Middle East market crash on eve of Iran Oil exports. Carnage begins...without a shot fired.

Well, maybe "without a shot fired" is a bit of exaggeration.  But it allows Iran to go to "war" with Saudi Arabia without having to declare war.

I don't think Iran has anything to lose.  But KSA has a LOT to lose.

All seven stock markets in the Gulf states tumbled as panic gripped traders. London shares are now braced for a second wave of crisis to hit when they open on Monday morning after contagion from China sent the FTSE 100 to its worst start in history last week.

And then Rouhani tweets this:

Implementing #JCPOA not a detriment to any country. Our friends are happy & our rivals need not worry. We're no threat to any nation/state.

— Hassan Rouhani (@HassanRouhani) January 17, 2016

Yeah.  No direct threat like in terms of bombs and guns.  But a direct threat as in "we can't sell our oil at now!! Thanks to you!"

Either Saudi Arabia goes to war with Iran, or they hunker down for the "long winter" for this entire year.  This is going to hurt the KSA really, really bad.

The California Exodus continues. Latest U-Haul Index

I had hoped things had improved....but no.  Here's the latest:

San Francisco ==> San Antonio $1,806.00
San Antonio  ==> San Francisco $695.00

Los Angeles ==> San Antonio $1,448.00
San Antonio ==> Los Angeles $1,026.00

In relative terms, the LA to SA is a difference of ~40%. But in absolute terms it's only ~$400.

Obama Cites Communist China As The Goal For American Gun Control

What a wicked, wicked man.  Using Communist China as a shining example of gun control?

What.  An.  Idiot.

“Some of you may recall at the same time that Sandy Hook happened, a disturbed person in China took a knife and tried to kill, with a knife a bunch of children in China. But most of them survived because he didn’t have access to a powerful weapon,” Obama claimed. In one knife attack in China in 2012, a 36-year old man stabbed 22 kids and an 85-year old woman.

“We maybe can’t save everybody, but we could save some,” Obama said. “Just as we don’t prevent all traffic accidents but we take steps to try to reduce traffic accidents.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott responds to Obama’s threat of more gun control: ‘Come and take it’

Obama can't govern.  Obama can't lead.  All he knows is how to antagonize Americans.  What an utter, dismal failure of a President.

But he will go out, but not in a blaze of glory, but in an in-your-face hateful burst of revenge.

Abbott is a great governor.

 

Surgical Sex: Why We Stopped Doing Sex Change Operations

Excellent article about why Johns Hopkins ceased performing gender changing surgeries.  It was written in 2004.

I have witnessed a great deal of damage from sex-reassignment. The children transformed from their male constitution into female roles suffered prolonged distress and misery as they sensed their natural attitudes. Their parents usually lived with guilt over their decisions—second-guessing themselves and somewhat ashamed of the fabrication, both surgical and social, they had imposed on their sons. As for the adults who came to us claiming to have discovered their “true” sexual identity and to have heard about sex-change operations, we psychiatrists have been distracted from studying the causes and natures of their mental misdirections by preparing them for surgery and for a life in the other sex. We have wasted scientific and technical resources and damaged our professional credibility by collaborating with madness rather than trying to study, cure, and ultimately prevent it.

The Big Lie: 5.6% Unemployment

This is probably the most egregious sin of our government.  However, the issue is not that they've been hiding the methodology used - anyone can found out how they arrive at these numbers. The really big sin is that CNN, FOX, ABC, CBS, NBC news have glossed over this fact.  And they are accountable to no one.

There's no other way to say this. The official unemployment rate, which cruelly overlooks the suffering of the long-term and often permanently unemployed as well as the depressingly underemployed, amounts to a Big Lie.

And it's a lie that has consequences, because the great American dream is to have a good job, and in recent years, America has failed to deliver that dream more than it has at any time in recent memory. A good job is an individual's primary identity, their very self-worth, their dignity -- it establishes the relationship they have with their friends, community and country. When we fail to deliver a good job that fits a citizen's talents, training and experience, we are failing the great American dream.

...

I hear all the time that "unemployment is greatly reduced, but the people aren't feeling it." When the media, talking heads, the White House and Wall Street start reporting the truth -- the percent of Americans in good jobs; jobs that are full time and real -- then we will quit wondering why Americans aren't "feeling" something that doesn't remotely reflect the reality in their lives. And we will also quit wondering what hollowed out the middle class.

His dream of the press reporting the real numbers will only come true when a Conservative is elected President.

Documentary: Chuck Norris Helped Open Communist Romania to West

This is pretty amazing!  Who would have thought???

The brave efforts of Zamfir and Nistor helped open up Romania to the west and end the soviet regime. According to The Daily Beast, the “media was more powerful than anyone could have imagined. Despite a few scares, the regime never attempted to shut down Zamfir’s smuggling or the private video parties. In fact, many members of the country’s Secret Service were bribed with tapes (their families were just as eager to watch Chuck Norris in Lone Wolf McQuade as everyone else). Even Ceausescu’s son was one of Zamfir’s clients.”

Chuck Norris karate kicked Communism to the moon!!