The birds seem to enjoy that it’s the 1st of March. Many are singing their Spring songs, especially the cardinals, and some of the more intrepid are moving north after enjoying their warmer Winter quarters.
China Implosion Death Watch Dept:
This blog article has 17 bullet points on everything going wrong for the Chinese economy now. Here are five:
________________________
* “In the first half of 2022, 460,000 companies announced their closure, and 3.1 million self-employed people have canceled their business.”
* “It’s hard to be a boss this year. All industries are in decline. In order to maintain the factory, profits have to be squeezed and squeezed. Many have even accepted orders with zero profit outright. The purpose is simply to keep the cash flowing.”
* “According to data released by China’s General Administration of Customs, China’s exports fell 9.9 percent year on year in December 2022, widening the decline from 8.7 percent in November and marking the biggest drop since February 2020.” And those are the official numbers. It’s almost certainly worse.
* “The Chinese government is carefully covering up the situation of its major economic regression, so it isn’t easy to tell from the statistics how serious the situation is.” But employers think it’s really bad.
* Foreign companies are pulling out as well. “500 European companies have already moved to Singapore to set up their headquarters.”
It turns out that having your ruling party alienate the entire world with a genetically engineered plague, rampant human rights abuse and widespread intellectual property theft is not conducive to continued economic success. Who knew?
A China in decline is more dangerous than a China ascending.
We have had Robins around for a week or two now, here in N. Co. And lots of Geese heading N too.
You can almost feel Spring sometimes, but March in Co can be very snowy. I just hope we don’t get too much to break branches and it doesn’t get too cold.
China has survived the transition from Zero Covid to Anything Goes Covid, though at what cost? The official number of deaths is 57,000. However, no one believes that.
A month ago China claimed that 80% of its population had been infected — that’s over a billion people. This may have been an overestimate in order to argue China has achieved natural immunity and alleviate concerns about Chinese travelers during the Lunar new Year.
The old story with China’s economy, as I understand it, is that they have engaged in very loose lending standards for decades. Lots of feel-good cash everywhere as long as it lasts.
Lending is a difficult and dangerous business. Reminds me of Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPM Morgan Chase, testifying to Congress in 2009 perhaps. Some congressperson was haranguing him moderately about how he needs to reduce the risk in his loan portfolio and lend more to small businesses.
He replied (paraphrasing), “Congressman, small business loans are the most risky loans we make. So which do you want? More small business loans or less risk?”
Except it was subprime lending that cracked their glass jaw
7 weeks until Tax Day! (US)
Two weeks until the Ides! (Ancient Rome)
I am so glad March is here. As you know, February was black history month. I got so tired of that I was wondering if the blacks could speed things up and get it over with in three weeks or maybe they could make history every day of the year like whites and then they wouldn’t need a black history month.
Springtime in Carolina. My Yoshino cherries are in bloom, and so are the redbuds in the woods. I’m putting out a hummingbird feeder today. On the downside, the annual plague of yellow pine pollen has arrived 2-3 weeks early. Everything is a dirty yellow between rains.
Except it was subprime lending that cracked their glass jaw
Very true. “Their” meaning the industry, not JP Morgan Chase. They actually rescued Bear Stearns. Of course, they all took bailout cash which was required of them so as to not stigmatize some banks.
It seems that maybe our economy has swung from the excesses of home mortgage lending, which are the most severe because of the magnitude, to coming problems with credit card debt and auto loan debt.
PA Cat,
I’m sure you know this, but it’s also been two weeks SINCE the ides. In ancient Rome everything month had an ides, all 10 of them.
I just discovered that Victor Navasky died last month. A critique of his life and work is very much in order, especially his relationships with institutions like Columbia University and what that says about Columbia.
February is my least favorite month of the year. The operative word to describe it is “bleak”. It is the shortest month of the year but seems like it is the longest.
“How did that sneak up on us?”
Three days early, like it does three years out of four. And on that year it sneaks up on us two days early.
Regarding Fauci and the Wuhan lab, it looks like he did indeed fund gain-of-function research there, and lied about it to Congress. Now that the FBI and DoE are saying that the Covid virus originated at that lab, what might Fauci’s legal exposure be?
Compiling certain details would help to build an indictment – such as how exactly did he do it, what were the steps, communications with Chinese agents, and the funding mechanism?
Elon Musk (and other sources) on the money channel:
It might be too much to hope for, but appropriate next steps would include an arrest warrant and gallows construction, followed quickly thereafter by closure.
1. The Church of England should be dissolved. If local continuing Anglican associations wish to continue, they can appeal to African bishops for consecrations and ordinations and apply to municipal governments to use local parish properties on equal terms with other Christian denominations.
2. That Britain has a ‘Conservative’ government has no effect on institutional habits and reflexes on any level.
Big mistakes abetted by big deliberate lies should have big consequences.
As an alternative to dire consequences: serious jail time for the perps, and generous cash settlements from Big Pharma (else we take it out of their hides)
where there is no vision, the people perish, I though archbishop rowan williams was the worst, but hold my ale,
The Church of England is in the process of dissolving itself. Before too long there will be only bishops with salaries and no worshippers. The Global South organizations are already providing episcopal oversight to dissidents, and they no longer recognize the Archbishop of Canterbury as the leader of the Anglican Communion.
Stan, thanks for the link. I’ve enjoyed F+F for some time.
Here’s Darwin singing Lightfoot’s “Early Morning Rain.” He is an incredible musician. It’s an older cover, but worth listening to again.
Early Morning Rain (Cover) – Gordon Lightfoot by Foxes & Fossils
You better start banking your own blood now, because if you get your way (Montana morons), you will never have any surgery or receive any blood products. That is where Panic Whores (Vax fools) lead you.
Don’t worry though, artificial blood is just over the horizon …..
For those who think DeSantis is “GOPe,” read his op-ed in the WSJ today. (I hope this link works.)
I believe the author’s claims are solid. However, she dodges the big point which is that the anthropogenic increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has led to large increases in crop yields. If one wishes to look at systematic effects of things like burning fossil fuels, then one must look at all the data, not just the data you like.
Sprouts of daffodils and crocuses and tulips and dwarf irises –started in February.
I even saw deep purple crocus buds then.
I shall watch the progress.
“How did [March] sneak up on us?”
Global warming. Global warming, and Trump.
“Lightfoot’s ‘Early Morning Rain’”
Whew, for a minute there I thought you were talking about Lori Lightfoot.
The Church of England is in the process of dissolving itself.
I think the best option is to have municipal and county governments to be assigned ownership of Church of England properties, the municipalities taking the parishes, rectories, and churchyards, the counties taking the cathedrals and other lumpy pieces. Each would have a segmented endowment. Most segments would be for purposes specified in deeds and these would be financed by private donations and bequests. There would be a final segment for general upkeep. This could be financed by private donations or by bond issues approved by referendum. The referenda would be held in the bloc of municipalities associated with a particular parishes. It could be placed on the ballot by a petition initiative or by a vote of the municipal councils in question (or the county council in question). If approved, the value to be issued would be apportioned among the municipalities in question. The bonds would be issued directly to the endowment and the trustees of the endowment could then rebalance the endowment’s portfolio with market transactions. The income from the endowment could pay for the services of a sexton and for mundane equipment. Discrete capital projects could also be financed by bond issues of this sort.
Time for services could be distributed to local Christian associations and to private families by the municipal clerk through a mix of procedures – auction, lottery, and first-come-first-served. The rectory could be rented out via public auction.
There could be a continuing Anglican association among the locals, with p/t or volunteer clergy and supervision by African bishops via local deans. There are continuing Anglican bodies in North America, some of which are in apostolic succession as Anglicans understand it, some not. The fragmentation of the continuing Anglican strand into tiny sectlets is an unedifying feature of that dispensation. They really should be able to cover the waterfront with two or three denominations.
Kate–
Thank you for the WSJ link– it worked just fine.
The Church of England is in the process of dissolving itself. Before too long there will be only bishops with salaries and no worshippers.
Kate:
Sadly true. At least for me.
I returned to Christianity via the American branch, The Episcopal Church. (Which really calls itself that in those capitals, TEC.)
It was a friendly little church in those halcyon pre-9-11 days, nestled in the Diamond Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, just above the hidden, gem-like valley known as Glen Canyon.
Sure, it was liberal, but I could tell these people were having a good time and doing their level best to be real Christians, so far as I could tell. In those days I was pre-9-11 too.
Then 9-11 happened and I wound up on the wrong side of that line. Members would offer prayers about the terrible darkness which had descended upon America, a nation apparently alone in its evil.
And I became alone.
huxley, I left TEC and found an Anglican parish, which is small but growing. I no longer consider TEC genuinely Christian, although there are still a diminishing number of serious Christians hanging on within it.
Art Deco
And money lenders — the money lenders could set up shop in the empty properties. History repeats. . .
This is what to do while March sneaks up on you — take the February Challenge!
You’ve got a point. I went to a different TEC church after the one I mentioned. It had some conservative members, who assured me that their church was not a leftist monoculture and sponsored me as a member.
At an Easter Day picnic I did an informal poll on whether congregants believed in the Resurrection. I mostly got hemming and hawing about the rebirth of spring and it’s a beautiful STORY, but the only two out of seven I spoke with who did believe were ex-evangelicals who migrated to TEC for personal reasons.
Later, as the Iraq War was revved up, that church went fully left. Conservatives got the message that we were basically on par with Nazis, the leadership did nothing, so we left.
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7 weeks until Tax Day! (US)
The birds seem to enjoy that it’s the 1st of March. Many are singing their Spring songs, especially the cardinals, and some of the more intrepid are moving north after enjoying their warmer Winter quarters.
China Implosion Death Watch Dept:
This blog article has 17 bullet points on everything going wrong for the Chinese economy now. Here are five:
________________________
* “In the first half of 2022, 460,000 companies announced their closure, and 3.1 million self-employed people have canceled their business.”
* “It’s hard to be a boss this year. All industries are in decline. In order to maintain the factory, profits have to be squeezed and squeezed. Many have even accepted orders with zero profit outright. The purpose is simply to keep the cash flowing.”
* “According to data released by China’s General Administration of Customs, China’s exports fell 9.9 percent year on year in December 2022, widening the decline from 8.7 percent in November and marking the biggest drop since February 2020.” And those are the official numbers. It’s almost certainly worse.
* “The Chinese government is carefully covering up the situation of its major economic regression, so it isn’t easy to tell from the statistics how serious the situation is.” But employers think it’s really bad.
* Foreign companies are pulling out as well. “500 European companies have already moved to Singapore to set up their headquarters.”
It turns out that having your ruling party alienate the entire world with a genetically engineered plague, rampant human rights abuse and widespread intellectual property theft is not conducive to continued economic success. Who knew?
–Lawrence Person, “Dear Chinese Workers in 2023: Sucks To Be You”
https://www.battleswarmblog.com/?p=54242
A China in decline is more dangerous than a China ascending.
We have had Robins around for a week or two now, here in N. Co. And lots of Geese heading N too.
You can almost feel Spring sometimes, but March in Co can be very snowy. I just hope we don’t get too much to break branches and it doesn’t get too cold.
China has survived the transition from Zero Covid to Anything Goes Covid, though at what cost? The official number of deaths is 57,000. However, no one believes that.
A month ago China claimed that 80% of its population had been infected — that’s over a billion people. This may have been an overestimate in order to argue China has achieved natural immunity and alleviate concerns about Chinese travelers during the Lunar new Year.
https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/22/china/china-covid-80-lunar-new-year-intl-hnk/index.html
It Marched up through all of the bad weather in February.
Neo has said she likes F & F in prior posts. Here is a new cover of one of my favorite tunes by my football and baseball teammate, Tim Purcell.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNUp91Hz2aA
I know I’m biased, but I think he kills it.
The old story with China’s economy, as I understand it, is that they have engaged in very loose lending standards for decades. Lots of feel-good cash everywhere as long as it lasts.
Lending is a difficult and dangerous business. Reminds me of Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPM Morgan Chase, testifying to Congress in 2009 perhaps. Some congressperson was haranguing him moderately about how he needs to reduce the risk in his loan portfolio and lend more to small businesses.
He replied (paraphrasing), “Congressman, small business loans are the most risky loans we make. So which do you want? More small business loans or less risk?”
Except it was subprime lending that cracked their glass jaw
7 weeks until Tax Day! (US)
Two weeks until the Ides! (Ancient Rome)
I am so glad March is here. As you know, February was black history month. I got so tired of that I was wondering if the blacks could speed things up and get it over with in three weeks or maybe they could make history every day of the year like whites and then they wouldn’t need a black history month.
Springtime in Carolina. My Yoshino cherries are in bloom, and so are the redbuds in the woods. I’m putting out a hummingbird feeder today. On the downside, the annual plague of yellow pine pollen has arrived 2-3 weeks early. Everything is a dirty yellow between rains.
Except it was subprime lending that cracked their glass jaw
Very true. “Their” meaning the industry, not JP Morgan Chase. They actually rescued Bear Stearns. Of course, they all took bailout cash which was required of them so as to not stigmatize some banks.
It seems that maybe our economy has swung from the excesses of home mortgage lending, which are the most severe because of the magnitude, to coming problems with credit card debt and auto loan debt.
PA Cat,
I’m sure you know this, but it’s also been two weeks SINCE the ides. In ancient Rome everything month had an ides, all 10 of them.
I just discovered that Victor Navasky died last month. A critique of his life and work is very much in order, especially his relationships with institutions like Columbia University and what that says about Columbia.
February is my least favorite month of the year. The operative word to describe it is “bleak”. It is the shortest month of the year but seems like it is the longest.
“How did that sneak up on us?”
Three days early, like it does three years out of four. And on that year it sneaks up on us two days early.
Regarding Fauci and the Wuhan lab, it looks like he did indeed fund gain-of-function research there, and lied about it to Congress. Now that the FBI and DoE are saying that the Covid virus originated at that lab, what might Fauci’s legal exposure be?
Compiling certain details would help to build an indictment – such as how exactly did he do it, what were the steps, communications with Chinese agents, and the funding mechanism?
Elon Musk (and other sources) on the money channel:
He did it via a pass-through organization (EcoHealth)
It might be too much to hope for, but appropriate next steps would include an arrest warrant and gallows construction, followed quickly thereafter by closure.
Who will bell that cat?
https://jonathanturley.org/2023/03/01/trent-college-minister-fired-as-threat-to-students-after-criticizing-lgbtq-values/
Two things this indicates:
1. The Church of England should be dissolved. If local continuing Anglican associations wish to continue, they can appeal to African bishops for consecrations and ordinations and apply to municipal governments to use local parish properties on equal terms with other Christian denominations.
2. That Britain has a ‘Conservative’ government has no effect on institutional habits and reflexes on any level.
Big mistakes abetted by big deliberate lies should have big consequences.
Bill banning vaccinated blood donations would ‘decimate’ blood supply, opponents say
As an alternative to dire consequences: serious jail time for the perps, and generous cash settlements from Big Pharma (else we take it out of their hides)
where there is no vision, the people perish, I though archbishop rowan williams was the worst, but hold my ale,
The Church of England is in the process of dissolving itself. Before too long there will be only bishops with salaries and no worshippers. The Global South organizations are already providing episcopal oversight to dissidents, and they no longer recognize the Archbishop of Canterbury as the leader of the Anglican Communion.
Stan, thanks for the link. I’ve enjoyed F+F for some time.
Here’s Darwin singing Lightfoot’s “Early Morning Rain.” He is an incredible musician. It’s an older cover, but worth listening to again.
Early Morning Rain (Cover) – Gordon Lightfoot by Foxes & Fossils
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL2bRtnAi6U
Banned:
You better start banking your own blood now, because if you get your way (Montana morons), you will never have any surgery or receive any blood products. That is where Panic Whores (Vax fools) lead you.
Don’t worry though, artificial blood is just over the horizon …..
For those who think DeSantis is “GOPe,” read his op-ed in the WSJ today. (I hope this link works.)
https://archive.is/HnXBb
Thanks Kate. The link worked.
DeSantis at least says the words, “…old-guard corporate Republicanism isn’t up to the task at hand.”
_________
This article about crop production and yields is not bad.
Climate Alarmists Keep Getting It Wrong on Crop Production
I believe the author’s claims are solid. However, she dodges the big point which is that the anthropogenic increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has led to large increases in crop yields. If one wishes to look at systematic effects of things like burning fossil fuels, then one must look at all the data, not just the data you like.
Sprouts of daffodils and crocuses and tulips and dwarf irises –started in February.
I even saw deep purple crocus buds then.
I shall watch the progress.
“How did [March] sneak up on us?”
Global warming. Global warming, and Trump.
“Lightfoot’s ‘Early Morning Rain’”
Whew, for a minute there I thought you were talking about Lori Lightfoot.
The Church of England is in the process of dissolving itself.
I think the best option is to have municipal and county governments to be assigned ownership of Church of England properties, the municipalities taking the parishes, rectories, and churchyards, the counties taking the cathedrals and other lumpy pieces. Each would have a segmented endowment. Most segments would be for purposes specified in deeds and these would be financed by private donations and bequests. There would be a final segment for general upkeep. This could be financed by private donations or by bond issues approved by referendum. The referenda would be held in the bloc of municipalities associated with a particular parishes. It could be placed on the ballot by a petition initiative or by a vote of the municipal councils in question (or the county council in question). If approved, the value to be issued would be apportioned among the municipalities in question. The bonds would be issued directly to the endowment and the trustees of the endowment could then rebalance the endowment’s portfolio with market transactions. The income from the endowment could pay for the services of a sexton and for mundane equipment. Discrete capital projects could also be financed by bond issues of this sort.
Time for services could be distributed to local Christian associations and to private families by the municipal clerk through a mix of procedures – auction, lottery, and first-come-first-served. The rectory could be rented out via public auction.
There could be a continuing Anglican association among the locals, with p/t or volunteer clergy and supervision by African bishops via local deans. There are continuing Anglican bodies in North America, some of which are in apostolic succession as Anglicans understand it, some not. The fragmentation of the continuing Anglican strand into tiny sectlets is an unedifying feature of that dispensation. They really should be able to cover the waterfront with two or three denominations.
Kate–
Thank you for the WSJ link– it worked just fine.
The Church of England is in the process of dissolving itself. Before too long there will be only bishops with salaries and no worshippers.
Kate:
Sadly true. At least for me.
I returned to Christianity via the American branch, The Episcopal Church. (Which really calls itself that in those capitals, TEC.)
It was a friendly little church in those halcyon pre-9-11 days, nestled in the Diamond Heights neighborhood of San Francisco, just above the hidden, gem-like valley known as Glen Canyon.
Sure, it was liberal, but I could tell these people were having a good time and doing their level best to be real Christians, so far as I could tell. In those days I was pre-9-11 too.
Then 9-11 happened and I wound up on the wrong side of that line. Members would offer prayers about the terrible darkness which had descended upon America, a nation apparently alone in its evil.
And I became alone.
huxley, I left TEC and found an Anglican parish, which is small but growing. I no longer consider TEC genuinely Christian, although there are still a diminishing number of serious Christians hanging on within it.
Art Deco
And money lenders — the money lenders could set up shop in the empty properties. History repeats. . .
This is what to do while March sneaks up on you — take the February Challenge!
https://accordingtohoyt.files.wordpress.com/2023/02/img-6.png
I no longer consider TEC genuinely Christian
Kate:
You’ve got a point. I went to a different TEC church after the one I mentioned. It had some conservative members, who assured me that their church was not a leftist monoculture and sponsored me as a member.
At an Easter Day picnic I did an informal poll on whether congregants believed in the Resurrection. I mostly got hemming and hawing about the rebirth of spring and it’s a beautiful STORY, but the only two out of seven I spoke with who did believe were ex-evangelicals who migrated to TEC for personal reasons.
Later, as the Iraq War was revved up, that church went fully left. Conservatives got the message that we were basically on par with Nazis, the leadership did nothing, so we left.