Open Thread Monday 08-31-2015

Submitted by smiley7 on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 12:13am

Good morning good people

Monday morning quote:

We all walk life's trail to the end. Some fall a lot, some race through, some timidly step, many are handicapped from the beginning; others are along the way; most follow the leader and into hell quite often. A few go it alone.

Traveling soon, so I'm sharing a few sentences and paragraphs cut from a long Appalachian Trail story about a young friend's journey.

The Main Mountain

When taking the first step at 19, the first of five million to come, her heart pumped noticeably, an extra beat. The sun came out spontaneously, an omen. The journey began.

It had rained for a solid month. Maine's rivers were roaring. This isn't supposed to happen this late in the season, July 9. Avoid fording rivers when foaming and gushing, didn't you read the sign?

...the 100-Mile Wilderness lay ahead full of rivers, creeks, knurly-slippery-roots and mud, blood-curdling mud.

Revered by the Native American Penobscot Indians as the Greatest Mountain, Mount Katahdin is the first place on the United States mainland to receive sunlight in the morning during the summer solstice and vernal and autumnal equinoxes.

...upon reaching the summit at midday
...Her reward was rich. In breaks through the fast moving clouds, she saw more water than she had ever seen before, with lakes stretching to the horizon.

Weeks of nervousness and anxiety eased from her with each footfall.

The sun had blessed her. It had birthed her in its image. Later on the trail it would warm her. Finally, she was walking with the sun, her genuine partner.
....

"The trail breaks you down to what you really are. Your most human characteristics come out, it's primal. You got to have heart; it's all about heart."

"Which way do I go in the real world?" Her thoughts trembled as much as her knees.
....

Walking With The Fall, Her Favorite Season

A soft wind caressed her white blond hair. She was beautiful and in an introspective place with nature's womb fluidly protecting her.

Memories cascaded through her senses, matching the tempo of the falling water: the wounded bald eagle her Dad taught to fly--her first memory--the story of the Blue-Winged Dragon from elementary school. She mused, "The children were spry, free spirits and full of dreams."

The tranquil spot was in the long state of Virgina, four months into the journey. She was an old hand of the trail. Tendinitis was a thing of the past and she was happy. The anxiety of real life had taken a back seat to a moving improvisational lifestyle with everything on her back and nowhere to be, a trail of deep conversations and weathering storms.
....

Glancing back to the waterfall and its swirling kaleidoscope, her breath shortened. The leaves disguised dangerous pitfalls along the trail.

Cold nights numbed her in Pennsylvania. The big mountains of North Carolina and the Great Smokies lay ahead and winter was already curling her hair. She knew the ferocity of those peaks. She grew up in them. Hikers died from hypothermia and dehydration. She shivered at the thought of the flip flopper's words, the middle-aged, cocksure, retired federal agent she met in a horrendous thunderstorm. "You should have started in June. It's been a nasty year for weather, and I just don't think you'll make it, I really don't."
....

Nessun Dorma: None Shall Sleep

...One day during a particularly bad winter storm, she struggled to control her hiking poles in the cold pounding rain. All morning, for 10 miles, her head down and turned away from the wind, she lumbered forward. "I want to go home," she said for the first time.

...First she heard the rain sounding off the shelter's tin roof and then she saw it.

...Muttering that rain gear is an expensive joke, she tucked her wet body into her zero-degree bag shivering until the sound of sheeting rain gave way to exhaustive sleep and reality gave way to a cavernous world of dreams.

Like Emily in Our Town she looked down...

Moving scenes of past enchantments played out as visions of trail towns rolled by: the restored Bennington, Vt., full of artists, educated and friendly people; camping by the river in the outfitter's backyard in the Berkshires with the church steeples of North Adams poking through the mountains; pillaging through the bookstore in the ritzy little town of Kent. Conn.--sipping coffee and reading for hours; picking the free fruits of the ultimate trail town, Palmerton, Pa....
[and] laughing with the good-ole-boys while enjoying the regenerative water in Hot Springs, N.C., where the AT is Main Street.

Her sleep deepened and the dream changed from black and white to color. Laughter faded to opera--dah de rah, splendera'. "Are you going to the Mayor's house, the thick mustached pick-up driver barked from his window on the unpainted road?" She was in Unionville, N.Y. again in the modest living room of the ex-mayor eating hamburgers and French fries with the chain-smoking Butch and Bill and watching a video playing an aria, "Nessun dorma," from Giacomo Puccini's Turandot. The mayor cried. As the music crescendoed, her lips moved, singing "Vincero, Vincero, I will win, I will win, I will win."

The Last Mile

"Tell others what they mean to you, before they move on."

...She stepped onto the Southern terminus and the sun cast her silhouette on the ground. Photos were taken.

Her world tipped upon its axis, and the sun began its daily hike north towards Mount Katahdin. It was December 22, winter solstice.

Tags:

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Comments

Submitted by gulfgal98 on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 6:48am

Good Morning smiley and 99%'ers!

We're getting ready to hit the road this morning. Heading for the heat of Florida. Y'all hold down the fort!

—

Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Submitted by smiley7 on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 8:00am

Morning GG...

Well, you posted before I'd finished the OT, but I know you are an early riser and I'm running a little later than usual.
Have a safe trip and see ya soon.

Submitted by gulfgal98 on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 6:32pm

Last night we were invited to dinner at a couple whom we had met last year and found to be very interesting people. There were six of us for dinner which was wonderful. But what was so interesting is that earlier this year, our hosts had done the pilgrimage walk from St. Jean in France to Santiago de Compostela which is about 500 miles. What makes this so unique is that he is over 80 years old and she is in her mid 70's and they did the entire hike, sometimes as much as 26 miles per day. What blew me away even more is that she is missing most of her toes on one foot. They did this in onor of a son that they lost to AIDS and they carried his ashes with them on the pilgrimage. I am in total awe.

After dinner, we watched The Way with Martin Sheen. My husband and I had seen this move before, but it was so much different watching it with our hosts and having them tell us about the various scenes in the movie and how it was for them. For me, it made the movie far more memorable.

Today was a long eight hours to Tallahassee. Tomorrow the dogs go to the Pet Resort (Gidget and Roux love it, Willie Bear, not so much) and we drive to central Florida where my Mom lives.

Gee, is sure is hot here!

—

Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Submitted by smiley7 on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 6:39pm

Cool, think I will watch "The Way"....

Glad you made it safely.

Submitted by hecate on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 8:35am

florida

is currently in a state of emergency. One would think it's because of that weirdsmobile governor, Skeletor, but instead it apparently has something to do with the weather. Have a good trip, gulfgal; nice OT, smiley.

Submitted by hecate on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 8:47am

and

speaking of governors, Scut Walker, seeking to out-Trump Trump, has declared maybe there should be a wall along the 5,525-mile border with Canada. This morning I expect Uncle Ben Carson to announce he would build walls along both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.

Submitted by JtC on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 9:39am

If any of those guys...

become President, the walls will be built to keep us in.

Submitted by hecate on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 10:41am

after

the four walls are completed, a giant dome wil be built upon them, preventing anything from leaving the country, including the air. Because Trump has a pathological need to place his name on everything, medical teams under the supervision of Uncle Ben Carson shall fan out across the land to commence tattooing the word Trump upon everyone's forehead. Gendarmes commanded by Scut will arrest anyone who has ever had the remotest sympathy for a union; these people will be dumped into dungeons, from which they will be allowed to emerge only in chain gangs to perform maintenance work on the Dome and the Walls. It will be a new dawn. Though it will hard to see, through the Dome.

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 7:50pm

Hahaha.

Would it be cheaper just to brand American Colonists?

Tattooing is time consuming.

Submitted by smiley7 on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 10:44am

good morning hecate,

one thing's for sure about Florida, there isn't much traffic now because all the Floridians are up here.
Have a good day.

Submitted by hecate on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 11:02am

hey, smiley

Is that how it works? A big late-summer East Coast temporary population-transfer? ; )

Submitted by smiley7 on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 1:07pm

yep, you got it, most of the jokes here

are about seniors driving as I say having a handicap sticker hanging from my mirror.

Submitted by gulfgal98 on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 7:27pm

Sadly, I am not fond of

the Floridiots! Floridiots are horrible drivers. In this town, folks are considerate of everyone. Not so with the Floridiots. This is one reason why we have an NC tag on our little car.

Recently I saw a bumper sticker on a car that read "Beware, the Floridiots are Back!" I agree. For what it is worth, we have been accepted because our house is in town instead of up on the mountain.

—

Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Submitted by smiley7 on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 7:37pm

Same here, it's

a double-edge sword. The many gated golf communities contribute to our local economy and invest in hospitals; plus tourism is our number one employer. But, you don't want to get behind a leaf-looking tourist on a curving two-lane road.

Submitted by gulfgal98 on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 8:10pm

Ha!

Leaf peeping season is a big tourist time here in Brevard. Just so they only come to visit and not come to build up on the mountains.

—

Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Submitted by gjohnsit on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 10:24am

ISIS seizes part of Damascus

This is disturbing

Battles are reportedly ongoing in the Saudi capital city of Damascus after a sudden attack by ISIS fighters has left them with possession of part of the Qadam District, the first time any rebel faction has had anything meaningful inside the capital itself.
Actually how much is held in the city is unclear, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights claiming that ISIS only holds a couple of streets, but ISIS themselves saying they hold half of the very significant district, and showing video of their fighters advancing significantly.
ISIS’ main target in the area near Damascus has long been the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk, which had been a de facto suburb of the capital before the war. Now, the fighters are pushing into the city itself, something that was once seen as unthinkable.

Can Iran/Hezbollah save Assad's government?

Submitted by gjohnsit on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 10:33am

Ukraine nationalists throwing bombs

link

At least one police officer died and about 50 others were wounded on Monday in violent demonstrations here during a contentious vote in Parliament to grant autonomous status to two rebel-controlled zones in eastern Ukraine.
As Parliament moved to approve the concessions, which were fiercely opposed by Ukrainian nationalists but demanded by Russia under a peace process for the two regions, parts of Donetsk and Luhansk, protesters outside the building scuffled with the police.

Several loud explosions were heard, and although it was not immediately clear how the officer had died, local news media reported that a military hand grenade had been thrown into the police line.

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 1:42pm

Too bad; so sad

…for the West Ukraine coup government — the NeoNazi junta. (The West, of course, has never been attacked or invaded by anyone.)

The juntas were so looking forward to exterminating the ethnic Russians who live on the Eastern edge of Ukraine and on the Russian island of Crimea. The NeoNazi imports were dreaming of using ovens to kill them all.

Now to allow the tainted non-aryan Russians to live in the Eastern edge of Ukraine, as they have for hundreds of years, as a semi-autonomous republic of Ukraine, burns. But, Kiev is being forced to abide by the Minsk II Agreement, which they signed with their fingers crossed.

Submitted by gjohnsit on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 10:36am

Sanders wouldn't end drone program

sigh

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., said Sunday that if elected president he would not end the U.S.'s controversial drone program in the Middle East.
Sanders told ABC's "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos that he would continue with the targeted killing campaign but suggested he would somehow reform the program so that drones don't kill innocent people abroad.

Submitted by hecate on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 10:51am

right

The cowardly remote-controlled backshooting will continue. It will just be "reformed."

Submitted by gjohnsit on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 10:57am

It's an assassination program

Nothing more.
And it looks like the foreign policy of Sanders won't be significantly different from Obama's. although I still think Hillary's foreign policy (and all the Republicans) would be worse.

Submitted by hecate on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 11:26am

obama

said he would "reform" George II's cowardly remote-controlled backshooting anathema. And we see how that worked out.

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 1:47pm

There is total self defense from

…the slaughter of US drones. Blind them.

No one within 100 meters can carry a cell phone. End of drone problem.

Submitted by gjohnsit on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 11:51am

OTOH

I do like this

During a recent interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, Bernie Sanders exclaimed: “I think the business model of Wall Street is fraud.”

Submitted by Shahryar on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 6:18pm

this is my Goolsbee moment for Bernie

so Goolsbee went to Canada and told the Canadian dudes that Obama's NAFTA policy wasn't really policy at all but just campaign rhetoric. Then I looked Goolsbee up and found out he was a Yale Skull and Bones man. I went "uh-oh" to myself but chose to ignore it at the time.

Now this Bernie thing. I was already concerned about his foreign policy. He's been too vague and doesn't mention it in his speeches. Obviously it's impossible to "reform" droning so it doesn't kill "innocent people". Surely he knows that. It's such an unrealistic thing to say that I feel it invalidates his candidacy. He now falls, for me, into the category of "the lesser evil".

Submitted by gulfgal98 on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 7:28pm

This is so disappointing (n/t)

—

Do I hear the sound of guillotines being constructed?

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." ~ President John F. Kennedy

Submitted by gjohnsit on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 10:49am

Preparing our children for war

Russia and the United States are busy getting the kids ready to kill

In 1916, Congress established the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC), which today flourishes in some 3,500 American high schools and enrolls well over half a million American children. Some government-run military training programs even operate in U.S. middle schools. In JROTC, students are taught by military officers, read Pentagon-approved textbooks, wear military uniforms, and conduct military parades. Some JROTC units even use automatic rifles with live ammunition. Although the Pentagon covers some of the expense of this costly program, the rest of it is borne by the schools themselves. This “youth development program,” as the Pentagon calls it, pays off for the military when JROTC students come of age and join the armed forces?action facilitated by the fact that US military recruiters are often right in the classrooms.
Even if high school students do not participate in JROTC activities, military recruiters have easy access to them. One of the provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires high schools to share students’ names and contact information with military recruiters unless students or their parents opt out of this arrangement.

Submitted by hecate on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 10:59am

also

from your link:

[I]n today’s Russia thousands of government-funded clubs are producing what is called “military-patriotic education” for children. Accepting both boys and girls, these clubs teach them military exercises, some of which employ heavy military equipment. In a small town outside St. Petersburg, for example, children ranging from five to 17 years of age spend evenings learning how to fight and use military weapons.

These efforts are supplemented by the Voluntary Society of Cooperation with the Army, Air Force, and Navy, which prepares Russian high school students for military service. This society claims that, in the past year alone, it has held 6,500 military patriotic events and channeled more than 200,000 young people into taking the official “Ready for Labor and Defense” test. Government funding of the society’s budget is lavish, and has grown dramatically in recent years.

Russia’s “patriotic education” also benefits from frequent military historical reenactments. The head of the Moscow branch of the All-Russian Military History Movement observed that groups hosting such reenactments help people “realize that they can’t spend their whole life playing with Kinder Eggs or Pokemon.”

Apparently sharing that opinion, the Russian government opened a vast military theme park in June 2015 in Kubinka, an hour’s drive from Moscow. Frequently referred to as a “military Disneyland,” Patriot Park was proclaimed “an important element in our system of military-patriotic work with young people” by President Vladimir Putin. On hand for the opening and backed up by a military choir, Putin also brought the good news that 40 new intercontinental missiles had been added to Russia’s nuclear arsenal. According to news reports, Patriot Park, when completed, will cost $365 million and draw up to 100,000 visitors per day.

Those attending the park’s opening found the rows of tanks, armored personnel carriers, and missile launching systems on display, plus the riding of tanks and shooting of guns, deeply moving. “This park is a gift to Russian citizens, who can now behold the full power of the Russian armed forces,” declared Sergei Privalov, a Russian Orthodox priest. “Children should come here, play with the weaponry and climb on the tanks and see all the most modern technology.” Alexander Zaldostanov, the leader of the Night Wolves, a violent biker gang planning a similar park, remarked: “Now we all feel closer to the army” and that is “a good thing.”

Vladimir Kryuchkov, a weapons demonstrator, admitted that some missile launchers were too heavy for very small children. But he maintained that smaller rocket-propelled grenade launchers would be perfect for them, adding: “All males of all ages are defenders of the motherland and they must be ready for war.”

And from the link embedded in your link:

With an upsurge in support for the armed forces because of the conflict in eastern Ukraine and Crimea, the government is assessing a new programme proposed by the Ministry of Education to significantly increase the budget for military education – and combat awareness – for children and young people . . . .

Stating that the new programme must engage children immediately after birth, infants between the ages one and six are supposed to be “help[ed] ... in forming the correct understanding of the greater and lesser motherland, as well as in forming a basic system of spiritual values of love, kindness, labour, friendship and honesty." . . . .

But organisers say that they’re not simply preparing children for war: “The real warrior is not one who knows how to fight or aim a weapon but one who is ready to sacrifice themselves for defending their faith, their motherland or their loved ones,” said Sergey Evgeniev, the administrator of the Moscow-based club Citadel.

Yeehaw.

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 2:06pm

Imagine the horror of living in the US

…if it were surrounded on all sides, along all borders and the sea, by Russian military bases with nuclear missles.

Imagine how Iran feels.

Poor America and it's flaccid empire is really, really skeered. It wants to wipe Russia and Iran off the face of the earth and kill all the people, like it did in Libya.

Russia and Iran seek to defend their nations.

That theme park in Russia sounds exactly like the conscripted religious state of Israel, in miniature.

Submitted by hecate on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 2:38pm

deliberately

working to make your people all skeert and war-ready and motherland-lovin', and from infancy, is inexcusable, no matter who or where you are.

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 3:37pm

It's horrible.

I grew up in a country like that. Surrounded by the MIC. Sonic booms were a way of life. It was an ROTC, duck-and-cover nightmare. All the neighbors had bomb shelters.

Submitted by hecate on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 4:09pm

then

you know. There is no excuse for it. Anywhere. For anybody. At any time.

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 4:43pm

It's especially heinous when that nation

— like the one I grew up in — is NOT surrounded by foreign military bases with lethal force nuclear weapons pointed at every part of you. In fact, it is invasion-proof.

But that immoral false-flag lifestyle is only found in nations owned and operated by Neocons and Neoliberals. A 9/11 every now and then keeps the people cowering under their beds, giving up all their human rights and wages and national treasure to the "protection" profiteers.

"It's a racket."

Submitted by mimi on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 6:09pm

where was that and when? /nt

—

https://www.euronews.com/live

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 7:41pm

The USA

The Southwest.

Recently.

Submitted by mimi on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 12:56pm

Good Morning, err Afternoon, smiley7

your choice of words and quotes in your OTs always touch me deeply. I made one connection to some of the sentences after the other.

And I love Nessun Dorma. If I can't sleep, I will listen to it and be calmed down and encouraged.

Thanks, all. Have a wonderful day.

—

https://www.euronews.com/live

Submitted by smiley7 on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 1:05pm

Hi mimi....

good to see you. I love the music, too. And was moved by the ex-mayor's crying when I first learned about him and how he has turned his home into a hostel for the AT hikers and encourages them to carry on by making them listen to Nessun dorma.
Enjoy your day, my friend.

Submitted by mimi on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 5:33pm

you too, smiley, I am carrying on and it's good the way it is/nt

—

https://www.euronews.com/live

Submitted by hecate on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 1:18pm

the

Hairball obsesses.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDrfE9I8_hs]

Submitted by mimi on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 5:35pm

well I have gone downstairs and took some china and

smashed it really good staring at the Trump figure. I think it will bring luck, to me, not to him. ...:-)

—

https://www.euronews.com/live

Submitted by gjohnsit on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 1:34pm

GOP Immigration crazies

link

Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said on Saturday that if he were elected president he would combat illegal immigration by creating a system to track foreign visitors the way FedEx tracks packages.
Mr. Christie, who is far back in the pack of candidates for the Republican presidential nomination, said at a campaign event in New Hampshire that he would ask the chief executive of FedEx, Frederick W. Smith, to devise the tracking system.

Submitted by hecate on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 1:41pm

he

will implant in every "foreign visitor" a little nanotracker that will monitor the person's movements at all times, and, if the person strays out of his or her authorized area, or lingers longer than is permitted, the nano will then "go red" and simply blow the person up.

Submitted by mimi on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 5:39pm

let's ask FedEx to package Chris Christie and sent him

to the Southpole. That's deepest point you can sink to. The package should be tracked til it arrives there and then never be picked up again. That should immortalize Chris Christie in an icy FedEx package bringing the meaning of his words to lits real meaning and life (or death).

The crazies are allowed to be crazy? Stop that nonsense.

—

https://www.euronews.com/live

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 5:50pm

Chris Christie would make a great Santa

Submitted by mimi on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 6:10pm

nah, he would pass by all immigrant kids and just

drop his gifts off to those who don't need them.

—

https://www.euronews.com/live

Submitted by gjohnsit on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 2:27pm

No one has ever done this before: Trump

Time to acknowledge

In May, when the Register last polled, 27 percent of likely Iowa GOP caucus-goers viewed Trump favorably while 63 percent regarded him unfavorably. In the new poll, which was released Saturday night, Trump's favorable number is at 61 percent and his unfavorable at 35 percent.
Um, WHAT?

Let me put it another way: W-H-A-T???

Numbers just don't reverse themselves like that in the space of a few months (or ever). Especially when the politician in question is totally known by the electorate. Once you are both totally known and broadly disliked — as Trump was in May both in Iowa and everywhere else — you are doomed. One hundred times out of one hundred.

That's why I was SO certain of Trump's inability to matter at all in the 2016 race when he, somewhat stunningly, decided to enter it 70-odd days ago. In the almost 20 years — gulp — I have spent following politics closer than close, I've never seen anything like the total reversal in how Trump is perceived by Republican voters. It is, quite literally, unprecedented.
...
But, of all the amazing things that Trump is doing — whether he realizes what it is he is actually doing — his ability to totally turn around his image is the most remarkable. It's not something we've seen before. And it may not be something we see again.

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 3:50pm

You ever read his "Art of the Deal?"

What trump is doing to Americans is right out of the book.

Right now we are in the seduction phase. I've been researching an article on this. Ran across this passage somewhere:

In 1976, the Times introduced Trump, then a little-known builder, to readers as a “publicity shy” wunderkind who “looks ever so much like Robert Redford,” and quoted an admiring observation from the architect Der Scutt: “That Donald, he could sell sand to the Arabs.” Over the years, Trump honed a performer’s ear for the needs of his audience. He starred in “The Apprentice” for fourteen seasons, cultivating a lordly persona and a squint that combined Clint Eastwood on the high plains and Derek Zoolander on the runway.

Lately, he's been sneaking in the terms of the deal — like single payer health care — and the red-meat crackers are going for it.

Nice bait and switch, Donald.

Submitted by gjohnsit on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 6:03pm

Never read it

and I probably never will. The Donald doesn't strike me as a wise man.

However, have you noticed this?

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson has moved into a tie for first place with Donald Trump in a new poll of Iowa Republican caucusgoers released on Monday.
In the Monmouth University Poll, Carson and Trump lead the pack with 23 percent. Former HP chief Carly Fiorina is next on the list at 10 percent, while Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has nine percent support.

Carson also has the highest favorability rating of any candidate (81 percent). That's 14 points higher than Fiorina (67 percent).

Now I don't like Carson anymore than I like Trump (which is...I don't).
But I am tickled that a black man is tied for the lead of the Republican party just because it contradicts all the simpletons on DKos that like to say that all Republicans are racists. As if the entire world can be broken down into two categories: racists vs. non-racists.

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 7:39pm

Yes. I've seen that.

I don't pretend to be an expert on domestic politics, but I'm good at patterns.

But I can't take credit for spotting this pattern. I saw it at a think tank:

I'm paraphrasing. The rise of Carson, Fiorina, and Trump holds a huge message that the US voters are screaming at the top of their lungs:

"We don't want to vote for any politicians. We want a President who is not already corrupted. We want a DC outsider to lead the country."

While not a direct match, I think the popularity of Bernie sends the same message.

Can the American people really take their nation back from the Neocon tools of the oligarchs and turn the Federal government into a functioning democracy?

If anyone wants me to answer that, let me know.

Submitted by mimi on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 5:40pm

yep, the crazies are fashionable and adored these days ... /nt

—

https://www.euronews.com/live

Submitted by gjohnsit on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 6:44pm

Why aren't Democrats saying this?

link

Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump wanted to have the last U.S. Republican president, George W. Bush, impeached over his foreign policy decision to invade Iraq in 2003, the Daily Caller noted Monday.
In a 2008 interview with CNN's Wolf Blitzer, Trump said he was surprised that the Democratic House speaker at the time, Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, did not attempt to impeach Bush for invading Iraq and ousting Saddam Hussein.

"I was surprised that she didn't do more in terms of Bush and going after Bush," Trump said.

The only reason the GOP wasn't destroyed because of the disaster of the Iraq invasion is because the Democrats refused to hold them accountable.

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 5:10pm

Have you puzzled over the price of oil

…and wondered why oil producing nations would pump and dump all their oil all over the world all of a sudden? Even the US, opening up the Arctic, desperate to get that oil out of the ground NOW!

Why would all oil-producing nations ruin their own economies by overproducing the the above-ground supply of this volatile commodity, filling every available shipping container they can lease for storage; why the mad race to tear their energy sectors out by the roots?

As patterns go, you are seeing a Black Swan in action. A very, very disruptive technology must have popped into existence. There is no other explanation, economic or geostrategic.

So, where is this game changer?

Hiding in plain sight, of course.

In 2014, one of the US's premier defense industries finally perfected and began producing compact closed-chamber nuclear fusion reactors. They scale up from the size of a golf cart (which could power a passenger jet or high-speed train, endlessly) to the size of a semi, which has the power to take you to the stars and back. Or, run a small city. And, they never run out of fuel. This will change everything. Africa will glitter like Las Vegas.

Saudi Arabia got wind of it first, in the Summer of 2014, and they shared it with OPEC. What has ensued is a case of the devil takes the hindmost. The first out does the best. The elites are exiting oil. Now this is all very hush hush, but I don't believe its classified. Or, perhaps it is. There was a media blackout after first news in industry journals.

In any event, DARPA has been working to minimize the disruptive impact of (free) fusion power by phasing it in slowly and secretly. They could probably deliver trailer-sized 100 MW fusion immediately, but this would render utilities stocks and bonds worthless overnight. The Oil market would collapse monumentally, and contract to the modest size of a non-fuel organic-chemical industry. Hence the need for secrecy.

By January 2015, the ripple effects of the information leak to OPEC were noticeable across all the commodity markets. Everything in the markets stopped making sense. That's because global oligarchs and politicians, who all have their fingers in the oil pie, rushed for the exit. Oil started falling as the elite began an elaborate and orderly exit from oil investments before the thundering herd finds out about this. So far, the media oligarchs have successfully suppressed the news.

The manufacturer has a deserved reputation for cutting edge, rapid technological development and production.
Think SR-71, F117 Stealth, and so forth. I mention this in case anyone wants to make an adjustment to your investing portfolio. Follow the breadcrumbs. Verify first.

Now I know why the PetroDollar died so fast. The Iran agreement makes more sense than ever. Bursts of understanding. The pipelines? We don't need no stinking pipelines. Now the US can stop murdering the people of Syria and go home where they belong. And, don't forget, the value of the USDollar is based on oil. The US is no safe haven. From the very day this info was leaked to the Arabs, every country in the world has demanded their gold stored in the US, returned.

As, energy cost goes to zero, everything in your world will change fast. Including the climate. Very, very disruptive. Just thought you might like to know. This info is not out there, yet. Keep it to yourself.

One bit of bad news: A large portion of derivatives in the vast global casino are based on oil. US banks stink with the level of their exposure to these gambles. Don't let them lay their losses on you. The oil barons should bail the banks out, this time. Then the banks should be nationalized, giving the people the power over their banking system, which is a public utility and should be regulated as one. All monopolies are public utilities: I'm looking at you, big media! This sober reckoning will come next. Better late than never.

As I predicted in America's Mein Kampf, many, many Black Swans will land before the 2016 elections, and push the current issues aside. All social and political change will come from outside the corrupt US political system. For example, it's likely that rebuilding the US infrastructure will become a national emergency — transportation, power grids, communications. We're going to need a whole lot of immigrants. Change like that.

Submitted by hecate on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 4:44pm

is this

the Skunk Works blat from the death-eaters at Lockheed Martin that the local nutter climate-change-denying weather-blower was on about last fall?

And am I reading you right, that you are suggesting "investing"—i.e., giving money to, in expectation of receiving more money back—in the sort of entities that produce anathema like the SR-71 and F117?

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 6:04pm

Oh good. You verified.

Is that your website? It's a new one for me. I went to the manufacturer. I was trying to figure out why the US blew their tops yesterday over "cyberspying" and blamed China for something, something… stealing technology. That brought me to the company you named. Then, to the world of trade journals. And then to DARPA, the Defense Web, and the dark web. Then I looked at the timeline and matched it to major global anomalies that struck at the same time, like crazy markets/oil/commodities and the recent burst of peacemaking, the mollification of Saudi Arabia, the speed of the PetroDollar collapse, which surprised even me, the speed of the AIIB (Infrastructure-R-Us) and its wide global acceptance (over the vigorous objection of the US), and so forth.

(Now I know how high speed trains are powered. It already happened. Another clue.)

You must be thinking of stock market speculation.

I'm speaking of buying/funding part of a company I believe in. The source of the invention is rarely a good investment. It's the application, always, that matters. Moving people and necessities wherever they want to go, without burning fuel, for almost no cost, is a great step-up in the quality of life for everyone. It would make a huge difference in Africa and the US, both woefully lacking in infrastructure. Without train networks, both continents will be unable to improve the lives of their people, and function fully in the 21st century. So, if I had money to invest, I would seek something like that to fund.

Submitted by hecate on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 6:20pm

since you say

"I went to the manufacturer," why don't you provide a link to said manufacturer? Is that the death-eaters of Lockheed Martin, or someone different? As for the investment, I was referring to your note that people might want to "make an adjustment to your investing portfolio." Since my "investing portfolio" is limited to my wallet, I wasn't sure what you meant there. Which is why I asked. As for what I "verified," it was that a lot of yammering rightbent loons were on about it last October. If it were to become Real, that would certainly be a good thing. Once it is always and forever ripped away from death-eaters like Lockheed Martin. Finally, and as you know, no, that is not my website.

Submitted by mimi on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 5:59pm

Pluto, why didn't you keep that for yourself, when you ask us to

do so?

I am amazed that a development and production like the compact closed-chamber nuclear fusion reactors could be kept secret at all.

So, let's say, it's all coming up as you say, I am still not sure. So did the Germans now demand to see their stored gold in the US?

Did they see it? Why aren't they insisting on seeing it. That's not funny. If they just had the courage to be steadfastly demanding to see their gold. Oh well, Goethe's Gretchen says in Dr. Faustus: "Zum Golde drängt, am Golde hängt doch alles" and becomes the most effective counter play to evil Mephisto.

I guess I buy a couple of nuggets then. Such a stupid world. The more incomprehensible everything gets, the less I care. Unintended consequences, right?

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https://www.euronews.com/live

Submitted by Pluto's Republic on Mon, 08/31/2015 - 7:17pm

Because you're my Homies.

No one but you is going to look at this thread.

"Keep it to yourself" is my way of being protective. You'll just get mocked if you try to post it. Then it will come back to me. Also, there's the cost of opportunity. It's like inside trading exclusively at c99. Also, I didn't publish any of my links because it's part of a conversation piece. I promised in "America's Mein Kampf" that I would post the Black Swans as they happen — events that would corral the US empire from the outside, change the meaning of the 2016 elections, and rescue the American people.

Above all, I don't want to talk about cold fusion. I want to talk about the fact that something huge has happened within the past 12 months that made all global systems behave abnormally and break historical records. For example, until a few months ago, China, Russia, the US, NATO, and the Middle East were all about Pipelineistan. The US has been funding rebels, bombing Syria, and trying to overthrow Assad because of a pipeline. Then, everything stopped. Everybody wants to sell oil, but suddenly they are not too interested in investing in pipeline infrastructures to do so. The Keystone Pipeline is completely unnecessary. It costs the US money to build the pipeline, but it gives the US neither revenue nor oil. All risk, no gain. That's why Obama blocked it. Drilling in the Arctic will provide some revenue. I'm guessing Obama thinks, "Let the whiners drill. Even if they find it, they'll never pump it out of the ground."

I'm fascinated with Occupied Germany, which I expect to Gexit from the EU at some point. Meanwhile, Bloomberg has a fishy but comprehensive article on Germany's gold:

On Jan. 19, the Bundesbank delivered its own surprise, publishing a tally of its 2014 gold repatriations. During the year, the German central bank had shipped 85 tons from New York to Frankfurt, blowing away the mere 5 tons from 2013 and setting a pace at which the Bundesbank would easily meet its target of 300 tons returned by 2020.

There are still 1,447 tons of German gold under Manhattan.

A ton of gold is the size of a milk carton.

Submitted by lotlizard on Tue, 09/01/2015 - 5:35am

Sorry, but "ton of gold = milk carton" is wrong, yes?

One ton of gold = 49.7 quarts = 12.4 gallons

http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=volume+of+short+ton+of+gold

Liter of gold = 19.3 kg = 42 lb. 9 oz.

Submitted by mimi on Tue, 09/01/2015 - 9:26am

hmm, the volume of a US milk carton is one litre or

1000 square centimeters. One cubic centimeter of gold equals 19.28 grams in gold mass. So you get 19280.00 grams of gold in a milk carton, which is 19.28 kg of gold ... and you are right, lotlizard. Just had to check, lotlizard. I need to test my brain. Still working ok, right?

Sigh. I think it would be nice to have a milk carton full of gold ... but you can't drink it, so ... forgettaboutit.

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Submitted by mimi on Tue, 09/01/2015 - 9:44am

Pluto, I really like to be your homie and even

will read again your "America's Mein Kampf" one day (though the title alone gives me the willies and goosebumps and my stomach just doesn't want to read anything called "Mein Kampf"). And I like all your analysis and predictions. It's fascinating and mind boggling and I don't read something like it easily somewhere else. So, dear homie Pluto, I welcome you with open arms and with many thanks, that you stick with us out here and stick your words into our minds.

But I would never trust my "homies". And never trust that people are not just too snoopy and curious to follow us here and read what we post. They do and will.

At least JtC and Joe are gracious enough to allow us to erase our comment content, if we wanted to, a big thumbs up from my side for that. My main issue with the other site. The fact that I know I could erase it, makes me to never feel the need to do so. Can you say women are not logically thinking? At least I don't. Oh well, what else is new.

You are fascinated with "Occupied Germany"? O lord, I am pissed off with them. Germany is going to Grexit the EU? I guess the EU won't be there anymore and there is nothing to grexit from, if that would be a possibility in foreseeable future.

Ack, who cares, I am totally outta politics at this point in time. Everything is just disgusting.

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