Getting Back Into The Swing Of Things -- August 14, 2014

Some data points before I get back into the swing of things:

• first time unemployment claims surge
• President Obama on track to have more golf outings than Tiger
• "the world is exploding all over the place" -- SecDef Hagel
• plans to "cut" the military appear to be on track
• "boots on ground" back in Iraq -- Special Forces and US Marines on the mountain
• price of WTI down but holding its own
• Saudi to flood the market with oil?
• Italy back in recession
• early reports that Germany may swing into recession with -0.2% growth; how are those sanctions working out?
• huge IPs being reported in the Bakken

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Unemployment Claims

• last week's 289,000 revised upward to 290,00
• consensus for this week: 289,000
• actual: surged to 311,000
• mainstream media analysis: everything on track; economy rose; jobless claims continue to close to pre-recession levels;
• four-week average, a less volatile measure, only jumped 2,000, to 295,750
• and Mr Obama is still on vacation

Even The Los Angeles Times is surprised, their headline: jobless claims take surprising jump to 6-week high. (That headline was on the front page of the day's news summary; the headline at the story: "Jobless Claims Rise to 6-Week High, But Remain Relatively Low." I can't make this stuff up. Relatively? UC Irvine? Really?

Cisco will cut 6,000 jobs (8% of workforce).

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Global Economy

first of all, sanctions never work

Italy is in recession

Germany at risk of pulling all of Europe back into recession -- Business Insider

Germany close to recession as ECB admits recovery is weak -- The (London) Telegraph

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Read My Lips

Four score and seven years ago ... : Abraham Lincoln

No new taxes: George Bush I

Brownie, you're doing a heckuva job: George Bush II

I will not send combat troops back into Iraq; that chapter is over: Baraq

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Old Code-Words

Special Forces, US Marines: military advisers

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Old Code-Words

Small regional wars where US military advisers are sent: "projects" -- Baraq Obama as quoted by NBC News.

Back in Air War College, I was introduced to "small regional conflicts (SRC)" and "military operations other than war (MOOTW)" but never "projects."

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US Golfers Ranking: Update

Tiger Woods drops out of top 5

President Baraq O'Bama moves into top 20  

Op-ed in The Washington Times

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Baraq O'Bama To Interrupt Martha Vineyard Vacation

There are reports that President O'Bama will return to Wasshington, DC, this weeken. No one knows why. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out: Bill Clinton knows. From a very, very unreliable source. Don't quote me on this.

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And Through All of This, For Some, There's A Kind of A Hush All Over the World 

There's A Kind of Hush, Herman's Hermits