Rammer

No, the AP has done numerous stories about the value of the Dollar, picked up by most serious newspapers. Maybe you're just not reading the right publications.

Btw, saying that a particular currency would be inadequate to convey any meaning whatsoever. What could be said is that the US Dollar has become weaker relative to the Euro since 2003, but that it has strengthened over the past year.

And add to that that the factors influencing the value of the US Dollar are affecting other major currencies similarly around the globe. The relative change that you cited only indicates that some currencies have been affected worse than others.

China isn't going to sell all their treasuries for two very good reasons: 1) we're they're #1 customer and they wouldn't want to endanger our ability to purchase their products, and 2) they couldn't sell all of their treasuries quickly enough, and as soon as they started the process, the market price would adjust downward overnight and obliterate the value of most of their treasuries.

Deal with numbers, not adjectives.

Everything is relative, people have to put their money somewhere.

I don't disagree with some of your points...but don't put words in my mouth.

I said China 'could', not 'will'. We don't know what China will do.

'The dollar is weak'. No it isn't. YET.(Today is 02/13/09 at 1:50 pm...timing is everything)

(I look at the DXY every single day. I have Swiss Francs, Euros, Japanese Yen)

Myth: 'The dollar is weak'

Wrong.

The dollar(DXY) has gone from 78 in mid December to 85.99 at the moment of my post.

As people sell their stocks, money flows into the dollar. The dollar actually got much stronger during the October collapse! BUT, everything will change dramatically once the world stops buying our lame treasuries. China and others could pull the rug out from under us. Our massive printing of bogus fiat currency will eventually crater the dollar, but it hasn't happened yet. When it does, the party will be over.

So what? The guy is clearly very competent and is quite an operator. As long as compensation is properly structured so as to assure loyalty, these are the qualities you want for a political appointee.

It should not come as a shock that Goldman Sachs employees donated the most to Obama; their mission is profit by way of foresight and certainly there was a point at which Obama's candidacy was strong enough that Goldman folks no doubt backed Obama because he was certain to win (not necessarily because they liked his policy) and because donors always get favors.

As far as Goldman Sachs' changing oil positions, do you reckon that they might've actually just made some good investment decisions? Good for them.

It's easy to make good decisions when you completely CONTROL the price of the commodity!

Their arrogance is so extreme, they've even been 'pumping & dumping' their short position.

Buy oil ETFs like USO & DIG today!(Oil is currently only $35 per barrel)

And tear that poster of Tim Donaghy off your wall.

Back to story #3.

It's beyond comprehension. After Goldman Sachs has been caught by '60 Minutes' controlling oil commodity prices...they continue to scheme unnoticed by the worthless media.

Let's go slow...in case anyone from the media may be watching.

Goldman Sachs was able to manipulate oil prices via a change in ICE rules.

In January 2006, ICE Futures in London began trading a futures contract for West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil. ICE Futures also notified the CFTC(Commodity Futures Trading Commission) that it would be permitting traders in the United States to use ICE terminals in the United States to trade its new WTI contract on the ICE Futures London exchange. ICE Futures as well allowed traders in the United States to trade US gasoline and heating oil futures on the ICE Futures exchange in London. The CFTC is SUPPOSED to be an oversight agency.

So, who does Obama appoint to head the CFTC on December 18th? Gary Gensler, from GOLDMAN SACHS! He's a Robert Rubin underling! Gee, let's see which company had the second largest employee contributions to Obama's campaign? GOLDMAN SACHS....$955,223!!! Who had the largest holdings on 'long' oil contracts until midsummer when oil hit almost $150 per barrel? GOLDMAN SACHS! Who then switched to a 'short' position on oil contracts? GOLDMAN SACHS! Hello? Hello? Does ANYONE in the media have a brain besides '60 Minutes'? And THEY only got PART of the story.

Here's another one:

The government's economic statistics are totally bogus.

Although the media will never report it, every economist knows about Shadowstats.com.

The real current economic numbers are:

Unemployment 18%

Inflation 8%

GDP -4%

The government became SO embarrassed by the M3(Money Supply) numbers, they stopped reporting it in 2006!!! Notice the massive escalation of currency being printed(M1) in 2008.

People also don't realize that the unemployed slide off the rolls after 6 months.

** Unemployment numbers ONLY include those collecting unemployment benefits !!! **

Theoretically, if everybody in America lost their job...you would eventually have an unemployment rate of 0%!!

Here's another one...

Did you know?: The United States is only 5% of the world's population, but we use 80% of the world's pharmaceutical drugs. You'd think we'd live longer, yet we are 41st on the world's longevity list.

Did you know?: Only two countries can directly advertise drugs to consumers...New Zealand and the United States. It's illegal everywhere else. In 2004, they spent more money on drug advertisements(4 billion)than they did on research and developement! Drugs are a racket. Drugs are poisonous.

And speak of the devil, look what came out this morning!:

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/...0090204?sp=true

Always follow the money.

"The media" does report everything for the same reason that any other business doesn't do everything -- time and money constraints. People like to imagine "the media" as a single coordinated organization like the Army or the CIA, but it isn't. It's just a bunch of people just like you who are plugging away each day at their jobs and just want to go home and be with their kids. If "the media" was half as well financed and coordinated as the conspiracy theorists want to believe then it would be a much better place to work in than it really is.

There is no way that you or anyone else can know if "the media" is telling "everything" because it's not possible to consume "everything." With thousands of networks, tens of thousands of TV stations, hundreds of thousands of radio stations, and an equal number of newspapers around the world there is no way for any individual or group to accurately claim that "the media" isn't reporting on something. A more accurate statement would be "the media I watch hasn't reported..." or "this certain subset of mediums that I tune into at a particular time of the day hasn't reported..."

Lots of people withhold lots of things. I think the question is vague.

Rupert Murdoch, as an example, is the 47th richest person in America.

He owns News Corp...a fitting name. Murdoch owns everything from television(like FOX Broadcasting) to newspapers(like The Wall Street Journal & The New York Post) to magazines (like TVGuide) to even cyperspace(like Myspace). He not only owns American media, but worldwide media, too.

Here is just a partial list of his gigantic holdings:

http://www.moderateindependent.com/v2i4world.htm

P.S. - Murdoch caught the 'Green' bug in May of 2007....and you've been deluged with Green bullcrap ever since.

So 19,000 out of 350 million upsets your delicate sensibilities ? Try combining the amount of people who will be getting a refund check this year and have NEVER paid taxes on ANYTHING, and then come cry to me about 19,000 who were smart enough to use USB until they caved. You should publish a link about the amount of clientel and credibility that USB is gonna lose because of this.

Like I said, I'll back you up that the stories are out there, on that I will agree.

I can't stand Nancy Grace either sometimes, but her coverage of a MISSING then MURDERED 3yr. old girl is less important to YOU, than a bunch of fatcats who hide money ? Your priorities are seriously out of whack pal.

It's not USB, it's UBS.

These aren't 19,000 Joe Blows. These are 19,000 of the RICHEST Americans.

The article stated 'Prosecutors contend that UBS helped wealthy Americans hide about $18 billion, thereby evading taxes of $300 million each year.'

$18,000,000,000 divided by 19,000 = $947,368 average amount per account

From the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention: 'A child goes missing every 40 seconds in the U.S, over 2,100 per day.'

Rammer, if you can elaborate and show multiple independant links on JUST the last one , I will back you on all the others.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/09/business...ref=todayspaper

http://www.newser.com/story/47468/ubs-clos...-irs-probe.html

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The whole point of my post is that these stories are NOT covered like the Caylee Anthony case is.

The elite want you to be misdirected, entertained, and not paying attention to their frauds.

Disbelievers need to learn about Google & Youtube.

What are your 'Most Ignored Stories' by the Media???

They can be ignored, underreported, or flat out covered up.

(By the way, I'm an independant who has no respect for either party)

Here are some of mine in no particular order:

1) I'm still stunned after 5 years, that a respected man like Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill can publicly state on '60 Minutes' that Bush discussed attacking Iraq 8 months BEFORE 9/11...and yet everyone has ignored him.

2) Most dieticians, including 'Nutrition By Natalie'(Youtube), will tell you that soft drinks are the absolute WORST food that you can put into your body. Worse than hotdogs, doughnuts, or even french fries. This liquid candy is being covered up like cigarettes were in the 50's. Because it is such an incredible moneymaker and sponsor, Coke & Pepsi have managed to maintain a false image of healthy normalcy. It should be banned by the FDA, but the corruption at the FDA is a whole other story.

3) The Banksters story is just now coming to light in the media...barely. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley completely controlled oil prices last summer by false electronic manipulation(via Enron).

Former GOLDMAN SACHS employees head/headed:

The New York Stock Exchange(Niederauer)Wants to keep derivatives.

The World Bank(Zoellick)Ever wonder where that 'green' talk started?

The U.S. Treasury Department (Paulson/under Bush)This man is an idiot.

The White House chief of Staff(Bolten/under Bush)

Citigroup(Rubin)Left 01/09/09....where will he go?

Merrill Lynch(Thain)Ousted for his million dollar office bathroom.

Under Secretary for Economic, Energy and Agricultural Affairs(Reuben Jeffery)

Commodity Futures Trading Commission head/Obama(Gary Gensler)Corruption is the motto at CFTC.

Interim Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Stability-(Kashari)Controls TARP handouts.

Governor of New Jersey(Corzine)

Chairman of the President's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board(Friedman)

Treasury Chief of Staff (Mark Patterson)So much for Obama's 'no lobbyists' talk.

President of the New York Fed(William Dudley)Just appointed.

4) Prior to 1980, Afghanistan hardly had any poppys. Then the CIA moved in and made Afghanistan the heroin capital of the world. 90% of the world's heroin & opium comes from Afghanistan thanks to the CIA. You won't believe what they do with dead soldier's bodies...you can read that yourself.

5) John Perkins wrote a book called 'Confessions of an Economic Hitman'. It detailed the deceit of the World Bank, the CIA, and the 'Corporatocracy' of how the world works. We make loans to third world countries which they can't pay back, then we take over their natural resources.

First, the Economic Hitman(Perkins) makes an 'offer you can't refuse'.

If the leader can't be corrupted, he is killed by a Jackal(CIA).

If the leader can't be killed, the military is sent in(Iraq).

6) The 'Mass Media' is controlled by only a few conglomerate organizations: General Electric, Time Warner, Viacom, News Corp., Walt Disney, CBS, Sony, and a few smaller companies. It's pretty obvious why you don't hear much about this.

7) UBS recently closed 19,000 American accounts in Switzerland, which the IRS said were illegally hiding funds. I'm sure you know about Swiss bank accounts. These 19,000 people are amongst the wealthiest people in the world. Not a peep from the mass media.

I'm sure you have many more ignored stories...

4) 'The Trans-Texas Corridor will get axed due to budget concerns'

Only the name has been axed. The new name is 'Innovative Connectivity Plan'. Bilderberg Perry still has a valid contract with Cintra of Spain and Zachry Construction Co. of San Antonio, for projects paralleling I-35.

1) Thanks to Obama's lame CIA pick(Leon Pinetta), America WILL be attacked.

2) The truth about Goldman Sachs will finally hit the mass media. From their total control and manipulation of oil commodity prices to their takeover of our government; Niederauer, Zoellick, Paulson, Bolten, Rubin, Thain, Jeffery, & Gensler. The 'Banksters' run America.

3) The crime rate will skyrocket in the Southeastern cities: Houston, New Orleans, Atlanta, & Miami.

4) Attendance at sporting events will plummet. Record low numbers for latter half of year.

5) DOW will dip below 6,500. (It's 9,015 today)

6) When oil was $33.00 three weeks ago, I predicted it would go above $50 in 2009.

Only $1.40 to go already!($48.60 today) Yeah, I'm already taking credit for this one.

7) Our summer was mild because we had a 'La Nina' in the Pacific in 2008.

I'm wishing, begging, and pleading for another one in 2009.

Berryhill on 11th street is open until 11:00 PM on Friday & Saturday nights.

Voted 'Best Margarita' in Houston Press.

What happens when you string several Heights McMansions next to each other on the same street?

A giant McApartment complex.

Truly ghastly.

Something is worth what a willing buyer is willing to pay a willing seller....but ONLY to that one person.

The MARKET value is established by comparable homes in the neighborhood.

This value is what the home is worth to the general buying public.

You want this number to be as HIGH as possible if you are the owner.

The TAX APPRAISED value is established by HCAD...it may be completely different from the true market value. You want this number to be as LOW as possible for tax purposes.

Tanith is right, you should always put at least 20% down.

My personal rule - if you can't put at least 50% down, you can't afford it.

Investment homes should only be purchased with cash(Lance Roberts).

Historic Houston Heights Holiday Home Tour on Friday, December 5, from 6:00 to 9:00 PM, and Saturday, December 6, from 3:00 to 9:00 PM. $17 to tour six homes.

the boat storage was south of Main back off of Hiram Clark, just about 2 miles from where I grew up on Wuthering Hts. This horrific event always comes to mind when someone tells me how much more dangerous it is now than when we grew up

Silver Bell street & Player

I remember Alvin mentioning that he was very unhappy with his life when he was a younger man.

He said that he much preferred being an older adult.

His personality shift after going to television from radio was quite amazing.

How can you hate something that you are not forced to use?

I seriously doubt the complainers gleefully choose to walk around downtown Houston on a humid August day in their suits and ties while avoiding the air conditioned underworld. Not buying it.

If I ever left Texas, it would be Luby's that I would miss the most.

(There's only 5 cities outside Texas that have them: Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Shreveport, Bossier City, Little Rock, and Surprise, AZ.)

Many people around the country don't even know what cafeterias are!

I mostly miss the Piccadilly at Northwest Mall, the Luby's on Shepard, and the Wyatt's on 43rd.

I know that Gene Tierney lived in Houston from 1960 - 1991 and is buried in Glenwood cemetary, but I never hear about her home/house. I believe she may have lived in River Oaks...does anyone know which house?

The homes between Stanford & Taft(where the Reality Bites home is) are actually worth several hundred thousand dollars. The median is in the $250,000 - $300,000 range.

Thanks for the reply, makes sense. Not as expensive as Hill Country, though still not a steal, because many people have already thought what I am thinking. It seems like your prices (starting 5k, with 8-10k /ac being more common) are for cleared land? What about uncleared land, what kind of a discount does one get? Uncleared actually is more appealing to me, as a biologist/environmental scientist by training, to have as natural a piece of Post Oak Savannah as possible, more a personal wildlife sanctuary than a ranch (though I would put in a recreational fishing pond)

You need to watch the Weather Channel's series called 'It Could Happen Tomorrow'.

They did a story on how west Austin is a fire accident waiting to happen.

They said it has similar environmental fire vunerabilities to Oakland Hills, California(1991).

I'm addicted to water, sleeping, eating, & sex.

'Addiction' is a word misused by the medical community in order to make money.

what about oak forest area?

Oak Forest would be my FIRST choice.

I specifically like the area west of T.C. Jester, but east of the railroad tracks.

I woman told me that she had lived there 53 years and it had never flooded(a few homes east of T.C. Jester flooded in Ike). Don't get too close to Antoine.

The problem with Garden Oaks is the single lane streets. The front yards are deceptively large - because the streets are so ridiculously narrow. Otherwise, it's a great spot.