schachterrific!

Here is the next piece of the puzzle. Now that the economy of south-central US is in shambles, time to head north:

U.S. agency’s action may kill Bucyrus deal, cost 1,000 jobs

Bonus question: How many times can you spot the word “China” in this article?

There is something going on, and its happening on a global scale. Deals are being made ‘under the table’ and the masses have no idea what is coming.

Here is the first piece of the puzzle:

China’s US govt debt holdings hit 2010 high: Treasury

Here is the second (especially paragraph 2)….

Obama Calls for BP Escrow Account

One more for now:

Who is Nalco?

More to come.

Looks like the government is getting ready to nickel & dime small business into submission. I understand their need to collect more money to pay for their massive entitlement programs, but this will definitely kill small business:

The 1099 changes attached to the health care reform bill are another kettle of fish. These massively expand the requirements for filing the “1099-Misc” form, which companies use for recording payments to freelance workers and other individual service providers. Until now, payments to corporations have been exempt from 1099 rules, as have payments for the purchase of goods.

Starting in 2012, that changes. All business payments or purchases that exceed $600 in a calendar year will need to be accompanied by a 1099 filing. That means obtaining the taxpayer ID number of the individual or corporation you’re making the payment to — even if it’s a giant retailer like Staples or Best Buy — at the time of the transaction, or else facing IRS penalties.

In essence, the 1099-Misc is having its role changed from a form for tracking off-payroll employment to one that must accompany virtually any sizeable business transaction.

“Just with business travel it would include hotels, rental cars,” Henschke says. “Phone service: 1099. Computer service: 1099. Whoever does your postage meter: 1099. You do a little advertising, Yellow Pages: 1099. Your landlord: 1099. You might as well just keep them in your pocket and hand them out as you go around every day.”

Just to show that I’m still alive, here’s a sweet little video from the Japanese visual performance group Bosanjo….

Vanishing Point from Bonsajo on Vimeo.

The inimitable Toby Walker….

A lot of people have been claiming that the AARP has sold out their constituency. Well, the evidence is in. And it proves correctly that the AARP suffers from MAJOR conflict of interest. Something many of us have known for a long time…

This week the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced it was investigating Humana for providing “misleading” information regarding the Administration’s proposed cuts to Medicare Advantage policies-and prohibited other Medicare Advantage plans from providing similar information on how Democrat health “reform” could take away their current coverage.

Yet the Administration’s edict prohibiting plans from communicating with their beneficiaries failed to include AARP, which sponsors a Medicare Advantage plan but has been a prime advocate of Democrats’ government takeover of health care-quite possibly because AARP has been supporting a health care overhaul from which it stands to gain overall handsomely.  Even as AARP advocates for cutting Medicare Advantage plans by more than $150 billion, an analysis of the organization’s operations reveals that it stands to receive tens of millions of dollars at the expense of seniors’ medical care-with Democrats’ full approval.

Read more here.

Been too busy to really blog about anything, but these dogs caught my eye. Here today’s distraction….