XIAM007

Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Thursday 6 March 2014

Vladimir Putin Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize -

Vladimir Putin Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize - 



It would appear the Norwegian Nobel Institute is starting to lose it. Just a few years after President Obama won the Peace Prize (while mired in overseas wars), the director of the prestigious entity announced today that Russian President Vladimir Putin, accused of invading Ukraine - suspiciously un-peaceful action - has been nominated for the Peace Prize. Putin joins NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai as a nominee for the award to be announced in October.

Via Voice Of Russia,

Putin is thought to be on the list, since Russian figures proposed his name in October, citing his role in the Syrian crisis.

The former KGB agent is credited with averting a US attack against Syria by suggesting putting Bashar al-Assad's regime's chemical weapons arsenal under international control.
But, as HuffPo notes,

In order to secure a spot on the list, essentially all that's required is for a group or individual who falls under the broad criteria set by the Nobel Committee to formally submit your name and good deeds. The committee then selects from these nominations, but takes no responsibility for the pool of candidates they choose from.

This process has resulted in some truly terrible people being proposed over the years, including but not limited to: Joseph Stalin (twice), Adolf Hitler (as a protest), and Rush Limbaugh. Putin was also nominated last year and faced similar criticism as today.
Just need a few more invasions and should be a lock...

Read more - 
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-03-06/vladimir-putin-nominated-nobel-peace-prize

Driver finds $12,000 stash of marijuana in spare tire -

Driver finds $12,000 stash of marijuana in spare tire - 



An Ohio woman took the car she bought seven months ago to a dealership to replace a flat tire this week and learned she has been driving around with eight pounds of marijuana in the spare.

Mechanics at the dealership in Amherst, Ohio, west of Cleveland made the discovery when they installed the spare tire and heard a "loud thumping" as the woman drove away, police said on Wednesday.

They found marijuana worth about $12,000 wrapped in plastic that had been stashed in the tire, according to Chief Deputy Dennis Cavanaugh of the Lorain County, Ohio Sheriff Department.

The car was purchased new in August.

Cavanaugh said the woman has not been charged with any crime, and investigators were trying to trace the marijuana back to parts suppliers or vehicle transport firms.

Cavanaugh said this case was not the first time marijuana has been found in unexpected places, including tires and hidden compartments.

"I'm sure it is not the only vehicle out there with this," Cavanaugh said.

Read more - 
http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/2014/03/06/driver-finds-12000-stash-of-marijuana-in-spare-tire

The Next Shoe To Drop On Your Retirement Account -

The Next Shoe To Drop On Your Retirement Account - 



President Obama released his 2015 budget proposal this week… and as expected, it contained even more language about his MyRA initiative.

As we’ve discussed so many times in the past, IRAs are an irresistible kitty for such a bankrupt government.

The US government itself estimates that over $5 trillion is tucked away in American retirement accounts.

They need that money. Your money.

Think about it– the Chinese are starting to dump their US Treasuries in record numbers. The Social Security trust fund is also on track to start dumping Treasuries in order to pay out record numbers of retirees.

The US government is struggling to come up with new funding sources… and retirement accounts are by far the easiest target.

Why? Because the majority of retirement accounts at trapped at big Wall Street banks, which are all de facto agents of the government. All the Treasury Department has to do is make a phone call.

Of course, they’ll claim that it’s for your own good. I suspect they’ll wait until there’s a big stock market crash and then say “We must protect Americans from such risky investments. And that’s why today we are requiring these banks to invest a portion of the retirement accounts they manage in the safety and security of US government Treasuries.”

A few weeks ago in his Sad State of the Union address, President Obama announced this MyRA program– a new initiative that will “help” Americans invest directly in US Treasuries.

Then he looked everyone in the eye and said, “These accounts will never go down in value…”

Naturally. How could loaning money at rates which don’t even keep pace with inflation to a country that has racked up more debt than any other nation in the history of the world possibly pose a risk?

After announcing MyRA, Mr. Obama took to the streets, and his team took to the media… flooding newspapers and airwaves with MyRA propaganda.

Yesterday’s budget announcement constitutes the next phase: automatic enrollment.

And I suspect that, just like Obamacare, there will soon come a time when it will become MANDATORY to have some sort of retirement plan set up, naturally with the government option at people’s fingertips.

This isn’t some far-fetched conspiracy theory. In fact, it’s already happened in so many countries over the last few years– from Argentina to Ireland to Poland.

In fact, even the Treasury Department grabbed government pension funds at least three times since 2011 in order to plug temporary funding gaps.

The Federal Times, a publication for senior government managers, ran a story back in 2011 entitled “Treasury raids your pension – but don’t worry, Geithner says”.

This idea is no longer theory or conjecture. It’s happening, and the conclusions are all supported by the data.

Anyone who thinks ‘that will never happen here’ is really fooling themselves… and playing very dangerous games with their hard-earned savings.

Read more - 
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-03-06/next-shoe-drop-your-retirement-account

Scientists Patent Machine To Give Women Orgasms At Push Of Button... -

Scientists Patent Machine To Give Women Orgasms At Push Of Button... - 



Scientists have patented a new machine that will provide orgasms for women at the push of a button.
A little smaller than a packet of cigarettes, the machine is designed to be a medical implant that uses electrodes to trigger an orgasm.  The device would help some women who suffer from orgasmic dysfunction.
During the operation, a patient would remain conscious so that a surgeon could correctly pinpoint the right nerves to fit the electrodes in a patient’s spinal cord.  Then, a signal generator would be connected which would be most likely implanted under the skin of a patient’s buttocks.
Stuart Meloy,  a surgeon at Piedmont Anesthesia and Pain Consultants in Winston-Salem, N.C., came up with idea by accident.
“I was placing the electrodes and suddenly the woman started exclaiming emphatically,” he said to Newscientist. “I asked her what was up and she said, ‘You’re going to have to teach my husband to do that’.”
Meloy explained that the idea is that orgasms could happen at the push of a button when the implant could be triggered by a hand-held remote control.
However, he explained the treatment is intended to be used in the most serious of orgasmic dysfunction cases because the device is as invasive as a pacemaker.
Medical trials will be conducted by a Minneapolis-based company later this year.

Read more - 
http://charlotte.cbslocal.com/2014/03/05/scientists-build-orgasm-machine-for-women/