According to Bloomberg.com, Volkswagen AG became the world’s biggest company by market value after Porsche SE announced plans to raise its stake in the German carmaker on Tuesday morning on an unusually short selling sitiuation. Volkswagen share price was up 55 percent on this information in Frankfurt trading. The Germany-based Volkswagen has risen more than fivefold this year and is now valued at $370 billion which is now higher than Exxon Mobil Corp which was valued at $343 billion market value at Monday’s market close according to Bloomberg. — LINK
Although I didn’t fill up today, gasoline prices remain surprisingly low giving strapped consumers at least a little breathing room from the high fuel prices just a few weeks earlier. Let’s hope some of the added cash back in consumers wallets helps to stimulate the economy.
I’m not a big fan of Oprah Winfrey, especially after her endorsement of Barak Obama ;-), but I wouldn’t mind having a Kindle in order to pack a few books along with me when traveling. Amazon.com is offering $50 off of the Kindle’s $359 price tag by simply entering the code OPRAHWINFREY at checkout through November 1st. Nice.
Wall Street continues to frighten investors, although today could have been even worse considering the 10% drop in Japan’s markets on Friday and the continued fear that we are heading into a worldwide depression. No longer are we tossing the word “recession” around, but now I’m regularly hearing “depression.” Perhaps this is a sign that the bottom is being reached? Interestingly I listened to someone talking about how the rapid change in energy was one of the catalysts in colapsing the mortgage based crisis, and that the bright spot is that energy, particularly oil, could be the catalyst that helps us recover. The point was that the number of dollars moved from consumer purchases to energy was huge as prices went up, and much in the same way these same dollars are finding their way back into the economy as energy prices (oil) declines. Hmm … today’s price of crude is considerably lower than at its peak — half as much per barrel. The analyst was correct … that’s a huge number of dollars that was being spent by consumers and business alike; will these dollars get circulated in the U.S. and will they be enough to move us into recovery?
Several of my “left leaning” friends continue to tell me that there is no such thing as “media bias” when it comes to politics. I seem to run into a brick wall when attempting to point it out that the vast majority of the mainstream media tends to report against conservative positions and toward those that are left of center. When it comes to politicians, the media does the same thing — they tend to report more positively about Democrats and against Republicans. Of course there are a few decent and fair journalist out there and they deserve a compliment — thank you Kristen Powers, a notable Democrat (see below). I respect her fairness and honesty.
Here’s the recent example that has drawn some attention. It seems to me as if it is being swept under the rug, or at least under-reported: Sen. Obama’s running mate Sen. Biden tells us to “mark his words” about the 47 year old Obama being tested — how would the “mainstream” media have treated Gov. Sarah Palin if she were to say something like this?
Barack Obama‘s choice of Joe Biden as his running mate prompted a small wave ofwarnings about Biden’s propensity for gaffes. But no one imagined even in a worse-case scenario such a spectacular bomb as telling donors Sunday to “gird your loins” because a young president Obama will be tested by an international crisis just like young President John
Kennedy was.
Scary? You betcha! But somehow, not front-page news.
Again the media showed their incredible bias by giving scattered coverage of Biden’s statements.
There were a few exceptions. On MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” co-host Mika
Brzezinski flipped incredulously through the papers, expressing shock
at the lack of coverage of Biden’s remarks. Guest Dan Rather admitted
that if Palin had said it, the media would be going nuts.
So what gives?
The stock answer is: “It’s just Biden being Biden.” We all know how
smart he is about foreign policy, so it’s not the same as when Sarah
Palin says something that seems off.
Yet, when Biden asserted incorrectly in the vice-presidential
debate that the United States “drove Hezbollah out of Lebanon,” nobody
in the US media shrieked. (It was, however, covered with derision in
the Middle East.) Or when he confused his history by claiming FDR
calmed the nation during the Depression by going on TV, the press
didn’t take it as evidence that he’s clueless.
And Biden is the foreign-policy gravitas on the Democratic ticket, so his comments are actually even more disconcerting.
The outakes of his Sunday remarks don’t begin to capture the
magnitude of what he said. After warning the crowd that there would be
some sort of international incident – Biden could think of four or five
scenarios – he told the donors: “We’re gonna need you to use your
influence, your influence within the community, to stand with him.
Because it’s not gonna be apparent initially, it’s not gonna be
apparent that we’re right.”
What does that mean? Obama’s election would provoke an
international incident because of his inexperience and even Obama’s
biggest supporters won’t be reassured by his response?
Then there were Biden’s predictions on the economy: “I promise you,
you all are gonna be sitting here a year from now going, ‘Oh my God,
why are they there in the polls? . . . Why is this thing so tough? . .
. I’m asking you now, be prepared to stick with us. Remember the faith
you had at this point, because you’re going to have to reinforce us.
“There are gonna be a lot of you who want to go, ‘Whoa, wait a minute, yo, whoa, whoa, I don’t know about that decision.’ “
Biden is teling us that, at a time when Americans need to feel
confidence in their government, they will be going “Oh my God.” Not a
great message.
Needless to say, if Sarah Palin said this about a McCain administration, the media world would be exploding.
Whether you believe Biden is exaggerating, as he is known to do, or
is providing real insight, the double standard in the media does even
more damage to their lagging brand.
Part of the problem is their “Obama love,” but we’re also seeing
the media elite’s belief – prejudice – that anyone with an R behind
their name is dumb. So, if they say something dumb, they must
be dumb. A Democrat, like Biden, can make wildly inaccurate or
outrageous comments and they are ignored because the TV and press
insiders feel they “know who he really is.”
On the stump recently, Sen. Biden declared he had “three words” for what the nation needs: “J-O-B-S.”
Lucky for him, his name isn’t Dan Quayle, or that would have followed him for the rest of his career.
Although my wallet has appreciated the significantly lower gasoline prices, the price difference between diesel and gas is being noticed. After my last few fill-ups of my “gasoline” Honda Pilot, I have been breathing a sigh of relieve since they have been $2.35, $2.37 and $2.39, at least in the Cincinnati Ohio area. (although I did have to pay $2.55 in northeastern Ohio this week) Diesel drivers haven’t been as fortunate as their premium has been consistently over $1.00/gallon — Hmm … there goes the 20-30% diesel efficiency advantage.
Australians always seem to do things a bit different, especially when it comes to surf fishing — here’s a video showing them paddling the bait out to Great White Sharks on a surf board in Boat Harbour. Although I enjoy swimming and don’t usually hesitate to paddle around on a surf board, I’m not sure this the the best beach to be doing it on? Maybe using the word “different” isn’t the correct choice — I should have said “crazy.” (thanks for forwarding Joe)
Although I’m a big fan of the new ‘clean diesels’ being produced by several companies, I’ve never like the idea that in order to meet emission standards that ‘some’ diesels require an AdBlue urea system. Basically the $4/gallon liquid is stored in a small tank and is slowly injected into the exhaust stream where it forms ammonia. This ammonia reacts with the NOx in diesel exhaust and converts it to water and nitrogen.
Volkswagen, in keeping their vehicles small, have been able to keep exhaust emissions low enough to be the only diesel vehicle currently sold in the U.S. that does not require AdBlue and the additional injection system. Mercedes, the other major ‘clean diesel’ vehicle producer for the U.S. market, uses the urea based system and the extra tank, injection system and associated idiot light/no-start system. It’s not all that difficult to maintain since the 7 gallon tank can go about 15,000 miles without replenishment; most owners can easily top off their AdBlue tanks when making oil changes or taking their vehicles in for service. But, AutoblogGreen did point out thought that “if you don’t fill that tank” that you could be left stranded. Mercedes diesel vehicles have 20 re-start limit if you permit your tank to run “critically low.” After that, you’ll need to add a minimum of 2 gallons in order to restart your car. Hmm … why not just a ‘creep home mode’ rather than putting owners in a ‘no-start’ situation?
It’s been a very nice sunny weekend here in Southwestern Ohio and the cool temperatures is making it nice to work outside. I’ve been cutting up a few trees while my wife ‘shamefully’ burning is adding to the global warming trend. 🙄
The enjoyable muscle aches and pains remind me of the years starting out when wood cutting and burning kept our home warm all winter — great memories and a good way to keep our heating bills low. (now our fireplace is used just for enjoyment and ambience)
Although the polls and news are not positive for McCain/Palin in many parts of the country, in the area north of Cincinnati Ohio, they are a very popular pair. So when Gov. Sarah Palin stopped in West Chester Ohio across from the local Lakota West High School, she had a great crowd — about 15,000.
She arrive about noon and although I was only driving by on Union Centre Boulevard, I listened to her half-hour speech. The crowd was decent from what I could see and many came out and spent the cool morning waiting in the square. According to news reports, the state of Ohio is a must win for McCain/Palin if they are to stand a chance to win against Sen. Obama and his running mate Sen. Biden. They have 18 days — not much time to convince the few undecided or convert a few moderate Democrats.
Palin focused on several recent Ohio oriented stories: “Joe the Plumber” and ACORN, the community organizing group that is being investigated for potential voter registration fraud (local lawsuit in Warren county).
Gov. Palin was introduced by our local representative, House Minority Leader John Boehner and he was quick to point out that the race was not over. “The media’s been trying to say the race is over for weeks,” said Boehner, whose congressional district includes West Chester. “I’m just going to say, I’ve been all around the country, helping my candidates and my colleagues around the country. We’re in a tough fight, but I’m going to tell you what I told them: Never, ever give up.”
Here’s a partial clip of her speech today …
GOP VP Candidate Gov. Sarah Palin in West Chester, Ohio – 10/17/2008
According to Bloomberg.com, Volkswagen AG became the world’s biggest company by market value after Porsche SE announced plans to raise its stake in the German carmaker on Tuesday morning on an unusually short selling sitiuation. Volkswagen share price was up 55 percent on this information in Frankfurt trading. The Germany-based Volkswagen has risen more than fivefold this year and is now valued at $370 billion which is now higher than Exxon Mobil Corp which was valued at $343 billion market value at Monday’s market close according to Bloomberg. — LINK
Several of my “left leaning” friends continue to tell me that there is no such thing as “media bias” when it comes to politics. I seem to run into a brick wall when attempting to point it out that the vast majority of the mainstream media tends to report against conservative positions and toward those that are left of center. When it comes to politicians, the media does the same thing — they tend to report more positively about Democrats and against Republicans. Of course there are a few decent and fair journalist out there and they deserve a compliment — thank you Kristen Powers, a notable Democrat (see below). I respect her fairness and honesty.
Although my wallet has appreciated the significantly lower gasoline prices, the price difference between diesel and gas is being noticed. After my last few fill-ups of my “gasoline” Honda Pilot, I have been breathing a sigh of relieve since they have been $2.35, $2.37 and $2.39, at least in the Cincinnati Ohio area. (although I did have to pay $2.55 in northeastern Ohio this week) Diesel drivers haven’t been as fortunate as their premium has been consistently over $1.00/gallon — Hmm … there goes the 20-30% diesel efficiency advantage.
Although the polls and news are not positive for McCain/Palin in many parts of the country, in the area north of Cincinnati Ohio, they are a very popular pair. So when Gov. Sarah Palin stopped in West Chester Ohio across from the local Lakota West High School, she had a great crowd — about 15,000.