Conjoint melon found in Fukui. Fukushima Diary.
How much sexier would they be if they glowed in the dark? Mmm.. Delicious Melons of death..
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Saturday, October 6, 2012
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Golden Apple: The Mayan Omen. New From Goro Adachi
Goro's latest - Golden Apple: The Mayan Omen. Goro Adachi interprets multiple sets of highly symbolic narratives that are revealed in the form of Current Events. And then he searches for deeper meaning from the narratives he unearths. And then he tells us about it. (If this is your first rodeo, go back to his very first posts and catch up. Goro Adachi's writing needs context as to the perspective he presents, and there's no place like the beginning to gain said context.)
For Goro, it's been a busy, busy two months. No excerpts; Just go to the link and let him tell you about it.
For Goro, it's been a busy, busy two months. No excerpts; Just go to the link and let him tell you about it.
Your Brain on Drugs: Marijuana
A two and a half minute seminar on the physiological effects of marijuana on the human brain. Thanks, ASAP Science! You Tube:
Revealed: Army scientists secretly sprayed St Louis with 'radioactive' particles for YEARS to test chemical warfare technology
Gross. Why do you think they picked St. Louis? Oh yeah; The poor black people. No worries though, right? That last incident was 47 years ago, and I'm sure there's been no covert bullshit against citizens of any color or class since..
Somebody give me a Xanax and let's go shopping!
Somebody give me a Xanax and let's go shopping!
NEW 4-Mile Long Oil Slick Near BP’s Gulf Oil Well
BP’s Macondo Well May Leak for Years. Washington's Blog. Excerpts:
From CNN:
An oil sheen about four miles long has appeared in the Gulf of Mexico near the site of the worst oil spill in U.S. history, a Coast Guard spokesman said Thursday.
It was not immediately clear where the oil is coming from, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Ryan Tippets. [Although previous oil has been matched as a "dead ringer" to the BP well.]
Coast Guardsmen went to the location after seeing the oil on a satellite image, Tippets said. The response team collected samples and sent them to the Coast Guard Marine Safety Lab in Connecticut for testing.
***
The sheen is near the spot where, on April 20, 2010, BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded over the Macondo well, killing 11 workers and spewing oil that spread across a huge portion of the Gulf.
This is interesting, and a little disturbing to boot..
(Interview by Washington's Blog with Dr. Robert Bea, a member of the Deepwater Horizon Study Group.)
WB: I have heard that BP is underestimating the size of the oil reservoir. Is it possible that the reservoir is bigger than BP is estimating, and so – if not completely killed – the leak could therefore go on for longer than most assume?
Bea: That’s plausible.
WB: The chief electronics technician on the Deepwater Horizon said that the Macondo well was originally drilled in another location, but that “going faster caused the bottom of the well to split open, swallowing tools”, and that BP abandoned that well. You’ve spoken to that technician and looked into the incident, and concluded that “they damn near blew up the rig.”
Do you know where that abandoned well location is, and do you know if that well is still leaking?
Bea: The abandoned well is very close to the current well location. BP had to file reports showing the location of the abandoned well and the new well [with the Minerals Management Service], so the location of the abandoned well is known.
We don’t know if the abandoned well is leaking.
WB: Matthew Simmons talked about a second leaking well. There are rumors on the Internet that the original well is still leaking. Do you have any information that can either disprove or confirm that allegation?
Bea: There are two uncorroborated reports. One is that there is a leak 400 feet West of the present well’s surface location. There is another report that there is a leak several miles to the West.
[Bea does not know whether either report is true at this time, because BP is not sharing information with the government, let alone the public.]
Random, unacknowledged oil leaks for decades to come? Who said environmental disasters can't be fun?
From CNN:
An oil sheen about four miles long has appeared in the Gulf of Mexico near the site of the worst oil spill in U.S. history, a Coast Guard spokesman said Thursday.
It was not immediately clear where the oil is coming from, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Ryan Tippets. [Although previous oil has been matched as a "dead ringer" to the BP well.]
Coast Guardsmen went to the location after seeing the oil on a satellite image, Tippets said. The response team collected samples and sent them to the Coast Guard Marine Safety Lab in Connecticut for testing.
***
The sheen is near the spot where, on April 20, 2010, BP’s Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded over the Macondo well, killing 11 workers and spewing oil that spread across a huge portion of the Gulf.
This is interesting, and a little disturbing to boot..
(Interview by Washington's Blog with Dr. Robert Bea, a member of the Deepwater Horizon Study Group.)
WB: I have heard that BP is underestimating the size of the oil reservoir. Is it possible that the reservoir is bigger than BP is estimating, and so – if not completely killed – the leak could therefore go on for longer than most assume?
Bea: That’s plausible.
WB: The chief electronics technician on the Deepwater Horizon said that the Macondo well was originally drilled in another location, but that “going faster caused the bottom of the well to split open, swallowing tools”, and that BP abandoned that well. You’ve spoken to that technician and looked into the incident, and concluded that “they damn near blew up the rig.”
Do you know where that abandoned well location is, and do you know if that well is still leaking?
Bea: The abandoned well is very close to the current well location. BP had to file reports showing the location of the abandoned well and the new well [with the Minerals Management Service], so the location of the abandoned well is known.
We don’t know if the abandoned well is leaking.
WB: Matthew Simmons talked about a second leaking well. There are rumors on the Internet that the original well is still leaking. Do you have any information that can either disprove or confirm that allegation?
Bea: There are two uncorroborated reports. One is that there is a leak 400 feet West of the present well’s surface location. There is another report that there is a leak several miles to the West.
[Bea does not know whether either report is true at this time, because BP is not sharing information with the government, let alone the public.]
Random, unacknowledged oil leaks for decades to come? Who said environmental disasters can't be fun?
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Incredible! Human Size Bat Caught In Peru
That's a big bat! The Truth Behind The Scenes:
The Peruvian army has captured something truly horrific, a human size bat, this animal as you can see in the photograph appears to be a giant bat.
Apparently this animal has been frightening locals living near the amazon jungle bordering Peru.
Recent reports state that this animal attacked several people walking through the jungle and elsewhere in Latin America. (Yikes.)
Many say that this is the Chupa Cabra, an animal reported to attack various types of livestock and suck their blood, but this creature is not a Chupa Cabra, but probably it is a giant golden-crowned Flying Fox, one of the largest species of bats in the world with a wingspan of 1.5–1.7 m (4 ft 10 in–5 ft 7 in).
This creature exceeds all sizes.
Source and author: noticiaaldia.com Bat
Again: That's a big bat!
The Peruvian army has captured something truly horrific, a human size bat, this animal as you can see in the photograph appears to be a giant bat.
Apparently this animal has been frightening locals living near the amazon jungle bordering Peru.
Recent reports state that this animal attacked several people walking through the jungle and elsewhere in Latin America. (Yikes.)
Many say that this is the Chupa Cabra, an animal reported to attack various types of livestock and suck their blood, but this creature is not a Chupa Cabra, but probably it is a giant golden-crowned Flying Fox, one of the largest species of bats in the world with a wingspan of 1.5–1.7 m (4 ft 10 in–5 ft 7 in).
This creature exceeds all sizes.
Source and author: noticiaaldia.com Bat
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
The New Titan of Tbilisi
Georgia has a new Prime Minister. Plus side? He's not known to eat ties. Minus side? He's an uber-rich, bat shit loon. Good luck, Georgia! Foreign Policy. Excerpts:
TBILISI, Georgia — Beyond his zebra-rearing, art-collecting eccentricities, we don't know all that much about Bidzina Ivanishvili, whose Georgian Dream coalition won a shock victory in Monday's parliamentary elections here. But after his victory news conference, we do know one thing for sure: He's no orator.
In a long meeting with the media in a sweaty room at Georgian Dream headquarters on Tuesday, Oct. 2, Ivanishvili rambled, repeated himself, appeared to make up policy on the spot, and accused a reporter from a major international news agency of being a stooge for his opponent, President Mikheil Saakashvili. He was also oblivious of the fact that Georgian law requires Saakashvili, as president, to approve the prime minister's nomination, at least until the Georgian Constitution changes next year. Initially, he argued forcefully with journalists that this was incorrect, before later conceding the point.
It was an unnerving performance that might give people some cause to wonder just who the man is who has benefited from the wave of popular fury against Saakashvili's reforming but authoritarian rule, and what kind of government he might go on to lead.
Much of the vitriolic election campaign that took place here over the past few months focused on the flaws or benefits of Saakashvili, the hero of the 2003 Rose Revolution. His eccentric opponent was something of a side attraction. Now that Ivanishvili's coalition is going to dominate Parliament, however, the spotlight falls on the oligarch, who lived in complete hermitdom prior to his entry into politics.
Until last year, few people even knew what he looked like. He had given just one interview, to the Russian newspaper Vedomosti, back in 2005, and he shunned all publicity and public events. He moved as stealthily as a cat whenever he left the safety of his contemporary castle of glass on a hill overlooking Tbilisi, disbursing his philanthropic donations to Georgian artists and intellectuals quietly and anonymously.
After he announced in October 2011 that he was the man to challenge Saakashvili, he had to make a quick adjustment to the world of media appearances and interviews. A gift to the profile writer, Ivanishvili often seems like he has wandered straight off the pages of a Gary Shteyngart novel. (I'm not familiar with his work, so I provided a link for others as uninformed as I..)His political rallies have featured performances by his albino son, who is a rapper. When I interviewed him two months ago, at his Black Sea estate, he arrived driving a red golf buggy, playing "My Way" on the stereo and offering an impromptu tour of his exotic-pet collection before we sat down to chat("Good God, Lemon..").
And:
His sense of political timing also leaves something to be desired. In his rambling introduction he made the same point four times and spoke at length about how he would prosecute a single judge who had been responsible for what he called unlawful verdicts against the opposition. He stated that if Saakashvili could work with the opposition, then a cooperative relationship could be achieved. Nearly two hours into the news conference, however, Ivanishvili suddenly dropped a bombshell, demanding that Saakashvili resign, instead of seeing out the final year of his presidency. "The only right thing for him to do now is to take his pen and resign," Ivanishvili said. "This would be good for himself and for his future." Ivanishvili appeared to have had the thought on the spot, and the statement immediately caused alarm among the international community, especially after Saakashvili's surprisingly magnanimous concession speech. "This call is totally unacceptable and is a direct attack against democracy and the rule of law," said a statement from Wilfried Martens, president of the European People's Party, which is affiliated with Saakashvili's United National Movement. It was only on the thorny issue of relations with Russia that Ivanishvili sounded assured, insisting that he would seek to bolster trade and cultural ties with Georgia's overbearing northern neighbor, but at the same time vowing not to err at all from Saakashvili's course of NATO and EU integration.
The general consensus at the moment is that this election campaign, despite being spiteful and vitriolic, has ended up as a tremendous advertisement for Georgian democracy. There are not many countries in this region where a powerful sitting president could be so undermined at the ballot box. But Georgian politics, after all, has a long history of enthusiastic celebration of a messiah figure before a swift process of disillusionment kicks in. Recently, we have been inundated with headlines and op-eds referencing pruned or wilted roses (the most recent: "Petals Drop Off the Rose Revolution").
The test for Ivanishvili will be keeping his newly victorious coalition -- which ranges from liberals to ultranationalists -- together, now that they are no longer fighting a common enemy. How soon before we see the first "Georgian Dream Turns to Nightmare" headline? Not long, unless Ivanishvili develops a new set of political skills quickly.
And you thought Bachmann, Akin, and Brewer were the craziest show in town.. I've got to find some YouTube clips of his kid performing! Found 'em! Scroll down, please!
Still think the Mayans were crazy and/or wrong? 2012: The year Crazy became Beautiful.
Out with the old!
In with the new!
TBILISI, Georgia — Beyond his zebra-rearing, art-collecting eccentricities, we don't know all that much about Bidzina Ivanishvili, whose Georgian Dream coalition won a shock victory in Monday's parliamentary elections here. But after his victory news conference, we do know one thing for sure: He's no orator.
In a long meeting with the media in a sweaty room at Georgian Dream headquarters on Tuesday, Oct. 2, Ivanishvili rambled, repeated himself, appeared to make up policy on the spot, and accused a reporter from a major international news agency of being a stooge for his opponent, President Mikheil Saakashvili. He was also oblivious of the fact that Georgian law requires Saakashvili, as president, to approve the prime minister's nomination, at least until the Georgian Constitution changes next year. Initially, he argued forcefully with journalists that this was incorrect, before later conceding the point.
It was an unnerving performance that might give people some cause to wonder just who the man is who has benefited from the wave of popular fury against Saakashvili's reforming but authoritarian rule, and what kind of government he might go on to lead.
Much of the vitriolic election campaign that took place here over the past few months focused on the flaws or benefits of Saakashvili, the hero of the 2003 Rose Revolution. His eccentric opponent was something of a side attraction. Now that Ivanishvili's coalition is going to dominate Parliament, however, the spotlight falls on the oligarch, who lived in complete hermitdom prior to his entry into politics.
Until last year, few people even knew what he looked like. He had given just one interview, to the Russian newspaper Vedomosti, back in 2005, and he shunned all publicity and public events. He moved as stealthily as a cat whenever he left the safety of his contemporary castle of glass on a hill overlooking Tbilisi, disbursing his philanthropic donations to Georgian artists and intellectuals quietly and anonymously.
After he announced in October 2011 that he was the man to challenge Saakashvili, he had to make a quick adjustment to the world of media appearances and interviews. A gift to the profile writer, Ivanishvili often seems like he has wandered straight off the pages of a Gary Shteyngart novel. (I'm not familiar with his work, so I provided a link for others as uninformed as I..)His political rallies have featured performances by his albino son, who is a rapper. When I interviewed him two months ago, at his Black Sea estate, he arrived driving a red golf buggy, playing "My Way" on the stereo and offering an impromptu tour of his exotic-pet collection before we sat down to chat("Good God, Lemon..").
And:
His sense of political timing also leaves something to be desired. In his rambling introduction he made the same point four times and spoke at length about how he would prosecute a single judge who had been responsible for what he called unlawful verdicts against the opposition. He stated that if Saakashvili could work with the opposition, then a cooperative relationship could be achieved. Nearly two hours into the news conference, however, Ivanishvili suddenly dropped a bombshell, demanding that Saakashvili resign, instead of seeing out the final year of his presidency. "The only right thing for him to do now is to take his pen and resign," Ivanishvili said. "This would be good for himself and for his future." Ivanishvili appeared to have had the thought on the spot, and the statement immediately caused alarm among the international community, especially after Saakashvili's surprisingly magnanimous concession speech. "This call is totally unacceptable and is a direct attack against democracy and the rule of law," said a statement from Wilfried Martens, president of the European People's Party, which is affiliated with Saakashvili's United National Movement. It was only on the thorny issue of relations with Russia that Ivanishvili sounded assured, insisting that he would seek to bolster trade and cultural ties with Georgia's overbearing northern neighbor, but at the same time vowing not to err at all from Saakashvili's course of NATO and EU integration.
The general consensus at the moment is that this election campaign, despite being spiteful and vitriolic, has ended up as a tremendous advertisement for Georgian democracy. There are not many countries in this region where a powerful sitting president could be so undermined at the ballot box. But Georgian politics, after all, has a long history of enthusiastic celebration of a messiah figure before a swift process of disillusionment kicks in. Recently, we have been inundated with headlines and op-eds referencing pruned or wilted roses (the most recent: "Petals Drop Off the Rose Revolution").
The test for Ivanishvili will be keeping his newly victorious coalition -- which ranges from liberals to ultranationalists -- together, now that they are no longer fighting a common enemy. How soon before we see the first "Georgian Dream Turns to Nightmare" headline? Not long, unless Ivanishvili develops a new set of political skills quickly.
And you thought Bachmann, Akin, and Brewer were the craziest show in town.. I've got to find some YouTube clips of his kid performing! Found 'em! Scroll down, please!
Still think the Mayans were crazy and/or wrong? 2012: The year Crazy became Beautiful.
Out with the old!
Oh, Forehead, You Truly Are Comedy Gold..
Todd Akin In 2008: Doctors Give Abortions To Women Who Aren't Pregnant. If there's no brain in there, how does his head keep its shape? Huffington Post, with delicious, delicious video to boot!
Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin sparked national outrage in August when he justified his opposition to abortion by claiming that victims of "legitimate rape" rarely get pregnant because "the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." However, the Republican congressman's now-infamous remarks are not the first time he's made a scientifically questionable statement on abortion.
As Slate's Amanda Marcotte reported Tuesday, Akin gave a speech on the House floor in 2008 denouncing abortion providers as "terrorists," claiming that they sometimes perform abortions on women who "are not actually pregnant":
Akin's allegation of doctors performing abortions on non-pregnant women is particularly puzzling, as, by definition, an abortion cannot be performed if there is no pregnancy to terminate.
Akin, a member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, also gave a speech in 2005 on stem cell research, expressing his concern that a science-fiction story his daughter wrote about humans being harvested for body parts could become reality.
"Oppose public funding that destroys little yous and mes, and oppose this harvest of destruction," he urged his congressional colleagues considering a stem cell research bill.
Despite the overwhelming backlash to Akin's "legitimate rape" claim, the Republican has a good chance of beating incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) in next month's election. The latest polling shows Akin with a lead of one percentage point over McCaskill, and a number of Republicans, including Rick Santorum, Jim DeMint, and Newt Gingrich, have come out in support of Akin in recent weeks. (Thank God my neighbors aren't idiots, too..)
Sounds like someone needs to worry less about America's "culture of death," and worry more about his own "culture of retardation."
Scariest fragment from the article: "Akin, a member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology,.."
No worries, though, Forehead: If you don't win, you can always take your act on tour! The world always needs more stand-up comedians. You're already twice as funny as Dennis Miller ever was!
Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin sparked national outrage in August when he justified his opposition to abortion by claiming that victims of "legitimate rape" rarely get pregnant because "the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down." However, the Republican congressman's now-infamous remarks are not the first time he's made a scientifically questionable statement on abortion.
As Slate's Amanda Marcotte reported Tuesday, Akin gave a speech on the House floor in 2008 denouncing abortion providers as "terrorists," claiming that they sometimes perform abortions on women who "are not actually pregnant":
"It is no big surprise that we fight the terrorists because they are fundamentally un-American, and yet we have terrorists in our own culture called abortionists. One of the good pieces of news why we are winning this war is because there are not enough heartless doctors being graduated from medical schools. There is a real shortage of abortionists. Who wants to be at the very bottom of the food chain of medical profession? And what sort of places do these bottom-of-the-food-chain doctors work in? Places that are really a pit. You find that along with the culture of death go all kinds of other law-breaking: not following good sanitary procedure, giving abortions to women who are not actually pregnant, cheating on taxes, all these kinds of things, misuse of anesthetics so that people die or almost die."
Akin's allegation of doctors performing abortions on non-pregnant women is particularly puzzling, as, by definition, an abortion cannot be performed if there is no pregnancy to terminate.
Akin, a member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, also gave a speech in 2005 on stem cell research, expressing his concern that a science-fiction story his daughter wrote about humans being harvested for body parts could become reality.
"Oppose public funding that destroys little yous and mes, and oppose this harvest of destruction," he urged his congressional colleagues considering a stem cell research bill.
Despite the overwhelming backlash to Akin's "legitimate rape" claim, the Republican has a good chance of beating incumbent Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) in next month's election. The latest polling shows Akin with a lead of one percentage point over McCaskill, and a number of Republicans, including Rick Santorum, Jim DeMint, and Newt Gingrich, have come out in support of Akin in recent weeks. (Thank God my neighbors aren't idiots, too..)
Sounds like someone needs to worry less about America's "culture of death," and worry more about his own "culture of retardation."
Scariest fragment from the article: "Akin, a member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology,.."
No worries, though, Forehead: If you don't win, you can always take your act on tour! The world always needs more stand-up comedians. You're already twice as funny as Dennis Miller ever was!
Monday, October 1, 2012
Mutated eggplant found in Osaka
Delicious! Fukushima Diary:
And you were worried about radiation's effect on plants and animals.. The nice man was right: Radiation is good for you! Enjoy your glowing Eggplant Parmesan!
Voter-fraud shocker?! On behalf of ... the GOP?
How they know there's voter registration fraud/suppression? Evidently, because THEY'RE DOING IT! L.A. Times. Excerpts:
Republicans' current crop of "voter security" laws are Democrats' "voter suppression" laws.
For several years now, Republican-led legislatures have been loud in their concerns about what amounts to a solution in search of a problem: massive, organized voter fraud in order to steal elections. Real verified instances of organized, deliberate voter fraud can likely be counted in the scores at best, and Republicans have been ardent about using the specter of the now-disbanded ACORN group to raise a national warning.
Most spectacularly, South Carolina Republican Gov. Nikki Haley roused the troops at the Republican convention in Tampa, Fla., in August by repeating the completely boneheaded and inapt trope about the voter I.D. law of the sort her state approved (and which, like many such laws, is being challenged in federal courts).
"If you have to use picture I.D. to get onto a plane," she said, "it is common sense that you would use picture I.D. to protect the integrity of the voting process."
Another proof that common sense isn’t that common. Getting on a plane is a commercial transaction. Voting is a constitutional right. No resemblance whatsoever.
So get a load of what’s just happened.
There has emerged some potential voter fraud – possibly by a group hired by Republicans themselves, which puts me in mind of the verse in Matthew, in the Gospels, "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?" which essentially means, who are you, Mr. Pot, to call the kettle black?
The controversy surrounds a Republican political consulting firm whose chief operated a voter registration project that was investigated by the Justice Department and several state officials in 2004 on fraud allegations; charges were never filed, and in this 2012 instance, GOP officials, including the Republican National Committee, have been scrambling to fire the consulting firm to contain the political fallout a little over a month before the elections.
This new dip into the same political hot water concerns a new group headed by the same man whose group is facing questions about suspicious voter registrations in swing states including Florida and Colorado. The GOP was paying the firm a reported $2.9 million to register voters. Several states, including North Carolina, are now looking more closely at voter registrations submitted by the group’s workers.
In the swing state of Colorado, a Fox News station reported on a young woman registering voters in Colorado Springs. In a video, she said that ‘’We’re out here in support of Romney, actually,’’ and then, when she was asked who she works for, risibly claimed – after a long pause -- to be working for the county clerk’s office.
The consulting firm at issue, Strategic Allied Consulting – love those innocuous, meaningless-sounding names, don’t you? -- was formed under that name just this year, but it is headed by former Arizona state GOP executive director Nathan Sproul. He’s a veteran of about eight years of voter registration efforts paid for by GOP interests, efforts that have drawn scrutiny in several states, North Carolina among them. (Here's hoping for a thorough, retroactive investigation of Mr. Sproul and his every move during the last two elections!)
Interestingly, Sproul has put forth the same argument about voter registration drives that opponents of voter I.D. laws use: that if there’s any problem, it’s just with a few bad apples. There’s no fraudulent intent. Riiiiight.. It looks like the GOP's problems are getting worse, not better. Florida, I'm looking in your direction.. I know this won't be the only one, but this has been a really nice October Surprise, indeed!
Republicans' current crop of "voter security" laws are Democrats' "voter suppression" laws.
For several years now, Republican-led legislatures have been loud in their concerns about what amounts to a solution in search of a problem: massive, organized voter fraud in order to steal elections. Real verified instances of organized, deliberate voter fraud can likely be counted in the scores at best, and Republicans have been ardent about using the specter of the now-disbanded ACORN group to raise a national warning.
Most spectacularly, South Carolina Republican Gov. Nikki Haley roused the troops at the Republican convention in Tampa, Fla., in August by repeating the completely boneheaded and inapt trope about the voter I.D. law of the sort her state approved (and which, like many such laws, is being challenged in federal courts).
"If you have to use picture I.D. to get onto a plane," she said, "it is common sense that you would use picture I.D. to protect the integrity of the voting process."
Another proof that common sense isn’t that common. Getting on a plane is a commercial transaction. Voting is a constitutional right. No resemblance whatsoever.
So get a load of what’s just happened.
There has emerged some potential voter fraud – possibly by a group hired by Republicans themselves, which puts me in mind of the verse in Matthew, in the Gospels, "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?" which essentially means, who are you, Mr. Pot, to call the kettle black?
The controversy surrounds a Republican political consulting firm whose chief operated a voter registration project that was investigated by the Justice Department and several state officials in 2004 on fraud allegations; charges were never filed, and in this 2012 instance, GOP officials, including the Republican National Committee, have been scrambling to fire the consulting firm to contain the political fallout a little over a month before the elections.
This new dip into the same political hot water concerns a new group headed by the same man whose group is facing questions about suspicious voter registrations in swing states including Florida and Colorado. The GOP was paying the firm a reported $2.9 million to register voters. Several states, including North Carolina, are now looking more closely at voter registrations submitted by the group’s workers.
In the swing state of Colorado, a Fox News station reported on a young woman registering voters in Colorado Springs. In a video, she said that ‘’We’re out here in support of Romney, actually,’’ and then, when she was asked who she works for, risibly claimed – after a long pause -- to be working for the county clerk’s office.
The consulting firm at issue, Strategic Allied Consulting – love those innocuous, meaningless-sounding names, don’t you? -- was formed under that name just this year, but it is headed by former Arizona state GOP executive director Nathan Sproul. He’s a veteran of about eight years of voter registration efforts paid for by GOP interests, efforts that have drawn scrutiny in several states, North Carolina among them. (Here's hoping for a thorough, retroactive investigation of Mr. Sproul and his every move during the last two elections!)
Interestingly, Sproul has put forth the same argument about voter registration drives that opponents of voter I.D. laws use: that if there’s any problem, it’s just with a few bad apples. There’s no fraudulent intent. Riiiiight.. It looks like the GOP's problems are getting worse, not better. Florida, I'm looking in your direction.. I know this won't be the only one, but this has been a really nice October Surprise, indeed!
Presenting Spain's Economic Collapse In Context
Short, but not sweet from ZeroHedge. Bonus bad graph included..
We have presented many charts over the last few weeks showing the collapse in retail sales in Spain, along with surging unemployment, bankruptcies and non-performing bank loans. But to do justice to the situation, you’ve got to put it in context of the last 150 years, and JPMorgan's Michael Cembalest provides just such context. Spain’s adventure in the Eurozone(Starting in 1986) has sent it into an economic tailspin the likes of which have not been seen, with the exception of the Spanish Civil War, since the 19th century. At that time, the Spanish empire was at the tail end of its colonial decline, and was an under-regulated, agrarian, closed economy subject to frequent crises. The chart shows the details, highlighting the economic declines during revolutions, depressions and agricultural epidemics. Spain’s recent decline has now matched them.
We have presented many charts over the last few weeks showing the collapse in retail sales in Spain, along with surging unemployment, bankruptcies and non-performing bank loans. But to do justice to the situation, you’ve got to put it in context of the last 150 years, and JPMorgan's Michael Cembalest provides just such context. Spain’s adventure in the Eurozone(Starting in 1986) has sent it into an economic tailspin the likes of which have not been seen, with the exception of the Spanish Civil War, since the 19th century. At that time, the Spanish empire was at the tail end of its colonial decline, and was an under-regulated, agrarian, closed economy subject to frequent crises. The chart shows the details, highlighting the economic declines during revolutions, depressions and agricultural epidemics. Spain’s recent decline has now matched them.
Rupert's Headache Still Won't Go Away..
April Casburn Charged With Tipping Off News Of The World About Phone Hacking Investigation. At some point, scandals max out and blow over. Not this one! Never this one; Hopefully! The Huffington Post:
A high-ranking British detective has been charged with offering to brief the News of the World about the progress of a police investigation into phone hacking at the now-defunct tabloid — one of the most serious allegations so far uncovered in the wide-ranging scandal.
The charge sheet, made public Monday at London's Westminter Magistrates' Court, alleges that senior counter-terrorism investigator April Casburn offered to keep the News of the World up-to-date on whether police would reopen their investigation into wrongdoing at the Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid.
If proven, that effectively meant that the scandal's chief suspects were being offered the inside track from the police force that would eventually arrest them.
Casburn, 53, spoke only to confirm her name, address, and date of birth at Monday's hearing. She has yet to enter a plea to a charge of violating the Official Secrets Act, and was released on bail until her next hearing, due on Nov. 2.
Casburn was formerly the head of Scotland Yard's terrorist financing investigation unit. The initial investigation was handled by anti-terror police because it involved phone hacking of the royal family.
The charges laid against her follow a year of revelations about how decisions taken by senior police officials helped keep the phone hacking scandal under wraps.
When it finally erupted in July 2011, the revelations that journalists at the News of the World systematically broke the law to win scoops sent shockwaves across the British political establishment.
Murdoch was forced to close the paper, police arrested dozens of journalists and Prime Minister David Cameron's press aide was forced to resign. Three top police officials — including London's most senior police officer — also stepped down.
Police have since pledged to rebalance their relationship with the press.
Here's a helpful hint: Stay out of bed with them! I hope unraveling this scandal takes another 10 years, each year worse than the previous! Hooray for international corruption investigations! And thank you, Rupert, for providing so much unintended joy!
A high-ranking British detective has been charged with offering to brief the News of the World about the progress of a police investigation into phone hacking at the now-defunct tabloid — one of the most serious allegations so far uncovered in the wide-ranging scandal.
The charge sheet, made public Monday at London's Westminter Magistrates' Court, alleges that senior counter-terrorism investigator April Casburn offered to keep the News of the World up-to-date on whether police would reopen their investigation into wrongdoing at the Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid.
If proven, that effectively meant that the scandal's chief suspects were being offered the inside track from the police force that would eventually arrest them.
Casburn, 53, spoke only to confirm her name, address, and date of birth at Monday's hearing. She has yet to enter a plea to a charge of violating the Official Secrets Act, and was released on bail until her next hearing, due on Nov. 2.
Casburn was formerly the head of Scotland Yard's terrorist financing investigation unit. The initial investigation was handled by anti-terror police because it involved phone hacking of the royal family.
The charges laid against her follow a year of revelations about how decisions taken by senior police officials helped keep the phone hacking scandal under wraps.
When it finally erupted in July 2011, the revelations that journalists at the News of the World systematically broke the law to win scoops sent shockwaves across the British political establishment.
Murdoch was forced to close the paper, police arrested dozens of journalists and Prime Minister David Cameron's press aide was forced to resign. Three top police officials — including London's most senior police officer — also stepped down.
Police have since pledged to rebalance their relationship with the press.
Here's a helpful hint: Stay out of bed with them! I hope unraveling this scandal takes another 10 years, each year worse than the previous! Hooray for international corruption investigations! And thank you, Rupert, for providing so much unintended joy!
Sunday, September 30, 2012
The Latest Webbot Report Is Out..
So I might not get around to posting. More compelling reading.. Get your copy here.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Blair could have prevented Iraq war: Annan
Breaking News from 2003.. Not news to people who read, don't watch Fox News, have a working brain.. Raw Story.
Former prime minister Tony Blair was the only person capable of turning George Bush against the 2003 Iraq invasion, ex-United Nations chief Kofi Annan claimed in an interview published Saturday.
Annan argued in an interview published in the Times that Blair could have changed Bush’s mind because of the special relationship between the two nations and the two leaders.
Annan said he often had contemplated what might have happened if “Blair had said ‘George, this is where we part company. You’re on your own’,” following the failure to secure a second UN resolution.
“I really think it could have stopped the war,” added the Nobel peace laureate.
Annan was UN secretary general at the time of the crisis.
A first Security Council resolution, which offered Iraq a final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations passed unanimously in November 2002.
But a second resolution proposed by the US, Britain, and Spain in 2003 that called for action to be taken against Saddam Hussain’s regime was withdrawn when it became clear it would be vetoed.
The US decided that the resolution was not needed before military action could lawfully take place, and the invasion commenced on March 20.
The invasion triggered eight years of sectarian conflict in Iraq, resulting in more than 100,000 civilian deaths.
I'm actually wrong, as is Annan: Blair might have prevented the Iraq War had he been dealing with almost anyone but George Bush, Dick Cheney, Wolfowitz, Feith, et al.. "Special Relationship" be damned: The deal was done on this one well before the Neocons entered office. PNAC, anyone?
Former prime minister Tony Blair was the only person capable of turning George Bush against the 2003 Iraq invasion, ex-United Nations chief Kofi Annan claimed in an interview published Saturday.
Annan argued in an interview published in the Times that Blair could have changed Bush’s mind because of the special relationship between the two nations and the two leaders.
Annan said he often had contemplated what might have happened if “Blair had said ‘George, this is where we part company. You’re on your own’,” following the failure to secure a second UN resolution.
“I really think it could have stopped the war,” added the Nobel peace laureate.
Annan was UN secretary general at the time of the crisis.
A first Security Council resolution, which offered Iraq a final opportunity to comply with its disarmament obligations passed unanimously in November 2002.
But a second resolution proposed by the US, Britain, and Spain in 2003 that called for action to be taken against Saddam Hussain’s regime was withdrawn when it became clear it would be vetoed.
The US decided that the resolution was not needed before military action could lawfully take place, and the invasion commenced on March 20.
The invasion triggered eight years of sectarian conflict in Iraq, resulting in more than 100,000 civilian deaths.
I'm actually wrong, as is Annan: Blair might have prevented the Iraq War had he been dealing with almost anyone but George Bush, Dick Cheney, Wolfowitz, Feith, et al.. "Special Relationship" be damned: The deal was done on this one well before the Neocons entered office. PNAC, anyone?
Spain Protests: Madrid Barman Alberto Casillas Becomes National Hero for Defying Police [VIDEO]
Great story. An ordinary man becomes extraordinary by retaining his humanity, defying the police, and protecting those in peril with whom he does not politically agree. Viva Casillas! My faith in humanity stands, at least for one more day.. International Business Times:
A barman that protected demonstrators form police has become a national hero in Spain, after a video of him driving back riot police went viral on YouTube.
Alberto Casillas, 49, prevented police from entering his café in Madrid, as dozen of anti-austerity protesters had looked for shelter from a charge inside the "Bar Prado", earlier this week.
A video posted online, shows Casillas standing in front of the bar entrance, holding his arms out to protect demonstrators telling police: "On my Life, you will not enter! It will be a massacre."
As police stood back, protesters started hugging and thanking Casillias.
"You, you really deserve credit", "it is you that represent us," some demonstrator told him.
Casillias soon became the symbol of the protests against Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy austerity budget plan that is designed to rescue Spanish finances.
People commenting on YouTube appealed for him to run as President and Casillias' Twitter account, opened shortly after the fact, was flooded by messages of gratitude.
However, interviewed by Spanish newspaper El Pais, Casillas revealed to be a supporter of Rajoy's government.
"Let me be clear. I am in favor of the Partido Popular. I am a supporter and voter of Rajoy, but on Wednesday it went too far," he said.
"There were excessive police forces. I am for compliance with the law, but above the law, there is humanity. I did what I had to do, that's all."
A barman that protected demonstrators form police has become a national hero in Spain, after a video of him driving back riot police went viral on YouTube.
Alberto Casillas, 49, prevented police from entering his café in Madrid, as dozen of anti-austerity protesters had looked for shelter from a charge inside the "Bar Prado", earlier this week.
A video posted online, shows Casillas standing in front of the bar entrance, holding his arms out to protect demonstrators telling police: "On my Life, you will not enter! It will be a massacre."
As police stood back, protesters started hugging and thanking Casillias.
"You, you really deserve credit", "it is you that represent us," some demonstrator told him.
Casillias soon became the symbol of the protests against Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy austerity budget plan that is designed to rescue Spanish finances.
People commenting on YouTube appealed for him to run as President and Casillias' Twitter account, opened shortly after the fact, was flooded by messages of gratitude.
However, interviewed by Spanish newspaper El Pais, Casillas revealed to be a supporter of Rajoy's government.
"Let me be clear. I am in favor of the Partido Popular. I am a supporter and voter of Rajoy, but on Wednesday it went too far," he said.
"There were excessive police forces. I am for compliance with the law, but above the law, there is humanity. I did what I had to do, that's all."
Bless you, sir. The world will need your courageous example in the upcoming chaotic months and years. Thank you for providing a stellar example of a humane response to evil circumstances. Casillas=Hero!
Sumatran earthquakes in April were part of tectonic plate breakup
Huge, and worrisome. Not that anyone will pay attention until the end results manifest: Big, Bigass, muthafuckin quakes! The billion dollar question: When? Now? 100, 1000, or 1 million years from now? The L.A. Times, via The Extinction Protocol:
Planet Earth may be 4.5 billion years old, but that doesn’t mean it can’t serve up a shattering surprise now and again. Such was the case on April 11 when two massive earthquakes erupted beneath the Indian Ocean off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, far from the usual danger zones. Now scientists say the seafloor ruptures are part of a long suspected, yet never before observed, event: the slow-motion splitting of a vast tectonic plate. The first of the quakes, a magnitude 8.7, was 20 times more powerful than California’s long anticipated “big one” and tore a complex network of faults deep in the ocean floor. The violence also triggered unusually large aftershocks thousands of miles away, including four off North America’s western coast. “It was jaw-dropping,” said Thorne Lay, a professor of Earth and planetary sciences at UC Santa Cruz. “It was like nothing we’d ever seen.” At first, Lay wondered whether the computer code he used to analyze earthquakes was wrong. Eventually, he and other scientists realized that they had documented the breakup of the Indo-Australian plate into two pieces, an epic process that began roughly 50 million years ago and will continue for tens of millions more.
Lay and other scientists reported their findings online Wednesday in the journal Nature. Most great earthquakes occur along plate borders, where one plate dives beneath the adjoining plate and sinks deep into Earth’s mantle, a process called subduction. The April 11 quakes, however, occurred in the middle of the plate and involved a number of strike-slip faults, meaning the ground on one side of the fault moves horizontally past ground on the other side. Scientists say the 8.7 main shock broke four faults. The quake lasted 2 minutes and 40 seconds — most last just seconds — and was followed by a second main shock, of magnitude 8.2, two hours later.
Planet Earth may be 4.5 billion years old, but that doesn’t mean it can’t serve up a shattering surprise now and again. Such was the case on April 11 when two massive earthquakes erupted beneath the Indian Ocean off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sumatra, far from the usual danger zones. Now scientists say the seafloor ruptures are part of a long suspected, yet never before observed, event: the slow-motion splitting of a vast tectonic plate. The first of the quakes, a magnitude 8.7, was 20 times more powerful than California’s long anticipated “big one” and tore a complex network of faults deep in the ocean floor. The violence also triggered unusually large aftershocks thousands of miles away, including four off North America’s western coast. “It was jaw-dropping,” said Thorne Lay, a professor of Earth and planetary sciences at UC Santa Cruz. “It was like nothing we’d ever seen.” At first, Lay wondered whether the computer code he used to analyze earthquakes was wrong. Eventually, he and other scientists realized that they had documented the breakup of the Indo-Australian plate into two pieces, an epic process that began roughly 50 million years ago and will continue for tens of millions more.
Lay and other scientists reported their findings online Wednesday in the journal Nature. Most great earthquakes occur along plate borders, where one plate dives beneath the adjoining plate and sinks deep into Earth’s mantle, a process called subduction. The April 11 quakes, however, occurred in the middle of the plate and involved a number of strike-slip faults, meaning the ground on one side of the fault moves horizontally past ground on the other side. Scientists say the 8.7 main shock broke four faults. The quake lasted 2 minutes and 40 seconds — most last just seconds — and was followed by a second main shock, of magnitude 8.2, two hours later.
Louisiana Sinkholes Merging Together- 14 Plus Bubbling Locations
The situation regarding Bayou Corne continues to deteriorate. Videos found at Before It's News:
The other one's at the link.
The other one's at the link.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
'Sons of Anarchy' actor Johnny Lewis dies in bizarre double death
Almost at first glance, I've never liked this man. I never knew why, it's always just been a visceral reaction. Intuition confirmed: Turns out not only was he a piece of shit, he was a murderous piece of shit. You beat a cat and an old lady to death. Good for you. I bet that makes you a big man in Hell. Enjoy your new found street cred, and eternal anal rapes by demons. Yahoo:
Actor Johnny Lewis, who appeared on “Sons of Anarchy” and dated Katy Perry, was found dead in Los Angeles in what can only be described as a bizarre double death.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department tells Yahoo! that the bodies of 28-year-old Lewis and 81-year-old Catherine Davis were found at Davis’ Los Feliz home Wednesday at 10:40 a.m. when law enforcement arrived to investigate a 911 call about a woman screaming. Lewis, whose lifeless body was found in the driveway of the home, is the suspect in the elderly woman’s murder. He allegedly beat the woman to death, became involved in a scuffle with two men at a neighboring house (assaulting one of them), and then returned to Davis’ home, where he fell or jumped off the roof.
According to a report on TMZ, Lewis – who rented a room from Davis – was released from L.A. County Jail just five days before the double death. He had “several cases” filed against him and was recently in rehab, states the report. Further, TMZ says Lewis is also suspected of killing a cat in Davis’ home, which was ransacked.
(Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter) ..took to Twitter on Thursday to address Lewis’ death. “Not sure if folks know this yet, but johnny lewis (halfsack) died last night," he tweeted. "it was a tragic end for an extremely talented guy, who unfortunately had lost his way. i wish i could say that i was shocked by the events last night, but i was not. i am deeply sorry that an innocent life had to be thrown into his destructive path.”
I wonder what Sutter saw, and why he wasn't shocked by this turn of events. Was he aware he was dealing with a psychopath? Did anyone else see the warning signs of a future killer? This whole episode is nauseating.
Actor Johnny Lewis, who appeared on “Sons of Anarchy” and dated Katy Perry, was found dead in Los Angeles in what can only be described as a bizarre double death.
A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Police Department tells Yahoo! that the bodies of 28-year-old Lewis and 81-year-old Catherine Davis were found at Davis’ Los Feliz home Wednesday at 10:40 a.m. when law enforcement arrived to investigate a 911 call about a woman screaming. Lewis, whose lifeless body was found in the driveway of the home, is the suspect in the elderly woman’s murder. He allegedly beat the woman to death, became involved in a scuffle with two men at a neighboring house (assaulting one of them), and then returned to Davis’ home, where he fell or jumped off the roof.
According to a report on TMZ, Lewis – who rented a room from Davis – was released from L.A. County Jail just five days before the double death. He had “several cases” filed against him and was recently in rehab, states the report. Further, TMZ says Lewis is also suspected of killing a cat in Davis’ home, which was ransacked.
(Sons of Anarchy creator Kurt Sutter) ..took to Twitter on Thursday to address Lewis’ death. “Not sure if folks know this yet, but johnny lewis (halfsack) died last night," he tweeted. "it was a tragic end for an extremely talented guy, who unfortunately had lost his way. i wish i could say that i was shocked by the events last night, but i was not. i am deeply sorry that an innocent life had to be thrown into his destructive path.”
I wonder what Sutter saw, and why he wasn't shocked by this turn of events. Was he aware he was dealing with a psychopath? Did anyone else see the warning signs of a future killer? This whole episode is nauseating.
Buddhist statue acquired by Nazis is space rock
Interesting. New Scientist. Excerpts:
One religious statue has a stronger connection than most to the heavens. An 11th-century carving from Mongolia of the Buddhist god Vaiśravana was fashioned from a meteorite fragment, a chemical analysis shows. Its extraterrestrial origins make it unique in both religious art and meteorite science.
The iron-rich statue, 24 centimetres tall, has had a colourful past. It was apparently brought to Germany in 1939 by a Nazi-backed archaeological expedition to search for the roots of Aryanism.
A swastika on the armoured Buddha's breastplate may have been a motivating factor in bringing the statue to Germany. The swastika is a common symbol in eastern culture and decorates many Hindu and Buddhist statues – although the version on the statue is a mirror image of the form favoured by the Nazis.
It's unclear whether the Nazis found anything of unusual significance in the statue, but Elmar Buchner at the University of Stuttgart, Germany, and his colleagues certainly have.
"When I first saw the statue I was sure that it is made of an iron meteorite," Buchner says.
Their chemical analysis of the statue confirmed the hunch. It showed that the concentrations of metals, including iron, nickel, cobalt and chromium, matched the values known from iron meteorites.
More precisely, Buchner's team has managed to tie the statue to a known meteorite – the Chinga ataxite, which fell to Earth between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago near the border between Siberia and Mongolia. It fragmented as it fell, and just two pieces heavier than 10 kilograms were known before the new analysis. The "Space Buddha", as Buchner's team has dubbed the statue, is the third such piece, at 10.6 kilograms.
..
In Tibet, though, meteoritic iron was long known as namchag, or "sky iron", says Buchner's team, suggesting the locals were aware of the origins of the unusual material.
..
That creates something of a problem, says Genge. How did ancient people come to venerate meteorites, or meteorite craters, without witnessing the moment of impact?
"One of the most puzzling examples is Gosses Bluff in Australia," he says. "This crater is 142 million years old, and yet the Aborigines hold that it formed by the fall of the baby of one of the celestial women from the sky. A strange coincidence perhaps."
Space Buddah looks like he's lost some weight. Good for him!
One religious statue has a stronger connection than most to the heavens. An 11th-century carving from Mongolia of the Buddhist god Vaiśravana was fashioned from a meteorite fragment, a chemical analysis shows. Its extraterrestrial origins make it unique in both religious art and meteorite science.
The iron-rich statue, 24 centimetres tall, has had a colourful past. It was apparently brought to Germany in 1939 by a Nazi-backed archaeological expedition to search for the roots of Aryanism.
A swastika on the armoured Buddha's breastplate may have been a motivating factor in bringing the statue to Germany. The swastika is a common symbol in eastern culture and decorates many Hindu and Buddhist statues – although the version on the statue is a mirror image of the form favoured by the Nazis.
It's unclear whether the Nazis found anything of unusual significance in the statue, but Elmar Buchner at the University of Stuttgart, Germany, and his colleagues certainly have.
"When I first saw the statue I was sure that it is made of an iron meteorite," Buchner says.
Their chemical analysis of the statue confirmed the hunch. It showed that the concentrations of metals, including iron, nickel, cobalt and chromium, matched the values known from iron meteorites.
More precisely, Buchner's team has managed to tie the statue to a known meteorite – the Chinga ataxite, which fell to Earth between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago near the border between Siberia and Mongolia. It fragmented as it fell, and just two pieces heavier than 10 kilograms were known before the new analysis. The "Space Buddha", as Buchner's team has dubbed the statue, is the third such piece, at 10.6 kilograms.
..
In Tibet, though, meteoritic iron was long known as namchag, or "sky iron", says Buchner's team, suggesting the locals were aware of the origins of the unusual material.
..
That creates something of a problem, says Genge. How did ancient people come to venerate meteorites, or meteorite craters, without witnessing the moment of impact?
"One of the most puzzling examples is Gosses Bluff in Australia," he says. "This crater is 142 million years old, and yet the Aborigines hold that it formed by the fall of the baby of one of the celestial women from the sky. A strange coincidence perhaps."
Space Buddah looks like he's lost some weight. Good for him!
How Bank Of America Destroyed Football
You just can't make this shit up! Zero Hedge:
As the NFL torments it players, coaches, and viewers by playing hardball over 'real' referee earnings, the truth of Monday's blown call is coming out. Courtesy of American Banker, we now know that the referee at the center of the most controversial call of the season so far is in fact a vice president for small-business banking at Bank of America in California.
The result of this call was over a billion dollars exchanging hands in Vegas bookies' offices from what was a certain winning position to certain losers, precisely due to just this one call, causing substantial losses for bookies in the process as well.
Lance Easley - previously at Wells Fargo, has worked at BofA since June 2011 - (we assume) moonlighting as a referee in the Santa Barbara area (officiating high school and junior college football and basketball games). Well done Lance, you have managed to move from the most-hated occupation (bankster) to the most-hated individual (outside of Seattle) in one weekend. Is it any wonder Small Business confidence and uncertainty is so high? I think this might be the inadvertent event that brings a whooole lot more people into some form of awareness regarding bankers and the banking crisis. I didn't say it had to be necessarily directly politically relevant, but that it has the potential to strike a collective nerve amongst people who wouldn't normally have political awareness or opinions. A Banker fucked over The Packers. That's a pretty direct and effective message to a large group of people who likely witnessed the event live, or endlessly the next day. Anger over Union-busting scabs was already approaching a boiling point, and the worst referee of all is also a Banker! That dude's in for a shit-rain, that's for sure..
Whatever the ultimate outcome, this terrible, terrible call has unified fans of all persuasions: Packers fans, Union supporters, Union busters like the smelly and balding Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, both Presidential candidates, every late night talk show host, every NFL fan on Facebook.. The direct effect is all very obvious. The subliminal, though, is itself pretty astonishing: The most blue collar(and damn proud of it) team in the NFL gets penalized yet again by a member of the Financial Elite, this time it's a bank Vice President. Not only did their team get screwed, many, many people lost a lot of money, again, due to the incompetence of a bank Vice President.
The twist that makes this a compelling human interest story is also the twist that re-enforces a hugely negative perception of anything pertaining to banker- or financially-related matters. No, it might not be fair or coherent, but to those dimly politically aware, it might be a perception that sticks. And a perception that might motivate those previously unmotivated to register their displeasure. Or not. I have no idea what motivates the dimly politically un-aware, and therefore, have no sure way to gauge what might connect with them.
And no, I'm not calling all football fans dimly politically unaware, by any stretch. I am calling the dimly politically unaware from those ranks dimly politically un-aware.
As the NFL torments it players, coaches, and viewers by playing hardball over 'real' referee earnings, the truth of Monday's blown call is coming out. Courtesy of American Banker, we now know that the referee at the center of the most controversial call of the season so far is in fact a vice president for small-business banking at Bank of America in California.
The result of this call was over a billion dollars exchanging hands in Vegas bookies' offices from what was a certain winning position to certain losers, precisely due to just this one call, causing substantial losses for bookies in the process as well.
Lance Easley - previously at Wells Fargo, has worked at BofA since June 2011 - (we assume) moonlighting as a referee in the Santa Barbara area (officiating high school and junior college football and basketball games). Well done Lance, you have managed to move from the most-hated occupation (bankster) to the most-hated individual (outside of Seattle) in one weekend. Is it any wonder Small Business confidence and uncertainty is so high? I think this might be the inadvertent event that brings a whooole lot more people into some form of awareness regarding bankers and the banking crisis. I didn't say it had to be necessarily directly politically relevant, but that it has the potential to strike a collective nerve amongst people who wouldn't normally have political awareness or opinions. A Banker fucked over The Packers. That's a pretty direct and effective message to a large group of people who likely witnessed the event live, or endlessly the next day. Anger over Union-busting scabs was already approaching a boiling point, and the worst referee of all is also a Banker! That dude's in for a shit-rain, that's for sure..
Whatever the ultimate outcome, this terrible, terrible call has unified fans of all persuasions: Packers fans, Union supporters, Union busters like the smelly and balding Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, both Presidential candidates, every late night talk show host, every NFL fan on Facebook.. The direct effect is all very obvious. The subliminal, though, is itself pretty astonishing: The most blue collar(and damn proud of it) team in the NFL gets penalized yet again by a member of the Financial Elite, this time it's a bank Vice President. Not only did their team get screwed, many, many people lost a lot of money, again, due to the incompetence of a bank Vice President.
The twist that makes this a compelling human interest story is also the twist that re-enforces a hugely negative perception of anything pertaining to banker- or financially-related matters. No, it might not be fair or coherent, but to those dimly politically aware, it might be a perception that sticks. And a perception that might motivate those previously unmotivated to register their displeasure. Or not. I have no idea what motivates the dimly politically un-aware, and therefore, have no sure way to gauge what might connect with them.
And no, I'm not calling all football fans dimly politically unaware, by any stretch. I am calling the dimly politically unaware from those ranks dimly politically un-aware.
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