Posts from — October 2008

Personal service corporations pay a flat 35%
[Yes, the table is correct and things are that screwed up.]

The Standard Deduction is $5,350 and the Personal Exemption is $3,400, so the first $8,750 isn’t actually subject to any income tax.

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Position: 18.9 N 113.2 W [10 PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: North-Northwest [330°] near 7 mph.
Maximum sustained winds: 90 mph [150 kph].
Wind Gusts: 115 mph.
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 140 miles [220 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 35 miles [55 km].
Minimum central pressure: 973 mb ↑.

It is 350 miles [560 km] Southwest of the tip of Baja California.

At 8 PM PDT…0300 UTC…the government of Mexico has issued a Hurricane Watch for the West Coast of Baja California from Puerto San Andresito southward and for the East Coast of Baja California from lareto southward including Cabo San Lucas. A Hurricane Watch means that hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area…generally within 36 hours.

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Echidne of the Snakes is absolutely, positively, unequivocally correct when she identifies what is happening as a crisis of trust in her post, Restoring Confidence in the Markets.

The people, institutions, companies, et al. that have money no longer trust those who don’t and want to borrow. This is why even the massive infusions of cash by the Fed aren’t having any real effect.  The rate drop has had no effect.

People have been talking about problems with the mortgage and housing industry for years and the people at the top have been berating the truth-tellers as Chicken Littles.  The people in the government have been lying about the real condition of the economy, and then when they could no longer hide the problems, they shifted to panic.  Well, they got their panic, but they don’t know how to deal with it.

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Nukes & Spooks writes that a New report questions data-mining as counter-terror tool.

I have been complaining for years about this approach for gathering intelligence, my first mention on this site was in December of 2005, but earlier than that in comments other places and using exactly the same analogy that the National Research Council uses in this report: a needle in a haystack.

They keep dumping “hay” on the stack [sucking up data] which makes it more unlikely you’ll ever find the “needle” [usable intelligence]. We need less data and more people looking. Data-mining uses up resources that could be used more effectively to actually increase our ability to find what we need.

Position: 17.1 N 111.8 W [10 PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: Northwest [300°] near 9 mph.
Maximum sustained winds: 135 mph [220 kph].
Wind Gusts: 160 mph.
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 145 miles [230 km].
Hurricane Wind Radius: 35 miles [55 km].
Minimum central pressure: 948 mb.

It is 420 miles [675 km] South-Southwest of the tip of Baja California.

This is an Eastern Pacific Storm, but Baja is my old stamping ground.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

It looked like a good idea at the time, but with the Canadian TSX exchange dropping like Wall Street, the October 14 election may not be kind to the current Conservative government of Stephen Harper.  A month ago things were moving right along and the future was rosy, but no longer.

This is not a good time to be in power and having to face the voters.

Well it probably has as much to do with A Modest Proposal as a “cunning plan”, but there are a few tweaks to the tax system that might help pay for all of the largess we are expending on the markets.

Obviously there will be a lot of action on capital gains, but as the bulk of the capital being gained comes from the taxpayers, it would be appropriate to limit the special capital gains tax rate for investments of five years or more. Less than five years and you are gambling, not investing. This would also eliminate the current loophole enjoyed by hedge fund managers.

While I opposed any government limit on pay scales, which are a matter between employer and employee, I see no reason taxpayers should subsidize excess, so I would limit the expense deduction for individual employee compensation to an amount equal to the salary of the President of the Unites States, currently $400,000 per annum, i.e. pay whatever you want, but only the first $400K may be taken as an expense against the taxable income.

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Position: 20.0 N 97.5 W [10 PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: West [270°] near 5 mph.
Maximum sustained winds: 25 mph [35 kph].
Wind Gusts: 30 mph.
Minimum central pressure: 1008 mb ↑.

It is inland 70 miles [110 km] South of Tuxpan, Mexico and 100 miles [165 km] West-Northwest of Veracruz.

This is the final advisory on Marco.

Here’s the link for NOAA’s latest satellite images.

[For the latest information click on the storm symbol, or go to the CATEGORIES drop-down box below the CALENDAR and select “Hurricanes” for all of the posts related to storms on this site.]

It’s October in a Presidential election year, so the Hedgemony issues a terrorist warning.

Five-year-old, non-specific information dealing with a guy who is dead, telling us to “be afraid”.

Let us hope they never get any real information about a real target, because at this point no one will believe them.

I noticed the Dow-Jones Industrial Average gave up its most significant digit today… so it could be used for the National Debt.

Today was the last day for registration to vote in the November general election in Florida.  If you missed it, you have to stop complaining and take your lumps.  If you don’t vote, don’t expect to be taken seriously.

The people I vote for rarely win, but I at least announce that there are people who oppose the stupidity.

Even if you can’t stand the candidates there are always ballot initiatives to oppose.

While it is five months until Susan Butcher Day and the start of the next race, MSNBC ran this article that I have been meaning to post: Why Iditarod sled dogs are super dogs

Alaskan huskies that participate in the grueling Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race must run 1,100 miles while enduring heavy blizzards, temperatures as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit and winds up to 60 miles per hour, all of which earn the hearty canines status as the world’s premier ultra-endurance animal athletes.

How do they do it? New research suggests the canines are superior to most other mammals, including humans, in at least three key areas: They are unusually adept at adapting to exercise, they have superior aerobic capacity and are unusually efficient in using food as fuel.

These dogs have evolved into the nearly perfect endurance athletes, although the article is mistaken in identifying them as “Alaskan huskies” as the sled dogs tend to be the result of a mix of several different breeds.

Position: 19.8 N 95.4 W [10 PM CDT 0300 UTC].
Movement: West-Northwest [295°] near 7 mph.
Maximum sustained winds: 65 mph [105 kph].
Wind Gusts: 75 mph.
Tropical Storm Wind Radius: 30 miles [45 km].
Minimum central pressure: 998 mb.

It is 65 miles [105 km] Northeast of Veracruz, Mexico in the Bay of Campeche.

At 4 PM CDT…2100 UTC…the government of Mexico has issued a Hurricane Watch for the Gulf Coast of Mexico from Cabo Rojo southward to Veracruz. A Hurricane Watch means that hurricane conditions are possible within the watch area…in this case within the next 24 hours.

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On MSNBC an AP report: Environmental damage widespread after Ike

WASHINGTON – Hurricane Ike’s winds and massive waves destroyed oil platforms, tossed storage tanks and punctured pipelines. The environmental damage only now is becoming apparent: At least a half million gallons of crude oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico and the marshes, bayous and bays of Louisiana and Texas, according to an analysis of federal data by The Associated Press.
…

The AP’s analysis found that, by far, the most common contaminant left in Ike’s wake was crude oil — the lifeblood and main industry of both Texas and Louisiana. In the week of reports analyzed, enough crude oil was spilled nearly to fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool, and more could be released, officials said, as platforms and pipelines were turned back on.

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