desktop wallpaper vector

images 2010 desktop wallpaper hd 3d. desktop wallpaper vector. HOME \\\\ Vector Wallpapers
  • HOME \\\\ Vector Wallpapers



  • sands
    08-07 05:25 PM
    A couple drove down a country road for several miles, not saying a word.

    An earlier discussion had led to an argument and neither of them wanted to concede their position. As they passed a barnyard of mules, goats, and pigs, the husband asked sarcastically, "Relatives of yours?"

    "Yep," the wife replied, "in-laws."
    This is hilarious! :)





    wallpaper HOME \\\\ Vector Wallpapers desktop wallpaper vector. desktop wallpaper vector.
  • desktop wallpaper vector.



  • ItIsNotFunny
    03-27 09:02 AM
    10 Reasons to Lobby for your cause (http://www.independentsector.org/programs/gr/10ReasonstoLobby.pdf) (courtesy krishna.ahd)

    For many of us, lobbying is something other people do�people who wear fancy clothes and buy politicians lunch at expensive restaurants. But lobbying, or more simply, trying to influence those who make policies that affect our lives, is something anyone can do. And it is something all of us should do if we believe in a good cause and in a democratic form of government. Read on to find out why.

    ......


    Very nice post.





    desktop wallpaper vector. Free Desktop Wallpapers
  • Free Desktop Wallpapers



  • riva2005
    04-12 01:14 PM
    Its important to understand the root cause for the retrogression. Illegals dont have categories and categories in the EB GCs are there for a reason. It makes a world of a difference for somebody who is EB2 or EB3 if the person was from say.. Bangladesh. If EB2 he is all set if EB3 he will be languishing here. I am EB2 and am in trouble because of CONSULTANTS and yes I have a problem with that.

    Yes, we are all in trouble because of consultants. Nice attitude.

    I can say that I am in trouble because of everyone else in the queue of 500,000 highly skilled H1 and L1 people waiting for GC. Everyone else other than me and my family is causing trouble for me.

    If all others in the queue were to vanish or die somehow,my PD would become current and I can file for 485.

    Isnt that the attitude of IEEE-USA. We are in trouble because of competition from Indian and Chinese professionals.

    They have a problem with Indian and Chinese engineers whether they come here, or dont come here. They have problem with H1B, they have a problem if they dont come here and merely work on jobs in India and China that are outsourced from here to there.

    Just like IEEE-USA has problem with existence of competition, you have problem with the existence of consultants because that sub-community within this community is also asking for Greencards. And your solution is to eliminate competition.

    Consultants can say the same thing...that we are in trouble because of these perm-fulltime jobs holders who stick to one job for 10 years and we have a problem with that.

    How can you justify, with reasonable objective arguments that perm-fulltime jobs holders should be ahead of the queue from consultants and they are more deserving candidates for Greencard than consultants? I am not a consultant myself but I'd like to hear your reasoning behind this. Dont tell me crap that consultants pad their resumes. Everyone does it. Whether its consultants or perm-fulltime jobs holders, and whether its H1B or citizens, EVERYONE who is desperate for a job would pad his/her resume. You would do it too if it meant getting yourself away from filing bankruptcy.





    2011 desktop wallpaper vector. desktop wallpaper vector. vintage desktop wallpaper.
  • vintage desktop wallpaper.



  • xyzgc
    12-20 03:32 PM
    It is possible that India may be loser for some extent in short time. But in case of war India will come out winner if India can win decesively similar to Bangladesh war. The parliment attack or Mumbai attack deserves some military action if India is able to destroy some of Terrorist camps. But by the time India preparing for attack the terrorists will move away from their camps and success rate depends on accuracy of timing and intelligence.

    Actually for the past 20 years Terrorists(and Pakistan) lost battle as they acheived nothing by killing innocents. India became superior and biggest development in last 100 years.That is the main reason for changing tactis. Terrorists supported indirectly by Pak ISI or army tried commando attack. But still Terrorists lost battle as India somehow got some sympathy from USA and other Western Countries. I would tell Pak got frustrated as Terrorists got tired. That is the reason Pak army became reckless and indulging in Mumbai Like attacks. Everything including Kargil Pak got failure. As usual Pakistan media is patriotic to their country and they wrote one side analysis. But their media well aware that Geography of India will be huge advantage to India

    Eventually India has to try to attack Pak with international force(Similar to 9/11) if there will be another major Terrorist attack. I sincerely hope and pray God no such attacks will happen in future.

    My feelings are the same. Terrorism is leading Pakistan to destruction and Zardari knows its not working.
    Initially, Paki funded the proxy wars and now the beasts are out of control.

    India is one smug, complacent giant -terorism is not going to make a dent.
    Most of the indians are indifferent and not afraid of going about their lives.
    In Mumbai, the need for survival is intense, you can't stop people from living their daily lives.

    This whole affair has gotten so much international publicity, its blown up in the face of these Pakis.
    Muslims everywhere are under a lens eye - airports, buses, trains, any public transportation people are immediately suspicious. Its creating an embarassing situation for good muslims all over the world.

    Unfortunately, these good muslims are handful, if you look at Pakistani newspapers some of their intellectual journalists sincerely condemn all of this but the readers hold a diametrically opposite view!
    Fortunately, this will educate the readers, slowly but surely. At least it will make them introspect and retrospect.

    The Bombay mullahs refused to bury the terrorists - they don't want a round of riot, they know they will be butchered and nothing good will come out of it.

    Terrorism is not working man!



    more...


    desktop wallpaper vector. house 2011 desktop wallpaper
  • house 2011 desktop wallpaper



  • hiralal
    06-05 11:48 PM
    here is a superb report ...really worth reading ..
    http://www.scribd.com/doc/14166113/T2-Partners-Presentation-on-the-Mortgage-Crisis4309-3





    desktop wallpaper vector. my desktop wallpaper for
  • my desktop wallpaper for



  • alisa
    12-30 01:05 AM
    If that is true, to complete the circle, you'll also see terrorist attacks, sponsored by India, on innocent civilians in Pakistan. You'll soon get a fitting reply, something which will put the lives of your mom and dad in danger and scare the hell out of them.

    I think you missed my point. Which was that the 'solution' that Mr rinku1112 was suggesting, destabilizing Pakistan by funding dissident groups, is something that Pakistan already suspects India is doing. And there might be some truth to it. So, then, Pakistan would want to fund groups that would try to destabilize India.
    Thats the vicious cycle.



    more...


    desktop wallpaper vector. images desktop wallpaper
  • images desktop wallpaper



  • SunnySurya
    08-05 01:49 PM
    I think he knows quite a bit about the immigration rules. He raised a point that it is merely a guidance. What it means that it can be contested and challenged...unlike if it were a law.

    With all due respect, I totaly disagree with original poster. probably, he needs to know more about immigration rules..





    2010 Free Desktop Wallpapers desktop wallpaper vector. 2010 desktop wallpaper hd 3d.
  • 2010 desktop wallpaper hd 3d.



  • Macaca
    02-01 08:17 PM
    House Democrats Trim Agenda (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/31/AR2008013103857.html) Realities of a Slim Majority and Poor Economy Curb Their Ambition By Ben Pershing | washingtonpost.com, Feb 1

    WILLIAMSBURG, Jan. 31 -- A year ago, newly empowered House Democrats gathered here at the Kingsmill Resort for their annual retreat brimming with confidence. Before them was an ambitious legislative agenda and a determination to end or curtail the U.S. troop presence in Iraq.

    This time around, the hotel and golf courses are the same, but the song is markedly different. Gone is the talk of forcing President Bush to end the war, as is the impetus to pass a comprehensive immigration package and to stick to strict budget rules. Instead, Democrats are thinking smaller, much smaller.

    They hope to leave today with the beginnings of a scaled-down plan to pass a handful of bills in the House -- even if they cannot get through the Senate -- and build a case for November that Democrats have been productive enough to warrant at least another two years in the majority.

    "The agenda is, to some degree, a completion of the agenda that we started last year, as is usually the case in the second year of the Congress," said House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.).

    Presidential election years are traditionally slow on the legislative front, and Democrats have a narrow majority in the Senate. Even in the House, the 290 votes the majority needs to overcome any Bush veto usually are not there.

    Democrats may take their cue from the modest proposals in Bush's State of the Union address this week, which Hoyer called "thin."

    But that does not mean the party's to-do list is blank.

    Democrats need to pass a budget. They want to pass another energy bill. They would like to pump money into the Highway Trust Fund for road projects. They may reauthorize the No Child Left Behind education law. They have to push through appropriations bills.

    Democrats also have not given up on Iraq, though they do appear to be moving away from their so-far-unsuccessful strategy of tying troop withdrawal language to money for the war. Based on the comments of leaders here, any Iraq timeline language that moves this year will probably move separately from funding bills.

    And while Iraq was a huge topic of discussion at the 2007 retreat, the economy is the theme this time around. "That's what this conference is about, a four-letter word: J-O-B-S," said House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel (Ill.).

    The House is waiting to see what the Senate does with the stimulus plan it passed this week, and a second package could be on the way soon.

    Of the House-passed stimulus bill, Hoyer said, "Our effort was not the perfect, but it was the possible, and that's what we're going to be focused on."

    The same could be said of the party's broader agenda.

    Technically, Democrats do not call this gathering a "retreat." It is an "issues conference." But the mood is not entirely serious.

    Emanuel loosened up the crowd at Wednesday night's dinner by showing a popular YouTube video -- "My kids found it," he explained -- of a teenage boy sitting in his room lip-synching a Will Ferrell impersonation of Bush. The assembled lawmakers roared along with the video.

    The attire is also decidedly casual. Some members are strolling around in jeans; others have gone for the menswear-ad blazer-and-khakis combination. A colorful array of sweaters has been on display; House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.) met with reporters wearing a blue pullover emblazoned with "South Carolina. Smiling Faces. Beautiful Places."

    While Kingsmill offers a wide variety of spa treatments and "wellness" services, members here have a full schedule of panel sessions on weighty policy topics. They heard governors talk about state budgets and chief executives address the environment and infrastructure. A speech by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke is the main event Friday.

    Clyburn, an avid golfer, lamented that he has been coming to Kingsmill for a decade for official functions but has never had the chance to hit the links -- often because of bad weather -- despite the presence here of four separate courses designed by such golf luminaries as Arnold Palmer and Curtis Strange.

    But Clyburn said he is determined to get out on the greens today. Right after that Bernanke speech.



    more...


    desktop wallpaper vector. Create Postcard From Vector
  • Create Postcard From Vector



  • seattleGC
    02-21 11:24 AM
    He is such nut job that he is not worth talking about.





    hair vintage desktop wallpaper. desktop wallpaper vector. Setting as Desktop wallpaper
  • Setting as Desktop wallpaper



  • nogc_noproblem
    08-07 02:22 PM
    You Work in Corporate America If...

    You sat at the same desk for 4 years and worked for three different companies.
    Your company welcome sign is attached with Velcro.
    Your resume is on a diskette in your pocket.
    Your company logo on your badge is applied with stick-um.
    You order your business cards in "half orders" instead of whole boxes.
    When someone asks about what you do for a living, you lie.
    You get really excited about a 2% pay raise.
    You learn about your layoff on CNN.
    Your biggest loss from a system crash is that you lose your best jokes. :p
    You sit in a cubicle smaller than your bedroom closet.
    Salaries of the members on the Executive Board are higher than all the Third World countries' annual budgets combined.
    You think lunch is just a meeting to which you drive.
    It's dark when you drive to and from work.
    Fun is when issues are assigned to someone else.
    Communication is something your group is having problems with.
    You see a good looking person and know they're a visitor.
    Weekends are those days your significant other makes you stay home.
    Art involves a white board.
    You're already late on the assignment you just got.



    more...


    desktop wallpaper vector. HOME \\\\ Vector Wallpapers
  • HOME \\\\ Vector Wallpapers



  • Ramba
    07-14 03:44 PM
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    It is very understandable the frustration of Eb3-I guys. The reason is very simple; supply Vs demand; nothing more nothing less. Both EB2 and EB3 gets about 40K visas per year. Since worldwide demand for EB3 is extremely very high, India gets abot 3000 visas per year. However, there is not much worldwide demand for EB2 visas, India and and China gets all spill over in EB2 catagory plus unused visas from EB1. This makes availability of visas in Eb2-for India and China is very much higher than EB3. I guess about 30 to 35K (out of 40K) visas goes to EB2 for both India and china. However in Eb3 both In and China gets 3K each. Just compare 30K vs 3k.

    Study the visa statistics for last 10 years at DOS website. http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/st...tics_1476.html
    Then, one can easily unserstand the demand for EB3 in worldwide. The reason is, unfortunatly EB3 has professionals and skilled workers catagory. There are thousands of skilled workers (who has just two years working experince with out much education) are in demand for EB3 numbers every year accross the world. This makes the availablity for India is just 3000. 1500 restarunt cooks with their dependents from India is sufficient to consume one year quota in Eb3. Thatswhy India stuck in 2001. It will be like that in future too. It will be in snail phase.

    So, it is not the DOS or CIS or DOL determines the movement of cutoff dates. It is the INA that contolls the allocation. DOS is just doing their job.

    The INA does not address how to give prefrence to a EB3 Indian guy with PD in 2001 with EB3-ROW guys with PD 2007. Every year EB3-ROW pours tons of new application. The demand from ROW will not dimnish, so India will get only 3000 by the virtue of increasing new demand by ROW form easch passing years. A ROW guy with PD 2007/2008/2009 will be in preference than a EB3 guy from India with PD 2002. Therefore there should be a mechanism to balance this effect. Unfortunatly there is no provision in INA. So, DOS may not help to overcome this, as DOS is a just a implementer of INA.





    hot house 2011 desktop wallpaper desktop wallpaper vector. American Flag Vector
  • American Flag Vector



  • gcbikari
    08-06 01:36 PM
    Bihar Driving License...

    DRIVING LICENSE APPLIKASON PHOROM
    ------------------------------------------ -----------------------


    NOTE: Please do not soot the person at the applikason kounter.
    He will give you the licen.
    For phurthar instructions, see bottom applikason.


    1. Last name:

    (_) Yadav (_) Sinha (_) Pandey (_) Misra (_) Dot no

    (Check karet box)

    2. First name:

    (_) Ramprasad (_) Lakhan (_) Sivprasad (_) Jamnaprasad (_) Dot no

    (Check karet box)

    3. Age:

    (_) Less than phipty (_) Greater than phipty (_) Dot no

    (Check karet box)

    4. Sex: ____ M _____ P(F) _____ not sure _____not applicable

    5. Chappal Size: ____ Lepht ____ Right

    6.Occupason:

    (_) Politison (_) Doodhwala (_) Pehelwaan (_) House wife (_) Un-employed

    (Check karet box)

    7. Number of children libing in the household: ___

    8. Number that are yours: ___
    9. Mather name: _______________________

    10. Phather Name: ____________________ (If not no,leave blank)

    11. Ejjucason: 1 2 3 4 (Circle highest grade completed)

    12. Dental rekard:

    (_) Ellow (_) Berownish-ellow (_) Berown (_) Belack (_) Other -__________
    Give egjhakt color

    (Check karet box)

    13.Your thumb imparesson :
    ____________________________

    (If you are copying from another applikason pharom, please do not copy
    thumb impression also. Please
    provide your own thumb impression.)

    PELEASE DO NOT USE PHINGERS OF YOUR LEGS

    Use thumb on y our lepht hand only. If you dont have le pht hand, use your
    thumb on right hand. If you do not have right hand, use thumb on lepht
    hand.

    NOTE: IF YOU DONT HAVE BOTH HANDS, YOU CANNOT DRIVE.

    WE ARE VARY ISTRICT ABOUT THIS .



    more...


    house hot desktop wallpapers. Vector desktop wallpaper vector. 2011 Nature Wallpaper Desktop
  • 2011 Nature Wallpaper Desktop



  • pmpforgc
    06-08 12:41 AM
    It is very nice discussion.

    I am in process of buying forclosure home in SUWANEE ( Atlanata) area. I based on my survey and research feel that I am getting good deal(175 K price for 2800 sqft, 2004).by th


    Recently interest rates are gone up. Does any one has any idea that it will come down in a week or two due to possible federal intervention to keep houising going further down? can some one point to the relevant articles?

    Also if you know this area and have any reference for the good lenders?

    Also any points to keep in mind while buying foreclosure? apart from routine home inspection, termite inspection etc. Does survey is required for lot and property?

    Also is it good to put higher down payment or not? How much is better to put, assuming no financial constrain. Is it wise to put 20% down or not? Is it wise to purchase points to get interest rates down?

    Thanks for your continuing suggestions and discussions.





    tattoo my desktop wallpaper for desktop wallpaper vector. Vector wallpaper 02
  • Vector wallpaper 02



  • fide_champ
    03-22 12:17 PM
    my greencard is filed under EB3 category and it looks like a long wait. My PD is 2003 Nov and i am an indian. We've been debating whether to buy a house when 485 is pending. what is the risk involved? how many people are in a similar situation? I have twin boys and they are 3 yrs old now and it's getting increasingly difficult to keep them in an apartment. Now with housing market going down as well, we are in a tight spot and have to make a decision quickly. I would appreciate any suggestion in this regard.



    more...


    pictures images desktop wallpaper desktop wallpaper vector. Vector Fish desktop wallpaper,
  • Vector Fish desktop wallpaper,



  • sanju_dba
    06-23 03:29 PM
    As of now Single Family Dwelling &Condos owned by corporate ( like banks , invest companies ) is 3.9%.





    dresses American Flag Vector desktop wallpaper vector. Vector surf desktop wallpaper,
  • Vector surf desktop wallpaper,



  • SunnySurya
    12-18 10:45 AM
    Right, And u must the the enlightened one. And what do you mean by science: physics, chemistry , math or biology or theology

    Is there a difference between god and a religion. I have heard lots of bulls saying " religions are ways to get to the same god" . If that was true then preachers of Islam would not have preached to convert every one to Islam by force or otherwise.

    They would not have preached the following:
    WA ILAHU KUM ILAHUN WAHIDUL LA ILAHA ILLA HU WAR RAHMAN UR RAHEEM
    -- In other words, there is no god but Allah (implying gods of Jews, Christians, Hindus etc do not matter)
    or
    INN AL LAZEENA KAFAROO WA MA TOO WA HUM KUFFARUN ULAIKA ALAI HIM LA NAT ULLAHI WAL MALAAIKA TI WAN NASI AJMAEEN
    -- Meaning : Those who disbelieve, and die while they are disbelievers; on them is the curse of Allah and of angels and of all mankind.
    Now, because I don't share your "ideas" you want me to be cursed. What kind of God will do that.

    Allaha has 100 names including the names like Saboor (99th), Rasheed (98th), Waris (97th) etc. But where are the names of the Gods that others beleive in.

    You are saying all this out of sheer ignorance and you yourself dont know what you are speaking about your own creator. If you know little science you will go away from religion, if you know more science, you will come towards religion. You are a victim of the former.



    more...


    makeup Create Postcard From Vector desktop wallpaper vector. hot desktop wallpapers. Vector
  • hot desktop wallpapers. Vector



  • alisa
    12-26 11:16 PM
    Wow!!

    So, what exactly does the state and the country of Pakistan gain by starting a war with India?

    In modern times, wars between nations are not started in days or weeks. Wars are not based on one event. There is a systematic three stage process to go to war and for a nation to convince the majority of the society/nation that the other guy is pure evil and your mortal enemy. Society in Pakistan is based on their haterade towards Indians. For many years children in Pakistan were taught that Indians are evil, their belief system is barbaric, and their existence means that Islam is in danger. That was the reason some of us saw posts on this forum talking about sati system in Hinduism or some others Pakistanis saying that Hindus are attacking Muslims in India, and then other Pakistanis talking about Modi, VHP and Bajrang Dal. The first step for creating a war involves propaganda within the population of the country that your enemy is evil. Pakistan has been doing this preparation very systematically for sometime.

    Second stage to go to war involves finding a reason after the decision has been made to go to war. In this stage, one has to come up with a reason and then waits for the trigger to create the reason to go to war.

    The third and final stage to go to war involves invoking the trigger, which will create a flash point for the war, and so the war begins. Mumabi was that trigger.

    The reason why I am saying this is, because someone wrote on this form "don't be a war monger". You see, we are not creating a war. The war is being forced on us. To defend oneself is not "war mongering". Our willingness to live in peace and harmony should not become our weakness such that someone openly and deliberately attacks the population of our country. I do not hold any false sense of myth of nationalism hosting the flag. But when war is forced upon us, there is no way we can run away from it.

    For a moment, just imagine, what would have happened if Mumbai attacks were done in China as "Beijing attack", or if Pakistani terrorists would have attacked Iran and they were "Tehran attack" or for that matter an attack on any country in Europe or say US. How will any other country China, Iran, UK, US, France, Germany, and score of other, how will these countries respond to the attacks like Mumbai attack? There is only one way to reply to such attacks. Respond swiftly and with full force. Personally, I believe that 30 days is too late to respond. I believe that response has to come before the ashes of the dead is still hot. Otherwise, justice hasn't served, because justice delayed is justice denied.

    If the war begins, this will be my last post.

    Adios


    .





    girlfriend Vector wallpaper 02 desktop wallpaper vector. 2011 desktop wallpaper vector.
  • 2011 desktop wallpaper vector.



  • swarnapuri
    02-21 02:41 PM
    Guys don't click the link or read the article(IT IS FULL OF BS). It will only make his article to move to the most popular article list.





    hairstyles HOME \\\\ Vector Wallpapers desktop wallpaper vector. Create Postcard From Vector
  • Create Postcard From Vector



  • pappu
    08-05 08:41 PM
    Can someone note the

    - Best funny post on this thread
    - Best post of the thread
    - Worse post of the thread

    for the 3 awards and I will go through just those 3 posts and close the thread. :D

    I will open the thread once Rollling_flood files the lawsuit:D.

    What do you say?





    Macaca
    05-09 05:44 PM
    Still, Sometimes, a Great Nation (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/07/us/07iht-currents07.html) By ANAND GIRIDHARADAS | New York Times

    The commando who shot Osama bin Laden just above the left of his doe eyes could forever remain a ghost to Americans. His name may never be revealed; his tell-all may never be written; he, unlike other American eminences, may never be featured on �Celebrity Apprentice.�

    But this ghost is a hero to a nation in need of a little stimulant. For many Americans this week, it was at once grisly and lovely to receive a reminder, courtesy of a revenge killing, that American vigor still has its moments.

    These have been tough years for American power: years of a sick economy that cannot easily be healed; of wars that cannot, tactically or definitionally, be �won�; of new powers that have risen under the shelter of the Pax Americana and now will not be told what to do. Great numbers of Americans now fear that their children will not lead lives as bounteous and carefree as theirs.

    And then there they were: dropping from their ladders, clearing and holding corridors, shooting to kill, escaping before anyone could interfere. The unseen scene resonated so well, perhaps, because Americans have been trained to know what it looked like. This, at least as the White House narrated it, was a standard-issue action movie midnight raid.

    A raid of this dramatic kind is one of those things at which America remains unrivaled, in cinema and in real life. And so it was a moment to relive a feeling of unmitigated American supremacy. In this domain at least, there is no country like America on earth.

    The trouble with the killing of Bin Laden, though, is that the triumph is an island. Victory in Abbottabad does not foreshadow greater victories in Iraq or Afghanistan, or over terrorism in general. As in so many areas of American life today, the country can do spellbinding things no other one can do, but it often struggles to perform the more prosaic feats on which its long-term fate may more heavily depend.

    Consider the realm of technology, in which America, once again, has the finest elite commandos: Google, Facebook, Twitter, Netflix, Apple, Pandora. Time and again, when breakthrough technologies come, they come from America. What is the chance of a Chinese search engine displacing Google, or a game-changing device like the iPhone sprouting in France?

    And yet America does not lead the world technologically in the more prosaic ways. It does not have the best or most cost-efficient mobile phone networks. The average American Internet hookup is two and a half times slower than that in South Korea. The country lacks adequate retraining programs to move people from waning professions like telemarketer and sewing machine operator into new roles in the technology sector.

    It is the same with education. America is home to the greatest concentration of research universities in the world, with the best laboratories and faculties as well as, arguably, the top students. More Nobel laureates inhabit certain American campuses than live in certain moderately sized countries.

    But beyond the elite corridors of American education, it is a different story. Last year, the results of the standardized Program for International Student Assessments, given to 15-year-olds worldwide, found the United States behind 16 other countries in reading and 22 in science. In response, the American education secretary, Arne Duncan, spoke of �the brutal truth that we�re being out-educated.� And that was before the recent round of budget cuts and teacher layoffs across the country, which might well make it even harder for America to be middling in the world.

    And so it is in health care, where America has, at one end, the Mayo Clinic and the Cleveland Clinic and Massachusetts General Hospital, which the richest patients in the world still choose over most alternatives; and, at the other end, tens of millions of uninsured people, a condition that is all but unique in the industrialized world.

    So it is with immigration, where the United States continues to attract the brightest immigrants in the world, while failing year after year to resolve the massive and messy question of illegal immigration. So it is with banking, in which the United States is the leader in employing complex transactions like credit-default swaps, but has struggled with the more basic task of pairing businesses with loans.

    The commandos of Abbottabad are, then, like the commandos in any number of American fields � elite troopers who play at the highest levels in the world, but whose successes are wholly their own, not easily replicated beyond their little world.

    This duality of the world-beating Americans and the world-trailing ones perhaps suggests an emerging reality of U.S. life after globalization: It may be that America the country can remain vitally competitive, even as vast numbers of Americans � perhaps a majority � have a lower quality of life than prevails elsewhere. As with the U.S. Navy Seals in Pakistan, so dynamic is America�s elite that its dynamism can offset the lagging behind of others. If a country gains a $20-million-a-year hedge fund job and loses 400 $50,000-a-year industrial ones, after all, its national income figure stays the same.

    But there is the problem of the 400 people � and of the 40,000 and the 40 million. There is a sense in many corners of America of there no longer being space for the ordinary, a sense of the collapse of the middle. Parents find themselves wondering how hard to push their children in this dawning age: wondering how clever and focused and dogged they will have to be to remain ahead of the world rather than chase behind it.


    Memo to India, China: The U.S. Still Matters (http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2011/05/09/economics-journal-memo-to-india-china-the-u-s-still-matters/) By Rupa Subramanya Dehejia | IndiaRealTime
    Free trade agreements don�t kill jobs (http://dailycaller.com/2011/05/04/trade-agreements-dont-kill-jobs/) By Ryan Young | The Daily Caller
    If You Have the Answers, Tell Me (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/08/business/economy/08view.html) By N. GREGORY MANKIW | New York Times
    Woman of the World (http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2011/06/hillary-clinton-201106) By Jonathan Alter | Vanity Fair
    What�s a college education worth?
    Engineering and accounting degrees may provide most opportunity (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/whats-a-college-education-worth-2011-05-03)
    By Jennifer Openshaw | MarketWatch
    The Best Cities For Jobs (http://blogs.forbes.com/joelkotkin/2011/05/02/the-best-cities-for-jobs/) By Joel Kotkin | New Geographer
    Firms Feel 'Say on Pay' Effect (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704473104576293140070753066.html) By JOANN S. LUBLIN | Wall Street Journal
    As Labor Costs Rise, Spotlight Is on Benefits (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704473104576293583385838072.html) By JOE LIGHT | Wall Street Journal





    mbartosik
    04-08 10:40 PM
    I remember the 1990's UK housing crunch
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7336010.stm

    I often call the British "mortgage slaves", that was actually a factor in my move here. I could see people putting every penny they earned into their mortgages. When my parents bought their house 35 years ago, you had to put a hefty deposit down. After the housing crunch of the early 1990's which really killed off the economy (largely because people could not move to where the jobs were because of negative equity). I saw the same happening there again. Even being well paid in the UK does not mean that you can afford more than a cardboard box. Whenever interest rates drop there, housing prices shoot up, I considered an interest rate drop to be a disaster. The majority of the population thought that high house price inflation was great, but didn't consider that either the bubble must burst or their children will never be able to afford a house. People just pay the same percentage of salary into mortgage when interest rates are low, so prices go up. In the UK fixed rate loans are not the norm like here, more normal would be a 35 year variable rate loan (up from 25 years in 1980's). So when interest rates go up people are crippled. I see the UK economy as being underpinned by the emperor's clothes. People get 35 year variable rate mortgages for 125% of value on a salary when they can barely cover interest let alone capital, if one of them (assuming couple - because single cannot afford house) loses job they are screwed.

    In the UK a house I could afford would be about 1000 sq ft. Here my house is 1800 sq ft (nicely sized but not McMansion), and net zero energy -- with a huge amount of solar power and ground source heat pump heating http://tinyurl.com/2jzbfq

    Then around 2002 I saw the same starting to happen here. I must have brought the British disease here with me!! :eek:
    I should have been quarantined :eek:

    So other than a rant what's my point:
    * Buy something that you can afford, without becoming a mortgage slave.
    * Buy something that you really like.
    * Buy something that you are prepared to live in for a long time.
    * Think of your house as your home, not an investment (or at least a very long term investment -- like 10 years plus).
    * Use the down housing market to your advantage to find something that you really like (without over extending yourself).
    * You decide what you can afford, but the bank or Mortgage broker. Mortgage broker tried to tell me that I could afford more, I told him where to go, I want to live not just pay mortgage. I would recommend not going above x3 salary or x2.5 for a couple.

    If you think this way market timing is less of an issue. It is hard to judge the market timing just right in any market.

    Being an energy saving geek, I also recommend buying something with a large south facing roof (for lots of solar panels).



    Total Pageviews