lol, those doofuses who broke in to skinny dip... "This bud's for you."

We put up signs saying "no skinny dipping", but this guy just jumped right on in totally bear.

First of all, Flassbeck is the only(!) prominent economist in Germany arguing strictly against the madness of austerity. But he's living in the border region between France and Switzerland, so he's a European more than a German.

Among all the economic think tanks in Germany, only the union-sponsored IMK makes a credible case against this madness. Everyone else is more or less in line with the neoclassic perspective. Not a Keynesian in sight, much less a post-Keynesian group.

But now to the meat of the issue. There will be no major political shift in Germany in the near future. As Flassbeck stated, only a single party opposes the financial inquisition commonly known as the Troika. Unfortunatly, it's the socialists, and despite overwhelmingly popular policies, they are still an absolute no-go for large swaths of the demos thanks to the authoritarian regime in East Germany. Sucks, but it is what it is.

So it's up to the French people once again to save the continent from itself. Noone else has the balls or the influence to put an end to this misguided union. How likely is it for the French government to openly challenge German hegemony soon? I wouldn't bet on it. Which means the Greeks are fuuuucked².

In any case, what would it take for Greece to stabilise? And by stabilise I'm talking about a return to a manageable level of unemployment, a working healthcare system and social safety net. A conservative guesstimate would be a public deficit of ~10% of GDP for at least 5 straight years. Alternatively, the EIB would have to prop up Greece with €50b a year for the same number of years. To get a working bureaucracy, to undo four decades of nepotism, Greece would basically need a generation to reestablish itself as a state – and it would require appropriate financing.

Now remember which of Syriza's demands is painted as most controversial right now: debt restructuring. Debt restructuring, while neccessary at some point, is entirely pointless as long as the fiscal policy remains contractionary. Greece needs austerity to stop, right the fuck now. Greece needs to provide income-generating jobs for its people. All the talk about debt is utterly pointless, because at 25% unemployment, we're looking at permanent damage in every way imaginable. The social toll alone should be completely unacceptable within Europe if we truly gave two shits about human dignity.

So, even if Syriza get their way tomorrow, Greece would still be flushed down the shitter. Syriza's proposal is contractionary. Any primary surplus in this situation is contractionary.

Greece is done within the Euro. The use of a foreign currency makes it impossible to use appropriate fiscal policy on their own. Unfortunatly, but also intentionally, the currency issuer, the ECB, is placed outside the democratic control of the European Parliament, or any national parliament for that matter. Fiscal policy within the EZ was taken out of the control of our elected representatives to ensure that the neoclassic/neoliberal approach was irrevocably built into the system. We can thank Germany for that, by the way.

There is a shortage of spending in Greece. There is a shortage of spending in Spain. There is a shortage of spending in Portugal, Ireland, Italy, France. There is a shortage of spending in Germany, for fuck's sake. Put the ECB under control of the EP, add full employment (2-3% unemployment) to its mandate, and have them finance the appropriate programs at the national level. The output gap in Europe is so massive, the un(der)employment so vast, they could spend a trillion Euros and inflation would still not reach the agreed upon target value of 2%.

All it would take to change the rules is consent from every national parliament in the union. Might as well go skinny-dipping instead.

You can be skinny-dipping and mooning at the same time! What's not to like?

>> ^budzos:

I kind of liked I Kissed A Girl, but this chick's singing voice literally stresses me out now.


I can tell it's her from about half a second of hearing the singing voice, and i also find it interesting (not necessarily bad) how she always sings chronologically about what she's done on a night out, or on a date, etc. Last friday night, we had a drink, might have kissed, then we went down to the boulevard, skinny dipping.... I think it's something fairly old fashioned that she is wittingly or unwittingly bringing back a bit.

Come on, don't be a pussy! Put on a helmet, a love glove and then go skinny dipping.

I used to get these when we'd skinny dip down at the local sewage treatment facility.

Ah roomie zoom zim, I'm all to be wet
To rhymealinda I remember umm, when we first met
In eighty-two back in school used to play up all the fools
Sometimes you'd be my number fives sometimes you'd be my twenty-two
But umm, screw the dumbshit, cause little rhymea's true
I can't wait to say I do and oh yeah honey there's no due
I got my chariot, rollin, now I'm mic controllin
Got some spunk in my funk, I can't wait to put some soul in
We're rollin all strikes, we're havin little tykes
One is little mike the other's ike I'm sure that you would like
To hold em, or maybe stroll em on their little bikes
When they're born, I've sworn, to bring em up right
You know, dope is how I breed em, beats is what I'll feed em
They'll be healthy like a health nut I'm sure you shake your butt
(kick the verse preacher) and I won't disperse
Here's my life rhymealinda for better or for worse

Well it's done she tagged me, duck duck goose
I'm batter up I can't sleep the fly brotha must produce
The power pack and I'm stacked like a forty-five mag
Straight up tennis shoes in my pants there's a sag
Droppin so much grammar gotta slam it down my mouth
Shup? I met a slut she, put me in the rut g
With the dip that was down with me from the whole front
Now front me never too cool how-ever
I gotta get the bread, gotta get the butter
Fix it up eat down throw it in the gutter
(gutter dreamed it) sour, (creamed it) gotta
Skinny-dipped into her ass as if it was a pool of water
Now the water's gettin hotter so I bought her a new ring
Maybe a love ballad is the song I sing
I gotta kiss her ass my tongue I hold before I curse
If you really want me bitch, take me for better or for worse

Well this is the final chapter hello?
Of me, we're going to rack up who is this?
In tune, in tune, in tune, a button why are you calling my house?
A button, a button! oh c'mon, honey who is this? what?
Would you come along with me down mike is that you?
The lane and I will pick your brain oh my god. who is this?
I won't be good like you think I will I'll fucking call the cops
I'll take a hammer and start to drill don't call my house
Your skull, and then I'll really start oh my god, what is this
Picking, your brains cells, I will be what? I'm gonna call the cops
Licking, mmm mmm mmm mmmm! *slurp* okay? quit fucking around
You taste so intelligent, ahhhhhh hello, who is this?
Yes yes yes, you trusted me, now help, who is this? what
I busted thee, top of your skull are you doing? why are you
You thought the day was going to be calling me?
Dull? ? I'll make it very exciting
I took your fingers then I started who are you? why are you
Biting, and then I scraped the meat calling my house?
Off, the bone, of your leg stop calling here!
Ahhahhh, you tried to make me beg don't call here anymore
But I had to insist, I had to insist
Iayaay, run up your pussy with my fist aieeeeeeeeeeeee!
Okay, I think we've gone a little bit I'm gonna call the cops!
Overboard, don't stop it yet fuck you don't call my house!!

Yo, I'm audi geee
No doubts manufactured
No ahh copies, we can't ahh, do copies
No copies, okay
Oh, so you expect me to do some type of freak show?
That's what it really is huh?
Is that what you want? what you talkin about?
What you talkin bout nigga?
Whatchu know bout the problems of l.a.?
I'ma tell you what's wrong with the problems
Of the people in the l.a.
See the brothers needs some type of education
And you know, some type of foundation, in the, uhh
Community, cause the mute-co, duhh, the community
Grows like seeds, and the seeds will not fall from
The tree if you don't water the grass
So nigga get off your rusty black asssahhhh
Like this... nanananananana, like this
You can get with this, or you can get with that
I think you get with this because fat lip's fat
Fat fat fat fat fat fat fat *echoes* *laughter*
Uhhh, okay ummm, okay uhh, keep going keep going keep going
Keep going, ay romye romye, come here come here c'mere c'mere c'mere
C'mere c'mere (ok ok aiyyo yo yo yo) c'mere for a second
Aiy rhasaan, rhasaan, imani, imani I think you should
*music stops* oh, duhh!

Tags for this video have been changed from 'imperial palace, japan, tokyo, mote, skinny dipping, naked, spanish' to 'imperial palace, japan, tokyo, moat, skinny dipping, naked, spanish' - edited by doogle

>> ^zdonk:
is the wrong video embedded? I am getting a "and finally" news article which doesn't mention the palace article. There is a link at the end to the correct story.

I hate Reuters! they do have the video still on their site, but the embed is definitely wrong =( I'm trying to fix this, thanks for letting me know =)

EDIT: Okies, found the exact clip on YouTube. Fixed for now, thanks!

>> ^ant:
Dupe of http://www.videosift.com/video/Swimming-Nakedin-the-Tokyo-Imperial-Pa
lace ?


They both about the same guy, but the clips are differenet. So I hope it isn't considered a dupe =)

iran would be well on it's way to become a democracy by now were there no interventions by the US and Israel, which won't give up it's strategic control of mid-East. like 1980-88 iran-iraq war, sponsored and instigated by the US. thus the clerics are still in power. there's a lot of well educated young people in Iran that want to establish normal relations with the west. my ex-girlfriend was in Iran in 1989, had trouble with the "ethics police" in Teheran, a bunch of armed youth and old war veterans that patroled the streets. apparently her feet were to "exposed" (she wore sandals and huge sunglasses) also her long blond hair peeked a bit from under all that disguise, so she was an easy target. she was with another guy and they had to pretend they're married to get a hotel room. they were pushing it a bit when they went skinny dipping in the Caspian sea (they entered from north, through Turkey) but they both came home with good impressions. they met a dozen educated mid-class iranians who were very eager to welcome them in their homes and talk to them about politics, life in Europe and the stuff that was bothering them like strict religious laws and the double lives they lived - out on the street or at work they always have to be careful about what they say, how they behave or what they wear. when at home they're much more relaxed and openly talk about life in Iran.
we shouldn't bomb them, we should help them make a better country for themselves or at least just leave them the fuck alone so they can get their shit together on their own. the US policy for the last few decades certainly didn't do any good to the evolutionary process in that part of the world.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'skinny dipping, automatic for the people' to 'skinny dipping, automatic for the people, septembers coming soon' - edited by calvados