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--- I'd take these numbers with a huge grain of salt. journalists often take these analyst estimates out of context.

and FAB I def disagree with your interest rate hike prediction - stop being an economist and bring back your previous avatar.

Asian Stocks Plunge on Fears Over U.S. Economy

By HEATHER TIMMONS and JULIA WERDIGIER
Published: March 15, 2007
NYT

NEW DELHI, March 15 ? Asian and European stock markets tumbled today, following the sharp drop in U.S. stocks on Tuesday, as concerns spread about the consequences of loose lending practices in the United States housing market.

But losses slowed on Wall Street this morning, where stocks opened the trading day mixed and then turned higher.

Most markets in Asia closed down between 2 percent and 3 percent. It was their biggest drop since the sharp declines two weeks ago that were touched off by the selloff in China on Feb. 27.

Investors sold Asian and European equities after United States stocks fell significantly on Tuesday because of concerns about home loans made to borrowers with weak credit histories. An American mortgage association said Tuesday that a record number of homes entered the foreclosure process at the end of last year.

The Dow Jones industrial average had its second-worst trading day of the year on Tuesday, finishing down 1.97 percent. The Standard & Poor?s 500-stock index fell 2.04 percent. Shares of financial companies led the way.

In early trading today, both the Dow and the S.& P. 500 opened slightly higher, fell back and then recovered. About 11 a.m., the three main indexes were just slightly into positive territory. Today in Asia, Hong Kong?s Hang Seng index closed down 2.57 percent at 18,836.93. Tokyo?s Nikkei 225 was down 2.92 percent at 16,676.89, and Standard & Poor?s Australia index dropped 2.1 percent to close at 5,741.90.

After Asia?s sharp falls, European stocks opened weak. By early afternoon trading today, Britain?s FTSE 100 index was down by 1.5 percent, at 6,070. Germany?s DAX Index was down 108, or 1.6 percent, to 6,514, and the CAC 40 Index in France dropped 78 points, or 1.4 percent, to 5,355.

Francis Lun, general manager of Fulbright Securities in Hong Kong, said that the crisis in the U.S. housing market was having a ?destructive effect on global financial markets around the world.?

After several months of smooth climbing, Asian equity investors have been treated to a bumpy ride in recent weeks. They could face even more volatility in the future, analysts say.

Asian markets have been flooded with liquidity in the past 24 months, thanks to a combination of domestic investors, hedge funds, and proprietary trading desks at banks. Many of these investors trade on the movement of market indices, exacerbating stock drops and heightening their jumps.

The shares of banks and lending institutions in Asia were hard hit today, as were companies that make consumer goods. The number of United States consumers who are late paying off their home loans is climbing steadily, particularly among borrowers with a history of credit problems, known as subprime borrowers.

Asian investors and economists predict that these consumers will stop buying new cars, electronics and other goods, hurting Asian economies.

Japan?s Chiba Bank closed down 4.31 percent to 1,022 yen today, and Sony Corp dropped 4.09 percent to 5,869 yen.

HSBC Holdings, the British bank, dropped 1.5 percent in Hong Kong to HK$135.

HSBC has been hurt by United States housing market problems after it bought Household International in 2003, a United States lender that specializes in loans to borrowers with bad credit. On Feb. 7, HSBC shocked investors when it said it was setting aside $1.76 billion to cover potential mortgage losses in America, 20 percent more than analysts estimated.The drumbeat of bad consumer news from the United States, where more than 1 in 10 subprime home borrowers are late paying back their loans, is having an effect on investors? appetite for risky stocks, analysts say.
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Fat-ass tip;

Not wanting to be pessimistic, but I hope people who have a mortgage that have 'stretched' them a little from time to time, have a plan B to making bank payments!

And if your selling, do it now. If your buying wait till Christmas and the New Year.

The dank smell may be coming from anaerobic bacteria in the mulch.

The chemicals released in the anaerobic process (and the fires) are not good, and may include "wood alcohol" (aka methyl alcohol, methanol), a highly toxic volatile compound.

Nobody should be forced to breathe stuff like this.

They need to be shut down. The affected residents should demand from the DEP a chemical analysis of air around the plant.

So THIS is the source of the smell I talked about months ago!!

http://jclist.com/modules/newbb/viewt ... t_id=39268#forumpost39268

it wasn't someone's 3-bean chili at all.

Seriously, though, I have a 10 month old kid and I don't want him breathing this. It is putrid.

It seems they are on shaky ground with their outdoor expansion and we need to take the next step to close that part down.

next time that site catches on fire the city should just let it burn to the ground. Added bonus: no pre-construction demolition required for new condos.

Last time I drove by that plant, I saw several DEP Agents in yellow jackets inspecting the place.

Two weeks ago there was a fire there I saw from the Turnpike.

There are huge piles of mulch (I mean 2-stories high) and you can smell the joint from the Turnpike.

I'd think with all the development going on there the days of the stinker should be numbered, but who knows.

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Now that's some pullitzer class writin boy. And no byline? That first sentence grabs your attention by the lapels and shoves your face in the story "like a tarantula on a birthday cake", "like a fart in an elevator", "like the pimp on Easter morning", "like a puddle of puke on a PATH train seat", "like a Grove St. bum in a Brioni suit", "like a touch football game at Hamilton park", "like a, like a, like..... I can't think of any more likes. Can you? That's why I'm not pulling down the big bucks over at the JJ.

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Condo flipping you mean? Absolutely. After all, you should only risk what you can afford to lose - and you can lose quite a lot doing that.

Interesting that Manzo could be left off not only HCDO's ticket, but the main opposition as well. I wonder if he'd try to run as an independent.

Manzo has a degree of credibility and support outside of the ticket, but it gets awfully lonely when you're placed on the right end of the ballot, without anyone above or below you on your slate.

The Jersey Journal -- Politicial Insider
HCDO up against the wall in bid for primary candidates

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

T he Gryphon in Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" had it right when he said: "The adventures first ... explanations take such a dreadful time."

State Senate candidate Sandra Bolden Cunningham, widow of Jersey City Mayor Glenn D. Cunningham, has filled out the rest of her 31st District ticket by naming as an Assembly candidate the man who became acting mayor after her husband died. Former City Council President L. Harvey Smith is expected to be introduced today at a press conference by Cunningham.

The only question now is whether this ticket will run on its own as a third line on the primary ballot, or join with one of the other two, the Hudson County Democratic Organization or a ticket led by Union City Mayor and Assemblyman Brian P. Stack, who is seeking the Senate seat in the 33rd District.

And here is the dilemma for the HCDO: How does it name its own ticket and vote against Bolden Cunningham and Smith, two African-American candidates, when Jersey City Mayor Jerry Healy may need the black community's vote for his mayoral re-election?

Polling numbers show that the HCDO cannot come up with better black candidates. On top of that, how can Healy oppose black candidates when he is a New Jersey coordinator for Illinois U.S. Sen. Barack Obama's presidential Democratic primary bid?

The worst scenario for the HCDO is the possibility that the Bolden Cunningham slate joins with Stack's 33rd ticket on one line, a prospect that could put in jeopardy all the HCDO's county posts that are up for election this year, including the county executive, sheriff and county clerk.

An anti-HCDO line could be very real considering the great amount of backroom activity this past weekend as politicians gathered to celebrate the Jersey City St. Patrick's Day Parade festivities. Starting with the Friday night parade dinner, Stack and 31st District Assemblyman Lou Manzo were doing less of the Guinness and more of the gab in an effort to solidify alliances, and it seems there were a lot of listeners.

Bolden Cunningham has also now made it known that her slate of candidates would never run under an HCDO banner, which represents the opposition that her late husband had faced.

Who is running in the 31st for the HCDO? County sources say one Assembly candidate being considered for the HCDO is Jersey City Councilman-at-Large Peter Brennan.

Ironically, the HCDO needs a state Senate candidate for the 31st.

After being denied both Smith and Manzo as running mates last week, Bayonne Mayor and 31st District Sen. Joe Doria left a meeting with HCDO leaders - County Executive Tom DeGise, state Senate Majority Leader Bernard Kenny, Healy and others - and announced he was getting off the county political carrousel. He would not run in the primary.

Before his announcement, Doria seriously considered running on the Stack line. Now Doria may be asked to pick one of the other two candidates.

This series of setbacks and an inability to deal with potential problems before they developed (mainly the Stack and Kenny rivalry) have started to erode the credibility of the HCDO. It would not surprise anyone if the HCDO next asks Manzo to break with Stack and become the HCDO's candidate for Senate in the 31st District. The chances are less likely now that it has been mentioned in this column and because Manzo will probably not break from Stack, although the Jersey City assemblyman may be out of the primary for an Assembly seat should a Bolden Cunningham coalition take place with Stack.

For the present, there does not seem to be any thought being given to these HCDO decisions. It is almost as if these Democratic Party leaders are taking the advice of Lewis Carroll's Cheshire Cat: "If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there."

Come back Saturday for more of the through-the-looking glass world of Hudson politics.

POLITICAL INSIDER Agustin Torres can be reached at atorres@jjournal.com.

I have spoken with Mary Spinello's aide, who has said that she intends to oppose the resolution.

She was unable to give a coherent explanation as to why she opposed it. The excuse was "we don't own the property." This is, of course, nonsensical because the whole point of this loan is so the property can be acquired. Furthermore, the city could take ownership at any time. Even if the city did not prevail in the STB proceeding, it can take the property at any time via eminent domain.

I would encourage all residents of Ward B to contact councilwoman Spinello's office immediately and demand that she support the resolution. Or at the very least, give a rationale for opposing it that doesn't treat her constituents like idiots.

SUFFOCATING DILEMMA

Jersey Journal -- March 14

T he smell came wafting through K Sherbetdjian's Whiton Street bedroom as softly and as unwanted as a burglar tip-toeing across the floor, its pungent odor ripping him out of his peaceful sleep.

"I couldn't breathe," said Sherbetdjian, a five-year resident of the Lafayette section of Jersey City.

The familiar dank smell emanated from the large, smoldering piles of decomposing wood chips a few blocks away at the Reliable Wood Products facility, which makes mulch from the wooden pallets used in the shipping of materials for its neighboring paper recycling plant.

The controversial site has been the scene of at least 10 fires already this year, and the plant's suffocating smell has hundreds of residents in the nearby neighborhoods pleading for relief, including two who moved out because of the smell.

"It's a real problem. The smell is everywhere," said Angus Vail, a member of the Lafayette Neighborhood Action Committee, which recently sent a petition with 236 signatures to state Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa Jackson and Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy.

The long-standing issue raises serious questions about the city's ability - and willingness - to deal with its industrial past as demand for residential development spreads.

The Reliable Wood facility sits within the Morris Canal Redevelopment Zone, first adopted by the City Council in 1999. The redevelopment plan accommodates the Reliable Paper Recycling plant, which was already there, as long as the operation continues to take place indoors.

After the adoption of the redevelopment plan, the company expanded its operations to include the mulch business and created Reliable Wood Products.

The outdoor expansion clearly runs afoul of the city's zoning regulations, but city officials say they can't enforce the rules because they lack jurisdiction over class B recycling centers, which are the province of the state.

However, that opinion has never been tested in court, and city officials are basing their lack of power on a letter from the DEP submitted by the company - and that letter deals with another plant in another town.

The owner of the plant, Nick Vene, refused to comment for this column.

City sources say they have not abdicated their responsibility, pointing to numerous fire code violations that have been issued. But residents deserve more than just a few inspections related to fire codes, since such violations ignore the quality-of-life issues that are at the center of the controversy.

The city needs to investigate the zoning problems and pursue violations under the state's Public Nuisance Act, which gives municipalities broad powers to abate these types of activities.

In fact, city officials can't even confirm whether the plant was ever issued a certificate of occupancy.

Perhaps the city can follow the lead of the state.

The DEP has leveled tens of thousands of dollars in fines for, among other things, odors, operating equipment without approved air pollution permits and expanding the facility without the required permits. But the state does not appear to have the authority to shut it down because of zoning violations.

The company is disputing the violations the state did issue and the matter is set to go before an administrative law judge, according to the DEP.

The Hudson County Health Commission has also issued a number of fines related to air pollution.

Tomorrow, officials from the city, county and state are expected to meet to compare notes and develop a strategy.

Perhaps they could also figure out who's in charge.

That should have said "1.1 million against 8 million"

Embankment vote on agenda

Wednesday, March 14, 2007
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The Jersey City City Council will vote tonight on whether to apply for a $4.9 million state loan to help buy and develop as open space the Sixth Street Embankment - land a private developer owns and has shown no intention of selling.

In July 2005, Steve Hyman purchased the eight-block elevated old railroad embankment and plans to build two-family homes.

But almost immediately, city officials challenged the sale, claiming the previous owner, Conrail, had no right to sell the property without first giving the city the option to buy it for the same $3 million price Hyman reportedly paid.

This case is pending before the federal Surface Transportation Board in Washington.

In the meantime, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy has announced he wants the embankment to be used for an extension of the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail tracks and environmental activists have continued their campaign to preserve the land as open space. Healy envisions an extension of the Light Rail through the Bergen Arches into Secaucus.

Assistant Business Administrator Gregory J. Corrado told council members at their Monday caucus that the city's plan is to use half the embankment for the Light Rail tracks and the other half for open space.

The resolution up for a vote is to file the loan application, Corrado said. The council would have to vote again to accept the loan, which would come in November.

Ward A Councilman Michael Sottolano objected to the city taking on added debt for a property it doesn't own. Ward B Councilwoman Mary Spinello said she hadn't seen "diddly" from the more than $30,000 the city has spent pursuing the Surface Transportation Board case.

Corrado said the loan wouldn't add much to the city's debt load.

Maureen Crowley, volunteer coordinator of the Embankment Preservation Coalition, said 75 percent of the loan, which would come from the state Environmental Infrastructure Trust, would be interest-free, while interest on the rest of the money would be less than 2 percent.

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I think this will have a direct effect on me, because my spouse is self-employed and has big ups and downs in income.

On the other hand, if prices come down, that could eventually help us.

Another issue: I think it would be good to see what percentage of subprime loans and other non-vanilla loans went to people who used the loans to buy vacation homes or investment properties. It seems to me that people are probably a lot more likely to default on mortgages for investment homes than for their primary residences.

Suppose that most people who used non-vanilla mortgages to buy in the Heights are owner occupiers and most who used those mortgages to buy in Paulus Hook are investor condo flippers who live in Manhattan.

If that scenario were true, then it could be that default rates on similar types of wacky mortgages will go a lot higher in Paulus Hook than in the Heights.

If, on the other hand, I'm wrong, and low-income/moderate-income owner occupiers have higher default rates than the flippers, then Paulus Hook might fare well and the Heights might suffer more.

A 2 or 3% increase in mortgage rates is still on the cards in my opinion. This will happen in the next 2 years and politicians will say its the recession we needed to have. Government spending on defence has increased by billions, (To fight insurgents that have no tanks, subs, aircraft carriers, thousands of troops and special weapons and they are kicking our ass and we might have to turn tail) and will continue by the fear generated which has an expensive appetite. All I suggest, is save those dimes for a rainy day.

Brings in a factor I hadn't thought about before - the sheer number of people who could wind up excluded from the homebuying market in relation to the total number of home sales. 1.1 million against 5 million is quite a lot. Granted, most of those excluded will be on the low end of the market, and some of you might argue that those people aren't buying in Manhattan or Jersey City. Still, I imagine it will have some impact. Jersey City certainly has its share of buyers who are stretching their finances to the max for that condo meal ticket.

One more perspective:

Safe Ground in a Housing Market Meltdown?
By Dean Baker
t r u t h o u t | Columnist

Wednesday 14 March 2007

As reports of problems in the mortgage market build, the number of people who view a collapse of the housing market as a serious possibility is growing rapidly. At the moment, the surge in defaults is taking place primarily in the sub-prime market, which is composed of borrowers who have poor credit histories. However, the problems are likely to affect the broader housing market and the economy as a whole before the end of the year.

The basic story in the sub-prime market is straightforward. Mortgage bankers were anxious to sell mortgages even when they knew that the borrowers could not make the payments, because they derive their income from selling the mortgage, not holding it. Hundreds of thousands of low- and moderate-income homebuyers were lured into buying homes by discounted "teaser" rates on mortgages. These teaser rates would reset to market rates, typically after three years, at which time many borrowers would be unable to make their monthly payments.

As long as house prices keep rising, everything works fine. Homeowners can always borrow against their equity to make their monthly payments, or they can sell their home, pay off the mortgage and pocket whatever gains they may have.

However, in 2006, supply finally outpaced demand, and home prices began falling. This led to a huge surge in defaults in the sub-prime market. As a result, some sub-prime lenders have gone bankrupt, and many others are leaving the business or radically curtailing their lending. The same thing is happening in the Alt-A market, which consists of borrowers with somewhat better credit ratings, but still below prime.

The housing optimists claim that the problems in the mortgage industry will be restricted to these sectors and will not spread to the larger prime market. However, the sub-prime and Alt-A markets together accounted for 40 percent of the market in 2005. If lending in these sectors is sharply curtailed, then a huge portion of potential homebuyers will be excluded from the market. According to an analysis from the Bear Stearns investment bank as many as 1.1 million potential homebuyers may be excluded from the market in 2007 because of tighter credit conditions.

While home sales did cross 8 million in 2005, as recently as 1995 the number of homes sold in a year was under 5 million. There is no way that 1.1 million potential buyers, or even half this number, can be excluded from the housing market without a substantial impact on house prices.

It is also important to remember that this credit tightening is occurring against a backdrop in which house prices are already falling. The median house price nationwide fell by more than three percent over the last year. On the supply side, the inventory of unsold homes is up by more than twenty percent from last year. In addition, a record high percentage of these homes are vacant. The vacancy rate of ownership units is more than forty percent higher than in any prior housing slump.

This describes a scenario of more downward pressure on prices, which will lead to more defaults and foreclosures. This in turn will lead to further tightening of credit and more homes being subject to distress sales through foreclosure.

All the experts who used to insist that this scenario could never happen are now insisting that the scenario does not describe the situation in their favored housing markets. While each local market does have its own dynamic, the run-up in housing prices was nationwide. Not everywhere is going to experience the same decline, but there will be few, if any, areas that escape unscathed. The fact that a particular metropolitan area has a sound economy with a healthy labor market should offer little solace - that doesn't mean that house prices are not overvalued.

The tech bubble in the stock market provides an appropriate analogy. While the largest overvaluations were in the tech sector and especially in the dotcoms, virtually all stocks had become overvalued. As a result, there were very few stocks that did not experience a sharp price decline from 2000-2002. The fact that a company had strong growth and solid profits didn't matter - overvalued stocks still fall when a stock bubble collapses. Similarly, overvalued houses will fall in price when the housing bubble collapses.

The vast majority of metropolitan areas are likely to see a fall in housing prices over the next few years, with the biggest declines likely occurring in the areas that had the largest run-ups (largely the two coasts). Few people will be insulated from the impact, just as very few stockholders were unaffected by the 2000-2002 crash. Don't let the happy-talk real estate peddlers tell you otherwise.

Dean Baker is the co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). He is the author of The Conservative Nanny State: How the Wealthy Use the Government to Stay Rich and Get Richer (www.conservativenannystate.org). He also has a blog, "Beat the Press," where he discusses the media's coverage of economic issues. You can find it at the American Prospect's web site.

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We're just trying to keep rockroller and trp3 (and their hatred of the smell of Indian food) away.

For those of you thinking soup season is over...

Mike Woods is calling for snow again this weekend, Friday night into Saturday.

Wouldn't it be nice to know you have some nice (curry) soups coming your way???

SOUP SWAP. This Sunday. Be there.

i think curry might be the theme this swap...

made my "sunshine" red lentil soup during american idol, affectively killing 2 birds=1 stone. thanks to hurtle and elgoo for prompting me to stir on the commercial breaks.



by teh way, a&p has 1qt ziplock plastic containers on sale 2pks of 4 (equalling 8 containers) for $5

On the website, www.jcboe.org, there was a post about a public forum meeting on March 27th where the BOE will be reviewed by an independent commission from the State of NJ. THis is no longer on the website. Does anybody have this information?

Hi, I hope this thread remains alive because many of you have so much experience in this area. Our 1st issue is the BOE meeting, 2nd is the Public Forum held by the State, and 3rd is the Parent's Forum for BOE candidates.

On Thursday, March 15th, the Board of Education will have it's monthly meeting. This will be the last Board of Ed meeting before the elections in April.

Many parents have come together and will be speaking at the meeting. We need more people to come and support our voice.

We need to let the Board Of Education know that there are many parents concerned about the lack of Educational Facilities, failing standards, lack of process among faculty selection among other concerns. If you can, please join me and a couple of other parents who will speak at the next meeting on Thursday, March 15th about issues, please call, Board Secretary, Annemarie Carbonito at
201-915-6074. We will need people to hold up signs. If you cannot attend, please call 201-915-6074 and ask for their fax number. Fax them a letter that "we need more schools to accommodate the growing toddler poplulation" or that the Board should follow proper procedures in hiring Faculty by opening the process.

Thanks again for any support you can provide us and please join JC Schools yahoo group by emailing me. Thanks!

Smith joins Bolden Cunningham
WHAT OF MANZO, KENNY?

Tuesday, March 13, 2007
By KEN THORBOURNE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

The winding road to Hudson's Democratic primary elections took another bizarre turn yesterday as L. Harvey Smith, a onetime Jersey City acting mayor and City Council president, announced he's running for state Assembly - on a slate headed by the widow of his former political nemesis, Jersey City Mayor Glenn D. Cunningham.

"The most important thing is reconciliation," Smith said, explaining his unlikely partnership with Sandra Bolden Cunningham, a candidate for state Senate in the 31st District.

"I'm fully aware she (Bolden Cunningham) is the head of the ticket," Smith added. "God put this together and made this happen."

In 2003, the Hudson County Democratic Organization, as part of its long feud with the mayor, backed Smith against Cunningham for state Senate in the 31st District, which covers all of Bayonne and a southern portion of Jersey City. Cunningham won, but the HCDO selected Smith to fill the seat on an interim basis before Cunningham's inauguration in January 2004.

Reportedly, Bolden Cunningham harbored such negative feelings toward Smith she passed word he wasn't to attend her husband's funeral in May 2004.

But yesterday, apparently, all had been forgiven.

"I'm happy to have Harvey Smith as one of my running mates for the Assembly seats," Bolden Cunningham stated in a press release. "We are very excited about this election and we will do our best to make the 31st District the best it can be."

Bayonne at-Large Councilman and former state Assemblyman Anthony Chiappone is running with Bolden Cunningham for the second Assembly spot on the ticket.

Who their opposition will be in the primary - if anyone - wasn't clear yesterday.

Just a few weeks ago, the HCDO slate in the 31st District appeared two-thirds set, with incumbents state Sen. Joseph V. Doria Jr., D-Bayonne, and Assemblyman Lou Manzo, D-Jersey City, running for re-election. Jersey City Schools chief Charles T. Epps Jr., who also held an Assembly seat, had announced he wasn't seeking re-election.

Smith was hopeful of being named Epps's replacement on the HCDO ticket. But according to Smith, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy blocked him from consideration. As reportedly relayed to him by Hudson County Executive Thomas DeGise, Healy wouldn't sign off on Smith without assurances Smith wouldn't run against him for mayor.

DeGise denied yesterday making that comment; Healy spokeswoman Maria Pignataro said the mayor wouldn't comment.

In any event, Smith jumped ship for Bolden Cunningham's ticket.

Then last week, Doria dropped out of the competition for "personal reasons," as word spread that Healy might support Bolden Cunningham's bid for the state Senate.

For the moment, the odd man out is Manzo, who said yesterday he'd be running for either state Senate or state Assembly in the 31st District. Manzo said he's allied with Union City Mayor Brian Stack, who is running for state senator in the 33rd District.

Meanwhile, the incumbent in that district - state Sen. Bernard Kenny, who also is the HCDO chairman - said reports that he's dropping out the Senate race are premature.

Kenny said yesterday he's been too busy reading the late Arthur Schlessinger's book, "The Age of Jackson," to make an announcement about his political future.

When told of Kenny's comments, Manzo remarked, "Nero fiddled while Rome burned."

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Or

IN THE DARK EVEN NATURE THINKS GREEN IS IT

i have got to stop thinking about this.....

My first thought was that this was a pretty odd letter coming from a defunct '80s Gansta Rap group best known for "F_uck tha Police". After using the Google, I still thought it a bit odd that the President of a 501(c)3 would use her organization as a soapbox to engage in politics.

Sadly, the letter speaks for itself.
Quote:

Quote:

Those are great pictures!

You can see it here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ensel/322079219/

I think it's meant to be understood as

EVEN IN THE DARK NATURE THINKS GREEN IS IT