1/ I know a number of Europeans get DDD, and this is a "where we are" article about the choices facing the EU and the essentially bankrupt states within the Euro zone. Although it's written by an economist [Paul Krugman] it spells out the choices in easily understood terms, so if you are interested in the economic and political future of Europe this is for you.....but if you think the Chinese tooth fairy is going to wave his magic wand and solve all of the EU's problems, don't bother.......
Long article, but very interesting....makes a complex subject clear, so when it all goes down the toilet you'll know why.....
Not long ago Europeans could, with considerable justification, say that the current economic crisis was actually demonstrating the advantages of their economic and social model. Like the United States, Europe suffered a severe slump in the wake of the global financial meltdown; but the human costs of that slump seemed far less in Europe than in America. In much of Europe, rules governing worker firing helped limit job loss, while strong social-welfare programs ensured that even the jobless retained their health care and received a basic income. Europe’s gross domestic product might have fallen as much as ours, but the Europeans weren’t suffering anything like the same amount of misery. And the truth is that they still aren’t.
Yet Europe is in deep crisis — because its proudest achievement, the single currency adopted by most European nations, is now in danger. More than that, it’s looking increasingly like a trap. Ireland, hailed as the Celtic Tiger not so long ago, is now struggling to avoid bankruptcy. Spain, a booming economy until recent years, now has 20 percent unemployment and faces the prospect of years of painful, grinding deflation.
2/ One of the stupidest, most corrupt things our government subsidises with tax breaks and direct payments is the continued support of ethanol production......unfortunately it has the full and enthusiastic support of every politician from a farming state, so nothing will ever kill this disgusting program.....
Forcing consumers to use domestically produced ethanol is one of the single biggest boondoggles ever committed by the corrupt brainless twits in Washington DC. Ethanol prices have soared 30% in the last year as the supplies of corn have plunged. Only a policy created in Washington DC could drive up the prices of gasoline and food, with the added benefits of costing the American taxpayer billions in tax subsidies and killing people in 3rd world countries.
The grand lame duck Congress tax compromise extended a 45-cent incentive to ethanol refiners for each gallon of the fuel blended with gasoline and renewed a 54-cent tariff on Brazilian imports. The extension of these subsidies, besides costing American taxpayers $6 billion per year, has the added benefit of driving up food costs across the globe, causing food riots in Tunisia, and resulting in the starving of poor peasants throughout the world.
3/ Movie trailer - "The Mechanic" with Jason Statham........
Guys - let the missus see her chick flick, and you make your excuses and step into "The Mechanic".....guns, ultraviolence, evil corporations and lots of bodies.....yeah baby! Two minutes of mayhem....
4/ The Federal Reserve has just made it clear that they have no plans to help states or cities burdened with deficits and credit problems.......the Fed only helps banks like Goldman Sachs and the other oligarchs.......wonderful system isn't it? Think it's rigged in favour of the wealthy corporations?
A fairly dry article....skip the middle, just read the opening and closing paragraphs....
On January 7, according to the Wall Street Journal, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke announced that the Fed had ruled out a central bank bailout of state and local governments. "We have no expectation or intention to get involved in state and local finance," he said in testimony before the Senate Budget Committee. The states "should not expect loans from the Fed."
So much for the proposal of President Barack Obama, reported in Reuters a year ago, to have the Fed buy municipal bonds to cut the heavy borrowing costs of cash-strapped cities and states.
The credit woes of state and municipal governments are a direct result of Wall Street’s malfeasance. Their borrowing costs first shot up in 2008, when the “monoline” bond insurers lost their own credit ratings after gambling in derivatives. The Fed’s low-interest facilities could have been used to restore local government credit, just as it was used to restore the credit of the banks. But Chairman Bernanke has now vetoed that plan.
5/ "Stones of Doom" - the boys visit Scotland in another quest for proving their manhood......Funny or Die video.....funny in a manly way [idiots].....
6/ How the banks are getting set to screw their customers for more and more fees, and lying about why they're doing it.....but also in this article are ways you can protect yourself and save money with a new type of credit card....
This must feel awfully good for the veteran branch banking executives at Chase who looked stingy by comparison when WaMu ran ads all over the United States in the 1990s and 2000s telling consumers that free checking was a basic human right.
But Chase sure doesn’t sound happy. In a remarkable display of staying on message, it gave the same comment last week when The Wall Street Journal, CNN Money and the trade publication US Banker asked it to explain the reasoning for the new monthly fees.
“We don’t want to raise fees on our customers,” a company spokesman said. “But unfortunately, regulation is forcing us to do it. And as a result, some customers may end up unbanked.”
This statement is striking for a number of reasons, and the eye-popping earnings the bank announcedon Friday don’t exactly make the company more worthy of sympathy. So I’ve spent the last week trying to figure out why I was so sure I did not believe it the instant I read it.
So let’s take it apart, shall we?
First of all, Chase does want to raise fees on customers.
7/ Music video - Simply Red with "It's only Love"......he's a strange looking chap with the nest of red hair, but his voice is just amazing......good song, decent video....
8/ Fancy buying a Glock? This Austrian pistol is a workhorse for the police and now millions of fine, homicidal citizens as well.....and it comes with a 33 shot magazine if you want.....
Invented by an Austrian engineer named Gaston Glock in the early 1980s, the gun was introduced to the United States at a time when police officers were feeling outgunned by criminals and had begun transitioning from six-shot revolvers to semiautomatic pistols.
“He came out with a reliable product at a time when people were looking for just that sort of thing,” said Patrick Sweeney, author of the “Gun Digest Book of the Glock.” “At the time, law enforcement was almost untapped in terms of pistol sales. They had been using revolvers since the turn of the century. He leveraged that for all it was worth.”
But gun-control advocates blame Glock for glamorizing guns that are easy to conceal, powerful and hold more ammunition than the old revolvers.
“Enhanced lethality, that’s what we are talking about,” said Tom Diaz, senior policy analyst at the Violence Policy Center. “Lethality increases when you have larger bullets, more ammunition and the guns are easier to operate. That’s the contribution Glock and others have brought to America.”
9/ Ah Florida..... very, very low information voters, governed by crooks....
Governor Rickey boy's first two appointments should make any Floridian who is concerned about the environment nervous....and mad. Both of these new Department heads have been put in place to gut any protections we have.....
And there's a legislative water committee as well, with instructions to change the law so they can pipe North Florida's water to Central and South Florida......
Nervous.
That’s probably the correct state of mind to be in for people concerned about Florida’s environment and quality of life.
We all know that Gov. Rick Scott has pledged to do away with regulations that he calls job killers.
Many of those regulations, however, are instrumental in protecting natural treasures such as the St. Johns River. And that’s what makes Scott’s choices to lead two state agencies concerning.
The Department of Community Affairs plays a key role in trying to tame runaway growth, often to the chagrin of major developers.
Scott has selected Billy Buzzett to head the DCA. Buzzett is a land-use attorney and executive with the St. Joe Co., a major developer and the second largest landowner in the state.
At St. Joe, Buzzett pushed through projects in the Panhandle, including a new airport outside Panama City, that environmentalists argued would damage that area’s environment and in fact did.
Has Scott put the fox in charge of the henhouse?
That’s probably the correct state of mind to be in for people concerned about Florida’s environment and quality of life.
We all know that Gov. Rick Scott has pledged to do away with regulations that he calls job killers.
Many of those regulations, however, are instrumental in protecting natural treasures such as the St. Johns River. And that’s what makes Scott’s choices to lead two state agencies concerning.
The Department of Community Affairs plays a key role in trying to tame runaway growth, often to the chagrin of major developers.
Scott has selected Billy Buzzett to head the DCA. Buzzett is a land-use attorney and executive with the St. Joe Co., a major developer and the second largest landowner in the state.
At St. Joe, Buzzett pushed through projects in the Panhandle, including a new airport outside Panama City, that environmentalists argued would damage that area’s environment and in fact did.
Has Scott put the fox in charge of the henhouse?
..............................
One subject the water committee might tackle is what’s known as the “local source first” policy.
That policy requires that local water supplies to meet future needs be developed first, even if developing those local supplies are more expensive, instead of depending on building pipelines to move water from one part of the state to another.
If that policy is changed and the pipeline route gets priority, it’s not going to be to North Florida’s benefit.
Water will be taken from here to meet the demand in over developed Central and South Florida.
That policy requires that local water supplies to meet future needs be developed first, even if developing those local supplies are more expensive, instead of depending on building pipelines to move water from one part of the state to another.
If that policy is changed and the pipeline route gets priority, it’s not going to be to North Florida’s benefit.
Water will be taken from here to meet the demand in over developed Central and South Florida.
Guns - our wonderful Legislature has submitted an "open carry" law which will almost certainly pass with the mad dogs we have in Tallahassee, so you'll be able to carry a weapon in a holster to Publix. And your mature, responsible and teetotal kids in college will be able to tote a weapon on campus.....
Dorans - to Petersons [or Bubbas], get your Glock, a 33 round clip and stockpile some ammo....you're going to need it after this law passes....
TALLAHASSEE — In the aftermath of Tucson's shooting rampage, lawmakers in Florida are ready to make their stand on guns clearer: They want more people to have the right to carry them in the open and fewer government restrictions.
Legislators have filed three separate bills, one that would restrict local governments from regulating firearms, another to stop doctors from even asking patients about them and a third to grant licensed gun owners the right to wear firearms outside their clothing — including on college campuses.
In spite of numerous complaints, lots of publicity and media coverage about Florida "foreclosure lawyers" abusing the system, not one disciplinary action has been done by the Florida Bar.....protecting their own.....bastards....
Florida courthouses are rife with evidence of errors and fabrications made by attorneys handling foreclosure cases, and yet so far no lawyers have been disciplined.
With pressure mounting to police its own members, the Florida Bar established a special category of complaints listed as "foreclosure fraud."
But in 20 complaints investigated in that category, the Bar has not found cause to discipline anyone -- even lawyers who admitted to breaking ethical rules.
Some observers say that early track record of ignoring misdeeds by its members raises questions about whether the system of self-policing for lawyers can handle the depth of wrongdoing in the foreclosure crisis.
The complaints have been filed by judges, lawyers, homeowners and the Florida Bar itself, and reflect the issues seen in courtrooms almost daily for the past two years, including forged signatures and backdated documents used to improperly seize homes in foreclosures.
Good grief - look what they're dong to the public schools in Florida even without the savage cuts Rickey boy will be imposing.....virtual classes with no teachers.....
“All there were were computers in the class,” said Naomi, who walked into a room of confused students. “We found out that over the summer they signed us up for these courses.”
Naomi is one of over 7,000 students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools enrolled in a program in which core subjects are taken using computers in a classroom with no teacher. A “facilitator” is in the room to make sure students progress. That person also deals with any technical problems.
These virtual classrooms, called e-learning labs, were put in place last August as a result of Florida’s Class Size Reduction Amendment, passed in 2002. The amendment limits the number of students allowed in classrooms, but not in virtual labs.
10/ A Times article on the flooding in Australia......
Farmers like Mr. Kluck are among the worst hit in the multibillion-dollar economic toll of Australia’s continuing flood crisis, which has affected a combined region of more than a million hectares in five states; in the worst-hit state, Queensland, flooding in regions with a land area more than double that of California has killed at least 28 people. Even as victims in southern Queensland regions cleaned up in the wake of receding waters over the weekend, fresh floods struck in other areas of the country; in the state of Victoria, homes were inundated and more than 3,500 people were forced to evacuate, The Associated Press reported.
This is from a friend who lives in Melbourne on the South coast of Australia, with her take on the crisis and some articles and links to pictures of the disaster.....
Floods in Australia, Queensland; the news says is the size of France and Germany combined.
Some towns the water was 20’ above the river normal height. 75% of Queensland declared a disaster zone. This is Australia’s food bowl and will hurt the rest of the country.
Check out these websites; If you see Anna Bligh the Premier of Queensland on any of the videos I think you may see our next prime minister, the way she handled the crisis has been greatly admired.
I thought quite funny the said the major of Lismore said if he catches any looters he would use them as flood markers.
The local community support has been unbelievable, at one volunteer centre 1400 volunteers turned up on Saturday with a shovel, broom, hats, long pants and gumboots. Even the locals have been surprised at themselves.
It was not just the water damage a sewage leaked and 30oC apparently was not a pretty smell let alone health risk and the mud had to be hand shoveled in many places due to lack of access.
Now Victoria has the worst floods ever recorded this week and New South Wales [Sydney] also has flooding.
11/ Mount Dorans - Saturday shopping
There is a struggling Farmers market [just started] in downtown Eustis on Saturdays near the next light after Ace hardware going south......not much in there yet, but you may be interested in a seafood vendor called "Ray and Jims" [something like that] - they seem to have some great seafood, and none of it [except the Tilapia] is from China......finding decent seafood is a big issue in Lake County as we only have one vendor at the Flea market....this is a good addition to our choice.
So your intrepid correspondent bought three meals worth of stuff - we just had some of his Atlantic shrimp, which were excellent and I will be cooking a salmon fillet from Canada on the barbie later in the week, and crab cakes soon.....
There is also a lady selling local honey from Altoona, and a veggie guy.......we need to support these local businesses.....people, get shopping......
Todays video - Mens Version of the Antique Roadshow [British]......raunchy and funny....
Todays medical joke
Joe has had severe headaches for all his adult life, after trying every pill on the market he finally goes to the Doctor.
The doctor said, 'Joe, the good news is I can cure your headaches. The bad news is that it will require castration.
You have a very rare condition, which causes your testicles to press on your spine and the pressure creates one hell of a headache. The only way to relieve the pressure is to remove the testicles.'
Joe was shocked and depressed. He wondered if he had anything to live for. He had no choice but to go under the knife. When he left the hospital, he was without a headache for the first time in 20 years, but he felt like he was missing an important part of himself. As he walked down the street, he realized that he felt like a different person. He could make a new beginning and live a new life.
He saw a men's clothing store and thought, 'That's what I need... A new
suit...'
He entered the shop and told the salesman, 'I'd like a new suit..'
The elderly tailor eye'd him briefly and said, 'Let's see... Size 44 long.'
Joe laughed, 'That's right, how did you know?'
'Been in the business 60 years!' the tailor said.
Joe tried on the suit it fit perfectly.
As Joe admired himself in the mirror, the salesman asked, 'How about a new shirt?'
Joe thought for a moment and then said, 'Sure.'
The salesman eyed Joe and said, 'Let's see, 34 sleeves and 16-1/2 neck.'
Joe was surprised, 'That's right, how did you know?'
'Been in the business 60 years.'
Joe tried on the shirt and it fit perfectly.
Joe walked comfortably around the shop and the salesman asked, 'How about some new underwear?'
Joe thought for a moment and said, 'Sure.'
The salesman said, 'Let's see... Size 36.
Joe laughed, 'Ah ha! I got you! I've worn a size 34 since I was 18 years
old.'
The salesman shook his head, 'You can't wear a size 34. A size 34 would
press your testicles up against the base of your spine and give you one hell of a headache.'
Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he told his tribe that the
winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect firewood to be prepared.
But, being a practical leader, after several days, he got an idea. He
went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and
asked, 'Is the coming winter going to be cold?'
'It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold,' the
meteorologist at the weather service responded.
So the chief went back to his people and told them to collect even
more firewood in order to be prepared.
A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. 'Does it
still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?'
'Yes,' the man at National Weather Service again replied, 'it's going
to be a very cold winter.'
The chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect
every scrap of firewood they could find.
Two weeks later, the chief called the National Weather Service again. 'Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?'
'Absolutely,' the man replied. 'It's looking more and more like it is
going to be one of the coldest winters we've ever seen.'
'How can you be so sure?' the chief asked.
The weatherman replied, 'The Indians are collecting a shitload of firewood'
The doctor said, 'Joe, the good news is I can cure your headaches. The bad news is that it will require castration.
You have a very rare condition, which causes your testicles to press on your spine and the pressure creates one hell of a headache. The only way to relieve the pressure is to remove the testicles.'
Joe was shocked and depressed. He wondered if he had anything to live for. He had no choice but to go under the knife. When he left the hospital, he was without a headache for the first time in 20 years, but he felt like he was missing an important part of himself. As he walked down the street, he realized that he felt like a different person. He could make a new beginning and live a new life.
He saw a men's clothing store and thought, 'That's what I need... A new
suit...'
He entered the shop and told the salesman, 'I'd like a new suit..'
The elderly tailor eye'd him briefly and said, 'Let's see... Size 44 long.'
Joe laughed, 'That's right, how did you know?'
'Been in the business 60 years!' the tailor said.
Joe tried on the suit it fit perfectly.
As Joe admired himself in the mirror, the salesman asked, 'How about a new shirt?'
Joe thought for a moment and then said, 'Sure.'
The salesman eyed Joe and said, 'Let's see, 34 sleeves and 16-1/2 neck.'
Joe was surprised, 'That's right, how did you know?'
'Been in the business 60 years.'
Joe tried on the shirt and it fit perfectly.
Joe walked comfortably around the shop and the salesman asked, 'How about some new underwear?'
Joe thought for a moment and said, 'Sure.'
The salesman said, 'Let's see... Size 36.
Joe laughed, 'Ah ha! I got you! I've worn a size 34 since I was 18 years
old.'
The salesman shook his head, 'You can't wear a size 34. A size 34 would
press your testicles up against the base of your spine and give you one hell of a headache.'
Todays politically incorrect jokes
In a local sports bar trivia quiz the other night, I lost by one point. The question was, where do women mostly have curly hair? Apparently, it's Africa
One of the other questions was to name two things commonly found in cells. It appears that Mexicans and African Americans is not the correct answer
I've heard that Apple has scrapped their plans for the new children's-oriented iPod after realizing that iTouch Kids is not a good product name.
A new Muslim clothing shop opened here in Orlando, but I've been banned from it after asking to look at some bomber jackets...
Just put a deposit down on a brand new Porsche and mentioned it on FaceBook. I said "I can't wait for the new 911 to arrive!" Next thing I know 4000 Muslims have added me as a friend !!
Being a modest man, when I checked into my hotel on a recent trip, I said to the lady at the registration desk ... "I hope the porn channel in my room is disabled." To which she replied, "No, it's regular porn, you sick bastard.
The Red Cross knocked at my door asking if I could help towards the floods in Pakistan. I said I would love to, but my hose only reaches the bottom of the driveway.
One of the other questions was to name two things commonly found in cells. It appears that Mexicans and African Americans is not the correct answer
I've heard that Apple has scrapped their plans for the new children's-oriented iPod after realizing that iTouch Kids is not a good product name.
A new Muslim clothing shop opened here in Orlando, but I've been banned from it after asking to look at some bomber jackets...
Just put a deposit down on a brand new Porsche and mentioned it on FaceBook. I said "I can't wait for the new 911 to arrive!" Next thing I know 4000 Muslims have added me as a friend !!
Being a modest man, when I checked into my hotel on a recent trip, I said to the lady at the registration desk ... "I hope the porn channel in my room is disabled." To which she replied, "No, it's regular porn, you sick bastard.
The Red Cross knocked at my door asking if I could help towards the floods in Pakistan. I said I would love to, but my hose only reaches the bottom of the driveway.
Todays Native American joke
It's late fall and the Indians on a remote reservation in Oklahoma
asked their new chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or
mild.
Since he was a chief in a modern society, he had never been taught the old secrets. When he looked at the sky, he couldn't tell what the
winter was going to be like.
asked their new chief if the coming winter was going to be cold or
mild.
Since he was a chief in a modern society, he had never been taught the old secrets. When he looked at the sky, he couldn't tell what the
winter was going to be like.
Nevertheless, to be on the safe side, he told his tribe that the
winter was indeed going to be cold and that the members of the village should collect firewood to be prepared.
But, being a practical leader, after several days, he got an idea. He
went to the phone booth, called the National Weather Service and
asked, 'Is the coming winter going to be cold?'
'It looks like this winter is going to be quite cold,' the
meteorologist at the weather service responded.
So the chief went back to his people and told them to collect even
more firewood in order to be prepared.
A week later, he called the National Weather Service again. 'Does it
still look like it is going to be a very cold winter?'
'Yes,' the man at National Weather Service again replied, 'it's going
to be a very cold winter.'
The chief again went back to his people and ordered them to collect
every scrap of firewood they could find.
Two weeks later, the chief called the National Weather Service again. 'Are you absolutely sure that the winter is going to be very cold?'
'Absolutely,' the man replied. 'It's looking more and more like it is
going to be one of the coldest winters we've ever seen.'
'How can you be so sure?' the chief asked.
The weatherman replied, 'The Indians are collecting a shitload of firewood'
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