Below is George Soros, the international currency speculator, speaking to Yahoo Finance, in regards to the dollar, and other foreign currencies…
– The words that really struck me in the below interview, are when Soros was asked (3:18) about the dollar, and he replied, “it is a very complicated thing, and of course I know “exactly” what the dollar is going to do, but I am not at liberty to…” Of course that can mean quite a few different things, but with the current fragility of the economy, it is certainly not hard for your imagination to go wild with speculation… –Archive for the Category » Archive «
Saturday, June 06th, 2009 | Author: markross
Today is sixty five years to the day since the allied forces stormed Normandy, France, liberating Europe from the absolute tyranny of Adolph Hitler and The Nazis.
It was The attack on Pearl Harbor that ultimately brought The United States into World War 2; however, if The United States did not enter that war, Europe, as we know it, could very well be dramatically different today.
We owe a great amount of gratitude to those men and women, from all countries, that made these enormous sacrifices in World War 2, to defend the liberties that we still have today.
There is hardly any words that I can write to effectively describe their sacrifices, and the gratitude that I feel to that generation. However, our former President, Ronald Reagan, said it so eloquently, in this 40th anniversary speech to the veteran Rangers at Pointe Du Hoc, Normandy, France, on June 6th, 1984.
Please watch this great and emotional speech…
Mark
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Category: American History, Archive
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Saturday, March 14th, 2009 | Author: markross
TARP funds being used overseas?
Actually this does not come as a complete surprise to me; upon receiving this money, there has been little over site and regulation of these banks…
I have been very skeptical (from day one) as to where these funds have gone, ended up, and how they have been used. While I do not generally like to speculate, one of my theories has been that these banks are investing this (our money) money into foreign banks.
At this time, there is still little information, however, there are people working on it…
To name a few…
Neil Barofsky and Elizabeth Warren
Congressman Dennis Kucinich, who is chairing The Domestic Policy Subcommittee of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee, recently disclosed the below information…
Citibank, who received 50 billion dollars of tax payer money, has invested 8 billion dollars into private sector companies, in the country of Dubai.
Bank of America, who received 45 billion dollars of tax payer money, spent 7 billion in China Construction Bank, which “may” go right to my theory.
JP Morgan Chase, who received 25 billion dollars of tax payer money, spent 1 billion dollars on public companies in India.
I am sure that more is to come, and my prediction is that heads will be rolling; and perhaps, rightfully so.
While I am not against foreign investment, by American companies, weren’t we sold on the fact that this (tax payer) money was going to be used to prop up The American economy?
Mark
Category: Archive, Economics, Politics
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Tuesday, March 03rd, 2009 | Author: markross
Has anyone heard of Neil Barofsky?
As most people know by now, Henry Paulson (our former Treasury Secretary) came to Congress, late in September, of 2008, requesting 700 billion dollars to buy troubled assets from banks, as the economy was appearing to slow down tremendously; at least this was what we were told.
Not long after the funds were approved by Congress, Paulson changed the focus from troubled assets, to buying preferred stocks from these banks, claiming that this would infuse capital into the banks, and they would begin lending again. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Paulson
Well, after billions and billions of dollars have been pumped into these institutions; after months of gross mishandling of these (TARP) funds; even lawsuits, against The Feds, by media giants Foxnews Business, for information as to how these funds were used, we are still unclear as to where all of this money went. http://www.foxbusiness.com/video-search/m/21698224/fbn-sues-government-over-tarp-info.htm This leaves some (myself included), skeptical about the entire process, and “how”, and exactly “where” this money has ended up.Neil Barofsky is the Inspector General of The TARP funds, and is saying that he will get to the bottom of this. I saw him on a TV interview, and he sounded sincere; I am totally behind him, and hope that he will bring justice, and answers to the people of this country.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Barofsky
So far, Barofsky said that he has received 17 responses, out of the 350 that have received TARP funds.
It will be interesting to watch how this plays out.
You can read more about this below… http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN2443235620090224Mark
Category: Archive, Economics, Politics
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Sunday, January 18th, 2009 | Author: markross
I wanted to mention this miraculous landing, in The Hudson River (NY) on Thursday, January 15th by this US Airways pilot, Chesley B. Sullenberger. http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local&id=6606410#bodyText First of all, this pilot truly ”is” a hero. Often, like a passenger in a car, we so take flights for granted when we board an airplane. Who would ever guess, of all things, that a flock of birds could bring a commercial airplane down. Well, under tremendous pressure, with one both engines gone; in less then three minutes, this pilot made a decisive, and brilliant landing into The Hudson River. When you think of other possible outcomes, it really sinks in, as to how much a professional this pilot really is… That airplane could have smashed straight into a building, in downtown Manhattan; it could have crashed onto a busy street in NYC, however, the pilot steered the plane away from pedestrian areas, and made a seemingly perfect landing into the water. Not one person on this flight was seriously injured, or killed; that is really amazing! The first responders were also great heroes, and extremely professional… Had those passengers been in that river much longer, then hypothermia would have begun to sink in, and tragedy may have followed; instead, the flight attendants, boats and responders were getting those passengers off of that airplane within minutes of the crash landing. To me, this is a miracle, and a great reminder of what happened on 9-11, and how much we have learned since then. It is also a reminder that these fire fighters and first responders are truly brave men and women, as well as true professionals, and great heroes. It is so refreshing to hear, and write about some very positive, and uplifting news. Mark
Category: Archive, News
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Sunday, January 04th, 2009 | Author: markross
Peter Kraus – a former top executive at Merrill Lynch received $25 million dollars in compensation (from Merrill Lynch) after only three months’ work. Merrill Lynch was bought out by Bank of America, after Congress injected $25 billion (of taxpayer dollars) into The Bank of America. Here is the stipulation:
Before Merrill hired Kraus as an executive vice president, Kraus negotiated a $50 million dollar pay package for himself – with the bulk of that guaranteed to him if the company was sold. As far as I can see, he did not do anything illegal, however, one would have to ask; morally and ethically, was this the right thing to do? This is yet one more example of rewarding people and companies for failure; and all at the taxpayer’s expense. If that is not enough, have a look at his newly purchased $37 million dollar Park Avenue apartment. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,473967,00.html http://www.nypost.com/seven/12302008/news/regionalnews/fat_cat_palace_is_a_crah_pad_146510.htm Oh yes, Does anyone recall the name Stanley O’Neal? He was the one that walked away from Merrill Lynch with $160 million dollars. http://www.hyperblogcafe.com/stanley-oneal-merrill-lynch/ Anyone out there experiencing difficult times? Apparently these guys aren’t. Again, I would like to thank Congress for their abundant generosity, and wisdom, with our money. Mark
Category: Archive, Politics, Rewarding Failure
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Sunday, November 16th, 2008 | Author: markross
Well, the buzz is that Hillary Clinton is going to be chosen by Obama as The Secretary of State. I think that if she is chosen, and excepts, that would be a good, safe choice for Obama; also I would respect him for reaching out to her. However, from her point of view, I can see the advantages and disadvantages of taking the position. Mark
Category: Archive
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Tuesday, November 04th, 2008 | Author: markross
Well, here we go! Election Day is here.
Category: Archive
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Monday, November 03rd, 2008 | Author: markross
I heard today that Barack Obama’s grandmother has passed away. Whether or not I am voting for him as our next president, I still feel for him and his loss. I’m sure that it must be a very hard time for him, and I’m sure that it would have meant a lot to him for his grandmother to have seen him become president of The US, if in fact, that comes to be. Mark
Category: Archive
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Sunday, November 02nd, 2008 | Author: markross
WOW! By no means is this race over.. Most polls are showing, it looks as though we are going right down to the wire. Mark
Category: Archive
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Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 | Author: markross
I just recently started reading that Led Zeppelin may in fact do reunion tour, but Robert Plant may not be on board. http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5j6YCdYhgoN4yvTiIE84LxBDU_ajQ Robert, in my opinion, is still the greatest rock singer ever, and I do respect his reasons for not wanting to go on a full fledged tour, however, he bums me out, at the same time. In my opinion, he shows the least amount of enthusiasm for the legend and great music of Led Zeppelin and perhaps he is the most honest and realistic member, at the same time. As much as John Paul Jones, Jason Bonham and Jimmy Page would like to do it, I would plead for them to leave good enough alone, if Robert is not on board. Perhaps they could do something musically together, but not as Led Zeppelin. Maybe Robert will have a change of heart, we’ll have to see. Mark
Category: Archive, Led Zeppelin
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Sunday, October 26th, 2008 | Author: markross
I had two thoughts that I have not really heard being raised, at all, during this campaign, directly related to McCain. 1. John McCain does have a record of reform and crossing part lines, which is very appealing to Independents like myself . However, from the get go, The Republican party screamed and hollered that McCain was NOT a good choice for the conservative movement.
As a result, McCain pandered hard (in my opinion) to The Republican base, which in effect, pushed him further from the center and more to the right. Now, those same people are screaming for McCain to win, when in fact, they were integral to hand cuffing him, from the onset, instead of letting him be the man he truly is/was. Now those same people may have hurt themselves as Obama may very well be their next president. 2. I can not help but wonder what effect it would have had “if” McCain would have pulled a Lieberman and registered himself as an Independent, which in effect, would have separated him from a lot of the un popular Republican policies over the last 8 years, while keeping himself firmly distanced from the policies of The Democrats. If McCain is truly that moderate, then why does he not move to an Independent?
I think it would have been a great move for him, politically, and frankly, for the whole country. Mark
Category: Archive
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Friday, October 24th, 2008 | Author: markross
Well, Election Day is almost upon us. The race seems to be, once again, tightening up. One can’t help but to wonder if there is going to be absolute chaos, as with the 2000 elections. With all of this talk about voter fraud, It seems as though, inevitably, that this will become a real issue. Mark
Category: Archive
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Monday, October 20th, 2008 | Author: markross
Well, we are coming up on one year since Led Zeppelin took the stage (below) in London, at The 02 Arena, on December 10th, 2007, for the one off show, as a tribute to Ahmet Ertegün, one of the co-founders of Atlantic Records. As one the world’s biggest Led Zeppelin fans, I have to say, that it was one of the most exciting things that has happened in the last few years. I think they far exceeded any expectations, and anything that they have done (as a group) since their late, great, drummer, John Bonham, passed on in 1980. This leaves me wondering, what is to come? Will Led Zeppelin go for it, one more time?
Category: Archive, Led Zeppelin
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Sunday, October 19th, 2008 | Author: markross
In my opinion, here is a very good, case and point scenario: Today, Colin Powell, a very reputable, well respected, black man and public servant to our country, endorsed Barack Obama. This may be very disheartening to some Republicans. However, as an American citizen, that is his right. So, now that Colin Powell has put his personal choice out there, is it fair that people debate him on his choice and political view of how Obama may be the better leader? What will not be fair is if he is attacked on his personal life and character, in order for the other side to try to obtain some sort of headway politically. This is the kind of thing that I am seeing from the hard left. This Joe The Plumber guy simply asked a very legitimate question to Obama, while on the campaign stump; and now, he is being attacked very hard, on all different facets of his personal life. So, my overall point is that if you are a public servant, then in my belief, policies and past affiliations are very fair and valid questions to ask, and to bring into question. What is very hard for me to watch is the deliberate attacks on the candidate’s family and character. I do not see how pulling a man or woman down, so viciously, with smears, will help their cause one bit; if anything it shows a desperate attempt to avoid otherwise important issues that can be, and perhaps, need to be examined. This also has me wondering if some are not going to accuse Colin Powell of selecting Obama, based on race; I sure hope not. Mark
Category: Archive
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