07:52 – The EU summit has already ended in disaster, with the main Friday meeting having just gotten underway. Late last night, it was announced that UK PM David Cameron had, unexpectedly, proven that he possesses a backbone. Cameron vetoed Merkozy’s plan to federalize the EU and thereby eliminate the sovereignty of member nations.
Merkozy are trying to make the best of this fundamental split, claiming that because the 17 euro nations and some of the non-euro EU members agreed to form a “super eurozone”, they have achieved their goal. They’re wrong, of course, because their plans depend upon this clique having its decisions enforced by institutions that belong to the entire EU, including the UK. And the UK maintains a veto over such actions.
This summit is just like all the others have been, with grand plans being announced for the future, but without any details about how they’re to be approved by national legislatures, implemented, and, more importantly, paid for. More of the same, in other words. And more of the same just isn’t going to cut it. I expect the markets to be delighted, as usual, for a few days, after which reality will set in and the downward spiral will continue. Of course, this time S&P has already announced that if the summit doesn’t take concrete and effective steps to resolve the crisis, S&P may carry out its threatened downgrades of ratings on the sovereign debt of the entire EU, possibly as early as tomorrow. And nothing coming out of this summit is likely to satisfy S&P, or indeed anyone with a realistic view of the matter. We’ll see what happens.
Where is everybody?
Right here. Just needed something to say first.
And I have something!
Thanks Ray for tending the Fire and Kindle for me. It arrived today. Actually, it arrived yesterday, but I dared to leave the house for 15 minutes, and the PO must have been watching, for they ran up and slapped a “so sorry we missed you” tag on my doorknob as soon as I left. I had to wait until 3 PM today to pick it up at the local office.
I’ll have to charge them up and play with them to see how they compare the the Kindle Keyboard I already have. Sure wish that Prime was available in Canada already!
Here I is — up in the balcony! Trying out the new Chinese take-away in Tiny Town. Seems to be run by an 18 year-old couple. Well, they look very, very young. She knows English well, but it is a good thing I have experience interpreting what foreigners are trying to say in English. Very good food. Afraid they use MSG, though. No signs that say differently. Why do I always thirst for Pepsi when I eat Chinese or Mexican? Don’t have any, so I will have to suffer.
Well, it turns out that the EU countries are going to circumvent the UK veto, by arranging treaties among themselves, independently of the EU. Every country of the EU, including all those who are not yet on the euro have agreed, although some have to take it to a referendum or parliamentary vote.
The UK really needs to withdraw from the EU. They have never been serious about it, — in fact, have done a lot to put a stake through its heart (that actually may have been their original intent in joining but not accepting the euro), — while the countries on the Continent are very serious, as this outcome shows.
While this deal is another step to federalized integration, it does nothing to guarantee for the markets, that the EU will stand behind the bonds of its member states. The ECB needs to do that. It will cost nothing, except for Greece, which is a complete basket case that Europe will be helping one way or another, anyway.
Looks like the IMF will play a large role in the EU’s future, holding money, essentially in escrow, for the EU mechanism. Hmm, I would not have signed up for that. The IMF and World Bank are nothing more than high-pressure sales promoters for primarily US banking interests. Argentina and Brazil already know that, and suffered greatly from IMF and World Bank interference, and will have nothing to do with either of them.
Yummm. China Castle is good, but not cheap. My fortune cookie is an instruction, not a fortune: “Learn Chinese”.
Chuck, I suspect learning Hindi might do you in better stead.
Contrary to my free market principles, I’m glad India turned down FDI investment in Walmart and the like, esp. when the investment buccaneers wanted 51%. Should that have happened, I think it would have spelt too much disruption, too quickly. She’ll get her Walmarts, but it’ll happen at its own pace, and from within.
Thanks Ray for tending the Fire and Kindle for me.
Pleased to do it for you. Hope everything arrived in good shape. Let me know if everything is OK so I can destroy the shipping papers.
Oriental languages never sounded like real languages to me — more like guttural animal sounds. But Hindi always sounded like a real language. The radio project plays Hindi music (and a lot of other foreign stuff not normally heard on radio) occasionally throughout the day. No stream, though. Costs kept multiplying and the reporting demands became so onerous (every song artist, title, composer, time played, length, and # of stream listeners at the time played) that we did not have enough volunteers (or money) to keep it going. When music finally disappears from radio, a price will be paid for every piece of music played, every time it is played. These capitalists want money from every event that occurs during all waking hours.
These capitalists want money from every event that occurs during all waking hours.
TANSTAAFL?
You can purge at will!
Chuck wrote:
“Oriental languages never sounded like real languages to me — more like guttural animal sounds.”
Funny, German always sounded that way to me. I was the only one in the family who took French at high school, my brother, sister and her kids all took German. There were a number of good natured family arguments about the merits of French verses German. I’d say that German sounded like someone coughing and clearing their throat. I visited Germany in 2003 and was surprised at how nice it sounded.
Bill wrote:
“Thanks Ray for tending the Fire and Kindle for me. It arrived today. Actually, it arrived yesterday, but I dared to leave the house for 15 minutes, and the PO must have been watching, for they ran up and slapped a “so sorry we missed you” tag on my doorknob as soon as I left. I had to wait until 3 PM today to pick it up at the local office.”
Perhaps your reputation as a Cranky Old Geezer has become so widespread that they’re afraid to knock on the door. Do even the JWs and Mormons dare that any more?
Excellent! /maniacal laughter
No, the JWs stay far away from the house, though the couriers seem to like me and my dog. Even the regular Mailman and I get along. I’ve never known a Morman to go about bothering people at home. Is this something they do Down Under?
It wasn’t I who chased them off, but my wife. I don’t know what she said to them, but whatever it was it worked. Sadly, she took her secret to the grave, so I can’t share.
And no, I didn’t wet the bed, I’m up to watch the lunar eclipse!
Mostly Mormons buttonhole me when I’m walking between work and where my car is parked. I’m polite but not interested, they’re polite and earnest. We agree to disagree. I don’t mind Mormons, it’s the JWs I’d happily set the were-hounds on.
We’re clouded over here (about midnight) so I can only see the moon as a bright patch of cloud.
I didn’t assume you’d wet the bed, I take it you’re not old enough for that (yet.)
The eclipse is in full view, no cloud cover at all. The conditions are perfect for viewing, other than the simple fact that it’s only 19°F (-7°C).
Whenever I get up earlier than “normal”, I am always reminded of the Billy Crystal joke about being an old Man “I wake up, I go pee, I get out of bed”.
I’m not at the age where incontinence is the issue, but I am at the age where sleeping through the night is long gone.
And that will be my last viewing. The eclipse is almost complete from my angle, though the Moon is now setting behind the lights of the city, so it’s hard to tell as the glow is beginning to obscure the view.
The way to deal with religious nutters approaches, is to have some literature of your own (does not matter what, as long as it has religious overtones). Then immediately tell them that you will accept theirs, if they will take yours and read it. Both the Mormons and JW’s will actually pack it in and run away as fast as possible. Maybe they have rules about not reading anything but their own stuff.
Bill wrote:
“The eclipse is almost complete from my angle, though the Moon is now setting behind the lights of the city, so it’s hard to tell as the glow is beginning to obscure the view.”
City? You didn’t mention that you were in Vancouver… 🙂
Chuck, the one and only time I tried that (about 35 years ago) the nutter happily agreed to take the tract I offered.
Bill wrote:
“I’m not at the age where incontinence is the issue, but I am at the age where sleeping through the night is long gone.”
I dread the idea, my ex-brother in law’s father had it, the ex-BIL had to clean up his car whenever he took the old man anywhere. And then there was this guy on the bus to work whose trousers made it obvious that he had no bladder control. (And he was nuts too.) Not something to look forward to.
Chuck wrote:
These capitalists want money from every event that occurs during all waking hours.
Jim Cooley says:
TANSTAAFL?
Oh, in the case of performance issues, it is more than that. We pay to obtain almost all (about 99%) of the records we play. Occasionally, local artists bring around free copies of their latest release, but that is about it. The station hit the air at the same time that record companies in general quit giving out free promotional copies of their stuff, which was aimed at spurring sales.
Ever since “electrical transcriptions” (records) have existed, radio stations have been recognized as a promotional tool for selling records. With the advent of the Internet and steaming, nothing really changed — but the record industry said it has. Thus, if you stream musical content, you now have to pay for it. Why? If 500 people listen to a radio station, at least a dozen of them will be motivated to buy some record or other that the station plays. If an Internet station plays to 500 people, the same percentage will be motivated to buy a song or two that the station plays. Absolutely nothing has changed but the delivery method between the station and the listener. Instead of the music flying through the ether to the listener, now it flies through fiber and wires via packets. Nothing material has changed.
In fact, I will go much further. I never have understood the concept of “payola”. That is where various disc jockeys or radio stations have been charged with wrong-doing by accepting money for playing a record. What is wrong with that?
I say that the whole situation is completely backwards. If anybody is going to pay anybody, it should be the record companies paying radio stations to have their records played. Anybody who wants on the radio station pays for the time to be on. Why should record companies and their product/message be treated any differently?
Paying record companies to play a record — after already having paid for the physical record itself — is the same kind of thing as a book or newspaper publisher wanting more money from anybody else who reads it, besides the original purchaser. When I worked in publishing, our newspaper had the highest additional readership of any newspaper in the US. Normal is about 3 to 5 reads for every purchase. Ours was 12 to 15. And they used that with advertisers, so they could charge more money. But now that all that stuff is moving to electronic, they want additional money from everyone who reads it — after a century of saying additional free reads were a plus to the publisher! Nothing has changed. My eyes read letters, words, and sentences, whether it is on dead timber beat to a pulp, or on a glass screen.
If any money is exchanged for playing music, it should be from the music publishers to the radio station for playing it on their valuable airspace; not the other way around.