Theo Spark

Wednesday, 19 June 2013

The nearly trillion-dollar food stamp and farm bill is ripe for reform. Heritage's Daren Bakst explains why.

Slo Mo Replay of O's Latest Diplomatic Meltdown......................via Dan Friedman

Just in via Jared Silverman, Esq. - The past 24 hours has provided yet another example of Obama's brilliance in foreign affairs. He is really winning hearts, minds and allies for America. Here is the timeline of news stories relating to Afghanistan.

US, Taliban to start talks on ending Afghan war - AP, June 18, 2013

Afghanistan: Taliban 'Admit' US Troop Attack - Sky News, June 19, 2013

Karzai, angry about Taliban's Qatar office, suspends peace, security talks - CNN, June 19, 2013

Foreign Policy's AfPak Channel summed it up this way:

President Karzai suspends BSA talks as U.S. delegation heads to Taliban office

NRA LIFE OF DUTY | PATRIOT PROFILES: OUTLAW PLATOON FULL FEATURE

NRA LIFE OF DUTY | PATRIOT PROFILES

Barack Obama: Serial killer released after promising he will never do it again!...from TPC

Barack Obama and his national security policy concerning the Syria civil war, Iranian nukes, North Korea and so-on is nothing but a game of rhetorical bluffing at a time when the world has become painfully aware that his rhetoric has nothing behind it!

This is a very dangerous game for the United States!

At The Political Commentator here.

H/T Jeff

Music of the Merlins.................

An extraordinary assembly of Merlin-powered warbirds took to the skies over Hamilton, Ontario on Father's Day weekend, providing sights and sounds not experienced in decades. The star of the show was Jerry Yagen's recently rebuilt de Havilland Mosquito (the only one of its type flying), and it flew in formation with the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum's Lancaster, alongside two Spitfires and two Hurricanes. AVweb's Russ Niles spoke with Mosquito pilot Mike Spalding of the Military Aviation Museum.

Bonus Totty................

According to on Republican US Rep: all males are wankers & boy do we start early in life.

Normally when wanking comes up in regards to politicians it is part of some insult. And those of us grew up male learned fairly early on in life that talking about masturbation in mixed company was rather impolite. Even more so in a professional arena of course. Now it seems pro-life Republicans have decided that masturbation is a useful tool in the debate about abortion. Or rather one such pro-life Republican has toss this off as an idea. To be fair he was at least slightly subtle about the suggestion but it was there according to The Raw Story. ““They stroke their face. If they’re a male baby, they may have their hand between their legs.”” Or as The Atlantic put it in an article about the Representative’s point on the matter. “He knows this because he says he's seen male fetuses begin masturbating in the womb around 15 weeks into a pregnancy.” Needless to say the reaction to this bit of spew has been mixed. It has ranged between shock and sheer laughing hysteria. Yet again actual politicians are making it very hard for satirists to make a living. And, of course, this being the internet age this burst of insanity has gone viral among the political classes online. And some of thought the only discussion of masturbation in the House of Representatives would be limited to concerns about lyrics. Songs with titles like I Touch Myself and “Darling Nicky” were tossed about in the past to show the depravity of modern pop. Sadly they never mentioned Turning Japanese, a song that caused many a snicker back in the more repressed 80s. Someone needs to tell the remaining Monty Python members they need to redo the lyrics of the theme song of The Life of Brian as they got the bit about when this sort of thing starts to happen wrong. Still you have to give the man credit. It was an innovative way to push the pro-life cause. I am not sure that ladies concerned with abortion will use this line of reasoning in their rhetoric.

Pic Dump...............

Getting His Ire Up

News..................

Lendal Tower where curiosity killed the cat

'Bout those senior leaders...

BLACKFIVE: I Guess If General Dempsey Says So...

Bill Ayers: Let's face it, Obama should be on trial for war crimes

Captive in Kuwait: Contract dispute leaves 100 Americans stranded on US Army bases

The Loss of Trust - Thomas Sowell

Rush Limbaugh: Crony Capitalism, Big Money Behind GOP Amnesty Push

Swedish intelligence concerned about Syrian jihadists

BLACKFIVE: Juno, and the Juno Beach Centre

Reminder: Oil & gas have been a saving a grace of the Obama "recovery"

BLACKFIVE: Defense Budget - Feathering fighter bird nests?

Organizing for Action gathers a whopping three people for gun-control rally in California

Another Car We Can’t Buy

The G-8 Goes Obama Casual

UN Special Envoy Confirms Dire Situation In Libya

Posh Ottawa neighbourhood deporting squirrels across border into Quebec

Berlin Speech: Obama to Make Plea for Nuclear Disarmament

Reporter who brought down Stanley McChrystal dies in car crash

Afghanistan analysis: talks promise to be complex, long and messy

EagleSpeak: The "Evolving" Littoral Combat Ship Saga

ZoNATION: NSA Scandal: Time to Worry about Fourth Amendment Rights?

Zo does not want to defend NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. In fact, he thinks he is a commie. Still, Zo wonders how much privacy we still have, and whether the Fourth Amendment is in serious jeopardy under President Obama.

Wednesday Wenches................

Wow! Kelly Brook Sunbathing in Cancun

She looks great.

See, "Phenomenal New Kelly Brook Sunbathing Pics From Cancun."

Charles Saatchi Accepts "Assault Caution" After Being Photographed Throat-Grabbing His Beautiful Wife Nigella Lawson

That dude needs to be throttled!

Nigella Lawson photo BM1NZG4CEAAAmh9_zps9bbeb00c.jpg

The background is here, "Nigella Lawson Attacked by Husband Charles Saatchi at Scott's Restaurant in Mayfair."

And now here's the latest, "Charles Saatchi Admits to Throat-Choking Assault of Wife Nigella Lawson."

This whole ordeal is just awful.

I can't understand how Ms. Nigella can stay with a beast of a man like that. She's a wonderful woman.

And the idiot BNP MP Nick Griffin thought it'd be hilarious to joke about grabbing Ms. Nigella's rack rather than her throat. Sick.

And Saatchi apparently has not apologized.

I don't know. I think guys need to man up and take responsibility when they act like bleedin' buffoons. Women are to be cherished and cared for. You never, ever abuse them. It's just not okay. I have two sisters. And I'm married. You never harm women. Ever.

I'll have updates if more information becomes available.

Tuesday, 18 June 2013

Happy Waterloo Day!.................From Roger

Only two more years to the Bicentenary!

We need another Wellington, because look what we have now, a Heir-to-Blair, not even a Pitt-the-Younger/Middle-Aged (Pitt the Foetus would do better, apologies to Blackadder III).

BTW, 2015 will be the 600th anniversary of another little fracas, Agincourt, where an outnumbered force of English knights and Welsh archers/longbowmen continued the tradition of sorting out numerically superior Frenchmen.

Oh SHIBOR!....................from Rico

Remember 2007-2008 when the LIBOR was an early warning sign of the inter-bank liquidity crunch (aka the financial crisi)?

Take a look at its Chinese cousin, the SHIBOR.

Bedtime Totty................

Late News.................

What do junior leaders want?

'The eyes of the world are on Gettysburg'

CNN polls shows 10-point jump in belief WH ordered IRS targeting of conservatives

Hagel Plan Allows Women Into Navy SEALs

Obama WANTS you to know Big Government is Watching You

Lavrov: Iran agrees to halt 20-percent uranium enrichment. West must lift sanctions

Michelle Has Lunch with Bozo!

Attkisson: “I think I Know” Who Hacked my Computer

Ya'alon: Iran may exploit Rohani win to advance nuclear program

Britain’s freezing, rainy weather is now so awful that U.K. meteorologists are meeting to figure it out

Russia blocks mention of Assad's fate in G8 Syria declaration

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s African Safari

India’s Shale Gas Boom: Dream or Reality?

Samoa Air introduces 'XL class' for larger passengers

Some "Must Not's" for you....................from Rico

Here we are, Day one of the monthly FOMC reading of the economic entrails, and everyone from the 'Plunge Protection Team' to the Money Honeys of FTV are all atwitter trying to 'read' what the FED will 'read' on their Day 2 announcement.

- Meh!

In that spirit,here are some "Must Nots" to keep in mind:

- Obviously, on the paper craps table otherwise known as the COMEX, their mantra continues to be "Must. Not. Embarass. the. Fed." Nothing like an algo-driven faux selling event to keep the Chairman's spirits up!

- Another one is "Must. Save. the. Banks." Yes, that's right. We must-must-must save the Banks from themselves. Keep dumping your Benny Bucks into the Banks to become unsecured creditors of those banks (recent legislation has changed 'depositors' into 'unsecured creditors' in line behind the secured bond holders) who will be required to "bail-in" those banks soon. This is why the smart money is 'bailing-out' of their positions in the banks, they KNOW suckers with money-in-the-bank get to 'lose' 50-80-pick a % of their deposits (hahahahaha, forgive me...I still remember the Cypriot dry run of this deal) when the 'bail-in' happens [read: when the customers get to cover the bank's losses; for Muppets the key word is WHEN and not IF.]

Late Pic Dump................

Elbert Guillory: "Why I Am a Republican"

Louisiana Senator Elbert Guillory (R-Opelousas) explains why he recently switched from the Democrat Party to the Republican Party. He discusses the history of the Republican Party, founded as an Abolitionist Movement in 1854. Guillory talks about how the welfare state is only a mechanism for politicians to control the black community.

H/T Glenwood

'Super Accountant' - Bankrupting America

It's a bird! It's a plane! ... No ... Wait ... It's an accountant? Sometimes, even superheros need to save money

Behind the magic act...............from Rico

Let's consider what is going on behind the Fed's monthly FOMC magic act. It's a staged 'show' meant to entertain, amuse, and distract the audience.

Big picture is 'physical' vs. 'paper' bullion. One of these has been weighed and found wanting.

- The SGE (Shanghai Gold Exchange) actually walks-the-walk re: physical bullion delivery. The COMEX, well...not so much. It offers 'paper settling' instead.

Let's next drill-down into the COMEX paper shell game. We have a perfect trifecta of "the next MF Global in waiting" happening right now.

- The total COMEX dealer inventory of Gold is now 44.32 tons, yet NONE of the 9.5 tons from May delivery notices or the 30 tons from June have been removed from inventory yet.

- JPM's dealer inventory of Gold (currently 413K oz) has been spoken for...well, MORE than spoken for, 81K oz more right now. Ooopsie! Time for Jamie or Blythe to make an urgent call to Ben, perhaps?

- Effectively, the three major bullion banks have only 30.08 tons of Gold left in their vaults...let's forget hypothecated and/or rehypothecated inventory for a moment (for non-Bankers, that is inventory that has been sold or encumbered many times over...yes, thin air sold and resold for fun and profit).