Business. As Usual.

We have the best democracy money can buy.

Oh, Well Done

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Surprisingly, Not from The Onion

Several people were injured and at least a dozen were arrested as young people gathered for the Keene Pumpkin Festival near Keene State College [Keene, New Hampshire] clashed with police in riot gear.

About 30 people were injured as hundreds of students threw beer cans and bottles at police and ripped up street signs, fire officials said. Police used pellets and pepper spray to try and disperse the crowds.

[...]

“Despite the concerted efforts of organizers, city officials, police, and Keene State College, there continued to be disruptive behavior at parties in multiple locations around the city, injuries, and property damage.”

[...]

The unrest continued into the night, as students overturned cars and photos on social media showed fires on the street near the campus.

  CBS Boston

I don't see any comment on what the rioting was about. Are there just crazy kids in New Hampshire?Did someone unleash a test chemical?

Keene State student Ellery Murray told The Boston Globe she was at a party that had drawn a large crowd when people started throwing things. She said police responded in riot gear and used tear gas to break up the crowd.

"People were just throwing everything they could find — rocks, skateboards, buckets, pumpkins," she said. "People just got too drunk."

  Star Tribune

People get too drunk at lots of events, but they don’t riot. Well, except at sports events.

College President Anne Huot said in an emailed statement that the festival has been promoted by others "as a destination for destructive and raucous behavior" and the college had tried on the front end, in working with the city and campus, to prevent this from happening.

"We deplore the actions of those whose only purpose was to cause mayhem," she said, adding that the students involved will be held accountable.

  Lowell Sun

Who are these “others” and why do they want to cause mayhem at Keene? What did the college do to try to prevent it?  We need more information.

It's Sunday

Pope Francis appeared on Saturday night to have lost out to powerful conservatives in the Roman Catholic church after bishops scrapped language that had been hailed as a historic warming of attitudes towards gay people.

  Guardian

I had no idea you could veto the Pope.

He'll Wish He'd Considered "the Optics"

Obama told on himself.

US President Barack Obama insisted that he really has been paying his bills, after his credit card was turned down at a posh New York restaurant. First Lady Michelle was forced to pick up the tab following the hiccup.

Obama revealed the slip-up as he was signing a new anti-fraud order into law on Friday at the Consumers Financial Protection Bureau. The law will make chip and pin technology compulsory on all federal government credit and debit cards, the Huffington Post reported.

“It turned out I guess I don’t use it enough, so they thought there was some fraud going on. I was trying to explain to the waitress, ‘No really, I think that I’ve, uh, been paying my bills.’ So even I’m affected by this,” he quipped.

  RT

They thought there would be fraud? From the president? Man, New York is tough.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

The More Things Change

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Good Grief

And if all that doesn't make you shake your head, how about this?

President Barack Obama on Friday named a former longtime top aide to coordinate the government’s efforts to combat Ebola, a veteran insider with experience in navigating the government bureaucracy but also a man with no medical background.

  McClatchy

Now I'm betting on a pandemic.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Kill the Messenger

For those of you who won't be able to see the movie "Kill the Messenger" - and for those of you who will, but still want a thorough summary (or reminder) of what Pulitzer prize-winning reporter Gary Webb was writing about (Iran-Contra-CIA-cocaine-crack-connections) and eventually gave his life over, read James DiEugenio's article here at Consortium News. (http://consortiumnews.com/2014/10/16/kill-the-messenger-rare-truth-telling/)

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

The Current War in Iraq

How Long Before We Have to Quit Calling Turkey Part of Our "Mideast Coalition"?

On Wednesday night, Turkey’s foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, hosted a posh party for diplomats at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York, where many of the guests predicted an easy victory for Turkey [to become a nonpermanent member of the UN Security Council].

[...]

In a tremendous upset, Turkey lost [the] contest in the United Nations General Assembly.

[...]

Turkey lost out to Spain and New Zealand in a contest for two available seats reserved for a voting bloc called the Western European and Others Group, which includes the United States.

[...]

After several rounds of voting, Turkey ended up receiving the support of only 60 General Assembly members, while Spain got 132 votes, more than enough to satisfy the necessary threshold of 128 supporters.

[...]

“It’s surprising, because I was told just days ago that Turkey received letters of support from 160 countries,” said one diplomat after the secret ballot ended in Turkey’s failure to edge out Spain. The diplomat noted, however, that Spain received 154 letters of support from the 193 General Assembly members. “This isn’t the way this should be done,” said the diplomat, referring to the habit among member states of expressing support publicly while opposing membership in secret balloting.

  Newsweek

A bit embarrassing for Turkey, I’d say.  And they don't seem to be feeling the coalition of  love these days anyway.