"Economic growth this year is estimated to be the strongest since 1984, when Republican Ronald Reagan was president."
"Retail sales jumped in January" by Michael Corkery New York Times, February 17, 2021
US retail sales surged 5.3 percent in January, far higher than analysts and economists expected, providing a needed jolt to an economy that showed signs of weakening at the end of last year.
The large jump in sales, released Wednesday by the Commerce Department, was most likely fueled by the latest round of stimulus checks that were mailed out at the end of last year. The $600 checks, in addition to some easing in virus outbreaks and the increased distribution of vaccines, helped bring customers back into stores last month.
(Blog editor's chin slumps to chest when he reads the rational for today's narrative
The lousy $600 that wasn't even a monthly mortgage payment -- which is why Biden is extending a ban on housing foreclosures to June 30 for tenants who’ve fallen behind on rent -- led a $urge in $pending.
Printing "free money" and pa$$ing it out on an intermittent basis at below-subsistence levels isn't a healthy economy at all; it's more like Gaza)
The positive figures in January, which include a broad swath of consumer spending on clothing, groceries, and automobiles, come after three consecutive months of declines. The deep drop around the holidays had some economists predicting that the economy was headed for a “double dip” recession unless the federal government provided more financial assistance to struggling consumers.
(That is a very, very odd statement to make since the nation’s largest retail trade group said holiday sales soared 8.3%, even as the coronavirus kept shoppers away from physical stores and the number of US workers dropped in December.
What is with the rever$al?)
After the latest round of stimulus was passed by the Trump administration at the end of 2020, economists expected that retail sales would increase by 1.2 percent in January.
Driving the larger than expected increase last month were strong sales of electronics, which increased 14.7 percent from December, and furniture and home furnishings, which rose 12 percent. Even restaurants, an industry that has been hardest hit by the pandemic, saw strong sales in January, increasing about 7 percent, while auto sales grew 3 percent.
The report shows that when fiscal aid “arrives to household balance sheets, it does get turned around fairly quickly and materializes in economic activity,” Michael Gapen, chief US economist at Barclays, said on Bloomberg TV.
With another stimulus package likely in March, “we should see a pretty rapid acceleration in demand and household spending as we move into the into the second quarter, which could be continued if vaccinations continue apace, and mobility gradually recovers over time,” Gapen said.
Meanwhile, factory output rose by 1 percent last month, more than expected and a fourth-straight monthly advance. Also, a measure of producer prices advanced by the most in records back to 2009.
Expectations for gross domestic product growth increased for the first quarter and every subsequent three-month period through mid-2022, according to the most-recent monthly survey of economists by Bloomberg News. Economic growth this year is estimated to be the strongest since 1984, when Republican Ronald Reagan was president.
(Yes, what a great time when everything we believed was false -- why is the Wikispooks logo a child porn logo? -- and we will get to Libya a bit later!)
Related:
"In 2001, veteran FBI agent Robert Philip Hanssen was arrested, accused of spying for Russia. (Hanssen later pleaded guilty to espionage and attempted espionage and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.)"
"Bank of America Corp. signed a lease for offices at a San Francisco skyscraper owned by Vornado Realty Trust and the Trump Organization. The Charlotte, N.C.-based bank is already a tenant at 555 California St., formerly known as the Bank of America Tower, though it has pared back its space over the past decade. With the agreement, the bank added 10 years to its commitment at the building, bringing it to 2035, Vornado president Michael Franco said on the company’s fourth-quarter earnings call Wednesday. The bank now will consolidate all its San Francisco offices into the space it has at the tower, he said. A spokesman for Bank of America declined to comment. The 52-story skyscraper also counts Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Microsoft Corp. among its tenants. Goldman Sachs renewed its entire 90,000-square-foot lease, Franco said."
(They just confirmed that he is not coming back and it appears the political extortion has been successful and will now be called off in favor of persecution as it appears Trump was in bed with Bill Gates all along.)
"Sheila Patel, chairman of Goldman Sachs’s asset-management unit, is leaving the $1.8 trillion division after almost two decades at the firm. Patel, 51, is among the company’s most senior women and shepherded some of Goldman’s highest-profile relationships with investors around the world. She will step down from the partnership and become an advisory director in the new year, chief executive David Solomon said in a memo to staff Monday. Patel rose to Goldman’s highest ranks in 2006 when she was named partner within three years of joining the firm. Part of the bank’s management committee in Europe, she’s overseen the fast-growing areas of environmental, social, and governance and impact investing. Prior to joining the asset-management unit, she worked in various roles in the equities division, including as cohead of distribution in Asia and head of US derivatives sales. Goldman’s partnership ranks have been shrinking, with a number of long-time executives departing in recent years. This year, the firm has added the smallest number of partners since 1998, a move that can limit costs, as the elite ranking tends to come with significant perks."
(Well, it's all a gamble in the ca$ino that is Wall $treet):
"The pandemic has decimated the bottom line of the nation’s casinos. An industry group said Wednesday the pandemic cut US gambling revenue by 31 percent last year, compared with the year before. The American Gaming Association’s annual Commercial Gaming Revenue Tracker put the revenue total at $30 billion for 2020, marking the first market contraction for the industry since 2014 and the lowest total since 2003. “COVID-19 devastated our business and the employees and communities across the country that rely on casino gaming’s success,” association chief executive Bill Miller said in a statement that also pointed to the effects of a “standstill” involving live entertainment, meetings and conventions. The organization reported what it termed positive momentum in the past three months of the year, tallying nearly $9.2 billion in revenue — up 1.7 percent from the third quarter. Of 998 casinos in the United States, the association said 911 have resumed operations since being allowed to reopen last summer. By the end of the year, 37 commercial casinos remained shuttered in Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, and South Dakota."
(Hone$tly, I don't care because I never wanted them here in the fir$t place. That's not an "indu$try" on which you build a healthy economy.
They can take their money-laundering criminal operations and blood$ucking somewhere else):
"Tougher state public health restrictions took a significant toll on Massachusetts casinos last month, as the already struggling facilities had to close their doors nightly during what are traditionally some of their most lucrative hours. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission on Tuesday said gambling revenue at the state’s three casinos had dropped by nearly 35 percent compared with October. Overall, Encore Boston Harbor in Everett, Plainridge Park in Plainville, and MGM Springfield collected $45 million from gamblers in November. The drop-off comes as the casinos, designed as 24-hour facilities, have been forced to close by 9:30 p.m. each night under Governor Charlie Baker’s rules intended to slow the spread of COVID-19. The casinos had already been operating at reduced capacity after being closed for about four months starting in March. While casinos have not had to shut their doors again as part of the new rollback in the state’s reopening process, the cutback in hours has resulted in a significant reduction in business. Encore’s parent company, Wynn Resorts, has said that more than half of the casino’s revenue is generated at night. Encore took in $27.3 million in gaming revenue in November, down 34 percent from the prior month. Revenue from slot machines, which had remained relatively strong following the casino’s reopening, was $15.5 million in November, down from $23.7 million in October. In November 2019, for comparison, Encore collected $47.3 million overall....."
(That means a drop in the promi$ed tax haul that was u$ed to $ell 'em to us, and a good bet now is the "life $ciences" -- aka the medical surveillance dystopia portion of the Great Re$et -- now that real estate giant JLL has beefed up its life science focus with the hiring of MassBio chief Bob Coughlin and Travis McCready, who worked together for more than four years as the two most prominent promoters of the state’s life sciences industry, while leading separate organizations and now they’ll be together again but this time it’s under the same roof and it is, they like to joke, akin to getting the band back together as the developer looks at plans for a high-profile, landmark hotel at the James Hook Lobster site on the waterfront or in Copley Square and its Assembly Row.)
"Google is striking deals in Australia to pay for journalism but Facebook vowed a news blackout if a price tag is attached. Both developments came Wednesday as Australian lawmakers consider forcing digital giants into payment agreements. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. announced a wide-ranging deal with Google Wednesday. Major Australian media organization Seven West Media reached a deal earlier, its rival Nine Entertainment is reportedly close to its own pact and Australian Broadcasting Corp. is in negotiations, but Facebook said it “will restrict publishers and people in Australia from sharing or viewing Australian and international news content.” The dominant social network blamed Australia’s proposed law for its decision, saying the law “fundamentally misunderstands the relationship between our platform and publishers who use it.” The News Corp. agreement includes titles such as the Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, MarketWatch, and the New York Post, as well as about 30 local and regional News Corp. newspapers in Australia."
(Reagan was famous for telling George H.W. Bush that he paid for that microphone during the 1980 primary season, and I see what I do as a public service paying as I do for Globe content, and how odd that Reagan was shot by a member of a family that was closely linked to the Bushes and how H.W. was basically running the White House after that according to the Ollie North notes.
Apparently, Actifio referred questions to Google, whose representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The Globe tells me they were once a "unicorn" -- $omething they are $eeing all over the place these days with the realization that the “pandemic is not temporary” so be flexible and ready to move)
(It's a New York Times eulogy so there is no sense in reading the vitriol, and speaking of televi$ion, are you ready for a ‘Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman’ reboot?
Being bereft of ideas or any mortal value, Hollywood has cast a $ugar mama in the role rather than a real woman.
That's basically the bu$ine$$ $ection in a nut$hell, from front to back as stocks mostly pulled back from recent highs Wednesday and I race to finish this post and move along)
{@@##$$%%^^&&}
(Continuing with the theme of staged drama, one can't help but note the lack of hysteria over the event at the Capitol over a month ago.
Richard Clarke was called into to testify about what went wrong, but it appears that no one else responded to the Globe mailers.
It's almost as if they have been frozen out):
"The Biden administration has turned to Massachusetts yet again to fill another important role: Clean-energy expert Phil Giudice has been tapped to be Special Assistant to the President for Climate Policy. He will bring more than four decades of experience to President Biden’s domestic climate policy team, which is being led by another Massachusetts expert, Administrator Gina McCarthy. Giudice is probably best known in the state as a top energy aide in the Deval Patrick administration, and as the former chief executive of local battery-storage startup Ambri. Giudice has been active with a number of regional clean-energy associations, and most recently was board chairman of FirstLight Power, a hydropower and solar power producer and energy storage company based in Burlington. He has been replaced by Stephan Rupert in that role. “As a long-time clean energy entrepreneur, executive and former state official, Phil will bring immense experience to the national stage,” said Rupert, managing director of infrastructure investments at PSP Investments in Montreal. “It heartens me to know that President Biden’s administration is tapping leaders with Phil’s passion, skills and expertise to play a leading role accelerating our nation’s path to a clean energy future.”
(Accelerating the Great Re$et calamity, and here is Exhibit A):
"Millions of Texans wait for power to return, with more snow on the way" by Will Wright New York Times, February 17, 2021
A fresh arctic blast Wednesday deepened an electricity supply crisis in Texas that has forced millions to endure days without power and heat.
Pipes froze and burst across the state, and warming centers that had opened lost power. Icicles hung from kitchen faucets in Houston, ambulances in San Antonio were unable to meet the surging demand, and the county government in coastal Galveston called for refrigerated trucks to hold the bodies they expect to find in freezing, powerless houses.
The state faced a new onslaught of sleet and freezing rain that the National Weather Service office in Austin/San Antonio said could be “the worst of all the winter events over the past week.” Snow fell around Dallas-Fort Worth, and some spots in Texas were expected to pick up more than a quarter inch of ice as the new storm moved through, making road travel extremely hazardous.
Governor Greg Abbott signed an executive order directing natural gas providers to halt all shipments of gas outside the state, ordering them to instead direct those sales to Texas power generators.
During a news conference, Abbott said there remained a lack of power within the electrical grid and there were ongoing problems getting natural gas and renewable energy generators back online. He did not provide a clear timeline on when the power grid would be fully restored.
“Every source of power Texas has has been compromised,” Abbott said, from coal and renewable energy to the state’s nuclear power plant.
(Then SOMETHING ELSE IS UP!!
An intrepid and investigative citizen raised a very good question regarding what might be the real explanation behind the weather event, and also consider this: Texas was talking succession after the installation of the new regime so this could be a way of punishing them.
Beyond that, one cannot discount a Stuxnet-like scenario after the recent passing of the Solar Winds hack that will be laughably blamed on the usual suspects -- at the same time, prosecutors unsealed a plea deal with a dual US-Canadian citizen who investigators say organized the sophisticated laundering of millions of dollars in stolen funds, and Ghaleb Alaumary, 37, of Ontario agreed to plead guilty in Los Angeles to organizing teams of co-conspirators in the United States and Canada to launder funds obtained through various schemes -- but forget that because after a big party meeting, North Korea is rattling the nuclear saber again.
Meanwhile, South Korea is asleep at the wheel and dreaming of balloons in the sky and history tells us that the Japanese are a bunch of pu$$ies, what with the medical workers quitting in large numbers to play board games.
Looks like Big Joe will have us in the jungles of Myanmar in what will likely be his Vietnam with many more dead, while turning to the loyal allies like Britain -- although they have been laid low by the shots of Pfizer -- and Italy-- especially after the collapse of the government and the rise of a true fa$ci$t even if he doesn't look like one -- despite the infighting that should be quickly healed.
W. Nim Kidd, chief of the Texas Division of Emergency Management, said several state agencies have been working together to meet the demands of nursing homes, hospitals, and dialysis centers, which have reported a variety of problems including water main breaks and oxygen shortages.
As another storm moves in, the state increased the number of warming centers to more than 300. Game wardens and others have been delivering blankets, cots, and water to vulnerable citizens, Kidd said.
Across the country, at least 31 people have died since the punishing winter weather began last week. Some died in crashes on icy roads, others succumbed to the cold, and others were killed when desperate attempts at warmth turned deadly. “We’re fully expecting that when things start to thaw out and people start checking on each other that we’re going to find some more people who didn’t make it through the storm,” said Jason Spencer, a spokesman for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.
The power outages were national, with tens of thousands without electricity in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Louisiana, according to PowerOutage.us, a website that tracks electricity outages. Around 160,000 people in Oregon remained without power on Wednesday morning, but the worst outages remained in Texas. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which manages the state’s power grid, said on Wednesday that around 700,000 homes had electricity restored overnight but more than 3.4 million customers were still without power late Wednesday morning.
“I understand we live in a less-cared-for neighborhood, but we’re human like everyone else,” said Justin Chavez, whose had been living with his wife and eight children in a home without power in San Antonio for days. “The city should have been on top of this. What am I paying my taxes for?”
(I think I'll let the mayor of Colorado City address that below)
Austin Energy, which serves the state’s capital, said its customers should be prepared to not have power through Wednesday and possibly longer. Austin’s mayor, Steve Adler, had urged residents to use electricity as sparingly as possible in hopes of staving off further shutdowns, using flashlights and candles if able.
“If you have power, please try to live almost like you don’t,” Adler said. “If you have heat, run it low. Run it lower.”
(Another do as I say, not as I do situation?)
The pleas for conservation were received with grim irony by many on social media, who pointed to the stark line separating a downtown Austin still brightly lit and a powerless East Austin, a traditionally Black and Hispanic part of the city.
The strain revealed the vulnerabilities of a distressed system and set off a political fight as lawmakers called for hearings and an inquiry into the Electric Reliability Council.
Water pressure has fallen across the state because lines have frozen, and many residents are leaving faucets dripping in hopes of preventing pipes from freezing, said Toby Baker, executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Abbott urged residents to shut off water to their homes, if possible, to prevent more busted pipes and preserve pressure in municipal systems.
(It looks like the Great Cull has begun!)
The weather system that dumped more snow and ice on Texas was forecast to move into the Northeast Thursday.
Utilities from Oregon to Minnesota to Texas implemented rolling blackouts to ease the burden on strained power grids. The Southwest Power Pool, a group of utilities covering 14 states, said the blackouts were “a last resort to preserve the reliability of the electric system as a whole.”
(That sounds so damn familiar and do year hear the ambulances where you are?)
“These are the most dangerous conditions we’ve ever seen in the history of PGE,” said Dale Goodman, director of utility operations, who declined to predict when all customers would have power restored.....
(I know you think I am tilting at Washington Post windmills with the geo-engineering, but....):
"Thousands of cold-stunned sea turtles being rescued in Texas" by Washington Post Washington Post, February 17, 2021
The power is out, cellphone service is spotty, and the water has stopped running for most of South Padre Island, a normally balmy beach town in the southernmost tip of Texas that has been chilled by a deadly winter storm, but amid freezing temperatures that show no signs of warming soon, dozens of residents have ventured on foot and by boat to rescue another species that makes its home here: The island’s famous - and endangered - sea turtles.
By late Tuesday, volunteers working with Sea Turtle, Inc., a local rescue group, had transported more than 3,500 comatose turtles for rehabilitation at the town’s convention center. Conservationists look to gradually increase the animals’ body heat as they lay on tarps and kiddie pools indoors, but Wendy Knight, the executive director of Sea Turtle, Inc., fears that hundreds of those turtles rescued in Texas may have already succumbed to the cold.
“It’s unprecedented,” she said. “A cold stun like this could have the potential to wipe out decades of hard work, and we’re going through it with no power and a unique, more catastrophic challenge to our efforts.”
(No offense to turtles; however, I resent the pre$$ elevating their concern above humans.
Don't get me wrong, all life forms are valuable and precious and should be cherished and I'm sorry the turtles are in danger; however, taking a swim while people freeze in their homes is beyond description.
I though the oceans were supposed to be warming up)
As of early Wednesday, subzero temperatures and sustained power outages had left more than a dozen people dead around the nation, and animals, too, have also felt the brunt of an Arctic chill that has pummeled Texas and the southern United States.
(Try almost three dozen, and those are only the ones we know about)
Near Houston, more than a dozen dogs were rescued from the freezing cold, with the remains of at least one found in the snow. Shelters in Austin and the Texas Panhandle pleaded with the public for generators and scrambled to defrost wells. At a primate sanctuary in San Antonio, monkeys, lemurs, and at least one chimpanzee froze to death after electricity went out at the 70-acre facility.
(Call me a hypocrite for feeling sad at that and eating meat if you will, but dogs have earned the moniker of man's best friend)
“I never, ever thought my office would turn into a morgue, but it has,” Brooke Chavez, the director of Primarily Primates, told the San Antonio Express-News. “We won’t truly know how many animals have died until the temperatures rise and the snow starts to melt.”
Also see:
"Across the American Plains, South and Southwest, the unprecedented cold of this past week has been brutal on millions of residents. For the flora and fauna — as well as those who make their living cultivating them — it’s been equally disastrous, a Darwinian mix of outlandish and gruesome. In Montana, they’ve been duct-taping calves’ ears to their necks to stop them from falling off. In Oklahoma, newborns arrived onto snow-packed frozen ground and perished while ranchers were reportedly sticking the hardest-hit animals in the front seat of pickup trucks and even inside their homes. “It’s survival of the fittest right now,” said Tyler Beaver, a founder of brokerage Beaf Cattle Co. in Arkansas, where ranchers are fitting pantyhose over the heads of calves in a desperate attempt to keep them warm and save their ears....."
(Is the stage being set for mass famine, with the article possibly promoting turtle soup? I mean, it isn't like they want us eating weeds and drinking sewage, right?)
The same is true of conditions on South Padre Island, where conservationists told The Post it often takes days for them to determine how many turtles have been able to survive as the reptiles slowly regain warmth. Sanjuana Zavala, a spokeswoman for Sea Turtle, Inc., said green sea turtles live year-round in the Laguna Madre, a salty lagoon sandwiched between the mainland and barrier islands on Texas’s Gulf Coast.
The turtles, sometimes called the “lawn mowers of the ocean,” thrive off the area’s thick, underwater vegetation and keep the ecosystem balanced, but when water temperatures drop below about 50 degrees Fahrenheit - a rarity in South Padre Island - the chill can cause them to become “cold stunned.”
A turtle’s heart rate lowers, its flippers become paralyzed and its body will float comatose above the water, sometimes washing ashore, Zavala said. This state of hypothermic shock can put them at risk of predators, boats, and even drowning.
In response, Texans have been on a rescue mission.
Ed Caum, executive director of the South Padre Island Convention and Visitors Bureau, said sometimes people bring dozens of turtles to the convention center. “We had trailers full yesterday coming in that had 80, 100,’' he told the Associated Press.
(Sorry for being slow as turtle getting posts up, but Blogger has been choppy and slow the last week or so and I have no idea why)
Related:
"By Tuesday morning, the residents of Colorado City, Texas, were getting anxious. More than 24 hours had passed since a deadly Arctic blast knocked out power across the state, leaving them without heat or electricity in below-freezing temperatures. To make matters worse, many also lacked running water, forcing them to haul in heavy buckets of snow each time they needed to flush their toilets. Residents turned to a community Facebook group to ask whether the small town planned to open warming shelters, while others wondered if firefighters could do their job without water, but when Colorado City's mayor chimed in, it was to deliver a less-than-comforting message: The local government had no responsibility to help out its citizens, and only the tough would survive. "No one owes you or your family anything," Tim Boyd wrote on Tuesday in a now-deleted Facebook post, according to KTXS and KTAB. "I'm sick and tired of people looking for a damn handout!" Boyd's tirade, which also demanded that "lazy" residents find their own ways of procuring water and electricity, immediately drew backlash. Later on Tuesday, Boyd announced his resignation and admitted that he could have "used better wording."
(The arrogant a$$hole and welfare recipient known as a "public $ervant" still doesn't get it as he moves to Houston, and if so then what need is there for government at all?)
Also see:
"Diesel traders are snapping up oceangoing tankers to haul millions of barrels of European diesel to the United States, where the coldest weather in years has brought swaths of the petroleum industry to a halt. At least eight tankers have been provisionally hired in recent days to take consignments of the fuel — a near identical product to US heating oil — across the Atlantic, lists of vessel charters compiled by Bloomberg show. The cargoes amount to almost 2.8 million barrels in what would represent a big increase in deliveries if all the consignments do go to the United States. As is normal, the bookings also include options to steam elsewhere. The freezing weather in the United States has cut 3 million barrels a day of oil refinery processing and left millions of homes and businesses without electricity. While many of the refineries out of action are in Texas, the East Coast is a more likely destination for the cargoes."
(The cold is the excuse they are using to shut down production of fuel, and that LAST PART obviously rang ALARM BELLS HERE!
Thankfully, I'm good into the spring when warmer weather will arrive, and investors are looking past all that):
"New legislation would ban all fracking in California by 2027, taking aim at the powerful oil and gas industry in a state already planning to ban the sale of new gas-powered cars by 2035. Progressive California has long been a leader in combating climate change, requiring solar panels on new homes and passing a law to make the nation’s most populated state rely entirely on renewable energy by 2045. But environmental groups say California officials — particularly governors — have long had a blind spot for the oil and gas industry, which has wielded its immense political power many times to kill or weaken legislation aimed at curtailing production. That could be changing. Last year, Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom announced steps to ban the sale of new gas-powered c
ars and called on lawmakers to go further by banning fracking, a technique to extract oil and gas embedded in rock deep beneath the surface that climate groups say harms the environment and threatens public health. Two state senators answered that call Wednesday, announcing a measure that would halt new fracking permits or renewals by Jan. 1 and ban the practice altogether by 2027. Democratic Senators Scott Wiener of San Francisco and Monique Limon of Santa Barbara also say they will change the bill next month to halt new oil and gas permits within 2,500 feet of homes or schools by Jan. 1. The oil and gas industry quickly pushed back. Catherine Reheis-Boyd, president of the Western States Petroleum Association, said the legislation was “so broad and ambiguous” it would “lead to a total (oil) production ban in California.”
(Probably a good idea since it destroys drinking water and turns the earth brown; however, that is not why the globali$t a$$holes foisting all this upon us want it
Also of note is the fact that the Globe has been silent on the Newsom recall)
Related:
(That is another industry that is pushing back after nearly a year; however, it may be too late. The runway has been shortened and the flight diverted to Peru because it harms the forests.
Time to unload some more cargo):
"Amazon is paying nearly $62 million to settle charges that it took tips from its delivery drivers. The Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday that for more than two years, Amazon didn’t pass on tips to drivers, even though it promised shoppers and drivers it would do so. The FTC said Amazon didn’t stop taking the money until 2019, when the company found out about the FTC’s investigation. Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc. did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. The drivers were part of Amazon’s Flex business, which started in 2015 and allows people to pick up and deliver Amazon packages with their own cars. The drivers are independent workers, and are not Amazon employees. The FTC said Amazon at first promised workers that they would be paid $18 to $25 per hour, and also said they would receive 100 percent of tips, but in 2016, the FTC said Amazon started paying drivers a lower hourly rate and used the tips to make up the difference."
(So that is how Bezos got so rich, and now that they are on the ground):
"Amazon began testing the first lot of its Rivian Automotive electric delivery vans in Los Angeles as it works to fulfill a pledge to meet the goals of the Paris climate accord 10 years early. The Seattle-based e-commerce company plans to expand the program to 15 more cities this year, it said in a blog post. Amazon, which is backing Rivian along with Ford, is buying 100,000 electric vans that are custom-built for Amazon Prime. The first vehicles were due to start making deliveries this year."
(They will be powered by a giant wind farm planned off the coast of Germany, a sign of how some of the biggest green power plants could be built with less government money as Ford vows to convert its entire passenger vehicle lineup in Europe to electric power by 2030 in just the latest sign of the seismic technological changes sweeping the auto industry --just a month after rival General Motors said its entire global fleet would largely be electric by 2035)
{@@##$$%%^^&&}
(Never mind that the US War Machine is the biggest belcher of carbon dioxide than anything else):
"Raytheon Technologies Corp. plans to contest Lockheed Martin Corp.’s takeover of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc., a key supplier of rocket engines. “They are a huge supplier to us, and if that merger actually happens, you don’t have an independent supplier on the solid-rocket-motor side,” Raytheon chief executive Greg Hayes said Wednesday at the Barclays Industrial Select virtual conference. The proposed $4.4 billion deal would have a top competitor absorb a key supplier of solid rocket motors used in Raytheon’s missile systems. Hayes said the company would relay its concerns about the deal to the US antitrust authorities and the Defense Department. Lockheed announced the acquisition in December in an effort to expand expand its foray into missile defense and futuristic space travel, targeting higher sales and cost savings as defense budgets tighten. Aerojet’s relationship with Raytheon gives the aerospace and defense giant reason to push back, said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Doug Rothacker. “Any risk to pricing or supply-chain competition raises flags for their competitiveness and affordability,” he said. Analysts have said the proposed merger would test the Pentagon’s willingness under President Biden to allow more consolidation among major suppliers."
(I believe it is called closing ranks, and Raytheon is going to have to sell off one of its largest properties to complete the merger)
"Libyans on Wednesday marked the 10th anniversary of their 2011 uprising that led to the overthrow and killing of longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi. Many have their eyes on a recently appointed government tasked with leading Libya through elections later this year, with hopes of unifying the divided nation. Celebrations began late on Tuesday in the capital, Tripoli, where people gathered in the city’s main square amid tight security. Key streets and squares had been cleaned and decorated with banners and photos marking the anniversary. Festivities also rang out in other cities in the south. An an apparent “targeted mortar attack” on the celebrations in the Mansheya neighborhood in the southern city of Sabha killed a child and wounded at least 29 people, including two children, according to the U.N. mission in Libya. The mission called for a prompt investigation of “this heinous attack on civilians,” and for the perpetrators to be brought to justice. There were also celebrations in the eastern city of Benghazi, once known as the birthplace of Libya’s 2011 uprising....."
(Clinton cackeld in glee when she said we came, we saw, he died, and that is a prima facia case for war crimes against the former Obama-Biden regime. How Libyans could be celebrating after Gadhafi had delivered them the highest living standards in Africa is beyond me and simply shows that people have short memories. One wonders if that "war" could have been avoided had Trump been in office)
"President Biden said he would keep US tariffs in place on aluminum imports from the United Arab Emirates, reversing a last-minute move by his predecessor to grant the Gulf nation relief from the duties. The 10 percent tariff will remain in place for national-security reasons, the White House announced Monday evening. Former President Donald Trump announced he was suspending tariffs on the UAE’s aluminum imports in a proclamation released on Inauguration Day as he traveled aboard Air Force One from Washington to his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The reprieve came after the UAE agreed last year to a Trump-brokered deal to establish diplomatic relations with Israel."
(That could be considered an act of war akin to hostage-taking)
"Supporters of an Emirati princess held against her will for almost three years are urging Joe Biden to put pressure on her father to release the woman, saying the U.S. president is one of the few world leaders with the stature to win her freedom. The case of Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed Al Maktoum made international headlines Tuesday after the BBC released excerpts from video diaries she said were recorded in a locked bathroom inside the Dubai villa where she was being held. Sheikha Latifa was detained by commandos off the coast of India in 2018 after she tried to flee Dubai in a yacht. Friends say they are concerned for Sheikha Latifa’s safety because she hasn’t been heard from since she stopped responding to text messages six months ago. The 35-year-old princess is the daughter of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the hereditary ruler of Dubai who also serves as prime minister and vice president of the United Arab Emirates. David Haigh, a long-time human rights advocate in Dubai and a supporter of Sheikha Latifa, said the princess’ backers were encouraged by Saudi Arabia’s recent decision to release Loujain al-Hathloul, a women’s rights activist who had been held for three years on charges supporters said were politically motivated....."
(She is locked up in the tower, and if Trump couldn't spring her what chance does Biden have?
"President-elect Joe Biden has chosen former Senate candidate Jaime Harrison of South Carolina as the next chair of the Democratic National Committee, as he moves to remake the national party infrastructure to better compete with Republicans. Harrison, 44, a former chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party, raised more than $130 million in his effort to defeat Republican Senator Lindsey O. Graham last year, making himself a well-known name among Democrats nationwide. His candidacy for the DNC chairmanship had been promoted by Representative James E. Clyburn, Democrat of South Carolina, a close Biden ally who played an instrumental role for Biden during the Democratic primary contest. Harrison’s selection was confirmed by two Democrats familiar with Biden’s decision. Harrison, who is not expected to face an internal challenge, will arrive as the Biden transition effort has begun planning for a renewed focus on party building at the national level in the coming years. Former president Barack Obama had initially housed his own political operation at the committee, a decision that many Democrats now blame for allowing a weaker party structure that made it possible for Republicans to catch up, and in some cases pull ahead, in the race for data and organizing."
(Again, if the reporting is true, how in the hell did Trump and the Republicans lose the Senate and not win the House?
The world will soon be looking like Mars so you better put on a mask as nearly a year into the pandemic, fraud remains a major problem as scammers seek to exploit hospitals and desperate Americans -- with the GREATEST FRAUD of ALL being the PLANNED $CAMEDIC being promoted by the pre$$!
Of course, there is an unintended consequence and $ilver lining to the deep freeze and here it is):
(The snowy, slippery weather either led to the closing of vaccination sites or held up shipments, with delays expected to continue for days.
The longer this goes on, the more likely it is the truth rises and the deadly vaccination plan will collapse in spite of the lies and the innoculation crusade will end)
{@@##$$%%^^&&}
(Time to go fishing):
"Sale of Legal Sea Foods leaves vendors with piles of unpaid bills; There was only so much Roger Berkowitz could do for unsecured creditors in the December deal" by Larry Edelman Globe Columnist, February 17, 2021
The subject line was a grabber: “Roger Berkowitz and Legal Seafood [sic] deal stiffs creditors.”
The e-mail came from a sales rep for a supplier to Legal Sea Foods, the Boston restaurant chain that, you may remember, was sold in a pandemic fire sale in December.
“After selling to them for over 30 years I got this letter telling me that they are not going to pay me for the products they bought and used from September to December,” the sales rep wrote. “They know that fighting it in court would cost me more than I would get back and the same goes for the 150 or so other people they stiffed.”
Wait — could that be true? Would Berkowitz, a highly regarded member of the Boston business community for decades, take the money and leave vendors out in the cold?
That’s not the Roger Berkowitz his friends and colleagues know. I believe Berkowitz did the best he could under tough circumstances.
Still, a search turned up several lawsuits filed against Legal Sea Foods in the past several months for unpaid bills before the sale, but before he was out, did Berkowitz try to make his vendors whole? The answer is complicated — but so was the deal. Bear with me while I walk through what I’ve learned that puts his role in a fuller context.
(NOPE!)
Berkowitz declined to comment for this story, but his spokesman, George Regan, sent a statement:
“Roger chose the best option to protect jobs, safeguard the future integrity of the Legal Sea Foods brand and pay vendors. These priorities were made clear to all parties involved in the sale. Money was earmarked prior to closing specifically for vendors, but Roger’s affiliation ended when the sale was finalized and he has no knowledge of how funds were disbursed.”
I believe Berkowitz did the most he could for Legal’s vendors, but his hands were tied.
There’s always the possibility PPX will strike deals with vendors it wants to keep doing business with, which I guess is what may have happened with the Martignetti Grocery Co., but what about others?
Earlier this month, Craig R. Jalbert, who identified himself as a certified insolvency and restructuring adviser with a Foxborough law firm, sent out a brief e-mail update about his efforts to wind down old Legal Sea Foods.
“Nothing has come to my attention that would likely generate assets that would benefit general unsecured creditors. I still believe patience is the best approach . . . Good luck in this new year and stay healthy.”
Yup: Don’t call us, we’ll call you.....
(Finally, we agree on something)
There will be no further comment because it is brunchtime and I was taught not to speak with food in my mouth.
{@@##$$%%^^&&}
NEXT DAY UPDATES:
"The Boston restaurant scene, already devastated by the pandemic, was dealt yet another blow Thursday with the news that Kenmore Square’s Eastern Standard will not reopen....."
Isn't that by the ballpark?
No organ grinding, 'er, mu$ic over there save for the rag arms from the jabs.
That's as migrants are on the move again and headed for Texas:
"Some electricity restored in Texas, but water woes persist" by Paul J. Weber and Jill Bleed The Associated Press, February 18, 2021
AUSTIN, Texas — Power was restored to more homes and businesses Thursday in states hit by a deadly blast of winter that overwhelmed the electrical grid and left millions shivering in the cold this week, but the crisis was far from over in parts of the South, where many people still lacked safe drinking water.
I seem to remember reading somewhere that managing water is the government’s “most important policy challenge,” and worst failure one could imagine.
Fewer than a half-million homes in Texas remained without electricity, although utility officials said limited rolling blackouts could still occur.
It's a good thing they are heavily armed down there.
The storms also left more than 320,000 homes and businesses without power in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. About 70,000 power outages persisted after an ice storm in eastern Kentucky, while nearly 67,000 were without electricity in West Virginia, and more than 100,000 customers remained without power Thursday in Oregon, a week after a massive snow and ice storm. Maria Pope, the chief executive of Portland General Electric, said she expects power to be restored by Friday night to more than 90 percent of the customers still in the dark.
HMMMMMMM!
Meanwhile, snow and ice moved into the Appalachians, northern Maryland and southern Pennsylvania, and later the Northeast. Back-to-back storms left 15 inches of snow in Little Rock, tying a 1918 record, the National Weather Service said.
Yes, it is snowing as I type, but we once again seem to have been spared the brunt of it and despite the avalanche warnings the Globe is encouraging you to get out there!
The extreme weather was blamed for the deaths of at least 40 people, some while trying to keep warm. In the Houston area, one family died from carbon monoxide as their car idled in their garage. A woman and her three grandchildren were killed in a fire that authorities said might have been caused by a fireplace they were using.
I hold the global-warming, climate-change promoters responsible.
Utilities from Minnesota to Texas implemented rolling blackouts to ease strained power grids.....
I suspect they are coming my way so I have some decisions to make soon as I am told that "hospitals had no running water but still treated patients, with most non-emergency surgeries and procedures canceled, emergency rooms were crowded and the weather has also disrupted water systems."
Related:
Shane Goldmacher and Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times take him to task for “wanting to be a good dad,” and all I'll say he is no Bob Dole -- or Lloyd Bentsen for that matter.
Also see:
"The top US energy regulator said he is prepared to support “the imposition of new mandatory standards” to ensure that the power crisis gripping Texas doesn’t repeat itself. “We’ll be in a joint inquiry to assess how this can be prevented next time extreme weather occur,” Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Rich Glick said during the agency’s monthly meeting Thursday. “We need to ensure the result of these inquiries don’t just sit on the shelf gathering dust.” The agency previously released guidance calling for generators to prepare for extreme weather after a 2011 cold snap led to outages, but has no authority to order such changes in Texas’s power market, which falls outside federal jurisdiction by design. Glick acknowledged that his agency has a limited role to play when it comes to Texas’s grid but emphasized it’s nevertheless responsible for “protecting the system reliability, including in Texas.” As millions of people endured a third day without power, former Texas governor Rick Perry defiantly proclaimed that Texans would spend even longer in the freezing cold if it meant thwarting Democrats who want to address climate change with new regulations. ’'Texans would be without electricity for longer than three days to keep the federal government out of their business,’' Perry, who also served as the Trump administration’s energy secretary, said in a blog post."
The talk is they are handing out water to those with no money with the $port$ franchi$es handing out a mixed bag of food (which won't leave you looking like this).
That's as the word ‘aliens’ has been weaponized against noncitizens for generations and Biden’s directive to remove the vile term from the federal government serves as a reminder that words can be weaponized to deliver blunt force to their intended targets.
Being a red state, Texas will soon look like Mars -- which looks oddly enough like the Iranian desert (they treat women worse than the Japanese, you know).
Cruz can't go fishing because the Lakes Are Frozen as the pandemic continues to crush the industry:
"Deep in the frozen heart of Wisconsin, state wildlife officials allegedly dined like oligarchs, feasting on tens of thousands of dollars worth of caviar and passing around jars of the prized delicacy at team meetings. Meanwhile, some of their colleagues were working undercover to expose the long-running scheme responsible for the lavish spread, and tipping off federal authorities to a world of clandestine after-hours meetings at state laboratories and five-gallon buckets filled with gleaming fish roe....."
They still had to eat it with a mask on, and at least Goldman Sachs had a record year.
{@@##$$%%^^&&}
Of cour$e, the Globe is demanding an$wers on how that is so, and does that mean the troops are coming home as this guy is leaving with Koh in tow?
"Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh on Thursday afternoon announced new city procurement goals for businesses owned by people of color and women, in response to a study that showed such firms were vastly underrepresented in contracts awarded by the City of Boston. “This is the most structural reform city contracting has had in over a generation,” said Walsh during his regular City Hall COVID-19 briefing, but some critics said the order did not go far enough to address the problem. Walsh’s announcement came a day after a trio of Black and Latino organizations filed a federal civil rights complaint against the city, alleging its public contracting system engages in a pattern of discrimination against Black- and Latino-owned businesses....."
Was a front-page article yesterday while the above was spotted on page B1.
I'm not trying to be catty but rrrrrrr:
"Pressley proposes guaranteed jobs" by Jarrell Dillard Bloomberg News, February 18, 2021
Representative Ayanna Pressley is proposing that the federal government guarantee every American a job as millions are still grappling with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Pressley on Thursday introduced a resolution in the US House that calls on the government to make having a job a legal right and to create public works programs as a means to bring that about.
That $OUND$ GREAT, but WHERE will the $$$ come from as COVID and the Great Re$et that it is covering for hollows out the tax base for these make-work government jobs that REEK of COMMUNI$M!
Millions of Americans remain unemployed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The labor market showed only modest growth in January as nonfarm payrolls increased by just 49,000, according to a Labor Department report released on Feb. 5. The unemployment rate fell to 6.3 percent, but still remains above pre-pandemic levels.
Then it is time to party!
Pressley’s “sense of the House” resolution wouldn’t create a law requiring such a guarantee or establish a mechanism to do so. It calls for the federal government to create public jobs for adults seeking employment. Programs could include positions involving professional care for children and older people, as well as community infrastructure projects and development of affordable housing.
Pressley emphasized inequities in the labor market recovery and the impact a guaranteed job would have on minority communities. She said a federal guarantee is a way to help address systemic inequalities that have kept minorities from full participation in the economy.
“Our ongoing struggle for civil rights demands our collective action to uplift the dignity, humanity, and freedom of every member of our society and that begins with a federal job guarantee,” Pressley said.
Starting to feel more like an extortion racket to be hone$t.
The Labor Department report showed that 9.2 percent of African Americans and 8.6 percent of Hispanics were unemployed in January compared to 5.7 percent of white Americans.
I'm tired of being divided by race by the $upremaci$t pre$$
Pressley said she has been urging the Biden administration to push forward with bold policy plans and will work to make the federal job guarantee a part of those efforts.
She added that she has not yet spoken with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and members of House leadership about the resolution, so it’s not clear when or whether it would get a vote.....
Then this entire article has beea waste-of-time filler, and say no to her?
The unmasked expression says it all, and Reagan would have been appalled at the loss of this country to Communi$m!
Related:
"New claims for state unemployment remain stubbornly high as the labor market struggles to regain momentum after the winter surge in coronavirus cases. Economists had expected to see a steady downward trend in initial claims, but the report amounted to fresh evidence that the economic recovery’s momentum has stalled. “We’re going in the wrong direction,” said Diane Swonk, chief economist for the accounting firm Grant Thornton. “It’s hard to get away from the fact that week after week we keep hoping for better and this is like a sucker punch.” Particularly worrying was the rise in claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance. Fraudulent claims for jobless aid in some states and other issues, including potential backlogs of claims, may be elevating the totals. Despite the challenges in the job market, there have been some positive signs for the economy in recent days. Retail sales surged 5.3 percent in January, a bigger gain than expected, though they were most likely powered by the latest round of stimulus checks and could dip again in February. AnnElizabeth Konkel, an economist for the career site Indeed, said, “we’re making progress, but there’s definitely still a ways to go.” Konkel said....."
