Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
CVS isn't really my kind of stock. I don't think they will benefit much from the marijuana boom because it's such a small part of their business. The "pure" plays will see a significantly higher result. I have about 14% in $$ terms of my portfolio currently invested in marijuana.
ACB CGC CWBHF ELLXF OGRMF
I don't recommend for anyone to buy these as they all have significant risk. If you are OK with high risk positions you might find something you like.
For some reason I am not feeling any sympathy for GS.
CVS Pharmacy said on Wednesday that it has started selling cannabidiol, or CBD, products in select states.
The pharmacy chain said the products include topicals such as creams, sprays, roll-ons, lotions and salves. These products are available in 8 states: Alabama, California, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland and Tennessee.
In a statement, CVS specified that it's not selling any CBD-containing supplements or food additives.
"We have partnered with CBD product manufacturers that are complying with applicable laws and that meet CVS's high standards for quality," a spokesman said in a statement.
CBD is quickly becoming one of the hottest ingredients in consumer products. Companies are adding the non-psychoactive cannabis compound to food, beverages and skin care products.
The farm bill President Donald Trump signed in December legalized hemp-derived CBD. However, it's still unlawful under the Food and Drug Administration's regulations to add CBD to food and beverage products because the compound is an active ingredient in a drug product, Epidiolex.
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/20/cvs-has-started-selling-cannabis-based-products-in-8-states.html?__source=yahoo%7Cfinance%7Cheadline%7Cstory%7C&par=yahoo&yptr=yahoo
( I would not buy CVS but the suppliers of cannabis.. marijuana... are the fastest growing "industry" at this time. )
That video is an eye opener ! Thanks.
HJLI also posted their 10K this morning. I haven't read it so I am not aware if there is something in the 10K that is relevant.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1661053/000149315219003283/form10-k.htm
Study Shows Migrants Use Almost Twice The Welfare Benefits As Native-Born Americans
( Who wudda thought ??? )
New research has discovered that foreign non-citizens use nearly two times the amount of welfare as native-born Americans. Both legal and illegal aliens fall into the category of foreigners who take from the welfare system.
According to a report by Breitbart, in recently released research by the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS), analysts discovered that about 63 percent of non-citizen households, those who live legally and illegally in the U.S., use some form of public welfare while only about 35 percent of native-born American households are on welfare.
California and Texas have the most expansive welfare-dependent immigration. For example, more than 7-in-10 non-citizen households in California use at least one form of welfare compared to just 35 percent of native-born American households that use welfare in the state.
In Texas, nearly 70 percent of non-citizen households use welfare. Similar to California, only 35 percent of native-born American households are on welfare.-Breitbart
In an exclusive interview with Breitbart News earlier this week, President Donald Trump said he wanted an end to all welfare-dependent legal immigration that burdens American taxpayers with the costs.
“I don’t like the idea of people coming in and going on welfare for 50 years, and that’s what they want to be able to do - and it’s no good,” Trump said.
And it is an obvious burden. For what one receives without working for, another must work for without earning. It’s a vicious and immoral practice to steal money from some in order to give it to others.
The Trump administration is considering a new regulation this year that would limit immigrants’ ability to live off the producers (taxpayers). It would effectively ban legal immigrants from permanently resettling in the U.S. if they are a burden on American taxpayers. This would be a net win for those being stolen from (“taxpayers”).
Legal immigration controls suggested by the government would be equal an annual $57.4 billion tax cut - the amount taxpayers spend every year on paying for the welfare, crime, and schooling costs of the country’s mass importation of 1.5 million new, mostly low-skilled legal immigrants.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-03-13/study-shows-migrants-use-almost-twice-welfare-benefits-native-born-americans
Finland's Government Collapsed Under Weight Of Socialized Healthcare
Finland’s government has collapsed just weeks before the general election. New socialist and communist reforms have failed due to the rising costs of healthcare.
Healthcare costs, which are high because of governments, have caused the collapse of the Finnish government. Prime Minister Juha Sipila and the rest of the cabinet resigned after the governing coalition failed to pass reforms in parliament to the country’s regional government and health services, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Filthy Blood stained examining room in Cumana Hospital, Cumana, Venezuela. August 2018
Finland, like much of the developed world, faces an aging population, with around 26 percent of its citizens expected to be over 65 by the year 2030, an increase of 5 percent from today. The strain on the socialized medical system is impossible to ignore, and cannot be fixed by more government interference.
And the problems with socialism continue, as money is taken from some and given to others, eventually, the takers will outnumber the makers.
As an increasing number of people live longer in retirement, the cost of providing pension and healthcare benefits can rise. Those increased costs are paid for by taxes collected from of the working-age population – who make up a smaller percentage of the population than in decades past. -BBC
The only reform that could possibly help these failing systems is to have the government step back and let competition and the free market thrive. Of course, that’s the one thing governments cannot and will not do because it means giving up power and control over people’s lives.
Reuters reports that soaring treatment costs and longer life spans have particularly affected Nordic countries. It isn’t just Finland. Sweden and Denmark face similar bleak outlooks for their socialism as well.
“Nordic countries, where comprehensive welfare is the cornerstone of the social model, have been among the most affected,” according to Reuters.
“But reform has been controversial and, in Finland, plans to cut costs and boost efficiency have stalled for years.”
The Kaiser Family Foundation found that 58 percent of Americans oppose “Medicare for all” if told it would eliminate private health insurance plans, and 60 percent oppose it if it requires higher taxes, according to a report by the Washington Free Beacon. Americans are general living paycheck to paycheck and already suffer under an unjust and burdensome tax system. Socialized medicine would mean one thing is for certain: more of your money will be stolen from you to pay for it. It isn’t about giving everyone healthcare, it’s about a boost in power and control for government officials and politicians who think they have the right to steal from us and run our lives.
When is enough enough?
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-03-12/finlands-government-collapsed-under-weight-socialized-healthcare
Nevada Bill Will Allow Police To Search Everyone's Smartphone
For years the push to replace physical drivers licenses with digital drivers licenses has relied one one thing; privacy. But all of the "fake news" the public has been fed about their privacy is about to come "crashing" down, literally.
A Nevada bill if passed would allow police to search everyone's smartphones.
Nevada bill AB200 allows police to search the phones of everyone involved in a car crash.
"An act relating to motor vehicles; authorizing a peace officer at the scene of a traffic crash to use technology to determine if a driver was using a handheld wireless communications device at the time of the crash; requiring the suspension of the driver’s license of a driver who refuses a request by a peace officer to use such technology; providing penalties;and providing other matters properly."
Does anyone still believe that once a cop uses a CellBrite to spy on your phone or discovers your smartphone's unique MAC address that they will not track you in the future? If retail stores can track customers MAC address's without a warrant don't you think police will too?
The bill states that motorists give up their rights simply by driving in Nevada.
"Section 1 further provides that any person who operates a vehicle in this State is deemed to have given consent to the use of an investigate technology device on the handheld wireless communications device when requested by a peace officer at the scene of a crash. If a person refuses such a request,the peace officer is required to seize the driver’s license or permit of the person and issue an order suspending the license or permit for 90 days."
What does this mean? If you are granted the privilege to drive by the government you agree to give up your Fourth Amendment right against being searched without probable cause. Do you still think America is the land of the free?
Gemalto got one thing right, digital drivers licenses are a "Utopia" for police and governments. According to Merriam Webster, Utopia is "an imaginary place; a place of ideal perfection especially in laws and government."
If you think U.S. police will respect motorists rights and only search your phone for just your drivers license information you are living in an imaginary place.
Defenders of digital licenses will say Nevada's police are only trying to determine if a phone was being used prior to the accident and that is it.
"When using an investigative technology device on a handheld wireless communications device pursuant to this section, a peace officer may access and view only evidence of use of the handheld wireless communications device which violates NRS 484B.165 and shall not intentionally access or view any other content on the handheld wireless communications device."
But I say horse pucky, would you willingly hand your phone to a stranger and let them walk away with it for 5-10 minutes? Would you trust a complete stranger (police officer) not to search your smartphone? Trusting law enforcement with your phone is a horrible idea as an article in the Huffington Post warns.
"By unlocking the license, phone owners could expose their data to whoever is checking it, Chad Marlow, a senior counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union in New York said. And, he added, while an officer normally would need a warrant to search a phone, in the real world, drivers who don’t know the law could be pressured into handing over the phone, allowing access to everything from contacts to text messages."
House Bill 200 goes on to explain that if you refuse to hand your smartphone to 'Officer Friendly' your privilege to drive will be suspended and good luck trying to get a temporary drivers license.
"The scope of the hearing conducted pursuant to subsection 6 must be limited to whether the person refused the request of the peace officer to use an investigative technology device on the handheld wireless communications device in the possession of the person at the time of the crash pursuant to this section. Upon an affirmative finding on this issue, the Department shall affirm the order of suspension."
If you are given a choice between handing over your phone or losing your license and getting a ticket, what would you do?
That is not much of a choice is it?
Being coerced into giving a government employee your personal information means law enforcement has essentially been turned into the TSA. In the coming years we can expect every state to pass laws allowing police to search motorists smartphones.
Do we really need anymore proof that storing our drivers license and personal life on a smartphone is a terrible idea?
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-03-07/nevada-bill-will-allow-police-search-everyones-smartphone
NEW JERSEY UNIVERSITY DEAN RESIGNS OVER CHICK-FIL-A BAN
Somebody is finally saying they have had enough of this stuff.
The video covers all the content that's in the text...
It will be interesting to see where this ends up. If you see further developments on this let us know. Thanks.
AOC Chief-Of-Staff Funneled $1 Million Of Campaign Cash Into His Own Companies
The chief of staff to Democratic Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reportedly funneled more than $1 million in political donations from two political action committees he founded into two of his own private companies, reports the Washington Examiner, citing a Monday complaint filed with the Federal Election Commission.
The cash transfers from the PACs — overseen by Saikat Chakrabarti, the freshman socialist Democrat's chief of staff — run counter to her pledges to increase transparency and reduce the influence of "dark money" in politics.
Chakrabarti's companies appear to have been set up for the sole purpose of obscuring how the political donations were used.
The arrangement skirted reporting requirements and may have violated the $5,000 limit on contributions from federal PACs to candidates, according to the complaint filed by the National Legal and Policy Center, a government watchdog group. -Washington Examiner
According to campaign finance attorneys cited by the Examiner, the arrangement is "really weird," and an indication that "there's something amiss," noting that since there's no way to know where the political donations went, "they could have been pocketed or used by the company to pay for off-the-books campaign operations," writes the Examiner's Alana Goodman.
While PACs are required by law to disclose how funds are used, Chakrabarti's private companies are exempt from such reporting.
The FEC complaint names both Chakrabarti and Ocasio-Cortez as respondents, and demands that the two PACs be audited because they were allegedly engaged in "an elaborate scheme to avoid proper disclosure of campaign expenditures."
Tom Anderson, director of the National Legal and Policy Center's Government Integrity Project, said: “It appears Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her associates ran an off-the-books operation to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars, thus violating the foundation of all campaign finance laws: transparency." -Washington Examiner
The 33-year-old Chakrabarti was a Bernie Sanders organizer during the 2016 election. He founded a PAC called Brand New Congress in 2016, and another in 2017 called Justice Demopcrats which has the stated goal of helping to elect progressives to Congress.
"Our idea is really to run a single unified presidential-style campaign that is going to look a lot like the Bernie Sanders campaign," said Chakrabarti during a 2016 interview with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow. "The campaign infrastructure and fundraising is set aside from the campaigning."
Between 2016 and 2017 his PACs raised approximately $33 million - mostly from small donations, while the committees transferred over $1 million to two shell companies Chakrabarti controlled during the same time period. The shells were formed with similar names to the PACs; "Brand New Campaign LLC and Brand New Congress LLC" according to the Examiner report.
A few weeks after starting the Brand New Congress PAC, Chakrabarti formed one of the companies, Brand New Campaign LLC, in Delaware, using a registered agent service and mailbox-only address.
Over the next seven months, as small-dollar political donations poured into the PAC from progressives across the country, the committee transferred over $200,000, 82 percent of the contributions, to the company Brand New Campaign LLC. The payments were for "strategic consulting," according to federal election filings. They were sent to an apartment address listed for Chakrabarti in the Greenwich Village area of Manhattan.
In 2017, Brand New Congress PAC transferred another $240,000 to Brand New Congress LLC, also for "strategic consulting." Another PAC co-founded by Chakrabarti that year called "Justice Democrats" transferred an additional $605,000 to Brand New Congress LLC in 2017. -Washington Examiner
Of note, Brand New Congress is not registered in any Secretary of State databases, and as such it is unclear where it was incorporated.
According to former FEC lawyer Adav Noti, the arrangement is "highly unusual," and appears to have been designed to obscure the use of funds.
"None of that makes any sense," said Noti, adding: "I can’t even begin to disentangle that. They're either confused or they’re trying to conceal something."
"It does seem like there’s something amiss. I can only think of really two likely possibilities for this sort of pattern of disbursements," he said. "One is the scam PAC possibility — they're really just paying themselves and they’re concealing it by using the LLC. The other is that there’s actually another recipient, that the money is going to the LLC and then being disbursed in some other way that they want to conceal."
Former FEC chairman Bradley A. Smith said that he has never seen an arrangement quite like this, calling it a "It's a really weird situation."
"I see almost no way that you can do that without it being at least a reporting violation, quite likely a violation of the contribution limits. You might say from a campaign finance angle that the LLC was essentially operating as an unregistered committee."
Chakrabarti is reportedly no longer affiliated with Brand New Congress PAC, which communications director Zeynab Dey says went through a recent "transition period."
A spokesperson for Justice Democrats said he did not know why the PAC paid so much money to Chakrabarti’s LLCs. When asked what the Justice Democrats PAC does on a daily basis, he said “it’s very clear what we do” but declined to elaborate. -Washington Examiner
From cow farts to bullshit...
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-03-04/aoc-chief-staff-funneled-1-million-campaign-cash-his-own-companies
New Jersey High School Bans Limos, Party Buses, & Luxury Cars From Prom To Promote "Equity"
What better way to put the fun back into prom night than banning limos, party buses or luxury vehicles?
At least, this was the thought process of one New Jersey high school, which has implemented a new policy to ban such vehicles on prom night as way to deal with social inequality. How, exactly, does that work? We have no idea.
According to a report on NJ 101.5, Lakeland Regional High School superintendent Hugh E. Beattie claimed that the new policy is about safety and "equity". He doesn't want students who can't afford a "snazzy ride" to feel left out. Calling it a "group decision made by the Administrative Team", he says the only way to now arrive at the school's prom - being held at the Rockleigh Country Club - is to take a chaperoned school bus at a cost of $15 per person.
That should really ramp up the enjoyment factor of the 45 minute ride students will have to endure on prom night, when it comes around on June 4.
"The decision was made based on the concern over the safety of all our students and in providing equity for all students so that they all could enjoy a shared 'prom experience' despite socio-economic status, and based on the success that other districts have demonstrated utilizing this practice. The district wants to ensure that all students have the equal opportunity to share in a positive, safe and memorable school prom experience."
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-03-03/new-jersey-high-school-bans-limos-party-buses-luxury-cars-prom-promote-equity
Which Degrees Will Earn You The Most (And The Least)?
( It looks like those degrees in Basket Weaving don't pay too well. )
There are a number of considerations to be made when deciding which degree course to pursue. Most people though will at least at some point think about their earning potential once they've graduated.
According to gov.uk analysis, in England, the graduates earning the most compared to the average degree five years after graduation are those that studied medicine - coming in at 74.3 percent more for women and 62.7 percent for men. In second place for both genders is economics which on average allows graduates to bring home 54.8 percent (women) and 40.9 percent (men) more.
You will find more infographics at Statista
At the other end of the spectrum, the graduates earning the least compared to the average degree five years after graduation are those that studied the creative arts - equating to 21 percent less for women and 29.2 percent less for men.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-02-18/which-degrees-will-earn-you-most-and-least
"Our Drivers Have Been Attacked": UPS Halts Deliveries To Swedish "No Go Zone"
Though European leaders and their counterparts in the US (along with their allies in the mainstream press) have continued to deny their existence, migrant-dominated "no go" zones remain a persistent public safety threat to the Swedish public. And in the latest repudiation of the Swedish government's refusal to accept the term, and acknowledge the fact that - as Swedish police chiefs warned back in 2017 - these areas represent "parallel societies" where Swedish institutions aren't recognized, UPS has ceased delivery to Rosengard, a notorious neighborhood in Malmo, Sweden, after several of its drivers were assaulted and robbed.
According to local media reports cited by RT, delivering to the neighborhood has become too dangerous for UPS, after the US carrier told the press that "our drivers have been attacked and therefore we have decided not to hand out packages at [the district]."
The decision to cease package delivery follows a spike in crime in the notoriously poverty-stricken neighborhood, where police say they cannot effectively carry out their law enforcement duties.
Rosengard, a troubled, immigrant-dominated neighborhood, has gained notoriety due to a spike in violent crime recorded in recent years. Gun violence, armed robberies, and other offenses seem to have become commonplace there, according to media reports. The district, plagued by unemployment and poverty, has previously appeared on a list of Sweden’s ‘vulnerable areas’, which some media and local politicians refer to as ‘no-go zones’.
Across Europe, the term "no go zone" is used to describe areas where even the police are afraid to go. UPS isn't the first organization operating in Sweden to adopt an official company police to avoid 'no go' zones. That list also includes PostNord, the country's government run postal service.
For some local service providers at least, the words ‘no-go zones’ are taken quite literally. In 2017, the Swedish ambulance union said first responders need military-grade protective gear to withstand the dangers of such areas. Later that year, the government-run postal service, PostNord, halted mail delivery to some addresses near the troubled Stockholm suburb of Rinkeby, where large-scale riots were taking place.
Back in 2017, a leaked police report identified 23 'no go' zones across the country where police couldn't effectively operate.
But in the US, the New York Times and its partners in the mainstream press refuse to acknowledge the existence of an immigrant driven spike in crime in parts of the liberal Nordic paradise. Why? Because it contradicts their pro-immigration agenda.
Dianne Feinstein Snaps At Group Of Environmental Activist Children
Armed with an impassioned letter and memorized talking points, the children belonging to three Bay Area environmentalist groups (Sunrise Bay Area, Youth Versus the Apocalypse, and Earth Guardians San Francisco) implored Feinstein to support the Green New Deal
Play the video at the link to see just how much our young kids have been brainwashed by the liberals !
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-02-22/dianne-feinstein-snaps-group-earth-conscious-children
Illinois Considering "Asset Transfers" To Pensions: Be Afraid
Governor JB Pritzker’s administration has now made clear it will seriously consider the latest idea to address Illinois’ pension crisis – transferring public assets directly to state pensions. It recently announced the formation of a task force on the subject.
At its core, the concept is exceptionally simple. In practice, however, it’s exceptionally subject to smoke and mirrors and would further obscure a pension system that’s already far too opaque. More importantly, asset transfers do nothing to improve the state’s overall fiscal health.
Just convey ownership of some public assets to the pension, for free, in addition to the cash contributions taxpayers make now. That’s all this is about. Maybe the Illinois Lottery or Illinois Tollway for state pensions. Maybe Midway Airport or its water system for Chicago pensions. Those are examples of assets that have been mentioned that might be handed over.
Illinois state pensions are officially reported to have assets about $130 billion less than what they need to have on hand to pay for pension benefits already earned. Turn over ownership of the tollway and some other assets and, voila, the thinking goes, that shortfall would shrink by whatever the transferred asset is worth.
More at the link...
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-02-19/illinois-considering-asset-transfers-pensions-be-afraid
"I’m Committing Professional Suicide": CBS Star Reporter Admits
"Mostly Liberal" Journalists Are Now "Political Activists"
CBS News chief foreign affairs correspondent Lara Logan has broken ranks and admitted that journalists have lost their objectivity and become "political activists."
During an appearance on the Mike Drop podcast with retired Navy SEAL Mike Ritland, Logan admitted that "the media everywhere is mostly liberal, not just the U.S.," adding that it was nearly impossible for viewers to decipher if they were being told the truth at any given time.
"85% of journalists are registered Democrats," Logan said. "How do you know you’re being lied to? How do you know you’re being manipulated? How do you know there’s something not right with the coverage? When they simplify it all [and] there’s no grey. It’s all one way. Well, life isn’t like that. If it doesn’t match real life, it’s probably not. Something’s wrong. For example, all the coverage on Trump all the time is negative. … That’s a distortion of the way things go in real life."
"There's no grey. It's all one way," said Logan.
Logan says that the heavy bias has warped people's ability to know what's really true.
"When you turn on your computer, or you walk past the TV, or you see a newspaper headline in the grocery store If they’re all saying the same thing, the weight of that convinces you that it’s true," said Logan. "You don’t question it, because everyone is saying it."
She also admitted that journalists today are more or less lobbyists for liberal interests, adding that the weight of the liberal media machine overwhelms "the other side" unless people actively seek outlets such as Breitbart.
Noting recent comments by former New York Times executive editor Jill Abramson, Logan said "Although the media has historically always been left-leaning, we’ve abandoned our pretense — or at least the effort — to be objective, today. … We’ve become political activists, and some could argue propagandists, and there’s some merit to that."
Video at the link...
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-02-19/cbs-news-chief-policital-correspondent-breaks-ranks-admits-journalists-are-now
Solar panels and storage batteries are made up of highly toxic metals that are not biodegradable...
This stuff can only be recycled so many times.... When their life finally comes to an end will we be able to dump all that toxic waste on the properties of the liberals that are putting this stuff in place ???
Svensmark: The Cloud Mystery
For anyone interested in a different version of global warming this is a good article that provides a non CO2 perspective.
Watch the video near the end of the article... It's long but should be worth your time. The short version is that increased magnetic activity by the sun results in cosmic rays that "seed" the moisture in the earth's atmosphere which in turn gives us more clouds resulting in cooler temperatures. Less sun activity results in warmer temperatures on earth. The magnetic change is a very long term change, billions of years. He predicts that the next cycle will be in the direction of lower temperatures.
I have no idea if this is more fake news or the real thing... But it's certainly very interesting.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-02-15/climate-change-religion-and-related-cover-ups-what-hell-nasa-hiding
If you want to skip the article you can go straight to the presentation here:
Panera Bread's Socialist 'Pay What You Want' Experiment Fails Miserably
Loaves of bread sit on a table at St. Louis Bread Co. Cares Community Cafe, part of Panera, in Clayton, Mo. The restaurant, where patrons pay as much or little as they want for a meal, is closing its doors Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File
Panera Bread has shuttered the last of its ideologically driven "pay what you want" restaurants. The socialist-tinged ventures were called "Panera Cares" and the higher-ups have finally figured out that "caring" is not synonymous with "viable business model." On February 15, the final Panera Cares, located in Boston, will close.
The website Eater gives Panera Cares' history and provides the company's motivation behind the now-defunct mission:
The chain opened its first donation-based community cafe in St. Louis, Missouri, in 2010. Under the model championed by the company’s founder Ron Shaich, the restaurant operated like a typical Panera, but offered meals at a suggested donation price, with the goal of raising awareness about food insecurity. “In many ways, this whole experiment is ultimately a test of humanity,” Shaich said in a TEDx talk later that year. “Would people pay for it? Would people come in and value it?” It appears the answer is a resounding no.
Food insecurity? While having a pretty good idea of what the term means, I still looked it up. According to Feeding Texas, "Food insecurity offers an accepted method for measuring food deprivation."
You know who's probably suffering from food insecurity? The employees of Panera Cares who are no longer employed and no longer receive paychecks. You can't buy food if you don't have a job, and providing jobs is only assured if companies are focused on making money. If Panera had cared more about making money than promoting a constantly refuted ideology, its employees would still be receiving paychecks. Frighteningly, though, a growing segment of the populace seems to be allergic to common-sense economic principles.
More:
https://pjmedia.com/trending/panera-breads-socialist-pay-what-you-want-experiment-fails-miserably/
"they want me to subscribe in order to see it"
Dono why... I don't have a subscription. Google the title, you might find another source for the same article.
I had a similar experience while looking at an item on Amazon...
I did price checking at other sites and when I came back to Amazon to place my order the price had gone up. They know what you are looking at and also have the ability to compare pricing on what you are looking at so they can adjust the Amazon price higher when you come back !
It's common for my wife and I to look at the same item on Amazon each using our own computer/device and see different prices... We also had this happen to us while looking at stuff at Lowe's.com
Target App Lured Customers With Lower Prices,
Which Mysteriously Increased As Users Approached Store
Target updated its smartphone app last Wednesday after a two-month investigation by Minneapolis TV station KARE-TV discovered the retail giant was advertising certain items for one price outside of stores, only to hike the price when a person entered a Target - in one case, by as much as nearly $150.
The station dubbed it the "parking lot price switch."
For instance, Target’s app price for a particular Samsung 55-inch Smart TV was $499.99, but when we pulled into the parking lot of the Minnetonka store that price suddenly increased to $599.99 on the app.
Read the article here...
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-02-11/target-app-lured-customers-lower-prices-which-mysteriously-increased-users
More global warming...
Winter Storm Maya Grinds Seattle's Afternoon Commute to a Halt; Emergency Declared in Washington
More...
https://weather.com/news/news/2019-02-08-winter-storm-maya-impacts-seattle-northwest-washington-oregon
Thanks for posting that...
From your link:
"However, as ITEP pointed out in a 2017 report, Netflix was able to pay rates much lower than that for multiple years in a row through a cunning use of loopholes that already exited prior to the 2017 Republican tax bill."
“What we are up against is either astounding ignorance or blatant stupidity.”
Feminism Is A Disease - Masculinity Is The Cure
It seems these days like everyone and their gender-fluid grandma has some “profound” insight into the minds and world of men. Men and masculinity are spoken of in the media with sharp tones of fear mixed with disdain, as if we are a dangerous aberrant genetic anomaly that needs to be studied under a special microscope that will protect the observer from being influenced by our vitriolic pheromones. The problem is, most of these “experts” on manhood are not men at all, or, their observations of male behavior are tainted with deep-seated resentments. That is to say, they are hardly objective.
More...
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-25/smith-feminism-disease-and-masculinity-cure
Believe it or not, Illinois confiscated and sold 50,000 cars because people had tickets that they could not pay. They still have to pay the banks on their car loans. The tickets are for expired “city stickers” that were implemented to collect more taxes from Chicago drivers. So these are not even tickets for parking or speeding. These are stickers to allow you to drive in the city. Worse still, if they get more than you owed, they keep it and it is not applied to your debt. This is no longer a government for the people. It is a hostile environment against the people at every turn.
https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/world-news/taxes/illinois-confiscating-cars-and-selling-them-if-you-owe-tickets/
156 people leave Chicago every day !
Leveraged and Inverse ETFs...
This is worth reading for anyone considering messing with the "ultra" ETFs. Specifically read the section " Real-life examples".
http://www.finra.org/investors/alerts/leveraged-and-inverse-etfs-specialized-products-extra-risks-buy-and-hold-investors
"HEAR - SG VTB Holdings took advantage of the analyst upgrade and positive SA article and resulting high volume to unload half a million shares today."
Call me skeptical
Maxine Waters (chair) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez now oversee Wall Street activities. ( Does anyone wonder why the stock market is having a hard time lately ?) Alexandria is going to become a wealthy young woman if she plays her cards right. She is hell bent on crushing the rich. They'll pay her not to.
Google says that she has less than $7,000 in savings. Remember that when she showed up in Washington she complained that she couldn¹t afford a place to live. We need to keep up with her as her net worth skyrockets without having a real job !
It's almost impossible to have company information that the big money doesn't already have. Your best bet is to invest in companies that have honest management. It's really difficult to find management that is always making the correct decisions for the business rather than for themselves... It requires a long term understanding of the actions they have taken and how it has impacted the business. Not easy to come to that conclusion. That gives you an even chance because you have the opportunity to make your investment decisions based on the integrity of the guy running the business. A good start is to look for companies that aren't constantly issuing shares to the principals... but that is only a fraction of what you need to know. We all seem to be reduced to taking short term trading positions based on our perception of "under valued or over valued" rather than longer term holdings based on confidence in management.
I don't have a position in AAPL It's one of those stocks where the big money will always have more/better information than I could ever be allowed to have.
AAPL Foxconn Cuts 50,000 Jobs Due To iPhone Sales Slowdown
In the latest indication that the slump in sales of Apple's most recent batch of iPhones isn't a transitory trend, Nikkei Asia Review on Friday reported that Foxconn, one of Apple's biggest and most important iPhone suppliers, is cutting seasonal staff more swiftly than in previous years, a sign that it is bracing for weak sales in the months ahead as the industry suffers its worst downturn in 10 years.
More...
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-18/foxconn-cuts-50000-seasonal-jobs-iphone-sales-slowdown-stings
Border rancher: 'We’ve found prayer rugs out here. It’s unreal'
LORDSBURG, N.M. — Ranchers and farmers near the U.S.-Mexico border have been finding prayer rugs on their properties in recent months, according to one rancher who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation by cartels who move the individuals.
The mats are pieces of carpet that those of the Muslim faith kneel on as they worship.
"There’s a lot of people coming in not just from Mexico," the rancher said. "People, the general public, just don’t get the terrorist threats of that. That’s what’s really scary. You don’t know what’s coming across. We’ve found prayer rugs out here. It’s unreal. It’s not just Mexican nationals that are coming across."
The market went into a tailspin as it became apparent that the democrats would take control of the house...
It's the same old story... The government fails to address the root cause of why there are less african doctors available. We do it in our country as well. We put people into positions that they are not qualified for and assume that this results in them being qualified. The bottom issue on all this stuff is always the lack of education. You can't put people with low skills into positions that require a higher skill level and expect things to be OK. This mind set is slowly taking major economies down to the lowest common denominator.
South Africa Created 100 "Blacks-Only" Doctor Positions... Fails To Fill Them
Is it racist?
South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal health department expanded its registrar program in 2019 from 314 to 414, but, according to a leaked memo, it aimed to fill the 100 new posts with only black candidates.
Departmental spokesperson Ncumisa Mafunda said historical redress was a government imperative and “the morally and socially right thing to do”.
“South Africa, including KwaZulu-Natal, remains an unequal society with limited opportunities for self-development for those who were historically oppressed.”
However, the quota was not met and Mafunda was forced to admit - shock, horror - non-Black African doctors...
“After difficulties were experienced in recruiting black African candidates for these posts, a deviation was sought from the accounting officer and, out of a total of 77 registrar posts, 21 posts will be offered to non-Black Africans.”
A spokesperson for Democratic Alliance – the leading opposition party to the ruling African National Congress – argued that any policy was “an aberration of our constitutional values and is racist."
“Any form or attempt to redress the injustices of the past must ensure that we remain committed to what our constitution says... There must be no exclusion, especially based on the color of our skin.”
As RT notes, the failed quota was not well received on Twitter, with many calling it openly racist and counter-intuitive.
“Let me understand - one should practice racism in order to eradicate racism? Sounds logical,” one sarcastic Twitter user wrote.
Racial tensions in South Africa have been growing as a result of proposed legislation that would seize land, without compensation, from white farmers. The proposal has been billed as necessary to help correct years of racial inequality in the country as a result of apartheid.
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-14/south-africa-created-100-blacks-only-doctor-positions-fails-fill-them
CNN Cancels On San Diego TV Station After They Report Border Wall Works
A local San Diego television station said on Thursday that CNN invited them to provide a "local view" of the existing wall at the US-Mexico border, only to cancel after past reports from the station showed that the wall is an effective method of combating illegal immigration.
"Thursday morning, CNN called the KUSI Newsroom asking if one of our reporters could give them a local view of the debate surrounding the border wall and government shutdown," begins a report by local San Diego station KUSI.
"KUSI offered our own Dan Plante, who has reported dozens of times on the border, including one story from 2016 that was retweeted by former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, and posted on DrudgeReport.com," the report continues.
"We believe CNN declined a report from KUSI because we informed them that most Border Patrol Agents we have spoken to told us the barrier does in fact work," it concludes. "We have continuously been told by Border Patrol Agents that the barrier along the Southern border helps prevent illegal entries, drugs, and weapons from entering the United States, and the numbers prove it."
See video at the link Where Jim Acosta is explaining that there is no problem at the border where there is a wall... Priceless
https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2019-01-11/cnn-cancels-san-diego-tv-station-after-they-report-border-wall-works
"And BTW, did he ever produce his long form birth certificate? I don't think so."
If Trump produced a birth certificate that has over 10 places where it had been changed would that be OK with you ?