Hello everybody! Aloooooha! Guten Morgen bzw. Guten Tag (4:30 pm in Central Europe)

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(Trying to use real emoji produces what looksl like a database error. Red box with debugging info in red type; then: "The website got an unexpected error. Try again later.")

Russian serial killer is rabidly rubbing his micropenis and screeching gleefully about his MIC.

Russian President Vladi­mir Putin, in a television meeting with Shoigu, said the missiles were fired from "the water of the Caspian Sea from 1,500 kilometers away."

Putin added that the strikes "destroyed all the planned targets," which he attributed to "the good preparation and the enterprises of the military-industrial complex and the good training of the personnel."

Before drones, these naval back-shootings were the most cowardly way serial killers slaughtered human beings. Just sit on a ship, push a button, then lean back and drink some coffee, while missiles speed to kill people 900 miles away.

Now, of course, with drones, the cowardly serial killers can back-shoot from 9000 miles away.

From their cockpit at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada, the pilot and co-pilot are flying a pilotless Predator on a bombing mission over Afghanistan, 8,000 miles away. A forward air controller in another unmanned drone spots the target and the Predator bomber takes off under local control from Kandahar in Afghanistan. Minutes later, control of the bomber is handed over to satellite control in the cockpit at Creech.

Two hours later, the crew sees on the cockpit screen two suburban vehicles stop in front of the targeted mud-baked house. Half a dozen bearded men hurry into the dwelling that intelligence had spotted as a Taliban command post. Seconds later, the bombardier in Nevada squeezed the trigger and a 500-pound bomb flattened the Taliban dwelling with a direct hit.

Watching the action on identical screens are CIA operators at Langley, Va., who can call in last-minute course corrections.

Their eight-hour mission over, pilot and co-pilot climb into their vehicles and drive home. Thirty minutes later, they are playing with their children.

Let it bleed, Vladimir Obama. Dirty, cowardly fuck. Bleed all over the world.

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bnd_7H0Trk8]

US government not talking

Edward Snowden says he's offered "many times" to go to prison in the United States as part of a deal to return from exile in Russia but is still waiting for an answer from the American government.

The former National Security Agency contractor who leaked documents about top secret mass surveillance programs told the BBC in an interview he would be willing to reach a plea bargain with U.S. authorities.

"I've volunteered to go to prison with the government many times. What I won't do is I won't serve as a deterrent to people trying to do the right thing in difficult situations," Snowden said in the interview in Moscow, where he took refuge two years ago after his revelations about the scale of the NSA's snooping activities sent shock waves around the globe.

"So far, they've said they won't torture me, which is a start, I think, but we haven't gotten much further than that," he said.

Asked whether he and his lawyers were actively discussing a deal with the government, Snowden replied, "We're still waiting for them to call us back."

I wouldn't trust the 'no torture' pledge.

[video:

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We desperately can't afford any more Wall Street Democrats.

By no means is this a sensational story, but it is a very heartening one.

[Olive, Yonkers Animal Shelter]

Here's a little fellow who's known nothing but 'kennel life' since she was a young pup, already so 'senior' that her eyes show marked signs of old-age sclerosis.

Yet, finally, someone recognized how truly special and deserving she is--giving her a 'forever home.' Something to celebrate, even if it's not spectacular.

Shelter Staff In Tears As Dog Heads To New Home — After Waiting 11 Years
By Caitlin Jill Anders, 30 September 2015

Olive was only a puppy when she came to the shelter, and no one could have known exactly how long her stay would be. . . .

Olive's journey to her new forever family began with a Facebook page. . . . She had seen Olive's story being shared and thought about her for a while before making her decision, and as the process of adopting Olive progressed, she posted updates on the page.

[Olive, Yonkers Animal Shelter]

The Yonkers Animal Shelter posted a tribute to Olive on its Facebook page, saying,

"As you can imagine it is a bitter sweet day at the shelter. While we are beyond thrilled for her, we will selfishly miss that sweet face that has been part of our lives for so long. Many tears have been shed here today, but for a change, they are happy tears."

(Punctuation added.)

[Olive, Yonkers Animal Shelter]

Since arriving in her new home, . . . She's still adjusting to her new life, but every moment that Olive is there, she seems more and more comfortable.

It's as if she knows that, after way too long, she's finally where she belongs.

Happy New Beginnings, Olive!

Hey, enjoyed this OT, Nancy! Quite impressed by Steve Martin's banjo picking--never knew anything about that. I'm sure that it must be fun to have him be a part of your NC community.

Hope to drop back for a 'positive' news story, later.

Below, I'll repost the FT excerpt about the Administration's 'tax reform' policy. It is pretty much self-explanatory, and depressing, IMO. Also, here's a link to the EB comment.

According to participants in closed-door meetings last week between Mr Obama and congressional Republicans, the president said he was committed to a revamp of US corporate taxes that would lower the top rate from its current level of 35 per cent, which is among the highest in the developed world.

Crucially, Mr Obama reassured Republicans that he was looking to make the effort “revenue neutral” – meaning it would be fully paid for by curbing or scrapping tax breaks, but it would not seek to hit corporations with additional revenues for deficit reduction, which the liberal wing of the Democratic party would like to see.

I share the concern of many in the Dem Party that employers--by refusing to pay a "living wage"--are passing along the costs of many social welfare programs to the taxpayer. Even unions back this position, especially when advocating for a $15 hour minimum wage.

Some of the corporatist Dem proposals are actually very conservative. For years, because I never stopped to really think about it, I thought the EITC was a great "liberal" program.

That is, until I heard a Mercatus Center Fellow--MC is a Koch-sponsored libertarian think tank at George Mason University--extol its virtues on a NPR program, and call for its expansion. Why? Because it is/has been often used in place of raising the minium wage, and it passes onto the greater society (taxpayer) the responsibility for the support of millions of American workers.

IOW, it is a financial mechanism that greatly favors the wealthy, and corporations, by passing on their rightful responsibility to their employees (i.e., to pay a living wage) to the taxpayer--pure and simple.

Now, I would never want to see this program dismantled--until we are able to push through a "Living Wage" law. That goes without saying--there needs, and has to be, something as a stop gap measure. I have no problem with that.

But, according to the Mercatus Fellow--the EITC is one of the primary mechanisms which the PtB have employed to keep down the federal minimum wage. (Which, BTW, he was very much in favor of, since he was a conservative/libertarian.)

Anyhoo, IMHO, we cannot continue to allow our lawmakers [on both sides of the isle] to go down the path of continually proposing legislation that spares business, at the cost of the so-called ordinary American taxpayer.

Again, this transfer of responsibility is happening at the same time that they are relentlessly driving down their own marginal tax rates.

And that's exactly what we're getting ready to witness, when Congress finally pushes though its long-sought-after 'tax reform' package.

*Sigh*

Have a good one, Folks!

Mollie

"Integrity and courage are powerful weapons. We have to learn how to use them. We have to stand up for what we believe in. And we have to accept the risks and even the ridicule that comes with this stance. We will not prevail any other way."

Chris Hedges, Journalist/Author/Activist, Truthdig, 9/20/2015