THE SANTA’S DAY ESSAY: There’ll be bluebirds over the snow-capped cliffs of Dover. Allegedly. - The Slog

There’s only one Santa

Today is Christmas Day, when every interpretation of anything is possible:

‘Greece should write off part of the
53 billion euros ($70 billion) of outstanding taxes owed to it
as it will only be able to collect up to 20 percent of that
amount, a report by the European Union and International
Monetary Fund showed.’

Secret IMF/Bondholder Report

‘For our part, we see the conflict between different sections of the ruling class and their state apparatus as being part of the break-up of the capitalist order in the face of the developing world socialist revolution. We hope that the different bourgeois factions do the greatest possible damage to each other, and in doing so prepare the way for the successful British socialist revolution, that will completely smash up every part of the British capitalist state, to bring in socialism.’

British Workers Revolutionary Party

Why I Am Hopeful - Charles Hugh Smith

Why am I hopeful? the Status Quo is devolving, and a better way of living lies just beyond the corrupt, wasteful, ruinous consumerist debt/financial tyranny we now inhabit.
First, let's start with a Christmas song by longtime reader/contributor Dan T. who is a professional songwriter/musician: The Happy Christmas Song - thank you, Dan, for the joy of this music.
Readers often ask me to post something hopeful, and I understand why: doom-and-gloom gets tiresome. Human beings need hope just as they need oxygen, and the destruction of the Status Quo via over-reach and internal contradictions doesn't leave much to be happy about.
The most hopeful thing in my mind is that the Status Quo is devolving from its internal contradictions and excesses. It is a perverse, intensely destructive system with horrific incentives for predation, exploitation, fraud and complicity and few disincentives.
A more human world lies just beyond the edge of the Status Quo.
I know many smart, well-informed people expect the worst once the Status Quo (the Savior State and its corporatocracy partners) devolves, and there is abundant evidence of the ugliness of human nature under duress.
But we should temper this Id ugliness with the stronger impulses of community and compassion. If greed and rapaciousness were the dominant forces within human nature, then the species would have either died out at its own hand or been limited to small savage populations kept in check by the predation of neighboring groups, none of which could expand much because inner conflict would limit their ability to grow.
The remarkable success of humanity as a species is not simply the result of a big brain, opposable thumbs, year-round sex, innovation or even language; it is also the result of social and cultural associations that act as a "network" for storing knowledge and good will

UK Government: Stop Piers Morgan from being deported back to the UK from America

Click here to sign the petition

Jim Willie: The Gold War

By Jim Willie: The global financial crisis is better described as a global monetary war to defend the toxic USDollar, whose sunset can be seen. In the last 12 to 18 months, the monetary war has again morphed, this time into a far more serious and financially violent global Gold War. Nations are fast realizing that their only true liquid assets of value are their gold reserves, and even they have been tampered with or stolen in a vast re-hypothecation scheme.

The Gold War is on, having moved to a higher gear, but nowhere near a climax gear. The true value of gold is being realized. The strength of gold during insolvency crisis is being observed. The resistance and rescue from the plague of insolvency is being made clear on a global stage. The new important part of the Gold War comes with the Allocated Gold Account scandal which will dwarf the LIBOR and MFGlobal scandals. The demands for repatriated gold accounts, primarily from the criminal bank sectors in London and New York, have amplified. Germany has finally joined with demands for gold repatriation. The demands will continue to grow even as tampered gold bars add to the motivation to repatriate. If only Chavez of Venezuela knew that he was to start a global trend to call gold home, in a Gran Aletazo de Mariposas. The grand butterfly flapping has caused a whirlwind that will turn into a tornado to wreck the central banks in a final death blow.

Good and bad terrorists in Syria

Dr. Ismail Salam: Terrorism is terrorism and it cannot be defined otherwise unless the interests of one party tilt the scale in disfavor of another and the dichotomization of the terrorists in Syria into good and bad by the West casts doubt on its claim on democracy.

In a somber political tone, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov lashed out as “absolutely unacceptable” the West’s support for the terrorists in Syria in his exclusive interview with Russia Today.

Lavrov said the West has divided the terrorists into “bad” and “acceptable,” throwing its support behind the latter.

“It's absolutely unacceptable and if we follow this logic it might lead us to a very dangerous situation not only in the Middle East but in other parts of the world, if our partners in the West would begin to qualify terrorists as bad terrorists and acceptable terrorists,” the Russian foreign minister said.

When Only The Machines Are Stirring - GBP Goes Bidless

Submitted by Tyler Durden: UPDATE: GBP -160pips now

It seems that while all the good boys and girls of the world are opening gifts and starting to drink heavily on this festive day, something is afoot in the GBPUSD FX pair. With not a creature stirring apart from a few algos, the transatlantic cross has gone steadily bidless - now down 90 pips in a well coordinated dribble-down algo battering.
Of course, it isn't like there are hundreds of billions in trade terms relying on an accurate, credible depiction of what this currency pair's true, algo-free value is, so don't expect anyone to actually lift a finger to explain what just happened.

 Merry Cliffmas, signed Johhny 5 Source

Ho, Ho, Freaking Ho! Max Keiser with John Cooper Clarke

Max Keiser first talks to punk poet John Cooper Clarke about Who Stole Bongo's Trousers, private equity rock stars, the music business and onesies as the next big thing in fashion. In the second half, Max is joined by Stacy to talk about the 'poverty barons' financed by the British taxpayer. Source

Call Me Maybe PARODY - My Name's Obama

Rucka Rucka Ali

Israel approves plans to build 1,200 new settler units in Gilo - Netanyahu ‘I don't care what the UN says!’

Press TV: The apartheid Israeli regime has approved plans to construct 1,200 settler units in the settlement of Gilo in East al-Quds (Jerusalem), despite the growing international condemnation of the move.

An Israeli planning and building committee on Monday decided to proceed with its plans to build 1,200 illegal settler units in Gilo.
Gilo is among five major settlements in East al-Quds (Jerusalem) that were developed by Israel following its Six-Day War of 1967, which brought the Gaza Strip, East al-Quds, and the West Bank under Tel Aviv’s occupation.

Bono: Do they know it's Christmas (in America)?

thejuicemedia: This festive season, while many of us enjoy feeling the bosoms of our families, we at Juice Rap News feel it is important to remember those much much much much less fortunate than us. And in the time honoured tradition of misguided Western pop charity singles, we invited the legendary Irish piece of shit, (Cui) Bono to resurrect the execrable post colonial anthem 'Do They Know It's Christmas?' in which he featured during the 1980's.

A CLIMATE TAX CAROL + Deek Jackson Live @ The Half Moon Brixton

NWO vs Christmas: Santa Busted for Chalking in Austin - Police off the 'Nice' List

Troopers Arrest Santa Claus & Elf for Chalking Wishes At Capitol - Occupy Austin calls for Free Santa Solidarity Rally 6pm at Travis County Jail