Hm, are the nice enough homes transacting in ordos? Answer, yes.
Will the homes be occupied? Yes.
Did the speculators lose money? Yes.
Did the developers lose money? Possibly.
Did the banks lose money? Probably not.
Did the folks who buy at 60-70% discount save money? Yes.
Has progress been made? Certainly.
Are progress made without the sweat n tears of the pioneers? Generally not.
Are the mineralization in that part of the world real? Yeup.
Will the minerals be needed? Yes.
Are miners in Australia making 200k per annum in Australia? Yes.
Will the miners in ordos make some serious money over the next decade plus plus? Certainly.
What is the problem?
Cheers
In the mean time, just went through 270+ e-mails
Just read from stuffed in-tray
On 27 Nov, 2011, at 1:13 AM, F wrote:
Now, more than ever I am convinced that we are doomed.
Hard to believe.
F
On 27 Nov, 2011, at 1:06 AM, B wrote:
Sliding away. Joe Stalin or Chairman Mao would approve:
http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/senators-demand-military-lock-american-citizens-battlefield-they-define-being
While nearly all Americans head to family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving, the Senate is gearing up for a vote on Monday or Tuesday that goes to the very heart of who we are as Americans. The Senate will be voting on a bill that will direct American military resources not at an enemy shooting at our military in a war zone, but at American citizens and other civilians far from any battlefield — even people in the United States itself.
Senators need to hear from you, on whether you think your front yard is part of a “battlefield” and if any president can send the military anywhere in the world to imprison civilians without charge or trial.
The Senate is going to vote on whether Congress will give this president—and every future president — the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world. Even Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) raised his concerns about the NDAA detention provisions during last night’s Republican debate. The power is so broad that even U.S. citizens could be swept up by the military and the military could be used far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself.
The worldwide indefinite detention without charge or trial provision is in S. 1867, the National Defense Authorization Act bill, which will be on the Senate floor on Monday. The bill was drafted in secret by Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) and passed in a closed-door committee meeting, without even a single hearing.
I know it sounds incredible. New powers to use the military worldwide, even within the United States? Hasn’t anyone told the Senate that Osama bin Laden is dead, that the president is pulling all of the combat troops out of Iraq and trying to figure out how to get combat troops out of Afghanistan too? And American citizens and people picked up on American or Canadian or British streets being sent to military prisons indefinitely without even being charged with a crime. Really? Does anyone think this is a good idea? And why now?
The answer on why now is nothing more than election season politics. The White House, the Secretary of Defense, and the Attorney General have all said that the indefinite detention provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act are harmful and counterproductive. The White House has even threatened a veto. But Senate politics has propelled this bad legislation to the Senate floor.
But there is a way to stop this dangerous legislation. Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) is offering the Udall Amendment that will delete the harmful provisions and replace them with a requirement for an orderly Congressional review of detention power. The Udall Amendment will make sure that the bill matches up with American values.
In support of this harmful bill, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) explained that the bill will “basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield” and people can be imprisoned without charge or trial “American citizen or not.” Another supporter, Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) also declared that the bill is needed because “America is part of the battlefield.”
The solution is the Udall Amendment; a way for the Senate to say no to indefinite detention without charge or trial anywhere in the world where any president decides to use the military. Instead of simply going along with a bill that was drafted in secret and is being jammed through the Senate, the Udall Amendment deletes the provisions and sets up an orderly review of detention power. It tries to take the politics out and put American values back in.
In response to proponents of the indefinite detention legislation who contend that the bill “applies to American citizens and designates the world as the battlefield,” and that the “heart of the issue is whether or not the United States is part of the battlefield,” Sen. Udall disagrees, and says that we can win this fight without worldwide war and worldwide indefinite detention.
The senators pushing the indefinite detention proposal have made their goals very clear that they want an okay for a worldwide military battlefield, that even extends to your hometown. That is an extreme position that will forever change our country.
Now is the time to stop this bad idea. Please urge your senators to vote YES on the Udall Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act.
On 27 Nov, 2011, at 12:54 AM, F wrote:
Actually, this is one of the more disturbing symptoms of a declining society. Very sad for - I hope - all of us.
F
From: W
Sent: Saturday, November 26, 2011 11:38 PM
Subject: FW: The Economic Collapse
From: On Behalf Of The Economic Collapse
Sent: Saturday, November 26, 2011 6:06 PM
Subject: The Economic Collapse
The Economic Collapse
Black Friday Violence Worse Than Ever As American Consumers Fight Over Deals Crazed Animals
Posted: 25 Nov 2011 12:47 PM PST
We all knew that this was coming, didn't we? Each year Black Friday violence just seems to get worse and worse. What does it say about American consumers when they are willing to fight like crazed animals just to save a few bucks on cheap plastic crap made in China? Not that retailers are innocent in any of this. It certainly seems as though many of them purposely create wild situations on Black Friday where customers will rush like crazy people into their stores and nearly riot as they fight over discounted merchandise. The more Black Friday madness there is, the more of an "event" it becomes, and the higher the profits of the retailers go. This year there was more Black Friday hype than ever and there was also more Black Friday violence than ever. It is being projected that this year a record-setting 152 million Americans will go shopping between Thanksgiving and Sunday night. That may be good news for the big corporate retailers, but the shocking lack of character being displayed by American consumers all over the country this weekend is very bad news for the future of this nation.
Most Americans would agree that there is a tremendous amount of selfishness and greed on Wall Street, but as the videos posted below demonstrate, there is also a tremendous amount of selfishness and greed on "Main Street" as well.
This year, Black Friday violence included robberies, gunfire and shootings, but the most shocking incidents actually happened inside the big retail stores.
For example, as merchandise was being unveiled on Black Friday night at a Wal-Mart in the Los Angeles area, one woman actualy pulled out pepper spray and sprayed it at other customers that were gathered around her.
Did she do this because she felt threatened?
No, according to the Los Angeles Times, authorities say that the woman was just seeking a "competitive" edge.
It is being reported that at least 20 people were affected by the pepper spray.
The pepper spray incident just added to the wild and frenzied atmosphere inside that Wal-Mart last night.
The following is how the Los Angeles Times described the scene....
Employees attempted to hold back the scrum of shoppers and pick up merchandise even as customers trampled the video games and DVDs strewn on the floor.
"It was absolutely crazy," he said.
Another customer said screams erupted after about 100 people waiting in line to snag Xbox gaming consoles and Wii video games got into a shoving match.
Alejandra Seminario, 24, said she was waiting in line to grab some toys at the store around 9:55 p.m. when people the next aisle over started shouting and ripping at the plastic wrap encasing gaming consoles, which was supposed to be opened at 10 p.m.
"People started screaming, pulling and pushing each other, and then the whole area filled up with pepper spray," the Sylmar resident said.
Pepper spray was used at a Wal-Mart on the other side of the country as well. Over in Kinston, North Carolina an off-duty police officer used pepper spray as an unruly shopper was being subdued. Approximately 20 people (including some children) were affected by the pepper spray.
Most Americans are not really concerned over the fact that this country is rapidly heading into the toilet, but they sure will get worked up into a frenzy over some good deals. Just check out the following video that was filmed in California. In the video, a huge crowd can be seen storming the entrance of Urban Outfitters in the Thousand Oaks Mall on Black Friday night....
There are lots of other crazy videos of Black Friday madness on YouTube today as well. Just check out some of the following examples....
*In Fresno, California law enforcement authorities were barely able to keep a stampede at the entrance of one store from turning into a riot.
*In this next video, you can see people going absolutely crazy over memory cards at about the 1:20 mark.
*On Black Friday night, American consumers will riot over just about anything. For example, there was a huge panic over Tupperware at one Wall-Mart last night.
*Of course electronics is probably the hottest category in most stores on Black Friday night. In some areas, the fighting over video games became incredibly intense.
*Some of the worst Black Friday rioting goes on inside Wal-Marts. Just check out this shocking video of what happens inside a Wal-Mart on Black Friday night.
*Also, what happened last night at a Wal-mart Supercenter in Greenville, North Carolina, was nothing short of idiotic.
If this is how the American people will act just to save a few bucks on cheap plastic crap made in foreign countries, how are they going to act when the economy collapses?
If Americans will literally fight each other over saving 20 bucks, what is going to happen someday when millions of them don't know where their next meal is going to come from?
Thankfully the economy is still in good enough shape that most Americans can participate in these orgies of consumerism. But the reality is that the global financial system is in a massive amount of trouble, and it looks like we could be on the verge of another global financial collapse.
Do the American people have enough character to be able to deal with a full-blown economic depression?
In a recent article entitled "22 Signs That The Thin Veneer Of Civilization That We All Take For Granted Is Starting To Disappear", I commented on the declining character of the American people....
Instead of teaching our children to love and care for one another, we have taught them to be incredibly self-involved. Today, way too many Americans deeply love themselves, deeply love money and are deeply addicted to entertainment. Each new generation seems to be even more prideful, even more arrogant and even more violent. As a nation, we are losing our empathy for others, our compassion for the needy and our respect for the elderly. Our family units are breaking down and thousands of our communities are being transformed into hellholes.
Over the past several decades, the biggest debt bubble in the history of the world has enabled us to enjoy unprecedented prosperity. But it has been a "false prosperity", and it is frightening to think about what America is going to look like when the good times finally end.
The other thing that is really disturbing about Black Friday is the fact that the vast majority of the products that Americans are fighting over are made overseas.
As I pointed out recently, 23 manufacturing facilities were shut down every single day in the United States last year.
Since 2001, the U.S. has lost a total of more than 56,000 manufacturing facilities.
This country is bleeding jobs, bleeding businesses and bleeding wealth at a pace that is nearly impossible to fully grasp.
We are becoming poorer as a nation every single day, and yet Americans are seemingly more enamored with consumerism than ever before.
Most Americans could not care less about where something was made. The only thing that matters to them is how cheap it is.
It doesn't matter to them that a record-setting 2.6 million Americans slipped into poverty last year or that there are 10 percent fewer middle class jobs in America today than there were a decade ago.
We have become a nation that is so self-centered that it is hard to find the words to describe it.
Rather than caring about what is good for America, most of us only care about what is good for ourselves.
The madness that we see every Black Friday is just one more sign that our society is coming apart at the seams.
America has become a nation that is absolutely saturated with greed. Unfortunately, all of that greed is going to make the hard economic times that are coming much, much more painful.
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