each day" (Michael Moore, Stupid White Men, p. 51)."

3. For vacations, he keeps another million-dollar beachfront house in Michigan.

4. Quote from Michael Moore: "I'm a millionaire, I'm a multi-millionaire. I'm filthy rich. You know why I'm a multi-millionaire? 'Cause multi-millions like what I do."  Source

5. Ah, the glories of Capitalism, Mickey:

In 1986, Michael Moore was hired to be the editor of Mother Jones, the liberal political magazine, but his employment was short-lived. He sued Mother Jones for wrongful termination, claiming $2-million in damages. With his settlement of $58,000, Moore financed his first film, Roger & Me.

Don't all these paradoxes about Mr. Moore make you wonder about the sincerity of his work? Who is he being paid by and for what purpose? Michael Moore LOVES money, US dollars, I doubt he charges in Cuban pesos.

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Valverde La Vuelta Espana Golden Boy

Alejandro Valverde raced with strength and intelligence, no doubt he deserved to be crowned today with the golden jersey of La Vuelta a Espana.
Cadel Evans was the unhappy child, like always, throwing tantrums and blaming everyone else for his incapacity to succeed.

Evans said to reporters that Gesink deliberately cut him off, making him lose to Valverde.
Reports say that Evans tried to headbutt Gesink after the stage. Evans was heard shouting like a whinning little schoolboy: "He pushed me into the barriers." (refferring to Gesink)
Gesink told to Dutch reporters that Cadel Evans had "acted aggressively towards me", adding: "He's just a bad loser. We were both trying to take the best line and get to the finish first but I did nothing wrong."

Cadel Evans lost because of his own fault. He positioned himself very poorly in the final corner and was boxed in, simple as that.

Evans was the leader of La Vuelta as of yesterday, ahead of Valverde for 2 seconds. Today, he looked wasted while climbing that 18% hill just 4 kms to the finish, and Valverde looked tired but energetic and totally concentrated. This paid off. He accelerated at 1 km to the finish, passing Evans and getting 9 bonus seconds.

1. Alejandro Valverde (Spain / Caisse d'Epargne ) 36hrs 26 mins 40 secs
2. Cadel Evans (Australia / Silence - Lotto +7 secs
3. Robert Gesink (Netherlands / Rabobank ) +36
4. Tom Danielson (U.S. / Garmin ) +51
5. Ivan Basso (Italy / Liquigas ) +53
6. Samuel Sanchez (Spain / Euskaltel ) +1:03
7. Damiano Cunego (Italy / Lampre ) +2:04
8. Ezequiel Mosquera (Spain / Xacobeo ) +2:24
9. Haimar Zubeldia (Spain / Astana ) +3:01
10. Juan Jose Cobo (Spain / Fuji ) +3:08

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Michael Moore The Real Sicko

Michael Moore is deluding himself if he thinks he's doing art by filming and producing his pathetic movies. What he's doing is a dishonest political propaganda paid for by...socialists/commies?

If he dislikes Capitalism so much he should move to Cuba ASAP. It's a kind advice I give to him, he might even lose lots of pounds once he settles down there, you know, Fidel Castro knows how to keep Cubans under control, he rations the food Cubans eat, lots of water, rice and beans, wow, I'm sure Moore would lose some weight. And while he's there he might as well renounce to his American citizenship and become Cuban, why to hold a 'disgusting' capitalist American passport?

Come on, America, do you really think that this more than morbidly obese guy -Moore- is an honest man? I wonder who is funding his Socialistic propaganda...?

Reuters reports on Sunday, August 6,

"Blending his trademark humor with tragic individual stories, archive footage and publicity stunts, the 55-year-old launches an all-out attack on the capitalist system, arguing that it benefits the rich and condemns millions to poverty.

"Capitalism is an evil, and you cannot regulate evil," the two-hour movie concludes. "You have to eliminate it and replace it with something that is good for all people and that something is democracy."

If Moore thinks that Capitalism is evil then he should stop making millions of US dollars profiting from his movies and illegal charges for speeches at different CAPITALIST AMERICAN COLLEGES!

"He charged most colleges between $30,000 and $40,000 per appearance and appeared at multiple colleges in battleground states across the country. According to Moore’s website, his "Slacker Tour" featured appearances at 63 cities, "mostly on campus." While it is impossible to determine Moore’s fee for each of those appearances (on occasion, he did appear for free), it is easy to see that the Slacker Tour brought Moore a considerable amount of money.
And much of that money was paid to him illegally.
The illegality was not Moore’s. There is no legal problem with a speaker accepting large honoraria from colleges. In fact, large honoraria are commonplace and may be paid to speakers on the left or right. The problem was not the fact of the payment but the source of the funds.
The funding for these appearances often came from the "student activity fee," a mandatory fee often assessed on students at both public and private universities. The justification for these mandatory fees (which can be as high as $500 per semester, per student) is the funding of student organizations and other kinds of "student activities."

Michael Moore wants to put a fight against Capitalism? OK, fatty, do it from Cuba or from any other communist country you so much adore.
If Mr. Moore likes socialism that much he should start spreading his millions of dollars he owns amongst the millions of Americans that are currently unemployed  (9.7% has been reported. We know it's close to 20% taking in consideration the other factors -topic for  another post).
So, Mikey, go to the tent cities around the country and give them all your money, just keep yourself enough mula for your multiple hamburgers you have to eat per day.

By the way, there's no McDonald's in Cuba, Mikey.

Is this what Moore wants for America?

Aids On The Rise In Cuba Youth

HAVANA - Cuban health authorities have warned of a dramatic rise in AIDS cases among the young on the island, where there over 1,300 new HIV infections in 2008 and another 1,400 are estimated for this year.
Cubans aged 19 to 24 are at the greatest risk of infection, said Jorge Perez, deputy director of the Tropical Medicine Institute in Havana, warning of the dangers of unprotected sex.
"This is something that tends to happen more to young people because of the dynamism of youth, not thinking about the future and only about the present... Having a no-fear attitude and doing things that are risky," he told local television in this communist country of 11 million people.
"We must tell you beware, because there is danger in trust."
Of the total of 11,469 cases of HIV infections recorded in Cuba since 1986, 4,602 people developed aids and 1,864 died, according to official figures.
The national anti-AIDS program offers free medical care and antiretroviral therapy, out of six Cuban-manufactured generic drugs.

I wonder. What do you do with all the money that you make from your garbage of 'documentaries' and appearances Mikey?

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