The Sellers Are There, But The Buyers Are On The Sidelines
A report from WBAL in Maryland. “Howard County officials are holding an open house Wednesday night for federal government employees in jeopardy of losing their jobs. ‘People are afraid, and they don’t really know what their next move is. They’re concerned. How are they going to pay their mortgage?’ said Stephanie Abide, executive director of the Howard County Workforce Development Board. ‘Some are unsure. ‘They haven’t been given any official notice as of yet. There are still a lot of angst.’ There’s also food bank assistance, which is not based on income, county officials said. The Foreclosure Prevention Assistance Program has historically been based on income, but Howard County Executive Calvin Ball’s office is encouraging federal workers to apply regardless because a change in job status is a factor in applications. Officials said they’re working with a unique sector of job seekers. ‘They have not had to apply for jobs in, you know, 10, 20, some even 30 years, and (they’re) having to navigate the digital landscape of applying for jobs. So, we are providing those workshops as well,’ Abide told 11 News.”
From KOCO. “An undocumented woman living in Oklahoma said she is terrified as each new deportation development rolls out under President Donald Trump. Vero has lived in Oklahoma for three decades. She said her story is now one of uncertainty and fear. ‘Mi casa es mi carcel,’ the undocumented resident said. The sentence translates to ‘my house is my jail.’ That’s how Vero describes her life as news of mass deportations spread. She said life is much different than when she arrived in the United States at 16. ‘I had recently married my husband, and they told me I could come here to work. So, they passed us through in a car. They didn’t ask us anything,’ Vero said. Now, she said she feels her luck is running out. So, she is preparing to leave at any moment. ‘We canceled our bank accounts, took out my money so that I wouldn’t leave it, and we’ve even signed powers of attorney for our kids,’ Vero said. ‘I know other people who are selling their homes.'”
The Wall Street Journal. “Nearly 73,000 homes were pulled from sale after they failed to find a buyer in the final month of last year, data from CoreLogic show. Delistings tend to spike in winter when fewer people are actively looking for a home. But the trend last December was unusually strong, representing almost one in 10 properties on the market, and a 64% increase from the same month of 2023. The jump in delistings indicates that much of the extra inventory that hit the housing market throughout 2024 sat unsold, so had to be pulled in higher numbers come winter. It also suggests there is a bit more pent-up desire to sell than headline inventory figures would indicate. If delistings and unsold house-builder inventory remain high over the coming months, it will be a bad sign for sellers. The share prices of single-family housing landlords Invitation Homes and American Homes 4 Rent already trade at 33% and 22% discounts to their net asset values, respectively, according to real-estate analytics firm Green Street—an indicator that investors think U.S. home prices are vulnerable to a correction.”
ABC Action News in Florida. “For many homeowners in the Tampa Bay area, they feel insurance is not coming through for them. Chad Zalva is a single dad who lives in a modest 2-bedroom home in Riverview. It’s where he decided to start over after a divorce, purposely choosing the lowest insurance premium he could find. ‘I did go for the lower amount,’ Zalva said. Not realizing that meant his deductible at $7200 dollars would be so high — it would be out of reach when he went to put in a claim after Hurricane Milton. ‘Unfortunately, my deductible is outrageous,’ he said. ‘I was like this is insanity.’ His damage was quoted by his insurance company at around $2500 dollars. A contractor told him it would cost about $4500 dollars to repair. ‘Do you have that kind of money laying around,’ News Anchor Nadeen Yanes asked. ‘No, not at all,’ Zalva laughed. ‘They’re just making straight profit. It’s definitely frustrating and they need to do something about it.'”
“On the flip side, Tampa single mom Liz Ann purposely increased her coverage with Citizens Property Insurance and paid a higher premium. She also wanted to keep her deductible low. ‘Now, they’re denying my claim, saying it’s under deductible, I don’t know what I’m going to do,’ she said. ‘They’re saying it’s under like, 3,000 whatever mine is, I’d have to look it up exactly. They’re not going to cover it.’ Her deductible was just over $3700 dollars. ‘Our evaluation shows the cost to repair or replace the front porch screen, roof repairs to shed will not exceed policyholders $3,774.00 calendar year Hurricane deductible. Therefore, no payment will be made regarding this claim,’ her denial letter read. ‘So it’s like you’re paying for this insurance for what purpose?'”
From WFLA. “Condo owners are waiting for answers on whether lawmakers will do anything to ease concerns over rising fees. The News Service of Florida reported that State House Speaker Daniel Perez has ruled out ‘bailouts’ for condo owners facing high fees. Tom Schoeller is the condo association president for Casa Del Mar 1 in St. Petersburg. He pushed back on the use of ‘bailouts,’ saying that condo owners never wanted free money. ‘I would ask them what their definition is of a ‘bailout’,’ Schoeller said. ‘They’re not necessarily looking for a handout, so to speak. They’re looking for some relief through insurance, the way the insurance rates have skyrocketed. They’re looking for a little bit of relief on possibly some loans, low interest or no interest.'”
“Just two weeks ago, Condo Owner Diana Summer explained the impact of that law is causing a dent in her wallet. ‘I’ve been here about three years,’ Summer said. ‘My assessments have doubled, my HOAs have doubled, and I’ve paid about $20,000 in additional assessments.'”
The San Fernando Valley Sun. “Local and national law firms are now clamoring to gather clients in mass tort lawsuits against Southern California Edison (SCE), alleging that a malfunction in its equipment was the source of the Eaton Fire that decimated entire neighborhoods in Altadena and Pasadena. ‘What we are doing here is righteous litigation,’ said LA Fire Justice attorney Mikal Watt. ‘It’s not frivolous lawsuits, it is righteous litigation backed up by the facts. The bad news is you’re all tragically underinsured. [Insurance companies] are not going to pay you the cost to rebuild, they’re going to pay what it’s worth, which is about 40% less than the cost to rebuild.’ Additionally, many of the homes in Altadena have been passed down through generations. If insurance is tied to the mortgage, that means fire victims get paid out based on what the homes were bought for, not what the home is now worth.”
From KSAT. “Rental rates are cratering in the San Antonio and Austin markets, with no indication of when they will bottom out. Both cities’ construction pipeline began to swell during the pandemic, with developers eager to cash in on the frenzied demand for more housing. Since 2022, mounting interest rates and return-to-office mandates tempered demand, and market conditions quickly shifted. Over the past year, San Antonio delivered 14,500 units in the past year, only absorbing 7,630 according to MRI ApartmentData, a real estate analytics firm. That’s spelled troublesome news for the 9,000 units currently under construction in San Antonio, and serves as a potential warning for the 16,700 units proposed. The problem is similar in nature but more compounded in Austin, where the current average rental rate is $1,435, down a shocking 12.5% from the $1,640 two-year high it posted in June 2023. The city has recently opened 36,000 units opened over the past year in Austin, only around 19,000 have been absorbed. The Texas capital is also looking at 16,500 units currently under construction with another 36,000 units proposed.”
The Globe and Mail. “The tentative recovery in the Toronto-area real estate market has given way to another bout of the jitters. Listings are surging in February and buyers are pulling back, industry players say. The anxiety surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump and his threat of imposing hefty tariffs on imports from Canada has smothered the positive signs that were beginning to emerge, says John Pasalis, president of Realosophy Realty. ‘The sellers are there, but the buyers are on the sidelines. It’s leading to a very sluggish market, and now we have this massive cloud of uncertainty.'”
“In January, sales in the Greater Toronto Area fell 8.9 per cent compared with the same month last year, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board. Active listings, meanwhile, ballooned 70 per cent last month from January, 2024. Mr. Pasalis cautions that some aspiring sellers are still more optimistic than they should be, given the current mood. He reminds sellers that they need to be realistic and patient. ‘Even if you’re priced well, it will take longer,’ he says.”
From BBC News. “Seana Quinn had never heard the term ‘unadopted’ being used to describe a housing development until the issue arrived at her door. The County Tyrone homeowner is only one of thousands of people across Northern Ireland impacted by the issue. A housing development is defined as being unadopted when the roads or sewers are not maintained by the government, this often happens when they fail to meet a certain standard. NI Water said that it can offer advice but that it is not funded to ‘make repairs to defects left by the poor workmanship of developers.’ Concerns are being raised about what homeowners do when the money put up by developers will not cover the repairs or they have gone bankrupt. Figures seen by BBC News NI show that there are more than 1,800 unadopted housing developments across Northern Ireland, with the largest percentage in Mid Ulster.”
“A County Tyrone solicitor who represents a group of affected residents has described the problem as ‘a ticking time bomb’ that needs to be addressed. ‘It’s been a build-up of failures to properly regulate this issue for decades, to the point now where thousands of homeowners are left with a defective legal title and are unable to sell their houses,’ said Conal McGarrity from PA Duffy solicitors. ‘You have people with their life savings invested in these properties, and there’s currently no long-term solution, so it’s a very serious public interest issue.'”
“‘To be honest, things have been getting worse because some of the land is deteriorating to the point where the ground is sinking and falling away from the house,’ said Darren Kearney, who owns a house in Hunter’s Mill. ‘It’s having a huge effect on our lives; we feel trapped.’ Kildrum in Galbally, County Tyrone, is one of hundreds of unadopted developments in Mid Ulster. Some residents said they feel left in limbo as part of the development remains unadopted. Ms Quinn has lived there for more than 20 years and said the unadopted part of the development has crumbling kerbstones, potholes and looks run down. ‘The place can look unsightly and unfinished, and it’s unfair when people have invested so much money into their family homes,’ she said.”
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You will own nothing.
‘People are afraid, and they don’t really know what their next move is. They’re concerned. How are they going to pay their mortgage?’ said Stephanie Abide, executive director of the Howard County Workforce Development Board. ‘Some are unsure. ‘They haven’t been given any official notice as of yet. There are still a lot of angst.’ There’s also food bank assistance, which is not based on income, county officials said. The Foreclosure Prevention Assistance Program has historically been based on income, but Howard County Executive Calvin Ball’s office is encouraging federal workers to apply regardless’
Haven’t even been fired yet and they are being ‘trained’ about food-banks and becoming a mortgage dead-beat.
Loanowners = broke a$$ losers.
“They have not had to apply for jobs in, you know, 10, 20, some even 30 years, and (they’re) having to navigate the digital landscape of applying for jobs”
Outside of the Big Government welfare sector of the economy, it is still possible to get a job by:
Walking into reception at an office and handing a paper resume to a hiring manager.
Word of mouth from people you know and have worked with in the industry.
Thats how i got most of my jobs good references walk in or call on the phone….nut after 9/11. almost all of that disappeared in nyc……you couldn’t get past security without an appointment, and no one answered their phone. Then they had to come down and escort you up to the office,
The kids today i feel sorry for since that kind of cold calling initiative is no longer considered a good job skill
Walking into reception at an office and handing a paper resume to a hiring manager.
Lol are you joking? Or did you mean at a fast food joint or grocery store?
Even those places want you to apply online. I think the only places where you can apply in person is at small mom n pop businesses.
This is specific to electrical contracting. Yes, some of the larger companies are online only. But many will do interviews on the spot.
They call it DTR Electric (Down The Road Electric) for a reason. Make it unneccesarily difficult to apply, and your qualified candidate heads down the road (I’m talking to you, Hunt Electric).
Almost a decade out of the white collar world and I don’t miss any of it.
Vero has lived in Oklahoma for three decades.
Thirty years here in the US and she still needs an interpreter? Some really great assimilation going on here.
yes this is what people just don’t get …….my grand parents & uncle came to. America and first thing they did was enroll in night school to learn English. That should be mandatory today if you want to stay past your visa, and get your green card,
I can’t imagine moving to another country and not learning the language. Just the frustration of the day to day would be motivation enough you’d think.
In other countries there is no “Press 1 for English”
The article about Vero in Oklahoma has been edited since I first read it, I think. Originally, it had a sentence saying that she was speaking via an interpreter. That fact is no longer there in the article that I can see.
This is why you do not waive the reserve requirement in the loan qualification process. You put folks into a home without a penny left in their accounts they are one job loss from disaster.
Should be minimum 6 month reserve after close in their bank accounts.
“A contractor told him it would cost about $4500 dollars to repair. ‘Do you have that kind of money laying around,’ News Anchor Nadeen Yanes asked. ‘No, not at all,’ Zalva laughed.”
And there you go.
So essentially it’s a 500 dollar repair. He needs to buy some tools and go on youtube. None of it is rocket science, even 3rd world savages fresh across the border can do it.
‘I did go for the lower amount,’ Zalva said. Not realizing that meant his deductible at $7200 dollars would be so high
How could he have not realized his deductible was $7,200? Its not like that number was buried on page 16 of the policy with 8 pt. font.
“There’s also food bank assistance, which is not based on income, county officials said.”
I’m trying to imagine the “Tom Clancy government types” in their SUVs weaving around a parking lot waiting in line on a box of free grub.
Some of them could use a good dose of reality.
‘Nearly 73,000 homes were pulled from sale after they failed to find a buyer in the final month of last year, data from CoreLogic show’
Wa happened to my shortage corelogic?
‘The jump in delistings indicates that much of the extra inventory that hit the housing market throughout 2024 sat unsold, so had to be pulled in higher numbers come winter. It also suggests there is a bit more pent-up desire to sell than headline inventory figures would indicate. if delistings and unsold house-builder inventory remain high over the coming months, it will be a bad sign for sellers. The share prices of single-family housing landlords Invitation Homes and American Homes 4 Rent already trade at 33% and 22% discounts to their net asset values, respectively’
Oh dear…
‘On the flip side, Tampa single mom Liz Ann purposely increased her coverage with Citizens Property Insurance and paid a higher premium. She also wanted to keep her deductible low. ‘Now, they’re denying my claim, saying it’s under deductible, I don’t know what I’m going to do,’ she said. ‘They’re saying it’s under like, 3,000 whatever mine is, I’d have to look it up exactly. They’re not going to cover it.’ Her deductible was just over $3700 dollars. ‘Our evaluation shows the cost to repair or replace the front porch screen, roof repairs to shed will not exceed policyholders $3,774.00 calendar year Hurricane deductible. Therefore, no payment will be made regarding this claim,’ her denial letter read. ‘So it’s like you’re paying for this insurance for what purpose?’
It’s so you can get a loan Liz. Nobody said it was going to pay, insurance doesn’t work if they have to pay out.
Florida is finished
They are not going to pay more than the policy which was purchased defines no matter how much whining and gnashing of teeth occur.
Liz Ann, seek the “Salvation of Single Mom’s” in Tampa Bay:
Joe Redner. Mons Venus.
‘What we are doing here is righteous litigation,’ said LA Fire Justice attorney Mikal Watt. ‘It’s not frivolous lawsuits, it is righteous litigation backed up by the facts. The bad news is you’re all tragically underinsured. [Insurance companies] are not going to pay you the cost to rebuild, they’re going to pay what it’s worth, which is about 40% less than the cost to rebuild’
That’s some sound lending right there Mikal.
‘Additionally, many of the homes in Altadena have been passed down through generations. If insurance is tied to the mortgage, that means fire victims get paid out based on what the homes were bought for, not what the home is now worth’
That would be decades of sweet equity gone missing. Sacré bleu!
‘Listings are surging in February and buyers are pulling back, industry players say. The anxiety surrounding U.S. President Donald Trump and his threat of imposing hefty tariffs on imports from Canada has smothered the positive signs that were beginning to emerge, says John Pasalis, president of Realosophy Realty. ‘The sellers are there, but the buyers are on the sidelines’
Tiff broke it off in yer a$$ John, not Orange Man Bad.
Parasite whining she was caught, probably works for the federal government, D.O.G.E, this b$tch
https://www.bitchute.com/video/XVIyrHKUncwM
1:25. A comment:
‘Couldn’t pay for your own food but can buy a luxury car? This is what is wrong with the world.’
“I’m making money on TikTok and I drive a 2024 BMW”
OnlyFans
$4,000 a month of food stamps?
I had to watch that twice to make sure she said they had cut her food stamps from $4k a month to $88 a month.
$$k a month and driving a 2034 BMW!!? WTF
And she has the unmitigated gall to put her face on a video and bit#h about it?
Truly unbelievable.
“$$k a month and driving a 2034 BMW!!? WTF”
$4k a month and driving a 2024 BMW!!? But still WTF
I think she said guberment was paying 95% of her rent!
Looked to me like she was posting from an office cubicle.
NT Times – State Dept. to Designate Latin American Cartels as Terrorist Groups.
The move against a half-dozen organizations followed an executive order from President Trump that said the United States would ensure their “total elimination.”
https://archive.ph/RsgTZ
“Of the eight groups designated, five are Mexican. The Sinaloa and Jalisco New Generation cartels are the country’s largest and have cornered much of the fentanyl market for the United States, producing the synthetic opioid in Mexico before smuggling it north.”
Bomb them.
And somebody remind Zion Don that the voters didn’t elect him to occupy Gaza or start a pre-emptive war with Iran.
“Bomb them.”
[A translation from Spanish …]
El Financierio – The U.S. is watching us… An aircraft carrier is reported off the coast of Baja California; this is what the Navy says.
This Tuesday, the presence of a U.S. aircraft carrier was reported off the coast of Baja California; according to Marine Traffic, its destination is unknown.
https://www.elfinanciero.com.mx/nacional/2025/02/04/eu-nos-vigila-reportan-un-portaaviones-en-costas-de-baja-california-esto-dice-marina/
The Secretariat of the Navy (Semar) spoke on Tuesday, February 4, about reports that a U.S. aircraft carrier is near the coast of Baja California.
Added to these reports is the fact that on Monday, February 3, a Boeing RC-135V, a United States Air Force aircraft, was seen flying over the Gulf of California.
This Tuesday, reports circulated on social networks about an aircraft carrier that was near the coast of Ensenada, in Baja California.
It was in front of the port of Ensenada, about 30 nautical miles, that is, 60 kilometers away, where three vessels were seen, including an aircraft carrier that has operated in different parts of the world.
According to reports, it is the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, which is used for U.S. military operations.
According to the Marine Traffic page, the aircraft carrier left San Diego and its destination is unknown.
How do I post a comment as a new thread? I have failed so far as my comment appears as a reply to an existing thread rather than a new thread. I know I am doing something wrong but I don’t know what.
Help is greatly appreciated!
You just did.
Scroll to the bottom of this page on your PC or phone browser, the heading above the text box will read “Leave a Reply” vs. “Leave a Reply to Username”
Related: on PC browser it is readily visible which comments are nested (replies to) under which comments. On a phone the screen is too small / margin too narrow to distinguish.
Don’t click on the little reply link under a comment. Go directly to the big Reply box at the bottom of all the comments.
Belay that. I did it! A brain is a terrible thing to waste!
Note to self.
Do not move to Worcester, Massachusetts.
ALX 🇺🇸
@alx
Last night, Worcester, Massachusetts voted to become a “Sanctuary City for Transgender and Gender Diverse People”
The City Council Meeting before the vote was… Interesting:
8:49 AM · Feb 12, 2025
https://x.com/alx/status/1889673202562957400
4:26 id child abuse.
LA Times – New data shows Pacific Palisades, Altadena face heightened mudslide risk as storm pounds fire zones.
https://archive.ph/GZ5uI#selection-2345.0-2345.99
[A snip…]
Over the three-day storm, the Palisades scar is expected to receive 3.35 inches of rain; the Eaton scar, 5.08 inches; and the Bridge scar, 5.27 inches. But it’s not only how much rain the region receives that can make things dicey, but also how fast it falls.
Experts say the risk of mud and debris sliding off burned hillsides rises once rain starts falling at a rate of half an inch per hour. Rain rates are expected to peak between half an inch and an inch per hour during the most severe part of the storm anticipated between 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. Thursday, according to the weather service.
Recently burned areas are at risk for landslides in heavy rains, with soil no longer anchored by healthy vegetation. Making matters worse is that the heat from fire makes it harder for soil to absorb water, which can leave hillsides vulnerable to erosion. This can result in slopes crashing down in a torrent of mud, rocks and dead branches, imperiling homes — or people — in their path.
According to data compiled by the U.S. Geological Survey, a rainstorm that delivers a peak 15-minute rainfall intensity of 1.57 inches per hour would have an 80% to 100% chance of generating debris flows across much of the Eaton fire area.
In the Palisades, a rainstorm that unleashes a peak 15-minute rainfall intensity of 0.94 inch per hour would have a 60% to 80% chance of resulting in debris flows along a swath of Tuna Canyon Park, Temescal Canyon and above the Pacific Palisades. Portions of hillsides above Malibu and in the Mandeville Canyon area are at even higher risk, according to USGS data.
“Flooding and debris flows could escalate very fast with very little warning,” said Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
‘Experts say the risk of mud and debris sliding off burned hillsides rises once rain starts falling at a rate of half an inch per hour’
It’s true, we saw that after the forest fire north of Sedona AZ years ago. It had been bone dry and as the fire was being put out, it rained. The steep walls of Oak Creek helped mud and rock slides immediately. The forest service explained it like this: when water falls on ash, it slides off. Doesn’t soak in, just heads right down the grade. It snowballs and boom, yer gonna need a bigger bulldozer.
Sodom and Gomorrah
Thank God FEMA had an extra $59 million to house and feed illegals in NYC hotels.
“They said that they were unsheltered and they didn’t have a residence to go to,” Detroit Police Captain Nathan Duda said.
Two Children Found Dead in a Vehicle at Detroit Parking Garage
Alana Mastrangelo
12 Feb 2025
Two children were reportedly found dead inside a parked vehicle in a parking garage in downtown Detroit on Monday, with police believing the kids froze to death.
The Detroit Police Department said a family pulled their van into a parking garage at the Hollywood Casino Hotel at Greektown at around 1:00 a.m. on Monday, and parked on the ninth floor as the vehicle ran out of gas, according to a report by WXYZ.
Five children were asleep in the van, authorities said, adding that at around noon the mother realized that one of her kids, a nine-year-old boy, was not breathing, at which point she called a friend to take him to the Children’s Hospital of Michigan.
But while they were at the hospital, the grandmother noticed that another child, a two-year-old girl, was also not breathing. So the friend came back to the casino parking garage to retrieve the second child and bring her to the hospital as well, police said.
Both children were pronounced dead at the hospital, WXYZ reported.
“From what I’ve been told, the mother had a lot of pride,” Bettison said, adding, “She loved her kids and she wanted to keep the family together.”
On November 25, the family contacted Detroit’s homeless response team to inform them that they had been living with another family, but could not continue residing there, and needed another place to go, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said.
Duggan added there was no resolution as a result of the family’s late November conversation with the city’s homeless response team, and that an outreach worker was never sent out.
https://www.breitbart.com/pre-viral/2025/02/12/two-children-found-dead-vehicle-detroit-parking-garage/
Suspected Illegal Charged With Attempted Murder in Hammer Attack on Female Victim at Louisiana Church
by Dan Lyman
February 13th, 2025 8:10 AM
A construction worker who may be in the country illegally has been charged with attempted murder after he allegedly launched a brutal unprovoked attack on a college student in Louisiana over the weekend, according to reports.
The disturbing incident unfolded on Friday in Thibodaux, a city in Lafourche Parish that is home to Nicholls State University.
The female victim was sitting at a picnic table outside St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church where she was preparing for a church retreat when she was ambushed by a man wielding a hammer, WBRZ reports.
The suspect, who was reportedly working on crew repairing the roof of the church, bashed the woman multiple times with the tool before being chased off by a priest and church staff.
Campus police apprehended the suspect approximately 20 minutes later.
Juan B. Monroy, 33, was charged with attempted second-degree murder and hate crime and is being held at Lafourche Parish Correctional Complex on $500,000 bond.
Additionally, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged a detainer against Monroy, indicating he may be in the country illegally.
https://www.infowars.com/posts/suspected-illegal-charged-with-attempted-murder-in-hammer-attack-on-female-victim-at-louisiana-church
They are not sending their best.
The Federalist — DOGE Is Uncovering The Government Corruption America’s Media Spent Years Ignoring (2/12/2025):
“For an industry that fashions its participants as diligent truth-seekers dedicated to uprooting government corruption, America’s legacy media has once again shown itself to be its biggest defender.
The latest case study of this phenomenon came on Tuesday during an executive order signing ceremony featuring X owner Elon Musk, who President Donald Trump tasked with leading the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The president’s newly signed directive lays out guidance for DOGE and the administration in “eliminating waste, bloat, and insularity” within the federal bureaucracy.
When the time came to field questions from the press, the media wasted no time in fomenting Democrats’ baseless conspiracy that Musk’s efforts to identify and remove waste from the federal government represent an unprecedented and authoritarian coup against the United States. In one particular exchange, a left-wing activist masquerading as a White House reporter asked the DOGE leader what his response is to “criticism” from his “detractors … including a lot of Democrats … [who] say that [he’s] orchestrating a hostile takeover of government and doing it in a non-transparent way.”
Musk responded to the non-question by noting how “a majority of the public” gave the administration a “strong mandate” to root out government waste when they elected Trump and gave Republicans control of Congress. He additionally highlighted how Trump made no secret about his plans to undertake such actions during the 2024 campaign.
“The people voted for major government reform. There should be no doubt about that. That was on the campaign. The president spoke about that at every rally,” Musk said. “The people voted for major government reform, and that’s what the people are going to get.”
https://thefederalist.com/2025/02/12/doge-is-uncovering-the-government-corruption-americas-media-spent-years-ignoring/
And yet the media doesn’t care because so much of the money is grifted to far left causes or the media themselves.
[This link is worth clicking on even if it is just for the photos.]
The Washington Post – What Maui’s slow recovery means for L.A. — and the rest of the U.S.
Only six homes have been fully rebuilt in the county after more than 2,000 structures burned in Maui’s wildfires.
https://archive.ph/rI3WV
Why is it that the Blue States are always “can’t do”?
Mitch McConnell just voted NO on RFK Jr. confirmation.
F*ing swamp rat piece of sh*t Big Pharma whore.
41 yes to 37 no as of now…
Really is one of the worst people ever.
BOOM. Just hit 51 votes.
Vaxxtards BTFO. We are Making America Healthy Again!
The Burning Platform – The Collapse of Net Zero: Profiting from the Implosion of the Green Bubble.
https://www.theburningplatform.com/2025/02/12/the-collapse-of-net-zero-profiting-from-the-implosion-of-the-green-bubble/#more-360603
[An opening snip …]
The United Nations launched the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) with great fanfare in 2021.
It brought together some of the world’s largest banks, committing them to a goal they could never achieve: reaching net-zero carbon emissions within their lending and investment portfolios.
This entailed severing ties with a significant portion of their clients and investments in hydrocarbons, transportation, and other major industries while redirecting vast sums of shareholder funds into uneconomic “green” scams.
In short, the NZBA represented a further politicization and weaponization of the global banking system. Companies or countries unwilling to bow to the climate cult faced the threat of being de-banked.
Over the following months, more than 120 global banks—including HSBC, Bank of America, Barclays, and Deutsche Bank—tripped over themselves as they rushed to join the NZBA and earn ESG points.
As the momentum for the NZBA continued to grow, the participating banks were put on a collision course for a reality check of historical proportions.
As the big banks began to realize their NZBA pledges were an unrealistic fantasy, tensions started to build. These tensions finally erupted during a conference call between major banks and government regulators last year.
During the call, Judson Berkey from UBS voiced his frustration and addressed the elephant in the room, stating that the “world’s biggest banks can’t live up to the green regulatory ideal unless they start shedding vast numbers of clients worldwide at a reckless pace, which would also disrupt economies across large regions of the globe that depend heavily on dirty fuels.”
If the big banks were to fulfill their NZBA commitments, they would need to stop serving major commodity companies, energy-intensive tech firms, and numerous others whose carbon accounting didn’t add up. This would also require the banks to significantly scale back their operations in countries like Poland, Indonesia, South Africa, and others that rely heavily on coal as a primary energy source.
Faced with this unappealing reality, the banks began reconsidering their involvement in the NZBA.
Then came Trump’s victory in the 2024 election, and the dam burst.
Within weeks of Trump winning, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan (America’s largest bank), and other major financial institutions announced their departure from the NZBA.
The virtue-signaling rats are fleeing the sinking NZBA ship as fast as possible.
I bring up the story of the NZBA because it highlights a long overdue paradigm shift in the global energy markets: the $5 trillion green bubble has burst.
[Click on the link to read the rest of the article.]
Congress Considers Banishing Most Federal Agency HQs From Nation’s Capital
A group of bipartisan lawmakers is looking to force federal agencies out of Washington, D.C., with a new bill in Congress.
The Strategic Withdrawal of Agencies for Meaningful Placement Act, or SWAMP Act, seeks to decentralize government operations and directs federal agencies to solicit bids from municipalities to relocate around the country.
“Too often, federal bureaucrats craft policies in a vacuum, disconnected from the realities facing Americans across the country,” Rep. Ashley Hinson, an Iowa Republican who introduced the legislation, said in a statement to Bisnow.
President Donald Trump has set out to dramatically shrink the federal bureaucracy with billionaire Elon Musk’s efforts at the Department of Government Efficiency. The plans the pair have made would not only impact Washington, where the federal government leases some 35M SF, but would reverberate across the country’s office market.
“Our founding fathers never envisioned so much power being centralized within a few mile radius, and I believe President Trump is the perfect person to shake things up and give power back to the people,” Hinson said.
The legislation would also prohibit federal agencies from starting any major office renovations or executing new leases in D.C. and the surrounding counties of Arlington, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William, Virginia.
“There is no valid reason why the Department of Agriculture should operate from D.C. when it could be situated in an agricultural state like Iowa,” a spokesperson for Hinson said in a statement. “Federal bureaucrats who have never stepped foot on a farm should not be making decisions that tie the hands of those who feed and fuel the world.”
Hinson said the bill would help boost local economies around the country while putting federal agencies closer to the groups they serve.
“This is about restoring public service to its true purpose — serving all Americans, not just a D.C.-centric bureaucracy that continues to issue out-of-touch mandates hurting working families, small businesses, and farmers across the country,” she said.
https://www.bisnow.com/national/news/office/a-new-bill-in-congress-would-banish-most-federal-agencies-from-the-capital-128011
SWAMP Act
Ha!
L.A.’s Homeless Services Chief Signed $2.1M in Contracts with Husband’s Employer
The chief executive of L.A.’s primary homeless services agency signed multiple contracts worth $2.1 million with the nonprofit that employs her husband despite previously stating she was “completely recused” from such dealings.
As LAist reports, Va Lecia Adams Kellum, who leads the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), signed a $2.1 million contract and two additional amendments with Upward Bound House, where her husband Edward Kellum serves as director of operations and compliance.
The documents show Adams Kellum’s signature directly above the name of her husband’s employer on three separate agreements. These include a May 2024 contract allocating nearly $2.1 million in federal funds to Upward Bound House for rent payments and housing assistance, plus two March 2024 amendments to existing contracts totaling $2.24 million for youth housing services.
LAHSA spokesperson Paul Rubenstein characterized the signatures as an inadvertent oversight, stating Adams Kellum “mistakenly signed” the documents after staff sent them to her instead of the agency’s top programs officer, who typically handles such matters when the CEO has a conflict.
The revelations stand in stark contrast to Adams Kellum’s December statement to LAist that she maintained strict separation from matters involving her husband’s employer. “This issue was disclosed when I was hired,” she wrote at the time. “LAHSA’s [legal] counsel has put procedures in place that have been followed and these procedures ‘walled me off’ from any involvement.”
Ethics experts view the situation with concern. “The laws are pretty specific that you can’t have any participation whatsoever,” said Sean McMorris of California Common Cause. “You should not be putting your signature on any such contract.”
The findings arrive amid growing scrutiny of LAHSA, which manages over $700 million annually in homeless services contracts. L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath called for the county to withdraw its funding after a November audit revealed oversight failures. The Board of Supervisors approved exploring direct county management of the spending.
City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez called Adams Kellum’s contract signatures “really problematic” and “absolutely unacceptable.” With a $430,000 annual salary—42% more than L.A.’s mayor—Rodriguez emphasized that LAHSA’s CEO should maintain high ethical standards.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/human-resources/l-a-s-homeless-services-chief-signed-2-1m-in-contracts-with-husband-s-employer/ar-AA1yVwG6
Sounds like all she will get is a tongue lashing and a slap on the wrist. She won’t be prosecuted or even fired. Business as usual in Clownifornia.
At San Francisco protest, federal workers warn that Musk plan will backfire
The sudden email that laid off a group of federal employees Tuesday evening didn’t even use people’s names. Instead, each email was addressed to “[EmployeeFirstName] [EmployeeLastName], [JobTitle], [Division].”
Colleen Fewer, who had worked as an enforcement attorney at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for about seven months, told SFGATE the impersonal layoff message felt “like being broken up with over text.”
But now, the CFPB’s work is stopped in its tracks — from court proceedings to routine bank examinations to directing complaints from consumers to companies. The New York Times reported that Vought’s work stoppage orders included stoppages to all investigations, enforcement and regulatory supervision. Vought posted on X Sunday to say, “The CFPB has been a woke & weaponized agency against disfavored industries and individuals for a long time.” Workers from Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency entered CFPB computers last week, the Washington Post reported.
The protest’s speakers included Ted Mermin, the executive director of the Berkeley Center for Consumer Law & Economic Justice. The lecturer and lawyer praised the CFPB’s work, saying that the agency provides Americans with somewhere to turn in the face of deceptive mortgages and unfair foreclosures.
“These are folks who could be earning three, four, five times as much money doing something else, but they are working on our behalf instead,” Mermin said.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/at-san-francisco-protest-federal-workers-warn-that-musk-plan-will-backfire/ar-AA1yWdMP
“These are folks who could be earning three, four, five times as much money doing something else, but they are working on our behalf instead,” Mermin said.
I really, really doubt that. Haven’t there been studies that show when a FedGov employees benefits are taken into account that they are better paid than comparable private sector workers?
Well, now that they are free from the shackles of government work, they are free to go accept one of these much more lucrative positions. HA HA
esp now that most of the government funded NGO’s are shut down, I won’t hold my breath on any of these useless leeches getting a job at anywhere near their former salary. Hope they saved up.
I kind of doubt their 7 figure CEOs will find much interest in them
Inside FEMA’s sickening history of misspending billions of taxpayers’ dollars — and going largely unchecked
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has mismanaged tens of billions of dollars over the years, according to numerous government reports on its spending.
The government agency’s response to COVID, hurricanes, floods and housing migrants have all come under fire for being wasteful and going largely unchecked — and the newly created Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has been sent in to analyze its spending.
The most recent audit of the embattled disaster response agency claimed it mismanaged nearly $10 billion during the COVID pandemic between 2020 and 2023.
FEMA even approved a grant of $1.1 billion despite it only being supported by only a single piece of paper with no itemized costs, a Jan. 30 audit by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of the Inspector General found.
The request was also “not prepared by a licensed professional engineer or cost-estimating professional,” according to the 36-page report.
During the pandemic, $1.5 billion was doled out “for one state’s medical staffing” without the proper vetting and “could have been put to better use for other disasters,” the January audit found.
“These issues occurred due to the unprecedented circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and FEMA not following established requirements when delivering public assistance funding,” said the report, which did not name the states that received the FEMA pandemic payments.
It also cited $8.1 billion distributed by FEMA for “costs that have yet to be determined allowable,” according to the report.
A leading FEMA critic said there is “no doubt” the agency made a mess of COVID disaster relief.
“What we sometimes fail to remember is that in the aftermath of a disaster, there are victims, and this bureaucracy has just continued to revictimize those victims,” said Garret Graves, a former Republican congressman from Louisiana who is a favorite to lead the agency — a job he told The Post Monday he does not want.
“I appreciate the gesture, but it’s such a dysfunctional bureaucracy that I don’t think I would last a month,” he said, adding that he supports DOGE boss Elon Musk’s plans to streamline the agency.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in an interview with CNN Sunday she is in favor of getting rid of FEMA “the way it exists today.”
https://nypost.com/2025/02/11/us-news/femas-troubling-history-of-misspending-taxpayers-cash/
** “Garret Graves, a former Republican congressman from Louisiana who is a favorite to lead the agency — a job he told The Post Monday he does not want.”
“I appreciate the gesture, but it’s such a dysfunctional bureaucracy that I don’t think I would last a month,” he said . . .
Translation: “Garret would never join any club that that would have him”
Australian researchers in limbo amid Trump’s proposed funding cuts to health agency
Australian researchers dependent on US funding and collaborations are facing an uncertain future as the Trump administration attempts to slash funding and slap restrictions on medical and scientific research.
Last week, the US government announced plans to cut $US4 billion ($6.4 billion) in research overhead costs — known as “indirect costs” — at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world.
Government funding of indirect costs typically helps research institutions, including universities and hospitals, run facilities and cover administration fees. Last year, $US9 billion ($14.3 billion) — or roughly 26 per cent — of NIH funding went to indirect research costs.
In addition to the proposed funding cuts, US science and health agencies have been grappling with executive orders to combat “gender ideology”, end diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts and a government freeze on federal grants and loans (which has since been rescinded).
Nick Talley, laureate professor and pro vice-chancellor of global research at the University of Newcastle, said although NIH grants made up a relative minority of research funding in Australia, the proposed cuts — and other Trump orders — were “very worrying”.
“There’s no doubt this has sent a chill through medical and health research throughout the world,” he said. “These edicts are attacks on health research.”
In January, federal health officials in the US were instructed to pause public communications and the publishing of scientific information, including H5N1 bird flu data.
To comply with an executive order barring any material that promoted “gender ideology”, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also removed thousands of pages from its website, including publications and guidelines on immunisation, contraception, and racism in healthcare, as well as HIV resources. Some of these pages have since been restored.
Professor Talley described the decision to remove or stop publishing scientific data as “incredibly dangerous”.
“It means there’s an information gap for public health officials … You can’t make sensible public health policy or protect people if the truth isn’t out there,” he said.
“It’s one of the most remarkable things I’ve seen in my career — the censoring of science by the United States.”
According to reports, CDC scientists have also been ordered by the Trump administration to withdraw any scientific papers submitted for publication that mention terms such as “gender”, “transgender” and “LGBT”.
Similarly, the NSF is reportedly reviewing current research grants to determine if they violate Trump’s directives (using keywords such as “women”, “equity”, “diverse” and “trauma”), while the NIH is allegedly vetting grant renewals and new proposals.
“There are very specific examples like gender-based research, which is clearly under threat,” Professor Talley said.
“Australia’s been a leader in the research world in terms of DEI and other aspects. Will that change now there’s been this sweeping wind of change in the US? “You do worry about it.”
https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2025-02-13/trump-funding-cuts-medical-scientific-research/104927168
Why do all these prosperous first world countries need our money to fund their programs?
Note that they call DEI ‘science’.
Yeah, math-less science. LOL
It’s worse than that. This crap was racist, sexually deviant bigotry. Didn’t the natzies call their racism ‘science’?
The rage was real: Inside the Democrats’ virtual listening tour | John L. Micek
The rage was real. And, at times, it was incandescent. The question, of course, was how to channel it.
For Massachusetts Democrats, searching for a way forward in the wake of last November’s electoral defeats and a Trump White House in ascendancy, the answers have ranged from the practical to the fanciful.
At one end of the spectrum: Pressuring the state’s two U.S. senators to withhold confirmation votes for President Donald Trump’s remaining cabinet appointees and to frustrate his legislative agenda at every turn.
On the other, the creation of a state-level escrow account where Massachusetts taxpayers could park their federal income tax payments in protest.
The two poles emerged on Monday night during the latest installment of a “virtual” statewide listening tour that Massachusetts Democrats kicked off last month.
The tour, equal parts primal scream and strategy session, has taken Democrats across the state’s congressional districts, alighting Monday in the South Boston-based 8th District seat now held by U.S. Rep. Stephen Lynch.
Some 140 people jumped on the call, with 40 queuing up almost immediately to make their voices heard. Journalists listening in were barred from quoting them directly.
But distinct patterns swiftly emerged.
Some faulted the party’s leadership and the former Biden administration for its support for Israel’s war against the terrorist group Hamas.
Lynch, meanwhile, got roasted for voting in favor of The Laken Riley Act, a GOP-backed law mandating the federal detention of undocumented immigrants accused of theft, burglary, assaulting a police officer or any other offense that causes “death or serious bodily injury.”
Trump signed the bill into law last month. It was named for a Georgia nursing student who was killed by a Venezuelan immigrant living in the U.S. illegally,
It was the first bill the Republican president signed at the start of his second term.
Lynch a former union leader, defended the vote in an interview with WBUR-FM, acknowledging the bill was “imperfect.” but adding that it was a way to address an immigration system that was “completely out of control.”
But the majority of Monday’s call, like others across the state, focused on how Democrats can regain working-class voters who once made up the party’s base and who have flocked to the Republicans.
And, importantly for Massachusetts, some questioned how Democrats can win over more of the independent voters who now make up the largest share of the state’s electorate.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/the-rage-was-real-inside-the-democrats-virtual-listening-tour-john-l-micek/ar-AA1yTck8
Whining violent terrorists. The left is sick
But the majority of Monday’s call, like others across the state, focused on how Democrats can regain working-class voters who once made up the party’s base and who have flocked to the Republicans.
And how will they do that? By doubling down on their sacred cows? Because if they move to the center, won’t that make them Nahtsees?
Mother, farm worker prepares to self-deport to Mexico after nearly two decades in the US
President Donald Trump’s executive order of mass deportations is causing fear among several people without immigration status.
One Mexican-born mother, who resides in the Inland Empire has decided to return to her home state.
Maria, a mother who did not want to reveal her identity out of fear, says she has lived and worked in the U.S. for more than 18 years, and although they have tried to fix her immigration status, she has been unsuccessful.
The decision to return to the country where she was born has been one of the hardest decisions for this mother.
Originally from the state of Michoacán, she sought the American dream for almost two decades working in the fields. The mother of two children born in this country, today she only thinks about the journey that awaits her to start over, although she is looking for a way to take all her belongings with her.
“Well, everything I bought, my televisions, my refrigerator and maybe my car. The truth is not much and if I take everything with me because I don’t think I will return, I have my house there and I plan to stay there,” said Maria.
For people like Maria, the Mexican Consulate, in all of its offices in the United States, has the “Drive Home List” program, which allows Mexican citizens who reside abroad to import their household belongings free of import duties.
Although Maria has decided not to return to the United States, she said that when her children reach the age of majority, she will support their decision if they want to return to the States.
“I think that when they come of age they will return, not me, I will stay in my country,” Maria said.
https://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/farm-worker-mother-inland-empire-self-deport/3631781/
Peace
Well, everything I bought, my televisions, my refrigerator and maybe my car. The truth is not much and if I take everything with me because I don’t think I will return, I have my house there and I plan to stay there’
I’d bet Maria bought her Mexican shanty with the money she made here doing jobs we won’t do. By the time yer rugrats grow up Maria we’ll have made sure they aren’t citizens anymore.
Last Wednesday, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids began in an apartment building in the early morning hours. Working with Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and FBI agents, they knocked on doors, stopped cars and took multiple people into custody.
It was just one of multiple immigration enforcement operations happening throughout the Denver area that day.
Law enforcement said publicly that they were targeting the most dangerous undocumented individuals. However, people ABC News spoke with said agents went door to door, questioning residents at every unit — more than a hundred in total — demanding identification and asking if drugs were inside.
While large-scale operations like this can net arrests, residents said going door to door created unreasonable panic and fear for everyone involved.
Two federal law enforcement sources told ABC News that the operation yielded the arrest of just one alleged gang member. The sources said 29 people were also detained.
Chicago is a sanctuary city, which means that it largely does not disclose immigration status to authorities or deny services if a resident is undocumented.
Some residents told ABC News they’re feeling the impact of the Trump administration’s crackdown. On the city’s north side, many migrants gather near a busy shopping area to look for work each day.
One man from Colombia said he has been in the U.S. for a year and a half, and looks for whatever work is available so he can support his family.
“A lot of people drive by and look at me like I’m a dog, like I’m a derelict of society,” he told ABC News.
Passaic, New Jersey
Over the weekend, hundreds took to the streets of this immigrant-rich community to protest recent ICE raids and arrests, while also demanding statewide protections for immigrants. Organizers also handed out pamphlets so they know their rights if they’re approached by ICE.
“I think there’s politicians who want to feed people’s anger about their individual situations — and so they want to raise up some kind of opponent — someone for everyone to hate,” protester and journalist Charlie Bagli told ABC News.
“And so they put a lot of hate into immigrants. Most of them are working their asses off and sending half their paycheck back home.”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/trumps-immigration-crackdown-ripples-across-the-us/ar-AA1yWdL5
Here’s the thing Charlie, all of the illegals are sucking every teat the guberment has while they steal jobs, drive down wages, create crime and ‘sending half their paycheck back home’.
+1
And a reminder, if you showed up at Ellis Island 100+ years ago and were deemed to be unable to support yourself or didn’t have a sponsor, they put you back on the boat.
UK Immigration Crackdown, Including On Indian Restaurants, Mirrors Trump Playbook
NEW DELHI – The UK Labour government has intensified its crackdown on illegal workers, adopting enforcement measures reminiscent of U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. In a nationwide operation, authorities have raided businesses including Indian restaurants, employing undocumented migrants, leading to a surge in arrests and deportations.
The Home Office reported that in January, enforcement teams inspected 828 premises—a 48% increase from the same period last year—resulting in 609 arrests, a 73% rise. The crackdown, overseen by Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, targeted industries including restaurants, takeaways, cafes, convenience stores, nail bars, and car washes. A raid on an Indian restaurant in Humberside led to seven arrests and four detentions.
“The immigration rules must be respected and enforced. For far too long, employers have been able to take on and exploit illegal migrants,” Cooper said. “Not only does this create a dangerous draw for people to risk their lives by crossing the Channel in a small boat, but it results in the abuse of vulnerable people, the immigration system, and our economy.”
Echoing Trump’s immigration strategy, the UK government has publicly released video footage of deportation flights, showing migrants being escorted onto charter jets. Officials say those deported include criminals convicted of drug offences, theft, rape, and murder.
The crackdown coincides with the return of the Border Security, Asylum and Immigration Bill to Parliament for its second reading. The proposed legislation seeks to expand law enforcement powers, including the ability to seize mobile phones from undocumented migrants before arrest.
The opposition Conservative Party has criticized the bill, calling it insufficient. “Under new leadership, the Conservatives are coming up with effective and deliverable reforms to cut immigration. Our country is our home, not a hotel,” said Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp.
Since Labour took office, nearly 19,000 foreign criminals and undocumented migrants have been deported, marking the highest removal rate since 2018, according to government data.
https://indiawest.com/uk-immigration-crackdown-including-on-indian-restaurants-mirrors-trump-playbook/
US Attorney, Tennessee agencies announce indictments related to Tren de Aragua
The U.S. Attorney’s Office joined law enforcement agencies in Tennessee in announcing the indictment of multiple people in the state with ties to the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua (TdA).
Members of the violent South American gang were found living in the suburbs of Middle Tennessee.
Acting U.S. Attorney Robert McGuire and leaders with the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD), Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), and other federal agencies announced the results of the investigation involving Nashville and Texas, where those charged were conducting an alleged sex trafficking ring.
Officials said young women were often single mothers from South and Central America.
Two of the eight indicted, Yilibeth Rivero Decaldera and her son Kleiver Daniel Mota Rivero, are the two arrested allegedly tied to TdA.
Officials said they used their Tren De Aragua ties to scare the undocumented women into commercial sex and exploitation. They and six others are facing human trafficking charges for an operation beginning in 2022.
Officials also say a third person, Yuribetzi Del Valle Gomez Machuca, was the enforcer in the Nashville motels. She is additionally charged with sex trafficking conspiracy for conspiring to use force, fraud, and coercion to compel the women into engaging in commercial sex acts for the defendants’ profit that include invoking alleged ties to the Venezuelan gang.
Metro Police said one of the operations were run inside a Super 8 motel on Murfreesboro Pike back in 2023.
“The trafficking of human beings is abhorrent to all of us, it’s modern-day form of slavery,” MNPD Chief John Drake said. “I want to be very clear, our police department will always make human trafficking an investigative priority regardless of where the suspects are from and will work with our partners for an intentional and coordinated law enforcement response.”
Hala Hata owns a store across the street. “It’s bad, it’s very bad,” Hata states. “Why come in here and make this?”
All charged defendants are in federal custody. They have multiple charges including conspiracy to commit interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution. Mota and Rivero also have a sex trafficking conspiracy charge which would carry a life sentence.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/u-s-attorney-joining-tennessee-agencies-announcing-indictments-related-to-tren-de-aragua/ar-AA1yPP7g
Two of the eight indicted, Yilibeth Rivero Decaldera and her son Kleiver Daniel Mota Rivero, are the two arrested allegedly tied to TdA.
What is with Venezuelans and the weird, made up names? Is there no one there named Juan, Jose, Manuel, Carlos, Miguel, etc.?
https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/realestate/as-buyers-fail-to-show-up-more-homes-are-being-pulled-from-sale/ar-AA1yY8ss
As Buyers Fail to Show Up, More Homes Are Being Pulled From Sale
Story by Carol Ryan • 6h • 3 min read
The Wall Street Journal. “Nearly 73,000 homes were pulled from sale after they failed to find a buyer in the final month of last year, data from CoreLogic show. Delistings tend to spike in winter when fewer people are actively looking for a home. But the trend last December was unusually strong, representing almost one in 10 properties on the market, and a 64% increase from the same month of 2023. The jump in delistings indicates that much of the extra inventory that hit the housing market throughout 2024 sat unsold, so had to be pulled in higher numbers come winter. It also suggests there is a bit more pent-up desire to sell than headline inventory figures would indicate.”
– So, pent-up supply? 😂 What happened to my pent-up demand? 🤔
https://www.redfin.com/news/pending-home-sales-fall-december-2024/
Pending Home Sales Fell the Most Since 2022 in December as Mortgage Rates Jumped
January 17, 2025 by Lily Katz
“Pending home sales fell 4.5% month over month in December on a seasonally adjusted basis, the largest decline since October 2022. They dropped 2.3% year over year.”
– PHS is a leading indicator of existing home sales (EHS). EHS are the largest component of home sales vs. new home sales (NHS).
“Home purchases fell through at the highest December rate on record, which likely contributed to the decline in pending sales. Nearly 40,000 home-purchase agreements were canceled in December, equal to 16.2% of homes that went under contract that month. That’s the highest December percentage in records dating back to 2017 and is up from 15.1% a year earlier.”
– So, listings are being pulled only to try again in the Spring.
– And cancellations are at record level (2017).
– Mortgage rates are at 7% (7.04% at MND today). Rates aren’t likely to go down much. Note that inflation is rearing its ugly head again.
– All carrying (holding) costs for housing have and are continuing to rise. Inflation’s a b!tch.
– The only way rates will go down is in a recession, and then more buyers will be unemployed. Uncle Sam (public sector) is downsizing, but then again, so is the private sector. Recession is likely in 2025, IMHO. Another reason to hold off on buying this year.
– U. Mich. “Buying Conditions for Houses” U.S. consumer sentiment is at 50+ year lows. Houses are the most unaffordable ever.
– New home prices are now less than existing / resale / used home prices, which indicates huge disfunction in the housing market.
– Home sales are at 30 year lows. Something around 4M units, SAAR.
– IDK, but there may be too many Realtors.
– Nothing works quite like Central Planning.
– The Spring selling season – just around the corner – will be strong then?
This is Putin and Trump’s world now
Since the invasion, that has been an American mantra – the promise not to indulge in Russia’s game of carving up third countries between the two superpowers.
Not any more.
In what Donald Trump called a “highly productive” phone call, he and Vladimir Putin “agreed to have our respective teams start negotiations immediately”.
If that is what happened, it is a great victory for Putin’s world view.
Pete Hegseth, Mr Trump’s secretary of defence, drew the outline of the US president’s vision of peace in blunt terms during Wednesday’s meeting with Nato defence ministers.
Occupied territory will not be given back to Ukraine, he said – implying a freeze along the current line of contact. Ukraine will receive neither Nato membership nor an Article Five security guarantee. And absolutely no US troops will be involved in the peace-keeping force.
That’s a grim deal that will reward Russia with stolen land and leave Ukraine vulnerable to a second attack in years to come.
But there is a catch. As Mr Trump has made clear, and Mr Hegseth spelt out in language even a child could understand, America is not interested in underwriting either Ukrainian or European security.
Meanwhile, Britain and Europe must ask whether they to want to be at the table – or on the menu.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/putin-trump-world-now-205221396.html
The gravy train is over globalist euroscum. You wanted a proxy war, you got it and lost. And now pay fer yer own defense. If yer real nice they might sell you some gas so you don’t have to freeze in the dark.
I want our $200+ billion of U.S. taxpayer money back.
What I read was President Trump wants $500 billion as part of the deal. Ukranistan can pay us with rare metals.
ICE Arrests Illegal Alien Who Was Released By Massachusetts Court For Horrific Child Rape
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) apprehended a Guatemalan national in Framingham, Massachusetts, on February 2, who is facing multiple charges of child rape. Jose Fernando-Perez, 49, who was illegally present in the United States, has been charged with three counts of forcible rape of a child and three counts of aggravated rape of a child.
ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde emphasized the severity of the charges and the agency’s commitment to targeting dangerous individuals.
“Jose Fernando-Perez has been charged with some horrific crimes against a minor in our commonwealth,” Hyde said. “He is exactly the type of alien we are targeting with our ‘worst first’ policy. He posed a significant danger to the children of Massachusetts, and we will not tolerate such a threat to our community. ICE Boston will continue to prioritize the safety of our public by arresting and removing egregious alien offenders from our New England communities.”
Fernando-Perez illegally entered the United States on an unknown date and at an unknown location without being inspected, admitted, or paroled by a U.S. immigration official. His criminal history in the U.S. dates back to 2005, when he was arraigned in Lynn District Court for leaving the scene of an accident with property damage and attaching inaccurate license plates. He was convicted of those charges in 2012.
In April 2022, Fernando-Perez was arraigned in Lynn District Court for rape of a child by force. The case was later dismissed after he was indicted in superior court. ICE lodged an immigration detainer against him on May 16, 2022, with the Essex County House of Correction.
However, the Essex County Superior Court in Salem, Massachusetts, ignored the detainer and released Fernando-Perez on pre-trial conditions on October 6, 2022.
The superior court had arraigned Fernando-Perez on three counts of rape of a child by force and three counts of aggravated rape of a child. Despite the serious nature of the charges, his release prompted ICE to take action to ensure he would not pose a further threat to the community.
Following his arrest, ICE officers served Fernando-Perez with a notice to appear before a Department of Justice immigration judge. He remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/crime/general/ice-arrests-illegal-alien-who-was-released-by-massachusetts-court-for-horrific-child-rape/ar-AA1yZ3dT
“However, the Essex County Superior Court in Salem, Massachusetts, ignored the detainer and released Fernando-Perez on pre-trial conditions on October 6, 2022.”
Wonder what the local taxpayers think about this?
NY Times – Trump’s Whirlwind Now Blows Through Europe.
The new Trump foreign policy team has brought a dizzying message to European allies on A.I., Ukraine and more. It has already left many angered and chagrined.
https://archive.ph/HCHeh#selection-4621.0-4625.158
[Some snips …]
The great collision has begun.
As President Trump’s national security team arrived in Europe this week, very little about their hard-line message came as a surprise. But to the political and diplomatic leaders arriving in Munich on Friday for an annual security conference where fault lines in the Western alliance are always on display, it was the size and suddenness of the breach with the Trump administration that was shocking.
In sharp contrast to his first term, Mr. Trump began imposing tariffs before he began even cursory diplomatic negotiations, hitting allies and adversaries alike and wiping out years of trade agreements.
While Mr. Trump was signing executive orders, his vice president, JD Vance, arrived in Paris and told an assemblage of leaders debating the future of artificial intelligence that America would dominate the industry, make the most advanced chips on American soil, write the software there and set the rules. Europe could either get on board or get out of the way.
Then came Ukraine. On Wednesday, Mr. Trump’s new defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, told a meeting of allies in Brussels that Ukraine must give up its objective of recapturing all its lost territory in the war with Russia. Within hours, Mr. Trump was on the phone with the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, promising negotiations but having already conceded territory Russia occupies and an assurance to the Russian leader that Ukraine would never be in NATO. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is in Kyiv to begin negotiating American rights to Ukraine’s untapped rare earth metals.
The declarations of unilateral concessions left European leaders, and of course President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, effectively sidelined, bystanders to the negotiations about the fate of Ukraine’s boundaries and, to some degree, Europe’s future. On Thursday they began pushing back against the new administration’s message, delicately, recognizing that to trigger Mr. Trump’s wrath could leave them in a deeper freeze.
“It is crucial that Ukraine is closely involved in all talks on its future,” Mark Rutte, the NATO secretary general, said ahead of a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, sounding like a man who could not believe he had to state the obvious. John Healey, Britain’s defense secretary, said, “There can be no negotiation about Ukraine without Ukraine, and Ukraine’s voice must be at the heart of any talks.”
Mr. Zelensky, after initially thanking Mr. Trump on social media for pursuing a peace deal, said on Thursday that he would not accept any agreement negotiated without him participating. It is “important that everything does not go according to Putin’s plan,” he said. “There can be no talk about Ukraine without Ukraine,” he insisted.
It remains to be seen whether the Trump administration heeds the warning, ignores it, or tries to weave a middle path, giving Europe and Ukraine a sort of backbench role in the negotiations. The first indications may come on Friday, when Mr. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and a raft of Mr. Trump’s other newly minted national security officials will jam into the quaint Bayerischer Hof, a luxury hotel that has been host to the conference since the Cold War. There is talk of a meeting with Mr. Zelensky.
But the fact is that Mr. Trump and his team have already laid out the new American agenda, demands up front. And in this new era of coercive diplomacy, there are many.
In interviews in the past few days, American officials indicated they plan to press upon European nations that when it comes to defending Ukraine after a peace agreement, the burden will be almost entirely on Europe’s own forces, with America supporting with intelligence and consultations, but no troops.
And they will insist that Mr. Trump is not kidding when he demands that NATO nations double to triple their military spending, raising the goal from the current 2 percent of their gross domestic product to 5 percent. (The U.S. spends 3.5 percent and the White House will not say whether the U.S. would also comply with new target.)
The shift in tone from the United States and clash of objectives with its allies was dizzying and certain to be on display in Munich.
Among the most fraught may be the meeting of the newly sworn-in director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, whose embrace of Russian talking points alarmed European officials, and the C.I.A. director, John Ratcliffe, with the intelligence chiefs of the major allies, who have been deeply engaged in countering Mr. Putin’s sabotage campaign around Europe.
[snip]
In side sessions, they would haggle over the wording of promises that, one day, Ukraine would become a full NATO ally, if there was disagreement about what someday meant.
Mr. Hegseth effectively dismissed those conversations as a fantasy, empty principles that he insisted European leaders and Mr. Zelensky should give up. When President Trump held his 90-minute call on Wednesday with Mr. Putin, it was the first direct conversation between an American president and his Russian counterpart in more than three years.
But there were few celebrations that a peace deal could finally be seen in the distance. It was lost on no one here in Munich that Mr. Trump’s phone call was conducted by himself — and that he named a negotiating team of four aides without saying a word about the involvement of the Europeans or the Ukrainians.
Mr. Hegseth’s message this week was that recapturing lost lands by Ukraine was “an unrealistic objective.” And the new timeline for Ukraine’s NATO membership is, he argued, so far into the future it might as well be never.
But it was not just the blunt tone that jarred and angered European officials. It was also the fact that Mr. Trump and Mr. Hegseth seemed to tell Mr. Putin just what he wanted to hear about the shape of a deal.
‘It remains to be seen whether the Trump administration heeds the warning, ignores it, or tries to weave a middle path, giving Europe and Ukraine a sort of backbench role in the negotiation’
IMO it’s pretty clear the agreement has been made.
‘But it was not just the blunt tone that jarred and angered European officials. It was also the fact that Mr. Trump and Mr. Hegseth seemed to tell Mr. Putin just what he wanted to hear about the shape of a deal’
Trump previously tried to push on Putin and he said pound sand. Let’s not forget why this happened. Ukranistan wouldn’t stop shelling civilians in Donetsk and Lugansk for years. It was deadly provocation after provocation. When FJB showed up and it was clear it would only intensify, they made their move.
These territory’s they are talking about were paid for by Russia, with hundreds of thousands of it’s men. They need the buffer zones in case hostilities begin again. In their eyes the west can’t be trusted and if you don’t like it they have nukes. They say straight out when and where they are willing to use them. This was a might makes right outcome that Putin navigated well considering Russia has the GDP of K-da or Spain. It now appears it was also a smart move by Putin to let Syria go in that sneak attack a few months ago.
Poll: Trump Winning Over Black Men, DEI Skeptics, and Border Hawks as Democrats Lose Ground.
https://www.cygn.al/poll-trump-winning-over-black-men-dei-skeptics-and-border-hawks-as-democrats-lose-ground/
‘COVID for Sure from a Lab: two-thirds agree that COVID-19 more likely originated from a Chinese lab leak than natural causes. Only 17% agree with Anthony Fauci and Democratic Leadership that the virus arose from natural causes.’
In 2020 the great State of Missouri sued China for 25 billion involving damage related to Covid. Apparently the major charge that looks like its holding in the Appeals Court is the hoarding of covid masks on market.
China refused to respond to lawsuit, so a default would mean Missouri could take 50 billion in China Assets.
Also , US States preparing to bring criminal charges
against Dr Fauci, that the Biden Pardon can’t prevent.
If you remember it was Missouri that sued Biden for Censorship , etc. Something about the Great State of Missouri.
[Here is a long read from the WSJ.]
The Saturday Essay.
Alex Karp Wants Silicon Valley to Fight for America
The Palantir CEO thinks that tech companies have lost their way, focusing on diversions for consumers rather than on defending the nation that ‘made their rise possible’
https://archive.ph/cG3qn#selection-2609.0-2609.404
[Here is snip …]
Palantir is “very long America,” said Karp. He is quick to remind potential clients that he is happy to assist in the dirty work of empire. On an earnings call with investors earlier this month, he said Palantir is “making America more lethal” by analyzing troves of data for the U.S. armed forces and allies to help them anticipate enemies’ moves, locate their coordinates “and, on occasion, kill them.”
[A view from Down Under that has absolutely nothing to do with housing but nevertheless is interesting and informative …]
France attracts global AI industry with nuclear power — Renewables-nations attract … nothing much.
By Jo Nova
https://www.joannenova.com.au/2025/02/france-attracts-ai-industry-with-nuclear-power-renewables-nations-attract-nothing-much/
A fork in the road…
At this moment in history, as AI takes off, France has a couple of gigawatts of reliable baseload power to spare. It has a vision of being one of the global Big Three industrial hubs of AI development along with China and the USA. The French Energy giant EDF is offering land near the power plants to build big new AI datacenters, and is already signing those deals.
With AI on the cusp of self-directed robots to transform manufacturing, transportation, medicine, research, and farming, it could be remaking whole economies soon.
Ten or twenty years ago, Australia could have joined this party. We could have expanded our economy vastly, putting us at the front of the new technology. Instead we wrecked the grid, blew up the coal plants, and ran out of gas. All so we “wouldn’t be left behind” or called mean names by someone at the UN.
France tempts AI firms with its nuclear electricity
World Nuclear News
UK-based AI cloud provider Fluidstack has signed a memorandum of understanding with the French government to construct one of the world’s largest decarbonised AI supercomputers in France. Meanwhile, utility EDF has identified four sites on its own land that it will offer for data centres. AI firms with its nuclear electricity.
It added: “Fluidstack and the French government recognise that AI’s future hinges on three core pillars: energy, compute power, and AI models. By leveraging France’s nuclear assets, the advanced grid infrastructure enabled by [grid operator] RTE, leading AI talent, and cutting-edge compute technologies, this partnership will establish France amongst the world’s top three AI hubs alongside the United States and China.”
Nobody tempts anyone with solar panels, voltage surges, price rises and unreliable power.
Fifty years ago France built 56 nuclear plants in just 15 years, and they’re still reaping rewards and opportunities from them.
AI’s future hinges on three core pillars: energy, compute power, and AI models
There is a fourth; the vast repositories of lies recorded by the fake news
Rolling Stones — High And Dry:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zna8-SIqMrc
Rolling Stones — It’s Not Easy:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49iOhz8VwAM
Hundreds Of Thousands Of Dollars Being Wiped Out (York Region Real Estate Market Update)
Team Sessa Real Estate
13 minutes ago VAUGHAN
In this episode, we look at the current Vaughan Home Prices, Richmond Hill Home Prices & Markham Home Prices and real estate market trends for the week ending Feb 5, 2025. We also discuss the common comment we hear that “prices have barely come down”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkG8uxm7seA
12 minutes.
At 4:40 – ‘now every day. Every single day.’ DONG!
‘Now, she said she feels her luck is running out. So, she is preparing to leave at any moment. ‘We canceled our bank accounts, took out my money so that I wouldn’t leave it, and we’ve even signed powers of attorney for our kids,’ Vero said. ‘I know other people who are selling their homes’
I realize time is short Vero, but don’t screw up the comps!
‘He pushed back on the use of ‘bailouts,’ saying that condo owners never wanted free money. ‘I would ask them what their definition is of a ‘bailout’…They’re looking for some relief through insurance, the way the insurance rates have skyrocketed. They’re looking for a little bit of relief on possibly some loans, low interest or no interest’
Sounds like free money Dan.
‘The problem is similar in nature but more compounded in Austin, where the current average rental rate is $1,435, down a shocking 12.5% from the $1,640 two-year high it posted in June 2023. The city has recently opened 36,000 units opened over the past year in Austin, only around 19,000 have been absorbed. The Texas capital is also looking at 16,500 units currently under construction with another 36,000 units proposed’
How do you like those 5% cap rates now boys?
‘‘To be honest, things have been getting worse because some of the land is deteriorating to the point where the ground is sinking and falling away from the house,’ said Darren Kearney, who owns a house in Hunter’s Mill. ‘It’s having a huge effect on our lives; we feel trapped.’ Kildrum in Galbally, County Tyrone, is one of hundreds of unadopted developments in Mid Ulster. Some residents said they feel left in limbo as part of the development remains unadopted. Ms Quinn has lived there for more than 20 years and said the unadopted part of the development has crumbling kerbstones, potholes and looks run down. ‘The place can look unsightly and unfinished, and it’s unfair when people have invested so much money into their family homes’
I know it may be a bad time to mention it Ms Quinn and Darren, but it was still way cheaper than renting.
Elon Musk has a father who just disclosed that Michelle Obama is a man. He said it was ” common knowledge.”
As far as I’m concerned it was a fraud to deceived the Public that
Michelle was a Women.
What would the election results of been had the Obamas disclosed that Michelle was a man parading around as a women.?
Does this have anything to do with the transgenger attack on minors, and the attempt to normalize
the crazy transgenger insanity that ended up destroying women’s sports?
The public had the right to determine if the Obamas were of sane mind, not blackmailable
and would not have a prejudice against frankly the majority who are normies.
Elon Musk has a father who just disclosed
Gossip has never been a reliable way to “know” things.
Elon’s DOGE Has Disrupted America
Farzad
2 hours ago
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZpnOdlCJaA
15:34.
Do you worry that rising US housing inventory will result in falling prices?
Real Estate
More homes are selling below asking price as inventory in the US climbs to a 5-year high
Filip De Mott
Feb 13, 2025, 10:09 AM CT
Home for sale price reduced sign
LifestyleVisuals/Getty Images
A five-year high in the inventory of homes for sale and anemic buyer demand is forcing many properties to sell below their asking price.
According to Redfin, the supply of homes for sale in the US reached the highest point since 2020 last month, with active listings climbing 12.9% year over year to climb past 1.79 million.
Behind the jump are more sellers and less demand from buyers.
Owners appear to be getting tired of waiting to sell, even if selling requires giving up low mortgage rates. As of the third quarter, 17% of owners had a mortgage with a rate of over 6%, the highest share since 2016. It suggests that more homeowners are accepting higher borrowing costs after years of waiting for mortgage rates to cool.
…
https://www.businessinsider.com/us-housing-supply-outlook-mortgage-rates-inventory-prices-redfin-2025-2