We're all in the midst of the longest bank robbery in history - George Ure
Saw this bit of news on George Ure's Urban Survival this morning:
From the NBC San Diego link:
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/around-town/shopping/No-Youre-Reading-That-Right-64173667.html?ref=patrick.net
A bit about me: Since the late 1990's when I first got my Yahoo email account, I have continued to keep Yahoo as my Home page when getting upon the Internet ... for the convenience to my email. I use FireFox rather than Internet Explorer and usually have at least 6-8 opened favicon tabs that I keep open all the time in order to refresh for the newest incoming info from various science websites and news sites. I would hate to count the number of link folders I have created for easy access from my browser ... folders from Local News, National News, Global News, Asian News, Africa News ... all containing a multiplicity of links within those folders.
Add in the fact that I have over 30 news topic alerts set up on Google News for email box ... I can awaken in the morning to have easily over 100 emails containing news links sitting in my Inbox.
For example, if a Google News story contains the words TEA PARTY (in reference to those Americans unhappy with government) a email will be generated by Google News and sent to my Inbox with a short summary an link to such news article(s). One email can contain multiple news stories on that topic. For example I have copied and pasted below the contents of one such Google News Alerts for the topic of TEA PARTY:
Google Blogs Alert for: Tea Party
| ';Tea party' protestors to attend film screening Sunday ... By Patrick.Wilson By Daniel Libit Irish filmmaker Phelim McAleer couldn't get Hollywood interested in his conservative answer to Al Gore's “Inconvenient Truth,” so he's trying to promote it a different way — by. News - http://hamptonroads.com/category/pilotonline.com/news |
| Marathon Pundit: Tea Party time--downtown Chicago By John Ruberry I'm going to get a cup of coffee, something to eat, and then head to downtown Chicago for another Tea Party: Can You Hear Us Now...? We Are Silent NO More!! I'll add a few words, but the featured speaker will be Kevin Jackson, ... Marathon Pundit - http://marathonpundit.blogspot.com/ |
| More Turmoil in TEA Party Movement: Patriots v. Mark Williams ... By kevintracy Although the TEA Party movement has successfully delayed and watered down parts of Obama's socialist health care reform plan, there has been an alarming amount of infighting among organizers of the various different factions within the ... Kevin Tracy - http://www.ktracy.com/ |
| Left Coast Rebel: Obama Greeted by Tea Party in San Francisco By Left Coast Rebel Obama Greeted by Tea Party in San Francisco. by the Left Coast Rebel Via Memeorandum. This one is interesting. Yesterday night the Obamanation held a fundraiser at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco. According to the blogger-source ... Left Coast Rebel - http://www.leftcoastrebel.com/ |
TEA PARTY is a news area I have rarely seen covered in the BigCorporateGovernmentMedia but rather only from local newspapers and blogs.
When I first set up that email news alert, I would be lucky to get only one alert a day every couple days - now they appear all the time in my Inbox.
The Drudge Report has keep up the same headlines about Balloon Boy all day Friday and the latest this Saturday morning:Balloon boy family plans 'big announcement'...
Have to chuckle - Balloon boy gets more American attention than our Hollywood celebrities.
Nero fiddled while Rome burned ... distractions to what is taking place that could impact oneself comes in all forms and shapes ... like a UFO shaped balloon.
Devote attention to watching or listening for clues as to what is going to happen
Should Cedar Rapids Gamble on a Casino?
KCRG - 13 hours agoCEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA - In the wake of a world-wide financial crisis, statewide budget cuts and city money problems, one political leader has proposed an idea. Cedar Rapids city council member Justin Shields wants to bring a casino into the community.
This morning I have neither the interest or the energy to compile how most of the employed Americans are being paid via government paychecks, either local, county, state or federal. Many statistics out there do not even ADD INTO this huge number - those receiving checks due to some governmental PROGRAM or CONTRACT!
Read a wee bit of news coming out of Las Vegas as to their economic down turn in their own casino industry. For example, a recent from the Wall Street Journal:
EARNINGS PREVIEW: US Casinos Battling Weak Demand, High Debt
And, the following is a picture of one of Las Vegas' tent cities:Wall Street Journal - Oct 14, 2009Key Issues: MGM Mirage recently cut prices by 30% on condos at its $8.5 billion Las Vegas hotel and casino complex called City Center, which is slated to ...
Given my CASINO news alerts, I am very much aware of where the big gambling money is going and it is going to ASIA - not Nevada:
Wynn Macau Gray Mkt Trade Ends At HK$10.3 Vs $10.08 IPO Price
Wall Street JournalMacau is the world's largest gaming market by gross gaming revenues, and the only location in China to offer legalized casino gaming. ...
US supports Russia's bid to join WTO, says Clinton
Xinhua - Oct 14, 2009MOSCOW, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) -- The United States is supportive of Russia's bid to join the World Trade Organization (WTO), visiting US Secretary of State ...
Americans have been swallowed into the CASINO of Wall Street:
Will We Curb Wall Street's Casino?
Huffington Post (blog) - Oct 14, 2009On Wednesday, the House Financial Services Committee will begin marking up the first legislation to try to curb Wall Street's casino. ...
BUSINESS IN BRIEF: Revenues for casino slot machines drop again in Connecticut
The Patriot Ledger
The operators of the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods casinos in Connecticut continue to report declining slot machine revenues. Foxwoods reported slot revenue of ...
GAMBLING TOPS 5 OF THE TOP 10 SEARCH TERMS FOR FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2009
Masses of fellow Americans are hurting really badly- Abraham Lincoln, 1809-1865, 16th President of the United States
Google Search Trends: Oct 16, 2009
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Google Trends provides insights into broad search patterns. Please keep in mind that several approximations are used when computing these results.
http://www.gamblersanonymous.org/Gamblers Anonymous offers the following questions to anyone who may have a gambling problem. These questions are provided to help the individual decide if he or she is a compulsive gambler and wants to stop gambling.
- Did you ever lose time from work or school due to gambling?
- Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy?
- Did gambling affect your reputation?
- Have you ever felt remorse after gambling?
- Did you ever gamble to get money with which to pay debts or otherwise solve financial difficulties?
- Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency?
- After losing did you feel you must return as soon as possible and win back your losses?
- After a win did you have a strong urge to return and win more?
- Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone?
- Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling?
- Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling?
- Were you reluctant to use "gambling money" for normal expenditures?
- Did gambling make you careless of the welfare of yourself or your family?
- Did you ever gamble longer than you had planned?
- Have you ever gambled to escape worry, trouble, boredom or loneliness?
- Have you ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal act to finance gambling?
- Did gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping?
- Do arguments, disappointments or frustrations create within you an urge to gamble?
- Did you ever have an urge to celebrate any good fortune by a few hours of gambling?
- Have you ever considered self destruction or suicide as a result of your gambling?
Gulf Monetary Union
News that will affect your budget and your gas tanks
GULF COOPERATIVE COUNCIL (GCC)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperation_Council_for_the_Arab_States_of_the_Gulf
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2009/10/17/afx7012859.html
10.17.09, 09:10 AM EDT
MUSCAT, Oct 17 (Reuters) - Gulf states who have yet to ratify an agreement on a single currency for the region are being called upon to do so by the end of this year, an Oman finance ministry official said on Saturday.
Only four of the Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) six member states are taking part in monetary union after the United Arab Emirates opted out in May, three years after Oman did the same.
The GCC countries have asked those who have not ratified the single currency to do so by the end of the year,' Darwish Ismail Al-Balushi, secretary general in the Oman finance ministry, told Reuters.
Ratification by the four remaining countries is needed for the project to go ahead, but so far only Saudi Arabia has done so. Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait have not yet ratified, leaving question marks over the future of the project.
GULF COOPERATIVE COUNCIL (GCC) eyes joint development bankhttp://www.arabnews.com/?page=6§ion=0&article=127458&d=17&m=10&y=2009
MUSCAT: Finance ministers of the world’s largest oil exporting region will discuss a proposal for a regional development bank similar to Europe’s, an executive of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) said on Friday.
Finance ministers and central bank governors from six Gulf nations which form the GCC are meeting in Muscat to set the agenda for the rulers’ summit in Kuwait next month. “They will discuss the Qatar vision of a mechanism for the proposal for an investment and development bank like you have in the EU,” GCC Secretary General Abdulrahman Al-Attiyah told reporters.
The bank would provide funding for regional projects and would also make donations outside of the GCC, Al-Attiyah said.
“Before, the countries did it individually, now they will do it together,” he said.
Nothing had yet been decided as to the capital of the proposed bank, Al-Attiyah said, although ministers would look into this on Saturday.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) was established in 1991 to help former Communist and Soviet countries move toward market economies, and lends to commercial entities. The bank is controlled by over 60 shareholders including European Union members, the United States and Japan.
The European Investment Bank is the European Union’s long-term lending institution.
Al-Attiyah also said he was confident the four Gulf countries would have a monetary council — a step toward a single currency — in place by next January.
When asked if the monetary council would be in place by Jan. 1, 2010, Al-Attiyah said: “Of course.”
The project has been hampered by the United Arab Emirates’ decision in May to opt out from the common currency, three years after a similar move by Oman. A series of political disagreements have held up talks for almost a decade.
Ratification by the four remaining countries is needed for the project to go ahead, but so far only Saudi Arabia has done so. Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait have not yet ratified, leaving question marks over the future of the project.
“Ratification is on the way,” he said, adding he expected Qatar to ratify next week.
The GCC consists of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar and Bahrain.
Al-Attiyah also said GCC ministers are working to accelerate the region’s economic integration.
“(Ministers) will be working on the acceleration of economic integration of the GCC countries... weighing up the obstacles,” he said.
He added issues covered would include a customs and monetary union, a common market, and a joint railway project.
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/NewsDetails.aspx?storyid=262008
Gulf monetary union on track
Posted on » Saturday, October 17, 2009MUSCAT: The top GCC official yesterday said he was confident the four Gulf countries would have a monetary council - a step towards a single currency - in place by January.
Finance ministers and central bank governors from six GCC nations are meeting here to set the agenda for the rulers' summit in Kuwait next month.
When asked if the monetary council would be in place by January 1, GCC secretary-general Abdulrahman Al Attiyah said: "Of course."
The project has been hampered by the UAE decision in May to opt out from the common currency, three years after a similar move by Oman.
Ratification by the four remaining countries is needed for the project to go ahead, but so far only Saudi Arabia has done so.
"Ratification is on the way," he said, adding he expected Qatar to ratify next week.
Al Attiyah also said GCC ministers are working to accelerate the region's economic integration.
He added issues covered would include a customs and monetary union, a common market, and a joint railway project.
The finance ministers will also discuss a proposal for a regional development bank similar to Europe's.
"They will discuss the Qatar vision of a mechanism for the proposal for an investment and development bank like you have in the EU," Al Attiyah said. The bank would provide funding for regional projects and would also make donations outside of the GCC, Al Attiyah said.
MORE INCOMING COULD HAVE COME OUT OF TEXAS
Are you missing your missile launcher?
Man finds missile launcher in Comal County, TexasJarrette Schule was cutting down trees on his rural property Tuesday in Comal County when he noticed a green metallic tube on the muddy ground.“I had never seen it before,” said Schule, a 34-year-old Web developer. “I looked at it, and it kind of looked like a missile launcher.”
Schule took a closer look. It was a long, forest-green metal tube. A decal on it read: “Guided Missile and Launcher, Surface Attack.”
The discovery was the start of a surreal journey for Schule. Somehow, an unarmed anti-tank weapon — or a very good fake — wound up on his land at Beck Road and Kirk Lane in the Hill Country, miles away from a military installation.
The launcher was deep in the wooded property far from the road, in an area he was familiar with.
“I don’t know if it fell out of something or if somebody just dumped it,” Schule said. “There’s some crazy whitetail hunters around here. Maybe they’re going overboard?”
Schule’s property in Comal County is vacant, and he didn’t want to leave a missile launcher unattended. So he loaded it in his truck and took it to his house in the North Side neighborhood of the Ridge at Lookout Canyon.
Touching and moving the launcher was a mistake, even if it was unarmed, a spokesman for Fort Sam Houston said. Old military ordnance can be dangerous.
But Schule spent Tuesday afternoon calling the FBI, Homeland Security, the Sheriff’s Department — every agency he could think of. He was stuck in a bureaucratic limbo.
“Everyone was handing it off to everybody else,” Schule said.
He was surprised at the amount of work it took to get the military to pick up its lost missile launcher.
Schule initially was nervous when he found the weapon. But as the hours passed, he did what most guys would do — marvel at the mind-blowing awesomeness of finding a missile launcher. He posted photos on Facebook and called his buddies, saying: “Guess what I found?”
Schule called the military police at Fort Sam. But their jurisdiction doesn’t extend off the post. Schule’s information was passed along to an Army criminal investigator, who visited Schule on Wednesday morning — about 19 hours after he started making phone calls.
The special agent walked into the house and saw the launcher sitting on the dining room table.
“She said this is the first time she ever encountered anything like this,” Schule said. “I got the impression it was kind of a big deal. Doesn’t happen every day, I guess.”
The decal on the launcher has a 13-digit “National Stock Number,” which is used to identify military equipment. The stock number is a match for launchers that fire Dragon surface-to-surface missiles, according to a database maintained by the U.S. Defense Logistics Information Service.
The launcher was built in December 1996. The Dragons, first manufactured in the 1960s, last were used in combat in 1991’s Operation Desert Storm. They were replaced by the Javelin missile system and finally discontinued in 2006.
Military officials were unable to say Wednesday who last had the launcher and when it was lost. The launcher has a serial number that can be used to track the chain of custody. That will be part of the military’s investigation, said Phil Reidinger, spokesman for Fort Sam.
At Schule’s house, he and the Army investigator had to wait for about three more hours for an ordnance disposal team from Lackland AFB to confiscate the weapon.
The team arrived at about 1 p.m. Wednesday and retrieved the device, ending a crazy experience for Schule.
“I thought just driving down the road, someone would just know that I had a missile launcher in my truck,” Schule said, laughing. “You think that way about the government.
But really, you have to make an effort for them to come get their missile launcher.”
CANADIAN INCOMING FROM SPACE
4.6 billion-year-old meteorite hits Canadian town
The rocks from this meteorite smashed the windowshield of a truck in Grimsby near Niagara Falls on the night of Sep 25.
Ontario, Canada
Vandalism proves to be meteorite damage
Posted By MATTHEW VAN DONGEN, SUN MEDIA
Posted 2 hours ago
The police report was half right.
When Yvonne Garchinski complained a stone-throwing vandal had smashed the windshield of her Nissan Pathfinder three weeks ago, the responding police officer wrote in his notes that the offending rock "was not from the property."
Try not from the planet.
It turns out the Grimsby woman's suspected vandal was actually an alien invader: 46 grams of speeding space rock no bigger than a golf ball that slammed into the family SUV.
Now Yvonne and son Tony are the surprised owners of a new windshield -- and five tiny, black and silver fragments of shattered meteorite.
"I thought it was vandalism for sure," Tony told a phalanx of reporters crowded onto the driveway of his Leawood Dr. home yesterday. "Who thinks a meteorite is going to crash-land on your car?"
Neither mother nor son noticed the fiery meteor that streaked across southern Ontario's skies Sept. 25 at a speed of 75,000 km/h.
Tony was watching a movie that night and didn't hear the dramatic landing that crushed the passenger side of the Pathfinder's windshield and dented the nearby garage door.
The irritated family called police the next day, gathered up the "strange-looking" rock fragments as evidence and paid $220 to replace their windshield.
Meanwhile, the stargazing scientific community was buzzing over spectacular footage of the blinding meteor, recorded by cameras operated by the University Western Ontario's physics and astronomy department.
But as astro-enthusiasts searched the fields of Grimsby, five tiny pieces of meteorite "just sat on a table on our porch for days and days," Tony said.
After seeing the meteor footage on television, Yvonne called UWO astrophysicist Phil McCausland.
"They're probably the oldest rocks that you or I or just about anyone else will ever hold," said a grinning McCausland, carefully gripping black-coated space pebble in a gloved hand. "We're talking 4.6 billion years old."
The partially melted space pebbles, called "ordinary chondrites," are incredibly valuable to the scientific community.
Chondrites are an important type of meteorite, said experts, because they represent a window into the earliest ingredients of the solar system. "This is like we sent a spacecraft out to a specific location to bring back a sample, only in this case the sample came to us," said associate professor Peter Brown, an expert in the study of meteors at UWO.
The meteor is particularly rare because scientists have now tracked it from the solar system all the way to the ground, McCausland added.
"Only about a dozen meteor falls in history have that kind of record."
SINKHOLE NEWS
Septic tank sinkhole
Emergency crews rescue fallen horse and rider in Arizona sinkhole
Trail riding in times of drought can be treacherous, as one Arizona equestrian discovered on Thursday, October 15th.
A Pinal County man and his dark bay mare fell through the ground, apparently landing in a ten-foot sinkhole a few miles north of Florence, Arizona.
The hole was later determined to have resulted from a caved-in septic system, probably caused by a sinking water table in the Pinal County area.
The Arizona rider, who apparently landed on top of his horse in the sinkhole, was able to climb out of the pit, although he suffered a few injuries. The horse had fallen into the pit, hind end first, and become stuck.
Fire and rescue crews used backhoes (provided by Arizona Pipeline and Mesa Gas) to dig a large trench to remove the horse from the sink hole.
Have a very good Saturday ....
