It’s Putting A Lot Of These Investors Potentially In A Difficult Situation Where They Were Forced To Close, And Now They’re Trying To Sell
It’s Friday desk clearing time for this blogger. “Realtors predict the market is about to take a turn and Triangle’s housing market could be booming once again. But they don’t expect to see a repeat of the COVID craze when some sellers were demanding high due diligence numbers. ‘That was a once-in-a-lifetime thing,’ said Raleigh Custom Realty Broker Steve Wall.”
“‘We usually see home sales pick up when mortgage rates fall, but this year we are seeing the opposite — sales are dropping and homes are sitting longer on the market,’ Sheharyar Bokhari, a Redfin senior economist, said. Daryl Fairweather, Redfin’s chief economist, said buyers might also be pickier about the homes they make an offer on. ‘Anyone who has been paying attention to the housing market over the past few years knows that desirable homes sell right away,’ Fairweather said. ‘Now if a home is still on the market after a few weeks, buyers assume there’s something wrong with it. That’s why it’s so important to price your home to move quickly. Buyers see the days on market, and when it starts to tick up, it’s like a scarlet letter.'”
“‘As the traditional summer home-buying season comes to an end, so does the six-month streak of increasing home sales in Alabama,’ said Senia Johnson, 2024 President of Alabama REALTORS®. Active listings increased for the seventh consecutive month, reaching 18,136 listings, the highest figure recorded in over four and a half years. Coupled with 4.1 months of available supply, Alabama’s current market offers ample inventory for buyers.”
“‘Year-over-year it’s softened. I think we’re down about four percent in the Dallas MSA. That’s why I say we’ve seen the demand wane a little bit, but we’ve also seen an uptick in inventory, so we’re almost at four months in most of the marketplaces here in DFW,’ said Ashley Gentry, the President of the MetroTex Realtors Association. Sellers seemingly are making decisions. In the last 24 hours, a thousand homes in DFW have posted price reductions. The Fed cut the interest rate by a half-point earlier this month. ‘That’s exciting for buyers who are having to spend a lot more money to get in to those homes. They have options, they have resources. Sellers are willing to be a little bit more negotiable right now,’ said Gentry.”
“The South Florida condo market is in a dive. Prices are dipping. Sales are slowing. Inventory is piling up. What is the housing inventory in South Florida? Miami-Dade: 9 1/2 months of inventory of condos, the highest amount since February 2021. Broward: 8.3 months of supply of condos.”
“Legislators plan to introduce a new bill Thursday that would provide mortgage relief and foreclosure forbearance for New Jersey families in need more than three years after the remnants of Hurricane Ida hit the state. ‘Unlike under the Governor’s conditional veto — this new bill will actually help me and the majority of our members,’ said Leanna Jones, an advocate with New Jersey Organizing Project. Jones, an Ida storm survivor, is also a single mother of two. ‘We’ve had no help from the state whatsoever in recovering from Hurricane Ida after 3 years — we need a hand to keep a roof over our heads,’ Jones said. ‘Some breathing room on my mortgage would allow me to get my head back above water.'”
“Many California families are opening their mailboxes and finding a bombshell: a letter from their insurance company saying they’re losing their homeowners’ insurance coverage, even if they live where you’d think fire risk is low. ‘I cannot sleep thinking about what’s going to happen with my home insurance,’ said East Oakland resident Maria Espada. Espada has had Safeco homeowners insurance for twelve years. But not for much longer. Safeco is dropping her homeowners’ policy. State records show Safeco dropped 75 customers in Espada’s zip code and a total of 955 customers around the Bay Area. Espada can’t wait a year to see who wins this game of chicken. She needs a new insurance policy now. So far, the only insurance she’s found costs double and could price her out of her home. ‘I’m so worried that by the end, that I am going to lose my house and be part of the list of homeless people. That’s terrible,’ Espada said.”
“The development company, Galena, owes more than $20 million to its contractors. The original project details plans for over 300 residential units, retail and office spaces. ‘I would love to see it finished. Really,’ said Domy. Alex Domy manages The Roosevelt bar in Downtown Meridian, directly across from the unfinished Union 93 project. Galena’s attorney James Donoval says it was an investor who backed out, leaving the buildings incomplete. ‘Obviously all of the contractors and subcontractors had done a lot of work and were owed money. So they all started filing liens and then ultimately filed lawsuits,’ said Donoval.”
“D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson unveiled a proposal Thursday that would roll back pandemic-era rental assistance and eviction laws and make it harder for tenants to receive assistance, as millions of dollars in unpaid rent destabilizes the affordable housing market. The proposed changes come at a time of crisis for D.C.’s affordable housing sector. Providers of low-income housing are facing a severe financial crunch, and some are struggling to stay in business or to keep their properties from falling into foreclosure. Housing providers say the current policies have allowed thousands of residents to stop paying rent. At some properties, as many as 40 percent of tenants are behind on their rent, leaving the landlords in a financial hole, building owners say. As a result, some housing providers are struggling to maintain their properties, or to find buyers if they want to sell them.”
“Largely driven by the condo segment, the total number of starts in the Prairie city’s new-build market reached 11,883 in 2023 – the highest since 2014 – as investors flocked to Calgary in search of cash-flow opportunities. But the bonanza for investors could be short-lived. ‘I think we’re going to see some volatility in the condo segment due to the sheer number of buyers investing in condos,’ says Natasha Phipps, a Calgary realtor, pointing to preconstruction condo buyers looking to make a quick return upon occupancy, a common investment strategy in Toronto and Vancouver. ‘They think they can sell easily at closing, or assign it. But assignments are extremely challenging for us to successfully pull off – we’re a very different city in terms of land supply,’ she explains. ‘So it’s putting a lot of these investors potentially in a difficult situation where they were forced to close, and now they’re trying to sell.'”
“New Zealand’s population is poised to come to a standstill next year. NZ Herald business editor-at-large Liam Dann said that could put a dampener on hopes for a recovery in the apartment market, which already had an oversupply. ‘Some of those immigrants are apartment buyers, and so if you don’t have them coming in, it could have an impact there,’ he said. ‘It’s quite a dramatic shift from 136,000 coming in to maybe a net zero and presents probably as a little bit of a headwind.’ A lot of them arrive with the view of staying in New Zealand long-term, but this wasn’t always the case, said Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon. ‘If they’re tied to a certain employer and the employer is laying people off or maybe going bust, then they may be forced to go home again and that’s what we are seeing,’ he said. On top of this were the record number of Kiwi citizens who were leaving the country, in search of better job prospects.”
“Queensland property investors are already looking to exit the market amid revelations negative gearing could be abolished, agents say. Ray White Marsden principal Avi Khan said landlords he had spoken to were concerned about the federal government’s plans and already saying they may sell their investment properties before any changes are introduced. ‘The investors we have on our books are also our current buyers and they’re saying if the government is suggesting there will be changes (to negative gearing), it will make us reconsider buying,’ Mr Khan said. ‘It’s all about the signals the market sends investors. When there are signals of negative gearing changes, they don’t want to buy and think about selling.'”
“HQ Property director Shannon Davis said she was also expecting investors to flee the market. ‘This decade, a lot of properties were positive geared when interest rates were so low, and then with the 13 interest rate rises, everyone’s in a negative cash flow,’ she said. ‘As well as increased expenses for insurance, water, energy, maintenance — that would see further investors flee the market.'”
“Place Estate Agents chief auctioneer Peter Burgin said news of possible changes to negative gearing was unlikely to have a material impact on the Brisbane market — although it could work in buyers’ favour. ‘Any negativity out there probably gives buyers another tool in their belt to drive a higher bargain,’ Mr Burgin said.”
This Post Has 89 Comments
You will own nothing
“I’m so worried that by the end, that I am going to lose my house and be part of the list of homeless people. That’s terrible”
At least it was cheaper than renting.
‘In the last 24 hours, a thousand homes in DFW have posted price reductions’
All Time High Larry.
Nobody could’ve seen it coming!
Legislators plan to introduce a new bill Thursday that would provide mortgage relief and foreclosure forbearance for New Jersey families in need
Ah yes, other people’s money will solve “their” problem. Funny how that is always the answer.
Buying votes ahead of the elections!
The South Florida condo market is in a dive. Prices are dipping. Sales are slowing. Inventory is piling up.
Its Dead Jim
‘Now if a home is still on the market after a few weeks, buyers assume there’s something wrong with it.’
Simply stated, the price is too high under current market conditions.
‘That’s why it’s so important to price your home to move quickly. Buyers see the days on market, and when it starts to tick up, it’s like a scarlet letter.’
Drop the price by 1% each week, and you will sell within no time. Dutch auction sale is a time-tested method to sell in a declining market.
so what yer saying is when a house goes past 30 days in a listing, it’s like closing time at the bar & the lights go on !?
The proven method used to be 5 to 10 percent cut per reduction or don’t bother. You can always tell a brainless realtor when you see those 10k or less reductions. You jump for 10k on an auto, not a house.
“Realtors predict the market is about to take a turn and Triangle’s housing market could be booming once again.”
Translation: Buy now, because real estate always goes up. If you don’t act soon, you’ll be priced out forever.
What is going to become of all the aging post-WWII McMansions as Boomers move off to Pleasant Memories Retirement Community and the following generations have neither the wealth nor the numbers to generate the demand needed to absorb the older generations’ housing investments? I guess this is where the corporate investors enter the picture: to soak up the excess supply of aging McMansions and hope they continually appreciate in value as they physically depreciate.
Right this way grandma, you are about to be enriched by the staff
Kamala Harris’ latest word salad on MSNBC leaves people wondering if she discovered a new buzzword
It’s not the first time Harris has leaned on the word ‘holistic’ to explain herself
By Charlie Spiering
Published: 10:02 EDT, 26 September 2024
Vice President Kamala Harris participated in an interview with MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle on Thursday, but one answer in particular drew attention online.
Harris repeated the word ‘holistic’ three times in just 23 seconds to emphasize a point about how to increase available housing.
‘For example, some of the work is going to be through what we do in terms of giving benefits and assistance to state and local governments around transit dollars,’ she first replied.
‘… and looking holistically at the connection between that and housing, and looking holistically at the incentives we in the federal government can create for local and state governments to actually engage in planning in a holistic manner that includes prioritizing affordable housing for working people,’ Harris explained to Ruhle.
The elaborate emphasis on the word ‘holistic’ left viewers puzzled about what Harris was talking about as critics ripped into her latest word salad on social media.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13894845/kamala-harris-word-salad-buzzword-holistic.html
I think I found Kamala’s ‘holistic’ speech writer. The dialogue sounds the same.
Tor Eckman Meets With George – Seinfeld
https://youtu.be/-bWXlRMT674?si=eN5Lrqi6eq_6j3Tw&t=47
It’s really horrifying that people consider voting for someone like her with literally nothing going for her.
She’s the democratic nominee for Christ sakes! That is all you need to know. Now get out of that grave and go vote!
It’s telling how the Democrats fight tooth and nail against any attempts to ensure the integrity of our electoral process, like preventing the ineligible from voting.
https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/north-carolina-election-board-removes-747000-voter-rolls-ineligibility
Murder Muh Baby.
Orange Man Bad.
What else do you need to know?
Ruhle. I wouldn’t weep if I read she were the victim of some illegal immigrant crime.
“Realtors predict the market is about to take a turn and Triangle’s housing market could be booming once again.
Realtors are liars.
California’s third largest city is a mostly empty, forgotten dream
In this aerial picture taken on Sept. 25, 2021, a vast network of roads cut through the Mojave Desert, intended for a massive suburb that was never built, in California City, Calif.
ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images
By Timothy Karoff,
Culture Reporter
Updated Nov 13, 2023 1:09 p.m.
About 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles in the high desert of California’s Antelope Valley lies the blueprint of a city. But the blueprint isn’t drawn on paper — it’s etched into the sand.
Miles and miles of unpaved roads are carved into the eastern half of California City, intersecting and folding into themselves only to bottom out into empty cul de sacs. Even though there are no houses in sight, the roads are marked with street signs — with names like Lincoln Boulevard, Rutgers Road and Aristotle Drive — that stand among the prickly creosote bushes.
Aside from the dusty roads and the telephone poles, the only interruptions to the landscape are old signs advertising land for sale. Some have fallen off of their wooden posts and lie flat on the sand.
…
In 2023, as tech billionaires prepare to build a utopian city in Solano County, California City remains a reminder of just how wide the gulf between design and execution can be.
To this day, the city remains California’s third largest by land area. Its sprawling footprint on the map attests to the gulf between ambitions and outcomes. Houses, businesses and paved roads cluster around the western half of town, which sits over a deep aquifer of water, leaving the city’s eastern side — originally planned as the center of the city — almost completely empty.
…
https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/california-city-planned-community-explained-18476273.php
Ozymandias
By Percy Bysshe Shelley
I met a traveller from an antique land,
Who said—“Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. . . . Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed;
And on the pedestal, these words appear:
My name is Ozymandias, King of Kings;
Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal Wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.”
“I’d rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy”
Tom Waits
Have you ever driven through what was supposed to be California City? Hellscape!
Skydive!!
In the last 24 hours, a thousand homes in DFW have posted price reductions.
Party’s over, greedheads. Get to sawin’ and slashin’ like you mean it if you expect to unload those shacks.
‘We’ve had no help from the state whatsoever in recovering from Hurricane Ida after 3 years — we need a hand to keep a roof over our heads,’ Jones said.
Ever hear of saving for a rainy day, parasite?
So it’s putting a lot of these investors potentially in a difficult situation where they were forced to close, and now they’re trying to sell.’”
Die, speculator scum.
Hitler phones Kamala Harris
https://youtu.be/MWSRgPpYKrg?si=xnp_woXR1dxKOXDj
Plus 100
I can’t make it past 30-sec of that air-head. How tF am I going to deal with four (or eight) years if she’s installed?
‘This decade, a lot of properties were positive geared when interest rates were so low, and then with the 13 interest rate rises, everyone’s in a negative cash flow,’ she said.
Die, speculator scum. Just die already.
The garbage legacy media is dying because pushing globalist propaganda and DNC talking points as “news” is no longer a viable business model in the age of social media and citizen journalists speaking truth to power – literally no one under 35 relies on the globalist scum media for news and information.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/broken-news-industry-faces-uncertain-060422019.html
TDS is a serious, but treatable, mental illness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKCrDdWcvyg
Expect more globalist pearl-clutching as the “far right” starts to dislodge globalist Quisling traitors who serve only a corrupt and venal .1% in the international financier oligarchy.
https://www.barrons.com/news/austria-far-right-eyes-historic-victory-in-tight-polls-7dafcd0a
Another “far right” socialist party.
On Hirewire a post on a Sen Johnson Roundtable called “American Health and Nutrition: A Second Opinion.”
Do yourself a favor and listen to this podcast of Experts revealing the truth of USA food supply, and the med system.
Correction;Highwire with Del Bigtree.
A reader sent these in:
This map shows Bay County 2nd homes / (non owner-occ) purchased using names and addresses of ppp recipients around the time of that program. I released Part 1 of “PPP Pumped Real Estate” today, linked below
https://x.com/REWatchman/status/1838596893472911553
There were another 2,000+ where the address matched the ppp recipient, though the names weren’t similar. However, I am layering on some additional info on the officer names of the biz as I expand to rest of the state. Often the name on the RE was a different company of same owner
https://x.com/REWatchman/status/1838596896782274973
Please do Maui! 🙏🏼
We probably have the worst housing crisis in the country and some of the data I’ve seen shows 15% of all housing inventory are STRs and 80% to 90% of the owners of STRs don’t actually live on Maui.
https://x.com/MauiBoyMacro/status/1838640942187970779
I have a few in Hawaii, can’t remember which part. Will follow up with you. Spots with lots of vacation STRs , 2nd homes are where I’m most interested because I want to highlight non owner occupant purchases post getting ppp
https://x.com/REWatchman/status/1838642523612323930
During Covid you couldn’t even find a place to rent anywhere here, now there’s a buffet of options everywhere. Most have been sitting for months empty. Crazy times..
https://x.com/GrulkeLamonte/status/1796651705678864662
I’m told this last one is Little Rock.
“This map shows Bay County 2nd homes / (non owner-occ) purchased using names and addresses of ppp recipients around the time of that program”
What the “lower interest rates will save us” folks don’t realize is that what really gave the last boom wings was the Cares Act. PPP, ERC, EIDL and the like was an instant way for them to drop helicopter money. And you can’t tell me they did t know the most of it would go fraudulently in to the hands of those who immediately speculate with it. So the only way for a repeat of the beer flu boom is another off the hook stimi program……which I guess could happen. But can you imagine? Talk about end game!
But those maps and that data just flat out pi$$es me off. Don’t even get me started.
But at least we cured cancer with all that money.
What They’re Saying: Reactions to Eric Adams’ Federal Indictment
City Councilmember Sandy Nurse: “Mayor Adams ran on a ‘law and order’ platform. Throughout his tenure, he never missed a chance to attack progressives and the Left, accusing us of being unserious about community safety and crime. Meanwhile, his administration has been nothing but a mess of corruption, deceit, and dysfunction. It is impossible to govern a city effectively amidst a constant stream of resignations, scandals, and now indictments. And with the looming threat of another Trump presidency–which would be catastrophic for New York City–we need leadership that is strong, honest, and focused on solving our City’s most intractable problems. Above all, we need an Executive that puts the City above him and his friends. New Yorkers have had enough of politicians abusing their positions. We deserve better, which is why Mayor Adams should step down.”
https://citylimits.org/2024/09/26/what-theyre-saying-reactions-to-eric-adams-federal-indictment/
We deserve better, which is why Mayor Adams should step down
Adams sux, but I’ll bet his fully woke replacement will be far worse.
See Chicago.
Why these Ontario homeowners’ TVs ‘fried’ from power outages
Two Ontario men were surprised after their large flat-screen TVs were ruined from surges due to separate electrical power outages.
“When I came home, I found out my Smart TV was broken. It was not working anymore as it was caught in a power cycle as a result of a power outage,” Artak Arzumanyan of Pickering told CTV News Toronto.
Arzumanyan had to buy a new TV, and his “fried,” three-year-old television now sits in his basement.
Arzumanyan said he used a surge protector, a product meant to protect his electronic devices from excess voltage damage. He said he feels his electricity provider, Elexicon Energy, should replace his TV, so he filed a claim with the electricity provider’s insurance company.
“I think they have to take responsibility for what happened,” said Arzumanyan. But, Arzumanyan’s claim was denied.
In a separate incident, Brian Brodhagen of Brantford also experienced power surge damage to his TV despite using a surge protector. Brodhagen told CTV News there had been issues with power surges in his building, and when his TV was damaged, he wanted his building to pay to repair or replace it.
“The left side of the TV was light and the right side was dark and there was no picture. I want them to fix it,” said Brodhagen.
Rich Fisco, a technology expert with Consumer Reports, says surge protectors do not work 100 per cent of the time. He said they can expire or require replacing, depending on how much they have been used.
“Surge protectors actually do have an expiry date,” said Fisco.
Fisco said surge protectors may have to be replaced every three to five years as they wear out protecting devices. A big jolt from a power outage could render one ineffective.
“It’s like it gives up its life to protect the TV. When it’s done, that’s it – it’s done. It’s not coming back and it’s time to get a new one,” said Fisco.
https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/why-these-ontario-homeowners-tvs-fried-from-power-outages-1.7053826
Desperate times led Wisconsin tribe to high-interest lending, dubious partnerships and legal jeopardy
The sprawling business empire created by tribal leaders in northern Wisconsin was born of desperate times, as the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians faced financial ruin. Its subsequent success would be built on the desperate needs of others far from the reservation.
The tribe had made some poor choices as it sought to expand its fortunes beyond a modest casino in its home state of Wisconsin two decades ago. Grand plans for a floating casino off Cancun, Mexico, collapsed, and a riverboat gambling venture in Mississippi required more cash than the tribe had on hand.
The resulting loans — $50 million in bonds issued in 2008 at 12% — proved crushing. Struggling to make debt payments, tribal officials soon were forced to slash spending for essential programs on the reservation and lay off dozens of employees.
Protests erupted, with demonstrators barricading themselves inside a government building and demanding audits and investigations. When angry tribal members elected a new governing council, it refused to pay anymore. The tribe defaulted on a loan it had come to regret.
The LDF tribe turned to the one asset that could distinguish it in the marketplace: sovereign immunity. This special status allowed it as a Native American tribe to enter the world of internet lending without interest rate caps, an option not open to other lenders in most states. The annual rates it charged for small-sum, installment loans frequently exceeded 600%.
Business partners, seeing the favorable math, were easy to find. So, too, were consumers who had run out of options to pay their bills. Their decisions to sign up for LDF loans often made things worse.
LDF did not just dabble in this type of lending; it fully embraced it. Like other tribes that have taken this route, LDF built its success on a series of complex business arrangements, with roles and motives difficult to unravel.
Over time, ProPublica found, LDF signed off on deals involving outsiders with histories of predatory practices — associations that carried profound implications for the tribe. Not only did they put the tribe’s reputation at risk, they generated a barrage of costly lawsuits and questions of whether LDF was allowing partners to take advantage of tribal rights to skirt state usury laws.
LDF leaders have not publicly stated any desire to alter their business practices, even as some community members express concern.
“Feeding greed with unscrupulous business practices is crushing us,” one LDF member recently wrote on a community Facebook page.
https://wisconsinwatch.org/2024/09/wisconsin-lac-du-flambeau-tribe-lending-loan/
Editor’s note: We’re facing an existential climate threat, but still waiting on the world to take action
I’m a huge fan of disaster movies. World-ending asteroid hurtling toward Earth? Moon falling out of orbit? Massive alien attack? Put it in my veins. It’s not so much that I love the death and destruction of it all. It’s more the uniting-humanity element of the apocalypse genre that speaks to me—the president, just before climbing into a jet to give the space invaders hell, making a rousing speech that will mark a new era of global co-operation. (“We will not go quietly into the night! We will not vanish without a fight! We’re going to live on! We’re going to survive! Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!”)
Reality could take a few lessons from Hollywood. Because despite the fact that we face an existential threat from climate change—with droughts, floods, violent storms and wildfires standing in for tentacled soldiers—we’re still waiting for someone to rouse the world to real action.
One explanation is a species-wide form of cognitive dissonance—the discomfort that arises when you hold two conflicting beliefs. To wit: We know climate change is an imminent threat, but we also continue to rely on oil—the burning of which is the primary cause of climate change. To help ease our discomfort, we come up with all sorts of excuses: Hey, if we don’t pump the stuff, the Saudis will! Ours is cleaner! Besides, there’s no viable alternative—what about when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow? Jobs, jobs, jobs!
Cognitive dissonance is a generous explanation, of course. You could just as easily call it greed. And indeed, money is a powerful motivator—for governments, for investors and for consumers, too.
I know this. Of course I do. But I still found it jarring to read Emma Graney’s profile of Suncor CEO Rich Kruger. Over the past 18 months, the oil lifer has executed a deft turnaround at the country’s largest producer — and by his own account, he’s having a blast doing it. Forget the fact that scientists are literally screaming that we need to slam the brakes on fossil fuel development. Suncor — which sold its renewable assets not long before Kruger took over — plans to keep right on pulling oil out of the ground for the foreseeable future, along with its oil-patch compatriots, minting billions along the way.
Here’s the thing, though: Burning fossil fuel is not the most economic way to generate power — not when you actually account for the costs associated with the effects of climate change, a bill that’s going to come due sooner rather than later. (Climate-related disasters have already cost the U.S. alone trillions since 1980, and they’re only getting worse.) Oil producers, however, aren’t forced to bear those costs — future generations will be. In the meantime, Suncor et al will be allowed to continue selling oil even as the world quite literally burns down around them. Just this past summer, scores of wildfires raged across Alberta, burning down a third of Jasper and prompting the evacuation of some oil sands operations — which … irony.
Maybe there’s someone out there who can put a stop to it — who can rally the world to head off its own destruction. But maybe they’re just taking a cue from Hollywood after all, waiting till the countdown clock is a millisecond away from zero to act.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/rob-magazine/article-editors-note-were-facing-an-existential-climate-threat-but-still/
BS
Just imagine the grift that would result should they get the money to “fight climate change” that they claim they need?
‘I’m a huge fan of disaster movies. World-ending asteroid hurtling toward Earth? Moon falling out of orbit? Massive alien attack? Put it in my veins. It’s not so much that I love the death and destruction of it all. It’s more the uniting-humanity element of the apocalypse genre that speaks to me’
Commies love this sh$t. More power, more centralization. Krugman use to fantasize about fake alien invasions.
I love dystopian movies where regular citizens fight back against the government with individual attacks. You know, where a neighbor who works at the FBI is found dead after walking his dog. In the movies I love, those FBI agents were just like Nazi guards at concentration camps who just “followed orders”. Yes, I love those movies that follow the script from “Unintended Consequences” by John Ross.
After all, movies are fun.
Evergrande EV unit’s liquidators still in talks with potential stake buyers
Liquidators of the electric vehicle arm of debt-laden China Evergrande are still in talks with a potential buyer to take a stake in the company with a view to provide a new credit line to support production.
In its initial days, the electric vehicle maker aimed to take on Tesla and had a market valuation higher than Ford Motor, but it has since been mired in the debt crisis engulfing its property developer parent.
The firm, which in August said two of its units had commenced bankruptcy proceedings, has been severely short of funds and has faced pressure from its creditors and a local government.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/evergrande-ev-units-liquidators-still-in-talks-with-potential-stake-buyers/ar-AA1rg83e
Opinion: Imperial County residents deserve to benefit from a potential lithium boom
Imperial County consistently ranks among the most economically distressed places in California. Its Salton Sea, the state’s biggest and most toxic lake, is an environmental disaster.
The county also happens to be sitting on enough lithium to produce nearly 400 million batteries, sufficient to completely shift America’s auto industry to electric — and, if officials manage this moment carefully, to revolutionize the local economy and political culture.
Local communities are also concerned about how much benefit they will see while the industry profits. They note that the electric vehicle boom driving lithium demand occurred precisely because of public policy. Tesla, for example, has benefited from multiple rounds of state and federal zero-emissions-vehicle incentives, including the sale of emissions credits that accounted for 85% of Tesla’s gross margin in 2009 and rose to $1.8 billion a year by 2023.
Behind these policies and financial incentives have been public will and taxpayer money.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/markets/opinion-imperial-county-residents-deserve-to-benefit-from-a-potential-lithium-boom/ar-AA1rf0eb
China’s bumpy expansion into EVs may provide relief for lithium investors
I recently spent a few days in Hong Kong meeting with Asian companies and experts to explore China’s economic shift from relying predominantly on infrastructure and real estate to its emergence as a global leader in renewable energy.
The Chinese government’s massive investments in EV manufacturing have resulted in an oversupply of vehicles. Many companies, particularly smaller startups, are struggling to maintain profitability due to the high cost of production and competition from established players. While companies like BYD and NIO have scaled production efficiently, others are facing challenges with underutilised capacity and financial losses.
This overcapacity has led to price competition, with many manufacturers slashing prices to maintain market share. This has resulted in thin profit margins across the industry, particularly for companies still in the early stages of scaling production.
Despite this impressive growth, China’s solar industry faces similar challenges to the EV industry. The rapid expansion of production capacity has led to an oversupply of solar panels, causing prices to plummet. Between 2021 and 2023, the average cost of solar panels fell by more than 60%, squeezing manufacturers’ profit margins.
https://www.msn.com/en-au/money/news/china-s-bumpy-expansion-into-evs-may-provide-relief-for-lithium-investors/ar-AA1rfWCm
Rooftop solar ‘juggernaut’ risks grid overload as AEMO issues first-ever low-demand warning
Rooftop solar output has reached such enormous levels that authorities have begun issuing warnings about their ability to keep the electricity system from being overloaded at times.
In an extraordinary first this week, the body that runs Australia’s biggest energy market said the supply of solar power in Victoria threatened to overwhelm demand for electricity from the grid amid mild, sunny conditions.
It said Friday’s oversupply of solar was so acute that demand for power from the grid would fall below a threshold critical for keeping the electricity system on an even keel.
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) issued the warning — known as a minimum system load notice — as it outlined the emergency steps it might need to take to ensure the system was kept stable.
Among these were switching off — or “curtailing” — rooftop solar systems to ease pressure on the grid or directing energy users to keep demand artificially high to soak up excess generation.
AEMO signalled it could also force transmission lines taken out of service for maintenance to come back online to act as a relief valve for surplus Victorian solar power.
It followed reports the agency had put on notice the owners of big batteries, which might be required to stand by on empty to ensure as much excess solar as possible could be stored.
“AEMO has detected that there is an elevated risk of insufficient demand to maintain a secure operating state in the Victorian region,” the agency said in the notice.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-09-27/solar-juggernaut-sparks-first-low-demand-warning/104406680
Offshore wind not such a great deal
Sept. 24 — To the Editor:
The article from Sept. 17 titled: “Gulf of Maine Offshore Wind” is riddled with inaccuracies and omissions.
Firstly, state Sen. David Watters states that this will be “renewable, reliable and what I think will be a very good-priced energy.” Wind power has not proven to be reliable. They do not operate if conditions are too windy, or if there is not enough wind. Turbine blades have been breaking at a .54% rate (most recently one broke near Nantucket) and this creates significant environmental issues. The Nantucket disaster happened two months ago, it was only one turbine blade, it’s still not repaired, and they are finding wreckage from Rhode Island to Canada.
The project in the Gulf Of Maine would have thousands of blades, and that failure rate would conservatively account for 15 blade failures per year. He states that he “thinks” the power will be “very good priced.” In Virginia the consumers of Dominion Energy are seeing significant increases in their monthly electric bills to pay the continuing costs of the project off of Virginia Beach. The State Corporation Commission just approved an 80% increase in the surcharge on bills that finance the offshore wind project. Not mentioned in the article is that the US government has waived the assurance bond for 20 years for the projects south of the cape to assist further in making the windmills viable. These turbines have an optimal lifespan of 30 years. This creates a scenario where these (foreign) companies can take subsidies and provide expensive power to Americans – and then they can claim bankruptcy and walk away at year 20. Then the taxpayers will absorb a massive cost of decommissioning.
Lastly, Watters states that commercial fishermen in New Hampshire have been consulted with “very, very carefully.” This can be disproven very quickly – simply ask any fisherman if this is accurate. You’ll get a resounding no.
Ed Patenaude Jr. Stratham
https://www.yahoo.com/news/failure-slow-speeding-cars-criticism-115701721.html
Opinion – Price-control discourse proves history has a short memory
History has a short memory. In recent weeks, as Vice President Kamala Harris’s policy proposals sparked a national conversation about price-controls, that phenomenon is on full display.
Price-controls have failed humanity for thousands. They invariably create devastating shortages and diminish product quality.
These policies decimated Babylonian trade in 1750 B.C. They caused bloodshed in second-century Rome. They nearly starved George Washington’s army at Valley Forge. Within living memory, they also caused an American oil and gas crisis in the 1970s.
Of course, politicians still cannot resist promising their constituents consequence-free price reductions.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/opinion-price-control-discourse-proves-173000614.html
Price controls didn’t work for Nixon; why would they work for Harris?
A Tale of Two Divergent Approaches to Right-Wing Extremism
With the election less than two months away, at rallies, in interviews, and on social media Trump continues to reiterate old complaints: the 2020 election was stolen from him; the deep state is out to get him—and, he has implied, he will respond by jailing those deep state opponents; disloyal civil servants stabbed him in the back—and, he has intimated, he will repay them by firing thousands of non-partisan bureaucrats; undocumented immigrants are stealing jobs, illegally voting, slaughtering innocent Americans. And so on. During the September 10 debate with Harris, he leaned into the debunked notion that immigrants in Ohio were stealing pets to eat. He refuses to commit to accepting the election result if he loses (though he recently announced that he will not be running in 2028 if he does). He reposts on social media other users’ comments about televised military tribunals for his enemies.
Having written about Trump and the cult-like MAGA movement for the past nine years, I wish I could say that the fever has broken and that the combination of extremist and irrationalist rhetoric the GOP presidential candidate relentlessly pumps out into the ether no longer holds sway with enough people to propel him back into the White House. But, according to a rash of recent polls that show Trump’s popularity remains stable and that he is still competitive in the presidential election (for the more than 45% of the voting public that tell pollsters they plan to vote for Trump come November), MAGA’s appeal remains potent, or at the very least, palatable.
All of this is wearing, normalized even—and that’s a problem. Eight years after Trump’s shock election victory in 2016, four and a half years on from the pandemic’s onset, much of the non-MAGA electorate is exhausted.
In the fall of 2020, the little town of Sequim, on Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula, found itself at the center of a media frenzy. The COVID-19 pandemic was raging and the conservative mayor, William Armacost, a local hair salon owner, had been forced to substitute out his weekly meeting with constituents for a call-in radio show. It was during one of these broadcasts that Armacost urged his listeners to lend an ear to what QAnon had to say. It was, the mayor indicated, a movement of truth-seekers, and it was being unfairly denigrated by opponents.
Some of the mayor’s listeners were overjoyed, believing they finally had a local politician willing to speak truth to power. Many others, however, at a time when public health officials were being attacked by conspiracy-minded, QAnon-sympathizing mobs, and when the president himself was leaning into attacks on public health mandates and mocking his own public health officials, were horrified.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/a-tale-of-two-divergent-approaches-to-right-wing-extremism/ar-AA1rfweV
Clutch those pearls harder, globalist scum media propagandists.
FKH, and F* the whole Deep State supporting her.
Endorsed by D*ck Cheney what a joke.
Germany: Government crisis deepens as Green leaders resign
Green Party co-chairs Ricarda Lang and Omid Nouripour are stepping down. The move could make things even harder for Germany’s fractious coalition government.
Germany’s Green Party is going from crisis to crisis. Three days after regional elections in the eastern state of Brandenburg delivered a stinging defeat to the party, its entire leadership has resigned. Now, the party will have to choose a replacement at its party conference in November. Ricarda Lang and Omid Nouripour will have held their positions for a year less than was originally intended.
In the elections in Brandenburg, the Greens failed to gain the 5% of votes that a party needs in Germany to enter a legislature. The same happened to them in Thuringia at the start of September. Only in Saxony, which also chose a new state parliament, did they succeed in crossing the threshold — just.
What is particularly bitter for the Greens is that they had previously formed part of the coalition governments in all three states.
Now more than ever, there are questions hanging over the future of the federal government. The coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), Free Democrats (FDP) and Greens is in a constant state of crisis. The alliance has never stopped bickering among itself.
The coalition parties argue about weapons deliveries to Ukraine as it fights off the aggressor Russia, the so-called debt brake enshrined in the German constitution, and policies related to climate protection and social welfare.
Against this background, Nouripour, the Green co-chair who is stepping down, has spoken of “the most profound crisis in our party for a decade.”
https://www.dw.com/en/germany-government-crisis-deepens-as-green-leaders-resign/a-70324309
Germany’s Green Party is going from crisis to crisis
Undoing the damage they have caused will be a Herculean effort.
Also, from Sept 22, 2024, A UN meeting in New York, called “SUMMIT of the FUTURE.”
Basically a highly guarded meeting by the Powers that Be, basically scheming on “global governance” and sustainable development goals to dictate the future of humanity. Joe Biden even spoke at this event.
World Leaders were present, WEF members, and the whole gang of Entities wanting to create the One Word Order Dictorship.
Incredible display of the Entities that want to force their vision of a One World Order future . A power grab of the likes we have never seen before , that totally eliminates world populations having choice, freedoms, constitutional protections against forced compliance. A scam for private/public partnerships between Governments and unelected entities like UN and WHO, Global Monopolies, Rich Elites and the other co conspirators, to dictate future of earth and inhabitants.
Transfer of power by Treaties between Corrupted unelected Organizations like UN/WHO, and the infiltrated and captive Governments of the World.
The false narratives of corrupted Science like Climate Change Doomsday, and global Panademics created by gain of function, equity policy,and elimination of alleged racism, all topics of their power grab.
The most crazy by far is carbon reduction to zero by 2050, as the ongoing grounds for enslavement of humanity and deprivation of the life sustaining carbons.
The outrageous you will eat bugs and chemical based fake food as a counter measure to Climate Change is absurd. 15 minute Cities, with Banks controlling consumption, under a technology control grid.
The end game is you will own nothing and eat bugs while these Entities control all resources and consumption. Mandated global vaccines dictated by UN/WHO, that we already know is genocide.
Just saying.
Climate change is communism.
The lifestyles of the Parasite Class will NEVER diminish, only yours will get worse, forever.
Disgusted German Voters
Many Germans are sick and tired. Some are still angry at the way the COVID epidemic was dealt with (there are those who still insist that there really was no epidemic). Far more are angry at the worsening medical system. It is still far, far better than in the USA, of course, but that doesn’t shorten the long waiting times in hospital corridors or for appointments with specialists, with smaller hospitals and clinics increasingly privatizing or shutting their doors for lack of income, meaning more long, painful rides in rural areas. Kindergarten and child care, widespread thanks largely to the amazing (but hardly mentioned) East German model, is harder and harder to obtain, with staff now striking against low wages and harmful child-teacher ratios. The schools are in bad shape, with far too few teachers while pupils from Germany get worse and worse results in international reading, writing and math tests – not to mention the arts, history and science. Far too many pension-age people are struggling, with free food pantries unable to meet the needs of all those dependent on them. And infra-structure is best symbolized by the recent collapse of the Carola Bridge over the Elbe in Dresden, with autobahn extensions greeted most by the speedsters, while the elderly in small towns and villages find fewer and fewer bus or rail connections to the cities, although rural post offices, bank and government services and small shops disappear. Most critical is the housing emergency and the failure of the government or private industry to build affordable housing in a country traditionally preferring rented apartments to private homes.
No, there is no mass poverty, and on the average Germany is still well-off in the world. But several millions are well below that average, with threats for the others, symbolized by the possible shut-down of sections of the giant Volkswagen empire, Germany’s pride and a major anchor of its economic leadership role, now beginning to teeter.
Most worried of all are the people in eastern Germany, the one-time German Democratic Republic founded so hopefully almost exactly 75 years ago, October 7, 1949, and buried – triumphantly for a large number – 41 years later, on October 3, 1990. Both dates will soon be ceremoniously recalled – happily for some, sadly for others. Many East Germans improved their lot under capitalism, above all in terms of commodity assortment and tourist travel to all the world. But even now, after those 41 years, after their industrial, agricultural and huge home-building systems were almost totally destroyed within a few years and where they feel that they are still treated as incompetent, second-class Germans, with only limited sectors of the economy reconstructed, it is East Germans who are most dissatisfied, disturbed and to a degree defiant. Symbolic for many is the recent decision by the American Intel to postpone building the huge chip factory planned for Magdeburg, offering well over 3000 urgently needed jobs. “Maybe in two years” came the consoling statement.
The trio leader on the federal level, Olaf Scholz’s Social Democrats, had failed miserably in both Saxony and Thuringia – in the 6-7% range. Their victory by a few hairs in Brandenburg, with 30.9 % against the 29.2 % for the ostracized, far-rightist Alternative for Germany (AfD), was due to the great popularity not of the party but of its slow-talking, seemingly very reasonable prime minister, Dietmar Woidke, 62.
Secondly, as part of their “hate-the-Muslims” blasting, they oppose immigrants or any “un-German foreigners” – basically telling them to “go back where you came from” and “let Germany stay German.” Sadly, Sahra Wagenknecht’s BSW has taken a far too similar path. No, none of the most vicious words and phrases, but instead based fully on “common sense.” She especially opposes the “economic migrants” who, she stresses, are needed in their homelands and whose competition is used to “hurt German workers”, whose children, just learning the language, make teaching German kids more difficult, and who allegedly take a big share of all-too-meager housing and health care possibilities. And the cops should be assisted in nabbing foreign “wrong-doers” who should be sent back to Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Eritrea, or wherever.
New polls confirm that East Germans, especially, are becoming fearful about a war danger now blasting away in every media outlet, loudest from Baerbock and the other Greens but also from Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, a Social Democrat and, despite or because of his bellicism, very popular with all too many as a decisive, hard-hitting leader, while Olaf often drags his feet uncertainly, as with allowing or barring far-range weapons shipments to Kyiv. In the end, undoubtedly under great pressure, he goes along. Unfortunately many in East Germany also swallow the “hate foreigner” propaganda, blaming the wrong people and wrong economic causes for their problems, but all too justifiably considering themselves belittled and discriminated against by the West German invaders, corporate and individual, who always know everything better and have seized almost total control. Thus, the dissatisfaction spreading everywhere in Germany is most pronounced here – as could be seen in all three elections.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/09/27/disgusted-german-voters/
Most worried of all are the people in eastern Germany, the one-time German Democratic Republic founded so hopefully almost exactly 75 years ago
“Hopefully”? It was founded at gunpoint, with the Soviets pointing the guns. And they built a huge wall, to keep people from leaving.
It’s okay to kill communists.
You don’t have to ask anybody’s permission, just go find some and kill them. Go for all the journalists first.
Journalists are like medical tyrants who force vaccinations on the mindless. They both walk dogs at night and like to use the best spots in parking garages. Lonely garages they feel safe in, at night.
Fed’s bumper rate cut revives ‘reflation spectre’ in U.S. bond market
The Federal Reserve’s aggressive start of the easing cycle has rekindled inflation worries in the U.S. bond market, as some investors fear looser financial conditions could re-ignite price pressures.
Yields on longer-dated Treasuries that are most sensitive to the inflation outlook have risen to the highest since early September, with some investors worried that the Fed’s shift in focus from beating back inflation to protecting the job market could allow for a rebound in price pressures.
“I think there are questions around how quickly inflation will be able to get to the Fed’s target if we’re in a cutting environment, and if we’re in an environment where the Fed is saying we want to support the labour market before the labour market gets weak,” said Cayla Seder, macro multi-asset strategist at State Street Global Markets. She expects long-term yields, which rise when prices fall, to climb further as the market bets on stronger growth and inflation.
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/article-feds-bumper-rate-cut-revives-reflation-spectre-in-us-bond-market/
Speaking of inflation, I bought a plastic garden shed about 5 years ago. Just for kicks, I looked up its current price. It’ s TWICE the price now. That’s right, TWICE the price. 100% inflation.
“…5 years ago. Now, it’s twice the price!”
The rule of 72 says, Y = 1/R * 72 | Y = years, R = annual rate
…so R = 72 / 5 = 14.4 🙂
At that rate maybe you need to use the rule of 74.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Dozens of cars lined 9th Avenue North as residents waited 30 minutes to an hour for sandbags.
The Stormwater, Pavement & Traffic Operations center handed out sandbags until 7 p.m. Monday night, ahead of a storm that could impact the Tampa Bay area later this week.
“I think what we went through in the city of St. Pete just a few weeks ago with something that wasn’t a hurricane — it was just a afternoon thunderstorm — caused a lot of problems, so we’re going to get ready a little bit early,” said Chris McDowell, who was waiting in line for sandbags.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/st-pete-residents-prep-for-storm-still-recovering-from-previous-flooding/ar-AA1r5xPx
I watch a ton of storm videos, this storm seems like it has one of the longest paths of destruction I’ve seen. It has damaged so many towns. I think it is going to be too much for the news to properly cover so they will just move on to the next thing but FL might actually be finished.
‘The South Florida condo market is in a dive. Prices are dipping. Sales are slowing. Inventory is piling up. What is the housing inventory in South Florida? Miami-Dade: 9 1/2 months of inventory of condos, the highest amount since February 2021. Broward: 8.3 months of supply of condos’
They went on to say 9 months is balanced. Just move the goal posts, no one will notice except HBB.
‘Espada has had Safeco homeowners insurance for twelve years…She needs a new insurance policy now. So far, the only insurance she’s found costs double and could price her out of her home. ‘I’m so worried that by the end, that I am going to lose my house and be part of the list of homeless people. That’s terrible’
So you still owe that much money on the shack after 12 years Maria?
‘Galena’s attorney James Donoval says it was an investor who backed out, leaving the buildings incomplete. ‘Obviously all of the contractors and subcontractors had done a lot of work and were owed money. So they all started filing liens and then ultimately filed lawsuits’
So they ordered the work and didn’t have the money to pay it Jim. That’s common in that business. Happy days for lawyers like you though. That always drains the pot.
‘Housing providers say the current policies have allowed thousands of residents to stop paying rent. At some properties, as many as 40 percent of tenants are behind on their rent, leaving the landlords in a financial hole, building owners say’
What happened here is the minor respiratory illness Jerry bucks ran out and these fools waited until these grifter landlords ran up against the wall. It’s the same with the big turn around in bum/illegals sentiment. The gravy stopped flowing and yer on yer own guvnah! It’s going to be years before we even know how much damage was done in that great hoax.
‘I think we’re going to see some volatility in the condo segment due to the sheer number of buyers investing in condos,’ says Natasha Phipps, a Calgary realtor, pointing to preconstruction condo buyers looking to make a quick return upon occupancy, a common investment strategy in Toronto and Vancouver. ‘They think they can sell easily at closing, or assign it. But assignments are extremely challenging for us to successfully pull off – we’re a very different city in terms of land supply,’ she explains. ‘So it’s putting a lot of these investors potentially in a difficult situation where they were forced to close, and now they’re trying to sell’
So after all these years, Calgary is again stuffed with new preconstruction airbox FB’s Natasha. Just like 2014 when the oil money dried up.
‘that could put a dampener on hopes for a recovery in the apartment market, which already had an oversupply. ‘Some of those immigrants are apartment buyers, and so if you don’t have them coming in, it could have an impact there,’ he said. ‘It’s quite a dramatic shift from 136,000 coming in to maybe a net zero and presents probably as a little bit of a headwind.’ A lot of them arrive with the view of staying in New Zealand long-term, but this wasn’t always the case, said Westpac senior economist Michael Gordon. ‘If they’re tied to a certain employer and the employer is laying people off or maybe going bust, then they may be forced to go home again and that’s what we are seeing,’ he said. On top of this were the record number of Kiwi citizens who were leaving the country, in search of better job prospects’
New Zealand is further along in this whole thing. They were the first to raise rates, triggering immediate shack crater due to the high levels of speculation/subprime lending. Now they got the locals sick of foreigners too, which is a global trend.
‘she was also expecting investors to flee the market. ‘This decade, a lot of properties were positive geared when interest rates were so low, and then with the 13 interest rate rises, everyone’s in a negative cash flow,’ she said. ‘As well as increased expenses for insurance, water, energy, maintenance — that would see further investors flee the market’
To clarify, these sh$tholes with a queen on their pesos are a lion. They have always bragged about the cash flow a$$ pounding saying it made me rich, so there! As long as I can remember.
‘auctioneer Peter Burgin said news of possible changes to negative gearing was unlikely to have a material impact on the Brisbane market — although it could work in buyers’ favour. ‘Any negativity out there probably gives buyers another tool in their belt to drive a higher bargain’
That’s the spirit Pete, keep up the good work!
Why Are People Still Falling For This?! (Peel Region Real Estate Market Update)
Team Sessa Real Estate
10 minutes ago MISSISSAUGA
In this episode we take a look at the current Brampton, Mississauga, Ajax, Whitby, Pickering Real Estate home prices and market trends for week ending Sept 18, 2024. We also discuss the problem we see when someone believes that sold over asking means selling over market value.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JXxYBAVqp8
13 minutes.
Denver7 — A controversial ‘Venezuela Ahead’ billboard is greeting drivers coming to Colorado from Wyoming (9/26/2024):
“Drivers entering Colorado from Wyoming on Interstate 25 are being greeted by a controversial billboard that aims to warn travelers about what they may encounter ahead as they come into the state.”
Controversial?
“The sign reads, “Venezuela Ahead, Be Prepared” on top of what resembles a Venezuelan flag.
Denver7 spoke with Jorge Fermín, an immigrant who recently arrived to Colorado from Venezuela, who said he was disappointed to hear about the billboard.
“We feel attacked as a community,” he said, in Spanish.
Fermín added that he believes his good intentions are being overshadowed by the recent controversy surrounding gangs in the Denver metro area.
Denver Mayor Mike Johnston’s office issued a statement, saying, “Anyone passing that sign and coming to Denver will soon find the welcoming, inclusive, vibrant city we’re so proud to call home.”
https://www.denver7.com/news/politics/a-controversial-venezuela-ahead-billboard-is-greeting-drivers-coming-to-colorado-from-wyoming
Proud to call home? It’s an embarrassment telling people you live in this sh*thole.
Fermín added that he believes his good intentions are being overshadowed
Good intentions? He’s here to join the Free Sh!t Army.
New York Times (9/26/2024):
“Almost everywhere conservatism’s brash rival, nationalist populism, is on the march: already in power with its colorful leaders in Hungary, Italy and Argentina; on the brink of it in the United States and France; and eroding the old-style conservatives in Germany, the Netherlands and now Britain. The rivalry on the right is in danger of becoming a rout, with the senior, steadier force swallowed by its insurgent challenger.
These shocks to our established ways of thinking are so violent that we immediately assume that this must be a unique apocalypse, the product of unprecedented social and economic forces.”
Our established ways, what do you mean by that Ferdinand Mount (British wanker name)?
“This, I think, is a temptation to be resisted. The reality is that something similar has often happened or nearly happened before, at different times and in different places. Nationalist populism, my umbrella term for the smorgasbord of hard-right forces, always sings the same song. The circumstances that gain it a sympathetic hearing are usually much the same, too: decline of old industries and loss of well-paid jobs for men, undercutting by rising nations and, of course, fresh waves of immigrants from new places. It’s when mainstream conservatism visibly flounders in dealing with the challenge — as it has so clearly done in recent years — that such movements can hope to surge.”
https://archive.ph/byPX7
New York Times (9/27/2024):
“In 171 posts and reposts during that frenetic five-day period, the tech mogul railed against illegal immigration, boosted election fraud conspiracy theories and attacked Democratic candidates, according to a New York Times analysis.
Experts who monitor falsehoods and conspiracy theories have long feared that Mr. Musk would use his ownership of X to further pollute the online ecosystem.”
Pollute? Is that like a “poison the blood” kind of thing, Real Journalists?
“Since he bought the platform known as Twitter in 2022, he has shown a willingness to elevate unfounded claims as he has embraced a more conservative political posture, including by endorsing Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign in July.
Last Thursday, Mr. Musk shared a post from a right-wing influencer with more than 869,000 followers who is known for sharing conspiracy theories about Sept. 11, misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines and claims that the F.B.I. rigged the 2020 election.”
https://archive.ph/u9lX0
Um, yeah. 9/11 was an inside job, covid vaccines are poison, and the 2020 election was stolen.
It’s the New York Times. This is what they give you.
Since he bought the platform known as Twitter in 2022, he has shown a willingness to elevate unfounded claims as he has embraced a more conservative political posture, including by endorsing Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign in July
Elon Musk? Former Democrat
Tulsi Gabbard? Former Democrat
RFK Jr.? Former Democrat
It’s funny how a bunch of former Democrats, some as recently as just a few years ago, are somehow now far right nahtzees, even though their values and principles haven’t really changed at all.