while sitting around eating a stale sandwich surrounded by toothless monkeys

I read some happy housing news from reuters here:

Hooray for shopping!

and got this lovely image from the St Louis fed:


Hooray for obscure market responses!

Happy Birthday Intar-web!

On Christmas morning (December 25, 1990), 17 years ago the World Wide
Web came to life when the very first WWW server came on-line.

Rock'n!

water getting warmer lil froggie?

(sadly enough, the US has spend the last 200 years decimating the natives with alcohol, chemicals and brain-rot. despite the logistics issues, despite the financial woes, I sincerely wish those remaining with the warrior spirit to give 'em hell. They've lied to you for hundreds of years, they lied to use for nearly 100. Fuck 'em. /dn)

The United States is going to have to do a lot to work with members of the Lakota Sioux in the days ahead. Wednesday, December 19, a group that represents various reservations and states declared sovereign nation status and has withdrawn from all treaties with the U.S. government.

The Lakota Freedom Delegation, includes Lakota activist and actor Russell Means; Ogalala Lakota Strong Heart Society leader Duane Martin Sr.; Gary Rowland, Leader Chief Big Foot Riders; Women of Red Nations founder Phyllis Young and others were at the Plymouth Congregational Church in Washington DC to announce the tribe's withdrawal from the treaties.

"For far too long our people have suffered at the hands of the colonial apartheid system imposed on the Lakota Sioux," a press release dated December 13 read, "Our treaties with the United States government are nothing more than worthless words on worthless paper - repeatedly violated in order to steal our culture, our land and our ability to maintain our way of life."

According to the organization, and the website www.lakotafreedom.com, Lakota men have a life expectancy of less than 44 years, the lowest of any country in the World, including Haiti. The infant mortality rate is 5x the U.S. Average and the Tuberculosis rate on Lakota reservations is approximately 800 percent higher than the U.S. national average.

"We have no choice but to take historic action to protect our people and our way of life," the group said, "and reclaim our freedom from the colonial systems of the United States Government." The group has also stated that they intend to issue their own driving licenses and passports.

The move focuses on lands in 5 states, including South Dakota, North Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana. Lands the groups claims have been illegally homesteaded for years.

What will happen next is up to the United States government, but the group said in a news release that if the U.S. fails to act, liens will be filed on real-estate transactions across the region, an action that could cause title issues for literally thousands of purchasers.
Multiple treaties with the United States have been broken throughout the years; this withdrawal from treaties signed in the 1800s comes about after years of discussions concerning American Indian rights. The Independence movement began in 1974 with some Lakota activists taking steps to withdraw from the U.S. In the past these measures have gone as far as drafting a "declaration of continuing independence."

The group has reportedly been meeting with foreign leaders in an effort to gain political support for sovereign nation status, the Rapid City Journal (www.rapidcityjournal.com) reported. According to their report, Bolivia Indigenous President Evo Morales is "very, very interested in the Lakota case."

Lakota reservations recognized by the US government include Ogalala Ogalala, Sicangu, Hunkpapa, Mniconjou, Izipaco, Siha Sapa, and Ooinupa. Some Lakota also live on other Sioux reservation in eastern South Dakota, Minnesota and Nebraska.

Not all of the Lakota Sioux are interested in joining the breakaway nation, however, the Argus Leader (www.argusleader.com) reported that Rodney Bordeaux, chairman of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, said his community had no interest in joining the group. "We're pushing to maintain and to keep the treaties there because they're the basis of our relationship with the federal government," Bordeaux said.

Meanwhile, the internet is buzzing as both members of the tribe and other people weigh in on the issue. "What is our primary industry? What is our defense stratagy? [sic] How would we fund and train that defense? How would we fund public services? Police, schools, healthcare, water treatment? What resources can we exploit to become a functional nation in todays world? I'm all for self sufficiency..." said one poster on a message board at http://forum.americanindiantribe.com

Another poster asks, "Would we need a passport to leave the rez?" (Rez is a slang word for reservation.) The complications involved in forming a separate nation in today's world are immense, with a high unemployment rate, and more than half of the residents living well below the poverty line, the leaders of this Independence movement will have to come up with some concrete plans to ensure that the Lakota people are adequately provided for.

Fiat Empire. Film about the FED. Watch it.

Friendless dollar is turned away at the gates of the Taj Mahal

(from http://business.timesonline.co.uk/ -dn)

The Taj Mahal and other top tourist sites in India are refusing to accept dollars to pay for admission, dealing another blow to the prestige of the weakened American currency.

Entry tickets to the world famous Mughal tomb in Agra and about 120 sites run by the Archaeological Survey of India will be available only at a fixed rupee rate after the dollar lost more than 12 per cent of its value against the local currency this year.

Tourists had been encouraged to pay in dollars where possible, a legacy of the time when foreign currency was difficult to come by because of India’s cash inflow restrictions. However, with the fall of the dollar against most other leading currencies and the surge of the rupee on the back of India’s booming and liberalised economy, the greenback will no longer be welcome at the door.

As a result, tourists will pay nearly a third more to enter India’s top tourist attractions by paying in rupees than the previous fixed dollar rate.

The dollar has suffered other blows to its image of late, not least when it was reported that Gisele Bündchen, the Brazilian supermodel, would sign contracts that were paid only in euros because of the slide in the American currency – although her agent was quick to deny the story for fear of angering clients in the United States.

The dollar has also suffered the indignity of being ridiculed by the American rapper Jay-Z, who chose to cruise the streets of New York in European-made Bentleys and Rolls-Royces with a briefcase stuffed full of €500 notes.

The Indian Ministry of Culture said that it was ditching the dollar to correct “any anomaly” caused by currency fluctuations that were adversely affecting its income.

The Government had fixed a $5 entrance fee for World Heritage sites such as the Taj Mahal and $2 for other monuments of interest at a time when the dollar was worth about 50 rupees. Buoyed by capital inflows into the surging Bombay stock market, the rupee rose yesterday to 39.28 rupees against the dollar.

The new fixed entry fee of 250 rupees and 100 rupees means that a foreign tourist will pay the equivalent of about $6.40 (£3.10) and $2.50 (£1.20) respectively. Indians pay a significantly lesser rate of about 20 rupees to enter official monuments, many of which are in dire need of maintenance. The ministry is planning to extend this favourable price to nonresident Indian citizens and to tourists from other South Asian countries.

More than four million tourists visited India last year, earning about $6.6 billion in foreign exchange. The unprecedented inflow of money from overseas has brought with it inflationary difficulties and problems for exporters, particularly IT services companies, which on average earn half or two thirds of their income from the US.

India’s central bank bought a record $11.87 billion in September to intervene in the rupee’s appreciation. It continued to be active in the currency markets in October and this month.

What about Christmas?

Score Some Blow from Uncle Sam!

AMERICAN DRUG WAR





Antone's Night Club
213 West 5th Street
Austin Texas

Buy tickets:

AMERICAN DRUG WAR MOVIE PREMIERE

The new Showtime documentary AMERICAN DRUG WAR from Austin film-maker Kevin Booth premiers in Austin TX for one night only at Antone's night club on 5th street. Conspiracy guru and talk show host Alex Jones will MC the evening and Kevin will give a brief introduction and Q&A after the film.

taking punk back to the streets

I still say punk rock was a cheap way for ugly people to get laid. but this did put a smile on my face. sometimes the best way to say what you mean is with a fist.

ok, so I found something really stupid to post.

I don't quite understand it, but it made me laugh!

Strange thought for the D-man

nothing really witty or thoroughly profound to say - no pictures of crap I'm consuming, or spam-babes or anything along those lines really.  

Just some odd thoughts about growing up as a only child.  There are so many perks to growing up sans siblings such as minimal intra-age chaos, and growing up with only adults around certainly brings the child up to speed quickly on life, now whether or not that's a good thing IS up for debate, but I liked it. there's that while idea that only children are more successful, smarter, get more attention from the parent so the child finds it easier to rise up to a higher level.  Speaking from the experience of raising two dogs, I know that Dog1 was give so much more attention, affection, training,vs the ghetto-dog who did get all the above, but with not as much focused intensity.  I guess the moral of the story is bifurcation really strips away intensity  - scattershot makes achieving singular goals that much more difficult.  

so, back to my weird thought - I believe I came out better for being an only one - essentially a human variant of Dog1.  I was appropriately raised to crush the enemy and destroy all those who stand in the way.  But sometimes, I have the thought that maybe it would have been better to be slightly watered down version of myself for the compromise of having someone else out there with my genetic code and unique brand of wiring running amok making trouble, causing chaos who kinda gets where I come from.  of course, my sibling would probably be some form of revolutionary psycho bombing places and smoking crack - either that of a weenie straight-laced neocon wannabe. or worse yet, they might be the average Joe-Six-Pack.  Damn, I'm not sure which is worst!  

Moot point I suppose, I'm certainly not getting a genetic equivalent of  a brother or a sister @ this point in life. perhaps that's probably why people breed - knowing that someone, somewhere is kinda sorta like you.  

lemme cap this off with a video that kind calls out what I'm feeling as it kinda reminds me of growing up.  

2 most excellent images!

apparently not all food in AZ sucks

I took a big risk today and ordered a za from a local restaurant in PV known as Michael's Cheesesteaks and Rubens



Michael has recently installed a brick oven in his establishment, and has been experimenting with various types of dough and ingredients. As seen in the pictures, this pizza was a cheese, sausage, green pepper, pepperoni & onion extravaganza! What I'm saying is that this was actually a damn fine meal.

who says being a security consultant isn't glamourous?

This is my trusty crapple as it is in process of performing some automated assessment work.
Look at this wild and crazy life best typified by Motorhead's "We are the road crew"

Another town another place,
Another girl, another face,
Another truck, another race,
I'm eating junk, feeling bad,
Another night, I'm going mad,
My woman's leaving, I feel sad,
But I just love the life I lead,
Another beer is what I need,
Another gig my ears bleed,
We Are The Road Crew
Another town I've left behind,
Another drink completely blind,
Another hotel I can't find,
Another backstage pass for you,
Another tube of super glue,
Another border to get through,
I'm driving like a maniac,
Driving way to hell and back,
Another room a case to pack,
We Are The Road Crew

while not wholly accurate considering the food has been stellar this week - the rest is right on!

time to self-medicate!



Note the can of "Cocaine" energy drink in front of the crapple. This was procured from a local filthy liquor store while in search of a post-cheese-steak bottle of water. I was amazed to find the Cocaine branded beverage in a store. After they lost their name, I figured the company would fold but NO! they became no-name beverage and should have their fine namesake back by mid 2008. Regardless, this powerful drink found it's way into my greasy hands this afternoon, and to be truthful, it tasted OK. In fact, it was good after the 1st sip. It has a pleasant burning/numbing sensation which keeps you trucking along as you suck down the drink that's 3x a strong as a redbull. Not as tasty as my now-defunct elixer of choice, Recon(tm) Energy Cola - but it is seemingly more available in both Cut and uncut (sans burn - nambypabmies) versions

whatever, who gives a crap, eh?
I'm tired and heading to sleep!

Excellent news!

Iran drops dollar from oil deals: report

(with news like this, I have the distinct feeling that the US will likely need to move into Iraq and liberate the oppressed people from tyranny. damn al-quaedaean terror-izer-ists. /dn)

TEHRAN (AFP) — Major crude producer Iran has completely stopped carrying out its oil transactions in dollars, Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari said on Saturday, labelling the greenback an "unreliable" currency.

"At the moment, selling oil in dollars has been completely halted, in line with the policy of selling crude in non-dollar currencies," Nozari was quoted as saying by the ISNA news agency.

"The dollar is an unreliable currency, considering its devaluation and the oil exporters' losses," he added.

The world's fourth largest oil exporter, Iran has massively reduced its dependence on the dollar over the past year in the face of US pressures on its financial system and the fall in the dollar.

Nozari did not specify in which currencies Iran was now being paid. In the past, officials have said most oil income was in euros, with a significant percentage in yen.

Japan, which purchases 20 percent of Iran's crude oil, has recently agreed to pay for the crude oil in yen, officials have said. The UAE dirham has also been mooted as a possible payment currency.

Iran has in the past months been whittling down the proportion of dollars in its oil revenue income. Officials in October said that dollars accounted for only 15 percent of payments and predicted the amount would fall to zero.

However, the oil income is still being booked in dollars.

The United States has in recent months successfully encouraged major European and Asian banks to cut their dealings with Iran in a bid to make the Islamic republic give way on its controversial nuclear programme.

Washington has also blacklisted major Iranian banks for alleged support of terrorism and seeking nuclear weapons, charges denied by Tehran.

Iran has also reduced its dollar assets held in foreign banks and urged OPEC to take collective action to price oil in other currencies such as the euro, instead of the US currency which is used across the world at present.

The fall of the dollar, which has weakened considerably against the euro and other currencies in the past 12 months, has affected the revenues of OPEC members because most of them price and sell their oil exports in the US currency.

LOL

Mr. T Rapping about Chi-Town

So, what does /dn do when the world is bringing him down and keeping him awake? He researches important things like A-Team Episodes and Mr-T musicality. Here's

Toughest Man in the World!

Listen HERE and Sing along!

On the streets of south Chicago,
There's a struggle to survive.
You can play to win,
Or just give in- and let the city eat you alive.
You can make it to tomorrow,
If you take care of today.
You will have a shot,
If you have got what it takes to break away, because...
Toughest Man In The World,
Is the one who knows the right way to go.
Toughest Man In The World,
Is strong inside he don't ever hide.
Brother's code of honour (Oh oh oh oh),
When he's up against the wall.
The man who tries who wont say die,
Is the toughest man of all.
(The toughest, yah. the toughest man in the world. The toughest, yah. the toughest man in the world.)
Its a hard life in this city,
It can bring you to your knees.
The town is poor it has no soul, its concrete and steel.
Your face to face with trouble,
Looking danger in the eye.
Your on your own but never alone,
With courage on your side, because...
Toughest Man In The World,
Is the one who knows the right way to go.
Toughest Man In The World,
Is strong inside he don't ever hide.
(Oh oh oh oh. The toughest man in the world.)
(Oh oh oh oh. The toughest man in the world.)
(Oh oh oh oh...)

Cilantro and Onions

Less sent me a picture this evening which sent me into a deep fit of lust that resulted in drooling which is damn near impossible to replicate....




Ahhh, Arturo's tacos from mi barrio:

GAHHHH!!!!! IT LOOKS SO GOOD! GAHHHHHHHH!!!

Hillary Comes Clean about bad performance!

the WoW skit really hits it home!

Evil Genius in Action

I don't feel no ways tiiiiired....


The video has been taken out of context far too much for my taste, however that doesn't change the fact that this is one brilliant, creative and sneaky woman. I'll even go as far as saying she is slicker than her hubby. If Ron Paul doesn't capture the hearts and minds of even MORE of the masses, this fine lady will have perfectly greased skids right to slide right into the whitehouse.
Spooky. Quite frankly, I'm much more apprehensive of her being president than I am of our current coked out and inebriated premiere who can barely eek out his thoughts due to chemically induced synaptic malfunction.

Her brain works.
She is coherent.
She is smart.
We know when GWB is lying. Not so w. Mrs Clinton. Either Hillary is much more practiced, or perhaps GWB simply doesn't care.