His Mind Is Not for Rent, To Any God or Government...

'Stand closer to the rhino' results in grave wound

*Kenny shakes head in disbelief*

"When do you not listen to the African wildlife expert? When he tells you to stand closer to the rhino."

Death to America But, Before you Die, Will You Please Leave Me Some of that Wonderful American Money in Your Will?

"Regardless of its official statements on trade, euros and dollars are hoarded by Iranian consumers in the black market."

from Mish

"On Wednesday, the Tehran bazaar closed in turmoil and police used teargas and batons on demonstrators protesting the currency crisis."

"Steve Hanke, Professor of Applied Economics at Johns Hopkins University, has also been following the Iranian currency crisis. He pinged me with these thoughts yesterday.

Hello Mish

For months, I have been following the collapse of the Iranian rial, tracking black-market exchange-rate data from foreign-exchange bazaars in Tehran. Using the most recent data, I now estimate that Iran is experiencing a monthly inflation rate of nearly 70%, indicating that hyperinflation has struck in Iran.

Cordially,
Steve"

70%!!!!  PER MONTH!!!!!!  SHIT!!!!!!!

not related, just like the song and band, been in my head

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids' Paychecks

"Many Americans received their first paycheck of 2013 today. That sound you hear is the collective “What the . .. “ they have emitted upon looking at their pay stub."

Hope and change....hope and change....

Join the Petition: Ban the Jaw Bones of Asses

Judges 15:15
"And he found a new jawbone of an ass, and put forth his hand, and took it, and slew a thousand men therewith."

I don't know how Cain killed his brother Abel in a jealous rage but I'm guessing he had a sharp stick, a "caveman AR 15" (assault rock) or something of the sort....

From Huffington Post
"The group was Jihad. All Hamid knew is that they had answers to the religious questions no one else had ever been able to answer for him.
"And I joined," says Hamid. "Within six months Jihad had changed a very innocent child who wanted to play soccer and listen to music into someone who was ready to kill anyone."
According to Hamid, the brainwashing begins immediately and within the religious context of the prayer service. "

We are quick to call others brainwashed by their cultures into committing senseless murder but we don't take a hard look at our own culture to see how it might be brainwashing our own youth into committing senseless murder... instead we look at the weaponry used and figure we can make a difference there.  Good luck with that.

Marty McFly - Payroll Manager and Human Resources

Did your paycheck just do a "back to the future" on you?

Tweet from some cute little blondie named Amy Brachmann...

"Did new taxes go info effect today? Something I don't understand about the fiscal cliff? I got a raise, and yet my paycheck got smaller"

prices higher, paychecks smaller, real estate assets worth less.... If this continues, I'm going to start wearing my Mork and Mindy Robin Williams goose down vest...

Platinum Pennies From Heaven...or the Treasury Secretary's Colon

To summarize the concept, the Treasury creates one special platinum coin, with a stated face value of $500 billion or so.

They trot down to the Fed and deposit the special coin(s), redeeming that amount of US notes and voila. It is a overt monetization, but the platinum coin adds a novel touch, and a bit of shiny misdirection.

Jesse explains here....

Now it's your old Uncle Kenny's turn... it is like this kids - let's say that you have a serious shortfall in your paycheck and really, really need some extra cash - like yesterday - to cover bills that are coming up SOON.  Now, your old Uncle Kenny who moonlights as a magician doing kid's birthday parties and Bar/Bat Mitzvah's comes up to you and says "No problem kid.  Last night while you were sleeping, I crept into your room and magically shoved up your ass a platinum coin worth one TRILLION dollars.  It's in there RIGHT NOW.  All you gotta do is shove your own fist up your own ass and retrieve the coin and all your problems are solved!  You want a glove and lube for the job or you just gonna "go commando" on this one?"

Meanwhile, Back at Euro Disney

Fans of globalization - careful what you wish for 'cause you might get it.

The following are 20 facts about the collapse of Europe that everyone should know...
#1 10 Months: Manufacturing activity in both France and Germany has contracted for 10 months in a row.
#2 11.8 Percent: The unemployment rate in the eurozone has now risen to 11.8 percent – a brand new all-time high.
#3 17 Months: In November, Italy experienced the sharpest decline in retail sales that it had experienced in 17 months.
#4 20 Months: Manufacturing activity in Spain has contracted for 20 months in a row.
#5 20 Percent: It is estimated that bad loans now make up approximately 20 percent of all domestic loans in the Greek banking system at this point.
#6 22 Percent: A whopping 22 percent of the entire population of Ireland lives in jobless households.
#7 26 Percent: The unemployment rate in Greece is now 26 percent. A year ago it was only 18.9 percent.
#8 26.6 Percent: The unemployment rate in Spain has risen to an astounding 26.6 percent.
#9 27.0 Percent: The unemployment rate for workers under the age of 25 in Cyprus. Back in 2008, this number was well below 10 percent.
#10 28 Percent: Sales of French-made vehicles in November were down 28 percent compared to a year earlier.
#11 36 Percent: Today, the poverty rate in Greece is 36 percent. Back in 2009 it was only about 20 percent.
#12 37.1 Percent: The unemployment rate for workers under the age of 25 in Italy – a brand new all-time high.
#13 44 Percent: An astounding 44 percent of the entire population of Bulgaria is facing “severe material deprivation”.
#14 56.5 Percent: The unemployment rate for workers under the age of 25 in Spain – a brand new all-time high.
#15 57.6 Percent: The unemployment rate for workers under the age of 25 in Greece – a brand new all-time high.
#16 60 Percent: Citigroup is projecting that there is a 60 percent probability that Greece will leave the eurozone within the next 12 to 18 months.
#17 70 Percent: It has been reported that some homes in Spain are being sold at a 70% discount from where they were at during the peak of the housing bubble back in 2006. At this point there areapproximately 2 million unsold homes in Spain.
#18 200 Percent: The debt to GDP ratio in Greece is rapidly approaching 200 percent.
#19 1997: According to the Committee of French Automobile Producers, 2012 was the worst year for the French automobile industry since 1997.
#20 2 Million: Back in 2005, the French auto industry produced about 3.5 million vehicles. In 2012, that number dropped to about 2 million vehicles.

See my post below about the "real for the moment" but "vapor-like and vanishing like a fog in the breaking morning sunshine" profits earned by American corporations that depend upon favorable currency exchanges - what happens across the pond will have an effect within the US.