Global financial crisis: Russians cut back on Vodka!

You know things are getting serious when the Russians cut back on their prodigious Vodka drinking habits.

Warehouses are starting to fill up with unsold Vodka, as the Russian public tightens their belts.

Pavel Shapkin, president of the National Alcohol Association told Rueters that "people are having to save money, including on drinks, and this is connected to the impact of the financial crisis on people's disposable incomes."

Bathtub Vodka is starting to show up. The last time that happened bootleggers poisoned people with their low-grade market brew which caused widespread liver failure, jaundice, and toxic hepatitis.

A half-liter bottle of Vodka goes for about $1.80 a bottle in Russia. 

FAIR WARNING!: Non-Bloggers Fear Us Because...

Pitbull vs Porcupine: it's apparent who lost this little encounter!

Miraculously, this female pitbull wasn't blinded or didn't suffer any permanent damages. She apparently wanted to play with a porcupine who didn't want to play, and in fact, felt quite threatened. The owner reported that it was a long and painful procedure pulling the quills out at the vets. The Queen of Quills, as her owner has dubbed her, is on antibiotics and pain meds and reportedly recovering just fine. I'll bet that given the chance...she'd do it all again!

Priestess with a Golden Eye is discovered in Sistan Desert in Iran

Note that there's two tiny holes in the gilded eyeball (inset). They were there to run a thin piece of silk through, which allowed the wearer to tie the eye on.

The 5000 year-old woman was six-feet tall and must have been imposing with her gilded eye and above normal height.

Archaeologists say the woman was a soothsayer or priestess. She was somewhere between 25 and 30 years-old when she died.

She was also buried with a bronze mirror so she could check her startling appearance. The eye wasn't made to mimic a real eye.

Instead, it was glittery and probably appeared mysterious to her followers. Perhaps even supernatural.

What an interesting story if they could find ancient records that told about her life. I could even see a movie being made about it.

Now who could star in the part? Hmmmmm.....

Here's one good reason I don't kayak along the north coast...

Another $20 million of tax-payer money pumped into Citigroup

Here we go again. More rewards for business with a lousy management team and greedy CEO. Regulators hope that plowing the cash into their coffers will avoid a worse global crisis than the one in the 1930s. Right now, every big corporate business in the country is running to the trough at Washington DC begging for a bailout. The Big Three automakers have been pleading their case recently, but were told to come up with a business plan. Well, imagine that.

A business plan. The same clowns who ran their companies into the ground now have the gall to ask for money. And the damn government is giving it to them. That's crap! Let them go bankrupt and re-do the way they do business. They won't learn their lesson if Uncle Sugar bails them out.

RETI Gambit - Opening Theory & a fun way to fight the French Defense!

MOVE 4 - CASTLE Queen side

I use to belong to a chess club in Eureka many years ago and I do enjoy the game. I'm proud to say I taught one of my nephews to play chess and he's now a Grand Master! In other words, he can kick my butt now! We haven't played since he moved to Colorado eons ago.

Sometimes I pull out a book on chess moves and read about different games from one of my favorite all time players - Bobby Fischer. As a person he was a complete asshole...but his game was other worldly! I like going through the games he played against Boris Spassky, the Soviet Union Grand Master, and world champ at the time. Fischer went to Reykjavik, Iceland in 1972, at the height of the Cold War, and beat Spassky to become the one (and still only) American World Chess Champion.

  

"CHESS IS WAR OVER THE BOARD. THE OBJECT IS TO CRUSH THE OPPONENT'S MIND" - Bobby Fischer

Have you ever heard the adage 'smiling' like cats and dogs?

  

 

   

AS IT STANDS in the Times-Standard - Presidential Pardons & Turkeys!

While our Chimp-in-Charge wraps up his lame duck presidency, he has two more official perks that are full of irony - the pardoning of the traditional Thanksgiving turkey and any criminal he wants.

This photo shows last year's turkey pardoning which was never released to the public for obvious reasons.

AS IT STANDS takes a look at some past pardons that will ruffle your feathers when you read them. There's also some speculation on who Dubya plans to pardon before he slinks away into history.

He's got so many cronies doing illegal things that he may just issue a mass Pardon to anyone that worked for him in the last eight years!

To read today's column CLICK HERE.

Florida boy arrested for Gas Attack-He kept Farting in the Classroom!

A 12-year-old student was arrested earlier this month after he "deliberately passed gas to disrupt the class." The boy was also accused of shutting off the computers of classmates at Stuart Spectrum Jr/Sr High School. He was basically busted for disruption of a school function. "He continually disrupted his classroom environment by breaking wind and shutting off several computers," said the Police report.

Looks like his parents are going to have to make sure the boy doesn't eat beans or other gassy foods or he may not graduate from school! I can imagine the kids in the classroom got a big kick out of his hijinks however.

Slinky Co-Founder-Betty James- passed away yesterday at 90

THIS IS AN UPDATE ON AN EARLIER BLOG

I just posted the Slinky story (below) 48 hours ago, and then I read in the LA TIMES today that she passed away! The timing of the blog seems kinda eerie to me. For more CLICK HERE.

 I bet you didn't know that the inventor of the popular children's toy (Richard T. James) the Slinky - had a meltdown and left his wife to join a religious cult in Bolivia. He died in 1974. The old adage - behind ever great man there is a woman - never applied more than to his wife Betty. She took over the company and made it a continuing success story. In 2002, the Slinky was named the official state Toy of Pennsylvania, and Betty James was inducted into the Toy Industry Hall of Fame.

I wonder if all states have official toys?

 

Anybody have any idea what California's might be?

 

Obama and the Blues Brothers to team up for Block Party Celebration

Obama's economic plan aims to create 2.5 million jobs

President-elect Barrack Obama is pushing for a bigger stimulus package to combat what he calls, "A crisis of historical proportions." He's come up with a two-year plan instead of the original one-year proposal and expects lawmakers to back him.

The Los Angeles Times has a good article on the subject this morning. Click here to read more about it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We need more nuclear power plants to get benefits like this!

Imagine That: Cheney indicted in Texas court for being a bad boy

   

Sure shot Cheney, along with former U.S Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, were both indicted in a Texas court recently, for engaging in organized criminal activity and neglecting federal prisoners. Willacy County DA Juan Angel Guerra, brought the charges against the two men and also accused Cheney of conflict of interest because of the substantial holdings in the Vanguard Group which invests in private prisons, and using his influence over the county's federal immigration detention center.

Cheney isn't too worried about it and is busy helping a crony raise funds in another state. Don't you just love this guy?

FOOD AS ART - Chef and Produce Artist J. Zhang's Sculptures

 
Go fetch Broccoli boy...                                         Carrot Parrots in Love!
 
 Taro Root mice look nice...         Golden Beet Butterflies on Watermelon flower
(Photos from www.cybersalt.org.) I don't know what it is this morning, but I sure have had food on my mind. Maybe I ought to eat something before these blogs get any weirder!

SPAM is big seller this season - Genetically modified food on the way out

People are getting tired of eating genetically modified food. Multi-flavored Trix Chicks and eyes of corn are on the way out this holiday.
  
SPAM TREES (below) are springing up in households across the nation as this old favorite gets renewed life during our current depression. CNN reported today that sales are "going through the roof" as Americans seek to save money on food items. Some stores are even offering free bar-b-que grills (bottom right)to entice customers to shop at their stores.   (Photos from  www.cybersalt.org.)                                                                                                                                                                                                    
  

Another bloody night in Sinaloe, Mexico sees cops ambushed

FAMILY MEMBERS of one of the slain state policemen console each other after seeing the pockmarked pickup the officers had been riding in. Ten people were killed in 24 hours in Sinaloe which has become the hub of violence since the federal government launched a crackdown against drug gangs. American visitors to Mexico are being warned that the country is in turmoil and to be cautious while there.

THE LONG VERSION - BIGGEST HOLES IN THE WORLD!

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What do Eric Holder and Bill Clinton have in common? Try fugitive financier Mark Rich who they pardoned!

President-elect Barrack Obama has nominated former Clinton deputy attorney general, Eric H. Holder Jr. But getting Holder confirmed may not be so easy because he's going to face some tough questioning over his role in pardoning Marc Rich who fled the country owing $48 million in back taxes.

  

The Republican party says Holder has a "long history of controversial pardons." Critics say that Holder okayed the Rich pardon hoping that former White House counsel, Jack Quinn, would help him get a job as Attorney General in a future Al Gore presidency. Gore was vice-president at the time.

Clinton's Library and Foundation are also causing worries for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton who is said to be a candidate for the next Attorney General position. The former president has agreed to disclose all of the donors to his foundation, and to vet his future speeches and overseas activities.

It's interesting watching the past haunt both of these men. What does Holder's involvement with Rich tell us? For one thing, he's not above making backdoor deals to further his career. Three months ago I wrote a column in the Times-Standard about presidential libraries and foundations. I talked about Clinton's setup that's earning him mega millions, and has the stench of corruption attached to it.

If you ask me, neither Hillary Clinton or Eric Holder deserve to get the positions they're up for. If Obama want's to get away from "business as usual" in Washington then he'd be wise to reconsider both of these people. I admit that I was surprised when the word came out he was considering Holder and Hillary for posts in his new administration.

People have high hopes for Obama. They expect change. Their tired of the same "good ol boys" running the government. Their tired of political scandals and secrets. Ties and lies from the past don't fade away, this just come back to roost and to reestablish themselves if allowed too.

As It Stands, we'll have to hope that these picks fail to bear fruit, and that Obama gets rid of whoever suggested Holden and Hillary.