Monday, July 8, 2013

SAR #13189

Yes, America gets to decide what's right and what's wrong. Why did you have to ask?

Who Asked Her? The IMF's Christine Lagarde wants the US to adopt a "credible" budget. Under Lagarde the IMF has helped Greece, Portugal, Spain and Cyprus with their budget restructuring. She stands ready to help the US, too.

On Being More Equal: HSBC, one of the Too Big To Flail banks, has paid nearly $2 billion for laundering countless billions in drug money for the Mexican and Colombian cartels, dictators and so on. No one goes to jail, of course. And everyone gets to keep their bonuses. Facilitating a series of massive and ongoing criminal enterprises doesn't seem to have been considered a crime.

Trickle, Trickle... Thanks to the sequester, the 11.7 million Americans still recognized as unemployed will see their weekly benefit drop 15%, to $246 a week on average. Serves them right for being too lazy to find a job.

Next: In south Yemen, thousands of protesters rallied to demand an end to the "occupation of South Yemen" and that South Yemen secede from the political union formed 19 years ago when North Yemen defeated South Yemen in a civil war. In Istanbul, about 3000 protesters in Taksim Square were once again doused with tear gas and given water-cannon showers. In Egypt's Sinai, a natural gas pipeline was bombed by pro-Morsi activists, while urban warfare builds in the cities. Rebels in Syria have begun fighting each other while in Nigeria... It's enough to make gerrymandering look harmless.

Asked & Unanswered:"Does the world know what is happening in this prison?" - Abdelhadi Faraj, Guantanamo prisoner #329. Yes, and we condemn it while having a beer with our friends, here in the land of freedom, justice and all that.

Rain, Snow, Lights, Camera... While NSA is diligently tracking our telephone calls, emails , website use, and credit card purchases, and traffic cameras are watching over our cars, the Postal Service is diligently tracking snail mail. Ever wonder if your TV set is a two-way deal? Wouldn't it simplify things if we simply did away with the “expectation of privacy”?

Modest Proposal: China has introduced the death penalty as a penalty for “serious” cases of pollution. Seems fair.

Knock, Knock, Who's There? Bundesbank head Jens Weidmann claims that the ECB "cannot solve the [eurozone] crisis", and urged that eurozone governments adopt even stricter austerity rules. It's probably just as well that Herr Weidmann is a German banker and not a Brazilian soccer referee.

Ever Vigilant: The US Army's 173 Airborne Brigade has taken up housekeeping at the brand new $310 million 'Caserna Del Din' in Vicenza, from which the US will protect its vital interests in Northern Italy.

Porn O'Graph:The work weak.

The Parting Shot:

130708

Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up...”

Carolina Horse Nettle Solarium carolinense

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