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White House videographer Arun Chaudhary highlights here.

Purchasing pre foreclosure homes in Omaha and other distressed properties in the rest of the United States has been made easier with the announcement of modifications to existing federal rules on foreclosure.

The U.S. federal government has declared that it will relax rules on foreclosure to enable states and counties to use federal funds in redeveloping foreclosed and abandoned real estate.

The changes were announced after several communities complained that they were unable to use federal grants to purchase residential real estate because the rules are not clear and investors are able to outbid them most of the time.

The changes will attempt to solve these problems by allowing cities and states to purchase foreclosures in Omaha and other counties whose owners have defaulted on their mortgages.

The modifications in the foreclosure program regulations will also allow communities to buy uninhabitable residential structures that have existing code violations with the use of the Neighborhood Stabilization Program totaling $4 billion.

According to HUD and federal housing authorities, the changes will provide an easier way to purchase Omaha pre foreclosure homes and will help other local governments target other foreclosed properties since the list of available real estate has been broadened to include abandoned houses, condos listings and other residences that qualify under the modified rules.

In addition to these relaxed parameters, local governments are also now allowed to purchase a residential real estate that has been mortgage delinquent for 60 days, as long as the owner of the property is notified. Properties whose owners are more than 90 days late on paying taxes can also be bought under the new rules.

HUD officials have stated that prior to the implementation of the changes; the rules were too limiting and have restricted local governments from making use of the federal funding. The federal agency has admitted that more flexibility is needed so that the effects of foreclosures in Omaha and in other U.S. neighborhoods can be quickly addressed.

With the changes immediately put into effect, the purchase of Omaha pre foreclosure homes and other foreclosed real estate around the U.S. will be much easier for local communities. The changes are also expected to help in reversing the impact of foreclosures on the country as a whole.

Acaban de ser filtradas las primeras fotos espías del nuevo Opel Zafira. Tal y como podemos ver, la nueva generación del Zafira esta ya muy adelantada por lo que su llegada podría ser inminente. Lamentablemente, la unidad fotografiada esta camuflada de arriba a abajo.

Un dato que si esta confirmado es que al igual que la actual generación, el nuevo monovolumen estará disponible en 5 o 7 plazas. Además, contará con la clásica parrilla de Opel.

En lo que respecta a las motorizaciones, dispondrá varios motores tanto en diésel como en gasolina. En diésel podremos elegir entre varios bloques CDTi y en gasolina los nuevos Turbo 1.4 y 1.6 litros. Se espera que llegue a los conecionarios a finales del 2011.

Related posts:

1. Fotos espía del Opel Insignia OPC Sports Tourer
2. Opel Meriva 2010
3. Imágenes oficiales del Opel Astra

It seems the South African musicians are unhappy about not being included in the World Cup festivities.  Many of the local artists were upset that the lineup did not include more local talent in it’s roster.

FIFA’s Secretary General, Jerome Valke, said that, “This is an international event, we need to attract audiences from around the world with big global names.”  The artists were told that the concert was not the only arts event and they had other options for inclusion.

BLK JKS

The South African musicians that are being included in the entertainment music roster are The Parlotones, BLK JKS, and Vusi Mahlasela.  The other African artists include Angelique Kidjo, Amadou and Mariam, Tinariwen, and Vieux Farka Touré, while the international artists include Juanes, The Black Eyed Peas, John Legend (doesn’t he always seem to be everywhere the African events are?), Shakira, Alicia Keys.

This promises to be a star-studded perfomance with a huge audience watching. All net proceeds from the concert will be donated to 20 Centres for 2010, the Official Campaign of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™, whose aim is to achieve positive social change through football by building 20 centres across Africa offering education and healthcare services as well as football training to disadvantaged communities.

our key factors in the 1970s were very different from present conditions, and that argues against 1970s-style stagflation as a model for 2010-2020.

Sometimes history rhymes–but only for the first line. On the surface, there are reasons to anticipate a 1970s-style stagflation in the decade ahead: a stagnating economy beset by rising inflation.

Four fundamental factors that profoundly influenced the economy in the 1970-1980 period are not present today. As a result, we must be careful not to expect history to rhyme stanza after stanza.

1. Demographics: the Baby Boom came of age and started households en masse. Baby Boomers bought houses, cars, furniture, etc. for their new households, and started businesses which created even more demand.

In other words, the demographic macro-environment was one of strongly rising demand for goods, services and credit. Housing leaped not just in response to inflation but in response to strong organic demand from 78 million Baby Boomers.

The demographic trend is now reversed; the Boomers are saving money for retirement and shedding assets to fund their healthcare and the costs of no longer being productive (retired). Governments are having to channel huge sums from spending into their pension funds for retiring Boomers.

(Disclosure: I am 56 and thus a Boomer, and I do not expect to draw a dime of Social Security or Medicare.)

2. Imports were limited, giving domestic suppliers pricing power (the ability to pass on higher costs to consumers). It is rarely noted that the U.S. emerged from World War II with little competition as many of its global manufacturing competitors lay in ruins.

While Japan and Germany began exporting autos to the U.S. in the 60s, it wasn’t until later in the 70s that Japanese goods offered serious pricing competition to domestic producers (anyone remember the Datsun B210?). This allowed domestic producers to pass rising input and labor costs to consumers, feeding the inflationary cycle.

Now many of the manufactured goods sold in the U.S. are made elsewhere, and the competitive environment is fierce; the only firms with pricing power are those with technologically “hot” goods like iPhones.

3. The quadrupling of oil prices rippled through the economy, raising costs for everything. Energy is a cost input to virtually every good and service, and the price jump of 1973 spread higher costs throughout the economy. As this raised prices, it was inflationary, and as it was in effect a new tax on the economy, it lowered demand and spending, causing stagnation.

In response to that 1970s increase in oil costs, the U.S. economy became more efficient in its use of petroleum, i.e. the amount of oil consumed to generate every dollar of GDP has fallen.

The big unknown in the decade ahead is the timing of Peak Oil, that is, when global supply falls irrevocably below baseline demand. As I have stated here many times, I believe we are in the “head-fake” stage when global Depression (oops, “Great Recession”) is cutting demand so much that there is still enough surplus production to keep prices relatively low. As the output from supergiant fields falls, then all this surplus production will at best be replacing supply lost to depletion.

When Peak Oil kicks in, then $300/barrel will seem like a “fair price” and the shockwave to the U.S. economy will outstrip the 70s oil price shock by an order of magnitude because the low-hanging fruit of efficiencies have been picked.

But nobody knows when supply will fall irrevocably below demand, as geopolitics and physical supply are both causal factors.

4. Debt loads were low. The forced savings of the domestic workforce and Armed Forces during the War created a stupendous reserve of capital to fund new production capacity in the 1950s and 60s. Consumer debt was modest by today’s standards, as was the Federal deficit. The nation reeled in shock when the Federal deficit hit a staggering $46 billion in the mid-70s –roughly $175 billion in today’s dollars–a mere 11.6% of this year’s $1.5 trillion Federal deficit.

So the debt load of the nation is much higher than in the 1970s, both private and public debt. More of the national income must be diverted to service that debt, depressing demand. New private borrowing is constrained by stagnant incomes and declining asset values. Higher taxes levied to fund unprecedented Federal deficit spending also reduces private demand and borrowing.

In other words, we won’t be able to “borrow our way” out of asset deflation and gin up a “wealth effect” as occurred in the 1980s.

With three of the four conditions being reversed from the 1970s and the cost of oil in the decade ahead a big unknown, this suggests that the stagflation of that decade is not a good predictive model for the coming decade.

Charles Hugh Smith has been an independent journalist for 22 years. His weblog, http://www.oftwominds.com, draws two million visits a year with unique analyses of global finance, stocks and political economy. He has written six novels and Weblogs & New Media: Marketing in Crisis and just released Survival+: Structuring Prosperity for Yourself and the Nation.

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There’s a great comedy sketch from British due Mitchell and Webb about an egotistical brain surgeon on YouTube.

It’s sarcastic, cutting and you can see the punchline coming a mile off, but still good for laugh as it satirises the effect of the ego on typical British small talk.

The only similar joke I’ve ever tried was to say to a neurosurgeon in the pub “that’s lucky, I’ve got this thing in my temporal lobe that’s been playing up, I wonder if you wouldn’t mind having a quick look”.

Lead balloon.

Link to Mitchell and Webb brain surgeon sketch.

We don’t know about you, but at our house mornings are a whirlwind of getting up, getting ready, and getting out the door. Some kitchen organization tips to keep things running smoothly:

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VPS wine and beverage grade cartridges have been designed to comply with all FDA requirements for the food and beverage industry. Polyethersulfone is low protein binding and therefore a good choice for fermented beverage filtrations. VPS cartridges are flushed with 17+ megohm-cm water to ensure that no manufacturing debris remains downstream to contaminate your product. This washing also ensures that all extractables which may affect the taste of the product are removed. Cartridges are custom configured to increase the surface area and give maximum throughputs. Each VPS is designed to handle cleaning and sanitization protocols well. Each cartridge module is individually tested to ensure integrity and is absolute at the rated pore size.

COMPARTMENT SCREEN CPUC
– Tilted roof
– Front face, higher face and back face obtained in only one part for a total
sealing
– Side faces: sliding panels in the slottings of 10mm of depth
guaranteeing nonthe water penetration at the time of washing
– This double access right-hand side and left avoids the obstruction of the doors and the mechanical risks and facilitates the access to computer equipement
– Compartiment screen CPU completely tight

COMPARTMENT PRINTER
– Access by shutter
– Telescopic table, slide triple development stainless charges 60 kg with safety position

COMPARTMENT KEYBOARD
– Reserve of place for mouse and cab gun
– Telescopic table for keyboard and mouse
– Access by shutter cutting down

The Eurosoft WP (wide profile) pneumatic shaped solid tire is engineered to deliver superior performance and long tread life characteristics.

3-stage construction and concave sidewall design ensures a longer service life and cooler running tire while providing a softer ride.

High Torque steel reinforced rings in the bead area ensures on slipping on the wheel.

Wide profile tread surface enhances stability and increases footprint for greater traction and load distribution

3/24/2010

PERRY, Oklahoma—The Ditch Witch® organization announces the release of the new 910T electronic locating transmitter.

The economical Ditch Witch 910T transmitter is used to apply a controlled signal to metallic pipes and cables, and is designed to be used with the Ditch Witch 910R receiver. In active mode, the 910T transmits via direct-line connection, induction clamp or induced broadcast signals. Together, the 910R and 910T offer an affordable locator package that helps customers efficiently locate buried telephone, CATV, power, gas and water lines with a tracer wire.

The 910T transmitter comes standard with up to three frequencies of the customer’s choosing. Frequencies are factory-set when the transmitter is ordered, and additional frequencies may be added. Available frequencies are 512 Hz, 1 kHz, 8 kHz, 29 kHz, 80 kHz. With simultaneous 8 and 29 kHz transmission, an alternate signal is available if one is hard to detect. The 80 kHz frequency is helpful in locating old tracer wires or pipes with insulators where low frequencies do not work well.

Each 910T transmitter also comes standard with direct-connect leads, a ground stake and 8 D-cell batteries.

This ready-for-use kit of compressor and accessoiries
contains:
– Compressor HL 310/25 (specification below)
– Airpress accessories kit: paintspray pistol, sprial hose,
petrol spray pistol, tyre inflation gauge, dust blow gun
with quick couplings type Orion.

Airpress puts their customers first. We not only provide useful advice for use and maintenance, we also ensure that work, for instance on your compressor, is only carried out by experts.

Our all round service department is up-to-date on the latest and most modern techniques. Together with the other departments within our company, we can therefore respond quickly and efficiently to your wishes.

PREMO presents its new PBP19 Series, a new inductors family designed for DC/DC converters and telecom power supplies up to 500W, where the height of the 19″ RAC system may be 0.25 U or 0.5 U, increasing power density and reducing telecom power systems sizes. The PBP19 series with 7.4 mm height is offered in Tape&Reel for SMT technology and allows a maximum surface of 92% of total area in contact with the heat dissipating interface, either a coolplate or traditional heatsink. The thermal optimization of components allows 10mJ energy storage with 2.8 microseconds cycles producing a lower dissipation of 2W and a high performance n> 95%.

The Telecom converters with soft-switching topologies (ZVS) allow increasing the switching frequencies from 250kHz up to 500kHz by using low Mosfet resistance. The DC resistance of the PBP19 series is typically 2mOhm, which perfectly fits in power semiconductors needs. This is achieved by implementing multilayer leadframe technology which eliminates round standard copper wire, skin effect and inefficiencies in the optimization of the winding window. The series allows configurations of 4 windings, with isolation against core above 500Vdc and overload saturation of 15% to 20% on the peak current.

PBP19 series is pin to pin compatible with other standard solutions, but eliminating the extra lateral pins, reducing 10% the PCB surface are and increasing the power density or reducing PCB costs.

An Oxfam project is helping farmers in the West Bank’s ‘Area C’, where politics is preventing many from making a living off their own land. Willow Heske reports.

Without building permits for permanent housing most families in area C are living in tents. Photo: Willow Heske

The building of the new Palestinian Agricultural Ministry’s office in Jiftlik isn’t very new. In fact, it’s a one room, run-down old shack in the middle of a dusty field. The office’s generator is used to power the computer (there is no other form of electricity here) and a standing fan creates a distracting noise that makes one wonder how any work can get done at all.

Not for lack of will

Looking around at the barren landscape it quickly becomes apparent that work here, in fact, rarely does get done.  Not for lack of will, but from lack of means.

“This area faces a lot of problems,” Awad Daraghmeh, an agronomist with the Agricultural Ministry explains. “The purpose of opening this office is to offer support for the farmers, but it is very difficult for the Palestinian Authority to have any real control.”

He continues to tell me that the Ministry is not allowed to invest in any building or rehabilitation projects in the area as a result of the Israeli Civil Administration’s tight control of this part of the occupied West Bank, known as ‘Area C.’

“Most of the farmers throughout this region are living in tents. They have no water, no electricity, no paved roads or grazing lands – we can’t even build new schools,” Daraghmeh adds.

The Palestinian breadbasket

Jerusalem has long been considered the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but far away from the tensions of the crowded Old City streets, Area C is also vital to Palestinian statehood and self-sufficiency. It is commonly known as the ‘Palestinian breadbasket’, situated on 61 percent of the West Bank and 95 percent of the Palestinian Jordan Valley’s most fertile, arable land.

Despite being classified as Palestinian land under the Oslo Accords, which called for Israel to transfer complete control over the territory to the Palestinian Authority (PA) by 1999, Area C has never switched hands. As a result, planning, zoning, and building remain at the sole discretion of the Israeli Civil Administration, which has issued a freeze on building permits for the Palestinians who live here.

There has been much ado about the significance of this ‘new’ office, which has been seen by many as a move towards resisting Israeli annexation of this strategic territory. But  the Palestinian Agricultural Ministry in Jiftlik  also epitomizes all of the entrenched problems associated with living and working in Area C.  Just to build a new office in this area of the West Bank, the PA would need permission from the Israeli Civil Administration, and such permission is almost never granted.

Restrictions

Farmers are particularly hard hit by restrictions on building access roads and storage centres, and have been barred by the Israeli Civil Administration from building new water wells. Of the estimated 150,000 Palestinians living here, 60,000 are not connected to a water network, and only 4,000 have access to sanitation services.

Many farmers complain that the lack of electricity also causes heavy losses because, without refrigerators, the vegetables rot quickly in the dry desert heat.

“We have no protection and we have no options. The Israeli Civil Administration has implemented policies that make Palestinian farming unprofitable,” said Harbi Abdullah, Chairman of the Al Aardh Agricultural Cooperative, who also told me he thought the Israeli Civil Administration wanted farmers like him to work as labourers on Israeli settlement farms instead of cultivating their own land.

Making a living off their own land

Recently Oxfam joined forces with local partners Economic and Social Development Center and the Palestinian Authority’s Agricultural Ministry in Jiftlik to deliver a project designed to help farmers in Area C continue to earn a living from farming their own land rather than relying on a wage earned working as labourers on settlement farms which are illegal under international law. With funding from the European Commission Directorate for Humanitarian Aid (ECHO) the project distributed rain-fed seeds such as wheat, sweet peas, and chick peas, and helped farmers with ploughing, fertilizing, and greenhouse repairs.

Mahmoud Dias stands on the remains of his demolished home, holding the demolition notice. Photo: Willow Heske

Mahmoud Dias, a farmer who benefited from the Oxfam project, said that it improved his income this year. But despite this help, there is still that much remains to be done to improve his life.

“I live in a tent because I can’t get a building permit for a house. I built a simple house, just poured some concrete walls and a put on a tin roof. The Israeli military demolished it because I didn’t have a permit. Last year, the military confiscated my agricultural land twice. I can’t take my sheep out into the hills to graze because the green land is a closed military zone,” Mahmoud explained.

“I want to be strong. I want to stay here, but how can I continue when I keep losing everything over and over again?”

Where we work: occupied Palestinian Territories and Israel

The Guidos and Guidettes are heading back to their Home Turf in the Garden State: The Jersey Shore cast began filming Season 2 in Miami in this week, but the series will return to the state where it all began once the boardwalk of Seaside Heights opens for the summer season at the end of next month.

“It’s official, the ‘Jersey Shore’ cast began filming Season 2 in Miami,” MTV rep Emily Yeomans said on Thursday. “Once the boardwalk heats back up, the series will return to the Jersey Shore to complete the season.”

Show producers say Snooki, The Situation, Pauly D, J-Woww, Sammi, Ronnie, Vinny and even Season One castoff Angelina will be back beatin’ the heat in the Jersey resort town of Seaside Heights.

Jersey Shore’s second season will premiere on Thursday, July 29.

Judge: Cops Covered Up Katrina Shootings
A New Orleans police officer who fired his gun at civilians on the Danziger Bridge a week after Hurricane Katrina pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday, offering a chilling account of what transpired on the bridge that day in 2005. Michael Hunter, 33, entered a guilty plea. Two investigators have confessed to playing roles in a wide-ranging cover-up of the police shooting, which injured four unarmed civilians and left two men dead. “I don’t think you can listen to that account without being sickened by the raw brutality of the shooting and the craven lawlessness of the cover-up,” said U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance.

Ever since Taye Diggs pointed at “Black women” as the culprit behind the demise of his craptacular ABC series Daybreak, I haven’t particularly been a fan of the guy who once helped Stella get her groove back.

These days, Diggs is paying the “Rent” by using his famous face and well-defined abs to promote Amtrak’s National Train Day festivities. National Train Day spokesman might not be such a bad gig when you’re a 60-year-old F-Lister, but isn’t Taye a regular on Private Practice? Christ, he can’t need a paycheck that badly.

Taye says he just likes trains.

“Riding the train was my first real exposure to serious travel and the magical notions attached to train travel will stay with me forever. My wife [Broadway Actress Idina Menzel] and I have lived all of our adult lives in New York City so we have come to know riding the train as a relaxing and convenient travel option.”

According to a press release on the annual event: “Diggs will start the weekend’s festivities with a ceremony at New York’s Penn Station on Friday, May 7, where he will flip the switch that launches an edible “trainscape” made from elaborate confections and moving model trains. Afterward, Diggs will board Amtrak and travel to Washington, D.C. to host one of National Train Day’s signature celebrations at Union Station and enjoy the festivities with other train fans on Saturday, May 8…..”

(FYI: I have no problem with him marrying outside his race. I like all kinds of people — more power to him if his relationship is making him happy. However, you don’t get to pull the stereotypical “Angry Black Woman” Card because you starred on a show that sucked and Americans let you know it by refusing to tune in. Moving on…)

Jon Stewart’s Not Buying What the Vatican’s Selling
As allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy members continue to challenge the church, the Vatican, according to a visibly agitated Jon Stewart, has failed to respond appropriately, instead adopting a victim stance with the Western media as its persecutor. Quick—cue the kitten footage!

As allegations of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy members continue to challenge the church, the Vatican, according to a visibly agitated Jon Stewart, has failed to respond appropriately, instead adopting a victim stance with the Western media as its persecutor. Quick—cue the kitten footage!

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• April 8, 2010 In Defense of Chairman Mike
• April 6, 2010 The Invisible Ward 8

What an ass.

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) on Tuesday vowed to block all future spending bills in the Senate that aren’t fully “paid for” with cuts to other spending programs.

Coburn and other Republicans are already blocking a $9 billion bill to extend jobless benefits for 30 days that isn’t offset with other spending cuts. That impasse halted benefits to 200,000 unemployed people this week.

[…]

Coburn told The Hill he’s disappointed with press coverage of his position, saying the media should focus on the fact that Democrats adopted a requirement that spending bills be paid for, yet frequently disregard the rule.

“That’s what the story ought to be,” he said. “If you’re going to spend new money, pay for it. And they haven’t paid for a thing … As soon as I decided to do this, I knew the press would be against this. That’s just a fact of life in Washington. We have a biased press.”

Wah! The press isn’t applauding my partisan hypocritical grandstanding.