From Zero Hedge who evidently has drawn enough mainstream attention to be noticing some blowback.

While our government economists assure us that inflation is under control at under 2%, General Mills is having a completely different experience, and is of course passing that experience on to you.

Just skip down to the red.

The following is Professor William Black's testimony to the House Financial Services Committee's hearing on the failure of Lehman Brothers in 2008.

Professor Black's qualifications which are about as long as your right arm, can be found here.

The following is an interview with Professor Black on the street in New York City during the Occupy Wall Street happening this past fall wherein he discusses having put over 1000 banksters in jail during the 1980's Savings and Loan meltdown, and the cause (not causes) of our present issues .....

FRAUD.

Very good stuff, you should watch it.

If you like Professor Black, here's his interview with Bill Moyers who is one of the only mainstream journalist paying any attention to the pervasive corruption that is Wall Street and Washington DC.

From the International Institute for Strategic Studies.

We were skulking around over there having been put on notice by Kimberly H. of a series of charts/reports on 2012 international miitary spending and spotted this map.

As discussed in the brief paragraph at the top of the map, the Arctic is becoming increasingly militarized as declining sea ice makes the area more accessible.

Because clearly, I have way too much time on my hands and am far too sore from colt riding to muster much enthusiasm for anything more strenuous than sitting and thinking, I've been sitting here thinking.

And that which I've been sitting here thinking is the following;

Aren't the consequences of ignoring reality simply continued reality?

I think so.

Therefore, maybe you can ignore the consequences of ignoring reality.

Just not safely.

A hungry stomach cannot hear.

By the work one knows the workman.

I bend and do not break.

In short, Luck is always to blame.

It is impossible to please all the world and one's father.

The strongest passion is fear. 

Everyone believes very easily whatever they fear or desire.

Everyone has his faults which he continually repeats: neither fear nor shame can cure them.

Everyone calls himself a friend, but only a fool relies on it; nothing is commoner than the name, nothing rarer than the thing.

Help thyself and Heaven will help thee

Man is so made that when anything fires his soul, impossibilities vanish.

Never sell the bear's skin before one has killed the beast.

A person often meets his destiny on the road he took to avoid it.

A number of people continue to ask about the colt. 

He is outstanding, thank you.

This is his baby picture.

We've had no more episodes of colic since he returned home from the convalescent home and he is by far the best two year old I've ever been around ... actually by way far.

He's been so good that the people who own the place where I ride asked me to ride their two year olds while they're off showing horses, thinking that it was my skill as a trainer of colts they were witnessing when in truth it's my colt the genius, picking it up as fast as I can show it to him, who is special.

This is a perfect deal for them as they can't pay me if I want to maintain my non pro card and good for me because I've lost 6 or so pounds, about an inch I didn't need anyway and have cleared my lungs out pretty good just from fooling around three or so hours a day, six days a week with four two year old colts.

The downside is that going from riding no horses a day to four colts a day in about two weeks has left me a little beat up and temporarilly reliant on the Tylenol to accomplish pretty much anything else.

Small price.

Remembering that I'm riding babies and am training mostly at a walk or a nice working trot, here are two vids that demonstrate how I've been spending my mornings.

The first is from Larry Trocha who offers a useful conversation about setting up a wall with the bit, and maybe more importantly proper riding posture into your stop.

The second is from Les Vogt who certainly has a glorious work environment and presents one of my favorite thoughts on stopping, that being the notion of 'letting them stop" rather than making them stop.

Drive your colt into that stop, say whoa while you're pulling your legs off him and pretty quick you'll get that "melting into the ground" thing that everybody loves.

At least around here.

Here's a little 3 day old news from Rueters.

I've been busy.

Anyway, so we're mad at India for buying Iranian oil while we're selling Iran wheat.

The good news here is that Cargill and Bunge Ltd. (probably, but no comment) are getting a premium for the wheat because shipping is dangerous in the Straights of Hormuz because there's ..... you know ..... an embargo.

Just an aside, has anyone checked out the price on a loaf of bread lately.

Iran buys U.S. wheat again, trade set to grow

Iran has purchased 60,000 metric tonnes (66,139 tons) of U.S. wheat, the U.S. government said on Thursday, raising the two-week tally to 180,000 metric tonnes, which industry sources said reopened grain trade ties between the two countries embroiled in a stand-off over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

Iran's purchases of U.S. wheat this year are its first in three years, and the sources said the OPEC member was close to completing purchases of another 220,000 metric tonnes to be shipped as early as April, and in talks with exporters to buy another undisclosed amount.

The price tag for the 400,000 metric tonnes -- 180,000 confirmed and 220,000 yet to be formally declared -- could be around $160 million, export sources said.

Prices were believed to be above world market prices by around $25 to $30 per metric tonne to account for the greater risk shipping grain to the volatile region.

Trade sources said grain giants Cargill Inc. and Bunge Ltd were the likely suppliers to Iran, but the two companies declined to comment.

Up until the Pogues there has never been anything that even remotely resembles the Pogues, who offered up an electric mix of Punk crossed on Irish folk music.

Tonight, depending where you happen to be, you can hear any number of bands that sound a lot like the Pogues including most notably Black 47, The Dropkick Murpheys and hopefully the Pogues themselves whom I believe still soldier on. 

Here they are at the absolute top of their game in 1988, live in Japan.  

This is Shane MacGowan on Vocals, a seemingly bored Spider Stacey on backup vocals, Penny Whistle and cigarette, James Fearnley on the Accordian, Phil Chevron on Guitar, Andrew Rankin playing Drums, and Darryl Hunt on the Bass.  Jem Finer who you never really get to see is somewhere playing the Banjo and Terry Woods who you also never really see is on the Mandola (think big Mandolin), the headstock of which you do get to see.

The Pogues.

If I Should Fall from Grace With God ... which I'm sure will never happen.

And because Jem Finer has moved to the saxaphone and catches a little face time on this one and even more because there are times when it's only a little Irish Punk that truly satisfies.

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah ... not Year, Year, Year as some would have you believe.

The fan at the front of the stage is there to keep Shane from falling on his face.

The assassination probably has nothing to do with the quote, I was just pretending to be the Freep.

Click this here little gear here for the story of one of the more interesting trials in American History, that of Charles Guiteau for the murder of President James A. Garfield wherein he admitted to the shooting but claimed innocence for the murder, pinning Garfield's death on lousy doctoring.

He might have had a point there.

Click this here little gear here for a photgraph of Mr. Guiteau's brain in a mason jar ..... seriously.

Clearly, Mr. Guiteau's defense was unsuccessful.