Our Changing Globe

Posts Tagged ‘Condoleezza Rice’

The latest figures coming in suggest that U.S. builders started work on the lowest number of houses since records began and building permits which are a sign of future projects most likely dropped to a record lows as well.

According to estimates, housing starts fell 2.7 % last month (December) to an annual rate of 605,000 which would be the lowest level since the Commerce Department started compiling data in 1959.

The actual housing-starts report for December is due out on January 22 but signs are that construction of new homes fell 21% in November to a 625,000 annual rate.

After seeing their shares lose over 76% of their value over the last three years, builders are slashing prices to try and compete with the record number of foreclosed properties coming onto the market and those close to Obama say he will inject around $100 billion in financial-rescue funds in an attempt to ease the mortgage crisis.

Delinquency filings are said to have risen by 41% in December from a year earlier and starts and home values in twenty major U.S. cities declined 18% in October which is the fastest rate on record.

Falling house prices make it harder for owners to sell their properties and buy new houses and the combination of slumping prices and rising foreclosures is dragging down optimism among construction companies and even record-low mortgage rates have failed to spur a turnaround in the market.

The average U.S. rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 4.96 % which is the first time it’s ever been below 5%.

Not a bright picture and the number of Americans filing first-time claims for jobless benefits probably rose to 543,000 last week from 524,000 a week earlier.

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Condoleezza Rice Criticizes Cheney For "Cheap Shots," Insists She …

You guys better sit down for this: According to Condoleezza Rice, Dick Cheney is kind of an a******! Of course, the former secretary of state is far too classy to say it outright, but she's obviously rather pissed at Cheney for …

Publish Date: 09/02/2011 17:00

http://jezebel.com/5836840/condoleezza-rice-criticizes-cheney-for-cheap-shots-insists-she-never-cried

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portland imc – 2011.09.11 – Condoleezza Rice Speaking at PSU

Condoleezza Rice Speaking at PSU. On Wednesday, Oct 19th, Former Secretary of State (during the Bush reign) will be giving a keynote speech at PSU. You may recall that this is a lady who had an oil tanker named after her …

Publish Date: 09/11/2011 21:41

http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2011/09/410188.shtml

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Following Obama’s election to the presidency so much has been written about “equality” and “America having finally come of age” etc. but few have questioned if it’s true or even thought to ask what will happen if he fails.

Would Obama have won if the Republicans had been able to put up a more viable candidate.

The answer is probably ‘no’.

Huge numbers of Republicans failed to vote and many that might have voted Republican didn’t vote because of McCain’s age and other factors.

If you question the above then just consider how popular Palin’s rallies were even though her beliefs and stances offended so many.

After her nomination she not only attracted bigger crowds than McCain but often bigger ones than Obama a well.

Just over three years ago Condoleezza Rice was seriously considered in many circles as a possible candidate for the Presidency and we heard similar comments to those that we’re hearing now about Afro-Americans.

But judged by any yardstick, Rice was a disaster.

Whereas I wish Obama well he has little likelihood of success and every chance of failure because the odds are heavily stacked against him.

Even if he does everything ‘right’, Americans will not be feeling any relief from the economic crisis even two years from now and they will have watched people losing their houses and jobs for those two long years.

The result of this prognosis should be plain.

The Democrats would be cast out and Obama would in all likelihood follow them and finish his first term in ignominy.

The question that then begs and answer is, “How long would it then take before America saw another Afro-American Secretary of State or President?”.

I imagine that this so called ‘equality” would be once again delayed for many decades because America was so slow to experiment a first time one can fairly safely assume that it would be much slower to experiment a second time.