SAR #15351

The answer often depends on how the question was asked; 'Would you like to get married?' for example.

What's It All About, Alfie? The Fed announced it would move the federal funds rate up 25 basis points to 0.25% and 0.50%, on its way to 1.35% by the end of 2016, because of the imminent threat of wage increases er.. inflation. Oh, right; because the economy is doing so well. Elsewhere, US industrial production dropped 0.6% in November, the biggest drop in over three years, manufacturing employment and workweek were "the worst since 2009." Homebuilders around the nation reported "slowing activity". Globally, the number of container ships laid up will soon break 2009's all-time record. Hope this wasn't "a mistake that will be difficult to correct" on the part of the Fed.

Wheedling and Dealing: In an attempt to get Obama to include "side deals" for tobacco and big pharma in the TTP, Republicans are threatening to delay consideration of this piece of Obama's legacy until after the 2016 elections.

Safety First: The Department of Homeland Security (and the NSA, but that's a different complaint) monitors Americans' use of social media, but the State Department is too busy to check those same sites for posting by visa applicants.

Let's Play War! Turkey has detained 27 Russian commercial ships in retaliation for the 8 Turkish ships the Russians had detained in the Black Sea.

The Worst of The Worst: Ever wonder how the Bush administration decided who were the worst of the worst, those who needed to be held indefinitely in Guantanamo, and how they were captured? Turns out that 22 of these villains were religious refugees fleeing China who were turned into the US Military by Afghans who wanted the huge rewards the US was paying for candidates for torture and incarceration. After being held for years with no charges, they were finally let go. Makes one proud of our Justice system that their innocence finally prevailed.

Honor Guard: Republicans in Ohio want to require that any fetal remains from an abortion be buried or cremated, with the cost born by the abortion provider and presumably passed on to the patient.

Automatic Defrost Cycle: The ground temperature at the top of the permafrost on Alaska's North Slope has been rapidly rising, from 17.6ºF in 1988 to 28.5ºF toady. At the current rate of increase the permafrost will soon become the permathaw.

As I Was Saying... "When credit expansion gets ahead of productivity and the production of goods, services and income that support all borrowing, the only possible result is a repricing of debt, risk, collateral and assets–that is, a crash. The global central banks have pushed that repricing forward seven years by lowering interest rates to near-zero (or less than zero), enabling borrowers to add more debt even though their incomes have stagnated or declined. But enabling more debt does not reverse supply-demand imbalances or create income out of thin air. As a result, piling on more debt is not a solution... the eventual repricing will be even more severe because the debt load is now so much larger." Charles Hugh Smith.

Progress: 71% of Americans now accept that mass shootings are "just a normal part" of life in the United States. Stay warm.

Protecting and Self-Serving: Police unions in Chicago are fighting for the right to destroy decades of police records of misconduct and disciplinary investigations before they can be made public. They are afraid such disclosure might sully their good name.

As Is: “A Saudi millionaire was cleared of raping a teenager after telling the court that he might have accidentally penetrated the 18-year-old when he tripped and fell.” Repeatedly.