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, December 02, 2013

Demonstrators are blockading government buildings in the Ukrainian capital Kiev, as they step up their campaign for the resignation of the government.

155 comments:

  1. Opposition leader and boxer Vitali Klitschko - the current WBC heavyweight champion - urged supporters not to give up control of central Kiev.

    "We must mobilise everyone across the country and not lose the initiative," he said.

    Protests started more than a week ago after President Yanukovych suspended preparations for signing an EU association agreement that would have opened borders to goods and set the stage for an easing of travel restrictions.

    The deal was to be the centrepiece of a EU meeting in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius last week.

    President Yanukovych defended his refusal to sign by saying the EU was not offering adequate financial aid to upgrade Ukraine's economy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin has gone from KGB functionary to the $40 Billion Man.

    That puts him right there in the top two or three richest men in the world.

    "Capitalism" has been good for pootie poot.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Born to Egyptian Mothers, Egypt say NYET! To Citizenship of these Arabs!!

    Oh the humanity, Oh the crime! Where is the outcry? Why should these babies, born of Egyptian wombs, not have civil rights in Egypt???



    Under Morsi’s rule, the Egyptian authorities granted Egyptian citizenship to thousands of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, including top Hamas officials.

    One of the Hamas leaders who received an Egyptian passport was Mahmoud Zahar, who was born to an Egyptian mother.

    The Palestinian daily Al-Quds reported that the Egyptian authorities have taken effective measures to revoke the citizenship of Zahar and many other Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.

    The paper quoted an Egyptian source as saying that the latest measure targeted Palestinians who are “affiliated with certain Palestinian political parties or those who are connected to outlawed groups in Egypt.”

    The source pointed out that Egyptian law prohibits those who obtain Egyptian citizenship from engaging in political activities or membership in political parties in the first five years.

    Gazan sources claimed last year that the Egyptian authorizes had agreed to grant citizenship to more than 50,000 Palestinians who were born to Egyptian mothers.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Close those Mosques NOW!!!

    Not in evil Israel.... But in Egypt... LOL



    Egypt's Ministry of Religious Endowments (Waqf) has ordered the closure of 1,000 mosques in Alexandria.
    The order from Minister Mohammed Mokhtar Juma affects mosques of 80 square metres or less in size and has angered many worshippers in the city, reported the Middle East Monitor.
    The director of Alexandria's mosques, Sheikh Al-Ansari Saad Amara, has been given 72 hours in which to implement the closure order. People in the city denounced the closures, claiming that "tomorrow, Egypt will be a country without mosques".

    ReplyDelete
  5. Rufus IIMon Dec 02, 07:37:00 AM EST
    Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin has gone from KGB functionary to the $40 Billion Man.



    How much money has America given Russia to destroy it's nukes?

    I'd think we could save some money it Putin just used his money for that purpose...

    Is America not PAYING for and ACTUALLY doing the destroying of Syrian chem weapons? Why are the Russians not paying????

    ReplyDelete
  6. Here are five ideas, developed with Dean Baker in our recent book on the path back to full employment (wherein you can find more detailed discussions) and soon to be further elaborated, as you’ll read at the end:

    Better Fiscal Policy
    Austerity is to full employment as leeching is to healing. Yet it has become the go-to response by governments around the globe. You may think we’ve drunk less deeply of the austerity brew than Europe, but the fact is that America’s budget deficit fell to 4 percent of gross domestic product in 2013 from 10 percent of G.D.P. in 2009, the largest four-year decline since 1950.

    What about monetary policy? Don’t we need better macro-management from the Federal Reserve, too? Well, I can’t see why they’re talking about “tapering” (slowing the rate of their asset purchasing), given both job-market conditions (still weak) and inflation (not a threat), but tapering isn’t tightening, and the Fed has been the only game in town trying to bring down unemployment for a good while now. The problem is that Fed policy makers can’t do it by themselves. They need much better fiscal policy to complement their monetary efforts.

    Honey, I Shrunk the Wrong Deficit!
    As Dean Baker and I stressed in a recent commentary, reducing the budget deficit right now hurts growth and jobs, but taking aim at the persistent trade deficit, through which the United States exports a lot of labor demand, would help a great deal, particularly regarding manufacturers. Moreover, we contend that this is a “policy variable,” amenable to . . . . . . . . . . .

    5 Paths to Full Employment

    ReplyDelete
  7. Following the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine of 1947, Jordan was one of the Arab countries that attacked the new Jewish state of Israel. It gained control of the West Bank, and expelled its remaining Jewish population. Jordan lost the West Bank during the 1967 Six-Day war, but did not relinquish its claim to the West Bank until 1988. Jordan did not join Syria and Egypt in attacking Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Jordan eventually signed the Israel-Jordan Treaty of Peace in 1994, normalizing relations between the two countries.


    Jordan expelled the Jews of the West Bank in 1948!

    The crime! The outrage...

    Oh and Jordan lost it in 1967....

    LOL

    ReplyDelete
  8. TeresitaSat Sep 24, 01:07:00 PM EDT
    484 days til Mitt happens!

    After Obama's tax plan, stocks have their worst week since October 2008

    Obama hard at work: Three-day trip, will hit seven fundraisers

    Malaysia's Uberdhimmi Roman Catholic archbishop comes out in favor of sharia

    Track guns or falling satellites the government can't do (guitar makers and lemonade stand tycoons better watch their back though).

    Reply

    samSat Sep 24, 01:07:00 PM EDT
    zip-a-dee-fucking-doo-dah.

    :)

    Thanks, Deuce! Perfect. Is that Disney? It looks like it. Wonder what year?

    T, what's your operation? I've missed it somewhere along the way.

    Look me up when you get to Oz. I can show you a lot of fun stuff to do.

    Reply

    samSat Sep 24, 01:08:00 PM EDT
    Quirk, that's an old avatar.

    Reply

    TeresitaSat Sep 24, 01:10:00 PM EDT
    Sam: T, what's your operation? I've missed it somewhere along the way.

    Sam, in May I was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of breast cancer, and I've had thirteen infusions of chemo since then, I have no hair, no eyelashes, and the pudenda of an eleven year old girl. Two more chemos to go, then a mastectomy, and then a year of Herceptin and radiation for 45 days.

    Fortunately, the chemo they have these days doesn't make people as sick as it used to do, I'm still going to work. I'm an electronics technician, so there's no heavy lifting or walking involved.

    Reply

    TeresitaSat Sep 24, 01:12:00 PM EDT
    Sam: Look me up when you get to Oz. I can show you a lot of fun stuff to do.

    Actually I've been there twice already (Perth-Fremantle), and I turned down another opportunity to go recently.

    Reply

    samSat Sep 24, 01:20:00 PM EDT
    Sorry to hear, T.

    My dad died of pancreatic cancer and I know intimately of all the stuff he went through with it.

    I lived in Perth for 13 years.

    Reply

    samSat Sep 24, 01:20:00 PM EDT
    Hang in there!

    Reply

    samSat Sep 24, 01:21:00 PM EDT
    I know Perth/Fremantle like the back of my hand.

    Reply

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sam, Perth was always my dream trip.

      Ever enjoyed Santa Barbara, CA?

      From what I know about climate, Perth comes close.

      Learned about climate from Norman Sanders, Tasmanian Politician, and then member of Australian Parliment.

      Before all that, UCLA grad, Alaskan Bush Pilot, etc.

      Was in AK for the big shaker. Some Fjords were scraped down to bedrock to a height of 300 feet from the tidal currents.

      Delete
    2. I too know liver -> Pancreatic Cancer all too intimately.

      Sucks.

      Big Time

      Delete
    3. "After Obama's tax plan, stocks have their worst week since October 2008"

      That was before we discovered the magic of Quantitative Easing to Infinity.

      ...and Democrats as well as Republicans unanimously voted against Obama's "Budget."

      Delete
    4. Sanders used to be a member of a Tasmanian Biker Club.

      Now, he owns a Glider Rental Operation in NE Australia.

      ...in his Eighties.

      As well as some aquatic operation.

      Delete
    5. "Sanders sailed across the Pacific to Tasmania in 1974. On the voyage, he and his crew became witnesses in the Palmyra murders described by Vincent Bugliosi in his book And the Sea Will Tell."

      ---

      The Sea Wind murders[edit]

      In 1974, Palmyra was the site of the double murder of a wealthy San Diego couple, Malcolm "Mac" Graham and his wife, Eleanor "Muff" Graham.[23]

      The mysterious deaths, murder conviction of Duane (“Buck”) Walker (aka Wesley G. Walker) and acquittal of his girlfriend, Stephanie Stearns, made headlines nationwide and led to a best-selling account written by Stearns's defense attorney, Vincent Bugliosi, and Bruce B. Henderson in the true crime book And the Sea Will Tell.
      The book led to a CBS television miniseries by the same name starring James Brolin, Rachel Ward and Hart Bochner. The story was also depicted in The FBI Files.
      Walker and Stearns were arrested in Honolulu in 1974 after returning from Palmyra aboard the Sea Wind, a yacht stolen from the Grahams.

      Because no bodies were found at the time, Walker and Stearns were convicted only for the yacht theft in August 1975.

      Six years later, a partially buried corroded chest was found in a lagoon at Palmyra, containing Eleanor Graham's remains. Walker and Stearns were arrested in Arizona for murder.

      Delete
    6. "The fascinating stories of adventurous men who sailed the South Seas

      Some craved power, some craved peace, others merely surrendered to fate.

      Sam Comstock -- A sailor crazed by the South Sea Islands and driven to lead the ruthless mutiny. He envisioned himself a magnificent ruler -- but his dream became a nightmare.

      Will Mariner -- A golden-haired youth whose ship was captured by hostile natives. He was the sole survivor and his charm turned his captor into slaves.

      Captain Bligh -- Was he the infamous captain of the Bounty, the monster legend had made him? Here is the true story of Captain Bligh.

      Rascals In Paradise

      They searched for adventure in the most dazzling places on earth."

      Delete
    7. In one of Sander's classes on Polynesia/Oceania, a beautiful bra-less arty chick submitted a drawing of a young Polynesian Beauty wearing only a Maidenform Bra as her semester project.

      Delete
  9. The Navy runs on rum, sodomy, and the lash.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. In San Pedro, CA in the Sixties, Sailors went for boozing and brawling.

      ...sometimes to extremes.

      Delete
    2. Having teeth removed on a toilet bowl rim was beyond the pale for this land lubber.

      Delete
  10. WiO: I'd think we could save some money it Putin just used his money for that purpose...

    Cut the aid package to Russia? You are obviously an anti-Slavite hate monger.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. After my ancestors were raped, looted and some murdered by the Russians?

      Count me in...

      Delete

  11. According to informed sources, Moscow originally placed strict conditions on Kiev and demanded that Ukraine join Russia's Customs Union, which Yanukovych rejected. But at the last moment, Moscow sweetened the deal, not only offering generous financial assistance for Ukraine, but also dropping its ultimatum that it must join the Customs Union as part of the deal. In the end, Russia thought it had won simply by spoiling the game for the EU, denying Europe the chance to claim its "Ukrainian prize."

    But the huge turnout of protesters in Kiev — and the subsequently harsh crackdown by the police against them — completely changed the political situation for Yanukovych, Putin and all of Ukraine. The current political instability in Kiev undoubtedly rivals the 2004 crisis, which led to the Orange Revolution. Putin's seeming victory in convincing Yanukovych to rebuff the EU is looking more ­Pyrrhic with each passing day as an increasing number of Ukrainians express their anger at Yanukovych's decision to table the agreement with the EU.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'm damned glad I'm in Idaho.

    bob

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Russians are always so totally messed up.

      bob

      Delete
  13. Doug: In one of Sander's classes on Polynesia/Oceania, a beautiful bra-less arty chick submitted a drawing of a young Polynesian Beauty wearing only a Maidenform Bra as her semester project.

    So that's where it went. Funny how women's magaines all have hot chicks on their cover. Men's magazines all have hot chicks on their cover too, except Playgirl.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Most folk are attracted more toward the female form than the male.

      Delete
    2. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
    3. ...leaving out the Greeks.

      Delete
    4. What's the Greek population in Idehoe?

      Delete
    5. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
    6. "Sculptors took their philosophy to stone by creating perfection through symmetry and natural form in each of their works. The male nude, usually presented in an athletic pose, was the most common subject of this ancient art form."

      Where did that leave all us One Hung Lows?

      Delete
    7. .

      Bob, you are one petty little man. When your mind starts to wander, it just naturally finds its way back to the gutter.

      As you mentioned last night, it's been that way since day one.

      .

      Delete
  14. Bob, you will never elicit a reply from me again, anywhere, anytime.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are higher things than those of Chakra 2.

      Just sayin'.

      bob

      Delete
    2. Teresita RedingerMon Dec 02, 12:24:00 PM EST
      Bob, you will never elicit a reply from me again, anywhere, anytime.

      Reply


      Is that like you said you never were going to post here again? (how many times?)

      Delete
    3. Bob, you're just a hateful, racist old ignorant hick.

      And, stupid as a box of rocks.

      No wonder your family has your computer on "Parental Control."

      Delete
    4. Miss T can get her mind out of her crotch.

      But it is the Holiday Season -

      (Secret Santa Letter)

      Santa has his Elves up at the North Pole make necklaces and ear rings for those he most likes.

      But he only gives those in person and demands a kiss of the cheek in return!

      :)

      To my black haired tawny skinned Swedish Niece....from Mumbai.

      Well trained in English she has never ever used the "f'" word yet.....

      Nor talked about her crotch.

      She does brain scans for Max Planck....

      bob.

      Delete
    5. At least, she probably doesn't have to imagine that her partner is a family member to get aroused.

      Or, address others by using racial slurs.

      Delete
  15. Since World War II, there's been a strikingly consistent pattern in American politics: The economy does much better when a Democrat is in the White House.

    More specifically, since 1947, the U.S. economy has grown at an average real rate of 4.35 percent under Democratic presidents and just 2.54 percent under Republicans:

    {...}

    telling graph

    It ain't close

    ReplyDelete

  16. ThinkThink2 wrote:

    11:07 AM CST







    There has not been one solitary Republican President since 1923 who didn't throw the nation into recession while in office. Many like Eisenhower, Reagan and GW Bush had at least two recessions while in office. Ike actually had three.

    Here is a list of every recession since 1950 and the Presidents who presided over them:

    July 1953 – May 1954 Dwight Eisenhower (R)

    Aug 1957 – April 1958 Dwight Eisenhower (R)

    Apr 1960 – Feb 1961 Dwight Eisenhower (R)

    Dec 1969 – Nov 1970 Richard Nixon (R)

    Nov 1973 – Mar 1975 Gerald Ford (R)

    Jan –July 1980 Jimmy Carter (D)

    July 1981 – Nov 1982 Ronald Reagan (R)

    July 1990 – Mar 1991 George H.W. Bush (R)

    Mar – Nov 2001 George W. Bush (R)

    Dec 2007 – July 2009? George W. Bush (R)

    Some additional factoids worth bookmarking:

    Personal disposable income has grown nearly 6 times more under Democratic presidents

    Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown 7 times more under Democratic presidents

    Corporate profits have grown over 16% more per year under Democratic presidents (they actually declined under Republicans by an average of 4.53%/year)

    Average annual compound return on the stock market has been 18 timesgreater under Democratic presidents (If you invested $100k for 40 years of Republican administrations you had $126k at the end, if you invested $100k for 40 years of Democrat administrations you had $3.9M at the end)

    Republican presidents added 2.5 times more to the national debt than Democratic presidents

    The two times the economy steered into the ditch (Great Depression and Great Recession) were during Republican, laissez faire administrations
    http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamhartung/2012/10/10...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Looks like Obama has been lying about his party affiliation too.

      Has to be a stealth Republican.

      .

      Delete
    2. He's a "bi" guy, to say the least. :)

      Delete
    3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
    4. btw, your tongue-in-cheek remark about the "two" things was closer than you might think. :)

      Delete
    5. .

      Merely, my instinctive martial nature. Besides, I did make it to Ft. Wayne on more than one occasions. In one sense, you could say I'm a vet.

      :)

      (Whoops, I didn't really mean that, honest. Don't want to get reported to that website WiO put up.)

      .

      Delete
  17. If Democrats think the public is mad about 5.5 million cancellations in the individual market today, imagine the outrage when tens of millions lose their plans in October 2014, right before Election Day.

    Heh.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/marc-thiessen-for-democrats-in-2014-the-web-site-is-not-the-problem/2013/12/02/814983bc-5b55-11e3-bf7e-f567ee61ae21_story.html

    ReplyDelete
  18. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. She would be embarrassed and cut off the relationship if she knew I spent time here.

      bob

      Delete
    2. I'm sure she'd be real proud of what you just called her. You're one sad asshole, bubba.

      Delete
    3. .

      You flaming ass, she's not about to break off any relation where a mere e-mail gets her $800.

      You'll be her 'long distance uncle' for life. Or at least until you run out of money.

      .

      Delete
    4. .

      From what has been posted here this morning, I would normally just assume it was the rat back from Hanukkah celebrations just trying to make fun of him; however, it does have more of the odor of Anonymous-Bob instinctively making his way back to the gutter.

      .

      Delete
    5. There is no anonob00bie wailing "That's not me!"

      Delete
    6. That's not bad Quirk-O..

      But some of us still understand when a genuine human relationship has been established.

      And when I called her my nigger niece I was just mocking Ruf's depiction of me as a 'racist'.

      She is part of family now forever.

      bob

      Delete
    7. So, Quirk-O you are saying every young lady from India that has been raped and brutalized in our country is just out for a few USA bucks?

      Why then has she taken a job in Dresden to pay me back?

      Against my advice?

      What are you doing for Christmas?

      Ringing Salvation Army Bells and buying wine?

      bob

      Delete
    8. Answer me that Quirk-O.

      Why has she taken a job in Dresden against my advice to pay me back?

      Respond please, or not.

      bob

      Delete
    9. You are projecting your "Salvation Army" mentality over to others O- Quirk-O.

      bob

      Delete
    10. You are becoming nearly as disgusting as Miss T.

      out

      bob

      Delete
    11. Yeah, Quirk, the guy that has already used racial slurs against two women, on this short thread, thinks you're disgusting.

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

      Delete
  19. Someone spike your cream of wheat?

    ReplyDelete
  20. I have adopted a niece.

    Forever.

    What have you done?

    bob

    ReplyDelete
  21. http://www.duffelblog.com/2013/11/marine-corps-spelling-bee/
    Marine Corps Marathon Spawns Less-Successful Marine Corps Spelling Bee

    “You figure lieutenants would know how to spell their own rank,” he complained, “but apparently we don’t teach that at Officer Candidate School anymore. One of them actually tried spelling it ’2-L-T.’ When we said no, she got angry and said we hadn’t specified whether it was a first or a second lieutenant.”

    ReplyDelete
  22. http://www.duffelblog.com/2013/06/gen-amos-fire-relieved-command/
    Commandant Attempts To Fire Entire Marine Corps

    ReplyDelete
  23. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
    2. That is to say,


      she might well say

      Rufus is a dumb white ass Bud drinking Cracker

      :)

      bob

      Delete
    3. He might be qualified to mop the halls at Max Planck.

      But keep him away from your brain.

      :)

      bob

      Delete
    4. She don't drink and is veggie.

      bob

      Delete
  24. O come on Deuce, you Totalitarian.

    :)

    bob

    ReplyDelete
  25. Answer Quirk:

    If my niece is a third world beggar as you say why would she take a job in Dresden to pay me back?

    bob

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I would like to hear your reply.

      bob

      Delete
    2. Just sticking up for a strong young wonderful woman.

      bob

      Delete
    3. And you are always speaking of facts.

      Please list your facts that support your contention.

      bob

      Delete
    4. You have noffacts and you can't answer.

      That is why you do not answer, Quirk.

      What a "man".

      bob

      Delete
    5. .

      I pulled down a longer post above after re-visiting it a little while later. As is my wont, I often say what I think quickly in a post and later pull it down after considering it. However, that doesn't mean I changed my mind in any way only that it wasn't 'necessary' to say what I did.

      I assume you read the post it since you were posting at the same time.

      Now think about it. If you really want me to replicate that post, I will do it.

      .

      Delete
    6. You have no facts and are just dissing a fine young woman who is much better than you.

      Why do you diss a fine young woman because she is second or third world?

      Are you working at Max Planck Institute?

      Do you know her?

      bob

      Delete
    7. I want you to say on what basis you charge a fine young woman who is better than you of sucking off of Uncle Bob.

      You have no facts.

      And you are seriously wrong.

      She has taken a job in Dresden to pay her bills, though I will accept no money from her.

      She does not blog and accuse people she does not know, she works.

      What facts have you, Fact Boy?



      bob

      Delete
    8. Squirming like maggots are we Fact Boy?

      bob

      Delete
    9. .

      I take it from your little tirade that you want me to respond. Yes? No?

      A one word answer will do it.

      .

      Delete
    10. You are a racist and very heinous for implying all serious young working women from the Second or Third world are beggars.


      You should be ashamed of yourself.

      She would tell you to go to hell.



      bob

      Delete
    11. It is not a tirade.

      I wish you to say on what facts do you accuse my niece of being a beggar.

      That is all.

      You haven't the stature to clean her shoes.

      bob

      Delete
    12. .

      So be it.

      I do not mock your 'niece' I merely mock you. The fact that you can't see that bespeaks a total lack of self-awareness. The fact that you not only think that by my comments I insinuate she, as well as all 2nd and 3rd world women, are 'beggars' indicates to me that your mental capacity is impaired. The only view I have of your niece, if she exists, is through your addled musings as you post them here. You create the story.

      And please, spare me your hypocritical umbrage. I'm tired of you pious ruminations on the troubles of women in the third world. You prove your words to be hypocritical with your comments to the women on this blog, past and present. Likewise, with your comments regarding your 'niece'. You are a crude lout. It's one thing to question a lady's opinion, it's another to call her a slut or a cunt as you do.

      The only view I have of your niece, if she exists, is through your addled musings as you post them here. You create the story.

      The descriptions you post here of your relationship with your 'niece' are cartoonish. The words you put in her mouth create a caricature of her. The racist language you use when speaking of her shows you have no respect for her. The sexual innuendo you use in half your posts here is just plain creepy. The whole farce begs to be ridiculed. You create the jokes old man. We merely expand on them.

      .

      Delete
  26. Joe says, "So, if it's this or, say, cutting our retirement paychecks or things like that, you know one way or another I think this is one of the least bad options." Which means that Joe is OK with having service members salaries cut in effect, as long as he's OK.

    Commissaries get a 5% markup on all sales.

    The commissaries at Forts Gillum and McPherson and Dobbins AFB (all in Atlanta) are closed. The closest commissary is at Robins AFB, 90-100 miles away. Thus, the article is inaccurate as to closings

    http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/12/02/pentagon-floats-plan-to-close-us-commissaries/
    Pentagon floats plan to close US commissaries

    ReplyDelete
  27. Oh, my, it looks like the website is working well. It had handled 375,000 people by noon, and to top it off, the administration announced this afternoon that they had found, and fixed, the bug that was causing 80% of the back-end problems (834 transmissions.)

    Many were interviewed that were logging on, applying, picking out a plan, and enrolling in 15 minutes. This was, most likely, a "sea change" day.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. ...if true...not you...them...

      Delete
    2. ...from today...

      Even the president’s media cheerleaders are out of excuses. When a CNN reporter logged in to the new, improved HealthCare.gov to demonstrate its smoothed-out functionality, it crashed on television. Ezra Klein, the liberal Washington Post commentator whose dedication to the president’s health-care agenda is positively abject, writes that “the site still suffers a disastrous outage rate judged by the standards of major retail Web sites — and that’s not counting the time it spends down for scheduled maintenance.”

      http://www.nationalreview.com/article/365278/core-incompetency-editors

      Delete
  28. What we need is 375,000 more doctors by noon.

    bob

    ReplyDelete
  29. "The idea is to put as many as 15 people with similar health problems in the same room with their doctor so they can all discuss their medical issues together. Although liberals are supposed guardians of the right to privacy..."

    ...sorta like a dairy...12 women have pap smears at the same time...12 guys digitally probed for prostate exam...

    ‘Shared Medical Appointments’
    http://newsbusters.org/blogs/paul-bremmer/2013/12/02/nbc-presents-all-positive-story-shared-medical-appointments

    ReplyDelete
  30. After 12 Yrs of U.S. Occupation, Afghanistan Sets Record for Growing Opium
    http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/ali-meyer/after-12-yrs-us-occupation-afghanistan-sets-record-growing-opium

    ReplyDelete
  31. Obamacare Website Sign-Ups Said to Reach 100,000 in Month
    http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-02/obamacare-website-sign-ups-said-to-reach-100-000-in-month.html

    ReplyDelete
  32. 'Give everyone the best chance': George Osborne's reply to Boris Johnson's IQ elite speech
    http://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/give-everyone-the-best-chance-george-osbornes-reply-to-boris-johnsons-iq-elite-speech-8975742.html

    "Delivering the Margaret Thatcher lecture last week, the Tory mayor appeared to mock the 16% of "our species" with an IQ below 85 and urged more action to help the 2% with an IQ above 130."

    He mocked no one. Like Larry Summers he had the audacity to quote science.
    Talking about science, the Arctic Ice Sheet is about 29.5% larger than last year. Some "scientists" predicted it would be gone this year.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Gaza and the West Bank are soon to become history, as the media focuses on the potential for a really, really, big war. The petroleum products are thought to equal those of Saudi Arabia.

    Cold War in the Pacific: China Escalates Tensions with Neighbors
    http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/tensions-in-east-china-sea-threaten-to-create-regional-conflict-a-936618.html


    ReplyDelete
  34. She was teaching at the U of I Quirk when she was violated.

    She was carrying the whole load with Bozo.

    The money in their account had all come from her. She was paying the rent, paying everything...

    He stole the money out of the account and fled to India.

    I wish to know with what facts you are calling my niece a Third World beggar.

    You are so totally wrong and I am dropping it now.

    But you might think twice about excoriating Allen for your very own sins next time. Think projection.


    bob

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Did he say something about me? Whether I would have felt excoriated had I read it, I doubt. But, bob, I did not and will not because I find him as tedious as the old maid who writes to the editor every week to complain about trash hauling.

      There has been a lot of projection around here lately. But, bob, always remember, "The sting of insult is truth."

      Delete
    2. .

      Don't drop it. I answered you above.

      And as for Allen, I would say the only trash hauling needed around here is of him, but of course he is no longer here, he told us so a number of times over the last few days, and I don't like to talk about guys behind their backs, a compunction Allen sadly doesn't share.

      .

      .

      Delete
    3. You are so wrong.

      And I thought so highly of you until now.

      Drop in now.

      bob




      Delete
    4. Drop IT now, because you are not worthy of shining her shoes.

      bob

      Delete
    5. .

      Well, join the club, bobbo.

      I doubt I'm thought highly of by many (any?) here.

      :)

      I enjoy kidding around with you but you make it too hard trying to defend you. The language you use with regard to women is unacceptable, at least to me. You mentioned I have a Salvation Army mentality. I don't know about that. However, I was raised in a house where if my mother ever heard me talking to a woman like you do here, she would have slapped me silly.

      Just saying.

      .

      Delete
  35. Why Stocks Are Undoubtedly Experiencing a Massive Bubble (Colombo)
    http://www.forbes.com/sites/jessecolombo/2013/10/08/why-stocks-are-undoubtedly-experiencing-a-massive-bubble/

    Nobel Prize economist warns of U.S. stock market bubble
    http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/12/01/us-economy-shiller-idUSBRE9B009620131201

    The Fed can make direct equities purchases to "stabilize" the markets at will. Some observers believe this is happening to mop up excess liquidity.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Sometimes you need wings to soar above the shit in this blog.

    Eagle Cam

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Impressive.

      But you still get the feeling it's wrong. It seems like the apparatus has as much chance of getting entangled in something and hurting the bird as it does of coming off by itself or staying with the bird permanently.

      .

      Delete
    2. Apparently the bird is trained, and they thought of that. Maybe Jeff Bezos will deliver our packages by eagle if the FAA shuts down his drone idea.

      Delete
    3. .

      I liked the drone idea too, just can't figure how they would be able to do it safely.

      .

      Delete
    4. I am damn near ready to use the "f" word but think I will take nap instead.

      bob

      Delete
    5. O the hell with it...

      FUCK YOU QUIRK YOU MONSTER OF A MAN..

      g'nite

      bob

      Delete
    6. .

      And now for something entirely different,

      The Monster

      .

      Delete
  37. Locking rifle to rack. Hmm...I could get more including from the training manual, 11th edition, 1966. But Marines most certainly locked their rifles to their racks. In boot camp, from time to time, DI would sneak into huts and gather all unsecured arms. There was hell to pay.

    No. We do chant that creed (a couple times - depends on which DI is on duty) but for sure, rifles are locked up at night. Each recruit is issued combination locks. We lock up our own rifles upon command, prior to going to bed
    http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090219183006AAoWguM

    This weapon, never referred to as a "gun", stays with the recruit through the entirety of recruit training, being locked to his or her rack at night
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marine_Corps_Recruit_Training

    Scotch, if you deploy on a ship...You DO hold onto that weapon for 6 Months.....It's actually locked to your rack, You sleep next to that bad boy for the whole deployment,
    http://www.leatherneck.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-74080.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I will humbly accept any and all apologies.

      A MARINE'S RIFLE IS ALWAYS SECURED TO HIS/HER RACK BY A LOCK WHEN NOT IN USE!

      Delete
    2. Took that long to Google it. Dialup.

      Delete
    3. Yep. I'm in the middle of a long Jewish holiday.
      No matter how I obtained the information, it is nonetheless true. As I recall, you had some clever comment about it could not happen. Well, it did and it is. You were wrong, dead wrong.
      Court Martial offense, indeed!
      And I am not done. If you are still around, I hope to make of you an even bigger fool.
      :-)

      Delete
    4. Sure allen, go after my asshole credentials next.

      Delete
    5. You got them in full.

      Delete
    6. Easy Pickings.

      Delete
    7. But really smelly.

      Delete
    8. Actually my e-9 sergeant major employee told me that all rifles were locked in in the barracks at night with a block, mags sticking out and empty (in the barracks)

      Allen 1 Rufus 0

      He also said that if Rufus served three years he would have spent a total of 12 months in Nam.

      Delete
    9. Your E-9 is full of shit. I did a short TDY in DaNang in Jan 66. Marines, didn’t have hot water. We did. They came in out of the field and used our latrines to clean up. Marines served 13 months.

      Delete
    10. you are quite the arrogant snit deuce. No one is as good or correct as you.

      Well I'll stack him up against a dozen of you, any day, any where.

      He really served.

      You?

      Who knows.

      Delete
    11. If you knew anything about the military in the sixties, you would know that an E-9 was a political position. If you wanted to know what was going on you asked an E-4 or E-5. If you wanted bull shit, find a light colonel or an E-9 in Saigon.

      Delete
    12. Didn't say he was a e-9 in the 60's

      You sure are one judgmental snit.

      I'll give you folks some more details tomorrow.

      he wrote down a string of numbers and such that i have no clue about...

      let's see if you know shit....

      Delete
    13. I know enough to know what I don’t know.

      Delete
    14. My expertise was wide band communication, over the horizon radar systems and backscatter systems. my geographical interests were Soviet missile launch sites. I was in Viet Nam because I was seduced into a GREEIA outfit to help the Air Force train the army on some Marconi multiplex equipment manufactured in Chelmsford England and I had recently completed a course on it at South Ruislip. The army didn’t know what to do with it, but we helped them ship the equipment from Lakenheath and Bentwaters.
      I doubt your E-9 would know much about that but just for fun ask him the code names for Tyura Tam, Baykanur Kapustin Yar and Plesetsk . While your at it ask him the designation of a three cavity Eimac Klystron.

      Delete
    15. Since you E-9 did not know about marines that did 13 month tours, I doubt that he would know that many marines were also drafted in 1966. I am sure you thought everyone was drafted but that was only for the army up till 1965.

      Delete
    16. T, said, "Sure allen, go after my asshole credentials next."

      Why would I do that?

      I just provided proof that Marines secure their rifles by locking them to a rack while on base or aboard ship. While I know none of the honest folk here would ever stoop to stealing a rifle, there are lowlifes who will, like those who engage in character assassination while knowing nothing. Even for those who know nothing, I could provide more proof of my statement. Would proof be enough? Probably not, because this is not about proof for them. Allen 1 refutation Others feelings

      Delete
    17. The slander may have been "phony idiot motherfucker". Whatever, it was totally convincing and carried great logical weight.
      I'm slowly, slowly making my way through the comments, not wishing to deprive the writer of even a single attribution.

      Delete
    18. I will double goddamned guarantee you, no Marine in Viet Nam ever locked his rifle to his rack, or anything else, ever.

      Think about it - the middle of the night, incoming, Charlie's coming through the wire, and you're shitting your pants, in the dark, , with mortar going off around you, people screaming with hot shrapnel in their gut, and you're fucking with a combination lock? Severely deranged.

      Delete
    19. You did not know Marines secure their weapons with a lock when not in use. That is really basic stuff. What other basic information don't you know?

      No one said Marines used locks in Vietnam. Your wriggling. They most certainly did lock them stateside. You said they did NOT. You were wrong, again.

      Delete
  38. Hong Kong is on public-health alert after the city confirmed its first human case of the deadly H7N9 bird flu, with an Indonesian domestic worker hospitalized in critical condition.

    ...

    The WHO said there has been no evidence of sustained human-to-human transmission of the virus.

    ReplyDelete
  39. On this day in 2001, Enron Corp. filed for protection from creditors in a New York bankruptcy court, one of the biggest such bankruptcy filings in U.S. history.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Sam, you are wasting your time tonight.

      How about a little Flo Rida?

      Good Feeling

      .

      Delete
    2. :)

      Tonight and every night.

      Delete
  40. Quirk is just trying to weasel his way back into polite society after shitting in his pants at mid afternoon tea.

    bob

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      :)

      Sam, will appreciate the fact that you consider him polite society.

      .

      Delete
  41. I Just spin some records for the Dames, we will have the Hindu Servants clean up the mess.

    They don't really work anyway, like I do.

    Quirk and Spawns

    Detroit, Michigan

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. For hate literature write to

      QuirkO
      Box 1000000001
      Detroit, Michigan

      (self addressed and stamped return envelope required)

      Quirk and Spawns

      Delete
  42. .

    Come on, Big Guy, give us a smile.

    Come on now. Turn that frown upside down. You know you want to do it.

    :(

    l
    l
    l
    l
    l
    v

    :)

    Come on.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  43. :)

    I can never be made at you forever, you nitwit.

    bob

    ReplyDelete
  44. mad at

    I don't ever ever to be made by you

    bob
    bob

    ReplyDelete
  45. http://books.simonandschuster.com/Farewell-to-Arms/Ernest-Hemingway/9781451658163/excerpt

    Quirk and I fought for the Swiss that year but there was not much fighting in the fall of that year and we skied that year when the heavy snows came in the high slopes of the mountains.

    The Swiss had a Hindu maid and Quirk began drinking his Russian Vodka in the morning of the December of that year and did not go to the tavern with us....

    By June she looked six months gone with child and we wen allt to Geneva...

    E Hem


    ReplyDelete
  46. http://www.cnbc.com/id/101225308
    No security ever built into Obamacare site: Hacker

    ReplyDelete
  47. Someone, after calling me a maggot (as I recall, although it could have been "cocksucker") informed me that it was not the 7.62 NATO round. Said he, it was the "Nato" round. That person was wrong again.

    NATO is the acronym for North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the bullet in 7.62 was the NATO round.

    "The 7.62×51mm NATO (official NATO nomenclature 7.62 NATO) is a rifle cartridge developed in the 1950s as a standard for small arms among NATO countries"
    7.62×51mm NATO
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7.62%C3%9751mm_NATO

    "Jerry Kuhnhausen, in his classic Shop Manual (available from Fulton Armory; see the M1 Rifle Parts & Accessories or M14 Rifle Parts and Accessories Pages under Books) has published a somewhat controversial recommendation concerning .308 Winchester and 7.62x51mm NATO ammo, headspace & chambers".

    .What's the Difference between .308 Winchester & 7.62x51mm NATO?
    http://www.fulton-armory.com/%5Cfaqs%5CM14-FAQs%5C308.htm


    "20 rds. .308 (7.62x51 NATO) 150 Grain FMJ BT Ammo - $16.62 shipped"
    Springfield Armory Webstore Sale
    http://www.slickguns.com/category/ammo?caliber=20

    Allen 2 refutations Others senile memories

    ReplyDelete
  48. Fourragère

    Someone stated that the Marine Corps did not recognize the achievements of particular units. This statement may have been within a lengthier statement wherein I was called a "pus filled maggot" or "POS" (given the number and ferocity of the total quantity of epithets, it is hard to recall from memory). Bottom line, that person was incorrect, again.

    For "fourragère", look it up and enjoy all the pretty pictures.

    "The regiment's [5th] actions in France earned them the right to wear the Fourragère (seen in the outline of the unit's logo), one of only two in the Marine Corps (the other being the 6th Marine Regiment).
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/5th_Marine_Regiment_(United_States)

    Allen 3 non-historical 0

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Gee, I forgot about Unit Citations that only members of a particular unit may wear.

      http://www.thewalkingdead.org/honorscitations.html
      1st Battalion 9th Marines

      Allen 3 non-historical 0

      Delete
  49. http://www.moneynews.com/StreetTalk/federal-reserve-inflation-time-bomb-economy/2013/11/26/id/538765?ns_mail_uid=64889406&ns_mail_job=1548006_11292013&promo_code=15C37-1
    HuffPo's Auerbach: Fed Has Created an Inflation 'Time Bomb'

    Robert Shiller (Nobel, economics) agrees.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Jewish activists want to pray on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, raising alarm in Muslim world
    http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/jewish-activists-set-sights-on-jerusalems-temple-mount-raising-alarm-in-muslim-world/2013/12/02/d0561dc4-4e00-11e3-97f6-ed8e3053083b_story.html

    ReplyDelete
  51. http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2013/12/03/israel_in_10_years.html

    Iran does not appear to have a deliverable nuclear weapon at this point. Refining uranium is a necessary but completely insufficient step in developing a weapon. A nuclear weapon is much more than uranium. It is a set of complex technologies, not the least of which are advanced electrical systems and sensors that, given the amount of time the Iranians have needed just to develop not-quite-enough enriched uranium, seems beyond them. Iran simply does not have sufficient fuel to produce a device.

    Nor it does not have a demonstrated ability to turn that device into a functioning weapon. A weapon needs to be engineered to extreme tolerances, become rugged enough to function on delivery and be compact enough to be delivered. To be delivered, its must be mounted on a very reliable missile or aircraft. Iran has neither reliable missiles nor aircraft with the necessary range to attack Israel. The idea that the Iranians will use the next six months for a secret rush to complete the weapon simply isn't the way it works.

    Before there is a weapon there must be a test. Nations do not even think of deploying nuclear weapons without extensive underground tests -- not to see if they have uranium but to test that the more complex systems work. That is why they can't secretly develop a weapon: They themselves won't know they have a workable weapon without a test. In all likelihood, the first test would fail, as such things do. Attempting their first test in an operational attack would result not only in failure but also in retaliation.


    In Fine, the US Government Is Of The Opinion That It Knows What It Is Doing By Negotiating With Iran.

    ReplyDelete