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Quality of Life: Inspiring Ideas to Improve the Quality of Your Life
It's What You Do With It
It is not so much what happens to each of us that determines our quality of life, but rather our reaction to what happens. Though we may have no choice in unexpected events that happen to us, we most certainly have choice in how we interpret what happens, and in what we choose to do about it. These choices make all the difference in how we experience our world and very much determine our quality of life.
Neither does what we own play a major role in quality of life. One person with all the money and possessions in the world may have a miserable life, while another in the lowest income bracket may absolutely love their life. It is what we do with what we own that affects our level of satisfaction and joy in life. It's not what you possess or what happens to you in life that matters, but rather what you do with it.
Every moment something is happening in our lives. And every moment we make interpretations or judgments about what happens. By choosing to become more conscious of how we react to what happens, we can shift towards what we really want in our lives. Rather than following habitual, reactive patterns which lead to more of the same, we can recognize and transform our old habits to move powerfully in the direction of creating the life we really want. Yet to do this, we must first find the courage to look at some of the disempowering, often unconscious patterns which get in the way and don't serve to increase our quality of life.
Transform Yourself From Victim to Creator
You are given many opportunities in life to choose to be a victim or to be a creator. When you choose to be a victim, the world is a cold and harsh place. "They" did things to you which caused all of your pain and suffering. "They" are wrong and bad, and life is rotten as long as "they" are around. "They" might be one or more individuals in your family or community. It might be the terrible politicians or your boss or the evil cabal of the power elite that rules the world. Or you may blame yourself for all your problems, thus internalizing your victimization. The essence is that victims feel a need to blame someone for all their problems, whether it is themselves or others, because that someone is ruining their lives and world. And the truth is, your life is likely to stay that way as long as you feel a need to blame and make yourself or others wrong.
Those who choose to be creators look at life quite differently. They know that there are powerful individuals and groups who might like to control their lives, but they don't let this get in the way. They know that they have their weaknesses, yet they don't blame themselves when they fail. Creators feel no need to blame anyone as they know that whatever happens, they have choice in the matter. When Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. were put behind bars, they used that opportunity to meditate and pray, to write letters and books, and to inspire their communities to stand up and make a difference in the world. They prayed not only for themselves and their supporters, but even for those who worked against them. They were unstoppable, powerful creators who continued to have a very high quality of life until the day they died.
Victims relish in anger, resentment, revenge, and other emotions and behaviors that cause others – and for some even themselves – to feel like victims, too. Creators consciously choose love, inspiration, empowerment, and other qualities which inspire not only themselves, but all around them to continually create the lives and world they want to live in. Victims and creators live in the same physical world and deal with many of the same physical realities, yet their experience of this reality is worlds apart. From the perspective of quality of life, they hardly live in the same world. Yet whether they know it or not, both victim and creator always have choice in each moment to determine the direction of their lives through what they choose to do with what they are given.
In reality, all of us play the victim and all of us play the creator at various points in our lives. Yet few people realize just how much choice we have in which role we play at any given time. One person, on losing a job or a special relationship, may feel as if it is the end of the world and sink into terrible suffering for months, years, or even a lifetime. Another with the same experience may choose to experience the grief of loss fully, yet in a relatively short amount of time move on to be a powerful creative force in their life. In every moment and every circumstance we can choose to be that creative force in our life.
Choosing a Quality Life
By choosing to see and inspire the creator not only in yourself, but in all you meet, you can create powerful transformation in your life and world. If you have spent a lot of time in victim mode, it may not be easy to make the shift, but it is entirely possible. By exploring your core issues and working to transform them, and by choosing to stop the need to place blame and instead take responsibility for your life, you can make the shift. There will most certainly be times where you slip back into old patterns. But by continually reminding yourself of your intention to be a creator, you can transform your life.
None of us is perfect. We all have made and will continue to make mistakes and bad choices in our lives. When we fail, there is no need to blame ourselves or anyone else. We can choose to simply accept that we didn't do what we had intended and then work to understand why, so that we might do better the next time. Notice when you find yourself blaming yourself or others. Then stop for a moment. Take a look inside and ask, is it really empowering you to place blame, even if you believe it is very well deserved? Is this the quality of life you want, or is there something better and more fulfilling?
For those who tend to blame themselves more than others, consider exploring how this serves you. Some are drawn to abusive relationships or habits as a way of unconsciously punishing themselves. Many times deep, unconscious processes are behind this behavior which can be uncovered simply by setting a strong intention to understand the root causes, and by holding to a deep intention to transform the places which keep you from being a powerful creator. Shifting from victim to creator does not mean shifting the blame from yourself to others, but it may mean getting out of abusive relationships or habits so that you can then move with greater awareness and commitment to create positive transformation in your own life and in those around you.
At times you will look back and realize that you let yourself be the victim again. Even when you fail at making the shift from victim to creator, you can be gentle with yourself. Judging and blaming yourself is just as disempowering as directing it towards others. You can accept and forgive yourself for not following your intention, and then do your best to learn from what happened. And there may even be times when, for whatever reason, you feel a need to play the role of victim for a while. If so, get into it and play the role fully. But remember while doing so that you are choosing this, and that you can just as easily choose to be a creator again as soon as you are ready. There's a time and place for everything.
One common trap which easily pulls people into victim mode is attachment. When we are strongly attached to anything, the possibility of suffering and loss is magnified. When the victim loses something to which they are attached, they easily become depressed or angry and blame others or themselves for what happened. When creators realize they had attachment to something lost, they welcome the transformative power of letting go and work to understand and then release attachment. One of their key life intentions is to experience each sacred moment of life to its fullest, without the need for the security provided by attachment. They know that even the most difficult experiences can be powerful teachers for us if we allow them to.
By accepting the past and allowing the future to be a great, unknown, infinite potential, creators trust that their dance with each sacred moment is a gift. They know that in the long run, every experience can bring more meaning and a higher quality of life. They understand that storms are a natural part of life which can bring the rain needed for emotional and spiritual growth. Creators also know that by choosing to nurture and inspire all around them to shift from victim to creator, life becomes better not only for themselves, but for all whose lives they touch. You can have a higher quality of life right now by choosing to transform the victim within and by inviting and welcoming into your life the powerful creator that you are.
Obama to discuss regulation on Lehman anniversary
Obama takes financial regulation push to New York audience on Lehman Bros. anniversary
* By Philip Elliott, Associated Press Writer
* On Sunday September 13, 2009, 8:50 pm EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama plans to use the first anniversary of Lehman Brothers' collapse to talk about plans to wind down the government role in a financial sector that needed a Washington bailout last year, an administration official said Sunday.
Obama's speech in New York on Monday will push Congress to take action on regulatory reform to prevent the kind of tailspin that the economy went through last year. Obama also plans to repeat his call for global partners to coordinate to prevent future crises.
An administration official, who discussed details of the speech on the condition of anonymity so as not to upstage the president, said Obama will also discuss his team's efforts to repair the economy.
As part of that effort, Obama has called on Congress to pass a sweeping overhaul of how financial institutions behave but has seen slower-than-sought action. An administration official said the president will again decry the hands-off approach from Washington that allowed Lehman Brothers and other firms to engage in irresponsible lending, which eventually led the nation's largest financial institutions to the brink of collapse.
Obama will also tell the New York audience that the financial community must take responsibility, not just to support his proposed overhaul but also to police itself, the official said.
Risk-taking is back for banks 1 year after crisis
Banks' appetite for risk is rebounding 1 year after crisis; Is the financial system any safer?
* By Stevenson Jacobs, AP Business Writer
* On Sunday September 13, 2009, 8:59 pm EDT
NEW YORK (AP) -- A year after the financial system nearly collapsed, the nation's biggest banks are bigger and regaining their appetite for risk.
Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and others -- which have received tens of billions of dollars in federal aid -- are once more betting big on bonds, commodities and exotic financial products, trading that nearly stopped during the financial crisis.
That Wall Street is making money again in essentially the same ways that thrust the banking system into chaos last fall is reason for concern on several levels, financial analysts and government officials say.
-- There have been no significant changes to the federal rules governing their behavior. Proposals that have been made to better monitor the financial system and to police the products banks sell to consumers have been held up by lobbyists, lawmakers and turf-protecting regulators.
-- Through mergers and the failure of Lehman Brothers, the mammoth banks whose near-collapse prompted government rescues have gotten even bigger, increasing the risk they pose to the financial system. And they still make bets that, in the aggregate, are worth far more than the capital they have on hand to cover against potential losses.
-- The government's response to last year's meltdown was to spend whatever it takes to protect the financial system from collapse -- a precedent that could encourage even greater risk-taking from the private sector.
Lawrence Summers, director of the White House National Economic Council, says an overhaul of financial regulations is needed as soon as possible to keep the financial system safe over the long haul.
"You cannot rely on the scars of past crises to ensure against practices that will lead to future crises," Summers says.
No one is predicting another meltdown from risky trading in the near term. Rather, the concern is what happens over time as banks' confidence grows and the memory of the financial crisis of 2008 fades.
Will they pile on bets to the point that a new asset bubble forms and -- as happened with mortgage-backed securities -- its undoing endangers banks and the broader economy?
"We're seeing the same kind of behavior from the banks, and that could lead to some huge and scary parallels," says Simon Johnson, former chief economist with the International Monetary Fund.
Some risk-taking is good. When banks are willing to invest in companies or lend to home-buyers, that nurtures economic growth by generating employment and consumer spending, feeding a cycle of expansion.
The problem is when banks' quest for profits leads them to take on too much risk. In the case of the housing bubble, which burst last year, banks lent too freely to consumers with weak credit and wagered too much on complex financial instruments tied to mortgages. As real-estate prices turned south, so did the financial industry's health.
Because the largest banks' trading divisions make their bets with each other, their fortunes are intertwined. The collapse of one can threaten another -- and another -- if it is unable to pay off its debts.
This so-called counterparty risk is a major reason the Obama administration's regulatory overhaul plan calls for the creation of a "systemic risk regulator."
The administration is also seeking tougher capital requirements for banks, arguing that banks' buying of exotic financial products without keeping enough cash on reserve was a key cause of the crisis. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has urged the Group of 20 nations -- which meets this month in Pittsburgh -- to agree on new capital levels by the end of 2010 and put them in place two years later. Geithner hasn't said how much extra capital banks should be required to keep on hand.
Data from the April-June quarter show that the banks are leaning heavily again on their trading desks for revenue.
-- During the fourth quarter of 2008, when the financial crisis made even the shrewdest bankers risk-averse, Goldman's trading of risky assets nearly stopped. But in the second quarter of 2009, trading revenue had climbed to nearly 50 percent of total revenue, closer to where it was two years ago before the recession began. JP Morgan's reliance on trading revenue has exhibited a similar pattern.
-- Also in the second quarter, the five biggest banks' average potential losses from a single day of trading topped $1 billion, up 76 percent from two years ago, according to regulatory filings.
The government hasn't just watched banks resume their freewheeling ways and prosper. It has been an enabler in the process. The Federal Reserve, the Treasury Department and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. -- during both the Bush and Obama administrations -- have made trillions of dollars available to the biggest banks through bailouts, low-cost loans and loss guarantees designed to stabilize the financial system.
The failure of Lehman Brothers -- the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history -- and the panicky sales of Bear Stearns to JPMorgan and Merrill Lynch to Bank of America, also have transformed Wall Street. The surviving investment banks have fewer competitors and more market share.
Five of the biggest banks -- Goldman, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, Citigroup and Bank of America -- posted second-quarter profits totaling $13 billion. That's more than double what they made in the second quarter of 2008 and nearly two-thirds as much as the $20.7 billion they earned in the second quarter of 2007 -- when the economy was strong.
Meanwhile, Bank of America and Wells Fargo today originate 41 percent of all home loans that are backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, according to Inside Mortgage Finance. The banks made $284 billion in such loans in the first half of this year, up from $124 billion during the same period last year.
"The big banks now are more powerful than before," said Johnson, now a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management. "Their market share has grown and they have a lot of clout in Washington."
Wall Street's recovery is also being aided by a stock-market rally that has driven the S&P 500 index up nearly 54 percent since March 9, when it hit a 12-year low.
Despite the return to profitability, these aren't the high-octane days from before the crisis. To qualify for government backing, the biggest Wall Street firms are no longer allowed to supercharge their returns by borrowing up to 30 times the value of their assets to place bets on stocks, bonds and other investments.
Businesses supported by Wall Street bankers and traders say they've also noticed changes. Namely, their customers aren't spending as much on food, drinks and entertainment as they did during the boom years.
At Fraunces Tavern, a high-end bar just around the corner from the New York Stock Exchange, the Wall Street workers who used to drink $25 glasses of port are scarce these days.
"Now we're doing happy hours," says Damon Testaverde, one of the owners of Fraunces Tavern. "We never did that. There's just less bodies around."
But one thing fundamental to Wall Street hasn't changed: Big banks and their traders are still finding creative -- some say speculative -- ways to profit.
They're still packaging risky mortgages into securities and selling them to investors, who can earn higher returns by purchasing the securities tied to the riskiest mortgages. That was the practice that helped inflate the real estate bubble and eventually spread financial pain around the globe.
In a way, the government has emboldened banks to keep selling risky securities: Since the crisis erupted, federal emergency programs have helped keep the banks from failing. But now, as the financial system recovers, the government plans to phase out these backstops -- leaving banks more vulnerable to big bets that go bad.
One investment gaining popularity is a direct descendant of the mortgage-backed securities that devastated many banks last year. To get some lesser performing assets off their books, banks are taking slices of bonds made up of high-risk mortgage securities and pooling them with slices of bonds comprised of low-risk mortgage securities. With the blessing of debt ratings agencies, banks are then selling this class of bonds as a low-risk investment. The market for these products has hit $30 billion, according to Morgan Stanley.
"It may be unpleasant to hear that the traders are riding high," said Walter Bailey, chief executive of boutique merchant banking firm EpiGroup. "But, hey, it's a pay-for-performance thing, and they're performing like mad."
And that means the return of another Wall Street mainstay: Lavish compensation.
After 10 of the largest banks received a $250 billion lifeline from the government last fall, some lawmakers were outraged that employees were being paid seven-figure salaries even though their companies nearly collapsed. A handful of top executives, including Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit, have agreed to accept pay of just $1 this year. But the compensation of most high-performing traders hasn't changed.
Goldman spent $6.6 billion in the second quarter on pay and benefits, 34 percent more than two years ago. And Citigroup, now one-third owned by the government after taking $45 billion in federal money, owes a star energy trader $100 million.
The CEO of Goldman, Lloyd Blankfein, said at a banking conference in Germany last week that excessive banker pay works "against the public interest." He said bonuses are important to attract and retain top talent, but "misapplied, they can also encourage excess."
The Obama administration has proposed measures to diminish the risk posed by large banks. They include forcing banks to hold more capital to cover losses and trying to increase the transparency of markets in which banks trade the most complex -- and potentially risky -- financial products.
One major component of the Obama plan -- creating an agency to oversee the marketing of financial products to consumers -- will be difficult to pass in Congress. Industry lobbying against it and other proposed financial rules has been fierce.
Lobbyists for hedge funds, the large investment pools that cater to the rich, have been able to fend off proposals that would require them to register with the SEC and regularly disclose their holdings.
And they, too, are profitable again after a dismal 2008. The 1,000 largest hedge funds in Morningstar's database posted average returns of 11.9 percent through July. In 2008, those same funds lost 22 percent on average.
"Have there been changes around the edges?" says Timothy Brog, portfolio manager of New York-based hedge fund Locksmith Capital. "Absolutely. Have their been systematic changes? Absolutely not."
Worse yet P.C.
You saw this correct? Eery... scary... and foreboding IMO.
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=41305396
Every personal story like that makes me more angry at the callous way the elites have robbed us all of our personal property... only to be given more capital from our future taxes.... I hope that I am wrong... what scares me most is that I have not been for the last 2 years.
Looked huge on Glenn Beck... not covered by any of the other media... a few pictures but was totally dismissed. This media is under a tight grip.... this fight will be long and hard.
US Girl Scouts prepare for war, pestilence
Tue Sep 8, 2:56 pm ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States wants to enlist its 3.4 million Girl Scouts in the effort to combat hurricanes, pandemics, terror attacks and other disasters.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launched a campaign Tuesday to entice the blue, brown and green-clad multitudes to be even more prepared, with the promise of a new patch if they pitch in.
The young scouts will be able to emblazon their sashes or vests with the patch if they undergo the training which readies them for an emergency.
"This new preparedness patch will increase citizen preparedness and enhance our country's readiness for disasters," said DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano in a statement.
"As a former Girl Scout, I know the 'Be Prepared' motto well, and I look forward to working with the Girl Scouts to spread the preparedness message to all of our nation's citizens."
The move is part of a month-long government effort to make Americans better able to cope with natural and man-made disasters.
Napolitano has urged individuals, families and businesses to stock fresh water and food, and prepare an emergency plan -- to be enacted in the event of a disaster.
The unveiling of the patch marks a partnership between the scouts and Citizen Corps, a community-based initiative under the DHS's Federal Emergency Management Agency, which coordinates national response to disasters.
Girl Scouts of the USA chief executive Kathy Cloninger said the tie up with Citizen Corps "provides an opportunity for our girls to lead the way in ensuring that their families and their communities are prepared for emergencies."
The patch will be available alongside existing Girls Are Great, Girl Scouts Against Smoking, Media Know-How and Read to Lead patches, and, of course, the Cookie Sale Activity Pin.
Girl Scouts sell an astonishing 200 million boxes of cookies each year on average, according to the organization, which was founded in 1912 and chartered by the US Congress in 1950.
It is not the first time the girl guides have been called into action in defense of the homeland.
During World War II, Girl Scouts "operated bicycle courier services, invested more than 48,000 hours in Farm Aid projects, collected fat and scrap metal, and grew Victory Gardens," according to Girl Scouts of the USA.
As the end of the second millennium neared and computers around the world were expected to be stricken with a debilitating bug, Girl Scouts were enlisted in some parts of the country to hand out advice about the threat poised by Y2K.
After the September 11, 2001 attacks scouts hosted remembrance ceremonies and wrote thank-you letters to rescuer workers.
The Dollar Collapses
Carl Gutierrez, 09.08.09, 4:05 PM ET
The U.S. dollar reached its lowest point against the euro this year due to a myriad of forces including rising global stocks and commodities prices, low interest rates, and investors diversifying out of Treasury debt and into other assets including U.S. stocks with the Dow Jones industrial average approaching 9500 in late afternoon trading.
Stocks in Asia and Europe saw big gains, and gold topped $1,000 an ounce. (See "Stocks, Commodities Rally After Long Weekend.") Oil also gained 4.9%, or $3.31, to $71.33, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, due in part to Goldman Sachs affirming its year-long outlook. By midday trading one euro traded for $1.45, meanwhile the Dollar Index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of currencies, fell to its lowest level since September of 2008.
"It isn't as if the fundamentals are better in Europe," said Jessica Hoversen, a foreign exchange and fixed income futures analyst at MF Global. "There are other factors outside of economic growth taking hold in the market."
Japan's special drawing rights holdings hit a record $18.5 billion, from $3 billion in July. SDRs are the currency of the International Monetary Fund and other international institutions. It's a basket of currencies composed of the dollar, euro, sterling and yen in a fixed weighting determined by the IMF and World Bank every five years.
One of the reasons cited for the rise is an increased in commitment in overseas aid, but Hoversen noted that to a certain degree it speaks to the general demand for the dollar, and that scares the market. "It doesn't necessarily mean diversification away from the dollar, but there is a heightened sensitivity about the topic," Hoversen said.
Currency investors have been obsessed with the prospect of central banks diversifying out of the dollar. (See "Spotlight On The Dollar.") The fixation has been fueled by meetings under the G20/G8 framework, as well as candid comments from some of the largest reserve managers, namely Russia and China. The prospects of a massive diversification are low though, at least in the short-term, because most of the alternatives, including using SDRs as a global reverse currency are unrealistic.
The three-month London Interbank Offer Rate, commonly known as the Libor, which reached a record low of 30 basis points and that also contributed to the dollar's slide. "It makes the dollar the cheapest interest rate differential in the G10 on a Libor basis," Hoversen said.
The dollar's fall follows a United Nations report released Monday calling for a reduced role of the dollar as the world's primary reserve currency.
"This is not the first time the U.N. has called for this, but it's the most recent," Hoversen said. The report, which was produced by the U.N. conference on Trade and Development, stated that a viable solution to the exchange-rate problem would be a system of managed flexible exchange rates targeting a rate that is consistent with a sustainable current-account position.
"What the U.N. may be trying to do is eliminate global dependence on the dollar," Hoversen said. "However, more details would be needed on the mechanism for adjustment to judge how it would affect the global currency markets."
To be sure, the U.S. isn't solely responsible for the global imbalance. While the U.S. current account deficit is being funded by developing countries, the demand from developed countries is improving their living standards. Meanwhile, developing countries have kept their currencies low in order to stimulate economic growth via their export market, and ultimately change will be required on both sides. (See "Decouple Or Die.")
Hoversen also pointed out that curves of the overnight index swaps have Norway and Australia pricing interest rate hikes first. "They gain on the idea the global economy is going to recover," Hoversen said. "Their central banks have also been more hawkish than other banks." Commodity-based economies will be on the ground floor of supplying the increased demand. Moreover, Australia and New Zealand will be greater beneficiaries of the Chinese stimulus than other commodity currencies. G20 members also promised to keep fiscal and monetary stimulus running on full cylinders, suggesting an increased amount of risk, Hoversen said.
GSK gonna rock with H1N1 vaccine... China is going to vaccinate it's entire population.
China issues world's first warrant for A/H1N1 flu vaccination
A medical worker presents medicine for A/H1N1 flu patients at the Third People's Hospital in Langfang, north China's Hebei Province Sept. 8, 2009. Sixty-eight A/H1N1 flu patients are treated in the hospital. China has issued its first warrant for mass inoculation with domestic A/H1N1 flu vaccine, the first country in the world to do so, Health Minister Chen Zhu said Tuesday.(Xinhua/Gong Zhihong)
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BEIJING, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- China has issued its first warrant for mass inoculation with domestic A/H1N1 flu vaccine, the first country in the world to do so, Health Minister Chen Zhu said Tuesday.
Chen said the warrant was issued by the State Food and Drug Administration Monday after the safety and effectiveness of the vaccines had been proved in clinical tests.
Students read leaflets about A/H1N1 flu at Anhui Agricultural Unversity in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province, Sept. 8, 2009. (Xinhua/Guo Chen)
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The first people to receive the vaccinations will be those attending celebrations for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chen said.
The celebration on Oct. 1 consists of a military parade, a mass pageant and a gala. The pageant alone will involve about 200,000 citizens.
Chen said protection would also be given to vulnerable groups, such as carriers of chronic disease, school students and medical staff.
"We will also consider the differences between regions and start the vaccinations in areas where flu situations are serious," Chen said.
Chen said the vaccination plan had been drafted on the basis of repeated and conscientious work by medical experts, with advice from the World Health Organization (WHO).
Besides vaccination, other preventive measures, such as education for the public on prevention, would be carried on to keep the epidemic in a "controllable state", Chen said.
"We will improve information channels and formulate prevention plans targeting railway and aviation venues where there is strong human presence and migration," he said.
A doctor tests body temperature for a student at a clinic at Anhui Agricultural Unversity in Hefei, east China's Anhui Province, Sept. 8, 2009. As new term begins in September, Anhui Agricultural Unversity distributed thermometers and leaflets to students in order to prevent them from getting infected by the A/H1N1 flu virus. (Xinhua/Guo Chen)
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"We will also improve treatment methods," he said. "Apart from respiratory and anti-virus medicines, we will use traditional Chinese medicine."
Chen said the medical system was prepared to treat patients "ona large scale", especially those showing severe symptoms.
By Monday, all 31 provinces and municipalities on the Chinese mainland had reported A/H1N1 flu cases, bringing the total to 5,592. So far, nearly 70 percent have recovered and no deaths have been reported.
Both the WHO and domestic experts say they believe the A/H1N1 flu epidemic will reach the peak in autumn and winter, Chen said.
He said China's situation was "grim" given the large number of students who started the new semester in September and the National Day celebrations.
In the past week, 95 percent of newly confirmed A/H1N1 flu cases were locals, he said.
Medical workers are seen at the A/H1N1 flu section of the Third People's Hospital in Langfang, north China's Hebei Province Sept. 6, 2009.(Xinhua/Gong Zhihong)
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Since late-June, China has reported 128 cases of group infections. In some provinces there has been a rising proportion of A/H1N1 flu cases against other flu-linked illnesses.
On Friday, Shanghai reported an A/H1N1 flu patient showing severe symptoms, including respiratory and multi-organ function failures. On Sunday, eastern Zhejiang Province reported another patient in a critical situation with adult respiratory distress syndrome.
The Shanghai patient, though not completely out of danger, has shown signs of improvement, Chen said. The Zhejiang patient is also in a less critical situation.
A meeting presided over by Premier Wen Jiabao on Monday vowed to step up the prevention and control of the A/H1N1 flu virus in the run-up to the National Day celebrations.
Schools are currently the key battlegrounds in China's fight against the virus and classes would be suspended "properly" to avoid mass infection when an outbreak occurs, the meeting decided.
China's ability to produce A/H1N1 flu vaccines is still limited compared with its 1.3 billion population, Chen said.
"Therefore, we still need to carry out preventive measures proved effective previously, especially the public's ability to protect itself," he said.
UBS has been advising all of it's clients to get out of ETF's and stox... just oil and minerals... hedging against dollar.
A year after financial crisis, a new world order emerges
By Kevin G. Hall, McClatchy Newspapers Kevin G. Hall, Mcclatchy Newspapers Tue Sep 8, 3:41 pm ET
WASHINGTON — One year after the near collapse of the global financial system, this much is clear: The financial world as we knew it is over, and something new is rising from its ashes.
Historians will look to September 2008 as a watershed for the U.S. economy.
On Sept. 7 , the government seized mortgage titans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac . Eight days later, investment bank Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, sparking a global financial panic that threatened to topple blue-chip financial institutions around the world. In the several months that followed, governments from Washington to Beijing responded with unprecedented intervention into financial markets and across their economies, seeking to stop the wreckage and stem the damage.
One year later, the easy-money system that financed the boom era from the 1980s until a year ago is smashed. Once-ravenous U.S. consumers are saving money and paying down debt. Banks are building reserves and hoarding cash. And governments are fashioning a new global financial order.
Congress and the Obama administration have lost faith in self-regulated markets. Together, they're writing the most sweeping new regulations over finance since the Great Depression. And in this ever-more-connected global economy, Washington is working with its partners through the G-20 group of nations to develop worldwide rules to govern finance.
"Our objective is to design an economic framework where we're going to have a more balanced pattern of growth globally, less reliant on a buildup of unsustainable borrowing . . . and not just here, but around the world," said Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner .
The first faint signs that the U.S. economy may be clawing its way back from the worst recession since the Great Depression are only now starting to appear, a year after the panic began. Similar indications are sprouting in Europe , China and Japan .
Still, economists concur that a quarter-century of economic growth fueled by cheap credit is over. Many analysts also think that an extended period of slow job growth and suppressed wage growth will keep consumers — and the businesses that sell to them — in the dumps for years.
"Those things are likely to be subpar for a long period of time," said Martin Regalia, the chief economist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce . "I think it means that we probably see potential rates of growth that are in the 2-2.5 (percent) range, or maybe . . . 1.8-1.9 (percent)." A growth rate of 3 percent to 3.5 percent is considered average.
The unemployment rate rose to 9.7 percent in August and is expected to peak above 10 percent in the months ahead. It's already there in at least 15 states. Regalia thinks that it could be five years before the U.S. economy generates enough jobs to overcome those lost and to employ the new workers entering the labor force.
All this is likely to keep consumers on the sidelines.
"I think this financial panic and Great Recession is an inflection point for the financial system and the economy," said Mark Zandi , the chief economist for forecaster Moody's Economy.com. "It means much less risk-taking, at least for a number of years to come — a decade or two. That will be evident in less credit and more costly credit. If you are a household or a business, it will cost you more, and it will be more difficult to get that credit."
The numbers bear him out. The Fed's most recent release of credit data showed that consumer credit decreased at an annual rate of 5.2 percent from April to June, after falling by a 3.6 percent annual rate from January to March. Revolving lines of credit, which include credit cards, fell by an annualized 8.9 percent in the first quarter, followed by an 8.2 percent drop in the second quarter.
That's a sea change. For much of the past two decades, strong U.S. growth has come largely through expanding credit. The global economy fed off this trend.
China became a manufacturing hub by selling attractively priced exports to U.S. consumers who were living beyond their means. China's Asian neighbors sent it components for final assembly; Africa and Latin America sold China their raw materials. All fed off U.S. consumers' bottomless appetite for more, bought on credit.
"That's over. Consumers can do their part — spend at a rate consistent with their income growth, but not much beyond that," Zandi said.
If U.S. consumers no longer drive the global economy, then consumers in big emerging economies such as China and Brazil will have to take up some of the slack. Trade among nations will take on greater importance.
In the emerging "new normal," U.S. companies will have to be more competitive. They must sell into big developing markets; yet as the recent Cash for Clunkers effort underscored, the competitive hurdles are high: Foreign-owned automakers, led by Toyota , reaped the most benefit from the U.S. tax breaks for new car purchases, not GM and Chrysler .
Need a loan? Tough luck: Many U.S. banks are in no condition to lend. Around 416 banks are now on a "problem list" and at risk of insolvency. Regulators already have shuttered 81 banks and thrifts this year.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. reported on Aug. 27 that rising loan losses are depleting bank capital. The ratio of bank reserves to bad loans was 63.5 percent from April to June, the lowest it's been since the savings-and-loan crisis in 1991.
For all that, the U.S. economy does seem to be rising off its sickbed. The latest manufacturing data for August point to a return to growth, and home sales are rising. Indeed, there are many encouraging signs emerging in the global economy.
It's all growth from a low starting point, however, and many economists think that there'll be a lower baseline for U.S. and global growth if the new financial order means less risk-taking by lenders and less indebtedness by companies and consumers.
That seems evident now in the U.S. personal savings rate. It fell steadily from 9.59 percent in the 1970s to 2.68 percent in the easy-money era from 2000 to 2008; from 2005 to 2007, it averaged 1.83 percent.
Today, that trend is in reverse. From April to June, Americans' personal savings rate was 5 percent, and it could go higher if the unemployment rate keeps rising. Almost 15 million Americans are unemployed — and countless others are underemployed or uncertain about their job security, so they're spending less and saving more.
A few years ago, banks fell all over themselves to offer cheap home equity loans and lines of consumer credit. No more. Even billions in government bailout dollars to spur lending haven't changed that.
"The strategy that was stated at the beginning of the year — which is that you would sustain the banking system in order that it would resume lending — hasn't worked, and it isn't going to work," said James K. Galbraith , an economist at the University of Texas at Austin .
Over the course of 2008, the nation's five largest banks reduced their consumer loans by 79 percent, real estate loans by 66 percent and commercial loans by 19 percent, according to FDIC data. A wide range of credit measures, including recent FDIC data, show that lending remains depressed.
Why? The foundation of U.S. credit expansion for the past 20 years is in ruin. Since the 1980s, banks haven't kept loans on their balance sheets; instead, they sold them into a secondary market, where they were pooled for sale to investors as securities. The process, called securitization, fueled a rapid expansion of credit to consumers and businesses. By passing their loans on to investors, banks were freed to lend more.
Today, securitization is all but dead. Investors have little appetite for risky securities. Few buyers want a security based on pools of mortgages, car loans, student loans and the like.
"The basis of revival of the system along the line of what previously existed doesn't exist. The foundation that was supposed to be there for the revival (of the economy) . . . got washed away," Galbraith said.
Unless and until securitization rebounds, it will be hard for banks to resume robust lending because they're stuck with loans on their books.
"We've just been scared," said Robert C. Pozen , the chairman of Boston -based MFS Investment Management . He thinks that the freeze in securitization reflects a lack of trust in Wall Street and its products and remains a huge obstacle to the resumption of lending that's vital to an economic recovery.
Enter the Federal Reserve. It now props up the secondary market for pooled loans that are vital to the functioning of the U.S. financial system. The Fed is lending money to investors who're willing to buy the safest pools of loans, called asset-backed securities.
Through Sept. 3 , the Fed had funded purchases of $817.6 billion in mortgage-backed securities. These securities were pooled mostly by mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae , Freddie Mac and Ginnie Mae . In recent months, the Fed also has moved aggressively to lend for purchase of pools of other consumer-based loans.
Today, there's little private-sector demand for new loan-based securities; government is virtually the only game in town. That's why on Aug. 17 , the Fed announced that it would extend its program to finance the purchase of pools of loans until mid-2010. That suggests there's still a long way to go before a functioning securitization market — the backbone of consumer lending — returns to a semblance of normalcy.
It's not enough to be President... now he's gotta be in charge of the World's security???
One major event... Iranian nuke job... one world fear tactic... then he's the world's Savior.... King of the Planet....
this is a little spooky.... how is he qualified to be on this council???? Does this put our National Security in jeopardy?
Obama to seal US-UN relationship
By Harvey Morris at the United Nations
Published: September 8 2009 19:59 | Last updated: September 8 2009 19:59
Barack Obama will cement the new co-operative relationship between the US and the United Nations this month when he becomes the first American president to chair its 15-member Security Council.
The topic for the summit-level session of the council on September 24 is nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament – one of several global challenges that the US now wants to see addressed at a multinational level.
“The council has a very important role to play in preventing the spread and use of nuclear weapons, and it’s the world’s principal body for dealing with global security cooperation,” Susan Rice, US envoy to the UN, said last week.
Her remarks were the latest by the Obama administration to emphasise a shift from the strategy of the previous Bush administration, sometimes criticised by its UN partners for seeking to use the world body principally to endorse its own unilateral policies. The US currently holds the month-long rotating presidency of the Security Council.
Mr Obama will join other heads of government in New York during the week of the nuclear summit for the opening of the 64th session of the UN General Assembly. The annual meeting of world leaders is this year raising expectations on a number of fronts.
UN officials hope a climate change debate on September 22 will give fresh impetus to the search for a global climate deal at Copenhagen in December. There are also hopes a possible meeting between Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli prime minister, and Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian Authority president, that Mr Obama would host, could lead to a breakthrough about a timetable for Middle East peace.
Heads of state are also likely to consider how to deal with Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Mr Obama gave Tehran a September deadline to reply to his offer of negotiations. Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadi-nejad will attend the General Assembly “to encourage Iranian views in managing the world,” an aide said.
US officials are concerned Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi might try to steal the limelight during his first visit to New York. A public outcry at the Libyan leader’s visit after he last month welcomed home Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, the freed Lockerbie bomber, has already stymied his plans to pitch his tent in Central Park.
“How President Gaddafi chooses to comport himself, when he attends the General Assembly and the Security Council in New York, has the potential either to further aggravate those feelings and emotions or not,” Ms Rice said.
The State Department has not ruled out the possibility that Mr Obama and Colonel Gaddafi would cross paths. They are both due to address the General Assembly on the same day, and the Libyan leader, whose country is a temporary member of the Security Council, is entitled to attend the nuclear summit session that Mr Obama will chair.
Dollar chart... lowest in 2009... not looking good... the Chinese are lecturing us again... friggin great.
Sell signal on chart..... but not much losses to be had... lower prices mean cheaper loading IMO.
Gotta plug silver again.....
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/board.aspx?board_id=13026
uh, uh, git it git it... LOL Big things for this ore!!!!
Bernanke’s Identity Stolen During Financial Crisis
As if a crumbling financial structure wasn’t enough to deal with, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke had to tend to a disturbance in his personal finances—a sophisticated ring of thieves made off with his identity last summer.
On August 7, 2008, Bernanke’s wife Anna had her purse, containing the couple’s joint checking account book, snatched off the back of a chair at a Starbuck’s near the U.S. Capitol. She reported the theft that day. But that didn’t stop the thieves from cashing checks on the Bernanke family’s account.
Now remember back to those days of late summer and early fall. The signs were growing ever more ominous for the U.S. financial system. Needless to say, Bernanke was a busy guy right about then, and one who certainly didn’t need the headache of someone running around cashing his checks.
In fact, the Fed chairman suffered no losses because he had alerted Wachovia after the theft of his wife’s purse.
But it wasn’t just ordinary crooks who stole Bernanke’s identity, Newsweek reports. It was a sophisticated national ring the feds and police in several states had been tracking for months. And one of them is alleged to have written a $900 check on the Bernankes’ account.
The Fed chairman is in pretty good company when it comes to having his identity stolen. According to CreditBloggers, Oprah Winfrey, Paris Hilton, Michael Jordan, and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg have all had their identities stolen at one time or another.
Cut it's own debt... dwarfed by the debt clock!
http://www.usdebtclock.org/index.html
Fed: consumers cut debt by record $21.6B in July
Federal Reserve says consumers slash borrowing by record $21.6 billion in July
* By Jeannine Aversa, AP Economics Writer
* On Tuesday September 8, 2009, 6:31 pm EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Consumers slashed their borrowing in July by the largest amount on record as job losses and uncertainty about the economic recovery prompted Americans to rein in their debt.
Economists expect consumers will continue to spend less, save more and trim debt to get household finances decimated by the recession into better shape. Such behavior, though, is a recipe for a lethargic revival, because consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity.
The Federal Reserve reported Tuesday that consumers in July ratcheted back their credit by a larger-than-anticipated $21.6 billion from June, the most on records dating to 1943. Economists had expected credit to drop by $4 billion.
July's retreat translated into an annualized decline of 10.4 percent. That followed a cut of $15.5 billion in June, or a 7.4 percent annualized drop, and was the most since a 16.3 percent decline in June 1975.
The latest cut still left total consumer credit at $2.47 trillion.
Wary consumers and hard-to-get credit both factor into the scaled-back borrowing. But economists are split on which force -- lack of demand by consumers or lack of supply from banks -- is having the bigger influence.
"It's really a tug of war," said Mark Williams, professor of finance and economics at Boston University and a former Fed bank examiner. "It's true that consumers are being more responsible, saying 'I don't really need that extra credit card,' but it is more related to banks clamping down on lending."
But Erik Hurst, economics professor at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, says it is impossible to know for sure. "We are seeing declines in demand for loans from consumers but also declines in the supply of loans from banks. How much of the credit cutback is due to the decline in supply or demand, you can't really tell."
Last month, the Federal Reserve, in a survey of bank loan officers, found somewhat weaker demand for all types of consumer loans. But fewer banks reported tightening their standards on credit card and other consumer loans, the Fed survey said.
Still, a report earlier this year by the company that produces the most widely known credit scores found that companies slashed limits for an estimated 58 million card holders in the 12 months ended in April, even though a high percentage had good credit scores when their limits were cut.
The cuts affected about a third of consumers, according to the study by FICO. But most people did not see a big impact on the credit scores because lenders often cut limits on cards that were unused or lightly used.
In Tuesday's report, demand for non-revolving credit used to finance cars, vacations, education and other things fell by $15.4 billion, also a record decline. That 11.7 percent pace was on top of an 8 percent annualized decline in June.
Consumers' appetite for revolving credit, primarily credit cards, declined by $6.1 billion in July, an annualized rate of 8 percent that followed a 6.4 percent drop in June.
The magnitude of the drop surprised analysts. Some thought the Cash for Clunkers program -- which began in July and aided auto sales and car loans -- would have blunted cutbacks in other lending areas.
The Fed's measure of consumer borrowing does not include debt secured by real estate, such as mortgages or home equity loans.
Even though the unemployment rate dipped in July, it jumped in August to a 26-year high of 9.7 percent. Already, the recession has snatched 6.9 million jobs and unemployment is expected to top 10 percent this year as employers keep cutting.
That will make it harder for Americans to keep up with payments on credit cards and other kinds of loans, analysts said.
"As great as the clunkers program has been, it's tough to head out and buy a big ticket item when you don't have a job," said Richard Yamarone, economist at Argus Research. "Don't expect consumer credit to increase any time soon; the job situation is dismal, at best."
Very interesting point of view..... gets the wheels turning.
Taxpayers face heavy losses on auto bailout
Taxpayers likely to face significant losses on $81 billion auto bailout, watchdog report says
* By Christopher S. Rugaber, AP Economics Writer
* On Wednesday September 9, 2009, 12:01 am EDT
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Taxpayers face losses on a significant portion of the $81 billion in government aid provided to the auto industry, an oversight panel said in a report to be released Wednesday.
The Congressional Oversight Panel did not provide an estimate of the projected loss in its latest monthly report on the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program. But it said most of the $23 billion initially provided to General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC late last year is unlikely to be repaid.
"I think they drove a very hard bargain," said Elizabeth Warren, the panel's chairwoman and a law professor at Harvard University, referring to the Obama administration's Treasury Department. "But it may not be enough."
The prospect of recovering the government's assistance to GM and Chrysler is heavily dependent on shares of the two companies rising to unprecedented levels, the report said. The government owns 10 percent of Chrysler and 61 percent of GM. The two companies are currently private but are expected to issue stock, in GM's case by next year.
The shares "will have to appreciate sharply" for taxpayers to get their money back, the report said.
For example, GM's market value would have to reach $67.6 billion, the report said, a "highly optimistic" estimate and more than the $57.2 billion GM was worth at the height of its share value in April 2008. And in the case of Chrysler, about $5.4 billion of the $14.3 billion provided to the company is "highly unlikely" to ever be repaid, the panel said.
Treasury Department officials have acknowledged that most of the $23 billion provided by the Bush administration is likely to be lost. But Meg Reilly, a department spokeswoman, said there is a "reasonably high probability of the return of most or all of the government funding" that was provided to assist GM and Chrysler with their restructurings.
Administration officials have previously said they want to maximize taxpayers' return on the investment but want to dispose of the government's ownership interests as soon as practicable.
"We are not trying to be Warren Buffett here. We are not trying to squeeze every last dollar out," Steve Rattner, who led the administration's auto task force, said before his departure in July. "We do want to do well for the taxpayers but the most important thing is to get the government out of the car business."
Greg Martin, a spokesman for the new GM, said the company is "confident that we will repay our nation's support because we are a company with less debt, a stronger balance sheet, a winning product portfolio and the right size to match today's market realities."
The Congressional Oversight Panel was created as part of the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP. It is designed to provide an additional layer of oversight, beyond the Special Inspector General for the TARP and regular audits by the Government Accountability Office.
The panel's report recommends that the Treasury Department consider placing its auto company holdings into an independent trust, to avoid any "conflicts of interest."
The report also recommends the department perform a legal analysis of its decision to provide TARP funds to GM and Chrysler, their financing arms and many auto parts suppliers. Some critics say the law creating TARP didn't allow for such funding.
The panel's members include Rep. Jeb Hensarling, a Texas Republican, who dissented from the report. Hensarling said the auto companies should never have received funding and criticized the government for picking "winners and losers."
Other agencies have also projected large losses on the loans and investments provided to the industry. The Congressional Budget Office estimated in June that taxpayers would lose about $40 billion of the first $55 billion in aid.
Associated Press Writer Ken Thomas contributed to this report.
It is in danger of being delisted.... the government is meddling... heaven forbid we should make a buck on a trade... just be careful and don't bet the Farm!
Along with all other ETFs... the argument is that they "contribute to market instability". uggh... this gubment is way out of control...
It will.. but be careful on the TRADE... could be delisted soon.... that's why it fell out of the sky...
Natural Gas Fund Says It Has Run Out of New Shares (Update3)
By Asjylyn Loder
July 7 (Bloomberg) -- The United States Natural Gas Fund, the largest exchange-traded fund in the fuel, said today that it has run out of new shares as it awaits government approval to issue more units.
The fund applied with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to register 1 billion new shares on June 5. The wait will temporarily halt the fund’s recent growth. Outstanding shares have increased to 281.4 million, more than eight times the level at the start of the year.
The flood of money into energy futures has raised concerns among regulators that investors are influencing the price of fuel. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said today it may clamp down on oil and gas price speculators by limiting the holdings of energy futures traders, including index and exchange-traded funds.
“In particular today, when the CFTC announced that it is reviewing position limits, there’s no guarantee that they’ll get those shares,” said Paul Justice, an ETF strategist with Morningstar Inc. in Chicago.
Trading of the units was suspended pending the company’s filing today with the SEC. Trading resumed after 2:20 p.m. The fund fell 38 cents, or 3 percent, to $12.18.
The Alameda, California-based natural gas fund has seen its popularity soar in recent months as investors staked out positions in natural gas. The price of the fuel has dropped 40 percent this year.
Growing Popularity
The fund’s position in natural gas grew with its popularity. At of the close of business yesterday, the fund held 18.7 percent of the open interest in August natural gas futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange, in addition to 51,746 natural gas swaps on NYMEX and 244,432 natural gas swaps on the ICE over-the-counter market, according to the fund’s Web site.
The fund needs approval to issue new units from the CFTC, the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the National Futures Association as well as the SEC, according to John Hyland, the fund’s chief investment officer.
John Heine, a spokesman for the SEC, declined to comment.
The fund has an open-ended number of shares. It creates new shares or redeems outstanding shares in baskets of 100,000. The fund then invests the money in near-month natural gas futures, rolling the contracts forward to the second month as the near month approaches expiration.
Without the ability to issue new shares, the fund may begin trading like a closed-end fund with significant premiums or discounts from the value of its underlying assets, Justice said.
“Until the issues are resolved, I would consider the situation riskier than it was just a month ago,” Justice said.
The natural gas fund was begun in April 2007 by the United States Commodities Funds LLC. The company launched United States Oil Fund, the first and still largest exchange-traded fund in oil in April 2006. It also has funds in heating oil, gasoline and a fund that buys a 12-month strip of oil futures. It has applied with the SEC to create a new fund that shorts oil.
For Related News and Information:
Top Energy Market stories: ETOP <GO> United States Oil Fund stories: USO Equity CN <GO> United States Natural Gas Fund stories: UNG Equity <GO>
Last Updated: July 7, 2009 17:23 EDT
UNG entry point?
UNG entry point?
UNG entry point...
Check out SILVER! Sell today... re-enter below $14.
NWT has been good to me.... I wonder if she'll come down below $13 again or if $14 is the buy point this time... going to study charts a bit more.
Good for you... been working well 4 me 2!!!
They want their sovereign owned gold on their own soil... complete control. Yer right... this is HUGE.
cash paper may be useless soon... tough call. try to make more paper? When to shove it into silver in full?
Big tank coming IMO... timing... oh, the timing... FAZ popped.
Is this e-mail true? YES
http://www.snopes.com/politics/guns/blairholt.asp
However... nothing like this can be passed without a House or Senate vote... so despite Snopes... I think this is a rumor...
The Truth:
This was either a misreading of the actual bill or an intentional misrepresentation of it.
SB2099 was known as the "Handgun Safety and Registration Act of 2000." Some versions of the eRumor have changed the dated to 2009 but that was added by someone along the way. The bill died in a Senate committee and was never passed into law.
TruthOrFiction.com reviewed some of the history and the text of the bill as well as a portion of the IRS code it sought to amend.
The bill would amended the National Firearms Act (NFA) to require registration of handguns in the same way as machine guns and short-barrel weapons. That process have would include photographs, background checks, fingerprinting, and restrictions on interstate transport. It would have also required a $5 tax for transferring ownership and a $50 tax per gun on gunmakers.
Nothing in the law required gun owners to list their guns on their income tax returns. That confusion may have come from the fact that the law refered to the Internal Revenue Service, but only because the act it sought to amend, the NFA, was a part of the Internal Revenue Service Code.
Also, there was language in the bill that refered to "return" information, but that wasn't about personal income taxes. It was about a database of gun registration information which this bill would have sought to allow law enforcement agencies to access online.
So how many guns do you own, legally??
Concerning The Blair-Holt Proposed Legislation:
Senate Bill SB-2099 will require us to put on our 2009 1040 federal tax form all guns
that you have or own.
It may require fingerprints and a tax of $50 per gun.
This bill was introduced on Feb.. 24.
This bill will become public knowledge 30 days after it is voted into law.
This is an amendment to the Internal Revenue Act of 1986.
This means that the Finance Committee can pass this without the Senate voting
on it at all.
The full text of the proposed amendment is on the U.S. Senate homepage,
http://www.senate.gov/ <http://www.senate.gov/>
You can find the bill by doing a search by the bill number, SB-2099.
You know who to call; I strongly suggest you do.
Please send a copy of this e-mail to every gun owner you know.
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h45/text <http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h45/text>
Congress is now starting on the firearms confiscation bill. If it passes, gun owners will become criminals if you don't fully comply.
It has started.
Very Important for you to be aware of a new bill HR 45 introduced into the House.
This is the Blair Holt Firearm Licensing & Record of Sale Act of 2009.
Even gun shop owners didn't know about this because the government is trying to fly it under the radar..
To find out about this - go to any government website and type in HR 45 or Google HR 45 Blair Holt Firearm
Licensing & Record of Sales Act of 2009. You will get all the information.
Basically this would make it illegal to own a firearm - any rifle with a clip or ANY pistol unless:
-It is registered
-You are fingerprinted
-You supply a current Driver's License
0A -You supply your Social Security #
- You will submit to a physical & mental evaluation at any time of their choosing
-Each update - change or ownership through private or public sale must be reported and costs $25
- Failure to do so you automatically lose the right to own a firearm and are subject up to a year in jail.
-There is a child provision clause on page 16 section 305 stating a child-access provision. Gun must be locked and inaccessible to any child under 18.
-They would have the right to come and inspect that you are storing your gun safely away from accessibility to children and fine is punishable for up to 5 yrs. in prison.
If you think this is a joke - go to the web site and take your pick of many options to read this. It is long and lengthy.
But, more and more people are becoming aware of this. Pass the word along. Any hunters in your family pass this along.
This is just a "termite" approach to complete confiscation of guns and disarming of our society to the point we have no defense - chip away a little here and there until the goal is accomplished before anyone realizes it.
This is one to act on whether you own a gun or not.
If you take my gun, only the criminal will have one to use against me. HR 45 only makes me/us less safe.
<http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.45 <http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.45> :
<http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h45/show <http://www.opencongress.org/bill/111-h45/show>
<http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-45 <http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-45>
Please copy and send this out to EVERYONE in the USA, whether you support the Right to Bear Arms or are for gun control.
We all should have the right to choose.
It's an "end game" strategy.... and it's looking like it's game time... you gotta have a plan.
Call me crazy.... but I just want the best person for the job to be the one with the job . .. pretty much in most jobs... like my airline pilot, my doctor, my accountant, my employees, my senator, my President.
Diversity of talents, strengths, thought , and creativity would be welcomed... but last I checked, those skills were not monopolized by any particular skin color.
FRE short was awesome for me on the original tank.... they will crash again soon IMO.
In September there will be a major event IMO.... this government is losing control of "the message". They need something to instill fear and give Americans further reason to give up more of their liberty....
FAZ loading near $20 and under... holding for the tank... then buying all the cheap silver to be had... just a simple plan.