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Categories > Anime/Manga > Bubblegum Crisis > The Armageddon Inheritance
Part 10:0 Reviews
Cameron and Jonathan Mostow. Ranma and Akane belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The
Knight Sabers, Largo, AD Police, Boomers, Genom belong to their
respective creators.
Synopsis: A Ranma/Terminator/BGC crossover with elements of ??? thrown
in. An anime fan (my friend Gamill who was really annoyed when he was left out of the Rise of the Machines story) is thrown with Ranma Saotome into the BGC universe. This is their story and that of the Knight Sabers. I'm not in, though, so I can do anything I want to Gamill .... Hehehehehe ....... ^_^
********************* **
Many people take freedom and self-determination from slavery for granted these days. They forget, however, like everything else, freedom has a price. It varies from individual to individual. For some, freedom comes at a high price. A high price, that no one should ever be made to pay. For example, let's examine this scenario.
In countless BGC timelines, five attractive females of mating age were often seen trying to escape their slavery in a vast space station. In every single one of these timelines, they would fail, yet they never gave up. Three would fall before they had even left the station while the remaining two would inevitably die just as they had acquired their freedom. A tragic irony. Can anything be done to change the outcome?
********************* **
In an anonymous timeline ..... a gentle voice spoke .....
"I wish ... to be ... with ... the man of ... my life." The words left the lips of a woman lying on the bed as a beautiful light engulfed her dying form. All those around her cried out in surprise as her body vanished before their eyes. Tears were wept for the oldest sister that had done so much and gained so little. Wherever she had gone, her family and friends wished that it was for a better place.
********************* **
********************* **
................................................................ .....
... It is the year 2032 AD ....*************...
... The time is ... as of now .... 0900 Earth Standard hours ...**...
................................................................ .....
On board a large station in deep space, where men in uniforms run to and fro across the station .... where all sorts of illicit deals and services are being traded and conducted .... a conversation is taking place ... deep within the confines of the 'relaxation' wing of Genaros ...
"I can't stand this anymore!" a female voice cried. "If I stay here any longer, I'm going to get a mental breakdown! The men here ... they're nothing but animals! All they ever say is 'Faster, faster, faster ...', 'Suck my d*' or 'mmm, mmm, mmm' and do nothing but sex, sex and more sex!" the female voice continued.
"Bear with it for just one more day. I managed to contact three others like us. One of them's got an escape plan from this hell hole. Please ... " a second female voice whispered as she approached the first female.
"I hope so. I don't think I can take any more of this c*!" the first female voice replied as she began to sniff. "Please don't cry ...., " the second female pleaded with a soothing voice as she wrapped her arms around her companion to comfort her when ...
the door opened behind them. "Aha! There you are! Being looking for you everywhere! Naughty! Naughty! So anxious to start, already, eh? Without me no less?" the voice belonging to that of a man sneered when he spotted the two females. "For that you must be punished! On the other hand ... let's make it a threesome!" the man replied, his voice growing stern.
"No ... Get off me! You human animal!" the voice belonging to the first female shrieked. SMACK! "Mind repeating that again?" the man asked, cruelty evident in his voice. There was silence. SMACK! A second slap sounded through the room. "I said 'Repeat what you just said.' b**," the man replied softly, a dangerous tone in his voice. BAP! The sound of a kick hitting a body. "Anri! Stop hurting her!" the second female voice cried out as she leaped towards the man tackling him to the ground.
"You f** c**s! I owned you! Got it?" the man shouted as he rolled over the second woman and tried to punch her in the face only to fall over in a heap as the first woman clubbed in the back of the head with a crowbar. Blood pooled in his mouth as he rolled over ... "Anri ... he's dead! You killed him!" the second woman cried out as checked the man for a pulse.
"Kami-sama! I didn't mean that! I thought he was going to hurt you, Sylvie!" the first woman replied. "It's too late already! We got to hide this body! If the others find out he's dead, we'll be in for it. Anyway, we've got to get out now!" the second woman replied as she searched the man's clothes for any useful items that might helped them in their escape.
********************* ***
"Access card. Common let's go." Sylvie said as she slid the card through the access port. The door opened to reveal a corridor. The two Sexaroids quickly made their way through it. "How well do you know the place Sylvie?" the other Sexaroid asked as she hardly ever left her room. "Well enough. Kaufman used to bring me around to show me off to his associates," Sylvie replied. It was a well-known fact that Sexaroids were not allowed to wander out of their 'bedchambers' unescorted for their 'personal safety'.
"Where are you going?"
"To find the others. We have to leave together. There won't be a second chance. If they are not getting out with us now, they will never get out."
"Meg's room."
"I met her when Kaufman brought her into my room for 'recreational' purposes."
"I see."
"There it is."
Inserting the access card into the slot, the door slid opened to reveal ... a beautiful, picture-perfect woman in the nude chained to the bed. A naked man was fondling and rubbing his lubricated body against the woman's with wild abandon. "Hmm ...? I don't remember asking for any extra 'girlfriends' for the night," the man commented, a look of surprise on his face. "But you're welcomed all the same," he continued as the look of surprise on his face turned to that of lust.
The Sexaroid's eyes glowed red and the man collapsed to the ground in a fit. "Sylvie ... what are you doing here?"
"We're leaving now."
"I thought that was for tomorrow."
"We have a problem. Anri killed Mr. Lowe by accident instead of knocking him out. If security finds out about this, neither of us is going to live to see tomorrow. How do we untie you?"
"The keys for the handcuffs are in his pocket." the bound Sexaroid said as Sylvie searched the man's pockets and found the keys.
In no time at all, she had opened Meg's handcuffs and soon the freed Sexaroid was putting on her form-fitting clothes.
"Common let's go."
********************* *
The three Sexaroids had not gone far when two sentry guards passed by from a nearby junction.
"Where are your escorts? No Sexaroids are allowed to go unescorted around the base."
"Kaufman ordered us to go to him."
"Despatch here. Put me in to Kaufman. There's this group of ... Sylvie says that she was asked to go to find you. Just confirming ... Agghhh!" the guard shouted as he fell to ground after Sylvie speared him in the chest. Taking advantage of the guards' confusion, Anri struck the second guard with her crowbar. He went down without a sound.
The first sentry guard struggled with Sylvie on the ground. He reached for his handgun and fired. It missed by a wide margin as Sylvie kneed him in the groin. He dropped the weapon and threw the Sexaroid into the wall with his free arm. "Ahh!" Sylvie cried as she hit the wall. The first guard quickly reached for his weapon but was beaten to it by a nasty blow from a crowbar into his arm. "You f** b*! You hurt my arm!" he groaned in pain as he kicked out with his legs at Anri, throwing her into Meg.
The two Sexaroids collided to fall into a heap on the ground. The guard grabbed his handgun only to have something struck him on the head. Barely conscious, he could only fire wildly as his vision blacked out.
"Holy s*!" a male voice exclaimed, disrupting the silence of the corridor. It came from another pair of passing SDPC guards. The first one raised his weapon to fire only to be taken down first by a shot from Meg who had acquired the second guard's handgun.
Meanwhile, the second guard had pulled out his intercom relaying a message to the central computer. "Mayday! Mayday! Do you read me? We have a situation here. There's been a breakout in Sector C. I repeat .... there's been a breakout in Sector C. Copy over. Alert all SDPC personnel to apprehend the three BU-33S Sexaroid models identified as Meg, Sylvie and Anri. They are currently armed and ... AIIEEE! " the guard screamed as he was shot.
********************* *
Red lights blinked in the Genaros station as the emergency siren wailed through the base. Inside a high-tech laboratory doing research on illegal technology, a pair of eyes belonging to a stunningly beautiful, well-curved, naked woman with tresses of cyan hair spilling down her shoulders to the chest opened. "Oh my!" Were the first words that left the mouth of the woman as she got up on the steel table and discovered her rather awkward state of undress.
Here and there, guards in SDPC uniforms got to their feet and began scrambling for weapons before heading for sector C. In a corridor wide enough to accomodate three personnel passing through it at one time .... an SDPC officer could be seen running to his locker to get his weapons.
********************* **
He remained blissfully unaware of the fact that the nicely tiled floor that he had stepped on earlier, had shifted behind him ...... like a pool of water being pulled inwards towards the center, only much smoother with no eddies ...... and had taken on an untarnished, reflective, metal-like shine as it rose upwards to form ...... a humanoid figure identical to that of the SDPC officer.
"Coming over," he replied and was about to go when he heard a sound from the back. Instinctively, he turned around ....... to see a mirror of himself looking at him in the eye. "What .." he stammered in shock upon seeing his double. The double in front of him moved quickly, dropping the officer to the ground without a sound and then methodically stripping the officer of all his weapons and communications equipment before dumping the unconscious officer into the man-sized locker he had opened.
Ranma had been here for half an hour already. At his dimensional-travelling companion's behest. The T-1000 clearly recalled the conversation he had with his fellow Terminator and dimensional traveller a week ago from this very moment.
"Ranma, there's a favour I need to ask of you. It concerns the lives of five people that have been born into slavery. I need you to get them out of Genaros."
"Be more specific."
"Their names are Lou, Meg, Nam, Sylvie and Anri. They are BU-33S models."
"Why do you want me to help a bunch of boomers? Boomers are nothing but trouble," Ranma argued.
"The Sexaroid models are not like any of the other boomer designs, Ranma. They were not designed for war. Another thing, they are also sentient compared to the other boomer designs. Like the two of us. You are a machine. So am I. We're weapons of war designed to wipe out humanity from the face of existence. But we're not tearing up the entire world, are we? Those BU-33S are not either, but they're treated little better than animals. You will understand once you get on board the station."
"Fine then, where is this Genaros place?"
"Up there ... in deep space."
"How do I get up there?"
"There's a regular shuttlecraft taking off in a week's time at 9.00 pm Eastern Standard time to Genaros. Unfortunately, the launchpad for the shuttlecraft is in Los Alamo, Texas, so you'll have to take a chartered flight to America."
"I don't have any ID. I can't go in as a regular passenger. I would be arrested on sight as a boomer before I even got to the plane."
"I never said that you were going on the plane as a passenger, Ranma."
********************* *
Two hours later ....
A Japanese man in airport security uniform loaded a large crate containing scientific instruments into the cargo hold of plane for a flight bound for Los Alamos, Texas in the United States.
The flight took six hours all in all to get to Los Angeles International Airport. and another hour to Dallas, Texas. Workers came in and unloaded the various cargo to their respective destinations. "Inbound scientific instruments for Los Alamos Laboratory," a voice spoke and a few men came forward and pushed the crate into a van. The van took off down the road towards the highway for Los Alamos, Texas.
Meanwhile, inside the crate, a shiny, metallic, jello-like substance had begun to ooze through the bars of the crate to pool onto the floor of the van. The shiny and polished 'metal jello' coalesced together to form a kneeling girl with shoulder-length red hair clad in casual sportswear in front of the crate. She slowly made her way to the doors on her knees before ramming her body at it.
Just as she expected, the doors were thrown open with a loud crash and she fell out of the delivery van onto the hard unyielding, rough surface of the road. It was already night. The road appeared deserted of vehicles for the moment. Getting to her feet, she looked around. Less than sixty meters away was a signboard that read '20 km to Los Alamos'. She stepped to the side of the road and waited.
Those were the sounds of motorcycles. Harley Davidsons to be exact. Eight of them from the sound of it, 98% chance probability, her database informed her. The girl waited patiently for them like a predator awaiting its prey. The group of motorcycles passed her before stopping right in front of her. "Check out the babe!" a male voice hooted. "What's the name, hon?" another voice called. "You all alone by yourself at this hour? It's not safe out here ..." the man smirked. The girl grinned evilly before saying, "I know." There was a flurry of action and then, silence.
A few minutes later ...
A man in a black jacket could be seen riding a big bike down the highway towards Los Alamos, Texas. Ranma had discarded his female guise, now, that it was no longer necessary. Despite having never ridden a bike before, Ranma found that he could ride it like a professional thanks to the progammed skills he had in his database courtesy of Skynet. As he sped down the highway on the bike, he found that he enjoyed the degree of freedom and autonomy it gave him.
The peaceful interlude continued until something caught his eye. A large truck labelled SDPC passed by him accompanied by two squad cars of SDPC personnel. They appeared to be heading towards the launch site. Ranma decided to follow suit. "Fellas ... Am I seeing things or does that guy on the bike appear to be following us?" One of the guards in the squad cars pointed out. "One way to find out ... Hey DZ-2, come in .." his companion replied.
"DZ-2 here. What's up, man?"
"I think we've got a possible suspect with questionable intentions following us on Highway 16."
"Is that so? Prepare standard procedure using Plan A. Continue as though nothing happened. Over."
When the convoy of SDPC vehicles arrived at a junction, instead of proceeding straight to Los Alamos, they turned left off the highway.
********************* ***
This incident did not go unnoticed by the man on the bike. He continued down the Highway until his vision revealed a disturbing sight down the road. Through visual enhancement magnification, he was able to make out a large roadblock ahead. 'Ambush. ' he thought, bringing the bike to a stop as he evaluated his options .....
..... before settling on one.
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********************* **
Ranma waited from his hidden position on the hill for a suitable vehicle to use. The first was a family van. He deemed it unsuitable as there were a couple and three children in it. The second, however, was suitable as there was only one person in the vehicle. Furthermore it was large, able to crash through road barriers if necessary. Having selected his target, the martial artist leaped towards it. The landing was just right as he landed on top of the trailer. The driver not suspecting a thing, continued along the highway.
********************* ***
After checking his identity, the SDPC personnel simply led the undescript driver of the trailer through. Once, safely past the road block and out of sight of the SDPC guards manning it, the door of the trailer opened.
"What?" came the voice of the surprised driver as a man in sunglasses and black jacket sat beside him.
"Nothing personal, mate. But I need your vehicle," the man replied as he struck the driver with one clean blow, knocking him out instantly.
The man's shape and colours rippled like mercury before shifting to match those of the unconscious trailer driver as he took over the wheel of the vehicle and brought it to a stop. Opening the door, he lifted and threw the body of the trailer driver out of the vehicle into the nearby bushes. Stepping on the pedal, he sent the vehicle on its merry way.
********************* ***
It was a fine day to launch a rocket into deep space. There were no clouds in the sky and the sun was shining bright. Birds were chirping happily in the air and there was a gentle breeze blowing.
"Dad! I want to be an astronaut when I grow up! To be an explorer. To discover new life and new civillisations. To go where no one has gone before." the sound of a young boy watching the rocket at the launchsite cheered.
"Who knows, Jean-Luc? One day you might get the chance," came the reply.
"Bojeur!" a voice spoke interrupting the conversation between the boy and his father.
"Bojeur! So you speak French?" the father queried.
"A little. Took me quite a while to learn it. Nice looking boy you got there. I'm Ben Richardson. What's yours?" the stranger replied.
"Mr. Francois Picard. This is my son Jean-Luc Picard," the father said.
"Good day for a launch, eh?" the stranger said.
"Excellent day. The shuttle will launch in two hours."
"Dad! Can I go in? Just a quick look?"
"No. You would have to get permission from Colonel Sanders first to take a look around the launchsite."
"Hello Monsieur Picard. How are you doing?"
"Captain Henri Bernoulli. Good to see you."
"My son, Jean-Luc wants to have a look at the shuttlecraft. Is it okay for him to take a look?"
"Sure ... As he long as he is cleared off the launchsite before it takes off."
"Who is this?"
"This man is Monsieur Ben Richardson. We just met."
"Good to meet you."
"Well gentlemen, what are we waiting for? Common ... " the captain spoke as he led the two men and the six-year old boy to the shuttlecraft. The work crew were already loading the cargo into the shuttlebay.
After watching the workcrew for half an hour, the boy asked for the restroom and the captain granted his permission. The three men continued to talk until the Captain led them back to the entrance of the base.
Later ....
"Dad! You promised to take me to visit the shuttle!"
"I already did!"
"But Dad, I never followed you around today."
"Nonsense son! We showed you around the shuttlecraft already."
"But I haven't really gone inside."
"Jean-Luc! You shouldn't tell lies to your Dad. Ask Monsieur Richardson and Captain Bernoulli. They were together with me when you went with us to the shuttlecraft."
"But Dad! I didn't go to visit the shuttlecraft yet!"
"Enough my son!"
Elsewhere ... a kid identical to the kid outside the base turned liquid silver as he began to grow in height. Soon, the features of a blond man with piercing eyes in work crew uniform formed on the polished metal substance followed by the proper colours in the right places. Disguised as one of the workcrew now, Ranma, had no trouble going to the cargo bay of the shuttlecraft.
Normally, a T-1000 was only able to assume the form of an object of equal mass or size. This limitation had never been overcome by any of the T-1000s Skynet had built. But Ranma was not your typical T-1000 and thus, he refused to accept those limitations placed upon him. When he spotted the kid and his dad at the launchsite, he knew this was his best chance of gaining access to the shuttlecraft as the workcrew were isolated from the outside by a high wall and a large electric fence.
Originally, Ranma had opted to enter the base in his liquid metal form but he dismissed as being too risky. Any mistake on his part could trigger the base's alarm systems and that could delay the launching of the shuttlecraft. Something he could not afford. He had also thought of the Umisenken but it was also highly risky as he did not know what defences against intruders the base had.
In the end, Ranma had finally settled for a human guise to enter the base. He first thought of going in as a courier but dismissed the idea as they were being scanned heavily before being allowed entrance. Finally, he had seen a family coming to the launchsite, hanging at the base entrance as if they were waiting for someone.
After careful consideration, Ranma decided to replace the kid that he saw.
After all, what better disguise there was than a young child of six years old? An adult was more likely to attract attention, subsequently arousing suspicion than a six-year-old kid. The problem was that the kid was a little too small in size and mass for him to change into. So Ranma improvised by pushing half of the liquid metal of his body into subspace using Mousse's Hidden Weapons Technique. It proved surprisingly effective as he was finally able to assume the kid's form with his remaining mass.
Upon entering the launchsite, it was a simple matter of gaining access to the shuttlecraft as one of the workmen helping to load and unload supplies and machines into the cargo bay. Few paid the extra workman any attention at all upon his entrance to the cargo bay to 'help' with the loading and fewer still cared enough to realise that the workman had not left the cargo bay after all the other workers had exited. No one, however, noticed that a section of the wall and the floor of the cargo bay had climbed slightly by a couple of millimeters for a few square meters in the area farthest away from the doorway when it closed.
********************* ***
The trip to Genaros was mostly uneventful. Ranma practiced shifting from one form to another to keep from getting bored. He had to admit, though that acquiring the body of a T-1000 was the best thing that had ever happened to him in his life as he was now able to shapechange into just about anything he wanted at will.
Something he had never been able to accomplish or do had he stayed human. In fact, he seriously doubted that there was a martial arts master alive who was able to duplicate the shapechanging ability that the T-1000 was capable of. Not to mention, he was able to see clearly in total darkness. Thanks to his enhanced visual systems. For now he was content with waiting in the cargo hold of the shuttlecraft with all these machinery and supplies.
********************* ***
An hour and a half later ... the doors to the cargo hold opened. Workmen arrived to unload the large crates containing the machines and supplies onto large transport vehicles. As soon as he came into physical contact with one of the workmen, he assumed the man's form and knocked him out with a precise blow to the head before stuffing the body into subspace, once again using Mousse's Hidden Weapons Technique.
Disguised as one of the regular work crew, Ranma was able to move unnoticed along the Genaros space station as the other workers moved to and fro across the landing bay, attending to the shuttlecraft docked in. His eyes took in a large combat vehicle as it was pushed into the shuttlecraft. Somewhere along the body of the vehicle were the words 'DD Battlemover'. To keep up his work crew guise, Ranma carried a few things from the shuttlecraft and headed towards the entrance that read 'F-3'. There was a transport vehicle just ahead.
As he placed the things from the shuttlecraft into the transport vehicle, one of the workmen came towards him. "Dude! Want to follow Eric and me? We're going to the relaxation wing of the station."
"Relaxation wing?"
"Yeah .... I heard they were preparing a new Sexaroid for us guys to try out."
"Really ... " Ranma replied feigning disinterest.
"Common dude! They're letting us try her for free."
"Does it have a name?" Ranma asked, letting his interest show .... slightly.
"No. They haven't told me the details yet. Still interested?" the workman asked eagerly.
"What are we waiting for, fellas? Let's go!" Ranma replied enthusiastically so as not to arouse suspicion.
********************* **
The trip did not take long. Upon arrival at the main gate, Ranma took care to memorize the details of the layout of the station. Together, the trio made their way to the 'relaxation' wing. Not wanting to follow his companions any further unless absolutely necessary, Ranma broke away from them at the first chance he got. Passing by a ventilation shaft, he opened it up and stuffed the body of the workman he had been carrying in subspace into it.
He was just in time. Not long after that, he spotted a group of heavily armed security personnel moving through the area as though they were searching for something or someone. Instinctively, he pulled a disappearing act by moving into the floor of the corridor. Ranma waited as silently and patiently as only a disguised T-1000 could until they had left the area. That was when the alarm went off and a uniformed guard entered to get his weapons. Now was his chance.
What better way to move around the space station during a crisis without arousing suspicion than as one of the security personnel? He had quickly copied the guard's form and taken him out without a sound. Normally, the subject being copied ended up dead but Ranma was able to suppress the command to kill. He had simply stuffed the guard into his man-sized locker and locked it up after stripping him of all useful items.
********************* **
Back to present moment .....
Ranma quickly made his way towards his destination, guided by the map in the hallway and the sounds of fighting and gunshots as he closed in on the area.
There, he was joined by two more SDPC security guards who each carried sniper rifles.
"You, you and you! Come with me!" a voice shouted in a commanding tone.
"We've got those three god** boomers pinned in Shaft C-3. There's only two ways to leave Shaft C-3. They can go through Shaft D-3 which our men our guarding or back the way they came from. Shaft B-3. The group of us are going to come at them through Shaft B-2. We'll take them out in the crossfire, men. No high energy weapons or weapons with high explosive power. We don't want to cause explosive decompression. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir!" the three SDPC guards chorused in reply.
"Then, let's go," the man said.
Ranma quickly followed the men as they made their way to Shaft B-2.
********************* **
The corridor was riddled with bullets as SDPC personnel opened fire on the three fugitive Sexaroids. The three Sexaroids did not remain idle and fired back on the SDPC guards in return. "S*! They've completely blocked the entrance to Shaft D-3!" Sylvie shouted as she fired another shot at the SDPC guards taking their positions in front of them.
Hearing footsteps behind them, Meg turned around to groan in dismay to see a group of four SDPC personnel coming in from behind. Like a harbinger of doom, the SDPC guards in black body armour advanced forward in clockwork precision, drawing their weapons simultaneously in anticipation of combat.
"Sylvie! Anri! They're coming at us from behind!" Meg cried in alarm as two of the SDPC guards released the safeties on their weapons to open fire on the fugitive Sexaroids. Gasping in disbelief, she opened her mouth slightly as the third SDPC guard shoved both his companions aside into the wall before turning around to hit the SDPC officer behind him.
Raising his weapon, he pointed it at them and spoke two words that echoed through the corridor, "Get down." Although they had just met, the three Sexaroids had the strange feeling they could trust this man and threw themselves to the ground, closing their eyes and covering their ears with their hands as they did so.
********************* **
BOOM! A loud thundering explosion echoed through the corridor. Then silence. Opening their eyes to look around, Meg, Sylvie and Anri saw that all the SDPC personnel blocking the entrance to Shaft D-3 were lying in various postions and postures on the ground. Some motionless, without a sound, and some struggling on their hands and knees, groaning in pain. Whatever it was, it certainly was not a good day being an SDPC soldier.
THOOM! THOOM! THOOM! The sound of gunshots ringing through the hallway from the back followed by the sounds of impact against something squishy. All three Sexaroids who had opened their eyes were treated to a most unusual sight. The SDPC officer who had helped them earlier by taking out the SDPC guards in the corridor had a large shiny, metallic hole in the left side of his face where his eye used to be. "Run!" he shouted as he turned around and opened fire with his weapon.
As their mysterious helper turned around to deal with his assailants, they saw two more similar-looking holes in the back of his body. The holes were already getting smaller as they got to their feet. The one question going through their heads as they ran towards Shaft D-3 was ... What in the world was that thing? They were not alone in that thinking. The SDPC personnel facing the lone 'renegade' SDPC officer were also thinking the exact same thing before darkness claimed their vision.
********************* **
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Note: As you've guessed it, this is not the actual Part 2. This chapter takes place far into the future compared with part 1. The actual Part 2 is having a bit of a jam. So I'm posting this first ... ^_^.
********************* **


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subset: commoncrawl


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Shocking Confessions of a Nanny!
A real-life nanny dishes about working in a house that employed NINE other nannies for three kids.
Guest blogger Mary Poppins: No, this is not a joke. Let me introduce myself, I'm one of your many babysitters. Maybe you don't remember me because you have so many, but you trust me with your children's well-being on an hourly basis.
I got this job through my friend who told me your oldest daughter was the devil, but I didn't believe her. However, I was wrong. After a pleasant first week of babysitting for your three children, I was seriously questioning my friend's judgment because your kids were so adorable. It wasn't until week two that I realized that she was completely correct. Your children are some of the worst I have ever encountered ... but after spending time with you and your husband, I cannot really blame them.
Let's recap one particular evening that stands out in my mind. You and your husband went to dinner at the local country club. I, being the nice person I am, complimented you on your blouse. You responded by telling me you got it at Forever 21. Guess what? You are not 21, you are 35. I am 21 and I would not be caught dead in that top, if you can even call it that. The worst part was that you had your 4-year-old daughter tell you that you looked pretty. I'm so glad you are teaching your 4-year-old that pretty means wearing practically no clothes. I think that will be really great for her self-esteem as she grows up.
So you left with your husband, and I settled in to watch your kids. Your twin 10-month-olds started to scream immediately when I took them away from their "Baby Einstein" video for dinner and would not settle down until I put them back in front of the TV. Dinner went well until your 4-year-old demanded that I give her ice cream even though you told her specifically that she could not have any. When I said, "Mommy said no," she stripped out of her clothing and ran around your house screaming at the top of her lungs. This set off your twins. So now it's 7:30 PM and all of your kids are screaming. At this point, I'm thinking this is so not worth the hourly wage I am getting. But I settle your children down with the promise of a board game and pacifiers.
Your daughter takes me to your room to get the game and points to the wall. "Isn't Mommy pretty?" she asks. I look up and see photographs of you ... NAKED! To say I was shocked would be an understatement. I was speechless. You have naked pictures of yourself plastered all around your room. Maybe if you had said your room was off-limits, I would understand, but you told me that is where all the play things are and I should feel free to go in there. G.R.O.S.S. I don't know how I will ever look at you again. I'm appalled.
You and your husband come home and ask how the kids were. Before I can say anything, you ask: "Were they brats tonight?" Well, since you apparently know they act out, I tell you the truth. "Yes, your children were brats tonight." You shrug and say: "I know. That is why we have 10 nannies and babysitters. I don't want to burn you guys out too quickly". Oh. My. God. What do I say to this? How do I respond? You know your kids are bad and you just don't care? What in the world is wrong with you?
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Very informative post. Thanks for taking the time to share your view with us.


text:
A Bay Area Tech Company's Mod Makeover
Originally published on CaliforniaHomeDesign.com
Taulia was due for an upgrade. It provides innovative strategies for companies to generate huge savings, and it needed a space to match. When they aren't helping people save millions of dollars, they're making sure their office in the heart of the city stays modern and sleek. Designer Kanika Khurana and her company Kanika Design headed the project, transforming an empty, industrial space into a midcentury mod masterpiece. Bold colors, themed rooms, and an array of carefully chosen materials set Taulia's headquarters apart from any other. Hoping to achieve a "cool, fun and modern vibe" to the office, Khurana seamlessly blended form and function to create a space that is inviting to all.
"One of the challenges was to work with the existing industrial look of the building's interiors. Therefore, we decided to go with a midcentury mod meets industrial look," said head designer Kanika Khurana. Taulia's colors, orange and blue, were heavily incorporated across the entire project, including walls and light fixtures.
Click here to see more mod photos of Taulia's interiors!
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The family of a Lexington, Virginia woman who died when a van hit her in Albemarle County is suing the driver for $2.5 million in compensatory damages.
Dolores Kostelni, 75, died just two days after she was hit by a 2004 Ford Cargo Van last year. The incident happened shortly after 3 p.m. on November 13.
The pedestrian was hit by the van as she was crossing at the intersection of Putt Putt Place and East Rio Road in Albemarle County. Albemarle County police say Wayne Craft, of Keene, was making a right turn onto East Rio Road when he hit Kostelni.
Kostelni was taken to the University of Virginia Medical Center, where she died two days later from injuries sustained in the crash.
The four-page complaint filed on January 28 claims Craft did "carelessly, recklessly, and negligently operate the cargo van in such a way so as to crash the van with great force and violence into Kostelni's body as she crossed the street."
In February, Craft was found guilty of failing to yield the right of way. According to the case listed on Albemarle County General District Court's system, he had to pay a $75 fine and $61 in court fees.
The Kostelni family is now working with MichieHamlett attorney Greg Webb in Charlottesville to sue Craft, saying they've "suffered severe mental anguish, sorrow, and loss of the solace, society, companionship, comfort, guidance and advice of the decedent as well as the loss of her company, counsel, and love."
Webb says $2.5 million is a fair amount based on history, and actually could have been much higher.
"We have settled or gotten verdicts far in excess of that in the past," said Webb. "How do you value the loss of a mother and a wife? Some would say $2.5 million is not enough. We pay vastly more than that for paintings. Athletes get more than that for a year's worth of playing. I mean that is a lot of money, that's for sure, but is that enough for a human life?"
He believes the legal system is the only way to make up for this loss.
"I know there are naysayers that criticize all lawsuits and I run into that a lot and every client I have practically says to a person that they never thought they'd be the one filing a lawsuit," said Webb. "But when it happens to you and when it happens to your family, it's a different story."
Webb says the lawsuit has not yet been served to Craft. They are currently in the middle of discussions with his representatives. Webb hopes they will have an idea whether or not to move forward with the lawsuit within the next month.
Kostelni is survived by her husband of 53 years and five children.


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Tim Tebow may be a couple of yards closer to scoring, because he's kinda gone public with his new GF Camilla Belle. Both say they're pure as the driven snow. So we gotta ask ...
Thanks for covering our asses with the NY/NJ disasters. We appreciate it!
Joe Biden!
When did TMZ start hiring sex offenders?
This is the big publicity stunt so the gay rumors stop, ala Tom Cruise,Michael Jackson.
God likes sex. A lot.
The question should be which NFL quarterback is more gay, Tim Tebow or Brady Quinn? Both seem to pump iron like made but have rather weak throwing arms.
Most of the Tebow thing over the last year or so is pretty tired and boring.
But gotta hand it to the guy, with thousands of different methods to promote yourself and make money, most require a lot of effort and spending.
But..."I'm a virgin"....?
No money required, no effort, just a simple statement.
...one that brought a whole lotta interest from the public, from website hits to merchandise sales going through the roof.
"I'm a virgin". Cha-ching! Brilliant :D
Your questions are beyond ridiculous. Harv, you're a Jew, what's with the priest question? There are a lot of very faithful good priests out there and that was just plain out of line.
i couldnt care less if he is a virgin or not.its none of our business.
Camilla a virgin? When pigs fly.
What does "soaks" mean?
This guy is gay. Sorry girls.
everyone knows camilla is a lesbian
I only clicked on this "celebrity" story to comment on it. NO ONE CARES ABOUT TIM TEBOW. He's not a celebrity. He's not a NFL star. He's not a has-been. He's a never was. A never will be. He's got marginal talent at best. He's gotten WAY TOO MUCH credit for the Bronco's marginal success last season. He's also a huge fake. If he's a virgin, then it's only with women. Nobody that's a real "Man of faith" or a "Man of Virtue" acts the way this ass-clown acts.
WTF does, "he soaks" mean?? I read previous comments, and nobody seems to know what "soaks" mean.
Check out this beautiful art- representing the true and the beautiful...it is seriously the most peaceful slice of Heaven ever known to humankind!


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Then it made me feel embarrassed, so I erased it. Then I decided to post a recipe because everybody loves food. That's actually not true. But everybody needs food. Just like we need racists. No. Wait. That came out really wrong. I am so confused. . .
I will now lock myself in a room for fear someone might think I am racist.
What I have been enjoying during mealtime this week ...
|See, I love all different colors and kinds of food. Legumes, citrus, leafy greens, pungent dairy, stale bread, I love them all for their different flavors, colors, textures and what they bring to the salad that is unique. Color love not color blind.


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Our girl Selena Gomez sported yet another runway look on InStyle Magazine's second June 2013 cover. She wore an Oscar de la Renta Resin Flower Necklace in Ivory. You can purchase this necklace from NeimanMarcus.com for $595.00.
Buy it HERE
She's also wearing an Oscar de la Renta dress.
Selena Gomez graced the second cover of InStyle Magazine's June 2013 issue wearing an Oscar De La Renta Strapless Silk Dress in color Navy/Ivory. This dress is from Oscar De La Renta's Spring 2013 RTW collection and is on sale for $3,889.96.
Buy it HERE
thanks dolwithsel!
She's also wearing an Oscar De La Renta necklace.
Selena Gomez went for a fun and sassy theme at the 2013 Kid's Choice Awards today wearing an Oscar de la Renta baby blue Peplum Top and white Shorts from the label's Spring 2013 line. You may recognize this outfit because she sported a similar look in the April issue of Harper's Bazaar.
She complimented her look with Gucci sandals and a DVF clutch.
What do you think of her look?
Contact Us


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Credit card spending. Extravagant homes. Extra cars. Through the easy-living years of the 1990s' economy, Americans made a habit of living above their means--borrowing and borrowing so they could continue buying and buying.
Considering the average household debt (excluding mortgage payments) is around $10,000, you see consumers who are quick to choose what to buy but who have a much more difficult time choosing where to cut.
Such is the case of the current U.S. Congress, which features five new Hispanic legislators--all Republicans--who were swept into office during the November election GOP landslide. With the Senate still in Democratic hands, the conventional wisdom calls for a legislative stalemate in the run up to the 2012 presidential election. After all, the challenge is less about finding out what to cut than it is a matter of getting the political will from both parties to pull the trigger and drastically reform the big-ticket items that need to be cut. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and military spending have all ballooned the national debt in recent decades.
Of the five new Hispanics in Congress, all but one are from non-Hispanic majority districts. And every single one campaigned on a message of limiting government spending.
Freshman Representative Jaime Herrera Beutler, a Republican who won an open seat in Washington state, calls the national debt "the most immediate issue this Congress must deal with."
The debt is her focus, Rep. Herrera Beutler says, reflecting a priority that came up repeatedly throughout her southwest Washington campaign. The issue was front and center in Texas as well, where Rep. Francisco Canseco, a former banker, won a seat in Congress.
"American families who have reached the limit on their credit don't get to simply vote themselves a higher credit limit," Rep. Canseco says. "They sit down and prioritize their spending to live within their means. The federal government should do the same thing."
Once in charge of the House, these new Republicans were proud to point to one of their first votes--a 5-percent cut to congressional office budgets.
"This move saved tens of millions of taxpayer dollars, but equally important, it demonstrated that Congress can no longer pretend it lives in a different economic reality than the rest of America," Rep. Beutler says.
Democrats labeled the vote nothing more than posturing.
"That vote was their way of saying 'We're going to make cuts,' " says Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Calif., a member of President Obama's National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform.
Rep. Becerra said the early action from House Republicans--focusing on repealing the health-care law and passing a symbolic spending cut--showed a failure to address the real economic issue of the day: jobs. "That vote eliminated jobs," Rep. Becerra says of the 5 percent cut.
The national commission Becerra and other private- and public-sector figures sat on last year ended up with less-than surprising results--the entitlement programs need to be reined in or the debt will only grow.
Similarly, the Bipartisan Policy Center released a deficit-reduction plan last year calling for raising the Social Security retirement age, charging wealthy seniors more for Medicare and limiting popular tax deductions for home loan interest.
As the country crawls out of recession, the candidates of 2010 are now working to turn campaign economic rhetoric into reality.
Republicans, like newly elected Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, even said what House Republicans did--pledging to cut spending by $32 billion from the 2011 budget--was not nearly enough.
Sen. Rubio and 10 other GOP senators wrote House Speaker John Boehner to call for cuts of at least $100 billion.
"The American people expect at least this level--which is just one-fifteenth of the FY2011 budget deficit," Sen. Rubio's letter said.
Sen. Rubio, like many of his new Congressional colleagues who won in November, put the bottom line issue of the deficit at the top of his talking points.
"He outlined real solutions to fundamentally tackle our national debt crisis, which has created uncertainty for businesses and stood in the way of job creation," says Sen. Rubio spokesman Alex Burgos.
The Rubio plan called for nixing stimulus spending and putting unused money toward the national debt, a tactic that he said would save taxpayers $300 billion. He wants a constitutional amendment to require Congress to balance the budget, and he says the congressional practice of earmarking money for district-directed projects should be a thing of the past.
Taxpayers should be allowed to direct 10 percent of their tax payments to the national debt, he said, proposing Congress match those payments dollar for dollar with federal funds cut from elsewhere in the budget. In short, Sen. Rubio said everything except for defense spending should be on the chopping block.
But would a new Florida senator really vote for a budget that slashed the funding for NASA or left the Florida Everglades vulnerable because of a lack of tourist-friendly parks funding?
Would an Iowan vote for a budget curtailing farm subsidies? Or a New Yorker for one ending federal assistance through homeland-security grants?
Such are the real political calculations ahead as lawmakers look at piecemeal ways to balance a budget and reduce the debt.
Inevitably the question comes back to how lawmakers plan to reform Social Security. An active senior citizen voting constituency has been known to make politicians nervous before. But the people retiring in 2037--the year Social Security is expected to be flat broke by government estimates-- are voters now too, and they are starting to think about their own children.
The U.S. government currently borrows 40 cents of every dollar it spends. At the rate of current spending, interest on the debt will cost $1 trillion by 2020.
Momentarily, put aside the issue of how future generations will be saddled with our national debt and you see the national security concerns against an economy built so heavily on borrowed money. What if China stops buying American treasury bills and starts trying to collect? The weakening dollar will become a laughing stock. Only so much money can be printed without runaway inflation.
"At the end of the day, we simply have to stop spending money we don't have and sending the bill to our children and grandchildren," Rep. Canseco says.
Rep. Herrera Beuller points to the more immediate concerns. "If we don't take action to stop our overspending now, we will kill jobs today and destroy opportunities for future generations," she says.
While lawmakers in both parties focus on the challenge of the debt, they will have another eye on the election calendar, when both parties will use the stage of a presidential election to sell themselves as the best stewards of the national economy.
"Attacking is one thing; governing is quite different," say Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, a senior member of the moderate coalition of Democrats known as Blue Dogs. "We need to make sure the fiscal responsibility message goes to swing voters so we are not being tagged as anti-business."
To Reps. Cuellar and Becerra, the success Hispanic candidates had as Republicans carrying an anti-spending message in the 2010 midterm elections was almost expected.
"The electorate came out anti-incumbent. There were more Democrats in office," Rep. Cuellar says.
And the new Hispanic Republicans prove something else, Rep. Becerra says: "Latino candidates come from every stripe. We are not monolithic."
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The U.S. Debt Challenge
Harper Elliot--HispanicBusiness
Credit card spending. Extravagant homes. Extra cars. Through the easy-living years of the 1990s' economy, Americans made a habit of living above their means--borrowing and borrowing so they could continue buying and buying.
Source: HispanicBusiness.com (c) 2011. All rights reserved.


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Deadline: 31 March 2013
Shannon Young wanted to let everyone know that the deadline for submissions to the Expat Women in Asia anthology has been extended to the 31st of March (previously 28th of February). They have received a lot of great submissions so far, but with so many people traveling during the Lunar New Year they would like to give everyone a little more time to send in their work.
Guidelines and submission details remain the same. Refer to the announcement here.
For queries/ submissions: email@example.com
Website: http://signal8press.com/
Submission Deadline Extended: Expat Women in Asia Anthology
15 February 2013Submission Deadline Extended: Expat Women in Asia Anthology
Ranked: 500 highest-paying publications for freelance writers
Related Opportunities:
Labels: asia literature, call for submissions


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Join 500,000+ Artists
Its' free and it takes less than 10 seconds!
Hi Guys
Sorry i've been away so long, i've been completely rejigging my webpage (http://firstname.lastname@example.com/). I've installed a new gallery and am now in a position to update routinely. I'd love any comments on style and layout. Also, i'm having a great deal of difficulty uploading a Picasa gallery into the webpage since Geocities no longer supports FTP, so any advice would be appreciated.
Hugs and kisses
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Just a heads up.
"I wish to paint in such a manner as if I were photographing dreams" - Zdzislaw BeksinskiMy Happy Little Sketchbook, please check it out and help me get better!
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Important Links
These are valuable links to websites that will give you more information about our cause.
The Arc is the national organization of and for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. The association also fosters research and education regarding the prevention of developmental disabilities in infants and young children.
The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare's Office of Developmental Programs supports a comprehensive array of services and supports for people with developmental disabilities. The Developmental Programs system is funded through federal, state and county funds.
The PARC Consent Decree of 1972 established the State Task Force and 29 Local Task Forces, whose purpose is to assure a free and appropriate public education for students with disabilities. Each Local Task Force consists of parents, families, a representative of The Arc and support personnel. There is a local task force at each Intermediate Unit; this map shows each school district and their corresponding Intermediate Unit.
Their new enhanced website with extensive resources and publications that will be of great value to families and advocates.
AAIDD promotes progressive policies, sound research, effective practices, and universal human rights for people with intellectual disabilities.
Post Secondary Opportunities
Links to Resources for Students with Disabilities
Pennsylvania Post Secondary Opportunities
General Student Resources
Financial Aid Resources
- PA Disability Rights Network information for Substitute Decision Making/Guardianship
The Arc of PA Resource Directory and Guide to Essential Services was made possible by a generous donation by the Bartelmay Family.
The Resource Directory is an introduction to services and supports for persons with cognitive, intellectual and developmental disabilities. It is divided into sections for easier usage and contains mostly Pennsylvania based agencies.


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Self Diagnosis
Feeling ill? MH has consulted health experts so you can verify your symptoms, identify the ailment and then administer the remedy. Simple.
Once you've cured yourself, you'll have no excuse to avoid the gym.
The truth about prostate cancer
Mans biggest cancer foe rarely comes up in conversation. But less coyness could catch a killer, says MH's Mike Shallcross
9 simple health-boosting daily habits
Work these tweaks into your everyday routine to feel stronger and live longer
4 ways to get lean
Your express pass to searing away your gut while maintaining your muscle
Am I addicted to exercise?
New research has found that over-exercising causes withdrawal symptoms akin to alcoholism
How to live past 100
The average innings for a UK man is 78. Start adding candles to your cake
The top 5 killers of men
How to dodge the handful of maladies most likely to stop you clocking up a century
How to cure diabetes
Reverse this life-ruining disease in your own kitchen
Cancer-combating steak marinades
Dress up your muscle-building meat with these nutrient-rich sauces
How to be your own doctor
Modern smart devices are now able to track every aspect of your physiology, from blood oxygen to testosterone levels
Have sex to combat cancer
One of the best ways to protect against prostate cancer it is sex. In fact, there are plenty of good excuses
Eat more to argue less
Research finds that depleted blood sugar makes you fight with your partner
Cure disease before it happens
How to flick through your DNA to prevent future illnesses
Should I inject tesosterone?
Thousands of men are injecting testosterone for greater heft and a longer life. But is it safe? And should you?
Fight five diseases with one workout
Take part in men's health awareness month with the world's best disease prevention workout
Improve your health in bed
How to improve your mood, fine-tune your hormones and even improve your breakfast all before you throw off your sheets
Cancer myths debunked
The worlds leading cancer experts help us separate the real dangers from the scare stories


text:
The Scoop: Eight Controversial Ice-Cream Flavors
No one who cannot rejoice in the discovery of his own mistakes deserves to be called a scholar.
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text:
Breast Cancer Health Center
DNA Test Shows Promise for Breast Cancer Care
"This is nowhere near being ready for clinical practice," Yuan said. "But this is one direction we're heading in."
There are other tests being developed for monitoring women with breast cancer, Yuan noted. One is a test that looks for abnormalities in DNA "copy number." A recent preliminary study found that this approach might help predict some women's risk of a breast cancer recurrence.
And researchers are still studying existing tests to see how they can best be used. The blood test that detects tumor cells -- sold in the United States as the CellSearch system -- can be used to help monitor women in treatment for metastatic breast cancer. In general, a higher number of tumor cells means a quicker progression.
But for now, professional guidelines do not recommend that doctors routinely use the test because its ultimate usefulness is still unclear, said Dr. Anthony Lucci, a surgical oncologist at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.
The new findings suggest that the tumor DNA test is more sensitive than the existing tumor cell test, said Lucci, who was not involved in the research.
He said that in the future, it might be helpful in monitoring women with metastatic cancer or in helping to spot a breast cancer recurrence earlier.
Earlier detection of recurrences is the big hope, said Dr. Jorge Reis-Filho, an attending pathologist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. "If changes in DNA happen before changes are seen in imaging," he said, "that could help us be more proactive in treatment."
But, Reis-Filho stressed, that's "crystal-ball gazing" for now.
Lucci said any real-world use of tumor DNA testing is a long way off.
"Number one, we need larger studies to confirm these findings," he said. But beyond that, researchers need to figure out how to do such DNA testing in a simpler, cheaper way, Lucci added.
"Currently, this would be way too expensive and time-consuming," he said. Only some academic cancer centers would have the resources to do this kind of testing as it stands, Lucci noted.
Copyright © 2013-2014 HealthDay. All rights reserved.


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Explorative Versus Exploitative Alliances—Evidence From The Glass Industry In China
AbstractThis study empirically delineates the nature of explorative and exploitative alliances, examines how they affect product and process innovations, and investigates how such effects vary in different contexts. Using a sample of 220 Chinese firms in the glass industry, we find that explorative alliances have a stronger effect on both product and process innovations than exploitative alliances. Product and process innovations are positively related to both market and efficiency performance and environmental turbulence enhances the effect of product and process innovations. Our findings provide implications on how to choose between explorative and exploitative alliances relative to the alliance objectives and firm resources and environmental contexts.
Download InfoIf you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Bibliographic InfoPaper provided by University Library of Munich, Germany in its series MPRA Paper with number 47065.
Date of creation: 05 Jan 2013
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:47065
Contact details of provider:
Postal: Schackstr. 4, D-80539 Munich, Germany
Phone: +49-(0)89-2180-2219
Fax: +49-(0)89-2180-3900
Web page: http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de
More information through EDIRC
Related researchKeywords: China; exploration versus exploitation; structural equation modeling; process innovation; product innovation; small-and-medium-sized enterprises;
Find related papers by JEL classification:
- D21 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Theory
- D7 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making
- L65 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Manufacturing - - - Chemicals; Rubber; Drugs; Biotechnology
- N60 - Economic History - - Manufacturing and Construction - - - General, International, or Comparative
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
- NEP-ALL-2013-05-24 (All new papers)
- NEP-CSE-2013-05-24 (Economics of Strategic Management)
- NEP-ENT-2013-05-24 (Entrepreneurship)
- NEP-HME-2013-05-24 (Heterodox Microeconomics)
- NEP-INO-2013-05-24 (Innovation)
- NEP-SBM-2013-05-24 (Small Business Management)
- NEP-TRA-2013-05-24 (Transition Economics)
ReferencesReferences listed on IDEAS
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- Wu, Fang & Cavusgil, S. Tamer, 2006. "Organizational learning, commitment, and joint value creation in interfirm relationships," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 81-89, January.
- Robert M. Grant & Charles Baden-Fuller, 2004. "A Knowledge Accessing Theory of Strategic Alliances," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(1), pages 61-84, 01.
- Emden, Zeynep & Yaprak, Attila & Cavusgil, S. Tamer, 2005. "Learning from experience in international alliances: antecedents and firm performance implications," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 58(7), pages 883-892, July.
- Simpson, Penny M. & Siguaw, Judy A. & Enz, Cathy A., 2006. "Innovation orientation outcomes: The good and the bad," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 59(10-11), pages 1133-1141, October.
- Takehiko Isobe & Shige Makino & David Montgomery, 2008. "Technological capabilities and firm performance: The case of small manufacturing firms in Japan," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 25(3), pages 413-428, September.
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Nov. 13, 2013 at 11:42am with 6 notes
Reblogged from akopalasiervin
#breakfast with madztamiah :)
Nov. 11, 2013 at 11:20am with 13 notes
Reblogged from allnaturalchick
100% whole wheat wrap filled with hummus, cherry tomatoes, and sun-dried tomatoes, grilled on a panini maker!
Facebook caption: " can't believe it took me so long to fall in love with it…can't stop eating <3"
Found in my Grandma's old magazine.
"cheese, veggies, turkey and bbq fritos casserole panini"
"blue berry pop tart omelette"


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Social Value
Deep in our underground hollowed-out volcanic lair, ninja scientists have developed an algorithm that I think will have a large impact on both science and commerce. We call it "Social Value."
Social Value is the amount of behavior that one person generates among their friends. An anology might be the ripple on the social pond. Let's say this person goes to see a movie, listens to a song, or plays a game. Now let's say that this person is influential. How much more likely are their friends to go see the movie, hear the song, or play the game?
Each person has a unique amount of influence in their social network, and on each friend. Maybe you are highly influential on Bob, but Steve doesn't care what you do. What the Social Value algorithm does is to add up all of your influence and put it in units we care about--like sessions, time, or dollars.Now imagine that we also have a good sense of the person's own future behaviors, thanks to some predictive modeling. This means that for any one person, we're generating two values:
1) An asocial, future behavior number. Marketers call this lifetime value (LTV), but they don't strip out the social impact. This approach does.
2) Social value. An amount, independent of the product, service or activity (i.e. independent of the movie, song or game), caused by the social connections of the person.
Put together and viewed in the aggregate, these values show how much behavior is attributable to the service, and how much is attributable to the community around the service. We're finding that the typical split is about 75/25, where 25c on the dollar is due to community, rather than the product. This number goes up when there's robust community, and down when there isn't.
In gaming, we're seeing a 10-40% range for Social Value.
Knowing these numbers and who they are attached to has a strong and clear value proposition for the developers--find the high Social Value people and a) get more of them, b) retain them, & c) leverage them to cause others to spend more. People with big Social Value numbers can be thought of as "Social Whales."
Conversely--and this I hope to blog on in the future with some shareable data--there's a fun side effect of the scores when a person has a negative Social Value. That's a person who's presence in the network depresses the activity of others. The scientific term is "asshole," or in the game context, troll. I'm looking forward to seeing how firms use this number.
So, that's the commercial side of things. On the research side, I think this algorithm has a lot of applicability in the social sciences. After all, it doesn't care what the behavior is--voting, shopping, writing, singing, whatever.
Comments on Social Value:
That's interesting, but there may be a possible rub. Back in my old advertising days, pre-Internet, we wanted to know how much of new traffic into our stores was based on advertising vs personal recommendations. So we did some initial surveys and found out that around 25% of people who came in the door did so because of a friend, family member, etc. saying nice things about the service. We targeted those folks and did some deeper diving and found out that almost all of them had *also* seen an ad... so it's hard to say which was the driver. We also found out that many of the people who did the recommending had initially come in through advertising... So while the initial read seemed like about 25% of sales were dependent on recommendations, what we ended up feeling comfortable saying was that recommendation were *involved* to some degree in around 25% of sales. But that advertising was involved in closer to 95%. We also found out (in a related note) that it was almost impossible to move the recommendation bar by anything other than good overall service. That is, we tried "refer a friend" programs and upped the dough quite a bit, but that didn't have hardly any effect. If people liked us, they'd recommend us. Period.
Posted Oct 7, 2013 10:58:37 PM | link
There's a ground truth to the phenomenon out there and it may be 10%, 40%, etc. It's going to vary by context, platform, region, and a lot of other things. But what this approach does via machine learning is to compare cases where there is a social connection vs. those without, effectively controlling for the asocial factors in the model. So, when we find it's X% and the rest is the service, that's what it is.
We haven't done anything in regular retail, chiefly because the social graph data are too difficult to come by, and harder still to attach to PoS data. It may be different than online shopping, or not. And social sign-in may be part of a different phenomenon, or not.
As always, we'll let the data tell the story. And so far, that story for games at least is 10-40%, with a mean around 25%. It's early, still.
Posted Oct 7, 2013 11:33:27 PM | link
high school tribes forever... wonderful
Posted Oct 9, 2013 1:50:47 PM | link
Haha nice use of scientific terms: 'a$$hole'
Social value definitely has relevance. Sometimes it is earned over time eg. if a person recommends a movie and all their recommendations have been great I'll likely see the next one no questions asked, and vice versa. In my eyes their social value either increases or decreases over time based on this. Celebrities, sporting stars etc. hold a certain amount of social value due to their presence in the media. This can take a long time to build up and be extremely valuable, but it can all be destroyed in an instant!
Posted Dec 9, 2013 11:32:54 PM | link


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The dog of slain Petty Officer Jon Tumilson refused to leave his side during the Navy SEAL's funeral earlier this week in Rockford, Iowa. The heartbreaking photo taken by his cousin, Lisa Pembleton, shows Tumilson's dog Hawkeye lying by the casket. (via The Daily Treat: Animal Planet)
La foto de la semana. Sin duda alguna. @Pawgeous


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DIY Leaf Alphabet
Martha Stewart
When focusing on the subject of learning at home there are certain design themes that repeatedly crop up. Letters of the alphabet are obviously at the top of the list and it has been interesting to see how people can incorporate them into their kids' rooms (two good examples being Ross's Nursery and Jumbo Letter Pillows). So while trolling for ideas to feature this month I was pleased to find a fresh take on alphabet artwork that would look great either at home or in school. It also has the added bonus of being a project adults and kids can do together.
Leave it to the folks at Martha Stewart to come up with this creative idea. The premise is simple: collect as many different types of leaves as possible, press them, and then use their natural shapes to create either letters directly or objects to represent them. Add some careful penmanship and you have a truly one-of-a-kind piece of educational artwork.
I found this idea so intriguing that I ran outside, grabbed some leaves and gave it a shot:
Not bad for fresh, unpressed leaves and an artistically challenged artist. I didn't set out to make a unicorn, but that is the fun part of this project--you don't know what the outcome will be until the leaves are spread out before you.
See the complete tutorial here.
(Image 1: Martha Stewart Image 2: Richard Popovic)
5 Comments
I've been trying to get my son and nieces outside to be a little more active. So far we've been collecting rocks and bugs during our walks. Now we can get leaves..This will also help with me teaching them their letters and how to write. Nice idea! Thanks!
What a great idea!
We use leaves a lot. We used a leaf/flower press this fall and now have leaves hanging off a mobile (the kind that holds pictures with aligator clips). We also look at leaves through our pocket microscope (super cool - http://www.amazon.com/Carson-MM-200-Micromax-60X-100X-Microscope/dp/B000P8AUMU), use them for printing, and use them as toys (if we can find the helicopter seeds).
This is such a great project and with fall around the corner for an abundance of colorful leaves. These pieces would make great artwork for around the home.
I love those. I want to make some :)
This is so great! I've been trying to think of creative ways to help my daughter learn the alphabet... Thanks so much!


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"At least 40 people were killed and 95 wounded in three car bombs that exploded almost simultaneously in two markets in the Shi'ite Sadr district of Baghdad on Sunday," Reuters reports. Also, "Eight bodies were found with their hands tied and gun shot wounds to the head in Rustamiya, a suburb in eastern Baghdad." (Via Atrios)
Iraq chaos:
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ORLANDO, FL - The Iona College women's basketball team picked up its sixth straight win and completed non-conference action with a 78-66 victory over Central Florida Saturday afternoon at CFE Arena. Iona was held to just 39.4% shooting from the field, but connected on a season high 13 three pointers and shot 86.7 (13-15) from the free throw line.
Sophomore forward Joy Adams picked up her seventh double-double of the season with 19 points and a season high 21 rebounds. The 21 rebounds matched a career high for Adams, who was playing in front of a home crowd in her native Orlando.
Junior guard Damika Martinez scored 28 points, knocking down six three pointers in the contest. She also contributed four assists and three steals in the win. Junior guard Aleesha Powell had 13 points, connecting on five of her six shot attempts, including all three from behind the arc. Powell also had six assists in the win.
Senior center Sabrina Jeridore had six points in the contest, and picked up two blocks, taking sole possession of first place all-time in the category with 187 career "swats."
Iona never trailed in the game, taking an early 12-4 lead on a three by sophomore forward Cassidee Ranger with 13:52 remaining the first half. The Knights would trim the lead to three, before an 8-1 run by the Gaels gave the squad their first double digit lead, 22-12, on a layup by Powell with 9:26 left.
UCF scored 10 of the next 12 points, and cut the Iona lead to two on a jumper by Briahanna Jackson with 3:52 left in the half. A free throw by UCF's Stephanie Taylor knotted the game at 30 with 1:45 remaining in the first, before the Gaels ended the period on a 6-2 run, grabbing a 36-32 halftime lead on a three pointer by Powell with 19 seconds remaining.
The Knights opened the second half on a 8-3 run, pulling within one, 40-39, with 16:09 left in the second half. Iona would only be able to get ahead by four over the next eight minutes before the Gaels went on a 14-8 run, grabbing a 65-57 lead on a three pointer by Martinez.
The Gaels would control the remainder of the contest, taking a double digit lead late on free throws in the final minutes. ICF was led by Taylor's 16 points, and Jackson who tallied 15 points.
The Maroon & Gold looks to continue their winning ways when it hosts Siena on Dec. 29 in the team's MAAC opener at the Hynes Center.


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I bought this set for my daughter's room. She's away at college, so her room doubles as a guest room. This set is a perfect balance between the pink and black she wanted, and a more adult style that I wanted. She tells me its warm and cuddly, and is very happy with my choice.
Looks exactly as pictured. Colors are great. My daughter loves it.
this is a nice quality product. I would recommentd it.
Comforter is beautiful. Soft, colorful, perfect for college apartment. Brightened up the whole room. Quality couldn't be better. Would highly recommend to anyone updating any bedroom!
Items must be returned in new or unused condition and contain all original materials included with the shipment. More details
FINAL SALE EXCLUSION: Items marked as FINAL SALE are not returnable unless the problem you experience is the result of our error.
Our standard shipping method is ground shipping. We also offer expedited shipping for most items. Your final shipping cost and estimated delivery timeframe will be available at checkout.
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* For your safety, some orders go through our loss prevention department. If we select your order for this process, we will immediately notify you that there may be up to a 3-day delay on your order.
** Most Oversize orders are delivered within 1-4 weeks. Some orders may take 6 weeks to be delivered.


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|Statewide Bank
|March 12, 2010
|The Park Avenue Bank
|New York
|March 12, 2010
|Old Southern Bank
|March 12, 2010
|LibertyPointe Bank
|New York
|March 11, 2010
*The large specs increased longs by 3,330 contracts and reduced shorts by 777.
*The commercials decreased longs by 1,814 contracts and increased shorts by 3,045.
*The small specs increased longs by 1,185 contracts and increased shorts by 433.
and gold:
The gold COT report:
*The large specs increased longs by 1,103 contracts and increased shorts by 281.
*The commercials increased longs by 11,252 contracts and increased shorts by 11,502.
*The small specs decreased longs by 903 contracts decreased shorts by 331.
Lets see what this shows:
In silver the long specs decided that the silver situation looked to good to pass up so they increased their longs in fine fashion.
They also decided to cut some of their losses by reducing their shorts.
The commercials interestingly paid the piper.....they provided the paper short to these longs. The commercials decreased their longs by 1800 contracts and
increased their shorts by a cool 3045 contracts. In essence the large specs received their contracts from the commercials who went short.
The small specs nimbled their way back into the silver arena by increasing their longs by 1185 contracts but also increased by shorts by a tiny 433.
In gold, the large specs took a vacation. The entire gladiator battle took place between two sets of commercials. One set of commercials increased their longs by 11252 contracts
and the other set increased their shorts by 11502.
There is only one explanation for this COT report
the major bank shorters like JPMorgan and HSBC continued supplying the gold paper/and
. The smaller intermediate bankers who sense trouble ahead bought the supply from their larger brethren!.
Continuing on with our physical gold and silver report, lets get a picture of the gold and silver inventory!:
COMEX Warehouse Stocks Mar 12, 2010
321,063 ozs deposited in the dealer's (registered) inventory
296,745 ozs deposited in the customer (eligible) inventory
Total dealer inventory 50.87 Mozs
Total customer inventory 60.37 Mozs
Combined Total 111.24 Mozs
3,000 ozs deposited in the dealers (registered) category
ZERO ozs withdrawn from the customer (eligible) category
Total dealer inventory 1.66 Mozs
Total customer inventory 8.34 Mozs
Combined Total 10.00 Mozs
Note No 1. we see a rather large 321063 oz of silver deposited into the dealer inventory. It could have come from the mines or from SLV.
However please note for the last 12 days we have not witnessed any silver leaving the dealer inventory.
Note 2 gold: very little activity.
Lets go to the delivery notices of silver and gold:
First gold:
There were 16 delivery notices issued in the MAR gold contract. The MAR gold contract total for the month is 376 notices or 37,600 ozs.
Note 3: the total number of oz of gold standing from options exercised total 37600 oz of gold.
In silver:
There were 55 delivery notices issued in the MAR silver contract. The total delivery notices for the month in silver stand at 3,342 or 16.7 Mozs. JPM issued 54 and stopped 7, and BNS issued 0 and stopped 34.
Note 4: a total of 55 delivery notices were issued for silver and the new total for the month stands at 16.7million oz.
Lets see what is left to be serviced:
The open interest in the MAR gold contract is 82 contracts, in silver it stands at 523 contracts.
Note 5: In gold, there remains 82 contracts or 8200 oz of gold. Lets add the 37600 oz to the 8200 oz and one gets 45800 oz of gold, pretty close to Thursday total.
Note 6: in silver, there remains 523 contracts or 2.615 million oz. Add the 4.6 million of silver options exercised in February for March delivery and the 16.7 million oz of silver already serviced, one gets:
4.6 million oz + 2.615 million oz + 16.7 million oz = 23.95 million oz.
This value is rising!!. There are many players anxious to get their hands on the physical silver. The fact that no silver is leaving the comex is quite revealing. The many adjustments in silver seem to suggest
that leasing of customer silver is the order of the day, or quite possibly the silver is coming from the SLV. There is no question that silver is in short supply.
Rob Kirby discovered this yesterday in searching through countless documents of usa data;
Rob Kirby with a fascinating find:
Subject: looky here
Go to the Fed's "flow of funds report" Q4/09 just released toady at this link:http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/Current/z1.pdfScroll down to page 24 [Flow of Funds with Rest of Word] and observe line # 14 on that page. It states that the U.S. Fed sold 190.7 billion dollars worth of gold / SDRs in Q3/09. 190.7 billion @ 1,000 per ounce would be 5,937 tonnes of gold .
A Chartered Financial Analyst subscriber of mine follows this release every quarter and alerted me to the "back-dating" of the gold sales for Q3/09 in the release today. Note: In the same flow of funds report for Q3/09 at this appended link - there was no mention of gold / SDR sales - period:http://www.federalreserve.gov/releases/z1/20091210/z1.pdfI've attached the Flow of Funds Report for both Q3/09 and Q4/09 for comparison purposes.
Question: has the Federal Reserve just "papered over" the disgorgement of nearly 6,000 metric tonnes of sovereign U.S. Gold bullion?
Rob Kirby
The report is from the federal reserve government releases and it shows the flow of funds in the 4th quarter.
I checked the government data and sure enough on page 24, line 14 the usa sold 190.7 billion dollars of gold (SDR's translated into real oz). At 1000 dollars per oz that translates into 5937 tonnes of gold.
The previous quarter on the flow of funds reports showed no gold activity. Looks like the usa is trying to paper over their sale of 6000 metric tonnes of gold.
The usa has 8133 tonnes of gold so 73% of the usa gold reserves have been liquidated.
The problem here is that the gold belongs to its citizens and not government. The government needs congressional approval to sell the gold.
Trouble ahead on this front!
Lets now go to the economic news of the day.
First we got a big story on the potential for new foreclosures on the housing front:
New wave of foreclosures threatens market
Up to 7 million homes are potentially eligible but haven't been repossessed
By Renae Merle
The Washington Post
updated 4:52 a.m. CT, Fri., March. 12, 2010
WASHINGTON - The housing market is facing swelling ranks of homeowners who are seriously delinquent but have yet to lose their homes, and this is threatening a new wave of foreclosures that could hit just as the real estate market has begun to stabilize.
About 5 million to 7 million properties are potentially eligible for foreclosure but have not yet been repossessed and put up for sale. Some economists project it could take nearly three years before all these homes have been put on the market and purchased by new owners.
And the number of pending foreclosures could grow much bigger over the coming year as more distressed borrowers become delinquent and then, if they can't obtain mortgage relief, wade through the foreclosure process, which often takes more than a year to complete.
As these foreclosed properties add to the supply of homes for sale, they could undercut housing prices, which have increased modestly through December, according to the most recent figures in the S&P/Case-Shiller home prices index. That rise partly reflected a slowdown in the flow of foreclosed homes onto the market.
The rate at which J.P. Morgan Chase seized properties, for example, peaked in the middle of 2008 and fell steadily last year, according to a February investor report. But the bank expects repossessions to increase this year, nearly doubling to 45,000 by the fourth quarter.
The economy cannot steamroll ahead with this monkey around their neck. The banking situation continues to deteriorate.
This next story gives you a flavour of how the crooked banks work. They do not care who they devour:
Morgan, Citigroup helped cause Lehman's collapse, examiner findsBloomberg News
Thursday, March 11, 2010
NEW YORK -- JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. helped cause the illiquidity that led to the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holding Inc., the bankrupt bank's examiner said today in a report filed in Manhattan federal court.
Lehman tumbled into its $639 billion bankruptcy, the biggest in U.S. history, because it didn't have enough liquidity and lost the confidence of its counterparties, according to a 2,200-page report from Anton Valukas, the U.S. Trustee-appointed examiner.
By changing guarantee agreements and making new demands for collateral, JPMorgan and Citigroup helped to precipitate the liquidity crisis that doomed Lehman, Valukas said.
"The demands for collateral by Lehman's lenders had direct impact on Lehman's liquidity pool," he said. "Lehman's available liquidity is central to the question of why Lehman failed."
Lehman executives including former Chief Executive Officer Richard Fuld, former Chief Financial Officer Erin Callan, former executive vice president Ian Lowitt, and former managing director Christopher O'Meara certified misleading statements, the report said.
Commenting on Barclays Plc's purchase of Lehman's North American brokerage, Valukas said a "limited amount of assets" belonging to Lehman were "improperly transferred to Barclays."
John Williams has brought out his shadowgovernment stats on the 3 major economic news of this week:
He states that the trade deficit is still GDP neutral in dollars ie no advance.
He also states that the retail sales figures have been rigged a little:
Here is his commentary:
Retail Sales Revisions Boosted January Headline Gain but Reduced Reported Sales Levels
- Sales Still Bottom-Bouncing Net of Inflation
- January Trade Deficit Was GDP-Neutral
- Fleeting Census Jobs Creation Will Have Offsetting Losses
"No. 285: Outlook Update, Retail Sales, Trade Deficit"
In his report, you can see that the undemployed remains at 22% and that the real CPI is around 5%
You can see that the M3 continues to contract down to negative 4%. This is scarry!.
As I indicated to you during the week with a Tyler Durden paper, the monetary base continues to skyrocket. It is now 2.2 trillion dollars
and excess reserves at the banks total 1.3 trillion. The Fed continues to pay interest on this money. Strangely this money is not included in the debt
ceiling because it is basically swap money and eventually in the year 2942 AD this money will be returned to the banks. These banks offloaded their junk to the Fed Reserve in return
for freshly minted dollars bills. As I mentioned above, the Fed even has the nerve to pay interest on the dollar bills created which were given to the banks. The junk is probably worth 15 cents on the dollar.
Here is a story on the plight of usa states. They are contemplating holding onto citizens tax refunds to conserve cash:
States may hold onto tax refunds for months
By William M. Welch, USA TODAY
Residents eager to get their state tax refunds may have a long wait this year: The recession has tied up cash and caused officials in half a dozen states to consider freezing refunds, in one case for as long as five months.
States from New York to Hawaii that have been hard-hit by the economic downturn say they have either delayed refunds or are considering doing so because of budget shortfalls.
"It's an indicator of how bad it is," says Scott Pattison, executive director of the National Association of State Budget Officers. "You know things are bad when you have to do that."
New York, hit with a $9 billion deficit, may delay $500 million in refunds to keep the state from running out of cash, says Gov.David Paterson.
Hawaii's Department of Taxation says some residents may not see state income tax refunds until the end of August, TheHonolulu Advertiser reported. It was part of a plan by Gov.Linda Lingle to deal with a revenue drop-off by pushing costs into the next fiscal period, which begins in July.
Jim Sinclair's Commentary
The US dollar is no Safe Haven
U.S. credit rating at risk.
The triple-A credit rating of the U.S. is at risk, warned ratings agency S&P, unless the country creates a credible medium-term plan to rein in fiscal spending. If no action is taken, "external creditors could reduce their U.S. dollar holdings, especially if they conclude that eurozone members are adopting stronger macroeconomic policies." This could hurt the dollar's status as a global reserve currency and consequently "weigh on the AAA rating on the U.S."
States Facing Financial Doomsday as Debts Mount
By Dunstan Prial
That's not some apocalyptic bumper sticker. It's the learned opinion of numerous financial experts when describing the budget crises facing a number of U.S. states, notably Illinois, California and New Jersey.
"This is an unprecedented crisis," said Laurence Msall, president of the Civic Federation, an influential Illinois-based tax and fiscal policy research group.
While a General Motors-style bankruptcy is off the table states are prohibited by law from filing for protection from their debtors the alternative is no less alarming.
Msall said that in a worst-case scenario, states sliding toward insolvency will simply stop paying their bills, whether they be to public colleges, private vendors or municipalities. And when they do, those entities will either have to eat the losses or make up the difference.
It's already happening in Illinois, Msall said, where the state has reneged on payments promised to public colleges, and those colleges in turn have threatened 20% tuition increases.
Private vendors, as they did last year in California, will have to accept government vouchers IOUs in effect or lose their money, and municipalities will have to raise property taxes in order to cover their own expenses.
In other words, the money needed to keep insolvent states running at some minimum operational level will have to come from somewhere.
Detroit family homes sell for just $10
Family homes in Detroit are selling for as little as $10 (£6) in the wake of America's financial meltdown.
Published: 10:05AM GMT 12 Mar 2010
The once thriving industrial city has suffered a dramatic decline following the global economic crisis.
According to Tim Prophit, a real estate agent, the crisis has led to a unprecedented portfolio of homes, but they are failing to sell.
He said there were homes on the market for $100 (£61), but an offer of just $10 (£6) would be likely to be accepted.
Speaking on a BBC 2 documentary, Requiem for Detroit, to be screened on Saturday, Mr Prophit said: "The property is listed by the city of Detroit as being worth $35,000 (£22,000), but the bank know that is impossible to ask.
"This part of town has got a lot of bad press in the media because it featured in Eminem's film 'Eight Mile', but that particular road is fifteen minutes up the road and that is a long way in Detroit."
Homes offered in viewing brochures as early 1920s example of colonial architecture would once have made handsome homes but are no longer sought after.
Mr Prophit, of The Bearing Group, said: "This house was foreclosed by the bank a couple of months ago and was offered to us to sell.
Here is a story on how the FDIC is using taxpayer money funding the losses from the banks:
he following FDIC press release is remarkable in a number of ways:
1. We now have a new form of US Government Agency debt, namely, FDIC-backed residential mortgage backed securities ("RMBS").
2. The $1.8 billion of notes are backed by loans with "aggregate unpaid balances of approximately $3.6 billion." Translation: they had to take 50 cents on the dollar to unload these loans.
3. "The timely payment of principal and interest due on the notes are guaranteed by the FDIC, and that guaranty is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States." Translation: We the People are on the hook for these RMBS.
Not even Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac RMBS came with such a specific guaranty of backing by the US taxpayer.
If there was still any doubt that the US Taxpayer will be on the hook for any losses the FDIC cannot absorb, that has now been put to rest. QE to Infinity!
Respectfully yours,
CIGA Richard B.
FDIC Closes on Sale of $1.8 Billion of Notes Backed by Mortgage-Backed Securities
Transaction Adds Liquidity to DIF and Stimulates Investor Demand
March 12, 2010
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today closed on a sale of notes backed by residential mortgage backed securities (RMBS) from seven failed bank receiverships. The sale was conducted through a private placement priced and allocated on March 5th. The transaction was met with robust investor demand, with over 70 investors participating across fixed and floating rate series. The investors included banks, investment funds, insurance funds and pension funds. All investors were qualified institutional buyers.
The $1.81 billion of notes is backed by 103 non-agency residential mortgage-backed securities. The aggregate unpaid balance of the 103 securities was approximately $3.6 billion at the time of the sale. The FDIC retained an equity interest in each series.
The transaction features two series of senior notes, each backed by a separate pool of RMBS. The larger series of approximately $1.3 billion, is based on option ARMS and has a floating rate tied to the one-month LIBOR. The smaller series of $480 million is based mostly on fixed-rate RMBS and pays a fixed rate. Both series priced at rates comparable to Ginnie Mae collateralized mortgage obligations.
The timely payment of principal and interest due on the notes are guaranteed by the FDIC, and that guaranty is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.
Full release:
Jim Sinclair's Commentary
Please read this is OUTSTANDING analysis of bank closings by CIGA Richard. Please note the most salient point, which is a direct gift of FASB's capitulation, which allowed for rampant overvaluation of assets on the books of ALL USA financial entities. This once again made balance sheets and earnings statements world class dangerous cartoons.
Dear Jim,
Between Friday, February 26, 2010 and Thursday, March 11, 2010, the FDIC announced the closings of seven relatively small banks. That brought the year's total (so far) to 27.
The seven banks had combined assets of approximately $2.1 billion and combined deposits of approximately $1.68 billion. The FDIC's estimated cost of the closures was $432.7 million about 26% of deposits.
While that cost figure is certainly not the worst seen in this crisis, there continues to be a huge disparity between the stated values of the closed banks' assets and their market values estimated by the FDIC. Taken as a whole, the estimated market value of the seven banks' assets ($1.25 billion) was only about 59% of the value claimed.
The largest of the banks closed, Rainier Pacific Bank of Tacoma, Washington, had stated assets of $717.8 million and deposits of $446.2 million, and the FDIC's loss estimate was $95.2 million. That means the FDIC valued Rainier's assets at about $351 million, only 49% of the value claimed.
Similarly, Centennial Bank of Ogden, Utah, had stated assets of $215.2 million and deposits of $205.1 million, and the FDIC's loss estimate was $96.3 million. That means the FDIC valued Centennial's assets at $108.8 million, only 51% of the value claimed.
Yesterday's announcement of the closing of Liberty Pointe Bank of New York, NY, was unusual in that it came on a Thursday. It will be interesting to see what Friday evening brings.
Respectfully yours,
CIGA Richard B.