Zombie banks are dragging Ireland into the ground

From "The Guardian" - follow link to original
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Zombie banks are dragging Ireland into the ground

Just like many African nations, Ireland's debts must be cancelled or a 'financial bomb' will go off in its most deprived communities


Activists more accustomed to campaigning against the debts of countries like Zimbabwe, Egypt, Ecuador and Indonesia were instead outside the Irish embassy this morning. Dressed as zombies, we hoped to shed some light on the so-called "zombie banks" whose debts continue to drain resources from an Irish public sector that is being slashed to the bone.

Ireland's financial crisis has much in common with scores of countries across the developing world. The country has been brought to its knees by an enormous debt, which originated not with excessive public spending, but a footloose financial sector that gambled with the future of the country. Without so much as a vote, Ireland's people found themselves on the hook for tens of billions of euros of reckless investments.

The ultimate symbol of this form of crony capitalism in Ireland is Anglo Irish, the bank that started Ireland's slide into the abyss. Anglo Irish lent vast sums of money to fuel Ireland's property bubble, in the process making fortunes for rich speculators. Anglo is believed to have 15 customers who owe the bank more than €500m each.

When the bubble burst, the Irish government stepped in to underwrite the bank – ultimately being forced to nationalise it. This disastrous decision was not based on any assessment of the use of Anglo to the economy. Economics professor Morgan Kelly said at the time that Anglo – as well as Irish Nationwide, which was also brought into public ownership – "were purely conduits for property speculation. They fulfil no role in the Irish economy." He said it would be "better to incinerate €1.5bn than squander it on Anglo Irish Bank".

Today Anglo Irish, rebranded as the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, is a zombie bank – a bankrupt institution that exists to channel government money to a group of bondholders who the Irish people can't know anything about, and who themselves were fuelling Ireland's increasingly speculative economy.

Ireland has been able to repay these reckless private debts because it has received bailout money from the European Central Bank (ECB), the International Monetary Fund and the European Union. As in scores of developing countries before, so in Ireland, a bailout is not about ensuring a state can look after its people, but that it can continue repaying its private creditors. In this case, unlike past debt crises, the IMF looks relatively enlightened compared to the ECB, which made clear that it was on the side on the creditors, and insisted on repayment of Anglo's bondholders in full.

To date over €7bn has been paid by the Irish government to Anglo's investors. The next payment, of €1.25bn, is due to be paid on Wednesday.

As in many other countries hit by debt crisis over the decades, Ireland's people are starting to fight back. Activists from thinktanks, community groups, trade unions and international campaigns have launched a campaign calling for a suspension of the Anglo payments. The newly formed Debt Action Network says – as have activists as far apart as the Philippines and Kenya, Bolivia and Pakistan – "we don't owe and we shouldn't pay".

In the coming 20 years, Anglo's debts will cost Ireland at least €47.9bn – and probably much more given the state will have to borrow further money to repay it. Much of this money will head towards the ECB to pay back its loan, which allowed the Irish government to make the fatal mistake of paying back Anglo's reckless bondholders.

Yet the price of these debts will be borne most heavily by Ireland's poorest – who are neither responsible for, nor benefited from, the financial bubbles these speculators inflated. The ECB's bailout package has imposed swingeing budget cuts, a reduction in the minimum wage and, as a direct result, an economic contraction of 15%, with 15% unemployment. More generally, a government unable to control its own economic policy is unable to act in the interests of the people that elected it. It has lost its sovereignty.

Ireland's government argues that stopping payment will set a "financial bomb" off in Europe. In fact it would do no such thing – the ECB could easily cover the payments with a new issue of money, which might even help mitigate European deflation. The alternative – as Dublin community worker John Bissett pointed out – is the most deprived communities in Ireland will continue to experience the full force of "financial bombs" set in motion by the ECB's austerity programme.

Europe needs a "jubilee-style" debt cancellation today, just as African nations needed it when our campaign began in the late 1990s. Just as in the developing world, so in Ireland, governments must take on zombie capitalism if we are to defeat a financial system in which speculative profits matter more than real lives.

Something else to worry about!

This from BBC news - please follow link to original
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Accumulating 'microplastic' threat to shores
By Mark Kinver Environment reporter, BBC News

Microscopic plastic debris from washing clothes is accumulating in the marine environment and could be entering the food chain, a study has warned.

Researchers traced the "microplastic" back to synthetic clothes, which released up to 1,900 tiny fibres per garment every time they were washed.

Earlier research showed plastic smaller than 1mm were being eaten by animals and getting into the food chain.

The findings appeared in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

"Research we had done before... showed that when we looked at all the bits of plastic in the environment, about 80% was made up from smaller bits of plastic," said co-author Mark Browne, an ecologist now based at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

"This really led us to the idea of what sorts of plastic are there and where did they come from."

Dr Browne, a member of the US-based research network National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis, said the tiny plastic was a concern because evidence showed that it was making its way into the food chain.

"Once the plastics had been eaten, it transferred from [the animals'] stomachs to their circulation system and actually accumulated in their cells," he told BBC News.

In order to identify how widespread the presence of microplastic was on shorelines, the team took samples from 18 beaches around the globe, including the UK, India and Singapore.

"We found that there was no sample from around the world that did not contain pieces of microplastic."
Scanning microscope image of nylon fibres The smallest fibres could end up causing huge problems worldwide

Dr Browne added: "Most of the plastic seemed to be fibrous.

"When we looked at the different types of polymers we were finding, we were finding that polyester, acrylic and polyamides (nylon) were the major ones that we were finding."

The data also showed that the concentration of microplastic was greatest in areas near large urban centres.

In order to test the idea that sewerage discharges were the source of the plastic discharges, the team worked with a local authority in New South Wales, Australia.

"We found exactly the same proportion of plastics," Dr Browne revealed, which led the team to conclude that their suspicions had been correct.

As a result, Dr Browne his colleague Professor Richard Thompson from the University of Plymouth, UK carried out a number of experiments to see what fibres were contained in the water discharge from washing machines.

"We were quite surprised. Some polyester garments released more than 1,900 fibres per garment, per wash," Dr Browne observed.

"It may not sound like an awful lot, but if that is from a single item from a single wash, it shows how things can build up.

"It suggests to us that a large proportion of the fibres we were finding in the environment, in the strongest evidence yet, was derived from the sewerage as a consequence from washing clothes."

FBI wants to monitor EVERYTHING!!

This from BBC News --- "The FBI is seeking to develop an early-warning system based on material "scraped" from social networks.

It says the application should provide information about possible domestic and global threats superimposed onto maps "using mash-up technology"." ..........
.................. The document says: "Social media has become a primary source of intelligence because it has become the premier first response to key events and the primal alert to possible developing situations."

It says the application should collect "open source" information and have the ability to:

Provide an automated search and scrape capability of social networks including Facebook and Twitter.
Allow users to create new keyword searches.
Display different levels of threats as alerts on maps, possibly using colour coding to distinguish priority. Google Maps 3D and Yahoo Maps are listed among the "preferred" mapping options.
Plot a wide range of domestic and global terror data.
Immediately translate foreign language tweets into English.

The FBI says the information would be used to help it to predict the likely actions of "bad actors", detect instances of people deliberately misleading law enforcement officers and spot the vulnerabilities of suspect groups. .........
...................................... It also highlighted words it looked out for. These include "gangs", "small pox", "leak", "recall" and "2600" - an apparent reference to the hacking-focused magazine.
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So, does that mean if I post that, "I recall the 2600 leaks I had on an old aluminum boat -- and it took a gang of us to fix it, but it was so long ago they had not yet conquered small pox." I would be seen as a potential risk??

Or, would they just imprison me for being a wiseass?

Mayor Booker Responds to Question about NJ Marriage Equality Referendum

YOU MUST READ THIS!!
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A Visit To "Some Assembly Required"

A sample -- follow link to original
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Pick one: War is peace. Slavery is freedom. Ignorance is strength.

Perspective: Apple made $13.6 billion in iProfits. Human costs are built into iStuff; 13 year-olds working for 70 cents an hour is just the start. Enjoy.

Bravado: Nancy Pelosi assures us that Newt's "not going to be President of the United States. That's not going to happen... There is something I know." Cue the suspense-building music.

Don't Sweat The Small Stuff: Airbus says that the small cracks in the wings of its A380 jumbo planes are not dangerous, insisting that “The cracks do not compromise the airworthiness of the aircraft." So, they're a design feature?

Extra, Extra: Thirty of the largest US companies spend more lobbying congress than they pay in taxes. And they're getting their money's worth, too.

Exactly: “TSA airport security has nothing to do with security, and everything to do with making sure that every human being who transits within or through a US commercial airport knows exactly who is in charge. The idea is to desensitize people to government intrusion.”

Nuff Said?

The Sons Also Rise

This from Prof. Dr. Dr. Krugman -- follow link to original
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The Sons Also Rise

Here are the stages of inequality rationalization:

1. Rising inequality? What rise in inequality?

2. OK, inequality has been rising, but it doesn’t matter, because we have lots of social mobility.

3. OK, we don’t have lots of social mobility. But that’s a good thing.

John Quiggin sees Tyler Cowen making the transition from #2 to #3, and does a systematic demolition job.

Go read Quiggin. I’d just like to note that I saw this coming way back in 2002, when I took note of the remarkable number of “sons of” serving in high positions, and concluded that “inherited status is making a comeback.” I concluded,

The official ideology of America’s elite remains one of meritocracy, just as our political leadership pretends to be populist. But that won’t last. Soon enough, our society will rediscover the importance of good breeding, and the vulgarity of talented upstarts.

For years, opinion leaders have told us that it’s all about family values. And it is — but it will take a while before most people realize that they meant the value of coming from the right family.

And here it comes.

Paula Deen Eats a Cheeseburger

I saw this today From ABC "News":

Last week, TV chef Paula Deen announced that she’s been suffering from type 2 diabetes for the past three years. She acknowledged that a person has “to make changes in your life” but apparently, Deen hasn’t apparently changed all that much. TMZ posted a photo of Deen woolfing down a cheeseburger on Monday while on a 7-day Caribbean cruise. The 65-year-old chef was hosting her annual Party at Sea vacation for 400 fans. TMZ says Deen also had fries on her plate.

This is news? They've got nothing better to do? As a DIABETIC myself -- I ask, "What's WRONG with a Cheeseburger?". Do these folks know ANYTHING about diabetes? What do they think you are supposed to eat?

First you have to have some sugar, some carbs (which are the biggest culprit in raising blood sugar.

Guess what? Fresh Fruit are NOT the best thing to eat -- loaded with SUGAR. Figure that as a diabetic you are eating a "modified Atkins Diet" (direct quote from my Dr.). If you watch those french fries, watch sugar ans bread intake (carbs), and eat in moderation you will be O.K.

I get my A1C tested every six months -- it is always BELOW 7 (A1C: measures the AVERAGE blood glucose over an extended period of time -- in my case, 6 months). For a diabetic anything below 7 is very good. "Normal" is around 6.5 or lower.

Some folks carefully eat NO "refined" sugar -- but they still have lots of bread, cereal, etc. Then they say, "my diabetes is "uncontrollable" -- or, at least that's what they want you to think. According to my Dr., that is a load of CRAP. Take your meds, watch your diet, exercise, WATCH YOUR WEIGHT, and you will be more or less O.K.

I waited way too long to go to the Dr. -- as a result, I've suffered extensive peripheral neuropathy.  At least I don't have much pain, nor has it affected my eyes too much (whatever THAT means).

It was impressed on me that diabetes is a CHRONIC disease  --  you have it till you die, and it might well be one of the main causes of your death.

It is very difficult to control it with exercise, and some strange diet, alone.  That approach is often promoted by folks who DO NOT HAVE DIABETES. It's almost as if a diabetic has somehow "sinned", and has to "atone" by eating a tasteless diet.

Limit sugars, look for complex carbs (almost NO white RICE), and learn to control portions (my big problem) and you will be O.K. It is a "progressive disease", so meds, diet, etc. may well have to change over time. It IS controllable.

Again, what's wrong with a Cheeseburger?

George Soros on the Coming U.S. Class War

This from "The Daily Beast" by John Arlidge - please follow link to original. I just posted an excerpt -- follow link to read the rest --
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George Soros on the Coming U.S. Class War
Jan 23, 2012 12:00 AM EST

'The situation is about as serious and difficult as I've experienced in my career.' Plus, an exclusive interview with IMF chief Christine Lagarde, who issues a dire warning for Europe.

You know George Soros. He’s the investor’s investor—the man who still holds the record for making more money in a single day’s trading than anyone. He pocketed $1 billion betting against the British pound on “Black Wednesday” in 1992, when sterling lost 20 percent of its value in less than 24 hours and crashed out of the European exchange-rate mechanism. No wonder Brits call him, with a mix of awe and annoyance, “the man who broke the Bank of England.”

Soros doesn’t make small bets on anything. Beyond the markets, he has plowed billions of dollars of his own money into promoting political freedom in Eastern Europe and other causes. He bet against the Bush White House, becoming a hate magnet for the right that persists to this day. So, as Soros and the world’s movers once again converge on Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum this week, what is one of the world’s highest-stakes economic gamblers betting on now?

He’s not. For the first time in his 60-year career, Soros, now 81, admits he is not sure what to do. “It’s very hard to know how you can be right, given the damage that was done during the boom years,” Soros says. He won’t discuss his portfolio, lest anyone think he’s talking things down to make a buck. But people who know him well say he advocates making long-term stock picks with solid companies, avoiding gold—“the ultimate bubble”—and, mainly, holding cash.

He’s not even doing the one thing that you would expect from a man who knows a crippled currency when he sees one: shorting the euro, and perhaps even the U.S. dollar, to hell. Quite the reverse. He backs the beleaguered euro, publicly urging European leaders to do whatever it takes to ensure its survival. “The euro must survive because the alternative—a breakup—would cause a meltdown that Europe, the world, can’t afford.” He has bought about $2 billion in European bonds, mainly Italian, from MF Global Holdings Ltd., the securities firm run by former Goldman Sachs head Jon Corzine that filed for bankruptcy protection last October.

Has the great short seller gone soft? Well, yes. Sitting in his 33rd-floor corner office high above Seventh Avenue in New York, preparing for his trip to Davos, he is more concerned with surviving than staying rich. “At times like these, survival is the most important thing,” he says, peering through his owlish glasses and brushing wisps of gray hair off his forehead. He doesn’t just mean it’s time to protect your assets. He means it’s time to stave off disaster. As he sees it, the world faces one of the most dangerous periods of modern history—a period of “evil.” Europe is confronting a descent into chaos and conflict. In America he predicts riots on the streets that will lead to a brutal clampdown that will dramatically curtail civil liberties. The global economic system could even collapse altogether. ............................
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Please follow link to read the rest of it. There's a lot more

Romney's Taxes

This from Dr. Paul Krugman titled "Romney's Taxes" - please follow link to original.
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Romney's Taxes

ust about what we expected. He really needs to provide earlier years, if only to clear up suspicions that he began sanitizing his portfolio in preparation for his presidential run.

The right-wing apologetics now focus on the claim that Romney's taxes aren't really low, because we should impute the taxes that corporations effectively paid on his behalf. But there are at least two things wrong with this argument.

First, $13 million of the total was carried interest, which gets taxed like capital gains but is really just commissions that receive special treatment for no good reason. No profits taxes were paid on that income; right there, a minimally defensible tax code would have levied $2.6 million more in taxes on Romney.

Second, just the other day the usual suspects were calling for big cuts in corporate taxes, arguing that these taxes don't really fall on stockholders, they fall mainly on workers and consumers. Now, suddenly, the taxes fall on stockholders after all. Interesting.

Meanwhile, the Romney campaign is signalling that it's going to try to spin this as "he pays lots of taxes"! How stupid do they think we are? Actually, don't answer that.

Again, the point here is not that Romney did something wrong by paying the low rates current tax law lavishes on people like him. It is, instead, that in an election campaign that will be in part about issues of inequality, the likely GOP candidate is a living, breathing, coupon-clipping example of how favorable our system is to the very rich; and he also happens to be advocating policies that would greatly benefit people like him, while hurting the poor and the middle class.

PS: Yes, my tax rate is a lot higher than Romney's. And I support policies that would raise it further.

More on Apple

From now on, every time I think about Apple, about that so cool, so chic, so "creative", so (somehow or other) "green" product, I will think of mice in dormitories, scurrying to the factory floor whenever a bell is rung.

This supposed "flexibility" is that of slaves, serfs, prisoners.

It appears that's what our overlords want from their "workers". They want WORKERS to "fix things" whenever "The Bosses" make a mistake. If things are tested, planned, and THEN put in production there would not be quite as many "emergencies" that require getting folks out of bed at MIDNIGHT, giving them "a cup of tea and a biscuit", and having them work through the night AND the day.

Poor planning, arrogant "masters", and a total lack of respect of their SLAVES as human beings. Just cogs in the "wheels of production".

Screw APPLE and ALL their products.

Apple Not So Cool After All

This from "The Economic Populist", written by Robert Oak. **This Is Just An Excerpt** -- in other words, please follow link to read the rest.

All I can say is: It's about time we brought some of those damned Apple SNOBS down to earth. How long before they get the "shoddy goods" reputation? In any case, read this, follow link, read the rest.
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Apple Not So Cool After All

The New York Times has a lengthy article, How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work and implies, we, Americans, just can't compete and we should just lay down and die when it comes to advanced manufacturing. Good God, what a sad state of affairs.

In early 2011, President Obama asked what would it take to make the iPhone in the United States instead of China and late Steve Jobs replied:

Those jobs aren’t coming back.

On really? Isn't that the classic CEO speak to get off my case and haven't we heard that one before? Instead of cheap labor being the reason corporations move to China, we have growing, much more sinister, motivations.

It isn’t just that workers are cheaper abroad. Rather, Apple’s executives believe the vast scale of overseas factories as well as the flexibility, diligence and industrial skills of foreign workers have so outpaced their American counterparts that “Made in the U.S.A.” is no longer a viable option for most Apple products.

What's happening here is like no man exists in a bubble, manufacturing doesn't either. Manufacturing clusters. U.S. multinationals and companies have offshore outsourced so much of their manufacturing, America has lost it's know how. That's how bad the situation is these days to make things in the United States.

Beyond being outraged with the article's lay down and die manufacturing America mentality, there are some very good points in the article as to what the U.S. is doing wrong.


Private companies are not training workers

In the 1990's and earlier, routinely corporations and companies trained workers. From internships to apprenticeships to full bore PhD study support, corporations invested in employees. No longer.


Corporations See No Reason To Hire and Invest in America

We don’t have an obligation to solve America’s problems.

This is one of the quotes from a former Apple executive in the New York Times piece. While the focus in on Apple, this quote could have come from any U.S. based corporate executive's mouth. They take from America in terms of tax loopholes, investments, finance and profits, but corporations have no loyalty, no tie to the very nation they are incorporated in. ...................

Mitch Daniels Doesn’t Read the New York Times

This from Prof. Krugman on the response to the SOTU address last night - follow link to original
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Mitch Daniels Doesn’t Read the New York Times

From the Daniels reply to the State of Union:

Contrary to the President’s constant disparagement of people in business, it’s one of the noblest of human pursuits. The late Steve Jobs — what a fitting name he had — created more of them than all those stimulus dollars the President borrowed and blew.

From Sunday’s Times:

Not long ago, Apple boasted that its products were made in America. Today, few are. Almost all of the 70 million iPhones, 30 million iPads and 59 million other products Apple sold last year were manufactured overseas.

…

Apple employs 43,000 people in the United States and 20,000 overseas, a small fraction of the over 400,000 American workers at General Motors in the 1950s, or the hundreds of thousands at General Electric in the 1980s. Many more people work for Apple’s contractors: an additional 700,000 people engineer, build and assemble iPads, iPhones and Apple’s other products. But almost none of them work in the United States. Instead, they work for foreign companies in Asia, Europe and elsewhere, at factories that almost all electronics designers rely upon to build their wares.

Steve Jobs designed great products. It’s very, very hard to make the case that he created large numbers of jobs in this country. Obama’s auto bailout, just by itself, saved a lot more jobs than Apple’s US employment.

Exclusive: Faith-healing: A Modest Proposal on Religious Fundamentalism

We start with a little something from Robin Morgan about "Religious Fundamentalists". My only comment is -- What took you so long to understand this? The very fact they ARE insane/deranged/unbalanced is one of the main reasons I fear them so much.

As you must know some people are willing to kill, or die, for Religion. Christians worship "the son of god", who "died for your sins". Books of Saints are filled with martyrs -- many of whom died is strange, perhaps bizarre ways. Among those same Saints there are also some seemingly sketchy folks. In any case, "faith" seems to be a state of delusion, a place where inhuman, horrific, acts can be "justified" on the basis of one or another "sky daddy", "daddies", or "mommies and daddies" -- all residing SOMEWHERE, or even EVERYWHERE.

It appears to be insane -- think about it.

The following is an excerpt of an article posted on "The Women's Media Center", written by Robin Morgan -- follow link to view the complete article
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Exclusive: Faith-healing: A Modest Proposal on Religious Fundamentalism

For years, I’ve been barking up the wrong steeple, confronting the misogyny that defines all religious fundamentalists: Islamists (the only ones most people bother to hate), ultra-Orthodox Jews, Christian Bible-thumpers, Hindu militants, even Buddhist and Shinto extremists. “Take back the law!” I cried, citing the UN Charter and Universal Declaration on Human Rights, which disallow any religious law being the source for or impediment to international rights. “Just feed them all!” I pleaded, when I thought economics drove the phenomenon. “It’s really cultural!” I argued, trying to be reasonable.

And back when I believed we were facing willful ignorance (because affirmed stupidity seems all the rage), I produced Fighting Words: A Tool Kit for Combating the Religious Right (Nation Books). It offers “verbal karate” for arguing, facts and Founders’ quotes like “Question with boldness even the existence of a god” (Jefferson ). Stuff like that.

Now I see this crisis is worse than willful ignorance. Religious fundamentalists are blatantly, commitment-to-the-funny-farm-ready, lunatic, cuckoo wingnuts. Serious people suffering from cognitive or emotional distress have everything to gain by getting help. But religious fundamentalists have everything to lose by becoming healthy, so they’ve embraced willful madness.

It has an epidemiological range from petty crazy (ubiquitous dating-service TV ads vowing to “find God’s match for you”) to scary psychoses (our home-grown Taliban exerting wildly disproportionate influence on our political system).

Fundamentalists have their fundaments—the Koran, the Shuras, the Pentateuch, the Bible. This last, for instance, has texts handy for justifying Inquisitions, Crusades, lynchings, apartheid, indentured servitude, racism, poverty, polygamy, war, wife battery, child marriage/abuse/murder, homophobia, and other holy terrors—plus some exquisite 17th century English poetry in the King James Version. An important new book, Fatal Self Deception: Slaveholding Paternalism in the Old South, by Elizabeth Fox-Genovese and Eugene D. Genovese (Cambridge University Press), exposes “family based Christian enslavement” as the cornerstone of the institution of slavery. It quotes Joseph Wilson (a 19th century Southern Presbyterian clergyman and, incidentally, father of President Woodrow Wilson) on how his deity devised slavery as an organizing element in the family so it could serve as the model for the state, emphasizing that a household under the gospel must “contain all the grades of authority and obedience, from that of husband and wife, down through that of father and son, to that of master and servant.” .....................

Ultra-Orthodox Jews attack woman in Israeli town

O.K. -- so THIS is the "bastion of DEMOCRACY" that we send untold amounts of "foreign aid" to? This is a place founded by people who supported EQUALITY? This place, becoming as evil toward women as any Muslim country, is our grand ally?

From "Raw Story" - more proof ALL the "desert religions" are SHIT!! (please follow link to original)
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Ultra-Orthodox Jews attack woman in Israeli town

JERUSALEM — A group of ultra-Orthodox men attacked a woman on Tuesday as she put up posters in an Israeli town that has become a flashpoint for tensions between religious and secular Jews, police said.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the incident occurred in Beit Shemesh, which lies 30 kilometres (18 miles) west of Jerusalem, as the woman was trying to put up posters for Israel’s national lottery.

“A woman was driving in Beit Shemesh and putting up posters for the Israeli lottery when she was surrounded by a group of ultra-Orthodox men,” Rosenfeld told AFP.

“They threw stones at her and slashed the tyres of her car. They also stole her car keys. She was slightly injured in the head. Police arrived and took her to a safe place. Three suspects were arrested.”

The incident comes several weeks after Beit Shemesh hit the headlines and sparked a national debate about relations between secular and religious Israelis and the role of the ultra-Orthodox community within the Jewish state.

The town, which is home to around 80,000 people, was at the centre of an Israeli television report on a series of spitting attacks and abuse hurled at an eight-year-old girl on grounds she was dressed “immodestly”.

Reporters also filmed signs instructing women to walk on different sides of the street from men, and interviewed local residents who justified the imposition of a strict regime of segregation.

The Republican Spiritual Crisis

This from Ted Rall:

Follow link, go to original

Some Good Stuff

Some good stuff from "Some Assembly required" -- read what I've put up -- go there -- follow link.
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Echo: Folks making $30,000 a year, buying $600,000 apartments, expecting a 20-30% return in less than a year are now finding that their apartment is worth only $400,000 and there are no 'bigger fools' around to buy at even that price. Sound familiar? Well, that's because China's housing bubble resembles the US bubble, except theirs is just starting to pop. But don't worry, it'll be contained. (comment from old woman - geez, I'm so happy we are not the only fools around)

Priorities: KY Gov. Beasher's budget cuts higher education and basic services and - he admits - "is inadequate for the needs of the state's people." There is, however, $43 million to help a creationist theme park teach Bible lessons to the uneducated, much like the art in medieval churches. (comment from Old woman - just train them enough to do their jobs, stuff them with "religion", keep them "happy" with circuses - 'we don't do bread', oh -- and turn the women back into pure breeders, domestic help, and obedient DOGS!)

Pick A Number: Joe Granville claims the Dow will fall 4000 points by year's end. Optimist. (comment from Old woman -- don't y'all think we should turn Social Security into a boondoggle for Wall Street? - errrr, I mean "let the magic of the market work its miracles"? At least then, I'm sure some bankers would be prosecuted/jailed/killed/burned/tarred and feathered. Aren't they happy they didn't get to mess with Social Security?)

Rose Is Rose: House Republicans say that their budget plan - which hasn't been formulated yet - will include an alternative vision to the “cradle-to-grave welfare state". Specifically the unwritten document will specify substantial cuts in Medicare and turn it over to Republican run Insurance companies.
(no comment necessary - except that even insurance companies would not be happy to face a "Cavalry" of "grannies on scooters", yelling, "I don't give a DAMN, I'm going to die soon anyway!!").
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Follow link for more

No Santorum today

I wanted to put up a video of Rick Santorum talking about "life begins at conception", and that rape victims should 'Make The Best Out Of A Bad Situation'.

I clicked on the video, started listening, and had to stop it. I could not even listen to this evil man. I cannot put it up.

Go to "you tube", find it, and listen to this evil-woman-hating excuse for a man -- if you can bear it. I cannot.

Arkansas Dem’s pet murdered, with ‘LIBERAL’ scrawled on corpse

I have been so disgusted with EVERYTHING that I just had to take a couple of days off from posting. The Republicans running to be their presidential candidate are racist, anti-science, anti-woman, and totally un-American. They constantly lie, make outlandish statements, and pander to the basest, coarsest, elements in These dis-United States.

I see Obama as a center-right-Republican or a truly right-wing-Democrat -- these morons call him a "socialist" -- and other folks nod their heads in agreement -- showing how STUPID they are.

How do you combat religious zealots, the purposely ignorant, or the total cynics who promote this clap-trap for their own benefit.

Now, the following story just horrifies me. That some idiot would kill a child's pet, bash in its skull and carve the words "liberal" into the cats body is beyond understanding.

I too have a gun and know how to use it. I'm a sport shooter and have kept up with the sport if only to be prepared when (not if) the right-wing-crazies are provoked by their "pastors", their "leaders", the lying scum that front for one or another "Family" group -- the ones who subvert their bible, call for "death to homosexuals", and go out and KILL abortion providers.

Whenever I hear some "liberal" cry out against guns, or say stuff like, "that will bring you down to their level", I want to cry. You can no longer "vote your conscience", "work for peace", or do much of anything if you and/or your family have been killed by some right wing crazy.

Learn to protect yourself, and your family.

This from "Raw Story" - please follow link to original
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Arkansas Dem’s pet murdered, with ‘LIBERAL’ scrawled on corpse

An Arkansas Democrat has a message for whomever killed his kids’ cat: “I’ve got a gun and I know how to use it.”

According to the Blue Arkansas blog, the campaign manager to Ken Aden, who’s running for the state’s third congressional district, came home last night to discover the family pet had been murdered and left on their front porch, as if the attacker wanted it to be discovered.

The feline’s skull was bashed in, and an ominous message was carved into its side: “LIBERAL.”

“If I have to protect my kids, I’ll do it without hesitation,” Aden campaign manager Jake Burris told Blue Arkansas.

The killing comes after a weekend of positive press for Aden, a former soldier running for Congress as a Democrat in one of the most conservative areas of Arkansas.

“To kill a child’s pet is just unconscionable,” Aden said in a media advisory. “As a former combat soldier, I’ve seen the best of humanity and the worst of humanity. Whoever did this is definitely part of the worst of humanity.

“It is one thing to engage in civil political discourse, and for Republicans and Democrats to disagree with each other, which is an expected part of the political process. Taking it to this level is beyond unacceptable.”

The killer has not yet come forward, and police in Russellville, Ark. said they are investigating.

Aden added that he did not believe the attack was in any way related to the reelection campaign of Rep. Steve Womack (R-AR)
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This is how the KKK and The Nazis came to power. People went tsk-tsk, forgot, talked about how "civilized" THEY were, went about their business, and ended up being ruled by insane bigots.

Be aware. Don't forget. Remember -- NEVER AGAIN!!

#3

Press Releases
Capital Bank, National Association, Rockville, Maryland, Assumes All of the Deposits of American Eagle Savings Bank, Boothwyn, Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 20, 2012
Media Contact:
LaJuan Williams-Young
Office: 202-898-3876
Email: lwilliams-young@fdic.gov

American Eagle Savings Bank, Boothwyn, Pennsylvania, was closed today by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Capital Bank, National Association, Rockville, Maryland, to assume all of the deposits of American Eagle Savings Bank.

The sole branch of American Eagle Savings Bank will reopen on Saturday as a branch of Capital Bank, National Association. Depositors of American Eagle Savings Bank will automatically become depositors of Capital Bank, National Association. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship in order to retain their deposit insurance coverage up to applicable limits. Customers of American Eagle Savings Bank should continue to use their existing branch until they receive notice from Capital Bank, National Association that it has completed systems changes to allow other Capital Bank, National Association branches to process their accounts as well.

This evening and over the weekend, depositors of American Eagle Savings Bank can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.

As of September 30, 2011, American Eagle Savings Bank had approximately $19.6 million in total assets and $17.7 million in total deposits. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, Capital Bank, National Association agreed to purchase essentially all of the assets.

Customers with questions about today's transaction should call the FDIC toll-free at 1-800-355-0814. The phone number will be operational this evening until 9:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time (EST); on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., EST; on Sunday from noon to 6:00 p.m., EST; on Monday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., EST; and thereafter from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., EST. Interested parties also can visit the FDIC's Web site at http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/americaneagle.html.

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $3.2 million. Compared to other alternatives, Capital Bank, National Association's acquisition was the least costly resolution for the FDIC's DIF. American Eagle Savings Bank is the third FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the first in Pennsylvania. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was Public Savings Bank, Huntingdon Valley, on August 18, 2011.

#2

Hamilton State Bank, Hoschton, Georgia, Assumes All of the Deposits of the First State Bank, Stockbridge, Georgia

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 20, 2012
Media Contact:
LaJuan Williams-Young
Office: 202-898-3876
Email: lwilliams-young@fdic.gov

The First State Bank, Stockbridge, Georgia, was closed today by the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with Hamilton State Bank, Hoschton, Georgia, to assume all of the deposits of The First State Bank.

The seven branches of The First State Bank will reopen during their normal business hours beginning Saturday as branches of Hamilton State Bank. Depositors of The First State Bank will automatically become depositors of Hamilton State Bank. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship in order to retain their deposit insurance coverage up to applicable limits. Customers of The First State Bank should continue to use their existing branch until they receive notice from Hamilton State Bank that it has completed systems changes to allow other Hamilton State Bank branches to process their accounts as well.

This evening and over the weekend, depositors of The First State Bank can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.

As of September 30, 2011, The First State Bank had approximately $536.9 million in total assets and $527.5 million in total deposits. Hamilton State Bank will pay the FDIC a premium of 0.50 percent to assume all of the deposits of The First State Bank. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, Hamilton State Bank agreed to purchase essentially all of the assets.

The FDIC and Hamilton State Bank entered into a loss-share transaction on $419.5 million of The First State Bank's assets. Hamilton State Bank will share in the losses on the asset pools covered under the loss-share agreement. The loss-share transaction is projected to maximize returns on the assets covered by keeping them in the private sector. The transaction also is expected to minimize disruptions for loan customers. For more information on loss share, please visit: http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/lossshare/index.html.

Customers with questions about today's transaction should call the FDIC toll-free at 1-800-405-8251. The phone number will be operational this evening until 9:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time (EST); on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., EST; on Sunday from noon to 6:00 p.m., EST; on Monday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., EST; and thereafter from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., EST. Interested parties also can visit the FDIC's Web site at http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/firststatebank-ga.html.

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $216.2 million. Compared to other alternatives, Hamilton State Bank's acquisition was the least costly resolution for the FDIC's DIF. The First State Bank is the second FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the first in Georgia. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was Community Bank of Rockmart, Rockmart, on November 10, 2011.

Number 1 for 2012

CenterState Bank of Florida, National Association, Winter Haven, Florida, Assumes All of the Deposits of Central Florida State Bank, Belleview, Florida

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 20, 2012
Media Contact:
LaJuan Williams-Young
Office: 202-898-3876
Email: lwilliams-young@fdic.gov

Central Florida State Bank, Belleview, Florida, was closed today by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, which appointed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver. To protect the depositors, the FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement with CenterState Bank of Florida, National Association, Winter Haven, Florida, to assume all of the deposits of Central Florida State Bank.

The four branches of Central Florida State Bank will reopen on Monday as branches of CenterState Bank of Florida, National Association. Depositors of Central Florida State Bank will automatically become depositors of CenterState Bank of Florida, National Association. Deposits will continue to be insured by the FDIC, so there is no need for customers to change their banking relationship in order to retain their deposit insurance coverage up to applicable limits. Customers of Central Florida State Bank should continue to use their existing branch until they receive notice from CenterState Bank of Florida, National Association that it has completed systems changes to allow other CenterState Bank of Florida, National Association branches to process their accounts as well.

This evening and over the weekend, depositors of Central Florida State Bank can access their money by writing checks or using ATM or debit cards. Checks drawn on the bank will continue to be processed. Loan customers should continue to make their payments as usual.

As of September 30, 2011, Central Florida State Bank had approximately $79.1 million in total assets and $77.7 million in total deposits. In addition to assuming all of the deposits of the failed bank, CenterState Bank of Florida, National Association agreed to purchase essentially all of the assets.

The FDIC and CenterState Bank of Florida, National Association entered into a loss-share transaction on $53.6 million of Central Florida State Bank's assets. CenterState Bank of Florida, National Association will share in the losses on the asset pools covered under the loss-share agreement. The loss-share transaction is projected to maximize returns on the assets covered by keeping them in the private sector. The transaction also is expected to minimize disruptions for loan customers. For more information on loss share, please visit: http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/lossshare/index.html.

Customers with questions about today's transaction should call the FDIC toll-free at 1-800-405-8028. The phone number will be operational this evening until 9:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time (EST); on Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., EST; on Sunday from noon to 6:00 p.m., EST; on Monday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., EST; and thereafter from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., EST. Interested parties also can visit the FDIC's Web site at http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/cfsb.html.

The FDIC estimates that the cost to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) will be $24.4 million. Compared to other alternatives, CenterState Bank of Florida, National Association's acquisition was the least costly resolution for the FDIC's DIF. Central Florida State Bank is the first FDIC-insured institution to fail in the nation this year, and the first in Florida. The last FDIC-insured institution closed in the state was Premier Community Bank of the Emerald Coast, Crestview, on December 16, 2011.

Sam Harris simply destroys catholicism

Richard Dawkins destroys muslim on morality

George Carlin - Why You Are In Debt

Ella Fitzgerald - My One and Only Love

Ella Fitzgerald - Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me

Ella Fitzgerald - Do Nothin' Till You Hear from Me (Duke Ellington). September 4, 1956. Ben Webster (ts); Stuff Smith (vln); Paul Smith (p); Barney Kessel (g); Joe Mondragon (b); Alvin Stoller (d).

Ella Fitzgerald: The Lady Is a Tramp (Rodgers / Hart, 1937)

Ella Fitzgerald-Air Mail Special

Ella Fitzgerald - I Get A Kick Out Of You