AZRainman : Photoshop Satire

Nobel Fraud Prize : War Is Peace

2009-12-10T09:13:00.002-07:00

“War against a foreign country only happens when the
moneyed classes think they are going to profit from it.” ~George Orwell

Obama defends war at Nobel Peace Prize ceremony -AFP YouTube

New blood joins this earth
And quickly he's subdued
Through constant pained disgrace
The young boy learns their rules

Combat Kid by AZRainman

In 2010, Zombieland Becomes Reality

2009-12-10T06:54:00.003-07:00

From AZRainman Misc Pics

Real estate gathering ponders 'zombie' borrowers, 'train wreck' of securitization -Tampabay

"Put another way -- 2010 looks like an unavoidable bloodbath for a multitude of 'zombie' borrowers, investors and lenders. Given the looming 'train wreck' of escalating commercial mortgage-backed securities rollovers ($250 billion to $300 billion annually through 2015). the shakeout period may extend 'several years' as even some conservative owners with well underwritten loans from the early 2000s see their equity destroyed."

'Emerging Trends' report sees commercial real estate 'bloodbath' in 2010 -Commercial Appeal
Financial zombies threaten to mar 2010 -Sydney Morning Herald

Special Forces Use Zombie Tech In Combat -Strategypage

WTO Goes Bananas

2009-12-08T08:39:00.001-07:00

From AZRainman Misc Pics

End to WTO "banana wars" days away -Forbes

A deal to end the world's longest-running trade dispute over import tariffs on bananas is virtually complete, but a final agreement may not be reached until next week, diplomats involved in the talks said on Friday.

Caribbean countries say their economies will be devastated by a deal they see as inevitable. Banana exports are the mainstay of their economies and adjusting to the loss of markets is already hurting producers and communities on the islands.

Afghan War while Rome is Burning?

2009-12-04T04:05:00.012-07:00

From AZRainman Misc Pics

Kucinich: Prolonging Afghan war a ‘threat to our national security’ -RawStory

“America is in the fight of its life and that fight is not in Afghanistan -- it's here," Kucinich declared. "We are deeply in debt. Our GDP is down. Our manufacturing is down. Our savings are down. The value of the dollar is down. Our trade deficit is up. Business failures are up. Bankruptcies are up.

“The war is a threat to our national security. We’ll spend over $100 billion next year to bomb a nation of poor people while we reenergize the Taliban, destabilize Pakistan, deplete our army and put more of our soldiers’ lives on the line. Meanwhile, back here in the USA, 15 million people are out of work. People are losing their jobs, their health care, their savings, their investments, and their retirement security. $13 trillion in bailouts for Wall Street, trillions for war; when are we going to start taking care of things here at home?”

Poll: Americans Turn Sharply Against Interventionism -AntiWar
First Time in 40 Years Americans Want to 'Mind Their Own Business'

Rockefeller Tree Lights Up as Gold Soars Above $1200

2009-12-03T03:24:00.005-07:00

From AZRainman Misc Pics

Gold Marks Record Highs, Tops $1,225/oz -New York Times

TOKYO (Reuters) - Gold hit a record high over $1,225 an ounce on Thursday, exerting an irresistible pull on investors seeking an alternative to the dollar, despite a Chinese central bank official warning against a potential asset price bubble.

Arming Goldman With Pistols Against Public -Bloomberg

“I just wrote my first reference for a gun permit,” said a friend, who told me of swearing to the good character of a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. banker who applied to the local police for a permit to buy a pistol. The banker had told this friend of mine that senior Goldman people have loaded up on firearms and are now equipped to defend themselves if there is a populist uprising against the bank.

From AZRainman Misc Pics

"In a failed state, the government's priorities are totally separate from those of the people. The U.S. can't afford health care or a bailout for jobless homeowners, but it can afford a pointless war and multimillion-dollar bonuses for banksters who wrecked the economy." -Paul Craig Roberts

Afghanistan: Don't Pay The Ferryman

2009-12-02T20:47:00.008-07:00

From AZRainman: Photoshop Satire

Libertarians opposed to new war plans for Afghanistan -OpEdNews

Wes Benedict, Executive Director of the Libertarian Party, said, "Rush Limbaugh should buy Obama a nice cigar. The liberal president has done exactly what the conservative leader wanted: escalate the war."

The Democrats' War Tax -Antiwar

Sen. Carl Levin has a solution to the problem of how to finance our losing, futile war in Afghanistan – a war we are fighting to support what has now been officially deemed the second most corrupt government on earth: he wants a war tax.

And then the ferryman said, "There is trouble ahead, so you must pay me now," and a voice came from beyond, "Whatever you do, don't pay the ferryman. Too many men have failed before."

There's a whole fleet of them too...

Time Magazine Declares 2000-2010 as Decade of Hell

2009-11-25T18:23:00.014-07:00

From AZRainman: Photoshop Satire

The '00s: Goodbye (at Last) to the Decade From Hell -Time

Call it the Decade from Hell, or the Reckoning, or the Decade of Broken Dreams, or the Lost Decade. Call it whatever you want — just give thanks that it is nearly over.

On Aug. 29, 2005, near the center point in the decade, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in southeast Louisiana, killing more than 1,500 and causing $100 billion in damages. It was the largest natural disaster in our nation's history.

The U.S. has endured not one but two market crashes — one at each end of the decade. You might recall the first Wall Street crash, when swooning tech stocks tanked the market from 2000 to 2001, not long after the Nasdaq hit an all-time high of 5049 on March 10, 2000. (Recent levels: 2150-2200.) The economy went into a recession that now seems laughably mild. What followed wasn't funny at all: the most divisive and confusing presidential election in history, a discombobulated drama that we once thought could occur only in the Third World.

From AZRainman Misc Pics

Study: Half of US kids will receive food stamps -USA Today

Gratitude is the sign of noble souls. ~Aesop
If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one. ~Mother Teresa

2010: The Second Financial Tsunami

2009-11-22T17:46:00.003-07:00

From AZRainman: Photoshop Satire

Red Alert: The Second Wave of The Financial Tsunami Global Reaserch

The Prelude to the End Game

The US economy will be spiraling out of control in the coming months and will reach critical point by the end of the 1st quarter 2010 and implode by the 2nd quarter.

The massive US$ trillions of dollars stimulus has failed to turn the economy around. The massive blood transfusion may have kept the patient alive, but there are numerous signs of multi-organ failure.

There will be another wave of foreclosures of residential and more importantly commercial properties by end December and early 2010. And the foreclosed properties in 2009 will lead to depressed prices once they come through the pipeline. Home and commercial property values will plunge. Banks’ balance sheets will turn ugly and whatever “record profits” in the last two quarters of 2009 will not cover the additional red ink.

Wave of Debt Payments Facing U.S. Government New York Times

Treasury officials now face a trifecta of headaches: a mountain of new debt, a balloon of short-term borrowings that come due in the months ahead, and interest rates that are sure to climb back to normal as soon as the Federal Reserve decides that the emergency has passed.

The White House estimates that the government will have to borrow about $3.5 trillion more over the next three years. On top of that, the Treasury has to refinance, or roll over, a huge amount of short-term debt that was issued during the financial crisis. Treasury officials estimate that about 36 percent of the government’s marketable debt — about $1.6 trillion — is coming due in the months ahead.

FDIC's Bair: Bank Failures Will Peak In 2010 Wall Street Journal
Waiting for the train wreck Asia Times

US in State of War with Banks

2009-11-22T09:07:00.004-07:00

From AZRainman Misc Pics

We are in a de Facto State of War with the Banks The Final Post

We now sit on top a powder keg known as Alt-A mortgages, primarily made up of Option ARM and 5/1 ARM mortgages. It is a ticking time bomb. The banks know it. The Obama Administration knows it. The Fed knows it. Yet they can do nothing to extinguish the fuse. The bomb will go off. It’s timer is set for sometime before, during, or after 2011.

Red Alert: The Second Wave of The Financial Tsunami Global Research

The Prelude to the End Game

The US economy will be spiraling out of control in the coming months and will reach critical point by the end of the 1st quarter 2010 and implode by the 2nd quarter.

The massive US$ trillions of dollars stimulus has failed to turn the economy around. The massive blood transfusion may have kept the patient alive, but there are numerous signs of multi-organ failure.

There will be another wave of foreclosures of residential and more importantly commercial properties by end December and early 2010. And the foreclosed properties in 2009 will lead to depressed prices once they come through the pipeline. Home and commercial property values will plunge. Banks’ balance sheets will turn ugly and whatever “record profits” in the last two quarters of 2009 will not cover the additional red ink.

The Fed Is Bailing Out Every Bank In The World The Business Insider

The longer this imbalance goes on, the more likely it is that it will end in tears. And the irony is that a recovering world economy could be the catalyst.

From AZRainman Misc Pics

Manic-depressive Stock Market Inviting a Black Swan Event? The Market Oracle

Ready for an Iranian Nuclear Test?

2009-11-18T19:48:00.009-07:00

From AZRainman Misc Pics

Bluffing or a nuke test up their sleeve?

Iran nuclear deal collapses. Time for US to get tough? CSMonitor

Iran rejected a UN-brokered nuclear deal Wednesday that would have sent its uranium stockpile abroad. The Obama administration is now under pressure to make good on its promises of 'consequences.'

Minister Says Iran Won't Ship Uranium Abroad New York Times

Iran’s foreign minister said this week that his government would not ship its stockpile of low-enriched uranium out of the country, making him the highest ranking official so far to declare that Iran would renege on a deal aimed at defusing a confrontation with the West over its nuclear program.

Flashback to July 16, 2009:

Iran could have a nuclear bomb in six months Bild

German intelligence sources have sent a chilling warning that Iran could be armed with a nuclear weapon in six months. German secret service have “no doubt” that Iran’s missile programme is “exclusively” for the building of nuclear warheads.

6 nations ponder how to punish Iran for nukes China Daily

The meeting will include the UN Security Council's permanent members Britain, China, France, Russia and the US plus Germany, an EU official said Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity because she was not authorized to disclose details.

Trick or Beef? UK Declares Death to Meat Eaters!

2009-10-26T17:12:00.002-07:00

From AZRainman: Photoshop Satire

Perhaps Lord Stern would like a meat bust of himself instead.

Climate chief Lord Stern: give up meat to save the planet UK TImes

People will need to consider turning vegetarian if the world is to conquer climate change, according to a leading authority on global warming.

In an interview with The Times, Lord Stern of Brentford said: “Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the world’s resources. A vegetarian diet is better.”

Corn-based meat and ethanol: burning the planet to a crisp Grist Magazine

As for meat, get this: two researchers associated with the World Bank claim in a new World Watch report (PDF) that meat production is responsible for more than half of global greenhouse gas emissions. Previously, the most widely cited estimate came from the FAO, which reckoned meat contributes an already-stunning 18 percent.

I'm a PC and Windows 7 is Vista Reloaded

2009-10-26T15:36:00.012-07:00

From AZRainman Misc Pics

You can change her wrapper, but the kernel still looks the same.

Windows 7 Called Slower than Vista PC World

According to iolo's tests, Windows 7 starts up 42% slower than Vista -- one minute, 34 seconds versus one minute, six seconds -- on a brand new machine when the time trials are run to the point where the machine is usable, at least by iolo's standards.

Does Windows 7 Boost Performance? PCQuest

Win 7 Vs Win Vista
We came across in our test an unexpected fight between the two, while we figured out that the performance of Windows 7 and Windows Vista is actually at par. Windows Vista rather outshone Windows 7 by a couple of percentage points. This is pretty obvious as both Windows 7 and Vista use the same kernel. Microsoft didn't develop a new kernel for Windows 7, rather they have refined the Windows Vista kernel to use in Win 7. However, Windows 7 took less than half the time when compared with Windows vista.

Happy 50th Birthday "Weird Al" Yankovic! Freaking News

E-IPS: New Budget LCD Monitor Tech for Photo Enthusiasts

2009-10-19T23:12:00.003-07:00

In case your wondering what to get the Photoshop enthusiast for Christmas or Hanukkah, then you might want to take a look at the news e-IPS panels. This new LCD technology claims the same excellent 8-bit sRGB true color output and wide 178° viewing angles as the s-IPS panels, but at a fraction of the cost.

DELL UltraSharp 2209WA 22" LCD Monitor
Priced around $300

ViewSonic VP2365wb 23" LCD Monitor
Priced around $300

NEC MultiSync EA231WMi 23” LCD Monitor
Priced around $350

Further reading:
TFT LCD Wikipedia
LCD Panel Technology Explained PCHardwareHelp

Aliens Have Pollution

2009-10-19T18:18:00.001-07:00

From AZRainman: Photoshop Satire

So what else are they hatching?

How to Find Aliens? Look for Pollution on Other Planets Discover Magazine

Scientists have proposed what seems like an obvious solution to finding life on other planets—look for pollution similar to that found on Earth. Light or air pollution would be a dead giveaway to life on another planet, according to a study to appear in the journal Astrobiology.

Freakingnews.com is now King of Photoshop Contest Sites!

2009-10-17T22:27:00.005-07:00

Thanks to all you kind folks for helping put us on the top!

How Freakingnews.com is ranked around the world:
#1,286 Australia
#5,328 Canada
#5,737 India
#5,902 United States
#7,610 United Kingdom
#9,206 Netherlands
#10,066 Italy

Recently Freaking News broke its highest Alexa traffic rank ever and the daily reach is up 100% in the last 3 months. They are now the undisputed KING of all photoshop contest sites, were even the giant image hosting sites pale to get this kind of free exposure for their new and old members. You can even win a daily prize and then actually get paid for a huge global internet presence.

www.freakingnews.com

Windows 7 is Big Brother Watching Your Every Move

2009-10-07T18:10:00.007-07:00

Windows 7 with geo-tracking features offer will allow Microsoft and others to track your every move.

Windows 7 Will Let Microsoft Track Your Every Move WebMonkey

So the short story is Windows 7 has geo-tracking features, but aside from turning them on and off, you have basically no control.

That strikes us as a recipe for disaster and something that will eventually blow up in Microsoft’s face (whether justified or not) because geo-tracking is a very sensitive issue and this implementation seems entirely ham-fisted and ill-conceived. Of course it’s a little better than past attempts by the company, which don’t even offer an on/off switch.

Photosketch and Patchmatch Will Make Anyone a Digital Artist

2009-10-06T17:16:00.012-07:00

Draw a simple sketch, and your computer converts it into a realistic photo.

This Is A Photoshop And It Blew My Mind Gizmodo

PhotoSketch’s blending algorithm analyses each of these images, compares them with each other, and decides which are better for the blending process. It automatically traces and places them into a single photograph, matching the scene, and adding shadows. Of course, the results are less than perfect, but they are good enough:

● PhotoSketch: A sketch based image query and compositing system
● A descriptor for large scale image retrieval based on sketched feature lines
*white papers available in pdf.

...Or draw a container box and modify any image.

PatchMatch: A Randomized Correspondence Algorithm for Structural Image Editing Princeton

Patchmatch is coming to Photoshop CS5, which ships in April 2010.

Who made you?

CDC: The Dark Ages of US Nutrition

2009-10-04T16:59:00.010-07:00

From AZRainman: Photoshop Satire

Maybe the lack of an adequate diet would explain the fascination with medical shows and health care, as an apple a day seems to be lost knowledge.

State Indicator Report on Fruits and Vegetables, 2009 CDC

Less than 10 percent of U.S. high school students are eating the combined recommended daily amount of fruits and vegetables.

CDC survey of adults: About 27 percent got at least three servings of vegetables a day, and 33 percent got two servings of fruit.

Or is everyone waiting for the combo package?

From AZRainman: Photoshop Satire

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. - Ben Franklin

Global Zero: World without Nuclear Weapons

2009-10-02T01:04:00.006-07:00

From AZRainman: Photoshop Satire

Join the global campaign for Global Zero - globalzero.org

Osama bin Dead, so Let's Market Him

2009-10-01T23:43:00.005-07:00

From AZRainman: Photoshop Satire

I see in the news there is yet another message from the supposable Osama bin Dead, which is laughable at best without video. Kind of like this beer product and perhaps that's why his kidney's gave out.

Zardari claims Osama bin Laden is dead - Times of India

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has said that al-Qaida chief Osama bin Laden is dead, but has sought more international aid to expand military operations against Taliban, in areas where Americans believe he may be hiding.

Will Obama Blow His Top Over Iran?

2009-10-01T23:25:00.008-07:00

From AZRainman: Photoshop Satire

With Iran's secret nuclear plant revealed in a media blitz of conflicting propaganda and Afghanistan troop level escalation, Obama seems to be fomenting support for war with Iran.

President Obama Warns Iran: 'Our Patience Is Not Unlimited' - ABC

“Our patience is not unlimited,” the president said, alluding to tougher economic sanctions if Iran does not take the necessary steps. “The United States will not continue to negotiate indefinitely, and we are prepared to move towards increased pressure.”

Iran 'has secret nuclear arms plan' - Financial Times

Britain’s intelligence services say that Iran has been secretly designing a nuclear warhead “since late 2004 or early 2005”, an assessment that suggests Tehran has embarked on the final steps towards acquiring nuclear weapons capability.

As world powers prepare to confront Iran on Thursday on its nuclear ambitions, the Financial Times has learnt that the UK now judges that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, ordered the resumption of the country’s weapons programme four years ago.

The Lying Game: Drum-beating for War against Iran
How we are prepared for another war of aggression

The official jargon for this kind of propaganda is “psy-ops”, the military term for psychological operations. In the Pentagon and Whitehall, it has become a critical component of a diplomatic and military campaign to blockade, isolate and weaken Iran by hyping its “nuclear threat”: a phrase now used incessantly by Barack Obama and Gordon Brown, and parroted by the BBC and other broadcasters as objective news. And it is fake.

Obama’s “showdown” with Iran has another agenda. On both sides of the Atlantic the media have been tasked with preparing the public for endless war. The US/Nato commander General Stanley McChrystal says 500,000 troops will be required in Afghanistan over five years, according to America’s NBC. The goal is control of the “strategic prize” of the gas and oilfields of the Caspian Sea, central Asia, the Gulf and Iran – in other words, Eurasia. But the war is opposed by 69 per cent of the British public, 57 per cent of the US public and almost every other human being. Convincing “us” that Iran is the new demon will not be easy. McChrystal’s spurious claim that Iran “is reportedly training fighters for certain Taliban groups” is as desperate as Brown’s pathetic echo of “a line in the sand”.

Obama don't like it, rock the casbah...

Welcome to Obama's Bizarro World

2009-09-15T06:01:00.014-07:00

From AZRainman: Photoshop Satire

When Satire Becomes Reality: Welcome to Bizarro World

As Obama’s base registers growing opposition to yet another fruitless, unwinnable war, the president is coming to rely on support from the neocons to buttress elite opinion in the wake of alarming events on the "Af-Pak" front.

Thousands of downtown DC protesters blast Obama AP

Throngs of people waved U.S. flags and held signs reading "Go Green Recycle Congress" and "Obama Bin Lyin.'" Men wore colonial costumes as they listened to speakers who warned of "judgment day" — Election Day 2010.

Other signs — reflecting the growing intensity of the health care debate — depicted President Barack Obama with the signature mustache of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler. Many referred to Obama as a socialist or communist, and another imposed his face on that of the villainous Joker from "Batman."

Poll: Support for Afghan war at all-time low CNN
Obama Is Pushing Israel Toward War Wall Street Journal
US vs. China: Has Trade War Begun? Seeking Alpha

Mexico's war on the United States Renew America
Russian tanks in Latin America RT
Putin warns against Iran attack BBC News
While Europe Sleeps, Bosnia Seethes New York Times

Ooh superman where are you now,
When everythings gone wrong somehow,
The men of steel, the men of power,
Are losing control by the hour.

From misc

America Loves Death?

2009-09-10T22:04:00.007-07:00

U.S. suicidal idealogy might explain the need to see war as a means, the worsening economy, rampant hate and polarization, and the desire to have 47 million uninsured people running around spreading disease.

U.S. is a Suicidal Superpower CNN

I don't know if it's because of our arrogance, our stupidity or maybe both, but I believe that history may one day judge America as the most suicidal superpower of all time. After all, what country that cares about its future would do what America has done to its supply of food and fuel, two of the most critical things that any civilization needs to survive?

Is America Coming Apart? VDare

We seem not only to disagree with each other more than ever, but to have come almost to detest one another. Politically, culturally, racially, we seem ever ready to go for each others' throats.

Who: Suicide Leading Cause of Death Worldwide Voice of America

The World Health Organization says suicide is a leading cause of death worldwide, and one of the three leading causes of death for young people under 25. To mark World Suicide Prevention Day, which falls on September 10, the World Health Organization says there are measures people and society can take to save thousands of people from meeting a self-inflicted violent death.

The World Health Organization reports every year, about one million people die by suicide. That comes to around 3,000 deaths a day or one death every 40 seconds.

In the past 45 years, the World Health Organization says suicide rates have increased by 60 percent worldwide and it predicts these deaths will rise to 1.5 million by 2020.

They were all in love with dyin'
They were drinking from a fountain
That was pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain

Happy Labor Day

2009-09-07T08:57:00.026-07:00

America needs more opportunities

It used to be that 40 percent of American wage workers in the private sector were union members, when all that was needed was a good union job for one parent in a household was enough to win a place in the middle class.

Today, 7 percent of salaried private employees are union members nationally. It takes two working parents to makes ends meet, while 46 million people are without health insurance, 35 million are on food stamps, and 4 million are homeless.

Surge in Homeless Pupils Strains Schools NYTimes

ASHEVILLE, N.C. — In Asheville, N.C., the family of Charity Crowell, 9, became homeless in the spring when her parents lost their jobs and car, and were evicted from their home. After staying with friends and in a motel, they found a trailer to rent for the summer, but faced eviction again.

Estimated One Million Students Homeless AllGov

1 in 8 Americans, hunger is a reality - Feedingamerica.org

“No American is ever made better off by pulling a fellow American down, and every American is made better off whenever any one of us is made better off. A rising tide raises all boats.” ~JFK

Going Hog Wild for Swine Flu

2009-08-30T23:04:00.007-07:00

Swine flu media hype is reaching a climax. Time cue the sow, err fat lady.

Swine Flu Could Infect Half of US Washington Post
Officials may recommend 3 flu shots Los Angeles Times
WHO: Swine flu spreading at 'unbelievable' rate AFP
Ron Paul on Swine Flu: "Scare the People to Death" CNN
Historical facts about the dangers (and failures) of vaccines Global Research

Obama says WHO flu vaccine is NOT mandatory

From the Rose Garden today, President Barack Obama promised that the swine flu vaccine “will be completely voluntary.” He took no questions and spoke for only four minutes. Top policymakers from the various alphabet agencies whose bailiwick includes the WHO flu (H1N1) flanked him.