SAR #14142

“If we destroy Creation, Creation will destroy us.” Pope Francis.

Down, Then Out: “I’ve completely given up on looking for a job.” That's what 47% of unemployed Americans said. 46% claimed they had not had a job interview in the prior month and 23% reported that their last job interview was in 2012. And before you get all “lazy swine aren't looking...”, note that only 20% of these people are receiving unemployment benefits.

Asked & Not Answered: When members of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations repeatedly asked top Pentagon officials to name the groups the US military is currently at war with, they were told that the information was classified and that the senators had no need to know. Any questions?

Bear In A China Shop: Goldman Sachs says it expects Chinese housing to experience a two year “property downcycle” which will result in slowing demand resulting in 15% price cuts in most cities, with “negative implications for banking/commodity/machinery”. They note that “new starts have already fallen 22% y/y and we expect this trend to continue.”

Job Banker: William Dudley, President of the NY Federal Reserve Bank says that the Great Whatever has permanently changed the job market, removing many of what were middle-level skilled jobs and increasing (ever so slightly) more highly skilled and (more often) low-skilled service jobs. And, he says, those mid-level jobs simply are not going to come back.

Back To Basics: Wyoming wants to return to the basics in education. They want their kids to consider the facts and come up with the right answer. For example: If global warming is caused by burning fossil fuels and coal is the dirtiest of the fossil fuels, then global warming must be a hoax and the National Next Generation Science Standards are a Communist plot. Correct.

In Cops PA Trusts: In PA, all a cop needs to search your car is “reasonable cause” and stopping your car is apparently sufficiently reasonable. And if they find a place where you could hide something, they can arrest you for pre-criminal possession of a hiding place. Or something like that. Best defense, unfortunately, would be to drive through New Jersey.

DataPoint: The Japanese government, which has not been noted for being overly forthcoming regarding the Fukushima disaster, reports that so far the ruined reactors have released 75% more radioactive cesium than Chernobyl did. Makes you wonder how much worse the real data is.

Easy Come, Easier Go: The US Energy Information Agency says that California's Monterey Shale Formation – once thought to contain over 60% of the nation's recoverable shale oil – has 94% less recoverable oil than previously claimed. Put another way, only 4% of the promised land has oil under it.

Your Turn: Here are some questions to ponder as you read the real estate ads: How long do you want to live here? Are you sure you can stay that long? Will your job cover the mortgage? How long will you have this job? Any job? The world is messy, will buying a house tidy things up? Is there an app for that? 
 
With Dignity: Amid new revelations of NFL owners secretly doping players to make them play injured, fifty US senators have joined together to urge NFL owners to support a name change for the Washington Redskins. There, that didn't hurt, did it?

Manic Depressing: The euphoria over last week's post-crash record low initial unemployment claims ran into reality this week as claims returned to the now familiar 325,000 range.

Asked And Answered: Can you hear me now? Well, if you are asking Facebook, the answer is yes. Yes, Facebook can listen to your phone's mike and determine what music you are listening to or what TV show you are watching. Also, what you are saying to your cat.

Porn O'Graph: Ups and downs.