[re-posted from The Zelman Partisans]

Did you know that 95 percent of all retail sales in Sweden are cashless?  And did you know that the government of Denmark has a stated goal of “eradicating cash” by the year 2030?  All over the world, we are seeing a relentless march toward a cashless society, and nowhere is this more true than in northern Europe.  In Sweden, hundreds of bank branches no longer accept or dispense cash, and thousands of ATM machines have been permanently removed.  At this point, bills and coins only account for just 2 percent of the Swedish economy, and many stores no longer take cash at all.  The notion of a truly “cashless society” was once considered to be science fiction, but now we are being told that it is “inevitable”, and authorities insist that it will enable them to thwart criminals, terrorists, drug runners, money launderers and tax evaders.  But what will we give up in the process?

In Sweden, the transition to a cashless society is being enthusiastically embraced.  The following is an excerpt from a New York Times article that was published on Saturday…

Parishioners text tithes to their churches. Homeless street vendors carry mobile credit-card readers. Even the Abba Museum, despite being a shrine to the 1970s pop group that wrote “Money, Money, Money,” considers cash so last-century that it does not accept bills and coins.

Few places are tilting toward a cashless future as quickly as Sweden, which has become hooked on the convenience of paying by app and plastic.

To me, giving money in church electronically seems so bizarre.  But it is starting to happen here in the United States, and in Sweden some churches collect most of their tithes and offerings this way…

More…

Obama’s narcissism and greed never fail to amaze me. I wonder how the fools who voted him into office will fare in the future?

David DeGerolamo

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Friend —

Back at the beginning of this year, I made a point to tell folks to pay attention to what we do in the time we have left in the White House — that interesting stuff tends to happen in the fourth quarter.

And I like to think that 2015 has proven that point to be true. We’ve seen our hard work over the years pay off for the American people in a big way: The longest streak of private-sector job growth on record, the unemployment rate down to just 5 percent, and wages growing faster than at any time since the recovery began. The Affordable Care Act has helped drive the rate of uninsured folks in this country below 10 percent for the first time on record. Our American delegation working to reduce carbon emissions brought China to the table, and earlier this month in Paris, nearly 200 nations joined us in forging a historic climate agreement.

And though it wasn’t easy, Congress has also done their part to help end this year with some progress, too. They came to the table and passed a bipartisan budget deal, and in doing so averted a government shutdown for at least another nine months.

My hope is that as we go into my final year in office, we can see even more of this — people deciding to come together to get important things done on behalf of the American people. Because we still have some unfinished business. And if you want to help make sure we can do the important work of electing Democrats who will help us keep up this forward movement and protect the progress we’ve made, pitch in $3 or whatever you can before the end of the year to become an official 2016 Victory Donor.

In 2016, I’m planning to leave it all out on the field — and I hope you’ll be there alongside me. I’ve never been more optimistic about a year ahead than I am right now.

Thanks for being part of this work. We can’t do it without you.

Barack Obama

And then I get this from Mochelle within a few hours:

Friend —

I can’t thank you enough for standing by Barack and Democrats all over the country this year. Millions of supporters have invested time, money, and energy to take true ownership of this party and advance the values and beliefs that make us Democrats.

So I really mean it when I say that I can’t thank you enough: All the progress we’ve made this year, we’ve made because folks like you have never shied away from a challenge, and you’re never afraid of hard work.

There will be more challenges on the road ahead, and more work to be done to protect our progress and keep moving forward. I know you’re ready to face it all head-on — it’s what folks like you have always done. You’re never satisfied to sit idly by and just watch things happen. I’ve always known our supporters to be action takers, and you’re no different. So right now, if you can, pitch in $3 so we can keep facing those challenges head-on and doing the hard work that truly makes a difference in our fellow Americans’ lives.

The future of this country is up to us — and I know it’s in good hands, because I’ve seen the good that we can accomplish when we work together. I’m so excited to see what we’ll do next.

Michelle

by Robert Gore

Bankruptcy and war will fell the current constellation of governments. While government failure is nothing new, the scale of the impending collapse will be unprecedented. Debt, fiat currencies, and taxes only allow so much fraud and theft. To survive and thrive, governments must be able to acquire real resources with their phony scrip and expropriation. The world’s public and private debt is a lien, often a literal one, on the world’s real resources, and its nominal value of around $225 trillion is about three times world GDP. That nominal value understates the true extent to which present and future assets and production are encumbered. Welfare state pension and medical promises dwarf current governmental debts. Add entitlement promises to existing debt and even that gargantuan number falls well short of the notional amount of financial derivatives, all of which incorporate some sort of debt. Estimates of their size range from $700 trillion to over a quadrillion dollars.

The world is at peak debt; it’s broke. In effect, every real asset on the planet is subject to one or more claims; every financial asset is somebody’s debt (or equity, which is only a residual and contingent claim behind debt), and income streams are less than total debt service. This unsustainable load will grow more unsustainable.

More…

First, a quote from a knowledgeable source:

“And KILL them (the unbelievers) wherever you find them …

“O you who believe! fight those of the unbelievers who are near to you and let them find in you hardness; and know that Allah is with those who guard (against evil).” (Sura 9, verse 123).

“Surely We have prepared for the unbelievers chains and shackles and a burning fire.” (Sura 76, verse 4).

… Islam under scrutiny by ex-muslims:  Islam Watch

Then, an excerpt from today’s news:

Iran’s Rouhani urges Muslims to fix Islam’s global image

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says Muslims should strive towards improving the world’s opinion of Islam, which he says has been tarnished by violence.

“We must remove Islam’s negative image from today’s cyber and real space,” he told a conference in Tehran.

… from the BBC NEWS

Can you say “Taquia” ?

Thanks to Earl of Taint  <<— click here for larger image