Yet another busy day leads to be missing out on the events of the world, let us jump in on a few things that came out today..

Treasure thinks Congress will raise the U.S. Debt Ceiling

Just stop!  Really.

The debt levels in the United States are growing to the point where they will become unsupportable by the Government.  Literally.  The CBO has already reported that, in a few short years (8-ish) the Government may be in a position where paying interest on the debt outstanding will be impossible.

Translation – the country will be bankrupt.

Someone needs to remind Geithner (and Congress) why the debt ceiling is in place.

One more thought on Swine Flu and the Ukraine

Yesterday I had written about the Ukrainian Swine Flu response – it seemed a bit drastic to me for roughly 4% of the population. What I had thought about but didn’t express was, due to the economic conditions of the country,  the Ukraine doesn’t have necessarily have the technology, education and/or to treat and react to an unknown outbreak let alone the swine flu.

Thanks for taking me to task on that.

And this is sad – U.S. Army Suicides reach a new high

The aftermath of the Vietnam war wasn’t the political change, it was the thousands of troops that ended up with untreated mental illness and substance abuse issues.  After putting their lives on the line for a war that, in a number of cases, they did not believe in their government simply left them to fight for themselves when returning to the ‘real world’.

When I see that the Army Suicide rate is higher than the general population I have to wonder if the government is not providing the support the troops deserve – regardless of the active status of the person.

Really, just call it the Titanic

This is one of those stories you read and simply say – “Oh, you know, this isn’t going to end well.”

The largest cruise ship in the world, the 16-deck Oasis of the Seas, found a port of call  in Ft. Lauderdale today.  I know we live in a world of excess but, really, this ship is 40% larger than any other ship on the high seas today.

While I haven’t heard anyone say the ship is unsinkable, with a capacity for 6,300 passengers and 2,100 crew this is almost like a bad made for TV moving waiting to happen.

First India, now NASA

In case you missed it, NASA has confirmed they have found large amounts of water beneath the Moon’s surface.  The first report issued by the Indian space agency stated water was “locked in the soil” and would come and go during the course of a day.  It is interesting to see NASA specifically say beneath…

Without a doubt life is out there, I’m just waiting for the day when NASA (or another space agency) finds life off earth.  I’m not saying aliens, just the very basic definition of life.

My post titled “The Coming Economic Storm” raised a number of questions from readers and the focus was on the movement in gold. My position is world governments moving money out of the U.S. dollar into something physical, a commodity, and gold is one of the resources where they are moving to.

One thing I did not place in my original post was WHY I started to hold this view, let me clear this up before moving on to backing up my position on government actions.

As the stock market recovered from from the March 2009 low I had expected to see the price of gold to move down; however, that did not seem to take place.  Traditionally, when there is uncertainty in the world – or in the U.S. markets – gold would increase in price.  When things would look “good” the price of gold would start moving forward. When it became apparent the price of gold was disconnected from stock market I started to think something else was up.

Now, why is it that I think world governments are moving into Gold and away from the dollar as an investment?

• The IMF is selling 200 tons of gold to India
• China is expected to buy 203 tons of gold from the IMF
• And China has added 454 tons of gold since 2003
• Russia may buy gold and cut rates
• Pundits are now saying gold is going to be currency again
• Gold is finding buyers outside of governments

And what is missing from this picture?  The United States buying gold for their reserves.

It is clear other governments are stockpiling gold, and as a result, other investments are not being funded.

What other investments have you watched fall over the last 8 to 12 months?

The U.S. Dollar.

Right now, it looks as if the U.S. Dollar is marching toward the end of reserve status.  The question is how long will it take.

By Asian nations looking to ‘lead world’ in an EU-style community, does they mean China and India run Asia at the cost of the other nations?

Asian nations discussed plans at a major summit Saturday to “lead the world” by boosting economic and political cooperation and possibly forming an EU-style community.

The prime ministers of regional giants China and India also looked to foster unity on the sidelines of the summit in Thailand after months of trading barbs over long-standing territorial issues.

But nuclear-armed North Korea and military-ruled Myanmar were also set to top the agenda in the royal beach resort of Hua Hin, underscoring the challenges still facing the region.

The European Union is, basically, a French jockey riding a German military horse.  If Asia created a EU style government, I would expect something very similar; however, I have a hard time seeing China giving up political or military control to India (or any other country).

Ok, someone with a background in Pakistani/Indian needs to help me understand what is going on between the two countries at this very moment.  News is coming out that Pakistan is amassing troops at the Pakistani/Indian border but I am not sure I understand the true catalyst for this movement.

I understand the history between the two countries, get the bad blood that exists, but I’m getting the sensation that there is more at work here than the attacks that took place in Mumbai roughly a month ago.

Just to make sure I am not missing something here, let me review.  

1. Attacks in Mumbai take place
2. India accuses militants in Pakistan of staging the attack, and the Pakistani government is not acting appropriately in response
3. Pakistan demands proof that Paki-based militants are to blame
4. Brink of war?

So, what am I missing?

TechCrunch is pointing out how Twitter and Flickr are provided first hand accounts of the terrorist attacks that took place in Mumbai, India.  Yes, there is a quick screen shot of comments and a picture taken by someone who was a witness to the attacks.

While I have no doubt a high portion of the information that was flowing on the Twitter network was incorrect at the time, it seems that some tweets provided were much more accurate than what CNN was providing for their viewers.

It’s very unfortunate that such a tragic event points out how effective social networking tools are. This is what the internet is about.