Back again for a third time, it would seem. The following is now the latest in what I suppose can be called a series, though I haven't named it yet. Previous posts along this theme:

1) Your Economy is in Trouble When the Dollar in Your Hand Loses Value by the Day (March 13, 2008)
2) Anatomy of a Crash (July 13, 2008)

Shortly after that second post, the Feds tried to make it clear that if it came down to it, as much money would be thrown into two companies: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as possible to keep them from going under. The idea was to instill confidence in the two companies which between them back more than half of the $12 trillion mortgages out there. Since then, the stock prices of both companies have fallen by 50% again on extraordinary volume. Obligatory CNBC clip time, with more after the flip:

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I won't take all the credit for this, that'll go to nyceve from DailyKos who made this posting. For those who wonder what exactly the senior Senator from Delaware brings to the Democratic ticket this fall, I present the following samples, just on the other side of the jump.

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After a crazy couple of weeks led to me unplugging myself from a few online outlets for a week, I'd just like to say that I'm not dead - in fact quite alive and soon to start writing again.

In the meantime, while unplugging, I managed to go on a nice trip through the thumb area of Michigan and relax a bit. As introduced in the last account of my Canada trip, I like to take pictures. Why hide that anymore, I suppose. So from here on out when I go on a little photo adventure I'll mention it here. Just because.

So while I write new things, and watch the coverage of the new Obama/Biden ticket, here's some pictures:

( 86 total pictures )

That drip, drip, drip you hear is not a leaky sink in the background, its the torturous political stagnation that are the dog days of summer: Congress is on vacation, the candidates are running out the clock on their campaigns as solo shows, the Olympics are on TV, and most of the pollsters are twiddling their thumbs awaiting the selection of Vice Presidents and the conventions their selves.

Translation: two weeks removed from the last post on this and the polls have moved quite little. If anything, there's been continued solidification of the base on both sides, taking states out of play for the moment until we get past the resolution of the Veepstakes and the Conventions that bookend the start of September.

That doesn't mean there's absolutely nothing to speak of, and below the jump we'll get into just that.

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UPDATE: Georgia claims Russian jets targeted the important BTC Pipeline (the pipeline which is mentioned in this article) [per Reuters]

While the rest of the world is captivated with the Olympics in Beijing, Russia is playing for keeps on its southern border with the tiny nation of Georgia over the disputed South Ossetia region. Heading toward the third day of fighting, it is somewhat impressive that such a small country is picking a fight with such a vast neighbor. Russia isn't unleashing all its might on Georgia but its forces just available in the region compared to what Georgia has as a nation pose a rather daunting challenge for the Georgians. Estimates of force strengths give Georgia 33,000 troops (though the country is calling up reservists), 287 tanks, and 82 aircraft. In the area and presumably ready to deploy, Russia has 100,000 troops, 620 tanks, and 320 aircraft - though 2 of those so far have been shot down by the Georgians.

Russia has escalated the conflict by hitting targets beyond the tiny South Ossetia region. The parcel of land being fought over is not that large: about 3,900 square km. By comparison, just off to Georgia's northeast lies the formally disputed region of Chechnya, which covers 15,300 square km. That conflict showed that Russia is rather determined to hold on to every bit of land it can in the area, especially since the neighboring Caspian Sea holds the world's 3rd largest oil and gas reserves.

That latter fact leads us into some deeper analysis of what may be going on here. Follow the jump, and click on the map.

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In one of the world's long simmering hot spots, the Caucus Mountains on Russia's southern border, things have hit a boiling point today as the nation of Georgia attacked pro-Russia rebels in a break away region of the country known as South Ossetia. A fierce bombardment by the Georgian military on the rebels last night (our time) has been met with instant invasion by Russia, and a defacto state of war between the two countries.

Instead of the invasion causing hostilities to cease, the Russians and Georgians have been engaged in combat, reportedly, with varying reports on the number of troops killed.

The rhetoric is less than encouraging from the Russian side:

A convoy of Russian tanks and troops is reportedly moving toward South Ossetia's capital as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin declares 'the war has started'.

Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: "War started today in South Ossetia when Georgia attacked Russian peacekeepers in the disputed region."

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Kudos. And I give up.

For those just tuning in here, I live in the state of Michigan. As such, I am surrounded on two sides (north and east, a little south if you want to get trivia-esque) by Canada. While I haven't gone recently (a few years) due to a lack of funds, earlier on this decade I would go to Canada when I had the chance - especially when I spent a couple of years in northern Michigan in the tiny city of Sault Sainte Marie, MI, which is a stone's throw from its twin city of the same name in Canada. The border crossing process had usually been rather simple for me, with the most that I got asked is "Where'd you go? How long were you there? Bringing back lots of money? Alright have a good one." I suppose it was a bit naive of me to think that things would go south in the couple of years since I've been to Canada, especially in lieu of revelations that Homeland Security can take your laptop at the border if they feel like it.

Like most things in life you stay naive of it, happily nested in a world of "it can't/won't happen to me" until - sure enough - it does.

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Click here for large version

Ahh now here is a post that can get me into some controversy. With the aid of black marks, hopefully not in any actual trouble.

So after another rather lengthy day at my job, I came home to this letter taped to my front door. Tired and not scanning ahead as I read like I typically do, my reaction was linear and surprising:

- The first line (which is blocked out) named the lawn care company they were. I thought tempting, keeping up on the yard is getting tedious
- I saw the hand-written advertisement for a $15 new customer special. I thought and affordable, too!
- I read "you have probably seen us in your neighborhood. For over 5 years we have been a local, Christian family owned and operated lawn care business. I would have done a spit take if I were drinking something.

I scanned over the rest of the letter but I kept coming back to that line right there, the line about being a Christian family owned and operated lawn care business. As if family owned and operated lawn care business wouldn't have had quite the same reaction. As if Atheist/Muslim/Jew/Hindu/Buddhist family owned and operated would have been notable to mention (and well, living in Detroit's suburbia, separated by race as it is, I suppose it might be of note).

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The prediction series continues on this time around with the first actual decline in the estimated number of electoral votes for Senator Obama since I've started doing this in early June. Delay hitting the panic button yet, however, as it is the usual suspect states (or in this case, state) flipping between leaning one way and the other, as is to be expected probably right up to election night.

Long story short, the numbers this time around are exactly the same as they were two weeks ago, except Florida is slotted under the Republican column this time around instead of the Democratic column.

There's still some tasty data to digest below, however, and I invite you over the jump.

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