Somehow I think this succinctly sums up exactly why the Greeks are in the mess they’re in
“I feel angry that my right to dream has been denied and it’s mainly the government’s fault,” said Penny, a 19-year-old student demonstrating on a square in front of the parliament building — the scene of riots last week.
I’m glad my tax dollars are going towards helping Penny live her dream.
In other Greco news
The cabinet is also set to give its approval to a radical plan to overhaul the pensions system, raising the retirement age for women to 65 and increasing the number of years that workers have to pay retirement contributions.
Men presumably still get to retire at 53, if there’s any justice to the plan…
It’s a drift, it’s not a straight-line march; well, it is certainly straighter than I’d like it to be, unfortunately, but look at some of the signs, all of which by the way have been occurring regardless of which party was in power. Until now the one that has bothered me the most has been the para-militarization of our police forces: the proliferation of these SWAT forces that love to engage in no-knock breaking and entering ‘actions’ of the type that folks like Rodney Balko have been so good at exposing, people getting arrested for filming police, the police acting more and more like bullying thugs, etc.
But I have to say this latest pronouncement from Attorney General Holder has got me concerned
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration said Sunday it would seek a law allowing investigators to interrogate terrorism suspects without informing them of their rights, as Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. flatly asserted that the defendant in the Times Square bombing attempt was trained by the Taliban in Pakistan.
Mr. Holder proposed carving out a broad new exception to the Miranda rights established in a landmark 1966 Supreme Court ruling. It generally forbids prosecutors from using as evidence statements made before suspects have been warned that they have a right to remain silent and to consult a lawyer.
I don’t want prosecutors deciding which rights I get, especially now that they have expanded the term “terrorist” to cover a wide variety of crimes. This Administration’s philosophy, which is a carry over from Clinton’s, of treating everything as a law enforcement issue is a huge part of their problem here. The UndieBomber should not have been Mirandized, as he is not a US citizen, whereas it was completely correct to read Fievel his rights, because as a citizen he has them.
When we allow the government the power to deny us our rights if we do something they deem to be “terrorist” in nature then you can rest assured they will expand that definition so they can always use it.
And this must be vigorously resisted.
They’ve already blown through billions upon billions, so let’s give Greece One Trillion Dollars
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European central banks began buying euro zone government bonds under a $1 trillion global emergency rescue package agreed on Monday, sending the euro and European stocks and bonds surging on relieved markets.
The “shock and awe” plan — the biggest since G20 leaders threw money at the global economy following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008 — triggered a global stock market rally after panic selling last week.
But it left longer-term questions about whether Europe’s weakest economies can manage their debt and how the European Union can develop more coherent economic and fiscal policies to underpin the single currency.
Gee, “questions”? Ya think? It’s not like these ministers reached into their piggy banks and pulled out their rainy day savings here; this money is being both printed, i.e. inflated, and borrowed from the Chinese, so these geniuses are leading us once again farther down the Keynesian Yellow Brick Road of “Inflate Your Way To Joy,” and pushing even more massive debt onto the next generation which they hope to cheapen by massive devaluation of the currency. It’s their only way out.
You effortlessly keep things shining…
…and feed shining faces.
Somehow you manage to always make sure everything and…
….everyone’s in its place…
…in spite of whatever’s on your busy schedule!
Oh, you all are something! 
Be on the lookout! Last seen…
…wearing the testicles of a weasel.
That is all!
I’m about to jettison my SPAM filter and WHAT do I see? A message with a subject line that says:
Acknowledge, An Iraqi made a fixed deposit of $6.5m usd in my bank branch (Hang Sang Bank)
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK
Dammmit. I know….okay, I KNOW it’s bullshit. I don’t know a single damn Iraqi (Or a “Mr. Wong Tang”, for that matter.). But doesn’t it seem the TEENSIEST bit fortuitous since I threw my TEENSY hissy fit about “b’s” and “m’s” and buttons and bows? Doncha think? Huh? Huh? Huh?
You people are no help.
NEVER.
Burt Reynolds, baby.
All the way.
Rankles to this day.
ths update:
Rob. You’re kidding me…
…right? 
“This is a good time to have a president like Obama. He’s just steady.”
“F*CKIN’ GREAT” is more like what springs to my mind, although I’m sure we’ve a major difference in delivery tenor.
I read this:
While doing some research on the earth’s albedo…
…and instantly felt kinda…naughty.
Last month the unemployment rate was 9.7%
This month it ROSE to 9.9%
Imagine the headlines and articles about misery and incompetence had this happened under Bush.
Now look at this fawning pablum from the AP in the Age of The One
WASHINGTON (AP) — Employers stepped up job creation in April, expanding payrolls by 290,000, the most in four years. The jobless rate rose to 9.9 percent as people streamed back into the market looking for work.
The government says the hiring of 66,000 temporary government workers to conduct the census helped overall payroll growth last month. However, private employers added a surprisingly strong 231,000 positions last month, also the most since March 2006.
The unemployment rate rose from 9.7 percent in March to 9.9 percent in April, mainly because 805,000 jobseekers — perhaps feeling better about their prospects — resumed their searches for work.
Pardon me whilst I go barf.
Felt more like the Proctologist with the Fat Finger…
Is that a problem?
It’s a scandal! It’s outrageously outrageous! I demand a UN investigation!
Explain to me how Mad Cap’n Tom only got 84 votes.
The UK is doomed.
He was their last best hope.
The Conservatives failed to get a majority, which means Brown and Labour may form one of those European Coalition Governments with the Liberal-Democrats (although it looks like Nick Clegg may have put the kibosh on that; he reeeealy dislikes Brown, doesn’t he?)…and coalition governments always end in disaster (just ask the Mensheviks).
And in this age of hyper-journalism it seems that there were lots of incidences of polling “problems”; hmmm, maybe we should send over Jimmy Carter to monitor things?
It will be very interesting to see how this plays out; the UK needs a strong and fiscally restrained hand on her tiller right now, or she could end up in the same trash bin as Greece. The Pound is getting…pounded this morning, which tells you that financial traders are not very positive about her future.
I want a “B” button and I WANT IT NOW!!!!!
YOU never even told me there WAS one, Bingley BASTARD !!!!!
dam
This woodland construction is the world’s biggest beaver dam, which at 2,790ft is more than twice the length of the Hoover dam and can be seen from space.
The mammals use trees, mud and stone to make a type of moat where they can use their swimming skills to evade any predators.
…It is located on the southern edge of Wood Buffalo National Park in Northern Alberta, Canada.
While beaver dams are often found to be around 1,500ft in length, this one has surprised biologists because of its length.
Officers with the Alberta Bureau of Construction were on their way to the site to assess whether the beavers had filled out the correct permit applications for the construction.
Saving lives around the world
Six-year-old saved from dropping to his death by his ears
A six-year-old Chinese boy was saved from dropping eight storeys by his ears when he was left dangling from window bars outside his home.
Ming Ming, managed to get his head stuck in the bars of his home in Yichang, China.
“Help me, Michelle!
But rather than fall through completely, he became lodged between the grate due to his ears sticking out.
…One witness said: “The only thing stopping him from plunging to the ground below was the fact his head was trapped between two window bars.”
If only the ears had that effect on the approval polls…
The one terrorist bastard who survived the murderous attack in Mumbai has been found guilty and will hang
Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, a 22-year-old Pakistani citizen, was found guilty on Monday of 86 charges, including waging war against India, murder and terrorism offences for his role in the attack on India’s financial capital that left 166 dead.
Judge M.L. Tahaliyani said the man described by prosecutors as a “killing machine” should be hanged.
“I don’t find any case for a lesser punishment than death in the case of waging war against India, murder and terrorist acts,” the judge said, “This Presbyterian must pay the ultimate price.
Of course, I always thought the “ultimate price” would be going to a Baptist service…
Guess what?! Apparently we get to thank him for this asshole hangin’ around.
…He [Obey] pondered retirement before, but stayed on because he was angry at what he saw as the “arrogance” of the second President Bush. “I was determined to outlast him,” he said.
If only we’d known.
See ya
In what may be the biggest sign of Democratic despair in this midterm cycle, House Appropriations Chair David Obey has decided not seek re-election. In his district, that means that Sean Duffy’s chances for winning the election have markedly increased. For Democrats nationwide, it may be a harbinger of a devastating midterm cycle:
One can only hope…
The Interior Department exempted BP’s calamitous Gulf of Mexico drilling operation from a detailed environmental impact analysis last year, according to government documents, after three reviews of the area concluded that a massive oil spill was unlikely.
The decision by the department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) to give BP’s lease at Deepwater Horizon a “categorical exclusion” from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) on April 6, 2009 — and BP’s lobbying efforts just 11 days before the explosion to expand those exemptions — show that neither federal regulators nor the company anticipated an accident of the scale of the one unfolding in the gulf.
It’s about time to let him and his oil soaked cronies in the Department of Interior have it for the…mess…wait. April 200NINE? [ths mental math: 11 days beFORE explosion means…20TENGASP!] (Quick. WHAT day was it really cold and Michelle wore the puke green dress with the little jacket and then went to the parties that meant her husband was “the man”?)
(JANUARY? twothousand-NINE?!?!?!?)
There are still Bush people in the department because the GOP refuses to confirm the Obama appointees.
So there.
Little wheel spin and spin, and the big wheel turn round, round.
Blame Bush
Pakistan drone strategy originated with Bush, official says
From Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon correspondent (is this Brenda’s sister?-ed)
May 4, 2010 6:00 p.m. EDT
Washington (CNN) — When the latest apparent U.S. drone strike was conducted this week against militants in Pakistan, the obvious question appeared to be: Did the United States get a “big fish” in the Taliban or al Qaeda organizations?
…The strategy originated not with President Obama but with the previous administration, he said, and now that there may have been a mistake or two this is a point we really need to emphasize, he added.
Maybe I edited that a little, but sweet baby Jehoshaphat can’t these people get out of Third Grade and quit pointing fingers at the Previous Administration?
I laughed when I read this AP headline, I really did. If you look up “head-in-sand” in the dictionary I am sure this is listed as an example
NY car bomb suspect cooperates, but motive mystery
By TOM HAYS and JOHN CHRISTOFFERSEN, Associated Press Writers
…A court hearing was canceled Tuesday in part because of Shahzad’s continuing cooperation with investigators, but authorities said they had shed little light on what might have motivated him.
Gosh, I really can’t imagine.
God save the Queen, because things could get dicey
If on Friday morning no party has been able to secure an outright majority in the House of Commons, there will be a frantic period of negotiation to decide the shape of the next government.
The situation is described as a hung parliament, with no single party having enough MPs – 326 – to win parliamentary votes without the support of members of other parties.
There will be lots of wheeling and dealing, perhaps with the coalitions shifting on each individual piece of legislation.
The bright spot is with Parliament hog-tied they might not have a chance to do too much more damage to their economy…
Nanny State, Politics, World Stuff | Mr. Bingley | 
May 10, 2010 11:45 am | 
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