+ a central bank whose mandate is limited to inflation
+ the lack of a treasury
+ the lack of a harmonized tax system
+ the crippling deficits in democratic control that make it very hard to turn the will of the people into policy
+ etc

The last point is of particular interest if you look at Greece as a shock & awe induced suspension of democracy. Many nations are held in a permanent state of emergency through the war on terror, while Greece's permanent state of emergency was imposed through debt.

Previous governments did what they were told by troika officials, with parliament left aside and judicial decisions left ignored. The return of democracy into some parts of the system caused rather vicious reactions from both the press and European officials. Just look at what Martin Schulz or Jeroen Dijsselbloem said about Syriza officials in the last few days.

Debt is a tool powerful enough to suspend democracy in a heartbeat, even quicker than our famous war on/of terror.

Parliamentary decisions are superceded by transnational treaties and obligations. And if you take the thought one step further, you end up at TTIP/TTP/CETA/TISA. If Greece demonstrates that democratic decisions at a national level still overrule transnational treaties, governments lose a scapegoat for unpopular decisions ("treaty X demands it of us"). Should Syriza manage to end the state of emergency, to return control over the decision back to the elected bodies, it will become infinitely harder to impose draconian or even just highly unpopular measures.

But I digress. Twin Euro blocks (South/North) were part of the discussion, just like parallel currencies in troubled nations. A German exit is still being discussed as well, but I don't think its advocates within Germany thought it through. Switzerland just uncoupled its Swiss Francs from the Euro and it did a real number on their exports. A new DM would appreciate like a Saturn V, instantly shattering German exports. Without a massive increase in wages to compensate through domestic demand, Germany would bleed jobs left, right and center. A fullblown recession.

I'd say it would take very little to stabilise the union, even in its currently flawed configuration. Krugman had a piece this morning, calling one of Syriza's core demands reasonable. And judging by what I have read over the last five years or so, it is. He said Germany would be crazy if they demanded payment on full, no reliefs. And that's where it shows that he cannot follow the media or the political discussions in Germany to any meaningful degree, language barrier and all. Public discussion on economics in Germany stands completely separate from the rest of the world.

Ignorance, stubbornness, cultural bias, a feedback-loop of media and politics, group pressure -- we have everything. And the fact that Germany has been comparatively successful in the face of this crisis makes it practially impossible to pierce this bubble. We're doing fine, our way must be correct, everyone else is wrong.

If some of USGS's speculation is right---and we have just exited 100 of the wettest years the West has ever seen---then this video may be a sadly nostalgic remembrance some day...

As you wrote " As has been mentioned above, you must simply have no idea what socialism is if you think America is even headed in that direction, we're headed the other way buddy" shows your lack of understanding of political systems.

You can 100% government control on 1 side and 0 government power at the other end

At the 100% you would have labels such as Communism
Socialism,Fascism and such. At 0 would be Anarchy


Our government is in the middle but sliding towards more and more government control and morphing into some for of Oligarchy by buying votes via socialist programs promised by the left.
Then the pudendum swing back and the republicans buy votes by promising to "undue" what the left has done.

Either way the people loose because nothing get totally undone. More and more government control ensues.



1 Yes I would like there to be ZERO dollars donations by corporations and people. Since the government owns public airways and grants them via FCC, hence ABC, CBS, NBC etc let these station allot public time for equal debate for ALL parties and persons. TAKE the money out of politics.

2 I do agree what you indicated by the Republicans and did this week was reprehensible. A passing a trillion + bill and and worse the extra "shit" to help banks and such. But to be fair to republicans , Democrats over screw corporations and republicans attempt to unscrew them.

3 school lunches - Government should not be in regulating school lunch- it should be a local thing. Republicans are just undoing Michelle Obama failed school lunch program. Just more finger pointing points for bloggers to use.

4 Federal government controls the laws in DC Its their little kingdom. They can re ban pot all day long.

Generally speaking there are 5 types of government:
Monarchy - rule by one - never truly exits
Oligarchy - ruled by few - most governments today
Democracy- rule by majority - Majority rule is a failed system.
Republic- rule by law - Law limits Government powers
Anarchy - every man for himself- Always short lived due to power vacuum.


You say " America is sliding away from socialism, and into corporatism" Well they are basically neighbors in the political spectrum which would be some form of Oligarchy. Neither necessary serve the people freely.


Both Democrats and Republicans are sliding headlong towards Oligarchy. One party is just trying to get there quicker than the other party.


Both parities have utterly failed its people. There is only 1 party that desires to steer this country back towards a Republic and that is the TEA party. They get stronger and stronger every time their party fail its constituents. Were not all right wing lynching nuts. That's just a myth promoted by left wing media to color you thinking to stay on the Democrat plantation.
Truth of the matter is that four in 10 Tea Party members are either Democrats or Independents. Go to a rally and see for you self.

Eh... ptsd on the part of the cameraman? I thought it was odd the 'imposter' had a detailed and seemingly legitimate answer to everything the guy asked him. Couldn't tell if his silent exit was a shameful retreat or a polite dismissal, either way I know nothing of the military which would shed light on the legitimacy of this.

Don't be too sure. I once saw a mature bald eagle chased off by a cat. The eagle was low in a tree and suddenly this cat charged it from a nearby brush, hissing, back up and claws swinging. The eagle took off in complete panic.
Pound for pound few animals can match a cat for sheer ferocity. There are youtube vids of them taking on alligators, cobras, bears... There are even some vids of cats stalking hawks and even though the hawks down bluff easily, they are almost always the ones to exit first.

Awesome !
Funny thing is.... in a straight line it would have exited the Solar system !!!

Sorry man it's not really my call. I'm just trying to save lucky some work. I'm sure @lucky760 will just unkill the ones you have already killed. It's what has been done in the past when other sifters have killed their videos upon exit and one of the main reasons there is a hobble option.

-edit-
i see lucky jumped in before i sent this comment

The secret to finding the exit is not looking for it.

Your video, Why You Never, Ever Pass A Truck Before Your Exit, has made it into the Top 15 New Videos listing. Congratulations on your achievement. For your contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

This achievement has earned you your "Pop Star" Level 13 Badge!

Could be all three.
I was pissed that they allowed the dog so close, and it was bitten badly.
One more example of why you need an exit strategy before you take a dangerous action!

Grabbing at the officers gun would be immediate grounds for immediate use of deadly force, but once the suspect retreats and is no longer within reach of the officer those grounds have evaporated. The officer should afterwards be wary, but not act as if they are still in danger when the danger ended long before and now they are simply being disobeyed. That's not a legitimate reason for deadly force.
These 'witnesses' that corroborate the officers story are phantoms at best. No one has publicly come forward that corroborates his story that was actually there, all the known witnesses actually contradict the officers account and state that he was retreating, being shot at, flinched, turned, stumbled forward while raising his arms/grasping his sides and was shot another 5-6 times as he fell, including (according to the autopsy) once in the top of the head that exited through his eye...it's hard to see how he could both be a threat and in a position where he could be shot that way. I think if this was a citizen shooting, they would call that 'execution style'.
Attaching the statement of a single person or small group to an entire race is not only racist, it's simply wrong. No group is homogenous, they don't all see this the same way, even if their skin is similar in melanin content.
So, you seem to be saying a taser should only be attempted when the officer is backed up and the suspect is alone with no bystanders. I'll just say I disagree, it should always be the first choice when more than physical hands-on force is needed.
I'm guessing you've never been tazed. The complete incapacitation may stop when you stop the charge, but the residual pain, and the memory of that pain and knowledge that more can come instantly usually does stop even the angriest wanna-be supermen.

By the way, I think you're wrong about saying he wasn't presenting a threat. He was absolutely presenting a threat to the officer and was definitely close enough to assault him with the knife; it only takes a split second to cover a lot of ground and kill someone with a knife.

As soon as the cops exited their vehicle he was standing there with a hand in his pocket. At that point they had to have guns drawn in case he was holding a gun in there.

Then when he revealed that it was a knife, were the officers supposed to have a discussion about which one of them should put their gun away and exchange it for a TASER?

It's also not a guarantee that a TASER will drop someone. I've seen people totally unaffected by a TASER, typically when they're on some heavy duty drugs like PCP.

I saw them some years ago and they stood at the exit for autographs, etc. on the way out, and I was surprised when Teller actually spoke to me.

Of course I knew he could speak, but I thought he was strict about never uttering a word in front of the general public or his audience.

I love that they called out Piff the Magic Dragon. I only know that guy from "Fool Us," but he was a real talent. I guess he's actually become something of a well-known comedy magician of sorts.

P.S. Boy, that was a big bucket!

Hello lucky760,

I am blacklisted ! / ? / !? / ?!

...at least at/on my primary puter or my DSL connection or its IP.

If you were not aware I'm sure you are now, I am not computer savvy.

Best guess...deading vids I had a particular porn site come up several different times yesterday. I expeditiously exited and continued. Upon returning home last night I sought to continue. My screen locked up, I received the spinning beachball of death, could not force quit or restart so resorted to "pulling the plug." I backed up and retired.

This morning I resumed and was quickly treated to an 80's video, blacklisted.

Is malware a good guess?

(in a little voice meekly) help

He was swimming.

it's just exiting the water they seem to have trouble with.

Sort of like someone who can fly a plane, just not take off or land.