$14,300,000,000,000

$14.3 trillion debt ceiling. What a magical number. Who would thought that $14.3 trillion will be reached?

US gross domestic products of 2010 was $14.7 trillion in nominal term and who knows the percentage of phony output growth stimulated by rapid monetary expansion especially in the finance and banking sectors.

$14.3 trillion debt ceiling or almost 100% of US gdp of 2010 has been reached in May of 2011 and technically, that means US is unofficially bankrupt. To Repay the debt, they have to sacrifice 1 year of national output. That would be ok provided US has high international reserves to finance their spending. According to treasury department, as of 29/7/2011, the official US international reserves is around $145 billion or less than 1% of gdp. In other word, US can only finance their import for just around 14 days (2010 data). Compared to international standard of 8 months, US is not as wealthy as we think.

Furthermore, US government is terrible in managing their budget. Around 40% of government spending is financed by debt. Most debt are foreign debt sold to country like China, Japan, Russia, middle east countries etc. In other words, US debtor now own 40% of US economy and US resources (since debt / gdp = 100%). How about if US GDP figure did not include the phony banking and financial sectors junk loan and fake transaction, we could be looking at around 50% of US economy is foreign own.

Combined with terrible data in labour market (unemployment rate of almost 10%) and fake general price level (low inflation according to treasury and feds), US economy is at the worst level ever (even worst than ww2 and Great Depression era).

To make things worse, Fed funds rate is kept at 0-0.25% which encourage more borrowing and leverage. Since money is free in US, debt financing activities will keep going. In the short run there are no visible way US could improve on their deficit and overspending problems.

To make things worse, nobody seems to understand the problems and US congress is it the process of adjusting debt ceiling to a higher level. At the moment, no agreement is reached yet but I guarantee at the end, everything will be sorted out and debt ceiling will be lifted.

Using simple logic, if our income is much lower than our spending and every month, 40% of our spending is financed by debt (credit card). There are only 2 solutions: increase income or decrease spending right?

Wrong!

US government can't increase their revenue (ie taxes) as tax rate is already at such a high level and Obama would risk public support if he choose to increase tax rate. So the best way should be decrease US government spending. Start with military spending which cost US trillions of dollar every year.

Wrong again!

US try to use the third way: negotiating term with banks to increase the credit card limit so that they can borrow even more money and pile on the debt that got them into trouble in the first place. Remember, US was in subprime crisis because of too much debt, and their solution to deficit spending is...... more debt?

So, to all American, you still think your country is the biggest economy in the world? You still think America is the wealthiest country in the world?

Harry Potter and Deathly Hollows Part 2 Review

WOW!!!

This is my first feeling when I walked out of the cinema. Definitely one of the best movie in 2011 and together with part 1, I would say one of the best movie ever.

Movie always starts with story regardless of the genre and part 2 has one of the best story i've seen. Of course we should give all the credit to Ms Rowling but either you have read the book or not, you will like the story of this movie nonetheless.

Then the directing. Many felt that the movie is too action oriented and pace is too fast. However this is part 2 of a 5 hours movie and combined with part 1, I think David Yates did a fantastic job in setting the pace and set up one of the greatest climax in recent movie history.

Acting is not perfect but very good nonetheless. Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint have matured so much since the first movie and it's a very nice feeling seeing them grow not only as the characters they portraying but their acting as well. Supporting casts play a fabulous role too. Neville Longbottom rocks!!!

The action scenes is well done especially the Hogwarts battle scene as it managed to avoid the common problem of crappy action movies such as 2012, clash of the titan or transformers (all 3) which is too much actions. Action scene in an action movie, similar to horror scene in a horror movie, should not be overused. Otherwise the suspense elements will be lost. Deathly Hollows part 2 incorporate great transition period within action scenes to maintain the suspense.

The duel between Harry Potter and Voldemort was great. After 7 movies and 10 long years, it is superb too see the epic "good vs evil" and I guarantee if you've watched all 7 movies prior to this one, you will have goosebumps running all over your body.

Other elements such as dialogue and editing were done superbly too. Of course they are not as good as the first Deathly Hollows but great nonetheless.

Small problem such as too little characters development and stupid epilogue aside, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows part 2 is a fantastic movie and definitely one of the greatest movie of 2011. Either you are a action movie lover, a movie lover or movie hater, you should not miss this movie. Together with Deathly Hollows part 1, this is one of the greatest 5 hours in cinema history and to me, on par with other great movies such as Indiana Jones series, Back to the Future Series, Lord of the Rings series, Citizen Kane, Gone with the Wind....... and more recently, The Dark Knight and Inception.

9.5/10

Teoh Beng Hock RCI Report Analysis

Found an article on Malaysiakini analyses the RCI report into the death of Teoh Beng Hock.

The article is very nicely written and cover all important facts about the case. Analysis part is well done and thorough. Check it out HERE.

WTF TBH LOL

Let me get this straight:

1) He suicides because he can bear the pressure of being interrogated for the alleges of somebody else?

2) He suicides although he did not bear any alleges?

3) Although physical difficulty, his keen desire to suicide help him squeeze through the tight window?

4) He suddenly forgot about his wife and coming child?

5) He was declared suicide despite the world renown forensic pathology, Pornthip Rojanasunand, mentioned about he was more likely murdered than suicide?

6) He suicide despite having no sign or history of depression or mental illness?

Wow, what a story. It's better than any literature by JK Rowling or JRR Tolkien. Where can I buy this story book?

Economics Joke

A man receives 4 letters. He opens the first letter and it's from the firm he is working at. His superior has terminated his service and he becomes an unemployed.

He then opens the second letter. It's from his wife and it's a divorce letter.

Next, the third letter. It's from his doctor and it's a confirmation that he is diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and he will die in a week.

Finally, the man opens the last letter and it's from a lottery firm confirming that he won the first prize of the jackpot.

After all the letter, he jumps in joy and happiness. He loudly says assume that everything else being constant, ceteris paribus, I am happy I won the lottery jackpot. Hurray!

IGN Top 100 Modern Games

1 Mass Effect 2
2 Bioshock
3 Red Dead Redemption
4 Super Mario Galaxy 2
5 Portal 2
6 Fallout 3
7 Uncharted 2
8 Assassin Creed 2
9 Batman Arkham Asylum
10 Super Smash Brothers Brawl
11 GTA 4
12 Half Life 2 Ep. 2
13 Pac Man Champs. Ed. DX
14 Halo Reach
15 New Super Mario Bros.
16 Heavy Rain
17 Left For Dead 2
18 Elders Scrolls 4
19 COD 4 Modern Warfare
20 Dead Space

The rest of the list can be seen here.

Well, some very bad choices such as why Gamespot's game of the year 2010, Demon Souls, is at last place (100th), why Dragon Age Origins is at 91th and where is Metal Gears Solid 4?

Well for the last question, I think IGN only allows 1 game per Franchise. Since MGS 3 already in the list, well MGS 4 will not. This is a great move to avoid Mario from dominate the list too much lol.

However, from my point of view, top ten games absolutely deserve their spot there in their respective orders. Mass Effect 2, Bioshock and Red Dead Redemption should be the top 3 modern games. Great job IGN!