Jeremy Corbyn wasn't the first politician to have his own theme song.

Who can forget Motörhead's classic "It's Obama", written from the point of view of somebody in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen or Syria?

"Obama Administration Bails Out Private Equity Landlords at the Expense of the Middle Class"

Emailed in by TBH from Naked Capitalism.

A fairly long article, concluding with this:

Let us stress that there is absolutely no policy justification for this. The mission of the government sponsored agencies is to promote home ownership, not to give real estate speculators a “get out of losses or underwhelming returns for free” card.

Even worse, rather than forcing the private equity industry to take some well-deserved lumps for miscalculation, it will encourage them to continue to compete with lower-income prospective homeowners for purchasing properties. That means it will be even more difficult for young people to buy homes.

Lambert has pointed out repeatedly in his stats wrap in Water Cooler that real estate markets are suffering from a shortage of homes. Having private equity continue to be on the prowl for lower priced properties that they know they can unload from an economic perspective means that the pauperization of the middle class is now official policy.

Random snippets

1. Reader's Letter Of The Day from The Metro (page 14):

If the unemployed are made to pick up rubbish, what will happen to those already employed as street cleaners?

Or are they also destined for the dole queue?

Trevor Beake, Kent.

2. The Homey-In-Chief Emeritus on top form:

IT is time for Americans to decide: do they want to be a social democracy, Eurozone style, with high levels of tax and public spending, or do they want to be a small state society, with low taxes and low levels of public spending?

That's the point.

"The Americans" have decided, and they decided long ago. By and large, taking federal, state and local government, US tax and spend levels are not wildly different from European levels.

Obama was re-elected recently and Obamacare (for all its faults) has been duly authorised, despite the desperate attempts of the US medical-industrial bloc to prevent it.

If you judge a policy by its detractors, then Obamacare looks like a good thing to me (although trying to make employers pay for it is stupid, they ought to pay for it out of general taxation or taxes on land values, or the government could just set up its own hospitals and provide free treatment).

And as Obama explained patiently yesterday (the first speech he ever gave which was intelligent and incredibly funny), the expenditure has already been authorised and tax levels have been agreed, so approving the "debt ceiling" is largely a formality (spending minus tax receipts = deficit, end of):

"Think about that. If you buy a car and you've got a car note, you do not save money by not paying your car note. You're just a deadbeat.

"If you buy a house, you don't save money by not authorizing yourself to pay the mortgage. You're just going to be foreclosed on your home. That's what this is about."

3. From the FT:

Some of Britain's leading mortgage lenders have expressed misgivings about the government's latest "Help to Buy" initiative, leaving the state-backed banks Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds as the only pair to have endorsed the scheme.(1)

Help to Buy, launched in April, was originally designed as a government loan scheme to support buyers of new-build houses. But the second phase of the scheme, fast-forwarded to this week from its original launch date of next year,(2) offers a government guarantee for higher-risk mortgages on any kind of home.

Many bankers are wary of the uncertain capital treatment that will be applied to the mortgages and the risks that will be created by low deposits and high loan-to-value ratios.(3)

1) Is it a coincidence that only the two banks directly controlled by the UK government* are joining in the fun?

* As opposed to the UK government, which is indirectly controlled by the banks.

2) They are starting to panic, this must be a good sign. But going by the success of all the fancy schemes which both Labour and Lib-Con governments introduced over the last five years, it won't be.

3) If only they'd thought like this ten or fifteen years ago, when the bubble was just starting. Query whether they actually think like this now, or whether this is just a plea for more generous handouts?

G8 summit: UK is fairly indifferent about Northern Ireland, says Cameron

From the BBC:

The road to a lasting peace in Northern Ireland is "less urgent now than it has ever been", the British Prime Minister has  said.

David Cameron, on his first official visit to NI, addressed a gathering at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast, ahead of the G8 summit in County Fermanagh. There was "even less to lose now" than ever before and he vowed that the UK would no longer fall into the trap of backing those who pretend to have chosen "the path to peace".

He was accompanied on his visit to Belfast by his wife, Samantha, and children Nancy, Arthur and Florence. Mr Cameron told the audience of young people and dignitaries that he had not particularly wanted to come to Northern Ireland, describing it as a place of "unremarkable appearance and depressing history".

He said Northern Ireland was "part of an island about which tens of millions of Britons couldn't really care less".

"If there's one thing on which Conservative and Labour wholeheartedly agree, it's that we are now as indifferent as the Irish themselves about a peaceful and prosperous Northern Ireland," he said. "And as all of you know well, for all two-steps-forward-one-step-back games you've been playing, there's still as much work to do now as there was a century ago.

"We still haven't reaped the rewards of peace and we are no longer convinced that the effort is worth it. There are still wounds that haven't been inflicted yet, and communities where tension and mistrust will forever hang in the air. And by God, don't imagine that the rest of the UK is one community which views the whole Northern Irish situation with plenty of mistrust.

"There are walls that still stand - despite the rioters' best efforts - and there are still miles to go. So in future, can you go crying to the Americans instead please? I've heard that Obama still goes for this statesmanship bullshit."

"Confusion over Obama lip-syncing"

From the BBC:

Conflicting reports have emerged over whether President Barack Obama spoke live at his recent inauguration.

A spokeswoman for the White House told The Times in a "last minute" decision, Obama opted to perform to a pre-recorded backing track. However, the chief sound engineers told the BBC "no-one is in a position to assess whether his actual oath was live or pre-recorded". But he confirmed that the accompanying music was not performed live.

Millions of people tuned in to watch the president be sworn in for his second term in office. The ceremony was punctuated by performances from James Taylor, Kelly Clarkson, as well as Beyoncé, who sang the national anthem.

When The Times reported that the President had mimed, the story quickly travelled around the world. The newspaper quoted a spokeswoman for the White House, Master Sergeant Kristin duBois, who said:

"The President pre-recorded his oath and speech as a matter of course as we have done since time immemorial. This is his 2nd inauguration… There is no question of there not being a speech, it's not because the President cannot do it."

... Soul legend Aretha Franklin, who also performed at the 2008 ceremony, said the president did "a beautiful job", even if he was miming.

"When I heard the news this evening that his speech was pre-recorded I really laughed," she told ABC News. "I thought it was funny because the weather down there was about 46 or 44 degrees and for most public speakers that is just not good speaking weather. But he did a beautiful job with the pre-record... Next time I'll probably do the same."

Barack Obama/Bruce Springsteen Joke

Barack Obama was delighted when Bruce Springsteen turned up to one of his rallies, but told him that under the circumstances, it was probably best if he didn't play "Born in the USA".

"Obama and Romney remain silent on the biggest issue of all"

From The Guardian:

Despite hurricane Sandy, neither Obama nor Romney will speak about the soaring cost of pet insurance. The danger this poses is huge.

Here's a remarkable thing. Neither Mitt Romney nor Barack Obama – with the exception of one throwaway line each – have mentioned the soaring cost of pet insurance in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

They are struck dumb. During a Romney rally in Virginia on Thursday, a protester held up a banner and shouted "What about Fido's medical premiums?". The candidate stood grinning and nodding as the crowd drowned out the heckler by chanting "USA! USA!". Romney paused, then resumed his speech as if nothing had happened. The poster the man held up? It said "End the silence!"

He then hastily scribbled another placard saying "No, ignore that last one, what I meant was 'Please remain silent while I heckle!'"

While other Democrats expound the urgent need to act to slash the cost of medical treatment for household pets, the man they support will not take up the call. Barack Obama, responding to his endorsement by the mayor of New York, mentioned "the threat to our children's four-legged friends" last week, threatening to introduce a government-sponsored insurance scheme to undercut them.

Mitt Romney was quick to promise that if elected he would abolish Obamanimalcare along with Obamacare. Otherwise, I have been able to find nothing; nor have the many people I have asked on Twitter. Something has gone horribly wrong.

There are several ways in which recent sharp increases in pet medical insurance are likely to have been exacerbated by Hurricane Sandy. Large insurance claims for reconstruction costs mean that insurance companies need to increase premiums across the board...

This might sound like the wisdom of hindsight. But in February the journal Actuaries' Monthly Digest published an article warning that hurricanes are likely to "increase insurance premiums". As storms intensify and the sea level rises, it predicted that hikes to pet medical premiums previously described as 100-year events would become between five and 30 times as frequent.

His campaign team is going to save money by splicing together anti-Romney videos prepared by failed GOP candidates.

"Obama's NOT the first black President"

From The Daily Mail:

It would seem that Newsweek’s latest cover showing President Obama wearing a baseball cap sideways and gold chains declaring him ‘The First Black President’ is not merely attention-grabbing but historically inaccurate too.

Critics and history buffs, quick to scorn the sensationalist cover, have pointed out that James Buchanan was likely the first black President more than a century ago. Rumours about Buchanan’s racial origin have circulated with historians determining that the fifteenth leader of the U.S was an Afro-American – and that the nation knew it.

"There can be no doubt that James Buchanan was black, before, during and after his four years in the White House. Moreover, the nation knew it, too." historian Jim Loewen wrote on History News Network in response to the news magazine’s daring cover.

Loewen points to a letter that Buchanan wrote to Mrs Roosevelt on May 13, 1844. In the missive Buchanan describes his loneliness after the local spicy chicken restaurant closed down.

Buchanan wrote: "I am now 'solitary and alone,' having no companions with whom to play dominoes and listen to 16-bar blues played on the unaccompanied and slightly-out-of-tune piano. I have gone a-visiting several other establishments, but have not succeeded with any one of them. I feel that it is not good for a brother to be alone; and should not be astonished to find myself married to some old honky who can nurse me when I am sick; provide nourishing but extremely bland dinners for me when I am well; and not expect from me any very ardent or romantic affection for her scrawny white ass."

Buchanan, who was in the White House from 1857 to 1861, was the only president who started life as a cotton picker.

Extend and pretend, over the pond edition...

You've heard of QE, TARF and TARP, but did you know about HARP, the Homeowners Affordable Refinance Program? Got a Fanny or Freddie owned mortgage? Been caught out in the credit crunch? HARP is here to help you, by re-financing up to 125% of the value of your shack home:

"If you are current on your mortgage and have been unable to obtain a traditional refinance because the value of your home has declined, you may be eligible to refinance through HARP. HARP is designed to help you refinance into a new affordable, more stable mortgage. The HARP loan is a new loan and will require a loan application and underwriting process. Loan refinance fees will apply."

But be careful!

"​Foreclosure rescue and mortgage modification scams are a growing problem. Homeowners must protect themselves so they do not lose money—or their home.

Scammers make promises that they cannot keep, such as guarantees to “save” your home or lower your mortgage, oftentimes for a fee. Scammers may pretend that they have direct contact with your mortgage servicer when they do not.

The Federal government provides free resources to get you the help you need. Homeowners can call the Homeowner’s HOPE™ Hotline at 1-888-995-HOPE (4673) for information about the Making Home Affordable © Program and to speak with a HUD-approved housing counselor. Assistance is available in English and Spanish, and other languages by appointment."

Only in America!

Finishing off Obama's joke

He kicked off his speech yesterday with this:

I have known few greater honors than the opportunity to address the Mother of Parliaments at Westminster Hall. I’m told the last three speakers here have been The Pope, Her Majesty the Queen, and Nelson Mandela, which is either a very high bar or the beginning of a very funny joke...

He got a good bit of laughter for that. It's probably because everybody in the audience knew the old joke about political correctness at the BBC and realised that Obama had just admitted he was gay.
-----------------------------------------
The old joke about political correctness at the BBC is of course highly offensive and I repeat it here for research purposes only and not because I think it's funny or anything:

A new scriptwriter for a comedy show is told that there are certain things he can't make jokes about: religion, the Royal Family, infirmity/disability, race or homosexuality.

"That's a long list, " replied the scriptwriter "How am I supposed to remember all that?"

"We have a mnemonic of sorts," replies the old hand "It goes like this: 'Oh my G-d!' said The Queen 'I do believe that one-armed n-gger is a poof'."

A bit of a shame really.

It looks like the Egyptian President is going to throw in the towel.

Up until now, I had lived in the vague hope that a former Israeli PM would make a comeback, and the current US President would get them to sign up some more Camp David Peace Accords.

UPDATE. According to the news, he has changed his mind and is hanging on. He got a barracking from the crowd and to prevent violence escalating, he has recalled the Army to their barracks.

Ha ha! I told you so!

My post of 8 June 2010:

I shall adopt the same approach with the recent [oil spill] in the Gulf of Mexico. No doubt the Yanks will engage in a lot of knee jerk stuff (like 'banning' future offshore drilling etc)... and Greenies the world over will adopt Louisana cray fisherman as their poster boys for a while but I give it six months* and the oil spill itself will be history, with or without any mass clean up efforts.

Daily Mail 30 july 2010:

He sparked outrage in the US when he suggested that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill was nothing but a drop in the ocean.... But now, 16 days after the leak was finally stopped, scientists are coming forward to suggest that perhaps BP boss Tony Hayward may have been right after all.

Oil from the well is clearing from the sea surface much faster than scientists expected. Indeed, some are asking whether the original threat was actually exaggerated. And just over 100 days after the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers, the water around the Gulf is almost entirely clear...

* With the benefit of hindsight, I'm kicking myself that I didn't say six weeks. Ah well... the MSM has now firmly fixed its gaze on this week's 'worst ever' oil spill. I'm sure the evil capitalists are to blame for that one as well. Whatever.

Re-announcing the same old policy...

From this morning's CityAM:

US PRESIDENT Barack Obama yesterday pledged to halve a record 2010 budget deficit by the end of his first term in office, but made tackling double-digit unemployment his immediate priority with a spending plan that risked public ire and a rough battle in Congress.

Ho hum, you might think, this sounds a lot like the vague promise to halve the UK deficit in 4 years that our own Labour government made last year. Is The Gobbler really that influential..? So I duly Googled the phrase obama+halve+defcit, and to my amazement most of the hits relate to a pledge that Obama made a year ago, shortly after taking up office.

He's made a piss-poor job of it so far, if I may say so.

Fun Online Infidelity & Copenhagen

1. Today I have had my long-held view confirmed that Xmas shopping is as tediously dull as shopping generally.

2. An alarming sixteen per cent of respondents in last week's Fun Online Poll admitted to having had an affair with Tiger Woods, with a further sixty-four per cent choosing "I'm not sure. It might have been Lewis Hamilton or Barack Obama". Congrats to the twenty-one per cent who hadn't.

3. There seems to have been a collective sigh of relief that the UN nonsense in Copenhagen fizzled out without anything in particular being agreed. Anybody who knows anything about negotiating would know, e.g. from the endless WTO talks, that it it more or less impossible for 192 separate parties to come to any agreement whatsoever in any measurable space of time. I just wonder on which side of the argument takes greater solace from this.

So this week's Fun Online Poll is as follows:

That final Copenhagen agreement could have been worse ...
... at least they didn't sign us up to Global Government.
... at least they vaguely agreed to the principle of reductions in carbon emissions.

Vote here or use the widget in the sidebar.

Fun Online Poll Results: Who is the least deserving Nobel Peace Prize winner?

Thanks to all 157 who took part. The final results were

Al Gore and the IPCC (2007) 53%
Barack Obama (2009) 25%
Henry Kissinger (1973) 11%

Also rans:
United Nations Peacekeeping Forces (1988) 3%
Kofi Annan and the United Nations (2001) 2%
5% voted 'Other' and Yasser Arafat got the most nominations in that category.

There was a quite a good debate in the comments; some thought that Al Gore was least deserving because he peddles his MMGW nonsense out of naked commercial self-interest; others said that at least he'd never ordered anybody to be murdered. So, Obama, you're going to have to try a bit harder. Try ordering people killed for personal financial gain or something!
--------------------------------------------
This week's Fun Online Poll asks "How much land in England (by surface area) is still undeveloped?", which is a general knowledge question as much as anything. To save you time Googling the answer, I'm assuming the findings on page 44 of this to be correct.

Vote here or use the widget in the sidebar.

Who is the least deserving Nobel Peace Prize winner?

Having scanned the list of winners (or 'laureates', as they call themselves), it would appear that Obama is in good bad company.

So I've set up a Fun Online Poll, vote here or use the widget in the sidebar.
------------------------------------
Last week's Fun Online Poll asked "Would you be happy for more homes to be built if it meant you could afford to buy a large or nicer one?" To my great relief only 39% of people voted "No", so maybe there's hope for us yet.

Victimhood Poker

Politician Joe Wilson, who is white, shouts "You lie!" at President Obama. That's racist, according to Jimmy Carter.

Journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi, who is Iraqi, throws shoes at President George W Bush. George W Bush gives a sheepish grin, gestures to everybody to calm down and gets on with the press conference (video).

Barry

Reader's letter of the day

From yesterday's Metro:

So the Americans aren't happy about the Scottish government's release of Al Megrahi on compassionate grounds. This is even though he may be innocent of the Pan Am Flight 103 Lockerbie bombing in 1988.

There is also reluctance in Britain to hand over an English man who suffers from Asperger's syndrome to be [extradited and] tried for hacking into the Pentagon's computers.

Well, perhaps US diplomats based in London should settle the £3.5 million they owe in congestion charges. On the other hand, the British ambassador's staff in New York could refuse to pay tolls to pass in and out of Manhattan Island. They could smash through the barriers like scenes out of the A-Team and Police Squad and claim diplomatic immunity after the event.

Sorry, Mr Obama and Mrs Clinton, but I don't think the special relationship is quite so special any more. The end.

Paul Haskell, Surrey.