You have Obama imploding because of his religious affiliations. The economy is not in recession, in fact, there have been 6 months of positive growth. We all know the only way for the Democrats to win in November is to convince Americans the country is in recession whether or not its true.

Oh yes and to cap things off there are reports from scientists that in fact the world is cooling not warming.

Add to this this food shortages in the world due to the daft biofuel frenzy. Not affecting the US , of course, but the rest of the world; you know the people the left bang about all the time.

Pretty much this lot are just wrong on all counts and there is more proof of this every day. Expect them to ignore the facts and continue on blindly.

Watching them all squirm is just so much fun.

As you may or may not already be aware, members of the Watcher’s Council hold a vote every week on what they consider to be the most link-worthy pieces of writing around… per the Watcher’s instructions, I am submitting one of my own posts for consideration in the upcoming nominations process.

Here is the most recent winning council post, here is the most recent winning non-council post, here is the list of results for the latest vote, and here is the initial posting of all the nominees that were voted on.

If you want to have someone help yer cause don’t get Woody. The guy is barely coherent and stoned most of the time. He did not have the only daft statement about Snipes but it was most amusing. There are some complaining about Snipes’ three years in prison. You forget to pay $35k in taxes maybe you stay out of jail but $35 mil?

Its voluntary but a very good start. The fact he, as a Presidential nominee, is even broaching the subject is rather good. He keeps this up I won’t have as many reservations when I vote for him in November.

Via: Club for Growth. Wonder if the fact that education and the media is dominated by leftists has anything to do with the attitudes toward the free market here in the UK. Gordon & Co certainly are not making a very good case for capitalism or the free market at the moment.

This time I examine banks going wobbly. Furthermore I look at how its handled on either side of the Atlantic.

I have a piece over at Pajamas Media on the whole non-dom saga in the UK.

I have to say I agree with both Iain Dale and Guido (complete with cool graphic) about the whole Northern Rock debacle. The nationalisation of the bank is a further sign of Labour’s slide back to the 70s. When you add it to the daft non-dom laws that are to be introduced this government seems to have revived the playbook from the bad ole’ days of Labour. As a wag put it to me recently; I wonder if Labour would make so much fuss over a bank called Suffolk Banking?

An wobbly looking economy and the government wasting money bailing a bank out. What a foolish thing to do.

ConservativeHome has a good round-up of the Old Labour economics coming undone.

Will it surprise any of you, our clever readers, that London’s congestion charge has been a costly failure? I wonder if those that were so harsh on those of who thought it was a daft useless idea back before it was implemented?

The price of pasta has gone up 60% in the last year! This is according to MySuperMarket.com in a recent study. However Brown continues to say that inflation is only 3%. Butter is up 80%.

And its searchable pages are quite interesting to read. You can even order an “excerpt” for your town or area. This is one of those things that makes the internet so useful for all.

FRIENDS of rogue trader Jerome Kerviel last night blamed his $7 billion losses on unbearable levels of stress brought on by a punishing 30 hour week.

Kerviel hid his November losses in a batch of wonderfully fresh croissants.

Kerviel was known to start work as early as nine in the morning and still be at his desk at five or even five-thirty, often with just an hour and a half for lunch.

One colleague said: “He was, how you say, une workaholique. I have a family and a mistress so I would leave the office at around 2pm at the latest, if I wasn’t on strike.

“But Jerome was tied to that desk. One day I came back to the office at 3pm because I had forgotten my stupid little hat, and there he was, fast asleep on the photocopier.

“At first I assumed he had been having sex with it, but then I remembered he’d been working for almost six hours.”

As the losses mounted, Kerviel tried to conceal his bad trades by covering them with an intense red wine sauce, later switching to delicate pastry horns.

At one point he managed to dispose of dozens of transactions by hiding them inside vol-au-vent cases and staging a fake reception.

Last night a spokesman for Sct Gnrl denied that Kerviel was overworked, insisting he lost the money after betting that the French were about to stop being rude, lazy, arrogant ********.

from Tabitha

As you may or may not already be aware, members of the Watcher’s Council hold a vote every week on what they consider to be the most link-worthy pieces of writing around… per the Watcher’s instructions, I am submitting one of my own posts for consideration in the upcoming nominations process.

Here is the most recent winning council post, here is the most recent winning non-council post, here is the list of results for the latest vote, and here is the initial posting of all the nominees that were voted on.

Now organised and approved by virtual world creators. You would have thought this would have been done a while ago considering the huge market in trading virtual items. However better late than never; we have Live Gamer which has some impressive venture capital behind it as well as quite a few of the big name MMORPG producers. The website is worth a read as well.

This is part an effort to cut out the scammers, con-artists and other crooks. One wonders how successful they will be cleaning up the virtual market.

This bit of news I found over at Massively makes for good reading for we capitalists. Liberatarians, capitalists (in all their ilks) and cyberpunks have always seen communities as a way of getting the message across without boring the dickens out of people. Another fascinating bit of news is that there is a Constitutional movement ongoing on EVE Online.

Sometime soon I should be reviewing EVE online. Right now, when not under sedation and in the hospital I rather like Pirates of Carribean Online.

Getting a decent rate for your car insurance can be quite a pain. There are so many choices and so many ways of getting insured. Yes there are lots of ways to save online but do you really have the time to search out all the sites and find their best rates? I mean the companies are necessarily going to tell you how to spend as little as possible getting yourself insured.

For cheap cheap car insurance there are lots of comparison sites about to get your best prices. If you need decent car insurance quotes you should head to a good site that searches all the possible providers. GoCompare.com is just such a site and one that seems to work better than other options that are so frequently flogged online.

The site is easy to use and will give you what you need in a way that its easy to understand in little time. It allows to make the right decision for you and get on with your life. Despite what insurance companies might think we have more important things to do in life than just ponder their choices.

So do it right the first time and make sure you get the best deal at first attempt.

As someone with interest and interests in both the UK and the UK the whole housing markets problems have been a bit of a concern. Not that I necessarily am interested in either market at the moment but I do know quite a few people who are either looking, considering selling or even possible in a bit of a muddle for over-extending themselves. I take no pleasure for anyones troubles, even the ones who bored me stiff with bragging about their new investments or great big new place they boughteven though I knew they could not afford it.

Now to be honest I think that the US market is about to pick up in places that are not completely out of whack due to over-building like say South Florida. I do not believe the home loan problems are anywhere near as bad as they are in the UK. In the US things seem to be a bit more above board about the whole thing and while there was a bit of a panic the overall affect will be minimal to the market. The market will do, as it is supposed to, and sort itself out where it over-heated. Smart people will hold on and wait until things smooth out a bit.

Now the UK is another matter. With the government actively trying to slow the market and now hammering entrepreneurs with bigger taxes there will be a lack of capital in the market that will send prices down. People who have over extended themselves or gone over the top with Buy To Let Mortgages might have a bit of a rough few years.

There will be calls to limit the rampant capitalism and help those who got greedy or rather who were mislead. Browns government will resist the temptation to really meddle lest they be seen as helping greedy capitalists too much. The pound will go down and Britons will be less able to purchase property abroad.

The next few years will be interesting in the property market in the US, UK and in places like Spain and Portugal. It will not be for the faint hearted but the market will sort itself up.

The result of some of mortage shenanigans I have been writing about is that one might end up having bad credit. Now before you get all upset there are some good resoures online to help you. For instance you might be looking for a home loan even thought you have bad credit. There are good sites to help you in finding what is best for you without the hard sell. The internet is a great resource so use it.

Further my last piece on the whole selling mortgages to people who shouldnt have them; I was part of discussion with my wife and mother about the mess. The Wall Street Journal had an interesting piece, complete with graphic showing the highest concentrations of bad loans, in the last few days on where exactly these bad loans are centred.

It should shock no one to learn that the major concentrations of the worst loans are located in the property nutty Southern Florida and in Southern California. I happen to know that the former is in a nutty situation where developers are building news property even though there is a recognised glut in the property market. Many of the bad loans have been given to people trying to speculate in a market that they cant afford. A lot of these bad loans are in a situation where the value of the mortgage is higher than the value of the property.

Lending is going to get tighter all over the US; as lenders tighten their belts and hope for the best. However there will still be companies who use direct mail and other direct marketing to find customers for their loans. These companies should be wary of using this method for their business acquisition. Instead they should use existing software to make sure that rather than using a shotgun blast approach they target those who truly afford it. It will be better for these companies and their existing customers in the long run .

We all hope that advent of revelations of bad loans in certain locales, unsurprisingly the Dakotas are almost bereft of bad loans, that all the honest people trying to borrow money to move house arent affected. Loan companies need to clean their act up to protect their bottom line and prevent more regulation from government. We all know what a mess that makes of things. Those government bailouts come with strings attached more likely than not.

With the whole sub prime mortgage problem rearing it ugly head in the US and bubbling under in the UK. There is some thought it will be far worse in the UK when things really get cracking. Northern Rocks collapse is just the beginning of the fallout from banks lending to people who should not have anything to do with a new loan in the first place.

On a side note what has struck me as most amusing is the people who have bragged about the fact they have got a mortgage on a new house; even though you have heard them complain about their tight money situation. Now some will be blame the lenders; but the borrowers also have themselves to blame for being greedy and foolish.

Lending is going to get tighter in both the US and the UK; it already is to some extent. However there will still be companies with direct mail and other direct marketing efforts targeting who should not be offered loans in the first place. When these loans go awry neither the lender nor the borrower should be bailed out by government. Taxpayers should not be expected to bail out the greedy and the corrupt from messes of their own making.

Now this will take some political courage to resist the inevitable sob stories that will be found in the media. As with other aspects of law; ignorance is no excuse and does not mean an automatic call on the pocket-books of those who were responsible with their money. There are people with genuine need out there; bailing out people who go greedy on the property market is not a group that qualifies. Never mind the fact they have been driving up prices which is hurting potential buyers who can pay their way.

There should be no reward from the taxpayer for greed driven stupidity.

As you may or may not already be aware, members of the Watcher’s Council hold a vote every week on what they consider to be the most link-worthy pieces of writing around… per the Watcher’s instructions, I am submitting one of my own posts for consideration in the upcoming nominations process.

Here is the most recent winning council post, here is the most recent winning non-council post, here is the list of results for the latest vote, and here is the initial posting of all the nominees that were voted on.

For those of you that get a weekly or bi-weekly there is always the opportunity to get a cash advance on your paycheck in the form of a loan. Needless to say this is not a good idea as a weekly solution to your being short but its good that its there for responsible people to use in the rare occasion when something comes up unexpectedly. We all know life can throw you curve-balls that you don’t see coming no matter how well prepared you are financially. When stuff happns its always nice to have as many options as possible.

Over at Ashwins blog, you will find one crazy blog owner!! You can win $2500!! To enter just copy this text and paste it in your blog!! But hurry, this competition will not last long! So get posting!

Now cynics would have their doubts this is on the up, but the author of the site claims that if you win he will send you the amount via paypal. Anyway its a great way to get lots of attention to your site that is for damn sure.

One thing that has rather frustrated me recently is the tendency of certain large shops to jam mobile phone networks in their stores. Our local Marks & Spencer decided this might be a good idea. Now I am not enamored by the local shop after they were rude with me when I was standing near the women’s changing room while carrying things for my wife. However I think this whole mobile phone blocking has serious safety implications.

I am sure they shop will make some lame excuse about terrorism but I would suggest its empowerment to child molestors. Most small children have mobiles these days as a safety measure. Surely if they get seperated from their parents at a big department store is a bad idea that they contact their parents via texting or the phone?

This is addition to the nuisance that is not be able to have your phone online as you shop. Now we all know that people, ok women, take a long time to shop and are known for losing track of time. It is quite frustrating when you are trying to get in touch with them and are unable to because the bloody shop blocks her signal.

To make matters worse M&S do not advertise or warn the fact they are blocking your mobile signal. Its dishonest and unsafe for a store to do that.

Between the rude staff and the communication blackout there is no wonder M&S is losing customers.

Now I have been there and done that viz engagement rings, however I managed to learn quite a bit about them in the lead up to getting the right one for my lovely wife. Unlike many couples we did not do the surprise thing and I was not forced to guess exactly what she wanted for her ring. We did the bespoke thing and thus saved me embarassment. If you do not go that route it pays to know as much about engagement rings before you buy one. One wee tip however, if you are engaged to woman who is active and is going to wear her ring all the time beware of diamonds that stick out. There is nothing worse that losing the ring out of the setting.

With the high cost of “moving up” on the property ladder in the UK today many people are turning to home improvement rather than looking to buy. One of the easiest ways to add value to your flat, especially if you are near a road, is getting double glazing. It is quite amazing how it improves the quality of life when you have decent windows in your house or flat. Any even casual viewing of the ubiquitous house hunting programs in the UK will tell you how much interior noise matters to the sale of house.

Two really good ways of driving someone away from your pub…even though they are locals. The first one is the fact they don’t allow dogs even though they have a huge back garden (and no signs) and allow children. Secondly, they served me an “on-the-turn” pint of ale that is still repeating on me. I chugged it after being made to feel unwelcome. Any of you that has drunk a pint of skunked beer knows what I am talking about.

Let’s just say we ain’t going back to that pub ever again.

Now more than ever before, the Mac OS is the most cost effective operating system of all.

read more | digg story

Via: DK

With all the annoying problems travelling these days ones mind does turn to private jets. I have sat admiringly on the tarmac looking at some lucky sod getting into his Gulfstream and heading off into the skys. Well there is a company that specialises in such thing called Prudential Aviation. This is jet charter and there can be big discounts if you are able to use an empty flight flying back to your destination. If you have considered hiring a private jet why not contact Gordon Gerstein?

Another hike in interest rates and certainly wobbly sectors can lead to things coming a cropper when it comes to mortgages and credit card debts. If you are not careful its a very fine line between doing alright and having everything go rather awry. I do write from experience, not of having come seriously a cropper but having been staring on the edge of the precipice staring down at my fate. You never mean to get to that point but its surprising how easy it is to do so.

I never have had to use the services of a company that does debt consolidation but I understand that the right one can be most useful Handled properly it is possible to sort your life out and not ruin your future. Naturally as with anything else financial due care is needed in finding the proper people to handle your problem.

There are many services out there and one needs to make sure that you can properly control what is happening to you. You get this wrong and you can ruin your financial future for a very long time to come. As I have said before no one wants to think about this sort of thing until they really need it.

The TPA has a new report on just how over-budget the government is on all their big projects. It makes for sobering, if unsurprising, reading for all those who wonder why taxes are so high in the UK right now.

The wife and I are thinking of heading, with my beloved mater along, to Italy some time soon. They want to go for the shopping and I want to go for the sightseeing, and the wine as well. I was thinking it might be a good idea to look into Tuscany Villas to see if we can get a nice base. I am sure they would want to be in a shopping mecca but I hope we can come to some understanding so we are near stuff that might interest me too.

While I was in the US for the wedding and the various other elements round it I had quite a few chats with my British friends about investing and the current state of play. The subject of property came up several times, especially in light of the 2 to 1 strength of the pound versus the dollar. The UK market is at its peak right now and no sensible person should be buying their property at the top of the market. If could be argued that it might be to buy if you are paying rent as its always better to buy that to rent. In London prices will probably not be going down but other parts of the UK will see a fall in house prices as the interest rate rises are starting to bite. The market in the US is rather flat so there are some good deals to be had.

Many of my friends are thinking of buying an investment property in the US, some to stay in on holiday once or twice a year. They seem to prefer the East Coast as its easier to get there from London. Asheville real estate and Charlotte real estate would be an interesting to look for some of my chums. That part of the Eastern US coast is not as cold as New England or as packed as Florida. Friends interested investment would be good to compare mortgages before they get one for their investment in the US. It might interest my US readers to know that UK property programs are looking farther afield than just Florida these days.

Our friends know that we have just come back from our wedding and honeymoon. Many of them, considering the weather, are asking us if we are wishing we were still in the Caribbean in Cancun where we stayed. It is a most surprising to them when we point out that the weather in Cancun in mid-May this year was not that great at all.

Our accomodation in the Carribean was so good that it didn’t bother us in the slightest that much of the time the weather was not conducive to be outside. Despite the fact we failed to visit any attractions we had a wonderful time in Cancun. The entertainment both in-house and nearby was excellent with something for everyone. It says alot about our resort, the Excellence Cancun, that despite the fact we never left the resort for nine days and the fact it rained over half the time we were there we had a wonderful time.