From the Record:
Home buyers shun ‘fixer-uppers’
In the overheated housing market of five years ago, buyers often felt they had to accept homes in woeful condition. But these days, most look at “as-is” properties and say, “No thanks.”
“I try to stay away from things that need a lot of work,” said Michael Lisa of Chestnut Ridge, N.Y., who is searching for a home in northern Bergen County, N.J.
“Buyers will tolerate nothing,” said Maria Rini, a Re/Max agent in Oradell, N.J. A recent Coldwell banker survey found that 87 percent of first-time buyers said a move-in-ready home is important to them.
“This is absolutely the story of this market. It seems buyers will pay a premium, engage in a bidding war and even overpay just to avoid buying a ‘project’ house,” said Beth Freed of Terrie O’Connor Realtors in Ridgewood, N.J.
As a result, real estate agents strongly advise sellers to fix up their homes for quicker and more profitable sales.
For example, when Kate Conover recently listed a Franklin Lakes, N.J., colonial, she encouraged the seller to replace the roof and driveway, repair ceilings, rip up carpets and paint interiors.
Paying contractors to do the work cost almost $40,000, but Conover estimated it added well over $100,000 to the asking price.
“There is no question homes that have been spruced up for the market sell quicker,” said Conover, a Re/Max agent in Saddle River, N.J.
But she recommended against major renovations — such as replacing the kitchen and baths — in the Franklin Lakes home. Most agents agree with that philosophy, saying sellers shouldn’t risk spending more than they’ll get back in the sale price. That’s especially true with major kitchen and bath renovations because they’re so much a matter of taste.
“No matter what you do, it may not be the buyer’s choice anyway,” said Antoinette Gangi, a Re/Max agent in Woodcliff Lake, N.J.
On the other hand, agents say that major maintenance and safety issues — such as underground oil tanks and leaky roofs — must be dealt with before the home goes on the market, because buyers are unwilling to take them on.
…
This, in turn, can offer an opportunity for buyers who are willing to give up the search for HGTV-ready homes and look at properties that need “some love,” in the words of Tom Mikalouskas, a Re/Max agent in Montvale, N.J.“I tell my buyers to look for the best bones or the best bang for your buck,” he said. “Basically, if you are able to get the worst home in a great neighborhood, you can only improve on your investment. You simply have to focus on potential in a down market like this.”
“Buyers who can look beyond the cosmetic issues usually can find treasures in this market,” Falco agreed.
….and the back story is that the houses that exchanged hands during the bubble received little or no maintenance since the buyer was an unqualified renter and overpaid and maxed out their monthly. I know, I see them every month. Crumbling masonry, worn roofs, dying landscaping, wet basements. Most moved in and got some paint from the Home Depot and left it at that. So, I put the bubbliness at 2002, you are talking about 9 years of ignored maintenance on a house that was already 10-20 years over due… so 25-30 years of neglect is what I see most of the time in historic homes/towns.
I hope bin ladens head is in a box packed in rice on its way to the us.
Barbara, so true!! I sold during the bubble I got out of an old wreck in Hillsdale. It was a wreck and these people paid thru the butt for this old wreck. The wet basement it had, cracked foundation, ancient boiler, old roof it had it all. IT also had a huge beam in the middle that was sloped and cracked beams. It was a wreck!!! The people now tried to sell it again and we went thru it, you got it right JUST PAINT. Its waiting to crumble to the ground. I am so glad I dumped it.
Bin Laden = failed Nompounder
Suzanne should’ve researched OBL’s real estate purchase a little bit more.
Bin Laden dead, good news to say the least. The best part being our guys did it in person , no drones, went in firefight whacked him. No one killed on our side! Do not know why but the scene from the Wizard of Oz keeps playing in my head “ding dong the witch is dead”.
Too bad they dumped OBL at sea. They should’ve brought him back here and hung him Mussolini-style down on Vesey St.
Its a good day for America.
I am glad he is dead. Now what about his 49 brothers and sisters and 26 children?
Good for stocks, bad for commodities. The Silver/Gold bubble is officially over look out below. Why oh Why did I not short commodities last week? the world is unfair to me.
Hobo 7 agreed, still being PC must bury in 24 hours bullsh*t ,he deserved nothing.
Hope you sold to a flipper. When I was selling near bubble top I talked any young family who wanted home out of buying it. I sold to a flipper who already made tons of money as he could afford loss. I could not sleep at night knowing I had blood on my hands by bankrupting a nice young couple. Did the same when I sold a used car once, sold to a guy who knew cars as I knew car would have trouble down the road. Buyer beware to me is when I beat another pro.
marilyn says:
May 2, 2011 at 6:11 am
Barbara, so true!! I sold during the bubble I got out of an old wreck in Hillsdale. It was a wreck and these people paid thru the butt for this old wreck. The wet basement it had, cracked foundation, ancient boiler, old roof it had it all. IT also had a huge beam in the middle that was sloped and cracked beams. It was a wreck!!! The people now tried to sell it again and we went thru it, you got it right JUST PAINT. Its waiting to crumble to the ground. I am so glad I dumped it.
JJ maybe not so good or bad, got a feeling they are going to try something.
“Good for stocks, bad for commodities. The Silver/Gold bubble is officially over look out below. ”
Yeah the run-up in Gold and Silver was all about Osama Bin Laden. Man you say some stupid sh*t, but that one takes the cake. This may spur a correction but it technically has been long overdue.
I like how this OBL thing went from “killed in an airstrike” to the CIA psy-ops version where it’s a Jerry Bruckheimer movie with the President commanding teams of Navy Seals coming in on helicopters swooping in and engaging in a gun battle during which they ask OBL to surrender and he resists and they shoot him in the head and then bury him quickly at sea as is Muslim custom. You killed a sociopathic prick who killed thousands of our citizens isn’t that good enough.
If he wasnt carrying iphone they wouldn’t have been able to track him
Not since the hunt brothers illegally drove Silver to $50 has it been this high, Bin Laden is the black swan on same weekend that COMEX is raising margin requirements that will pop this bubble.
Also Kodak announced after close on Friday, due to high price of silver they have come up with a new way to greatly cut the silver content in their production lines. Movies, videos, photos, camera equipment are large users of silver.
Less risk in market, less demand for silver and higher margin requirements. All in one weekend. God Bless America. The signs last week that the guys in pools supply store were trading silver was a big get out of silver sign.
Dissident HEHEHE says:
May 2, 2011 at 7:48 am
“Good for stocks, bad for commodities. The Silver/Gold bubble is officially over look out below. ”
Yeah the run-up in Gold and Silver was all about Osama Bin Laden. Man you say some stupid sh*t, but that one takes the cake. This may spur a correction but it technically has been long overdue.
mikey (10)-
I would’ve also been OK giving OBL the William Wallace sendoff: cut into four pieces, then each piece put in a different corner of the Islamic world to act as a warning.
he (13)-
You know Bergabe and Eraserhead will find a way to jack gas to $6 by Labor Day and continue to stim inflation in all the wrong things.
Those two are still alive and as much of a threat to this country as OBL ever was.
Anyone else get the feeling that the OBL whack was timed to stop PMs from going into blow-off top mode?
Finland tells Eurozone to pound salt. This one will end in tears.
“While the world is caught up in a wave of largely irrelevant for the capital markets euphoria, things in Europe are once again going from bad to worse, as the weakest link in the European rescue has once again said no. Reuters reports: “Finland’s eurosceptic True Finns party said on Monday it was sticking to its pre-election stance that it cannot support Portugal’s bailout package. We cannot with good conscience support Portugal’s package nor the creation of permanent bailout mechanism. Neither do we approve the hike of Finland’s guarantees in the temporary stability mechanism,” the party said on Monday as its formal answer to Jyrki Katainen, the leader of National Coalition party, who is leading the talks to form the country’s new coalition government.” As has been reported previously, absent Finnish approval, the European rescue is virtually halted in its tracks, and means that there is no consensual green light for the EFSF rescue package. Additionally, as Europe has been kind enough to indicate in the past, “there is no Plan B.” And to make things very clear, Finnish MP Soini that Greece is likely to restructure its debt and other will follow, but not under the ESM: “it is a structure that doesn’t work.” Needless to say the implications of a failed compromise on the bailout of not only Greece, but not Ireland and Portugal as well, means that should Finland retain its intransigence, the eurozone is pretty much over.”
http://www.zerohedge.com/article/meanwhile-europe-true-finns-just-say-no-greek-bailout
OBL is dead.President O’s approval rating to the roof.Will it last through 2012?
Interesting that the stock market will soar today on the news that one irrelevant old man is dead. They have really changed their fundamentals.
There are no fundamentals; just 24/7 hype and baloney.
Any truth to the rumor that OBL was kicking back in the hot tub with magnums of Cristal and his ho’s?
JJ [9],
Unofficially counting this will be the 5th-6th bubble you have called in the last 3 years. Spot on ace. Luckily your ass was not short. Otherwise it would be in a sling. It amazing how those that never saw the bull market coming and are clueless regarding internal factors driving the market, constantly call tops/bubbles. It’s comical to me.
If you have paid attention, I have been screaming for those who have been long to lock in profits. Corrections in these markets are nasty. Silver can move down to the low 30’s-high 20’s and the long term technicals will still be positive. A short term top, absolutely. Long term top? Only simpletons like you will call that.
“Not since the hunt brothers illegally drove Silver to $50 has it been this high, Bin Laden is the black swan on same weekend that COMEX is raising margin requirements that will pop this bubble.”
1) On an inflation adjusted basis to reach the Hunt Brothers high Silver would have to be around $120-130
2)Comex has been raising margin requirements on Silver nearly every week for the past two months.
3) Kodak announcement would have marginal impact if any as the rise has been primarily anti-dollar
I am not saying a 10-20% drop after the parabolic move isn’t possible but you know, and I know, and the traders know that Bernanke ain’t done printing and there’s no way these clowns in DC are going to cut spending by a meaningful level = $ is deadmeat.
Same week:
Obama birth certificate; Osama death certificate; dollar at it’s all time low.
Dissident, a low dollar will make our exports more competitive. Now, all we have to do is produce something worth exporting.
OBL’s whackage has driven the DXY up a full 0.1% in the premarket.
This sucker’s gonna break under 70…and soon.
Luck in profits is right. I generally never invest in anything momentum driven. I did not do internet stocks in 1999, oil in 2005, Subprime or RE in 2001-2011 or gold/silver. Quietly I have been buying stocks since December. But I hate stocks. No fun, however my bonds have stagnated and I have money to put to work.
The real question to gold/silver bulls is how long are you and when did you get in? In 2009 I bought 400K worth of junk bonds, that is in. That is ugly long and large. But if I was only 40K in, a 40% pop would have been chump change. I still laugh at friend who bought citi at one dollar a share and bragged he was up 500%. When asked how many shares he bought he said 500. WOW, you turned 500 into 2,500 for a taxable gain. Now if he was 50,000 in that would be bragging rights.
Lone Ranger says:
May 2, 2011 at 8:31 am
JJ [9],
Unofficially counting this will be the 5th-6th bubble you have called in the last 3 years. Spot on ace. Luckily your ass was not short. Otherwise it would be in a sling. It amazing how those that never saw the bull market coming and are clueless regarding internal factors driving the market, constantly call tops/bubbles. It’s comical to me.
If you have paid attention, I have been screaming for those who have been long to lock in profits. Corrections in these markets are nasty. Silver can move down to the low 30′s-high 20′s and the long term technicals will still be positive. A short term top, absolutely. Long term top? Only simpletons like you will call that.
Wonder what Trump’s comment of the day will be re: OBL. I am sure he will figure out a way to make it all about him and how he had a part in it.
If/when silver hits $31, my handle will change again…to Double Down.
jj (30)-
All momos say this. Kinda like a drunk saying he doesn’t have a drinking problem.
“I generally never invest in anything momentum driven.”
hobo, I with you on OBL but I’ll do one better they should have put the body on tour so every man woman and child in this country could have spat on him, then put him in NY harbor in a concrete vault of pigs blood with a continous burning of the koran inside said vault.
I am after all part Sicilian, we like our vendettas a bit over done.
#7 Hobo – the whole OBL thing stinks.
The guy seems to have died back in 2003 of kidney failure,
yet they kept releasing videos of “OBL” making threats
every time it was politically expedient. Except “OBL”
looked different in each video.
Now they’ve finally decided to exorcise his ghost for good,
again when it’s politically expedient. And I laughed when
I heard that they “dumped him at sea” – of course they would –
can’t let civilians see the body and say “who the hell was that?”
OBL is dead.President O’s approval rating to the roof.Will it last through 2012?
Some people will do anything for money (small amounts, like a 3% tax cut), so three will be three lines of attack from the corporate masters: (a) it wasn’t UBL — demands for “true form” death certificate, (b) SEALS captured UBL “despite” O’s resistance — see Fox forums, so O should be “investigated”, and (c) back to the “deficit is the biggest threat” (a sequel from the people that brought us “deficits don’t matter”)!
Dang it all…the Champions League final is gonna get preempted by the rapture.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cigJM9g2fqI&feature=player_embedded#at=60
pin (34)-
Overcook it, then serve it cold.
The whole at sea thing is a crock.
WSJ
MIDDLE EAST NEWS
MAY 2, 2011, 9:05 A.M
Years of work were involved in tracking down Osama bin Laden, the elusive al Qaeda leader and the architect of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. Mr. bin Laden was killed Sunday in a targeted assault in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad, roughly 40 miles outside the capital city of Islamabad, in one of the biggest manhunts in history.
For many years, the Central Intelligence Agency has been gathering leads on people in Mr. bin Laden’s inner circle, and came to focus on one particular courier who turned out to be key to the operation, officials said. About two years ago, they identified areas where the courier and his brother operated, and they eventually led the U.S. to the compound.
The U.S. teams located the residence in August. “We were shocked by what we saw,” one official said, calling it “an extraordinarily unique compound.” That gave them the confidence it might be harboring Mr. bin Laden.
U.S. President Barack Obama said he was first briefed on a possible lead on Mr. bin Laden’s whereabouts last August. “It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground,” Mr. Obama said in his address to the nation Sunday night.
The compound was roughly eight times as large as other homes in the neighborhood. Security measures at the compound included more than 12-foot-high barbed-wire fences and access restricted by two security gates.
The property was valued at about $1 million but had no telephone or Internet service. It was built in 2005 in an affluent suburb of Islamabad. U.S. officials believe it was constructed to house Mr. bin Laden, but they don’t know when he moved in.
Mr. Obama said that he met repeatedly with his national security team “as we developed more information about the possibility that we have located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside Pakistan.”
Last week, there was enough intelligence to take action. On Friday, he gave the order to proceed with what he described as a targeted operation against a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
The raid was conducted by a small helicopter-borne strike team, a senior U.S. administration official said. The team was on the compound for under 40 minutes, the official said.
Omar Khan, a local resident in the area of the attack, said American and Pakistani commandos landed in the area at 1:10 a.m., local time, and raided a house. “The entire area was rocked with a massive explosion,” he said. “A massive exchange of firing took place which continued for more than half an hour.” Security forces have cordoned off the area.
A senior administration official said Mr. bin Laden “did resist the assault force” and was killed in the firefight that ensued as the strike team entered the compound.
Mr. bin Laden’s body was identified by the strike force, officials said. Family members in the compound also positively identified the body as Mr. bin Laden’s.
At 3:50 p.m. on Sunday, the president first learned that Mr. bin Laden’s body was tentatively identified. At 7:01p.m., Mr. Obama was told there was a “high probability” the body was Mr. bin Laden’s. DNA testing is also being conducted.
Mr. Obama called his predecessors in office, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, before speaking to the nation, a senior administration official said.
No Americans were hurt in the raid, Mr. Obama said, and the team took pains to avoid civilian casualties. Mr. Obama stressed that Pakistan’s help was critical to developing intelligence on his location.
Mr. bin Laden’s body was buried at sea, in order to be in accordance with Islamic tradition that burial take place within 24 hours, according to a person familiar with the situation. The Saudis declined a U.S. offer to take the body, this person said.
#28 What might that be??? And how long will that take???
OBL’s body buried at sea?? WHat a bunch of crap. We would not wnat to upset any body by violating Muslim religious custom?? So what who cares?? The man was a mass murderer, he should not have been accorded any respect.
3b, fancy financial instruments that will take 10 MIT and Princeton physics PhDs turned financial analysts to understand :)
US is secure wrt agriculture — we can outlive the rest of the world if push comes to shove. Some new technologies on solar (though China will copy the tech and sell it back to us at prison labor prices).
Best bet, something really revolutionary and high barrier for entry, like safe, nuclear tech?
As a member of the Military in 2003-2006 I can assure you that we were looking for him and others like him with the intent to capture and kill. I feel that what you just said below is an insult to the armed forces working on your behalf to keep you protected.
The reason why you bury the guy quickly is because it is Muslim tradition. Killing the guy is one thing, defiling his body is another. You want to send a clear message that preaching hate isn’t ok but not at the sacrifice of your own civility. The reason why you bury the guy at sea is because any place that you put him, even if it is in pieces, will become a memorial. A gathering place for like-minded people. You send a strong message that there is no place for people like him on this earth when you bury him in an undisclosed location at sea.
He didn’t die of kidney failure. His videos are often dated by him talking about things in “recent” news or showing news papers of recent events.
Please use your brain a little before spouting this stupidity in an open forum.
35.tbiggs says:
May 2, 2011 at 9:01 am
#7 Hobo – the whole OBL thing stinks.
The guy seems to have died back in 2003 of kidney failure,
yet they kept releasing videos of “OBL” making threats
every time it was politically expedient. Except “OBL”
looked different in each video.
Now they’ve finally decided to exorcise his ghost for good,
again when it’s politically expedient. And I laughed when
I heard that they “dumped him at sea” – of course they would –
can’t let civilians see the body and say “who the hell was that?”
3b,
According to what I read in the news he wasn’t afforded any repect. He was hunted and shot in the head. As promised.
No need to piss other people off in the process.
Nicholas,thank you for a well reasoned response (of course, goes without saying, for your service).
Nicholas,
Well said.
Score one for the Navy Seals. There should be audio and video footage from Navy Seals helmet cameras of the OBL raid. Perhaps it will leak before the election?
[4] Hobo
considering that the World’s Most Wanted Man evaded capture or death for neary 10 years, I would not consider his demise an indictment of the Nompound idea.
In fact, his compound violated one of the cardinal rules of a successful Nompound: It stood out.
#45 I stand corrected. Now that we got him. Can we bring all of our troops home from that miserable part of the world, and let them have at each other if that is what they want?
corpse kicked out of helicopter into random part of the briney = burial at sea.
“Burial at sea” also prevents his grave becoming pilgrimage spot for the idiotic.
Re 44,
There’s what happened, and there’s what the government says happened. Why after a decade of blatant lies and half truths would you suddenly believe anything this government or the people running the military have to say? I have a dear friend who works for Citigroup. I believe what he has to say about what is going on at Citi way more than what I hear Vikram Pandit tells the public is going on at Citi.
I am a value investor, you can’t buy low and sell high if you buy high.
Hobo With a Shotgun says:
May 2, 2011 at 8:52 am
jj (30)-
All momos say this. Kinda like a drunk saying he doesn’t have a drinking problem.
“I generally never invest in anything momentum driven.”
“Needs Work” is EXACTLY what a buyer should want as a buyer is best positioned with fewer competitors, it’s that simple. When you are the only option and game in town for a seller, and a seller is facing mortgage pressures and has to get out (sell), that’s ideal for a buyer.
Why buy into someone else’s design and vision? Not only do you leverage in on and buy below market in buying a wreck or fixer, the savings allow you to update the place as you want, in your vision, which is preferable anyway.
Are the banks now using short sales and foreclosures as comps? Does anyone know?
I agree with you, however, most people hate fixers because of the hassle to fix something, i.e contractor horror stories, hidden costs, managing the process etc.
Its a lot easier for a shmuck to pay $200 per month in higher mortgage costs and get a “updated” kitchen.
More doom.
Report: IAF aircraft seen drilling at US base in Iraq
By JPOST.COM STAFF
05/02/2011 16:53
Israel Air Force aircraft were reportedly amassing at the US military’s al Asad Airbase in Iraq, according to a PressTV report on Monday.
According to a source close to Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sader’s group, various aircraft were seen, including F-15, F-16, F-18, F-22 and KC-10 fighter jets.
The aircraft carried out a week-long exercise during the nighttime hours in preparation for a strike on Iranian air defense systems, radars and other various targets deep within the country, the report said.
Officials in Iraq were not notified of the military drill, which was reportedly conducted in coordination with US armed forces.
http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=218837
I think there’s a couple of reasons that only move-in-ready homes are getting sold.
1st, I think they are always the most popular homes.
2nd, most buyers have less cash in pocket, and are needing to actually bring cash for equity at closing. People cannot get mortgage financing for home improvements that need to be made.
3rd, given 1& 2, sellers of homes in poor condition typically don’t discount adequately, hoping to find a buyer who don’t notice the problems. Fewer of those exist now.
I’ll bet lots of deals have been falling apart in the inspection phase.
Jets12(54) – In theory you may be right. Fewer competing buyers. But that assumes that the seller is rational and is in the financial position to sell at a price that adequately compensates you for the work you’ll have to do. The main thing is that you need to be a specialist for that kind of house – having a big cash pile, and a lot of knowledge about how much fixes are really going to cost.
Why after a decade of blatant lies and half truths would you suddenly believe anything this government or the people running the military have to say?
I don’t think that I can do anything about your wariness regarding honesty in government, politics, and the military but I do believe that you have to divorce trust from goals and objectives in order to be effective at whatever you do. It is one thing to question the motives of the speaker but it is another to call into question the validity of factual statements.
I realize that honesty has been in short supply in the recent years. I wish you the best in trying to recover some of that lost trust.
I saw a house (the worst I have ever seen) that has not been updated since it was built in the 1940’s; I did not know they had dishwashers in the 40’s.
jj (53)-
Ben Graham was a value investor. The rest of us are just wannabes.
And I include the front-running Mr. Buffett in that crowd.
Anyone purchasing stocks since fall of ’08 is either a momo, a frontrunner or a casino gambler.
#52 Nation of Wussies – Only a decade?
Crude over 114, the Euro approaching 149… yawn… I think I’ll go buy an iPud and a bread sandwich at Subway.
Banks are pushing hard on renovation loan products. How else are they gonna clear all those crappy short sales and REO’s without being forced to accept investor prices?
Clot,
… or an employee with a 401k. Where else would one put the retirement money?
don’t want to jinx it (probably doesn’t matter since I am not trying to time it), but SPY and Russel 2k did well in the last couple of years for my retirement account. We pumped in a bit of money into retirement to get the 8k tax credit, and that worked out fine.
However, I am probably losing money on gold and silver — we keep buying some 22k jewelery for my kid and some silver stuff for religious use, and it is becoming more and more expensive every year!
I was in flight on 9-11, while it happened and flew this morning. I’m not going to go into all the emotions, but I’m so glad the S.O.B is dead.
JJ:
Good call on the bubble bursting in precious metals:
http://www.kitco.com/charts/livegold.html
.. and it doesn’t matter that I was born in a muslim family.
Rent… and it shouldn’t, and I hope sooner than later, it will not, to anyone.
JuiceX,
Did you just reference Iran’s English website and actually ask us to believe a story about Israel?
Nicholas #44: Not sure if you have posted here before, but thank you for setting the record straight to these armchair generals. I loathed GWB with every fiber of my being, but if OBL had been captured or killed on his watch (instead of allowing him to flee at Tora Bora and then saying barely 6 months after the 9/11 attacks, “I don’t know where he is….I really don’t spend that much time on him”), I’d have been jubilant and congratulated him on a job well done (just as I supported the Afghanistan effort in the beginning…I didn’t think he knew what he was doing, but I at least hoped he did).
The hatred for Obama is so pervasive and so deep that even something like this isn’t good enough for these people. As a proud liberal, I’ve been plenty disappointed with him on a number of counts, so I’m no Obot. But give credit where credit is due…and ESPECIALLY to the bad*sses who had the boots on the ground. There are no kudos that are enough for those guys. They should never have to pay for their own drinks ever again.
# 71 – Dan jpost is an Israeli daily English-language paper, Editor David Horovitz and is based in Jerusalem.
This story of the Israel air force practicing for a bombing mission against Iran surfaces yearly. I have no doubt one if these days it will happen.
“#52 Nation of Wussies – Only a decade?”
Yeah, yeah, I know – I guess it’s just become so blatant the past decade because there’s been so much wrong I can’t even trust what color they say the sky is anymore.
This one’s for you, Jamil…
http://i748.photobucket.com/albums/xx130/NJGator_photos/obama.jpg
JC, #72…
Also, I admire the Bush’s grace in congratulating O. Cheney was also good in his comments. Christie’s response was nice.
Boehner and Romney were ok. But, response from some of the GOP doesn’t meet basic standards. The RW media has been horrible — Drudge’s site had so many “AQ vows revenge” headlines that would make an AQ affiliate website proud. Fox had a couple of strategic Ob/Os typos.
I really wish to see *one* NY/NJ area GOP congressman say something like, “we are cool with O now!”
re: #72 – JC re: “give credit where credit is due”.
The crucial information about the trusted courier who owned the compound came years ago from CIA interrogations (waterboarding) of 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohamed who was captured in Pakistan in 2003 and shipped to Gitmo under GWB.
It took the CIA years to trace the courier. Obama signed off on the CIA kill operation from by Panneta on Sunday but the intel on the courier was not new, we had it all along.
The end of an era: Osama bin Laden taken out by U.S. assassins, and Grim buys a house in NJ.
Is this the end of so-called “real estate terrorism” a la REInvestor101?
Anyway, just wanted to say … America — EFF YEAH!
[76] sas3
Are you at all troubled that the intel that led to Osama’s killing grew out of questionable interrogation techniques that Obama and the left absolutely excoriated Bush over, and that Obama pledged to drop?
[72] JC
one of my friends is a hard core progressive (for a comstu major, not a good communicator as he alternates calling himself a capitalist and a socialist), and is also a hardcore “truther.”
Imagine how conflicted he must be right now.
Yeah but wasn’t Jpost just reporting what the Iranian propoganda machine was saying? That’s what the article says.
Nom I’m not, hell in 2001 I was calling for the glassing of Afghanistan. Only way to be sure. Since that slippery little demon escaped Tora Bora, anyone with an ounce of intelligence figured it was either going to be one of these scenarios, OBL dies of natural causes, OBL is ratted out for reward, or long slow slog lulling his cabal of jackals into a false sense of security until taken out by one of the operators from JSOC.
Peronally, I always thought it would be a drone strike.
Nom, good point. I have strong feelings against torture, but somewhat mixed feelings about it now… really seemed to work. How do we respond to someone that took a questionable approach but saved our ass: great job, sorry for riding your a$$ on this issue, thank you very much, but don’t do it next time?
I wish Obama drops the torture policy. It’s like making hard fouls, and we may win a few battles, but I am not comfortable with the risk.
Well, I never thought I’d be almost giddy at someone’s death — and feel a bit ashamed that I am “celebrating” a death — but that’s how it is. Was tackling a deadline till 2:30 and then read the news, and can’t stop feeling euphoric. So, all bets are off :)
A.West says:
Worst house I ever saw was a girl I dated. Father had the deadly combination of being a lazy drunk who like to do home repairs himself. Went to do hot water heater himself took it out and did not get around to finishing it. Froze my nuts off first shower and asked GF when is he going to finish it, she said I don’t know but he started it 15 years ago. Guy demo’d dining room ten years earlier, rip out ceiling in LR do to leak 20 years earlier. I was over there maybe 20 times, guy was laying on couch, drinking a beer all 20 times. Even crazier the guy had four sons who all worked construction type jobs. None of them ever did nothing either. When he drops dead the next guy gets problem. Funny part he had a super nice house. But man run down. He even had the crap piled up he demo’ed in yard for 15 years. Also saw a house once with 2.000 pounds of bird poop in attic. That was creepy.
May 2, 2011 at 10:35 am
I think there’s a couple of reasons that only move-in-ready homes are getting sold.
1st, I think they are always the most popular homes.
2nd, most buyers have less cash in pocket, and are needing to actually bring cash for equity at closing. People cannot get mortgage financing for home improvements that need to be made.
3rd, given 1& 2, sellers of homes in poor condition typically don’t discount adequately, hoping to find a buyer who don’t notice the problems. Fewer of those exist now.
“taken out by U.S. assassins”
Renter, you make it sound like some mercenaries got him.
Juice 57
According to a source close to Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sader’s group, various aircraft were seen, including F-15, F-16, F-18, F-22 and KC-10 fighter jets.
The KC-10 is a aerial refueling tanker, not a fighter. I dont believe that US can legally sell F-22’s to anyone. Also, to best of my knowledge, Israel doesn’t regularly fly f-18’s or KC-10’s.
Oh, and the icing on the cake is the Pakistani government saying “we were not aware of his presence”!
I hope the day will come when Pakistani ISI will become toothless and Kashmir becomes a tourist hub and a vacation paradise it once was.
http://nationaljournal.com/whitehouse/the-secret-team-that-killed-bin-laden-20110502
great article.
SAS3 history is going to be kinder to Bush the lesser than any of us ever were. I still can’t stand the smug pr1ck
sastry (66)-
Anyone with a 401k might as well kiss it goodbye. Pretty soon, the gubmint will force everyone in these vehicles to nowhere to put them into “safe investments in gubmint-backed, low-risk issues”…all for the “common good”.
Anyone who thinks this is a preposterous notion should take a look at Hungary.
sastry (76)-
I’ll be cool with O when he sends teams of Navy Seals to whack Geithner and the Bernank.
Navy Seals are here in my hood.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlucXI4QX24
wow:
just got my phone and internet restored. Recent storms have had us down from last Wed. onward.
So glad the bastard is dead. However, I thought I would be more jubilant. A little joy, not as much as I thought. I wanted revenge for the past 10 years. Somehow I thought the taste of revenge would be sweeter. Oh, well. . . . lets get number 2 and the rest of AQ’s leadership. May be then I will be happier.
Clot, second that… the seals thing, not the 401k. Of course, the banksters have some of the most powerful weapons on their side: thousands of brilliant, highly educated MBAs, lawyers, PhDs, economists, communication experts, and a few hot blond lawyers that pretend they are “regular people”…
My take on 401k is that if SHTF, I’ll pay the 10% penalty and taxes — will come to about 50%, give or take. A bird in hand is better than two in the bush. There’s too much money in 401k’s, and wall street will lose a lot of 401k’s get converted to treasuries, so I think the powerful wall st devil will fight on the side of regular Joes in this battle!
sastry (94)-
Again, please send me some of the angel dust you’re smoking.
Who do we whack now to keep the DXY from going into a death spiral?
http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/index/dxy
Any suggestions?
Realtors: Imagine A Montclair You Can Sell
Montclair councilor Cary Africk wants to know how we can sell Montclair better to potential buyers — what needs to be improved in order to get more people to move here. Here’s what he says…
I frequently have discussions with people about what brought them to Montclair. What were the attractions that made them buy here, rather than in other communities.
Montclair’s real estate market is being buffeted by economic forces that affect us all.
So I would like to ask REALTORS:
If you could close your eyes and imagine, how could Montclair be improved to make it even a more attractive location for people to move to, i.e. those New York and Brooklyn, and other people?
Please send me at least THREE suggestions, with as much detail as you wish.
I’ll keep it TOTALLY CONFIDENTIAL, but will summarize it in a post on Baristanet.
Here’s two, from a Realtor I was on the telephone with yesterday:
– Schools
– Taxes
Of course I now need an answer to “What is it about the schools?” With taxes, although people say “less,” my question is HOW MUCH LESS?
If a home had $21,000 in taxes, how much lesser would it have to be?
Thanks for your help, and YES:
I intend to do something about ANY issues that are brought, up, unless the answer is something like “better weather.”
http://www.baristanet.com/2011/05/realtors-imagine-a-montclair-you-can-sell/
If There’s No Shortage of Silver, Why Are Forward Rates Negative Again?
“Silver finished a very volatile week with significant developments on seemingly every front. There were two margin hikes for the futures market within 48 hours of each other. The Central Fund of Canada (CEF) saw its premium to spot prices (both gold and silver;CEF owns about 50% of its assets in each) disappear completely. As of April 29, 2011, CEF is trading at 2.4% discount to its net asset value in US dollars; a 2.7% discount in Canadian dollars. Sprott Physical Silver Trust (PSLV) also saw its premium to spot fall to about 16% from above 20%.
To some, these moves suggest that silver’s bubble is getting too frothy to continue, as in the Sunday, May 1 plunge. For others, these moves show continued desperation on the part of the COMEX and bullion dealers to shake out weak long contract holders.
While these data points are important in and of themselves, it’s the forward market that is more conclusive. Until those calling for a top in silver prices can explain why silver forward rates (SIFO) are once again negative, their argument will be far from convincing. Essentially, negative SIFO rates mean that some investor (or investors) who’s short actual metal is paying physical holders a premium to obtain the metal.
In the opaque world of precious metals, forward rates are the foundation for “leasing.” Silver shorts that participate in leasing are actually lending cash to the owners of the physical metal. The silver owners then hand over that metal to the cash owners (the shorts) as collateral for the loan.
When the forward market shows negative rates, it means that the cash owners are, instead of earning an interest rate on their loan, paying someone else to borrow it. This is like going to your local bank and having them pay you interest to borrow the bank’s money. The only reason this would occur is if cash owners are being forced to repay or return physical metal that they do not have and are having a lot of difficulty finding the actual metal through other means.”
http://www.minyanville.com/articles/print.php?a=34270
gator 97
More dope slingers!
More a capella singers in the Bloomfield Avenue parking garages!!!!!
401Ks are a good thing.
I think most people who managed not to lose their job in last three years, worked for a company that kept 401K match and kept doing max to 401K even in darkest hour is in a lot better shape in January 2011 then in January 2008. Three years to plow money into investments rising at a rapid rate. Amazing chance of a lifetime.
Dual income couples in their 50’s could have put with match around 60K a year in 401k in 2008, 2009, 2010 considering huge upturn that is a boat load of cash.
gator (97)-
More opportunities to spend borrowed money on multicultural programs, feel-good initiatives and other skittles-and-unicorns liberal pipedreams. I’d also especially be interested in learning more about pandering to the poor and using public programs to buy their votes.
gator (97)-
Continuing to turn school properties into open-air drug bazaars should attract more homebuyers too.
[83] sas3
My take is that the tortured party has redress in the courts. Put another way, in contract law, there is a “right” to breach. Naturally, you deal with the consequences of breaching. So too, in ConLaw: the aggrieved party has a right to sue for damages, and the folks who are dimed out can suppress the evidence in court.
Of course, this matter never is going before a judge, so the suppression angle is moot. But the tortured can still sue. Naturally, I would want to be on THAT jury when it comes to deciding how much to give, and I may offer to pay it from the proceeds of my car ashtray.
In fact, my only concern is whether the torturers can get some sort of qualified immunity.
#103 Sad thing is, I would suspect that more than a few multi-cultural people (if you will) could care less about multi-cultural issues. They keep (which is their right) their traditions in their home etc. It is the feel good PC white liberals (by the way I am neither a liberal or conservative as they are both rootten to the core), who are constantly ramming this multi-cultural nonsense down peoples throats.
Hobo,
What is a momo?
Hobo,
How about state funded mortgages for anyone under the poverty level. The state/town picks up the entire mortgage and guarantees it. The increase in diversity that such an initiative would drive would greatly benefit all of the children.
All sidewalks could be replaced with the ground tire rubber mats so that if a child ever trips on the sidewalk they have a soft landing.
[97] Gator,
1. The entire council and the mayor voluntarily resign.
2. See No. 1
3. See No. 2
This is why I didn’t buy in Montclair: the High School.
I looked around for one-seat commutes to midtown in NY and NJ. I need excellent schools at all three levels (spread of ages with my kids). Property of taxes up to 18-20K are ok with me – if I’m getting great schools. We quickly ruled out Montclair even though it had some great homes because Glen Ridge was a few minutes shorter commute, same decent stock of homes ( I like older places) and excellent schools for elementary, middle and high. Montclair HS was a deal killer.
Eventually ended up in Westchester, but it was touch and go for a bit on two places in Glen Ridge.
#94 Are you daft??? Are these the same bright brilliant MBA’s Lawyers, and PHD’s who almost bought the entire system to its knees?
scribe (107)-
Momentum investor.
#93 Oh, well. . . . lets get number 2 and the rest of AQ’s leadership. May be then I will be happier.
Than can we bring our troops home from those cesspools?
3b (111)-
In the world of Sastry, you appoint the arsonist as fire chief.
[89] pain,
Per your point:
Question:
Which two-term president was mercilessly belittled by the opposing party (and by a decent portion of his own party) as a mental midget; became president in a controversial manner; acted imperiously and was rebuked by the courts for overreaching; fought an unpopular war; survived re-election when everyone thought he was going down; and left office amidst economic hardship, astonishingly poor approval ratings, and blame for letting the WH go to the opposing party?
Answer:
Harry S. Truman
Nom, my main fear is that it will lead to concentration of too much power in the executive branch — becomes a lottery if one is at the wrong place at the wrong time. One can probably accept it as fate it it happens to one self — like getting into a major accident or killed by robbers, but as a society we should do better than that.
[94] sas3
WRT 401(k) money, it isn’t enough to withdraw it; you have to make it disappear.
The Skadden associate that got busted for insider trading co-opted my idea: Say you spend it on Horses, Hookers, and Blow.
Actually, I give credit to the late actor George Raft, who blew a 10MM fortune in the 30s. When asked where all his money went, he said “I spent some on gambling, some on women and some on booze. The rest I spent foolishly.”
[116] sas3
That’s the dilemma, isn’t it? The philosophers now teach the dilemma of the torturer that has a subject before him with information about a WMD. Does the torturer violate the law and his conscience in order to save lives, or stick to principle regardless of the horrific cost?
This dilemma goes back to the writings of Plato, and will be ever thus.
[114] hobo,
Ordinarily your biting wit has a basis (however small) in fact, but the arsonist comment was beyond me. Time to locate the mooring line.
Markets down. Can we revive Bin Laden?
plume (118)-
How come none of the monster.com postings for torturers ever offer bonuses to compensate fairly for this dilemma?
“That’s the dilemma, isn’t it? The philosophers now teach the dilemma of the torturer that has a subject before him with information about a WMD. Does the torturer violate the law and his conscience in order to save lives, or stick to principle regardless of the horrific cost?”
Oops. That wasn’t monster.com I was looking at. :)
[87] sas3
“I hope the day will come when Pakistani ISI will become toothless and Kashmir becomes a tourist hub and a vacation paradise it once was.”
Uh, don’t you have a dog in that [Kashmir] fight?
If the Indian PM is smart, he is using this opportunity to drive the wedge between Washington and Islamabad a bit deeper.
[121] hobo
Kinda like D&O insurance.
Okay, I’m out. Gotta finish a petition to the Tax Court.
(and no Clot, I am not including the package you want sent)
#23 From what I understand most Kashmiri’s would rather be part of Pakistan or independent. It is a predominantly Muslim, so that would make sense. India will never agree or other minority areas in India will seek independence.
Revenge would have tasted better warm in this case. Waiting for ten years, this dish is as tasty as day-old public school cafeteria salisbury steak. Better now than never, though.
Ditto 110 property taxes approaching 20K should not be OK with anyone no matter the quality of the school system. That is the thinking that has gotten all of us in trouble in this state. It is basically government extortion.
126. Its taken Allah until now to decide he wants OBL dead. It only happens when Allah is willing.
Praise Challah. Sh1t makes some wonderful French Toast.
127, private school here in brooklyn 30K per child per year. Non-tax deductible.
I’m fine with 20K for both kids, tax deductible.
Now if you’re getting crappy schools, or you live there and don’t have kids in school (which I don’t understand) then yes, you’re getting a bum deal.
Ditto while I understand your rationale it doesn’t make it right. High taxes provide for government excess see the looney tunes in Montklair as a perfect example.
Painhrtz, I get what your saying – I’Ll admit Im looking at it for what I’m effectively getting for my taxes.
In any event, Montclair won’t be getting those taxes from me on account of crummy HS.
Nom parphrasing one of my favorite Rodney Dangerfield movies here
“…because Truman was too much of a pu$$y to let MacArthur kick the Chinese A$$es back to the 38th parallel”
History has indeed been much kinder to Truman. Contained communism in South East Asia, presented a strong American facade to the growing Soviet threat and maintained even leadership through the turbulent years following WWII.
#127 Correct. Ad wait unitl he/she finds out that perhaps his idea of excellent schools might not be what he/she had in mind. Adn once your kids are done with the schools you continue to pay, and pay, and, pay.
And of course with taxes constantly rising those very same kids when they are adults will not be able to live in those towns, because of the ever increasing taxes.
We should be careful what we supposedly do for our children.
“And once your kids are done with the schools you continue to pay, and pay, and, pay.”
Anyone who continues to live in a high tax community without getting some value for what they are paying for has little symnpathy from me. Why live there?
Case in point – Glen Ridge – in both of the two houses I looked at seriously the sellers had kids graduating this June. The sellers were moving, one to NYC, one down south.
Barbara Hutton’s spending back them made George Raft look like a tightwad. There is nothing wrong with spending if done right. From 21-34 I spent everything. I did not go into debt or nothing but had no savings. All that going out was fun. And I learned you can’t be in your 20’s in your 40’s. You are just the old guy in the bar. However, my spending was getting a little overboard at one point when I was doing my part time MBA and I had a girl in my study group come to my apartment to “study”, she was a tough nut. I picked her up in my jeep, we went to my apt did some studying and on way out I was mentioning how much I like the wrangler as it is great to park on the street, then the little snot goes Jeeps are nice but I like the mercedes in front of your car better. I go get out, she looks at me like a nut I walk over to the car in front open the door and say get in. She looked at me like a nut, you have two cars parked on the street in New York, I go yea, you never know when you need it for a girl like you. JC, it is a wonder I ever got married or did not go bankrupt. Anyhow I was making 40K a year back then. One women in my building told me she thought I was a drug dealer as I had multiple cars and carried a briefcase, told her my MBA grad books are in the briefcase, she goes good one.
Comrade Nom Deplume says:
May 2, 2011 at 2:56 pm
[94] sas3
WRT 401(k) money, it isn’t enough to withdraw it; you have to make it disappear.
The Skadden associate that got busted for insider trading co-opted my idea: Say you spend it on Horses, Hookers, and Blow.
Actually, I give credit to the late actor George Raft, who blew a 10MM fortune in the 30s. When asked where all his money went, he said “I spent some on gambling, some on women and some on booze. The rest I spent foolishly.”
Nom, India has been making major statements already about Pak and terr0r sanctuaries. I think India will go for the jugular.
3b, it is a bit more complex than that. Kashmir tried to be independent, and got attacked by Pakistan, when the king came running to India for help. Right now, there is a Pakistan part of Kashmir and the rest is in India. Things were fine till late 80’s, but after the Afghan war, the Mujaheddin went to Kashmir and caused major grief there. US ignored India’s complaints — it went on till 2001, and things got better for India after the US offensive on AQ.
Over the last few decades, a lot of Hindus were driven out from Kashmir, a lot of Pakistanis settled in the POK (Pak occupied Kashmir), so the wishes of “original population” are difficult to figure out.
If the extremism is rooted out (there wasn’t till late ’80s/early ’90s), Kashmir can improve economically and rest of India can have a nice tourist spot to visit.
Of course, my view is from that of a Indian Hindu, so there may be some bias…
135. No doubt. And what of folks like me who live in one and are kicking the tires on private schools. Pffffft
Are we going to give John Kerry an apology? This was, after all resolved via a “police action” – The years of toiling in Pashtun Mountians seems pretty pointless now.
SAS3 way back in my first job I had the pleasure of working with a Paki muslim and an Indian Catholic, made for some uncomfortable times. I agree the Parlimentary leadership in Mumbai has been waiting patiently for something to drive a wedge between the US and Pakistan so they may exact their revenge for the Mumbai Masacre. To what level that is who knows, with the growing middle class in India the population may not have the stomach for it. The best revenge is being the modern industialized nation, while your neighbors suck on goat’s milk and eat straw in mud huts.
“135. No doubt. And what of folks like me who live in one and are kicking the tires on private schools. Pffffft”
Thats how I currently feel in Brooklyn with NYC income tax (about 4%) and crummy ass middle schools, dog crap all over the sidewalk, anti-car laws (exaggerating a bit here), and city subsidies doled out to the indigent. I kicked the tires of private schools too, but then saw a better bargain elsewhere, sans NYC income tax.
Pain, best revenge is to live well! India has moved a bit forward in the last 20 years while Pakistan has galloped backwards :)
Still couldn’t pay me to drive in Mubai though SAS, the cab ride was bad enough. I would have walked everywhere but the heat was oppresive.
Plume, I’m not unmoored. I think the numbering of posts is off here because somebody got moderated.
For the legal beagles…
Ms Groves wins a quiet title claim against MERS
Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems v. Nancy Groves (arizona)
http://www.scribd.com/doc/54439488
The crucial information about the trusted courier who owned the compound came years ago from CIA interrogations (waterboarding) of 9-11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohamed who was captured in Pakistan in 2003 and shipped to Gitmo under GWB.
Waterboarding was last used in 2003. Don’t see how that applies here. I haven’t seen it stated anywhere.
In 2007, U.S. officials discovered the courier’s real name and, in 2009, that he lived in Abbottābad, Pakistan
Rendition and waterboarding at Guantanamo Bay has paid off once again.
Shame on us for following the lunatic’s burial customs; he should have been wrapped in bacon, ensuring eternal misery.
re: # 146 – Wrong Mohammed perhaps?
An Associated Press story on Monday quoted U.S. officials as saying that Mohammed al Qahtani, who was repeatedly waterboarded by the CIA, also provided the nom de guerre of the courier. Mohammed was among the “high-value detainees” subjected to specially approved “enhanced” interrogations at secret sites overseas, including CIA-run prisons in Poland, Romania, Thailand and elsewhere, according to U.S. officials.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42863247/ns/world_news-death_of_bin_laden/
from a Times article on the subject:
“In the Iraqi city of Najaf, home to one of Islam’s holiest shrines, Sheik Mohammed Ali said the sea burial was contrary to Muslim “respect and honor for the dead.””
Speaking of high tax towns and the local spending that creates it…
Having followed Montclair politics locally for way too many years, the town council and manager (yes we have an F-ed up form of government) don’t budget to the incoming revenue. If revenue is increasing, they budget above this number. If revenue is dropping, they also budget above this number. If the leadership simply matched the revenue to the budget, there would not be any tax increases. It’s really that simple.
Our library used to have a budget that was twice the state mandated minimum. When they made the first cuts to it last year, the board at the library said, they couldn’t possibly operate with the proposed cuts. Our township then sold off a commercial property they owned (the old Label Street Inspection station) to restore half of their cuts (it sure was fine time to sell commercial real estate). This year they cut the library down to the state mandated minimum. Somehow, the library is still operating. Could you only imagine if the library was operated at the state minimum during the flush times, and the extra money was put into a surplus to weather the ups and downs of the economy?
Nah…These are government workers we’re talking about. Spend as much as you possibly can at all times. My raises and benefits must be covered regardless of the local economy and the town’s incoming revenues.
Then when the sh1t hits the fan, they actually say that they don’t have a spending problem, they have a revenue problem. I heard this uttered umpteen times from the Fried 3. It’s completely laughable. We have a library that can’t seem to stay open more than 5 days a week and pools that close on August 1st every Summer, but we still have an Environmental Coordinator. Yeah, it’s a revenue problem alright.
#147, read #44 by Nicholas. Unless you are trying to out do Fox, in which case, don’t bother — rest of America will nod politely and smile because it is a good day for us.
Yea – there is no excuse for wasting bacon.
So we wash him and then throw him in the water, why? Were they afraid of ring around the ocean.
re# 146 – Schabadoo – Also from the gitmo wikileaks, the courier’s name “Maulawi Abd al-Khaliq”
AP reporting it now on Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Officials say CIA interrogators in secret overseas prisons developed the first strands of information that ultimately led to the killing of Osama bin Laden.
Current and former U.S. officials say that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, provided the nom de guerre of one of bin Laden’s most trusted aides. The CIA got similar information from Mohammed’s successor, Abu Faraj al-Libi. Both were subjected to harsh interrogation tactics inside CIA prisons in Poland and Roman
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_BIN_LADEN_CIA?SITE=VARIT&SECTION=STATE&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT popped up a few times.
#137 You of course know more than I do, but again from what I understand Kashmir has no real desire to be part of India. And asking for help and being taken over are two different things. I also have read that India’s tactics in Kashmir have not endeared them to the people in Kashmir. Bottom line is that whatever the desires of the people in Kashmir might be, India will not let them leave,as they fear it will create a domino effect.
Hobo With a Shotgun says:
May 2, 2011 at 10:57 am
Anyone purchasing stocks since fall of ’08 is either a momo, a frontrunner or a casino gambler.
I self-identify…..skip forward to minute 3:00 of 10:40
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGcGtIA6jtM
#42 Agreed.
Crikey somebody call the thought police, how did this end up on yahoo
http://news.yahoo.com/s/dailybeast/20110502/ts_dailybeast/13790_niallfergusonthegreatinflationofthe2010s
Anyone who can access youtube during working hours may not be working on wall street.
Chicagofinance says:
May 2, 2011 at 4:47 pm
Hobo With a Shotgun says:
May 2, 2011 at 10:57 am
Anyone purchasing stocks since fall of ’08 is either a momo, a frontrunner or a casino gambler.
#35 Of course if you can continue to find more and more people who can afford the higher and higher taxes. Most schools in north Jersey and many other surburban NYC areas can claim they have good schools, more so if comparing them to NYC public schools.
Me perosonally I would rather a town with a mix of people. Do you really want every house in a town occupied only by people with children?? I will let you do the math on that.
No, that’s the right Mohammed. He and other detainees had given up a nickname. But there’s a leap that waterboarding was the catalyst. I haven’t heard that credited anywhere. They got the actual actionable intel years later.
Detainees gave us his nom de guerre or his nickname and identified him as both a protégé of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind of September 11th, and a trusted assistant of Abu Faraj al-Libbi, the former number three of al Qaeda who was captured in 2005.
Detainees also identified this man as one of the few al Qaeda couriers trusted by bin Laden. They indicated he might be living with and protecting bin Laden. But for years, we were unable to identify his true name or his location.
Four years ago, we uncovered his identity, and for operational reasons, I can’t go into details about his name or how we identified him, but about two years ago, after months of persistent effort, we identified areas in Pakistan where the courier and his brother operated.
I personally, would like to be surrounded by hot divorcees and single women, they don’t use the schools, they are hot and no annoying husbands around. My new neighbors wife is smoking hot. My new neighbor has lots of tatoos and power tools. My new neighbor has screaming kids. Take away the husband and screaming kids and leave the hot wife and JJ be a happy man.
3b says:
May 2, 2011 at 4:56 pm
#35 Of course if you can continue to find more and more people who can afford the higher and higher taxes. Most schools in north Jersey and many other surburban NYC areas can claim they have good schools, more so if comparing them to NYC public schools.
Me perosonally I would rather a town with a mix of people. Do you really want every house in a town occupied only by people with children?? I will let you do the math on that.
Anyone been to a good all-inclusive in the Caribbean? If one exists?
[146] schab
“Waterboarding was last used in 2003. Don’t see how that applies here. I haven’t seen it stated anywhere.”
Read a few John LeCarre novels (excluding “The Russia House”), the original “Bourne Identity” by Ludlum, or watch Denzel in “Man on Fire” to get the idea of how intel threads get developed, then get back to us.
“Do you really want every house in a town occupied only by people with children?? ”
Its like “Do you really want every house in a town occupied only by white people”
“Do you really want every house in a town occupied only by people who can afford to buy houses”
etc etc.
Its not an issue.
jj – does the neighbor’s wife have tats? Thats an advertizment that she makes rash decisions and probably puts out even if she regrets it later.
Read a few John LeCarre novels (excluding “The Russia House”), the original “Bourne Identity” by Ludlum, or watch Denzel in “Man on Fire” to get the idea of how intel threads get developed, then get back to us.
Yeah, that’s what I’ll do.
You want to say interrogation works, you won’t get a ton of argument. Look at this case: they got tons of intel w/o waterboarding.
So what’s with the desperate need to credit waterboarding?
Schabadoo – The CIA destroyed the video tapes and transcripts so we will never know for sure unless somebody who actually did the waterboarding speaks out. You can google the gitmo wikileaks files if you dare the courier’s name appears there.
CIA spies had been watching many of bin Laden’s couriers for years so they finally had a break thru after years of covert ops in Pakistan. No help from the locals they were too busy taking our money while we tried to tail this courier without sticking out like a sore thumb for somewhere around 4 years.
#165 Its not an issue.
If you say so. If you cannot think this one through, then I won’t go any further. But trust me it is an issue.
3b, #112… my post was partly tongue in cheek… reread.
3b, #155… fully agree. it won’t happen.
JJ,
I drove past an open house yesterday on a side street in my neighborhood. Next door to the open house was a really hot college girl in a bikini hosing down her SUV. Made me wonder if the sellers had paid a model to be there in case that might help a lecherous middle age man make an offer. Might be an idea for you when you decide to sell – give your neighbor tickets to a football game and then plant a young seductress on their driveway.
Can someone explain tattoos and piercing to me?
Nom
man on fire is a great movie. On thAt note, off to snuggle the twins at watch it
173. Fashion victims.
#173 Tatoos also known as tramp stamps depending where on the body they are located.
well:
realtor informs me that in the short sale there is another mortgage on the property. My search did not reveal this. anyway, 1st mortgage has approved the sale price. Still wait for 2nd mortgage’s approval. I assume that they will try to f**k us over and kill the deal. still waiting for approval from the other attny regarding our response which was faxed over on friday. Keep you all posted.
176- good luck finding a young person (age 18 to 28) who doesn’t have a tatoo these days. Granted, some of them are small and can’t be seen except on the beach. It’s very accepted to that generation. Times change, can’t fight it.
Morpheus who cares find another one
176 also known as A$$ antlers if a tribal tattoo
177: Not necessarily, as they are f**ked anyway,
I assume that they will try to f**k us over and kill the deal.
172: Cool Hand Luke.
173: If you have to ask…
Can someone explain tattoos and piercing to me?
What you want to type into Google Search is “suicide girls”…
With tattooing and piercing becoming so pedestrian, there’s only one thing left for the kids to do to piss off the rents….voluntary amputation. Lop off a half a pinky for the ultimate in badassed. Do you really need that upper ear? Carve a horizontal Ankh in it because you are badassed and have rejected your slave religion for paganism.
Nom, and others who may be so inclined.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/books/review/david-foster-wallace-and-the-literary-tax-accountant.html
morph (177)-
Always best to take an aggressive approach toward any second lienholder who indicates that they may want to cause problems in a short sale. They essentially have one decision to make: would they like to recover a little…or recover nothing?
99.9% of the time, a second lienholder who forces the first to foreclose wins only a pyrrhic victory.
relo (185)-
Too bad Wallace’s demons finally ate him up in the end. He and Franzen are head/shoulders above the current pack, IMO.
Grim buys a house and the Hovnanians put their Rumson houses and property up for sale. Must be a bottom.
25 Ward Ave.
Owner Kevork Hovnanian
List price- $6,450,00
Last sale price-7/2004- $7,000,000
Property taxes-$83,833.00
27 Ward Ave.- land
Owner- Ward Ave LLC
List price-$3,500,000
Last sale-7/2004- $4,300,000
Property taxes-$32,998.00
29 Ward Ave.
Owner- Sirwart Hovnanian
List price-$10,950,000
property taxes- $103,276.00
Useful document, I must say i expect messages by you.