1/ One of the most important stories I have seen for a while - the title is "We're Living in a Kleptocracy"......an "epiphany" article.....
And yes I had to look it up.......
Kleptocracy, alternatively cleptocracy or k
This excellent story from Rebecca Gordon explains many of our country's issues, and when you read it you will be even more disgusted with the gub'mint than you are now, but you will also be wiser.....
We’re living in a kleptocracy: America robs from its poor — while its infrastructure crumbles
The U.S. fancies itself the world leader in clean government, even as we methodically bankrupt our disenfranchised
This piece originally appeared on TomDispatch.
A top government official with energy industry holdings huddl
What country is this?
2/ Some lovely Christmas ads out there this year, but I love this one from a German supermarket chain.....get a hanky ready.....one minute.....
It tells the story of a lonely father and grandfather whose kids, who are living all over the world, busy with work and family, cancel on coming home for Christmas at the last minute.
When they find out their father has passed away they rush home. You'll need to watch the rest, and we defy you not to cry!
3/ Donald Trump has been saying some crazy shit now for months, but recently his outrageous remarks have taken a darker turn and unleashed some very unpleasant emotions in his supporters.....but if he actually became President? Here's how Timothy Egan from the Times describes it....
In “The Plot Against America,” the novelist Philip Roth imagines an alternative history at the dawn of World War II. Charles A. Lindbergh, aviator hero and crypto-fascist, defeats Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940. Rather than go to war against Nazi Germany, he foments an atmosphere of hatred directed at Jews in the United States.
President Lindbergh’s rule is based on fear. He can violate the Constitution because enough Americans do not mind limiting the freedom of a suspect minority in the name of security.
Of course, it could never happen here. It’s a novel, silly boy — one of late-stage Roth’s better efforts. Made-up stuff. That’s what I’ve always thought. But over the last three months, in listening to plans of the Republican presidential front-runner and the views of his increasingly thuggish followers, I’m starting to have some dark fears should Donald Trump become president.
4/ A lovely collection of 20 photographs......
Sometimes, you see a photograph which summons a whole storm of emotions inside. Often this is down to a perfectly chosen angle or a shot taken at just the right moment. Sometimes, it’s a shot of a stunning landscape or an awe-inspiring natural phenomenon. But in other cases, it can be something as simple as the chronicling of our everyday lives from all around the world.
Here, we’ve gathered together 20 of the most brilliant photographs we’ve seen this year. Some are amusing, some exciting, and others simply wonderful.......
5/ Nothing political - just a really interesting story from the Times about the underside of the internet, and how one unhinged hacker sends police SWAT teams to your house if he doesn't like you.....
Long, but truly fascinating and even a little bit scary.....it's called "The Serial Swatter"......
Early one weekend morning in January 2014, Janet was sleeping fitfully in her parents’ home in Toronto. A junior studying elementary education at a nearby college, she had gone home for the weekend in a state of nervous collapse. For months, someone going by the name ‘‘Obnoxious’’ had been harassing her online. He had called her cellphone repeatedly and sent her threatening texts. Worst of all, he had threatened to ‘‘swat’’ her at school — to make a false emergency call to the police and lure a SWAT team to her door.
Janet was afraid to go to sleep; she kept thinking that he was going to swat her in the middle of the night. He said he was going to swat her family, too. Her father owned a bar, and her mother worked at a hotel. They were from China, and their English wasn’t great. They didn’t know much about her life online, and they would never understand why someone would stalk their daughter on the Internet.
Around 6:30 a.m., her father jostled her awake and said she needed to come downstairs. When she got to the top of the steps, she saw her family’s living room ‘‘covered in cops.’’ There were at least five officers in riot gear, guns drawn. They had bulletproof vests and pads and helmets with visors. She remembers the eerie silence of the officers — they said nothing at all. She had no idea what to do with her hands. ‘‘I was scared to move,’’ she says. ‘‘I wanted to go downstairs with my hands up. I was afraid they would shoot me. I was so scared. I feel like they just didn’t really let their guard down until I told them what happened.’’
6/ Last week you may have watched the Adele skit when the real Adele attends an audition for a group of Adele impersonators.....it's a lovely five minutes, so here it is again if you didn't open it......
If you’re looking for an ideal pick-me-up after 24 hours of crying along with Adele’s new album, 25, consider watching this clip from a BBC special that aired Friday night where Adele surprises a room full of her own impersonators.
The ruse was that there was an audition for Adele impersonator, rounding up a half-dozen or so women (and at least one man) to show off their best Adele looks and sing one of her songs. With the help of host Graham Norton, Adele slapped on a false nose, some opera gloves, and the mild-mannered voice and comportment of a schoolteacher named “Jenny,” all the better to create a character who wouldn’t arouse the suspicions of her fellow auditioners … until she takes the stage and begins to sing “To Make You Feel My Love.”
The best part is watching some of the impersonators catch on quicker than others, and one by one watching them go wide-eyed. The second-best part is Graham Norton getting a little misty-eyed at the whole thing. Because what’s an Adele performance if you’re not crying?
7/ But the inspiration for this came from a video done a few years ago where Jewel went to a karaoke bar in disguise and sang her own songs......also a really "nice" piece.....six heartwarming minutes.....
The people over at Funny or Die are at it again, this time with Grammy-nominated artist Jewel. The concept? Send Jewel to a local karaoke bar disguised as a mere mortal and have her sing some of her own songs. They fitted her with a wig, prosthetic nose, and, naturally, a bigger butt. Pretending to be a frumpy businesswoman named Karen, Jewel takes the stage and proceeds to totally dumbfounds the audience with her singing abilities. They have noidea she’s the real Jewel. (I wouldn’t have known either. Let’s all applaud the power of a little makeup.)
After wowing the crowd, Jewel changes out of her disguise and comes back to sing as the real Jewel, and some people still don’t realize that she was actually Karen from the earlier performance. Watch the video after the jump.
8/ And finally - you may or may not have had enough of Adele singing "Hello", but this version of her on the Jimmy Fallon show accompanied by some primitive instruments is pretty good......three minutes....
After hosting Adele for an interview and performance, Jimmy Fallon and the record-breaking artist sat down with The Roots to perform “Hello.” This time, with classroom instruments.
The performance aired on Tuesday night’s episode of “The Tonight Show” and left the heavy song feeling a little lighter and a lot more fun. And, so far, the reviews are positive.
“Sounds the exact same live and on the album. Amazing,” one YouTube commenter wrote under the video.
Another wrote, “This is officially my favourite Youtube video of the year.”
9/ Wow. Bruce Rauner [a billionaire] was elected Governor of Illinois last year, and he is making his mark with a vengeance, going after public sector unions.....an in-depth look at how the power of money is starting to make a significant difference to all of us......this is life in an oligarchy folks.....
The richest man in Illinois does not often give speeches. But on a warm spring day two years ago, Kenneth C. Griffin, the billionaire founder of one of the world’s largest hedge funds, rose before a black-tie dinner of the Economic Club of Chicago to deliver an urgent plea to the city’s elite.
They had stood silently, Mr. Griffin told them, as politicians taxed too much, spent too much and drove businesses and jobs from the state. They had refused to help those who would take on the reigning powers in the Illinois Capitol. “It is time for us to do something,” he implored.
Their response came quickly. In the months since, Mr. Griffin and a small group of rich supporters — not just from Chicago, but also from New York City and Los Angeles, southern Florida and Texas — have poured tens of millions of dollars into the state, a concentration of political money without precedent in Illinois history.
Their wealth has forcefully shifted the state’s balance of power. Last year, the families helped elect as governor Bruce Rauner, a Griffin friend and former private equity executive from the Chicago suburbs, who estimates his own fortune at more than $500 million. Now they are rallying behind Mr. Rauner’s agenda: to cut spending and overhaul the state’s pension system, impose term limits and weaken public employee unions.
10/ If you are flying to the UK, don't book anything that lands at Birmingham airport in the winter......worth watching again.....
Welcome to Birmingham, England - where pilots have white knuckles and steel balls. This eleven minute video highlights the skill and focus that is demanded from pilots who fly here. So, find something to bite down on, and imagine yourself flying in the back of one of these planes!
The way the planes take such a beating from the wind and hard landings blows my mind. Did you see how the wings of the Emirates 777 seemed to almost flap like a bird?
Birmingham Airport is located in central England, 105 miles northwest of London. Work is currently being done to extend Birmingham's runway by 400 meters (1,312 feet) and is expected to be completed this Spring. This will not only give pilots a little more breathing room for landing, it will allow the biggest planes such as the Airbus A380 to serve the airport.
Of course, the runway extension won't have any effect on the savage winds. So, that means more future entertainment for us, as we'll get to see even biggerplanes accept the challenge of the gauntlet that is Birmingham
11/ This is another one of those epiphany stories, and connects what has happened in the past with what is happening to the world economy right now..
The issue is growth, and how every economy in the world is expected and required to grow in financial terms....it's part of the DNA of our capitalist system. But there are limits, and we are rapidly approaching them in climate change and all other resources, including water, sea life, trees....you name it - we're decimating it.
The answer is to truly try to control climate change the world economies have to stop growing, which will never ever happen. We can't even try to transition to sustainable energy like solar and wind - the oil companies are too powerful.
Read this long but well written article, and if you are a "mature" person you will take some comfort in the fact we can probably stumble forward for another 20 or 30 years or so, so we probably won't see it all come crashing down. But our kids will, and definitely our grandchildren....
Sorry to be such a downer, but this excellent story from the Times made me depressed.....we [humanity] can't and won't change....
Could the world order survive without growing?
It’s hard to imagine now, but humanity made do with little or no economic growth for thousands of years. In Byzantium and Egypt, income per capita at the end of the first millennium was lower than at the dawn of the Christian Era. Much of Europe experienced no growth at all in the 500 years that preceded the Industrial Revolution. In India, real incomes per person shrank continuously from the early 17th through the late 19th century.
As world leaders gather in Paris to hash out an agreement to hold down and ultimately stop the emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases that threaten to make Earth increasingly inhospitable for humanity, there is a question that is unlikely to be openly discussed at the two-week conclave convened by the United Nations. But it is nonetheless hanging in the air: Could civilization, as we know it, survive such an experience again?
The answer, simply, is no.
12/ Sarah McLachlan and Pink with a beautiful duet of "In The Arms Of The Angels"......glorious voices.....
A truly beautiful duet, Sarah McLachlan and Pink’s voices come together to complement one another so beautifully in the famous song, “In The Arms Of The Angel.” Written by Sarah, this song stayed on Billboard’s top 100 for 29 weeks and is still of favorite touching the hearts of many. Sarah has sold over 40 million records and, in addition to the piano, is also an excellent guitarist. Sarah came to fame upon the release of her multi=platinum smash "Surfacing" in 1997. Pink, aka Alecia Moore, is famous for her acrobatic performances as well as her strong vocal range. Pink came to prominence after performing "Lady Marmalade" with Christina Aguilera, Lil' Kim, and Mya in 2001.
13/ You just end up in despair when you hear stories like this, about how our Republican House, including Jennifer Sullivan [Rep. for Mount Dora and Lake County] passed a bill to allow fracking in the State which if allowed by the Senate and signed by the scumbag puts our water supply at risk.
Our politicians don't give a shit......but the crazy thing is they all live here and have the same water supply, so they are either 1/ Floriduh stupid or 2/ bought by the oil companies who are lobbying for this. Or both.....
This one is worth calling her office for folks.....Jennifer Sullivan.....
Wonderful, important column from Lauren Ritchie in the Orlando Sentinel.....
As the 2016 Florida legislative session draws near, a nasty bill to allow fracking is slithering through committees on its way to a vote by legislators on the floor.
The bill would prevent individual counties such as Lake from banning it.
South Florida legislators behind the bill claim that it would regulate the process of fracking, which involves drilling into the earth and blasting rock with an extremely high-pressure stream of water and chemicals to release natural gas or oil.
Allow it or regulate it? This is a case of "You say tomaaato, I say tomahhto."
State Rep. Jennifer Sullivan, R-Mount Dora, is all enthusiasm about hydro-fracturing, which has ruined drinking-water wells in the North, produced dangerous levels of toxic air pollution, strained water resources and has left communities dealing with vast amounts of contaminated wastewater. Oh, and then there's the little earthquakes it's suspected of causing. They're just a little blowback from Mother Nature.
Todays amusement for the lads.....test your shooting ability.....I got a 29 on this one!!
Check this one out … see how good you are with a Russian pistol. All text is in Russian.
When the pistol appears, click on the trigger, aim, and fire. It’s really self-explanatory.
You have 3 shots in 30 seconds to hit the target and get your score.
Todays hairdresser joke
This is something to think about when negative people
Are doing their best to rain on your parade…
So remember this story the next time …
A woman was at her hairdresser's getting her hair styled for a trip to Rome with her husband..
She mentioned the trip to the hairdresser, who responded: " Rome? Why would anyone want to go there? It's crowded and dirty. You're crazy to go to Rome. So, how are you getting there?"
"We're taking Continental," was the reply. "We got a great rate!"
" Continental?" exclaimed the hairdresser. "That's a terrible airline. Their planes are old, their flight attendants are ugly, and they're always late. So, where are you staying in Rome?"
"We'll be at this exclusive little place over on Rome's Tiber River called Teste."
"Don't go any further. I know that place. Everybody thinks it’s going to be something special and exclusive, but it's really a dump."
"We're going to go to see the Vatican and maybe get to see the Pope."
"That's rich," laughed the hairdresser. "You and a million other people trying to see him. He'll look the size of an ant. Boy, good luck on this lousy trip of yours. You're going to need it."
A month later, the woman again came in for a hairdo. The hairdresser asked her about her trip to Rome.
"It was wonderful," explained the woman,"not only were we on time in one of Continental's brand new planes, but it was overbooked, and they bumped us up to first class. The food and wine were wonderful, and I had a handsome 28-year-old steward who waited on me hand and foot.. And the hotel was great! They'd just finished a $5 million remodeling job, and now it's a jewel, the finest hotel in the city. They, too, were overbooked, so they apologized and gave us their owner's suite at no extra charge!"
"Well," muttered the hairdresser, "that's all well and good, but I know you didn't get to see the Pope."
"Actually, we were quite lucky, because as we toured the Vatican, a Swiss Guard tapped me on the shoulder, and explained that the Pope likes to meet some of the visitors, and if I'd be so kind as to step into his private room and wait, the Pope would personally greet me. Sure enough, five minutes later, the Pope walked through the door and shook my hand! I knelt down and he spoke a few words to me.."
"Oh, really! What'd he say?"
He said: "Who fucked up your hair?"
Todays manly joke
During his physical, the doctor asked the patient about his daily activity level and he described a typical day this way:
“Well, yesterday afternoon, I waded along the edge of a lake, drank eight beers, escaped from wild dogs in the heavy brush, jumped away from an aggressive rattlesnake, marched up and down several rocky hills, stood in a patch of poison ivy, crawled out of quicksand and took four leaks behind big trees.”
Inspired by the story, the doctor said, "You must be one hell of an outdoorsman."
”Nah,” he replied, “I'm just a terrible golfer.
Todays medical joke
A couple, both age 78, went to a sex therapist's office.
The doctor asked, "What can I do for you?"
The man said, "Will you watch us have sex?"
The doctor looked puzzled, but agreed.
When the couple finished, the doctor said, "There's nothing wrong with the way you have sex," and charged them $50.
This happened several weeks in a row. The couple would make an appointment, have sex with no problems, pay the doctor, then leave.
Finally, the doctor asked, "Just exactly what are you trying to find out?"
"We're not trying to find out anything," the husband replied. "She's married and we can't go to her house. I'm married and we can't go to my house. The Holiday Inn charges $90. The Hilton charges $108. We do it here for $50...and I get $43 back from Medicare.
The doctor asked, "What can I do for you?"
The man said, "Will you watch us have sex?"
The doctor looked puzzled, but agreed.
When the couple finished, the doctor said, "There's nothing wrong with the way you have sex," and charged them $50.
This happened several weeks in a row. The couple would make an appointment, have sex with no problems, pay the doctor, then leave.
Finally, the doctor asked, "Just exactly what are you trying to find out?"
"We're not trying to find out anything," the husband replied. "She's married and we can't go to her house. I'm married and we can't go to my house. The Holiday Inn charges $90. The Hilton charges $108. We do it here for $50...and I get $43 back from Medicare.
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