The internet bubble of 2000 was the worst point of overvaluation for the S&P 500 in its history. Having averaged 16 times cyclically adjusted earnings since 1881, the market soared to 44 times, well over twice normal levels. The losses and forgone returns since then have caused many investors to question whether the long-term history of equity returns is relevant any more. While this is an understandable reaction, it is the wrong one. The last 12 years have been part of an essential healing process for U.S. equities, and have brought valuations down from 44 times normal earnings to 21 times. As we analyze equity returns, this means the healing process is not yet done, and the U.S. equity market is likely to continue disappointing investors for a few years longer.

Reports of the death of equities have been greatly exaggerated!

Much of the debt will have to be written off. Whether this done by inflation (1945-1952) or default (1930-1934) will be the great political battle of this decade. Pick your side. Pick your history.

This essayist lays the smack down.

Five years on, the Great Recession is turning into a life sentence - Telegraph

In the United States, consumer confidence improved to 65.9 in July of 2012 from 62.7 in June of 2012. Historically, from 1967 until 2012, the United States Consumer Confidence averaged 93.3 reaching an all time high of 144.7 in January of 2000 and a record low of 25.3 in February of 2009.

United States Consumer Confidence

On Sunday night I hosted a live broadcast with contributors from CTTechJunkie.com and NASASpaceflight.com to watch the landing live.  We brought in footage provided by NASA, including their live feed of the landing. NASA footage is released into the public domain and can be freely used by anyone.

I just came home to my inbox filled with dispute claims from no less than FIVE news organizations claiming this footage as their own.

Remember kids, there is absolutely no problem whatsoever with fraudulent claims of copyright theft on the Internet. The people who opposed SOPA didn't do so because of a legitimate concern about fraudulent claims of copyright theft, they did so because they hate artists and they are making a living off of stealing from them.

Lon Seidman - Google+ - Wow now I'm really getting angry over this Content ID…

For purposes of SF vitality, and as a kind of promotional move, I’ve decided to put a full copy of my Complete Stories online as a free HTML page.

Rudy Rucker's Complete Stories Online | Rudy's Blog

Although I came to Antarctica for science, choosing to overwinter in Antarctica is ultimately a personal journey: Only in the deepest, darkest depths of the Antarctic winter can you find answers to questions you would otherwise never think of or choose to face. You dredge the ocean’s depths of your own mind. It is easier on your body than on your mind, even at 3,800 meters equivalent altitude, having run out of fresh food and living without sunlight for over three months. In overcoming the many challenges during the long polar night, you learn things about yourself that you may not like. A real test of your character and those around you is how you choose to deal with such challenges.

Our future in space is robots exploring the solar system (and there is much to explore) and NOT humans traveling to Mars. Our national policies should reflect that.

In Antarctica, Dreaming of Mars - NYTimes.com

These weather events are not simply an example of what climate change could bring. They are caused by climate change. The odds that natural variability created these extremes are minuscule, vanishingly small. To count on those odds would be like quitting your job and playing the lottery every morning to pay the bills.

Climate change is here — and worse than we thought - The Washington Post

"This summer people are seeing extreme heat and agricultural impacts," Hansen says. "We're asserting that this is causally connected to global warming, and in this paper we present the scientific evidence for that.

Previously this year's weather pattern was connected with the sun spot cycle. This is the first time I've heard someone seriously assert that it was a consequence of climate change.

NASA GISS: Research News: Research Links Extreme Summer Heat Events to Global Warming

Fusco's unit was one of 11 that were individually owned; another 97 were rental units. When the owner of the rental units failed to pay his mortgage, a company under the control of local developer Kevin Timochenko snapped all of them up for $7,200 at a foreclosure auction.

The purchase gave Timochenko's company, Water Polo I, LP, control of nearly 90 percent of the units of the complex, arming it with enough votes to dictate condominium association policy. Soon after the purchase, Fusco and her fellow homeowners received a letter informing them that, come January, condo association fees would more than double, to $450 a month.

Anxiety over raised assessment fees paled in comparison to what happened next: The new condo owner called a vote to terminate the condo association altogether.

Under Section 3220 of the Pennsylvania Uniform Condominium Act, when a condominium is dissolved, the condo association can put the entire condominium up for sale, regardless of who owns the individual units. So in acquiring control of the condo association, Water Polo I also gained the right to sell Fusco's home.

The buyer? Another company controlled by Kevin Timochenko.

It might not have been so bad if Fusco and the other owners got paid what they believed their homes were worth. Pennsylvania law states that in the event of a condominium sale, unit owners have the right to the fair market value of their homes as determined by an appraiser selected by the condominium association. That means that even though Fusco's unit had been valued at $101,000 by an independent appraiser earlier this year, she would get only the amount determined by the appraiser hired by the condominium association.

These stories are not acceptable.

I am absolutely shocked by this. This is beyond the pale.

'This Is Crazy': Company Snatches Condos From Owners | AOL Real Estate

How to drive responsible consumers into bankruptcy:

1. Company A builds Condo building. Sells some units to consumers at normal prices.

2. Market collapses. No one is willing buy the remaining units.

3. Company B buys the remaining unsold units at firesale prices.

4. Company B is now the majority homeowner in the building and controls the HOA.

5. Company B votes to raise HOA fees through the roof, creating a massive financial burden for the remaining minority residents.

6. The remaining residents cannot sell their units because the market has collapsed and they cannot reasonably afford the HOA fees. They are left with no choice but immediate foreclosure.

7. Company B makes short sale offers on the properties, hoping to collect the whole building.

This is one of the most fucked up stories in this housing mess.

Atlantic Station condo owner: HOA fees more than mortgage - CBS Atlanta 46