The Censoring Continues

Haven't posted on Taiwan issues in a while, but it's the same old same old. Everyday, more stories about how people who have opinions that differ from the KMT-line, are continued to be silenced and unfairly treated. It's textbook fear tactics to maintain political control- suppress and bring down anyone who dares to voice an opinion other than the ruling party.

The recent bill to alter the "Assembly and Parade Act" is just a show to appease the previous protestors, including the "Wild Strawberry" students who protested for a change in the current Assembly and Parade Act. Yes, the petty bickering and fighting tactics of the Taiwan Legislative Yuan is petty and stupid. But, (and no, I'm not justifying it) what else can the DPP do to attempt to block bills? The KMT have full control, and are unwilling to let the voice of the people be heard. So the only form of protest that the people actually have-- is to protest on the streets. The KMT obviously no longer holds deep regard for their leader Dr. Sun Yat Sen's, Principle of Democracy-- stating that the people should have the right to referendums, among other things. So, the opposition party is left to rally on the streets.

What does the KMT do then? It decides to formulate a "new" bill that claims to improve upon the previous, but in actuality- allows more room for discouraging rallies and protests from happening. For example, slapping a $50,000NT fine on the organizers if they do not properly disclose what they will do, where they will go, etc.

Is this really how Taiwan will end? At the hands of the KMT with a larger percentage of Taiwanese who actually do not want to unify with China? It's okay to be wrong, but it's not okay to stand by and watch as the president and party you voted for, takes not only your money, but also your livelihood away.

Much coverage on the blogs already about the student protestors in Tainan getting mobbed by mobs/gangsters. Holding signs and shouting in public is now due for a beating. Michael Turton over at, The View From Taiwan, always with spot-on commentary on Taiwan news and issues has much of the story about the students covered. Check it out to feel even more sad about the state of Taiwan. May 17th is the rally against Ma's policies. Some information about the rally can be found here, but briefly quoted from the article:

The four demands in the May 17 rally are to safeguard Taiwan, protect sovereignty, save unemployment, and care for minority groups, said DPP.

Participants will gather at 2 pm on May 17 in four places in Taipei including National Taiwan University entrance, Chungshan Soccer Stadium, Ding-Hau Plaza in east district, and Wanhua Train Station. The march will commence at 3 pm and all groups are expected to assemble at the Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office at 5 pm, according to DPP.

I'll be out there on the 17th, snapping photos and trying to avoid getting beat down by any gangsters.

BTW: There's pretty much only two places to get non-KMT slandered English news about Taiwan, www.taipeitimes.com, as well as Taiwan blogs. It's fascinating to me to see that there are hardly any (actually I've never seen one) pro-KMT blogs that are frequently updated. Anyone care to point me to one?

Took The Loss

And we make it above 900 SPX. More upside may be in-store, although getting long here may be late-game. I have exited all front-month puts. Capitulation on my part, nothing I could do.

A Top May Be Near

I've got bulls breathing up my sides now, and there are certain things that cause me to think, wow, everyone is getting bullish. I just had another comment made to me about this, and so... this is just a friendly reminder to myself...

I definitely could be wrong, and the market may just run-up to 1000, but I've got my money bet that we turn south before going to 1000 SPX. If we bust above 900SPX, it may be done for the bears temporarily, and I'll have to take the loss.

Don't get caught up in all the bull! As many people say, in bear markets, stocks rise on bad news and fall on good news. What have we been seeing? Exactly this.

This is going to become more common in the next few years...

"Man shot after metro bus incidence" is the article title, but it seems to make the man shot the victim here. Although not much information is given, apparently the woman was being harassed in the bus (no level of harassment is indicated), which led to the woman shooting the man after they got off the bus.

I tip my hat to the woman. I know some of you are probably like, wow that woman is crazy, pulled the gun on a guy just because he was harassing her. Maybe some of you girls are thinking, "I get harassed on the bus all the time, and I don't pull a gun on the guy." Yeah, well maybe you should. Let's disregard for now whether the man was just throwing snark remarks at the woman, or taking it to the next level. Just because it happens everyday and you are used to it, does not make it right. It should be a good warning message to those men on metro busses.

Think about this for a moment, how messed up is it that the woman is now in jail for trying to protect herself? This is ridiculous. The woman is smart to be carrying around a concealed weapon in Seattle, especially on the metros. Seattle is getting to be one dangerous place- I'm glad I'm done with school at the U.

Obama, Bush, What's The Difference?

So I'm sitting here wondering where has all the political fervor, enthusiasm for politics, and voting for 'change', have gone? Less than six months ago, a large percentage of people of my age group took to the streets on Nov 4th, 2008 to celebrate Obama being elected to office. All their attention (or what little attention they actually had) towards Obama's policies and what "change" was, has suddenly dropped off the face of the earth.

I barely hear a peep from any of the Obama supporters of how Obama has backed off on many of his promises. Most recently, Obama is quietly backing some of the "state-secrets" that Bush kept, meanwhile flamboyantly announcing when he makes a stark turn away from the previous administration's policies- press conferences live on television, yes sir. But when he sides with Bush's policies, there are no press conferences, they are quietly funneled through the courts while Obama is overseas.

What about the additional funding that Obama wants towards the war? So you guys get mad when Bush asks for additional funding, but when Obama does it, you guys look the other way?

Or how about the reneging on his original 16-month withdrawal plan of combat troops from Iraq? Even now, it's only 2 months extended to 18-months later, but I wouldn't count on it if I were a solider in Iraq.

Okay, so really, what's the difference? Not much, except now we're spending more tax dollars more than ever, and this time the people of the United States don't care, don't know, or don't seem to give a damn because they don't wan't to be told they were "wrong" in voting for Obama. But, this isn't about who we voted for anymore- what's done is done. What makes me mad is that you vote Obama into office and then do not hold him and our government accountable for what they do and promised. Seriously, do you all really want to pay a shitload of taxes in the next 5-10 years when we are all working? All this TARP CRAP went to buying up toxic assets and letting the robber barons run away with their loot. Just because Obama is a Democrat, don't be so naive into thinking he doesn't have friends he needs to appease on Wall Street.

I find it amazing that despite polls showing that the average American (yes Democrats and Republicans included) was against the initial bailouts by anywhere from 100-1 to 300-1, our representatives and our president decided to disregard our opinion and do what they thought was best for themselves and their payroll. Think about this clearly, our government has now spent hundreds of billions towards bailout failed banks that have cheated their ways to profit over the past 5-10 years. Think of what hundreds of billions of dollars could have done towards a real national healthcare (something that you Obama supporters apparently support), or perhaps towards simplying helping balance the Social Secruity net that is running out of money. But no, that money has disappeared into the pockets of a few, rather than the many. Does this sound familiar? Isn't this what you Democrats campaigned against when you spoke of Bush's "tax cuts for the rich?"-- which weren't actually just for the rich, rather for everyone, including me.

Lock and Load...

This message is being sent to all students with the approval of the UW
Police Department.

Timely Warning Notification of a Criminal Incident - Seattle Campus
04/17/09
University Way Shooting Incident

This message to members of the University community is being sent in the
interest of public safety and in compliance with federal law requiring
timely warning notification of crimes committed on or near campus.

On April 17, 2009 at 8:45 p.m., two men with no known affiliation to the
University of Washington had an altercation in the 4200 block of University
Way Northeast. During the altercation one of the individuals shot the other
in the face. The victim sustained an injury to the jaw area of his face and
was transported to Harborview Medical Center.

Witnesses called 911 and Seattle Police and paramedics responded. The
suspect ran southbound from the scene and was not found. No additional
information is available at this time. This incident is being investigated
by the Seattle Police Department. If you have any additional information
about this crime, please call Seattle Police at 206-684-5550.

University Police advises students to be cautious and aware of their
surroundings at night in the District.

Remember this post back in November of last year? Besides a few predictions on the stock market, one of which was wrong (lower lows in 2009), and the other of which was right (lower lows after Obama inauguration), I also mentioned how things might start to deteriorate in terms of safety and civility in our neighborhoods. Specifically, I wrote:

The warning signs are all there, if you don't prepare yourselves, well truly I can say you deserve it. People have been laughing in a way when I say I'm thinking about getting a gun- but I'm serious. When people start losing massive amounts of money, no jobs to be obtained, and a trip to the grocery starts becoming as expensive as a PS3, there will be civil unrest. And when you get that, you get problems. No, that does not mean I'm going to become a vigilante maverick, but you never know in an environment like that when you may need that kind of protection.

I might have some hoops to jump through in order to get a gun when I get back to the states, but it's something that is definitely on my list of things to do when I'm back. Especially with the Democrats and their fascination of disregard for the 2nd amendment. Anyways, it has been no surprise to me to see these types of e-mails increase in frequency, and also the seriousness of the attacks increase over the past year. Any UW student can attest to this.

Sorry for the lack of updates, I've sort of been busy here in Taiwan. I'll try to start updating more again. There's a large protest happening in May, and I hope to be there for that one. :)

Maybe If We Keep Throwing Money At The Problem... Then...

There's a common phrase among investors/traders and overall, in the general business sense- that is: "Don't Throw Good Money After Bad Money."

One of the main reasons I believe that we're in for more lows in the markets is due to the fear that it will create in the general public. Fear causes panic, and panic can lead to irrational decisions. I believe that's the exact play the Obama administration is aiming for. For those who still wonder about how our representatives passed the initial $700B bailout in the face of strong opposition by the majority of the public, the answer is simple: (1) they scared the majority of you into believing it was necessary in order to prevent a collapse of the financial system, and (2) they are being paid to do so. Don't be so naive into thinking that people who donate thousands/millions to political campaigns don't expect something in return. Yes, this goes for Obama as well, despite his false claim that he does not take money from lobbyists (perhaps not directly, but in directly, it comes his way). Is there really any other rational explanation for this?

Although I'm no business major, it seems pretty reasonable to not put more money into a company that is obviously failing to correct its mistakes. Sure, maybe give them one shot to make it right, but with companies (such as the automakers) that have continually failed to move their R&D in the right direction, they should not be given a lifeline. For all you people (mainly the left-side) who apparently despise the rich getting richer, these bailouts are in fact, lining the pockets of the rich. The wealth that was created by these few rich people, built upon a mountain of lies (Madoff and many others) and deception (falsifying financial statements), is remaining in their pockets. Why? Because our president and our congress is choosing to reward them for doing wrong. We are saying to these robber barons, "Cheat? Lie? Ok, because you guys are "too big to fail," we must save you, at the expense of everyone else."

The scare tactics by Obama, such as describing the financial bailouts as neccessary in order to "prevent a crisis from turning into a catastrophe," are a slap in the face to the average American. I know a lot of people that voted for Obama honestly believe every word he says, but take a step back off your partisan platform, and look objectively. Each time some sort of "stimulus" or "bailout" has been passed since late last summer, the markets have corrected downwards. The mess we are can be blamed on both Republicans and Democrats. During the first bailout, I specifically urged others to vote out incumbents who voted for the $700B bailout package, regardless of party. Those who still think this is a partisan battle are pitifully misinformed. The quicker that we as a nation agree that this is actually a battle between these robber baron elites, and the rest of Americans, we can begin to talk about the road towards recovery.

Until then, I look forward to profiting the most from the declines in the markets, and perhaps be a little better off in the future changed America.

A brief quote from Tim Knight, whose blog I frequent, and recommend to other traders for daily trading ideas and general commentary on the markets, describing the change from a capitalist America, towards the new socialist America:

The pendulum has just started to swing the other way, and I don't think it's a little bobble before we return to the above. I seriously think we are in for just as long as period - - and just as deep a change - - as the era above. We'll be stumbling our way back to where things were in the late 1970s..........malaise, weakness, and Billy Beer.

What would people think if, just six months ago, you speculated that Citigroup would be a nationalized institution? Would they laugh at you? Look at you as if you were insane? Cart you off to a rubber room?

That, of course, is just the tip of the iceberg. When Obama speaks of a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" to change the government, he isn't talking about remodeling the oval office. The "opportunity" is the most dramatic expansion of the government and its intrusions than any of us have seen in our lifetimes.

I have no doubt that Obama, with an almost filibuster-proof Democratically controlled congress, will change the landscape of America in a way in which, as TK says, "we can scarcely imagine today." The change will come, but I'm not sure everyone who vouched for Obama realize that the change that comes will be much more than they bargained for.