COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Thursday, December 08, 2011

The Russians Looked into Putin’s Soul and Saw Shit.




Russia's anti-Putin protests grow

Tens of thousands say they are prepared to take to the streets in the biggest challenge yet to the country's government
anti-Putin protesters
Russia's anti-Putin protest movement is beginning to gather momentum. Photograph: Ivan Sekretarev/AP
Russia's anti-government protest movement has gathered momentum as tens of thousands of people said they were prepared to take to the streets this weekend in the biggest challenge to Vladimir Putin's rule.
With concern inside the Kremlin growing, Putin and Dmitry Medvedev, Russia's president, met their security council, including the interior and defence ministers, the head of the federal security service (FSB) and the country's foreign intelligence chief, to discuss the situation.
Helicopters hovered in the skies over Moscow, while the police presence on the streets of the Russian capital remained strong following two protests that led to hundreds of people arrested.
The movement was triggered by a disputed parliamentary election result that protesters say wildly overstated the popularity of Putin's United Russia party.
Mikhail Gorbachev, the former premier who oversaw the end of the Soviet Union, on Wednesday called on the Russian authorities to annul the election result and hold a new vote. "More and more people are starting to believe that the election results are not fair," he told the Interfax news agency. "I believe that ignoring public opinion discredits the authorities and destabilises the situation."
The authorities "must admit that there have been numerous falsifications and ballot stuffing", he added.
More than 16,700 people indicated on Facebook their intention to gather in Revolution Square, a stone's throw from the Kremlin, this Saturday. Another 5,500 said they would attend a similar protest in St Petersburg. Protests were also being organised in more than 80 cities across Russia, including the Urals city of Yekaterinburg and the Siberian city of Surgut.
But there was growing fear that the Russian authorities would step up their action against protesters.
Yevgenia Chirikova, an environmental activist turned opposition leader, said she feared the Kremlin would move beyond the haphazard arrests and the deployment of pro-Kremlin youth groups that have so far marked its response to the protests. She noted that the government had recently approved a pay increase for the army, a move designed to ensure its loyalty.
"Putin has no other choice than to hold on to power, shoot himself or sit in jail," she said. "The system he has built is so corrupted, and there have been so many crimes, that there is no other path. He will fight for his power."
Two of the opposition's leaders, Alexei Navalny and Ilya Yashin, remain jailed.
Vladimir Milov, another opposition leader, warned people to stay away from Saturday's protest.
"All this can end in big blood," he wrote on the website of Ekho Moskvy, a liberal radio station. "This is the most dangerous thing in today's situation."
He urged those protesting over the election result to direct their anger at the 4 March presidential vote, which is expected to sweep Putin back into the Kremlin. "Blood and unrest can throw the 'Russian spring' far back," Milov wrote. "We don't need that now."
Anger has been galvanised in the wake of a parliamentary election on Sunday which saw United Russia slip below 50% – despite reports of fraud which indicate its support has fallen much further.
Opposition activists appeared to be taken aback by the swell of popular support. "It's hard to predict what will happen further," Chirikova said. "This is the first time we've seen such events after an election. That people are grabbing on to these falsifications is a new trend in Russian society."
Dmitry Finikov, a 31-year-old small-business owner who volunteered as an election monitor, uploaded his tale to LiveJournal on Tuesday morning and it was viewed more than 150,000 times by Wednesday.
His photographs and video show how election officials at his polling site in central Moscow threw away the official result of the vote, which showed United Russia coming in third with 128 votes, behind the Communists (202) and liberal Yabloko (134). In the final tally, United Russia won the vote at the site.
Yabloko failed to pass the threshold to enter the Duma (lower house of parliament), and members of the party have joined the protest movement.
"I wrote everything I saw, I just did what I had to do," said Finikov, who will attend his first ever anti-government protest on Saturday. "No one in Russia thinks elections are honest. But it shouldn't be this way. It must not be this way."
Officials continued to reject the charges of fraud. Vladimir Churov, head of the elections commission, said in an interview published on Wednesday that the videos of fraud were themselves fraudulent.
"There is a lot of rubbish on the internet about violations now," he told Itogi magazine. "Even before the vote, I knew of several fake 'polling sites' in flats, where they shot these movies. I think we'll see more of them."
On Wednesday Putin filed papers declaring his candidacy for the presidential vote, failing to deliver any of the blustery comments for which he has become known. Putin's widely expected return to the presidency has hit a nerve with many of Russia's urban, well-educated youth, who are dismayed at the prospect of him potentially running the country for another 12 years.

89 comments:

  1. Poor Puty is really screwed. The video by RT shows a small crowd being hassled by Russian police. Nothing new there, except this time it is different. These are Russians standing up to their crooks in government. There will be no well-edited state controlled propaganda release that anyone will believe. All through the crowd are people with cell phones recording the events. They will go home and post these to Youtube.

    ReplyDelete
  2. "Putin has no other choice than to hold on to power, shoot himself or sit in jail," she said. "The system he has built is so corrupted, and there have been so many crimes, that there is no other path. He will fight for his power."

    Heh, where have we heard that before?

    Nearly everywhere.

    Why it's so good to see Blago off to jail. Keep 'em at least a little honest.

    Around here, the whole system rests with the ladies over at the League of Women Voters....honest ladies, who have traditionally run the voting booths here, from both sides of the contest, so far honestly.

    b

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  3. Never trust a politician who fly fishes with his shirt off. (there are bugs out there)

    b

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  4. It's just government of the former KGB, by the former KGB, for the former KGB.

    I'm immune to optimism far as the Russians and liberty are concerned.

    b

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  5. I can hardly wait to see John Corzine plead the fifth.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Is there any candidate more slimey than Rick Perry?

    ReplyDelete
  7. On a really local level, our Farmer's Market here has gotten so big we are moving it out of a parking lot over to Main Street, which will be blocked off on Saturdays.

    I don't know how much is really sold. There is a lot of latte drinking going on, and chat, chat, chat, but the prices seem high to me.

    Everything edible is advertised organic.

    b

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  8. Hmmm, well.....
    Since Sarah is out of it, I'm just a non-commenting witness, mostly.

    I do like Perry's idea of a part time legislature.

    :)

    b

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  9. Perry is the barely edible section of the campaign fruit.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Buying local? Not changing anything is to act in the most radical possible way. I like that.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Deuce, your buying local link isn't working.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Cellphones w/ cameras

    Twitter, youtube, and facebook.

    Instant Revolution.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Putin accuses Hillary Clinton of encouraging Russian protests.

    Obama is calling for a 'new nationalism' with heavy government intervention in markets and totalitarian cradle-to-grave benefits. Text-book fascism. Meanwhile he doubles down against the oil pipeline from Canuckistan, threatening to veto any bill with it as a rider, even if it was his beloved jobs bill.

    ReplyDelete
  14. T, do you belong to a Union?

    If not, did you "once" belong to a Union?

    ReplyDelete
  15. I don't think This is the Fascism you're looking for. From Wiki:

    Fascism ( /ˈfæʃɪzəm/) is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology.[1][2] Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood.[3] To achieve this, fascists purge forces, ideas, people, and systems deemed to be the cause of decadence and degeneration.[3] Fascists advocate the creation of a totalitarian single-party state that seeks the mass mobilization of a nation through indoctrination, physical education, discipline and family policy (such as eugenics).[4][5] That state is led by a supreme leader who exercises a dictatorship over the fascist movement, the government and other state institutions.[6] Fascist governments forbid and suppress opposition.[7]

    Fascism promotes political violence and war as actions that create national regeneration, spirit and vitality.[4][8] It views conflict as a fact of life that is responsible for all human progress.[9] It exalts militarism as providing positive transformation in society and providing spiritual renovation, education, instilling of a will to dominate in people's character and creating national comradeship through military service.[10] Fascists commonly utilize paramilitary organizations for violent attacks on opponents or to overthrow a political system.[11]

    Fascism opposes class-based identity and society, it is thus both anti-bourgeois and anti-proletarian; and individualist based identity and society.[12] It is opposed to many ideologies, including conservatism, liberalism, and two major forms of socialism: communism and social democracy.[13] It opposes a variety of economic, political and social systems, it is opposed to democracy, parliamentary systems, is anti-clerical, and holds a distinctive opposition to capitalism.[14] It rejects egalitarianism, materialism, and rationalism in favour of action, discipline, hierarchy, spirit and will.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Gorbachev's role in the "revolution" of the 90's was downplayed, allen thinks. This time he is front and center.

    As others may have noticed over the past ten years, it is dangerous to buck the system in Russia. One can find oneself dead in an elevator.

    We are most fortunate to have this great man at this delicate time.

    ReplyDelete
  17. A proud Momma just watched her daughter walk out the door to give her last academic presentation before graduating next Saturday from Eastern University.

    A long rocky road that is well deserved.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Congratulations, Melody. I'll tip a Bud Light to you, and your daughter, this evening.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Peak Oil is going to bring a lot of stuff back local.

    ReplyDelete
  20. The real cost of implementing solar power is being deliberately hidden from the public according to a study conducted at Queen’s University in Canada . . .



    However Dr. Pearce notes that there are those studies out there that are simply ignoring the 70 percent reduction in the cost of solar panels since 2009.

    Additionally, Dr. Pearce says that research now shows that the productivity of top-of-the-line solar panels only drops between 0.1 and 0.2 percent annually, rather than the much higher 1 percent drop used in many cost analyses.

    Ignoring system and installation costs — which Dr. Pearce notes can vary widely — equipment costs are determined on dollars per watt of electricity generated. One study released in 2010 estimated that the equipment cost of solar photovoltaic systems was $7.61, while in 2003 another study set the amount at $4.16.

    According to Dr. Pearce, the real cost these days is under $1 per watt for solar panels purchased in bulk on the global market.


    They is lyin' to us, agin

    ReplyDelete
  21. Deuce said...
    Try again on producing and buying locally.

    Thu Dec 08, 08:02:00 AM EST


    ...interesting...

    So, do you think he is he calling for "Mercantilism" or a more benign form of the current socialism. And I grant, off-the-bat, that differentiation is often in the eye of the beholder.

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  22. Since rivers of ink and volumes of angst have already been spilled and exhaled, futility, on an incident involving the loss of American life in an incident during a time of war, I do not wish to reopen this old, suppurating wound. With that said, I draw attention to a link provided by Teresita, yesterday, speaking to the Fort Hood terrorist attack, wherein it was reported that the US government considers the atrocity "work related".

    Where is the outrage?!

    ReplyDelete
  23. The Chinese subsidize many (all?) of their industries by way of a 20% Rebate on Exports.

    There was an article in Bloomberg a week, or so, ago, quoting the CEO of a Chinese Toy Co. He said that the government gives him a 20% Rebate on Exports, but makes it virtually impossible for him to sell his toys Domestically.

    Add in the currency manipulation on top of the 20% Rebate, and they have destroyed the American Toy Business.

    Next? How about the American Solar Business? It's cutthroat. A twenty percent rebate on top of free loans that might never have to be repaid, on top of a currency manipulated down by as much as twenty or thirty percent, and that American business will bite the dust, also.

    Where does it end?

    It only "ends" where we end it.

    Self-Defense is not Mercantilism.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Rufus said...

    Self-Defense is not Mercantilism.

    Thu Dec 08, 08:47:00 AM EST


    I agree, technically.

    What China is doing is classic "Mercantilism", right out of the courts of Louis XIV or George I, II, or III.

    The problem with "Mercantilism" is one of leadership, entailing that leadership’s view of what is good for the state. How do we (the US) avoid the historically corrupting influence of "Mercantilism", for example, concerning monopolies (again, looking to the present example of China), among other reasonable fears?

    ReplyDelete
  25. Rufus II said...

    T, do you belong to a Union?

    If not, did you "once" belong to a Union?


    I belong to a "civil union" of two.

    Federal employees are not represented by real unions that can strike, ala PATCO.

    I've had essentially one employer for 28 years: The USN.

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  26. I am convinced that if the Pentagon has the money and the lawyers and the brass to be reducing the slaughter of unarmed US forces, on American soil, by a terrorist, and reduces atrocity to a "workplace violence” then the entire agency is rife with politcal correctness. An across the board budget of about 25% in non-hardware related costs should be enough "budget violence” to get their attention. They cannot even get the treatment of serviceman’s remains handled with respect but they are respecting some murdering Islamic dirtball.

    Off with their heads.

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  27. In the final analysis you just have to have elections, and hope the electorate hires someone that will handle trade in a responsible way.

    I expect Obama to start popping some penalties (tariffs) on Chinese Goods that have been given unfair advantage by the Chinese Government.

    Obviously, trade works best when FTAs are carefully negotiated on a bilateral basis, and enshrined into law.

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  28. Brings up an interesting question. Did the Government pass Summary Judgement, and Execution of an American citizen (Awlaki) for inciting workplace violence?

    ReplyDelete
  29. Corzine: "I'm shocked, shocked to find that money is missing in here.”

    Wall Street: "Your winnings, sir."

    Corzine: "Thank you very much."

    ReplyDelete
  30. VDH: America will soon again be able to supply all of its own domestic natural gas needs -- and perhaps for the next 90 years at present rates of consumption. We have recently become a net exporter of refined gas and diesel fuel, and already have cut imported oil from OPEC countries by 1 million barrels per day.

    The Oil Drummers are gonna shit.

    ReplyDelete
  31. We still Import 9 Million Barrels of Oil/Day, T.

    And, we still Import 12% of our nat gas from Canada.

    We are becoming a small "exporter" of refined products, though. That much Is true.

    What is happening is the world's available oil exports are getting heavier, and more sour. Most (all) of the European/S. American Refineries can't handle that type of oil. So, we're Importing the oil (and, some gasoline and diesel,) and exporting some gas/diesel.

    There's no real good news here, T. We're still, on net, running about a Billion/Day Trade Deficit in oil/gas, and products.

    ReplyDelete
  32. You're getting bombarded, daily now, with propaganda/ disingenuity from the fossil fuel interests. They are watching the costs come down in the renewables sector, and are becoming alarmed.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Gingrich could destroy Obama by going around asking Pennsylvanians and Ohioans why is the Obama Administration standing in the way of their state’s prosperity by not doing everything to develop, buy and convert to natural gas.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Rigs are leaving the Marcellus, Deuce. Not because of any gov. regs, etc, but because they can't turn a profit "frackin'" for $3.50 gas.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Ah, looks like another crappy day in the markets. I'm going back to bed. later.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Short supply leads to high prices. High prices send signals for exploration and new technology, which increases supply and controls prices. It's how capitalism works, Rufus.

    ReplyDelete
  37. The Russians admit it, even if the "Conservatives" in the US refuse to, the US is leading the way in destabilizing our foreign foes.

    To those that support the Iranians, beware.

    Sanctions and sabotage will kick your ass.

    MOSCOW - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin strongly criticized U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday, accusing her of encouraging and funding Russians protesting election fraud, and warned of a wider Russian crackdown on dissent.

    By describing Russia's parliamentary election as rigged, Putin said Clinton "gave a signal" to his opponents.

    "They heard this signal and with the support of the U.S. State Department began their active work,"
    Putin said in televised remarks. He said the United States is spending "hundreds of millions" of dollars to influence Russian politics with the aim of weakening a rival nuclear power.

    ReplyDelete



  38. (Reuters) - New claims for unemployment benefits dropped to a nine-month low last week, a government report showed on Thursday, ...

    ReplyDelete
  39. Deuce said...

    Re: Fort(like) Hood terrorist attack


    Off with their heads.

    Thu Dec 08, 09:30:00 AM EST



    ...or some Arctic equivalent of Devil's Island...


    Senator Lieberman had better keep his word and see justice done. One of the advantages of living within a small community is the small number of degrees of separation.

    Senator Lieberman's office is open to take comments. He may need the support that an outraged public could provide during the stretch of an election.

    ReplyDelete



  40. Republican presidential contender Newt Gingrich is virtually tied with President Obama in two key swing states, a new Quinnipiac poll shows, and he trounces his GOP rival Mitt Romney in head-to-head match ups.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Just imagine having to spend an entire career, a life, around folks that would describe the Fort Hood slaughter as "work place violence".

    Then imagine trusting those people with the formulating the military strategies of the US.

    Which is what Mitt Romney says he will do, if elected President.
    Abdicating the role of Commander in Chief to the Generals.

    Another dis-qualifier.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Elections or not, in Russia or Egypt, the song remains the same.

    Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Egypt’s ruling generals swore in a new Cabinet and gave the prime minister greater powers as Islamist groups headed for control of the first parliament since the toppling of former President Hosni Mubarak.

    ...

    While the army yesterday granted Prime Minister Kamal el- Ganzouri presidential powers, it said these exclude oversight of the military and judiciary. It has also said it will remain the ultimate authority in Egypt until a president is elected next year.

    “This transfer of powers is 100 percent cosmetic,”
    said Ziad A. Moussa, a senior analyst at Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies.
    “The military council is trying to say that it’s not interested in remaining in power but the actual content of that power transfer is not as powerful as it seems to be.”

    ReplyDelete




  43. El-Ganzouri, who also served as premier under Mubarak, and other members of the new Cabinet yesterday. Momtaz el-Saeed was named finance minister, Mohamed Ibrahim Youssef interior minister and the foreign-affairs portfolio remains with Mohamed Amr, state television reported.

    ReplyDelete




  44. Mohamed Youssef Ibrahim: minister of interior

    64-year-old Alexandria-born Mohamed Youssef Ibrahim graduated from the police academy in 1968, where he began his career in general security and criminal investigation.

    From 1989 to 1999, Ibrahim worked in the general security sector in several Upper Egyptian governorates, which witnessed several terrorist attacks by Islamic fundamentalists during his tenure.

    From 2003 to 2006, Ibrahim headed up the Giza Security Directorate. In December 2005, he faced serious criticism from the media and human rights organisations when the Central Security Forces, under his command, violently dispersed a sit-in staged by Sudanese refugees at Mostafa Mahmoud Square in Cairo’s Mohandesin district, in which 27 refugees were killed and hundreds injured. The incident later became known as the “Mostafa Mahmoud massacre.”

    In 2006, Ibrahim was promoted to first minister’s aide for the economic security sector before his retirement the following year.

    ReplyDelete
  45. Congratulations to you proud Momma.

    b

    ReplyDelete
  46. Old School Egypt is well represented in the "new" government, there in Egypt.





    Gamal El-Arabi: minister of education

    A former mathematics teacher, El-Arabi worked his way up the education ministry’s administrative apparatus over 35 years to eventually head the central administration of secondary school examinations in March 2011.

    The Independent Union of Teachers has rejected El-Arabi’s appointment as minister, accusing him of having participated in the “corruption” of Egypt’s educational institutions during the Mubarak era. The union has threatened to call for mass demonstrations to prevent him from entering ministry headquarters.

    Foad El-Nawawy: minister of health

    El-Nawawy is a professor of Botany at Cairo University’s faculty of medicine. He also headed Cairo’s Kasr El-Aini hospital from 1995 to 2000.

    El-Nawawy replaces outgoing minister Amr Helmi, who publicly sided with protesters’ version of events during the January uprising and provided the public with accurate death tolls following bloody confrontations between security forces and protesters.

    Fathi Fekri: minister of manpower

    Fekri teaches constitutional law at Ain Shams University. He did not play an active role in the labour movement prior to his ministerial appointment.

    According to labour activists, Prime Minister Kamal El-Ganzouri failed to find any ministry officials who were not mired in corruption cases or connected in one way or another to attacks on revolutionaries in the infamous “battle of the camel” on 2 February 2011.

    Moreover, the same sources told Ahram Online that the new prime minister refused to approach the heads of Egypt’s new independent unions because of their militant stances on labour issues.

    ReplyDelete
  47. A contrite Jon S. Corzine will express both sorrow and a firm defense of his actions Thursday in his first public appearance since the collapse of MF Global Holdings Ltd. in late October.

    “Recognizing the enormous impact on many peoples’ lives resulting from the events surrounding the MF Global bankruptcy, I appear at today’s hearings with great sadness,” Mr. Corzine plans to say in testimony prepared for a hearing by the House Agriculture Committee, which subpoenaed the former MF Global chief executive Friday. A copy of the testimony was released early Thursday on the panel’s website. …

    The trustee overseeing MF Global’s liquidation estimates the amount at $1.2 billion. Mr. Corzine will say in his testimony that he had little to do with the mechanics of moving customer cash and collateral and that he was “stunned” when he learned on Oct. 30 that the money was missing.

    “I simply do not know where the money is,” he will say, noting that “there were an extraordinary number of transactions during MF Global’s last few days.”


    Hot Air


    b

    ReplyDelete
  48. Betcha that MF Global does at least 14 years, same as Bloggo, aye?

    Corporations being people, too, I'm sure it'll be "Hard Time" for MF Global.

    Maybe some time in "Solitary"

    Like Pappillon.

    ReplyDelete



  49. Foreign Minister Mohammad Kamel Amr was retained along with 12 others from the previous Cabinet


    Read more: http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2011/Dec-08/156289-ganzouri-names-new-egypt-cabinet-with-increased-powers.ashx#ixzz1fxXCHgSC
    (The Daily Star :: Lebanon News :: http://www.dailystar.com.lb)

    ReplyDelete
  50. Nobody Declares War No Mo'


    ----


    If I told my wife, sorry, I don't know where the money is, she'd, she'd.......

    she'd do something really big.....


    b

    ReplyDelete
  51. DR,

    Re: Fort(like) Hood terrorist attack

    The evidence is so damning of the system that selected, groomed and advanced Hasan that every effort is being made to hide the facts.

    To my knowledge, there are at least two reports of the incident so inflammatory that "Executive Privilege" has been claimed by Mr. Obama. Both reports have been the subject of hurried media coverage.

    One of these reports is a report specifically demanded by Mr. Obama, as you may recall. That he refused to allow it in evidence during the Article 32 proceeding suggests that he and Mr. Romney are a draw according to your standards.

    If this ever gets out of the present loop, and this is where Senator Lieberman comes in, the lid will blow and heads will roll.

    Major Hasan will die if this ever goes to trial. And, DR, contrary to the low regard some hold for the integrity of the US military generally, a jury of his peers will act summarily, forcefully and remorselessly. The trial may run a year, but I will wager the verdict will come within a week.

    ReplyDelete
  52. The culture of the military is what it is, allen.

    The Major came through the System, in the Bush days, and the military's political infrastructure that sanctioned the Major's continued service is being protected by Mr Obama.

    The culture is that of the Federal Socialist military.
    An expanded jobs program, with a top heavy command system.
    To many Generals, Admirals and such, for the size of the force, by any historic manpower utilization standard.

    ReplyDelete
  53. .

    The GOP continually rants about Sarbane-Oxley. MF should be a good test of how it works.

    As I understand it, Corzine signed the required paperwork indicating he knew what was happening in the company and approved.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  54. .

    ...I do not wish to reopen this old, suppurating wound. With that said,...I guess I will


    Anyone inferring a degree of comparibility between the Husan shootings and the Liberty incident is a nitwit.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  55. Could just be another case of "Robo-Signing", Q?

    The signatory just signing away, without any idea of the content of the data sets in the document.

    ReplyDelete
  56. 'allen' unwraps his Holiday gifts

    We're going to CdA today to Cabelas, buy the Christmas ammo, which is on sale.

    See ya....

    HoHoHo

    b

    ReplyDelete
  57. At $500 per gallon, the US took it in the shorts.
    Wonder if it was insured?

    QUETTA, Pakistan - Assailants torched more than 20 tankers in Pakistan carrying fuel for U.S. and NATO troops in neighboring Afghanistan on Thursday, the first reported attack since Islamabad closed the border to protest coalition airstrikes that killed 24 Pakistani troops last month.

    The attack highlighted the vulnerability of the supply trucks that are waiting for the country's two border crossings into Afghanistan to reopen. ...

    ReplyDelete
  58. .

    Could just be another case of "Robo-Signing", Q?


    According to SOX, that is not an option anymore; at least, not an option without penalties.

    (That is if I understand the SOX bill correctly.)

    The GOP says SOX was introduced with undue haste in response to Enron, but it does seem pretty clear.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  59. So, now, the US effort in Afghanistan is dependent upon the good will and grace of Mr Putin?

    The same Mr Putin that is accusing US of spending "hundreds of millions" in an effort to question the legitimacy of the Russian government.

    Makin' the best of a bad situation.
    Thinkin' it's time to be rollin' out, of Afghanistan.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Well, Mr Corzine won't meet up with Bloggo, to compare notes, Bloggo goin' down to State charges should not enter the Federal prison system.

    Maybe Mr Corzine will be able to buddy up with Bernie Murdoff, who got off with $18 billion, in other people's money.

    Trust, such a valuable thing to waste.

    ReplyDelete
  61. So, in Egypt, it seems that despite the street theater of last spring, the permanent government remains pretty much in place.

    12 of the past Cabinet Ministers are remaining in their posts.
    With no liberals or radical Islamoids appointed to the open portfolios.

    Indeed a "liberal" was replaced by a "Team Player".

    The military not even handing over the visible reins of power before June or July of 2012.

    And then only to a President that has yet to be selected, by a process yet to be determined.

    But designed by the military and the permanent government.

    ReplyDelete
  62. Moves by the Egyptian military that will allow for the "secular center" to materialize, after decades of political stagnation through oppression.

    If there is no "secular center" then the reality of a more Islamic Egypt will have to be factored into future Anglo Axis decision making.

    But the challenges that face Egypt will not be salved by the policies promoted by the radical Islamoids.

    Indeed the challenges would be enhanced, as Europeon and US tourists continue to pass on the Giza Pyramid tour.

    What better way to discredit the Islamoid system, than to watch them fail, grandly.

    ReplyDelete
  63. Quirk,

    Re: "nitwit"


    ...don't have time to play, today...deal making in Boulder...keep up the good work...I will.

    :-D)))

    ReplyDelete
  64. You fellas keep mistaking the spelling ...

    it's "knit whit".

    Clever in sweaters.

    ReplyDelete



  65. Official Confirms Authenticity of Iranian TV Images Showing Lost U.S. Drone


    One official told Fox News on Thursday that the incident is a huge loss and makes the top-secret helicopter tail lost during the Usama bin Laden raid in Pakistan "look like a pittance." The official said there are real fears the Iranians will share this technology with the Russians and the Chinese, in addition to using it themselves.


    Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2011/12/08/iranian-tv-airs-purported-images-downed-us-drone/#ixzz1fyL5gLEu

    ReplyDelete
  66. .

    Sorry, rat. You've mentioned this a couple times. But I don't get it.

    I must be a bit of a "knit whit" myself?

    .

    ReplyDelete
  67. Clever in sweaters would be knit wit.

    Whit is a sweater would be knit Whit.

    You are both idiots.

    ReplyDelete
  68. Q or Rat in a sweater are knit witless.

    ReplyDelete
  69. After Enron, with the rogue accounting firms and whatnot, Corzine authored (most) of a 2002 law called the 'Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act' or Sarbanes-Oxley, and chaired it being read out of committee, that held CEOs accountable for what happens at their company. Now this same Corzine says he don't know where they put the $1.2 billion dollars they were gambling with.

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  70. .

    You are both idiots.

    Says another chickenshit anonymous Anonomi with no balls and less sense. Shouting out loudly from under his/her rock.

    .

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  71. Well, if anonymous has no balls, then it's a she, no?

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  72. Hell Quirk that was me I just forgot to put my B in there.

    I thought I'd knitted together a witty little post.

    We're heading to Cabelas for Christmas ammo soon as the son gets here. But he's obviously not here yet.

    You need some 7.62?

    b

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  73. T, would you care to explain how the "demand signals" emanating from a doubling of oil prices since 2005 have resulted in slightly less oil being produced in 2011 than in '05?

    I love it when lifetime DOD employees give me lesseons in economics, and "price/demand" signals.

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  74. Maybe we will luck out and allen will be grounded in Boulder by snow and fog for a month without a computer.

    Gas is about $3.36 here. Down a bit from what it was. Barley still $200/ton.

    Ammo is cheap right now at the local Cabelas I'm told.


    b

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  75. Washington State University just hired at new football coach at TWO MILLION A YEAR, and he floats in here with A POLICE ESCORT AND LIMOUSINE SERVICE.

    This country has lost its mind.

    b

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  76. Hell Quirk that was me I just forgot to put my B in there.

    Well, if anonymous has no balls, then it's a she, no?


    Not necessarily so T.

    :)



    You need some 7.62?


    I order my ammo online bobbo. The closest Cabelas is a sweet operation but it is about 50 miles (at least) from me.

    .

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  77. Ethanol production hit an all time high last week, according to the latest figures from the Energy Information Administration.

    For the week ending December 2, ethanol production averaged 954,000 barrels per day (b/d) – or 40.068 million gallons daily, which is 24,000 barrels more than the previous week and a new record. Getting close to the end of the year now, the four week average for ethanol production stood at 929,000 b/d, which translates to an annualized rate of 14.25 billion gallons.

    Gasoline demand for the week averaged 360 million gallons daily. Expressed as a percentage of daily gasoline demand, daily ethanol production was 11.63%.

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  78. Solar materials prices are down, financing is more accessible and technology has extended solar system life. The result: The price of solar energy-generated electricity, calculated by a legitimate levelized cost of energy (LCOE) method, is now competitive in many regions with the price of electricity generated by conventional sources.

    To be clear, this review of solar photovoltaic LCOE is not one of those “if coal and nuclear paid for the real harm they do” analyses. It is a hard look at the actual numbers.

    The study’s biggest surprise, said co-author Joshua Pearce, Materials Science and Mechanical Engineering Professor at Queen’s University and Michigan Technical University, was how much outdated information and misinformation there is about the price of residential and small/medium system solar energy. “We have reached a tipping point,” he said. “Solar has gone past grid parity.”

    Parity, according to the study, is “the lifetime generation cost of the electricity from PV being comparable with the electricity prices for conventional sources on the grid.” The metric of LCOE is used “when comparing electricity generation technologies or considering grid parity for emerging technologies.”


    Jes wait till me and Rat git our installation crews up and runnin'

    You'll be payin for your solar out of your pocket change. :)

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  79. The game from here on out is "installation" costs.

    There's going to be a hell of a drop, there.

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  80. Any decent small contractor could get filthy rich doing small solar farms for $0.35 to $0.50/Watt (which is, maybe, 1/3 or less than what the big boys are getting now.

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  81. .

    Get busy ruf. You've got another mouth to feed now.

    .

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  82. You're right; I gotta go buy a bottle of whiskey. :)

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  83. .

    Good man, keep those priorities straight.


    .

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  84. Check out the video on the next post!!

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