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."

Monday, January 07, 2013

An letter on the issue of Rape in India from Anonomous


It is fascinating how the western media is struggling manfully to turn this story into a plain rape case.
Let me explain why this is much more, and should be reported as such.
On the same day as this couple were attacked a TV news team filmed a woman being gang raped on a street in another Indian city, and broadcast the film, without assisting the woman, or calling the police.
Assaults on woman are endemic across India. Legally they are often classed as "Eve Teasing", even when they end in death.
This couple were left unassisted at the roadside as many people watched them - including women car drivers - without calling the police. This explains the disparity between the victims' stated time and that recorded by the police.
The coach had driven through many police check points whilst the rape was continuing. Its blacked out windows were clearly illegal. Its owner had used a false address to license it - for which corruption in the transport department is being investigated.
Delhi has the highest rape rate of all Indian cities. The police - under the control of the federal government rather than the Delhi city government, which is headed by a woman who has vocally criticised the police shortcomings - claim they have too many important people to protect in the capital to police the city adequately. Police in India, as with all government functions and most courts, are systematically corrupt - money talks and many in Delhi have a lot of it. The country is a police state, with every aspect of life being under police control, but with universal opportunities for corruption. One result is that almost no laws supposedly to protect women are enforced. For example women's police stations are staffed entirely by men, and their cells are used for men.
The police tried to order the investigating magistrate to limit her questions, about which she officially complained. Then the head of Delhi police flatly said she was lying.
Rape trials usually take about five years to come to court, with much pressure put on victims and families to drop complaints and settle with the perpetrators. Pressure from police often includes for victims to marry the rapists.
It emerged that shortage of chemicals at the police forensics laboratory means that many rape investigations lose the evidence collected, or do not have it available for years.
When mass protests sparked by 24 hour news channels and social media took place nationally, the police in central Delhi over-reacted, closing many underground stations and causing such chaos in the capital that the prime minister had to conduct business at home - including a meeting with the Russian President. A police officer died during the protests and an attempt was made to blame the demonstrators. All Delhi police were forced to donate a day's pay to compensate his family.
The high court intervened to supervise the police investigation and create a new, very fast track court for rape cases.
A regional state leader who is of the governing party went on television at this time saying that "just because India gained independence at midnight doesn't mean women should feel free to go out at night". The President of India's son, a member of the national parliament, also stated that the this was all a false issue involving "dented and painted" women who should party in their own homes. No one seems to know what he meant by "dented". His sister apologised for him.
The prime minister (a man) and the head of the governing party (a woman) both made television appeals for calm.
The rape victim was suddenly, and unaccountably - on political rather than medical orders - flown out to Singapore, where she died. She was flown back to an extremely rushed cremation - it was forced to be delayed by an hour to abide by laws forbidding cremation before dawn after protests by her family.
Indian women (and many men who care too) are in revolt against a culture where victimisation of women is increasing whilst women elsewhere seem to make progress. Unfortunately improving things for women is seen by most men in India as a western idea, and against the nationalism that brought the nation's independence in 1947 and which is rising and rising with the country's economic advance. Thus whilst men watch porn on their iPads in parliament and wear western dress, women and girls have to represent the family honour, have to dress traditionally, and politicians feel able to talk about banning women from having mobile phones on moral grounds. The overthrow a few years ago of the illegality of homosexuality has led to rapid freedom and advance for gay men, making the worsening situation of women more frustrating. Laws against selective abortion of females are almost unenforced, as is the law against requiring dowries for a girl's marriage (which leads to the literally millions of aborted females, and numerous other female deaths). In a country where parliament conducted almost no business in its last session, the contrast with past promises, and what education, and advances in other counties show should be the case, has become unbearable.
This is more than a court case for rape.

130 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Until I read this article and a couple of others like it in recent days I hadn't understood how nasty things are for women in parts of India. Almost thought I was reading about Afghanistan or somewhere. Somehow it doesn't seem to fit for me with what I thought I knew about Hinduism but there have been numerous articles about this lately. Maybe those leftists who cry about the Judeo/Christian influence in our country should take, like me, a closer look too at places like India, and show a little more appreciation for how much better things are here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Krishna_Rukmini_Satyabhama_Garuda.jpg

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Krishna_with_flute.jpg

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Radhakrishna_manor.JPG


      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krishna

      Delete
  3. No, it really means that India despite its rise in world standing is still a backward country trapped within a Middle Ages mentality. Regardless of laws to the contrary India stills hangs on to its caste system and from the above article it shows India to have no respect for women. I can't believe a country who at least pretends to be a member of world nations does not condemn rape. India, in its views, is really not much better than Pakistan.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Men who rape woman are maggots and should be treated accordingly.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Somehow, in RufusWorld, this graph shows that welfare spending went up more during Bush tha Obummer

    Looks to me like it stayed fairly steady 'til the Dems took over Congress, and has shot way up while they and the Bummer POTUS were in control.

    He did manage to undo the Welfare Reforms that Newt and Company forced Clinton into enacting, for Chrissakes.

    ...and debt buildup under the Bummer puts Bush to shame.

    ...except in Roofies' World where we already done been date-raped.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I never take anything the Rufoid might say seriously anymore.

      Delete
    2. Well, YEEaaaah, Dumfuck, that's exactly what it shows.

      Bush took the oath Jan 20, 2001, when, according to the graph, Welfare Spending was approx. $200 Billion. Obama took office on Jan 20, 2009, when Welfare Spending was approx $430 Billion (an increase for Bushco of $230 Billion, or, 115%.)

      Delete
    3. Meanwhile, Welfare Spending is, presently, $450 Billion (an increase for Obama of $20 Billion, or 4.7%)

      Delete
    4. Don't you just hate it when that happens?

      Well, I'm sure you'll think of somethin' by morning.

      G'nite.

      Delete
  6. Women in the west have always had it a little better than women elsewhere, and now they own the place.

    When I went to my eye doctor recently, a woman, I asked, after seeing no men, any men in this place? Yes, two. Out of twenty.

    Men of the west, unite!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Rufus must take Ruffies with his Ethanol.
    Force Multipliers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Speakin' of which, a li'l bourbon and coke before bed sounds kinda nice. Thanks. :)

      Delete
    2. Ummh, Great Call on the Ethanol, Sparky! (didn't have any ruffies; went for the tostitos, and cheese, instead.)

      Delete
  8. Bourbon
    Coke
    Tostitos
    Cheese

    Lordy no wonder he is so far gone.

    ReplyDelete
  9. The true hunter/gatherer/fisher folk didn't get into human sacrifice. That came with the planters and the tropical village garden folk. The seed dies (though we know it really doesn't) and rises again with new life. Hence sacrifice was thought to bring forth new life. New Testament imagery too, in this. Nor did the hunter/gather/fisher folk seem to systematically mistreat the women. Though the Nez Perce around here have an old standing joke about the women doing all the work while the men fished :) (What could be better than this?) they weren't into raping or degrading the women. Women being treated better in the north of Europe may stem from the late arrival of farming in that area, coming up from the south. While the 'Druids' may have been into human sacrifice they weren't the true hunter/gather/fisher folk I am thinking about. Anyway taking the real long view of things, the planters/herders may be behind all this mistreatment of women, in a way, the farmers with their rooted life style and their ill begotten offspring, the cities, and the patriarchal herders. Because the mobile hunter/gatherer/fisher folk, the true killers, always killing game of some sort, don't seem to have been into it, not sacrifice, and not degrading or raping women, unless perhaps captive from some other tribe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Consider also the paleolithic Venus figurines, 35,000 - 11,000 BC, from the age of the great hunt. These would not seem to be an object of veneration of a patriarch.

      Delete
  10. Women in India need to learn how to defend themselves.

    Knives, mace and or a gun.

    Start to cut the nuts off these maggots...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Personal self defense is one sliver of a response, but it's a good one. All kids should be taught situational awareness and self defense. More classes should be available to women.

      You want a piece of me?

      Delete
    2. Cant tell you how many young ladies I have known walking on the street, both ears plugged in, totally not paying attention....

      Of course they think I am a nut when I tell them about situational awareness....

      but we do our best to educate the uneducated.

      Delete
  11. Sounds like it will have to be mace, or a knife - gun free zone, for the most part -

    Gun Ownership in India

    By Abhijeet Singh


    http://www.abhijeetsingh.com/arms/india/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Then they get what they deserve...


      Delete
  12. By the way, I heard Huckabee say on his show, when I was watching Fox, taking a break from Rufus, that more people were murdered by hammers than rifles in the last years in USA.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Do you believe him Bob? Seen any stats to support such a statement?

      Delete
    2. Just google FBI, Hammers, Blunt instruments, Rate

      Or is that to hard for you Ash?

      Delete
    3. Nope not too hard Anon and it yeilds that Bob's statement is false.

      Here it is for 2011 and Guns far outnumber any other murder weapon:

      Total Murders 12,664
      Total from Firearms 8,583

      That is, for the math challenged Anon, 67% were murdered by firearms as opposed to ALL OTHER MEANS, not just hammers.

      http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-11

      Delete
    4. I was a little suspect myself, Ash, about the hammers report. And, I wondered why he said rifles, not firearms.

      By that kind of Huck logic one could say, trying to make some point about firearms, that more people were killed by people driving over their husbands/wives in anger than were killed by black powder rifles and still be telling the 'truth' while trying to pull the wool.



      Delete
  13. Any person who takes advantage of the weak is condemned to Dante's seventh ring of hell. That includes child abuse. Two equally matched and armed opponents who want to battle it out in the street or back alley are welcome to go at it. Girls too. The "depth psychologists" (still not sure what that is) recognize this syndrome for what it is regardless of situational circumstance. Males are typically the perps for the simple reason of biology - they are physically stronger.

    The poster above was right. India's dirty little secret is that they aare still stuck in a caste society which is blatantly obvious from the behaviour of immigrants in this country. And not just India.

    The more I think about it, the more I hold to my idea that civilization will advance to the next level when the women, the children, the handicapped, and old people are treated with respect and dignity. That such behaviour patterns just magically peahen in the absence of the collective institutional infrastructure, which we call The State, is a pipe dream, or perhaps I should say, a wet dream.

    Balance. A concept too often treated with dripping contempt from the Mensa gang who prefers their absolutes. Intellectually cleaner and crisper than the messy compromises that precede balanced remedies.

    At any rate, religion doesn't have much to do with it, either practically or theoretically. So I refrain from beating my wife because the Good Book tells me so. Bitch deserves it and she's lucky that Book protects her. That's not particularly desirous for either party. Practically speaking, the perps have ways around the Book that are infinite in their complexity and design. More religion isn't the answer for these people.

    But some "this world" consequence such as jail time with Bubba? I think that trend line would bend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This appears to need a little dissecting, but I'm in the situational circumstance of having to go to the bank.

      Delete
    2. The existential angst inherent in transactions financial being intuitively obvious to the meanest entity endowed with cognitive persuasion.

      Watch the decimals.

      Delete
  14. “Ubuntu is a concept in the Bantu Language.

    It is about the essence of Humanness.

    Simply put: ‘people are people through other people’

    I am human because I belong. This concept acknowledges both the rights and the responsibilities of each citizen in promoting individual and societal wellbeing."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Put even more simply, you are the other.

      Delete
    2. Even more simply, not always.

      Delete
    3. .

      Heck, I thought it was a computer operating system.

      .

      Delete
  15. I'm not particularly big on magic words, or religion. I do, however, believe in Civil Rights laws, and, as Doris put it, a little one-on-one time with Bubba.

    But, I'm going to tell you this, WE are treading perilously close to the South Asia/Middle East standard with our treatment under the law of women, especially Minority women. It's damned near impossible to jail a man for beating up a black woman. Instead of "Assault," the Courts have a strong predilection to charges of "Domestic Abuse" (which usually involves a NIGHT in jail, and a misdemeanor.

    It's the "Laws," kiddos. We're all animals right beneath the veneer; it's the LAWS that save us.

    The House of Representatives just refused to repass the Violence against Women Act. Think about it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is 9/10ths horse shit.

      WE are treading perilously close to the South Asia/Middle East standard with our treatment under the law of women, especially Minority women.

      Here a man can be convicted of rape on the testimony of a woman alone, even lacking other corroborating evidence.

      Dad was opposed to this change in the law and argued against it on evidential grounds. I recall a perfect example of this in a case here where one of his colleagues was the defense attorney. The woman's word alone, all in the back seat of a car, after a night drinking. Guilty.

      Delete
    2. Women are perfectly capable of lying like hell, and are often very good at it.

      If you don't think so, just think: Hillary

      Delete
    3. Actually, the term they love is "Domestic Disturbance."

      When you start dividing people up, via the caste system, or Jim Crow, you end up in the same place. The stronger attack the weaker. That's one reason I hate religions; they divide people into Us vs The Other.

      Delete
    4. Yet Rufus, using his own caste system, doesn't give a shit if Canadians are sent off by the US to be tortured.

      Delete
    5. We'll take care of Our own; you take care of yours.

      Delete
    6. BTW, I'm assuming that it was the Canadian authorities that fingered the good Muslim Engineer, since they felt the need to "apologize."

      Delete
    7. That was just one of many who have been sent by the US to other countries to be tortured which is all fine in the Rufus world of castes. There are Americans and the rest are sub-human in your view. It is no different than what you rail about above but you are no stranger to hypocrisy.

      Delete
    8. Never said I was, bubba, never said I was. Honestly told, I don't give a flyin' flip about Indians, Pakistanis, or Canadians. Nor Zimbabweans, nor Brits, nor Norwegians. Just don't care. Got my own plate full.

      Delete
    9. I'm also, btw, not particularly fond of Texans, Arizonians, Ideehoans, Pennsylvanians, and/or Mississippians.

      New Yorkers, and New Jersians we won' even bother discussing. Nor Vermonters, or Washintonians.

      Delete
    10. Rufus wrote:

      "When you start dividing people up, via the caste system, or Jim Crow, you end up in the same place. The stronger attack the weaker. That's one reason I hate religions; they divide people into Us vs The Other."

      and then he writes:

      " Honestly told, I don't give a flyin' flip about Indians, Pakistanis, or Canadians. Nor Zimbabweans, nor Brits, nor Norwegians. Just don't care."

      and there you have it - Rufus world where two contradictory thoughts reside with nary a problem. Then there are Rufus facts...

      Delete
    11. Nor Lutherans, or Pentecostals, or Baptists, Methodist, Presbyterians, or Catholics.

      I could care less about any of the above-mentioned groups other than the fact that they're Americans.

      That goes for the Irish, the Danes, and the Cherokee.

      Delete
    12. I'll give you credit for just a touch of logic in what you say. However, one of the things I like about America (besides the fact that it's my home) is its embracing, however halting, of diversity, and its slightly secular nature.

      I am, however, through with the "My Country, Right or Wrong" cheerleading. I will call it out when I think it's wrong (empire-building, discrimination, etc.)

      If you want more "consistency" than that - tough shit; it's a blog.

      Delete
  16. And that's why this subject will remain forever mired in Dante's first ring of hell, the responses here being little more than BC-lite lying little c-nt misogyny. A gang rape in India that ends in death of the victim juxtaposed against a drunken "he-said she-said" tryst in Idaho. Sounds like this problem has been well dissected.

    Carry on.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. aye, that's a typical b00bie for you.

      Delete
    2. And that's why this subject will remain forever mired in Dante's first ring of hell, the responses here being little more than BC-lite lying little c-nt misogyny. A gang rape in India that ends in death of the victim juxtaposed against a drunken "he-said she-said" tryst in Idaho. Sounds like this problem has been well dissected.

      What a lot of horse shit, and very steamy, and seething, and unadorable.

      I was responding to Doofus and his comment, Miss Indecipherable.

      Hey, I'm the Prince that thinks maybe we ought to stay in Afghanistan for the sake of the women.

      ...

      aye, that's a typical b00bie for you

      T hehehehe cluckcluckcluck

      You have a personality disorder, Ash, revealing itself in all this name calling. See list of disorders posted of late by Miss Immaculate of the First Circle of Heaven.

      teeheehee

      Delete
    3. My solution, Miss Immaculate of the First Circle of Heaven, to the rape situation in India, is to provide a Lady Smith and unlimited ammo to all the women, mandate open carry, and a fire first law.

      Delete
  17. And we have more than a few magic words in our founding documents that are alternately worshipped as divine inspiration or twisted for situational benefit. Another way of saying it is that magic words form the nucleus of an idea around which behaviour evolves. Language is more than pixie dust.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ah'm now 99 percent convinced Miss Immaculate of the Magic Words is really Maxine back from the snit. But I don't know that, for sure.

      Anyway, I got no time for it. Met a dream lady at the saddle sale, and asked her polite if she'd like to go aridin' this comin' Sunday, an she said 'yes, I consent'.

      So ah'm off to Winnemucca to buy some new spurs, and meet Bob, who is gonna be there too and buy his daughter some sure release stirrups.

      See ya much later

      Buck

      Delete
    2. Another way of saying it is that magic words form the nucleus of an idea around which behaviour evolves.

      A way of saying the opposite is that behavior forms a nucleus around which words evolve, and truer, too.

      Words came late.

      Delete
    3. The beating of the heart arose
      Before the rhythmic words composed


      as the poet said.

      Delete
    4. Buck is right, a rider got stirrup hung at the stables the other night. Awful to see, even to hear about. I'm in the market.

      Delete
    5. and bob likes to post as "buck"...

      ... I guess he gets at least one other person to agree with him that way.

      Delete
    6. Your arrogance and hubris are symptomatically breath-taking. I'm thinking big fish in little pond scenario. Time for another quickie down to Las Vegas?

      I would like to wish you a symptom free New Year but I know better. Give it your best shot anyway. You do know how to shoot don't you? Just aim, focus, and blow.

      And by all means have fun.

      Delete
    7. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
    8. O boo hoo, Maxine.

      You big faker.

      Time for another quickie down to Las Vegas?

      Nay, Quirk crapped out, so I didn't really go.

      It's Winnemucca now.

      Winnemucca "The City of Paved Streets" Nevada.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winnemucca,_Nevada

      I'm thinking big fish in little pond scenario.

      You'd be thinking wrong. Think small farmer who doesn't even live in his hometown.

      Think alfalfa.

      Your arrogance and hubris are symptomatically breath-taking.

      That's odd. It's what I think of Your Loftiness, but in a lot fewer and simpler words.

      After all, it's you always putting down the brainy bunch over at Wretchard's as being beneath and unworthy of Your Highness.

      And don't go thinking you're the first here to invite me to suicide either. Alan the Perfect Pecker did the same. Although he didn't wish me fun, which was nice of you. He said, and I quote, "I am head and shoulders above everyone in the Bar." Not that you are like that at all. You don't stop there, but included the folk at Wretchard's as well.

      A good time would be to see you and Alan struggle for supremacy.

      You ever been to Winnemucca? Wanna go?

      But you wouldn't get along with Buck. He knows faux hifallutin' when he sees it.

      All said in good fun of course, madam.

      Delete
  18. Washintonians

    What the fuck, Rufus, they just legalized marijuana.

    I was almost expecting you to move out this way.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hmmm, :)


      maybe a "rethink" on Washintonians.

      Delete
    2. There's always a place out in my garage for ya.

      Delete
    3. Ah, go ahead, think lobotomy.

      It's OK.

      :)

      Just got a free flu shot. Was told you can get a free pneumonia shot too, which is supposed to last until you die. Well, duh. I didn't expect them to last longer.

      Also, shingles shots are available, and they are a one only time deal too, which was news to me.

      All highly recommended to help you stay away from NoCare.

      Delete
    4. I just got the flu shot in my left arm and the pneumonia in the right. The left seems to have a touch of the flu.

      Delete
    5. I haven't had the flu in, at least, over ten years. Can't bring myself to give it to myself, now, on purpose. :)

      Delete
  19. Rufus II Mon Jan 07, 03:01:00 AM EST

    "Don't you just hate it when that happens?

    Well, I'm sure you'll think of somethin' by morning.

    G'nite.
    "

    ---

    Even a stopped clock is right two times a day.

    Thanks for elucidating the source and inspiration for the "II"
    appended to your heroic uncle's name.

    I'm sure he would be glad to know his memory is thus rendered separate
    and safely removed from his Obama boot-licking socialist nephew.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Having fought against all things Rufus has now suddenly voted for.....including but not limited to the American Police State, your records as government property, expropriation via taxation, mind control, death without dignity via NoCare, the assured continuing breakup of the American family, the Regal Presidency, sucking up to the MB, and leaving Ambassadors and Seals to die to protect a campaign slogan, not to mention shitting on all our old allies.

      Delete
  20. Doug, no one in my family, to the best of my knowledge, has ever been named Rufus.

    And, don't blame me if Ol' Rushbo's been lying to you all this time, and you were dumb enough to believe it without checking for yourself.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's true, Ruf's real name is not Ruf.

      Delete
    2. And that's what surprises and worries me. I might not be surprised to find a 'Rufus' voting for Barky, but not an ordinary man.

      Delete
    3. Millions of the "working poor" will now have decent health insurance for the first time.

      Delete
    4. Old folks are going to be culled.

      Look, it's not that anyone wants anyone denied healthcare. It's the over reaching of it. The mandating, the poking into one's private life, the stripping away of freedom of contract, the government deciding the issues, the government deciding the treatments ,the violation of freedom of conscience......

      It needs a massive do over, and is best left to the states.

      Delete
    5. Bullshit. Half of those States won't even raise their Medicaid ceiling - WITH THE FEDS PAYING FOR IT!

      Delete
    6. Those Republicans resist Healthcare Reform for the same reason you do. They're afraid that some poor, black girl is going to get "free doctorin'."

      You guys ain't foolin' nobody.

      Delete
    7. Caught a little "raw nerve" there, did we Sparky?

      Delete
    8. Yeah, a little, cause it's so fucking stupid.

      Why don't you go back to selling insurance and saving 'countless lives'?

      Delete
  21. HAGEL NOMINATED FOR DEFENSE...
    President picks fight with GOP...
    DERSHOWITZ: 'I Will Testify Against Hagel'...
    Ed Koch: Obama reneging on support for Israel...
    CRUZ: 'CONSISTENTLY ADVOCATED WEAKNESS' TO OUR ENEMIES...drudge

    DEMS EYE $1 TRILLION TAX HIKE drudge

    White House Bans Paparazzi Images of Sasha and Malia Obama on Hawaiian Beach...drudge

    CHICAGOLAND: Gun Shops Report Empty Cases, Bare Shelves, Phones Ringing Off Hook...

    Show Draws Thousands Looking to Stock Up in CA...

    8,000 flock in Florida...

    20,000 show in Utah...

    Buchanan warns of 'revolution'... drudge

    Happy Days Are Here Again

    ReplyDelete
  22. Probably the first Sec of Defense in a hundred years to have been wounded in battle.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Maybe but it's also meaningless. If it were switched around, and the left were opposed to him, they'd say he's just another gung-ho warrior type who loves combat just for its own sake.

      Delete
    2. He was the first, and just about the only, Republican to tell Bush to call it a day, and get our troops the hell out of Iraq.

      Delete
    3. I thought your Uncle Ruf was on the Virginia, or one of them Ships at Pearl.
      ...and later perished in some other battle.

      What was his name?

      Delete
    4. He died on the West Virginia. And, we'll leave his family unbothered by the worldwide fame, and notoriety of machinations of The Elephant Bar. Okay?

      Delete
    5. 'Rufus' may be as much a composite as Teresita. When I attack 'Rufus' I'm not attacking the mystery man behind the mask and it's mostly in fun, except when something really stupid is said about religion and it irritates me, which it shouldn't. So I irritate back via the ethanol opening.

      Rufus may not even drink. Might be a teetotaller for all anyone knows. After all, if someone drank daily like 'Rufus' claims to do, after all this time they'd probably be dead, or on dialysis.

      Delete
    6. I've slowed down some.

      T'ain't as young as I once was, you know?

      Delete
    7. His argumentation does sound like someone dead drunk half the time though.

      And he really is as ignorant as a stump on a lot of topics.

      Delete
    8. I don't want to go easy on the old prejudiced fool.

      Delete
    9. I caught the AIDS virus once; it crawled off and died.


      The thing about a life like this one was, you pick up a lot of immunities along the way. :)

      Delete
    10. That old ass ain't what it used to be either, from what I've been told.
      ("back channels" they're called)

      Delete
    11. :) Ain't ezzackly been one of my most major worries.

      Delete
    12. What about AIDS?

      Rufus?

      That's a thought.

      I kind of doubt it.

      The .35 alcohol content would probably kill it. Though I don't at all doubt he might contract it. It's boring down there in the swamp, and things happen.

      Delete
    13. It'd be hard to get the AIDS down here in the Delta. There ain't a sheep within a hunderd miles, and the nearest "shetland pony" is all the way up on the Ridge.

      Delete
  23. Too-Big-To-Fail Banks Gamble With Bernanke Bucks

    With the boundaries between Goldman Sachs, Treasury, the Fed and the administration virtually disappearing; the big banks' Democratic and Republican handmaidens running interference; and the media distracted while pursuing pissant stories about debit card fees, consumer protection rules, and shareholder gadfly proxy access; all is hunky dory in TBTF land.

    But what happens to all that freshly printed money after it gets parked on bank balance sheets if it's not loaned to businesses and consumers?

    Perhaps we could sleep at night if it just sat there, as a cushion against the recession that lies ahead.
    But unfortunately, the "banks" appear to have flocked back to the derivatives casino, confident that as officially recognized TBTF institutions they are free to privatize gains, gorging on bonuses while the sun shines, knowing they can socialize their inevitable losses.

    To see how much of your money they are playing with, take a look at the scariest economic chart of 2012.

    "Banks" are supposed to be chartered to take in deposits and use them to make loans. Under the magic of fractional reserve banking, only a percentage of the deposited money needs to be retained as ready reserves, while the rest is put to work in the real economy.

    And yet here we have a "banking system" that for the first time in history has $2 trillion more in deposits than outstanding loans!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      They even make money on their reserves.

      It used to be they didn't get paid for the reserves they were forced to keep on hand at the FED. Since the 2008 fiasco, the rules were changed and now they collect a small interest payment on the funds thay have at the FED.

      So they borrow money from the FED at zero interest, deposit it at the FED to cover their reserve requirements, and them make money on it through interest the FED pays them. And all at zero risk.

      Money for nothing and the chicks are free.

      Why bother taking the risk of lending money to the hoi polloi?

      .

      .

      Delete
  24. Carolla claims the reason he never gets sick is 'cause he exposes himself to everything.
    He dropped a peanut on a public sidewalk, a pigeon came down and pecked at it.
    Carolla picked it up and ate it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think it's those f..... Italian Genes.
      Looks like he's half Gorilla.

      Delete
    2. I don't know much about him; but he's gotta be an improvement on Rushbo.

      Delete
    3. Rufbo woulda ate the pigeon, raw, and called it Mississippi gourmet.

      Actually though pigeons are edible, and a lot like doves, I've read. You really should cook them.

      Delete
  25. Lawmakers are still positioning themselves for a debt ceiling fight in a few months, but one Republican congressman wants to snuff out a particular idea immediately: the U.S. Treasury minting $1 trillion platinum coins to avert a debt ceiling showdown.

    Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) has introduced a bill to specifically ban President Barack Obama from minting the coins.

    “This scheme to mint trillion dollar platinum coins is absurd and dangerous, and would be laughable if the proponents weren’t so serious about it as a solution,” Walden said in a statement. “My bill will take the coin scheme off the table by disallowing the Treasury to mint platinum coins as a way to pay down the debt.”

    The idea, which has won the support of Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) and economist Paul Krugman, would allow Obama to mint the platinum coin if the nation moves close to defaulting during the debt ceiling debate with Republicans in the coming months.


    Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/01/gop-pols-bill-bans-minting-1t-coin-85859.html#ixzz2HLAC6GN3

    The idea, which has won the support of.... economist Paul Krugman

    BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!

    Our Mississippi drunkard's favorite economist.

    This country is sooooooooo fucked up now....


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Ratster was big-time ahead of the curve, though. :)

      Delete
    2. :) Indeed. He had that first.

      Delete
    3. Even if the Congressman's proposal passed the House, it'd die in the Senate.
      Or face a veto.

      The GOP passed the Platium Coin Act, GW Bush signed it into Law.

      They better just 'Get Over It'

      Delete
    4. .

      You only need two words to describe the absurdity of the $ trillion coin.

      Nadler and Krugman.

      .

      Delete
    5. Looking under Platinum (correcting your misspelling) Coin Act I didn't find anything. I did find -

      http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/31/5112


      from this -

      http://www.cnbc.com/id/100354751/Sorry_Folks_The_1_Trillion_Coin_Is_Unconstitutional

      Delete
    6. You only need two words to describe the absurdity of the $ trillion coin.

      Nadler and Krugman.


      Or,

      Rufus and Rat

      Delete
  26. So you want a trillion dollar platinum coin? Ok: here are some facts:

    •Platinum has traditionally been the most valuable precious metal for one simple reason: it is rare.

    •It is so rare, that all the platinum ever mined could fit into a 25 cubic foot box.

    •The weight of that box comes out to just over 16 tons: this is how much platinum has been mined since the start of time.

    •A coin valued at $1 trillion and made out of platinum would, at today's price of $1557/ounce, weigh in at 642.3 million ounces.

    •642.3 million ounces is also roughly 18 thousand tons, or about 1100 times more than all the platinum mined.

    ReplyDelete
  27. There’s a silver lining to the bitter cold that has enveloped northern India: it could help bring food prices down.

    ...

    High food prices have been troubling policymakers on another front: How to bring down lending rates to stimulate industrial growth without pushing up overall inflation? Lower food prices may just give more impetus to the central bank to start cutting lending rates.

    And if that does happen in the central bank’s policy review on Jan. 29, the shivering populace can thank the cold wave.

    ReplyDelete
  28. From what is known, however, the case is thought to be strong enough that Holmes might accept a plea agreement before a full trial gets under way.

    ...

    Although the suspect’s lawyers have already told the judge that he is mentally ill, they have not revealed whether they will attempted to defend him on the grounds of insanity.

    Last week, Judge Sylvester, refused a request from prosecutors to block two “lay witnesses” whom the defence plans on calling to testify about the suspect’s mental health.

    ReplyDelete
  29. President Barack Obama is slated to meet Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Friday, the White House said in a statement, a meeting that comes as the United States tries to determine how quickly to draw down troops in Afghanistan after more than a dozen years of war.

    In 2014, the Afghan army and police will take over the country's security as U.S. combat forces withdraw. The two countries are trying to hammer out a deal on the nature of any U.S. troop presence after 2014.

    ReplyDelete
  30. Schwarzenegger offered a similar defense: “I think one must always keep it separate,” he told reporters Saturday. “This is entertainment, and the other is a tragedy beyond belief and serious and the real deal.”

    Hollywood can pretend that it doesn’t have a responsibility. But most of us know better.

    After Sandy Hook, all that gore at the movies just doesn’t feel entertaining.

    ReplyDelete
  31. She may have just entered Congress for the first time, and may be a member of the Democrat Party, but North Dakota’s Senator Heidi Heitkamp says the movement to ban guns, and especially the White House’s proposal, is “way extreme” and she’s not going to support them. Moreover, Heitkamp says that she’s not the only one who rejects the plans, suggesting that the legislation is simply too extreme to ever pass Congress.

    Host George Stephanopoulos asked Sen. Heitkamp: “Are you willing to sign on to some of the reforms that Vice President Biden and President Obama are already talking about?”

    “You know, it’s unclear,” Heitkamp said. “I mean, you read Washington Post stories and you listen to what the administration says, and so I think what we need to do is we need to take a look at what happened at Sandy Hook.

    ReplyDelete
  32. When Hagel's nomination was first floated, groups such as the Republican Jewish Coalition were quick to object, citing what it called his "failure to support Israel".

    ...

    The nomination of Brennan, while less controversial, has also come in for criticism from liberal Democrats unhappy at his previous record at the CIA.

    Brennan had been a candidate to lead the agency in Obama's first term but withdrew his name from consideration. In doing so, Brennan told Obama that he was "a strong opponent of many of the policies of the Bush administration, such as the pre-emptive war in Iraq and coercive interrogation tactics, to include waterboarding".

    ReplyDelete
  33. On this day in 1953, President Harry S. Trurman announced the U.S. had developed a hydrogen bomb. The disclosure came during his State of the Union address.

    ReplyDelete
  34. I drink wine because I don't like to keep things bottled up.

    ReplyDelete
  35. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index fell 0.5%. One major move was China Pacific Insurance, 2601.HK -2.10% which declined 1.9%, on news that Carlyle Group is selling its remaining stake in the insurer.

    ...

    Australia's S&P/ASX 200 started the day higher, but soon succumbed to selling pressure and was down 0.3%.

    Major miners pulled back despite another overnight increase in the price of iron ore: Rio Tinto was down 1.3% and Fortescue Metals Group FMG.AU -2.56% lost 1.4%.

    ReplyDelete
  36. I must say that I am shocked, but not surprised by the comments regarding this article. Entirely too many fools on both sides of all issues have decided to exercise their "God given right", to express their opinion. Most opinions expressed have nothing to do with the article they are commenting on. I find this to be very sad. I would suggest that the children go back to their playground and resume, "sticking their tongues out at each other and saying 'NA-NA-NA-A'". If you have nothing of an adult nature to say regarding this article, just go away!

    This is a serious article about a serious problem in India and many other countries. We in the "West", feel that we are immune to the repercussions of these problems. Sadly we are not. No matter what we do, we will be blamed. Either, we interfered or we did nothing to stop it.

    Many of the problems in most “third world nations”, stem from lack of government protection of their citizens. The only job of any government is to protect all of it’s citizens. All governments must protect the minorities from the masses, as well they must protect the masses from the minority. While I do concede that this is a balancing act for government, it is required of “good government”.

    Let us move on to the story that sparked this discussion. It is by all accounts a horrible story. As I understand it, a young couple left a movie theater . They hailed a taxi-cab, but the cab declined to pick them up. They then decided to board a bus to go home. After the couple boarded the bus they were attacked by 6 men, one of which was a 17 year old “minor”. During the attack, the man was beaten and his leg was broken. One might think that this was done to prevent him from coming to the aid of the female victim. Both victims were stripped of their clothing so that if they escaped the public would shun them and not want to help them. The male victim stated that he was beaten with an iron bar and his leg was broken. In addition to the actual rape by 6 men, the “iron bar” was used to rape the female victim. The rape with the “iron bar” was so horrific and penetrated her body so deeply, that she died of massive organ failure and damage due to the attack. We must ask the question, “Why was the male victim allowed to live?”.

    In my opinion, the male victim was allowed to live so that he could describe the attack. There is a much deeper dynamic going on here than we understand in America. This is a hatred with as purpose. I feel that no one in India, or the rest of the world wants to admit what this attack was really about.

    If we note the title of the article and the embedded video clip at the beginning, we see that it has to do with “Kashmir”. Kashmir is the disputed region that has been a problem since the founding of India and the subsequence breakup resulting in the founding of Pakistan. This seems to be a hatred that will not stop! It seems to me that the men of both countries are afraid to face each other, so they have decided to attack woman instead. All I can say is, “What a bunch of pussy motherfuckers!”. One can only surmise that these “brave men” have decided to attack the “weaker sex” of their foes, rather than face other men.

    That being said, India has a problem with the number of men verses the number of woman. China is in a similar situation that it must deal with. There is nothing more dangerous to a society than a bunch of “horney men”, without enough women to marry. Women have always been a stabilizing force on men. It is sad to note that the cultural norms of India and Pakistan and China fail to understand this basic fact.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The only job of any government is to protect all of it’s citizens.

      This is all fine and dandy but we all know this is not the case - anywhere really, much less 'over there'. The reality is most governments,especially over there, are in the job of protecting themselves.

      It's great to go on about sad realities, but I don't see any solutions offered.

      Most here are pretty well toughened up and despairing about many things, which may account for our behavior.

      Delete
    2. Rather than protecting minorities, the minorities are used to political purpose, are most often hit upon in some way, or like in Syria and its Christians, taken into a coalition and used and exploited to remain in power.

      Delete
    3. Add to this the problem of trying to figure out where our Muslim happy President really stands on things, and, well, oh well....

      Delete

    4. It seems to me that the men of both countries are afraid to face each other, so they have decided to attack woman instead.

      Outrage duly noted, but the statement above is a rookie miscalculation: attributing gender psychology to geopolitical motives. Don't kid yourself honbuns. The "pussy motherfuckers" are more than willing, and increasingly able, to kill each other in whatever way presents itself as expedient - heinous or fast. Dead is dead. And violent crime committed in the name of ideology? It is advertised - across many channels. Never let a well executed rape go to waste. What happened to this young woman is something else. Orders of hatred.

      (OTOH if you want to correlate religious beliefs with treatment of the weak or disenfranchised - women, children, old people and handicapped - make the case. Be warned, it's already been done on this site many times.)

      Delete
    5. This is just India.

      There's much more. All you have to do is look.

      Delete