This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.

Christmas Day Open Thread

Tyler Durden's picture




 

To some, such as those few whose daily net worth is still a function of the policy vehicle formerly known as the 'market', it is a merry Christmas (at least until such time as the recoupling between central planning and reality once again inevitably occurs). To others, such as the 50 million (by now) Americans on food stamps, and billions of others around the world living in conditions of poverty, it is not so merry. But no matter one's current state of one's mind, there is always hope that the future will bring better days: after all that is what reflective holidays such as today are all about. We too hope that there is hope, if at the same time realizing that ever more of the promise of the future is packaged away in chunks of debt and securitized in order to fund an unsustainable present. We open up this thread to readers to share their hopes and concerns about the present and the future.

But before we do, we wanted to share a brief blurb from the Mises Institute on the "The Christmas Truce of World War I"

The Christmas Truce, which occurred primarily between the British and German soldiers along the Western Front in December 1914, is an event the official histories of the "Great War" leave out, and the Orwellian historians hide from the public. Stanley Weintraub has broken through this barrier of silence and written a moving account of this significant event by compiling letters sent home from the front, as well as diaries of the soldiers involved. His book is entitled Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce. The book contains many pictures of the actual events showing the opposing forces mixing and celebrating together that first Christmas of the war. This remarkable story begins to unfold, according to Weintraub, on the morning of December 19, 1914:

"Lieutenant Geoffrey Heinekey, new to the 2nd Queen's Westminister Rifles, wrote to his mother, 'A most extraordinary thing happened. . . . Some Germans came out and held up their hands and began to take in some of their wounded and so we ourselves immediately got out of our trenches and began bringing in our wounded also. The Germans then beckoned to us and a lot of us went over and talked to them and they helped us to bury our dead. This lasted the whole morning and I talked to several of them and I must say they seemed extraordinarily fine men. . . . It seemed too ironical for words. There, the night before we had been having a terrific battle and the morning after, there we were smoking their cigarettes and they smoking ours." (p. 5)

Weintraub reports that the French and Belgians reacted differently to the war and with more emotion than the British in the beginning. The war was occurring on their land and "The French had lived in an atmosphere of revanche since 1870, when Alsace and Lorraine were seized by the Prussians" in a war declared by the French (p. 4). The British and German soldiers, however, saw little meaning in the war as to them, and, after all, the British King and the German Kaiser were both grandsons of Queen Victoria. Why should the Germans and British be at war, or hating each other, because a royal couple from Austria were killed by an assassin while they were visiting in Serbia? However, since August when the war started, hundreds of thousands of soldiers had been killed, wounded or missing by December 1914 (p. xvi).

It is estimated that over eighty thousand young Germans had gone to England before the war to be employed in such jobs as waiters, cooks, and cab drivers and many spoke English very well. It appears that the Germans were the instigators of this move towards a truce. So much interchange had occurred across the lines by the time that Christmas Eve approached that Brigadier General G.T. Forrestier-Walker issued a directive forbidding fraternization:

"For it discourages initiative in commanders, and destroys offensive spirit in all ranks. . . . Friendly intercourse with the enemy, unofficial armistices and exchange of tobacco and other comforts, however tempting and occasionally amusing they may be, are absolutely prohibited." (p. 6–7)

Later strict orders were issued that any fraternization would result in a court-martial. Most of the seasoned German soldiers had been sent to the Russian front while the youthful and somewhat untrained Germans, who were recruited first, or quickly volunteered, were sent to the Western Front at the beginning of the war. Likewise, in England young men rushed to join in the war for the personal glory they thought they might achieve and many were afraid the war might end before they could get to the front. They had no idea this war would become one of attrition and conscription or that it would set the trend for the whole 20th century, the bloodiest in history which became known as the War and Welfare Century.

As night fell on Christmas Eve the British soldiers noticed the Germans putting up small Christmas trees along with candles at the top of their trenches and many began to shout in English "We no shoot if you no shoot"(p. 25). The firing stopped along the many miles of the trenches and the British began to notice that the Germans were coming out of the trenches toward the British who responded by coming out to meet them. They mixed and mingled in No Man's Land and soon began to exchange chocolates for cigars and various newspaper accounts of the war which contained the propaganda from their respective homelands. Many of the officers on each side attempted to prevent the event from occurring but the soldiers ignored the risk of a court-martial or of being shot.

Some of the meetings reported in diaries were between Anglo-Saxons and German Saxons and the Germans joked that they should join together and fight the Prussians. The massive amount of fraternization, or maybe just the Christmas spirit, deterred the officers from taking action and many of them began to go out into No Man's Land and exchange Christmas greetings with their opposing officers. Each side helped bury their dead and remove the wounded so that by Christmas morning there was a large open area about as wide as the size of two football fields separating the opposing trenches. The soldiers emerged again on Christmas morning and began singing Christmas carols, especially "Silent Night." They recited the 23rd Psalm together and played soccer and football. Again, Christmas gifts were exchanged and meals were prepared openly and attended by the opposing forces. Weintraub quotes one soldier's observation of the event: "Never . . . was I so keenly aware of the insanity of war" (p. 33).

The first official British history of the war came out in 1926 which indicated that the Christmas Truce was a very insignificant matter with only a few people involved. However, Weintraub states:

"During a House of Commons debate on March 31, 1930, Sir H. Kinglsey Wood, a Cabinet Minister during the next war, and a Major 'In the front trenches' at Christmas 1914, recalled that he 'took part in what was well known at the time as a truce. We went over in front of the trenches and shook hands with many of our German enemies. A great number of people [now] think we did something that was degrading.' Refusing to presume that, he went on, 'The fact is that we did it, and I then came to the conclusion that I have held very firmly ever since, that if we had been left to ourselves there would never have been another shot fired. For a fortnight the truce went on. We were on the most friendly terms, and it was only the fact that we were being controlled by others that made it necessary for us to start trying to shoot one another again.' He blamed the resumption of the war on 'the grip of the political system which was bad, and I and others who were there at the time determined there and then never to rest. . . . Until we had seen whether we could change it.' But they could not." (p. 169–70)

Beginning with the French Revolution, one of the main ideas coming out of the 19th century, which became dominant at the beginning of the 20th century, was nationalism with unrestrained democracy. In contrast, the ideas which led to the American Revolution were those of a federation of sovereign states joined together under the Constitution which severely limited and separated the powers of the national or central government in order to protect individual liberty. National democracy was restrained by a Bill of Rights. These ideas came into direct conflict with the beginning of the American War Between the States out of which nationalism emerged victorious. A principal idea of nationalism was that the individual owed a duty of self-sacrifice to "The Greater Good" of his nation and that the noblest act a person could do was to give his life for his country during a war, which would, in turn, bring him immortal fame.

Two soldiers, one British and one German, both experienced the horrors of the trench warfare in the Great War and both wrote moving accounts which challenged the idea of the glory of a sacrifice of the individual to the nation in an unnecessary or unjust war. The British soldier, Wilfred Owen, wrote a famous poem before he was killed in the trenches seven days before the Armistice was signed on November 11, 1918. He tells of the horror of the gas warfare which killed many in the trenches and ends with the following lines:

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues —
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory
The old Lie: Dulce et decorum est
Pro patria mori.[1]

The German soldier was Erich M. Remarque who wrote one of the best anti-war novels of all time, entitled All Quiet On The Western Front, which was later made into an American movie that won the 1930 Academy Award for Best Picture. He also attacked the idea of the nobility of dying for your country in a war and he describes the suffering in the trenches:

"We see men living with their skulls blown open; We see soldiers run with their two feet cut off; They stagger on their splintered stumps into the next shell-hole; A lance corporal crawls a mile and half on his hands dragging his smashed knee after him; Another goes to the dressing station and over his clasped hands bulge his intestines; We see men without mouths, without jaws, without faces; We find one man who has held the artery of his arm in his teeth for two hours in order not to bleed to death."

I would imagine that the Christmas Truce probably inspired the English novelist and poet, Thomas Hardy, to write a poem about World War I entitled "The Man He Killed," which reads as follows:

Had he and I but met
By some old ancient inn,
We should have sat us down to wet
Right many a nipperkin!

But ranged as infantry,
And staring face to face,
I shot at him as he at me,
And killed him in his place.

I shot him dead because —
Because he was my foe,
Just so: my foe of course he was;
That's clear enough; although

He thought he'd 'list, perhaps,
Off-hand like — just as I —
Was out of work — had sold his traps —
No other reason why.

Yes, quaint and curious war is!
You shoot a fellow down
You'd treat if met where any bar is,
Or help to half-a-crown.

The last chapter of Weintraub's book is entitled "What If — ?" This is counterfactual history at its best and he sets out what he believes the rest of the 20th century would have been like if the soldiers had been able to cause the Christmas Truce of 1914 to stop the war at that point. Like many other historians, he believes that with an early end of the war in December of 1914, there probably would have been no Russian Revolution, no Communism, no Lenin, and no Stalin. Furthermore, there would have been no vicious peace imposed on Germany by the Versailles Treaty, and therefore, no Hitler, no Nazism and no World War II. With the early truce there would have been no entry of America into the European War and America might have had a chance to remain, or return, to being a Republic rather than moving toward World War II, the "Cold" War (Korea and Vietnam), and our present status as the world bully.

Weintraub states that:

". . . Franklin D. Roosevelt, only an obscure assistant secretary of the navy — of a fleet going nowhere militarily — would have returned to a boring law practice, and never have been the losing but attractive vice presidential candidate in 1920, a role earned by his war visibility. Wilson, who would not be campaigning for reelection in 1916 on a platform that he kept America out of war, would have lost (he only won narrowly) to a powerful new Republican president, Charles Evans Hughes. . . ." (p. 167)

He also suggests another result of the early peace:

"Germany in peace rather than war would have become the dominant nation in Europe, possibly in the world, competitor to a more slowly awakening America, and to an increasingly ambitious and militant Japan. No Wilsonian League of Nations would have emerged. . . . Yet, a relatively benign, German-led, Commonwealth of Europe might have developed decades earlier than the European Community under leaders not destroyed in the war or its aftermath." (p. 167)

Many leaders of the British Empire saw the new nationalistic Germany (since 1870–71) as a threat to their world trade, especially with Germany's new navy. The idea that economics played a major role in bringing on the war was confirmed by President Woodrow Wilson after the war in a speech wherein he gave his assessment of the real cause of the war. He was campaigning in St. Louis, Missouri in September of 1919 trying to get the US Senate to approve the Versailles Treaty and he stated:

"Why, my fellow-citizens, is there [anyone] here who does not know that the seed of war in the modern world is industrial and commercial rivalry? . . . This war, in its inception, was a commercial and industrial war. It was not a political war."

   

The great economist, Ludwig von Mises, advocated a separation of the economy from the government as one important solution to war so that business interests could not get government assistance in foreign or domestic markets:

Durable peace is only possible under perfect capitalism, hitherto never and nowhere completely tried or achieved. In such a Jeffersonian world of unhampered market economy the scope of government activities is limited to the protection of the lives, health, and property of individuals against violence or fraudulent aggression. . . .

 

All the oratory of the advocates of government omnipotence cannot annul the fact that there is but one system that makes for durable peace: A free market economy. Government control leads to economic nationalism and thus results in conflict.[2]

Weintraub alludes to a play by William Douglas Home entitled A Christmas Truce wherein characters representing British and German soldiers have just finished a soccer game in No Man's Land on Christmas day and are engaged in a conversation which very well could represent the feelings of the soldiers on that day. The German lieutenant concedes the impossibility of the war ending as the soccer game had just done, with no bad consequences — "Because the Kaiser and the generals and the politicians in my country order us that we fight."

"So do ours," agrees Andrew Wilson (the British soldier).

"Then what can we do?"

"The answer's 'nothing.' But if we do nothing . . . like we're doing now, and go on doing it, there'll be nothing they can do but send us home."

"Or shoot us." (p. 110)

   
   

The Great War killed over ten million soldiers and Weintraub states, "Following the final Armistice came an imposed peace in 1919 that created new instabilities ensuring another war," (p. 174). This next war killed more than fifty million people, over half of whom were civilians. Weintruab writes:

"To many, the end of the war and the failure of the peace would validate the Christmas cease-fire as the only meaningful episode in the apocalypse. It belied the bellicose slogans and suggested that the men fighting and often dying were, as usual, proxies for governments and issues that had little to do with their everyday lives. A candle lit in the darkness of Flanders, the truce flickered briefly and survives only in memoirs, letters, song, drama and story." (p. xvi)

He concludes his remarkable book with the following:

"A celebration of the human spirit, the Christmas Truce remains a moving manifestation of the absurdities of war. A very minor Scottish poet of Great War vintage, Frederick Niven, may have got it right in his 'A Carol from Flanders,' which closed,

O ye who read this truthful rime From Flanders, kneel and say:
God speed the time when every day
Shall be as Christmas Day.
(p. 175)

 

- advertisements -

Comment viewing options

Select your preferred way to display the comments and click "Save settings" to activate your changes.
Tue, 12/25/2012 - 19:01 | 3095337 Rogue Trooper
Rogue Trooper's picture

Thanks for best wishes Drew!

I intend to not go quietly into the night when they come for me! As tempting as the chance to carry on an existance in the FEMA camp is, I do not have the stomach for cat food, I like my virgin ass the way it is and I don't fancy room 101.

If I see do end up seeing you there (cause the gassed me) then I'll be on the look out for ya :)

FEMA saying "Brother can you spare me a Cockroach ..... "

MERRY CHRISTMAS ZH BITCHES..... see you in 2013 (maybe)

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 20:29 | 3095436 Chaos_Theory
Chaos_Theory's picture

Yea, but just think about the momentary joy when all the liberal honkies are finally tossed in the camps too.  They'll be screaming "WHY??? I VOTED FOR OBAMA!! I AM A DEMOCRAT!!!"

Just like the fat guy in Shawshank.  By that point, the R's, libertarians and conservatives will be the Ellis "Red" Reddings of the camp.  Well, maybe the Rs will be the "Sisters."  Come to think of it, Shawshank is a great metaphor for where this country is heading! 

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 20:47 | 3095457 Rogue Trooper
Rogue Trooper's picture

Supurb film.

 

Chaos, on the subject of a dystopian future. I really enjoyed the Doom Star series by Vaughn Heppner.  It's hard sci-fi so not everyones cup of tea.  However, the world government under "Social Unity", as a example, is certainly on the statist agenda. It's also a series that takes a dig at all the various 'isims, etc.

Worth a holiday read.... they are quite addictive.

Look up the Doom Star Series, ebook form so they are pretty cheap, but make sure you start from Book 1

Alaska was another good read, more near future tech, and fits into the Amerika's decline meme - also from Vaughn.

Hope you have a good break with family and friends.

/Rogue

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 21:03 | 3095479 Chaos_Theory
Chaos_Theory's picture

Thanks for the book recommendations Rogue. With no cable TV (no Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, South Park, It's Always Sunny in Philly, or AMC movies anymore), I'll have more time for reading this year.

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 22:58 | 3095421 Yen Cross
Yen Cross's picture

 Don't forget your [ 5 sided lapel pins]...  Merry Christmas Drew.

 Drew , M<y post was in support.  Think before you act    [ You made a good comment] I replied.

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 18:13 | 3095288 CheapBastard
CheapBastard's picture
Chinese Ghost Towns Reveals Massive Housing Bubble

 

http://www.wealthwire.com/news/global/3306

 

I was reading in some Asian newspaper that many local officials there have 'seqestered' enough money from their local coffers to buy 20-30 apartments in Beijing and Shanghai. They dare not buy in their own town for fear of being questioned where the $$$$ came from. What will happen when/if the Gubbermint there decides to crack down on corruption? Does this diversion of funds pump up their property bubble? How is an interesting take on the issue:

 

http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20121210000082&c...

 

 

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 18:24 | 3095299 blindman
blindman's picture

Good King Wenceslas : Lyrics
Play Music !

Good King Wenceslas looked out
On the feast of Stephen
When the snow lay round about
Deep and crisp and even
Brightly shone the moon that night
Though the frost was cruel
When a poor man came in sight
Gath'ring winter fuel
"Hither, page, and stand by me
If thou know'st it, telling
Yonder peasant, who is he?
Where and what his dwelling?"
"Sire, he lives a good league hence
Underneath the mountain
Right against the forest fence
By Saint Agnes' fountain."

"Bring me flesh and bring me wine
Bring me pine logs hither
Thou and I will see him dine
When we bear him thither."
Page and monarch forth they went
Forth they went together
Through the rude wind's wild lament
And the bitter weather

"Sire, the night is darker now
And the wind blows stronger
Fails my heart, I know not how,
I can go no longer."
"Mark my footsteps, my good page
Tread thou in them boldly
Thou shalt find the winter's rage
Freeze thy blood less coldly."

In his master's steps he trod
Where the snow lay dinted
Heat was in the very sod
Which the Saint had printed
Therefore, Christian men, be sure
Wealth or rank possessing
Ye who now will bless the poor
Shall yourselves find blessing
.
Good King Wenceslas
The words to the carol "Good King Wenceslas" were written by John Mason Neale and published in 1853, the music originates in Finland 300 years earlier. This Christmas carol is unusual as there is no reference in the lyrics to the nativity. Good King Wenceslas was the king of Bohemia in the 10th century. Good King Wenceslas was a Catholic and was martyred following his assassination by his brother Boleslaw and his supporters, his Saint's Day is September 28th, and he is the Patron Saint of the Czech Republic. St. Stephen's feast day was celebrated on 26th December which is why this song is sung as a Christmas carol.
http://www.carols.org.uk/good_king_wenceslas.htm

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 18:37 | 3095307 D-liverSil-ver
D-liverSil-ver's picture
  1. 700 miles from home, a sinus infection and the low pressure from the incoming storm

 makes my head feel like it's going to explode. Three wonderful grandaughters that are happy to see me makes it all worth while.

God bless us everyone.

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 18:38 | 3095309 Essential Intel...
Essential Intelligence's picture

Merry Christmas everyone,

Don't forget to read our special holiday article about the roots of the Christmas tree:

http://essential-intelligence-network.blogspot.com/2011/12/illuminati-at...

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 18:43 | 3095316 Yes_Questions
Yes_Questions's picture

 

 

Thank you ZH'ers, hope you're all having a good and peaceful day.

 

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 18:44 | 3095317 PUD
PUD's picture

My hopeless wish for the new year is a stake in the heart of organized religion, the root cause of most of humanities ills.

Wed, 12/26/2012 - 02:30 | 3095743 IridiumRebel
IridiumRebel's picture

Religion and spirituality are fine. It is the human interpretation and resulting agenda that fuck it all up.

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 21:08 | 3095326 cranky-old-geezer
cranky-old-geezer's picture

 

 

1914 Xmas Truce.  Amazing story. 

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 18:57 | 3095330 Mad Muppet
Mad Muppet's picture

That was a great piece. A prime example of why ZH is my go-to website. Nothing comes close to having the depth of knowledge and bredth of interests.

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 18:57 | 3095331 DarthVaderMentor
DarthVaderMentor's picture

So is the ban of Zerohedge on Bank of America's network still in effect?

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 19:20 | 3095344 stiler
stiler's picture

The Great War marks the beginning of the end acc to Jesus Christ. This period will end badly for the world, being marked by war, rapaciousness, greed and death on a massive scale. It will not end the same way for believers, though the church will be marginalized. Like Enoch, Elijah and Messiah we will be raptured into the air to be with Christ forever. This is the best desciption of it I've read:

http://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/2012/12/21/many-people-have-asked-...

The beginning of the end is marked by war. Jesus said, "I came not to bring peace, but a sword", and though this verse is in the context of daughter-in-law vs mother-in-law, etc, it holds true for world events. In Zechariah ch 1 we see a period of world peace within this end time. God sends the angel upon the red horse in Zech 1:8, to check out the earth. God sends red horses to walk the earth. They report back, "the earth sits still and is at rest": World Peace, But God is displeased with this peace, because it is peace at the expense of Israel, his people. God was displeased with Sodom & Gomorrah in the same way, not so much for that particular sin, but because they were at ease.

He says, "I am very sore displeased with the heathen that are at ease: for I was a little displeased, but they helped forward the affliction." Evidently the gentiles are messing with dividing Jerusalem, that "burdensome stone" (a little later they will sense it's burdensomeness). 

Then in Revelation 6, the first seal is broken and Behold! a white horse: Antichrist. And then the second seal is broken: a red horse, and  power was given him to take peace from the earth and that they should kill one another. These scenes are spiritual, the horses spirits and from the perspective of heaven. God's reason for doing this is to destroy sin and sinners from the earth to initiate the Peaceable Kingdom or 1000 yr reign of Christ from Jerusalem.

As the old rime says "the time" is the next age.

O ye who read this truthful rime From Flanders, kneel and say:
God speed the time when every day
Shall be as Christmas Day.

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 20:01 | 3095407 PUD
PUD's picture

"jesus" never said anything. All those red letter passages in your delusional bible were written there by others, generations removed.

The idea that a celestial dictator exists and created an entire universe that we barely know the scope of just to act out this tiny drama on a tiny insignificant sphere in the middle of nowhere is insane.

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 22:58 | 3095604 stiler
stiler's picture

why did you stop? if you'd kept on you might have convinced others, even yourself.

 

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 19:12 | 3095352 Element
Element's picture

All Quiet On The Western Front .pdf book for download

http://www.deltasd.bc.ca/bu/Staff/assets/AQOTWF.pdf

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 19:15 | 3095354 durablefaith
durablefaith's picture

Thoughts on the Western concept of Christmas and how it contrasts with the actual teaching of Jesus. In particular focus, Did Jesus come to bring peace on Earth? Has he failed? etc.

http://durablefaith.com/2012/12/25/did-jesus-really-come-to-bring-peace-...

Punchline: Jesus didn't come to bring peace, but division. And he didnt predict peace, he predicted world wars and one world government oppression. 

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 19:33 | 3095383 sablya
sablya's picture

We distinguish: Christ came to bring peace between God and men, "Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom 5:1) but not necessarily among men, as He Himself said, 

Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

(Matthew 10:34-39)

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 21:32 | 3095477 cranky-old-geezer
cranky-old-geezer's picture

 

 

Thoughts on the Western concept of Christmas and how it contrasts with the actual teaching of Jesus.

Jesus said don't celebrate pagan festivals, and damn sure don't put his name on one.

You can see thru banker frauds, but you can't see thru the Xmas fraud ...or don't wana see thru it more likely.

Hypocrites.

This is one of many reasons why "christians" are lost.  All of 'em.  They won't be in any so-called "rapture" ...and there won't be any so-called "rapture".

Nobody is "going to heaven".  Bible makes that very clear.

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 19:16 | 3095355 bigrooster
bigrooster's picture

Prepare, Resist and Survive in 2013

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 19:31 | 3095376 Irelevant
Irelevant's picture

Come what may in '13.

Thanks guys for our community, thank you ZH.

What is happening here will at some point be mentioned in history.

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 19:55 | 3095401 q99x2
q99x2's picture

Is Greece going to default?

Wishing them the best over there.

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 19:54 | 3095402 bill40
bill40's picture

The problem with you bitchez is that you chose the wrong enemy. It aint the liberals who are against you it's the unelected elites. Is the so called American dream just to be a sociopath who does nothing to advance the cause of humanity?

 

Just a thought for Christmas. Hope you all have a good one and a happy 2013.

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 21:51 | 3095531 Colonel
Colonel's picture

Yeah right, those same libtards constantly worship the unelected psychopath "elites" you speak of, que the antiChrist in 3...2...1... Get a clue.

 

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 20:03 | 3095410 Seasmoke
Seasmoke's picture

Jews love Christmas.

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 20:11 | 3095419 silverserfer
silverserfer's picture

fleas navidads biatches!

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 22:11 | 3095425 Yen Cross
Yen Cross's picture

 Negro Modela, as we speak BITCHEZ!

 We have a fan/ Dark {Mexican} Beer deserves a thrashing/

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 20:35 | 3095435 Ineverslice
Ineverslice's picture

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/us-holiday-retail-sales-growth-weakes...

 

Holiday sales down the crapper.

"...and DOWN goes Frazier!"

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 22:56 | 3095599 jim249
jim249's picture

In 2008, sales declined by between 2 percent and 4 percent as the financial crisis that crested that fall dragged the economy into recession.

 

That was four years ago. They can't get more specific than that??????????????????

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 23:47 | 3095652 Yen Cross
Yen Cross's picture

 You're a meat Ball, but you do your homework) I wouldn't waste my time down/voting you.  +1 for the homework/

  jim249 thinks I slapped his ass?

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 20:44 | 3095452 dolph9
dolph9's picture

Merry Christmas to all.

Remember, Christianity is roughly 2000 years old and Amerika is 237 years old.

Now, I don't know if Christianity is going to be around in 1000 years.  But I guarantee you, Amerika won't.

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 20:44 | 3095454 cavsgt
cavsgt's picture

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone every where that have taken the Red Pill.

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 20:55 | 3095466 The Miser
The Miser's picture

Merry Christmas to all and, hopefully, a prosperous New Year (Maybe). 

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 21:04 | 3095481 UP4Liberty
UP4Liberty's picture

STIFF THE FED!

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 21:14 | 3095489 km4
km4's picture

MERRY CHRISTMAS: Chinese Credit Ratings Agency Dagong Puts The US On Negative Watch

Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/merry-christmas-chinese-credit-ratings-agency-dagong-puts-the-us-on-negative-watch-2012-12#ixzz2G7GtWDGu

 

Go long Dong ;)

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 21:24 | 3095501 JR
JR's picture

Zero Hedge is perhaps the most important communications vehicle that exists in this era of calamity and opportunity. For never before has economics and finance been so central to the ambitions of men who would form a totalitarian world government for their own power and profit.

Zero Hedge offers men of good will the chance to stop this century-old criminal political rule.

In America, the control of the currency was abdicated by the US Congress and, now, international bankers force politicians to do their will and force her citizens to pay the tab--creating depressions, wars and wholesale destruction of personal property.

But as the year approaches, 2013,  one hundred years after the loss of America’s financial levers of power were taken by the international owners of the Federal Reserve System, one important weapon to eventually stop this travesty, the worldwide Internet and an open honest forum such as Zero Hedge, can make this happen with one single force: truth.

Thanks! Zero Hedge. Happy 2013! You are the greatest! And Merry Christmas, ZHers.

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 21:51 | 3095530 Milton Freewater
Milton Freewater's picture

Yes, thank you Tyler and all Zerohedgers.  I have learned so very much from all of you.  I'm not even a trader of any kind.  I'm a woodworker from New Orleans. I may not be able to add to many discussions about Keynseian phiosophy but I do know a bit about homesteading.    I hope to bring more to our table of knowledge in 2013.  Thank you all again.   Peace and happyness to you and your families.

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 21:57 | 3095537 Rogue Trooper
Rogue Trooper's picture

Best wishes to you and your family Milton.  Nice sentiments.  Catch you in 2013!

The Tylers and all the Zerohedgers are a small window of hope to counteract the insanity of the world we live in.

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 21:38 | 3095516 Absinthe Minded
Absinthe Minded's picture

Merry Christmas fellow stackers! My son told me he felt bad that I had to go back to work tomorrow. God bless him for having the compassion to think about me, and thank God I have a job to go to tomorrow.

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 21:41 | 3095520 djsmps
djsmps's picture

Our local After-Christmas sales started yesterday.

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 21:43 | 3095522 downrodeo
downrodeo's picture

i hope we can evolve a bit and end human rights violations, child starvation and abuse, and conflict between nation states

Wed, 12/26/2012 - 13:11 | 3096472 MsCreant
MsCreant's picture

Nice to see you. ;-)

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 22:12 | 3095552 marz929
marz929's picture

This is what my lovely wife put under the Christmas Tree this morning:

http://www.bushmaster.com/index.asp

This is the best Christmas ever and the best wife a man could ever have.

Merry Christmas everyone!!

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 22:17 | 3095557 MyBrothersKeeper
MyBrothersKeeper's picture

Merry Christmas!!

Christ is king and let us not forget the covenant and that, in the end, good does indeed overcome evil.  In the meantime, we can remember that it is little acts of kindness that transform lives and that you can reject the absurd notions of governments and other "all knowing" human entities that tell you things like "you cannot give food to the homeless because the nutrition must be first be verified".  We know what's right and we, as individuals, must continue to strive to do what's right. Free will is an individual right and it's that free will and corresponding responsibility that should prevent governments and other groups to usurp free will in the name of "progress". Striving for truth is as important as most anything and let that continue to be our aim.

My prayer is for the blessing of health for all here and the realization that all things are possible with God through Christ.

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 22:27 | 3095570 bugs_
bugs_'s picture

Cheers to the ZH crew.

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 22:28 | 3095573 Schmuck Raker
Tue, 12/25/2012 - 22:52 | 3095593 NeedtoSecede
NeedtoSecede's picture

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all Zero Hedgers!

Keep up the good work Tylers and Staff at ZH! Keep your peckers hard and your powder dry as they will come after you if you keep publishing the uncomfortable truths.

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 22:54 | 3095596 Yen Cross
Yen Cross's picture

 Bring back Captcha Tyler/ Basic algebra to log in.  Zero Hedge is an icon, that transends trading.  Bring back Captcha for 2013.

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 23:44 | 3095648 Rogue Trooper
Rogue Trooper's picture

http://cheezburger.com/5878669056

Yen, everyone knows the correct answer will always be '5".

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 23:49 | 3095654 Yen Cross
Yen Cross's picture

 Just check in  to the "roach motel" , before you go apex asshole!

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 23:11 | 3095617 boeing747
boeing747's picture

Merry Christmas to all ZHers, hope 2013 is another fun year for gold bugs. Do you guys think 'north american paladium (PAL)' is a good buy now?

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 23:38 | 3095643 Rogue Trooper
Rogue Trooper's picture

747 the new play for 2013 is LONG tungsten.... you read it hear first ;0

http://www.infomine.com/investment/metal-prices/ferro-tungsten/1-year/

 

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 23:12 | 3095619 lizzy36
lizzy36's picture

Merry Christmas to all Zerohedgers.

To Tyler: thank you, what you do is wonderful.

In keeping with the theme of the post: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aGdwbzrPHos

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 23:21 | 3095626 Riquin
Riquin's picture

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone !!!

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 23:32 | 3095635 JKearney3153
JKearney3153's picture

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! May your bullets fly true, and may your gold never lose its shimmer!

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 23:36 | 3095640 emersonreturn
emersonreturn's picture

merry christmas tylers and ZH's, i have learned so much from you all.  thank you.  Happy New Year and happy stacking.

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 23:41 | 3095645 Dapper Dan
Dapper Dan's picture

To Zero Hedge,

01001001 00100000 01101100 01101111 01110110 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101

see you all in room 101

Tue, 12/25/2012 - 23:53 | 3095660 Intoxicologist
Intoxicologist's picture

Zero Hedge, the Tylers, and all of my campadre commenters have changed my life.  Thanks to you all.

Maybe it's the beer, or the brandy-laced egg nog, but in the spirit of the holidays, I wish that the Chinese equivalent of Santa, in his magical flying rickshaw, bestows upon AnAnonymous a 12-pack double roll of 2-ply and a pooper scooper.

Good will towards man and peace on earth.

Wed, 12/26/2012 - 00:29 | 3095674 Dr. Engali
Dr. Engali's picture

Merry Christmas to all my fellow Hedgers, the contributors , and especially to all the Tylers as well as to those who bring the Zero Hedge to us . I thank you for all of your hard work. The Hedge is a gift that gives year round, and I am very grateful. Peace be with you all ... today and always.

Wed, 12/26/2012 - 01:08 | 3095677 Cthonic
Cthonic's picture

...

 

Wed, 12/26/2012 - 00:44 | 3095686 resurger
resurger's picture

Zerohedge my default Homepage for a year ...

Merry Christmas

Wed, 12/26/2012 - 00:55 | 3095688 Dave Thomas
Dave Thomas's picture

 

Just in case you didn't get the memo:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvmlmcmLPQI

Wed, 12/26/2012 - 01:23 | 3095710 Jam Akin
Jam Akin's picture

Merry Christmas and many thanks to all involved in publishing and participating here on Zero Hedge.

Wed, 12/26/2012 - 01:33 | 3095718 TacticalZen
TacticalZen's picture

How can we help this nation of ours execute a non-violent divorce, where capitalists and libertarians can agree to disagree with keynesians and socialists who prefer a pure democracy to a Republic?  Red state/Blue state split not unlike a couple divorcing.  We no longer share the same basic beliefs.  Better to make non violent change while we still can.  Let 2013 be the year of voting for and moving toward secession to prevent civil war in our great country.   Let Congress and the people see how truly divided we are today.

Do I have to buy land in Texas or Montana to be assured the option to emigrate?  That is the real question.

I no longer hope for a fix.  Rather, I pray for an option.

Merry Christmas & happy post 21 Dec 2012!

Wed, 12/26/2012 - 02:22 | 3095738 IridiumRebel
IridiumRebel's picture

We are Warrior Poets. Our hearts and minds tell us to gather here. We discuss, disseminate and deliberate for our greater good. Hallelujah!
Merry Christmas! 2013! Thank You All! God Bless Us Everyone!

THE TRUTH SHALL SET US FREE.

Viva Zerohedge!

Wed, 12/26/2012 - 03:00 | 3095752 OldPhart
OldPhart's picture

To all on ZeroHedge, Tyler(s), posters, and commenters, thanks and Merry Christmas.

I've learned from all at some point.

I only wish I had half the wit most have displayed.

Wed, 12/26/2012 - 03:26 | 3095762 Youri Carma
Youri Carma's picture

A Very Merry Punkenomics X-Maz @Ya’ll

Let It Snow, let it snow, let it snow … (Enron style) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZ9n1x9YjjY

But the 'show' must go on ...

Chinese rating agency puts U.S. on negative watch http://www.marketwatch.com/story/chinese-rating-agency-puts-us-on-negative-watch-2012-12-26

China vice minister: Financial-system risks rising http://www.marketwatch.com/story/china-vice-minister-financial-system-risks-rising-2012-12-26

Wed, 12/26/2012 - 03:47 | 3095778 voshnishki
voshnishki's picture

Being a part of this community has transformed my reality.  Merry Christmas.

Wed, 12/26/2012 - 04:11 | 3095801 jack stephan
jack stephan's picture

Merry Christmas all you functioning alcoholics and a happy new year I sure hope.

"All right, they're on our left, they're on our right, they're in front of
us, they're behind us...they can't get away this time"
- chesty I got the pacific as a present.

Wed, 12/26/2012 - 04:55 | 3095822 q99x2
q99x2's picture

Why I'm Not Hopeful again: the UN banksters are collecting carbon taxes from Austrailians to make the world colder and Russia is having the coldest winter since 1938, my ex-wife got frostbite in Southern California and the rest of the US is under a deep freeze. In other words the banksters show no signs of letting up in their efforts to kill us and that only goes so far before TSHTF.

Why I'm Hopeful: Technology is rendering the NWO irrelevant. A spontaneous arising of power is growing so fast that the antiquated system cannot control it. As has happened over and over again throughout history. That stuff has never been proven to be able to be stopped since the first written words. IT has consistantly brought those in power to ruin at ever increasing speeds.

Why I'm not Hopeful: Technology has not only increased the speed at which it takes down empires but also increased the brut force with which it does so.

Wed, 12/26/2012 - 04:59 | 3095826 terryfuckwit
terryfuckwit's picture

Merry Xmas all you mad hatstand bastards. Zh my greatest education....

Wed, 12/26/2012 - 05:46 | 3095832 Mr. Hudson
Mr. Hudson's picture

For a few moments, this article had a profound effect on me. I imagined a world where mankind worked at getting along instead of working towards exterminating one another. But of course, this is just fantasy. A very evil man named Rothschild created a “blueprint” in 1763, which requires perpetual wars for the purpose of a few wealthy men to achieve world domination. Even though it has taken longer than he had wished, Mayer Rothschild’s plan has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams, and at this point, there is nothing that can stop it. This Christmas was the calm before the storm.

 

 

 

Wed, 12/26/2012 - 05:49 | 3095834 jonjon831983
jonjon831983's picture

 

I hit up a mall... neiman marcus or was it called Macy's?  Anyways, I saw unbelievable things... discounts from 25-50%... but even after that there were sweaters listed for $300?  Some weird ass dress jackets, wind breaker looking things for almost $500-$1,500?

Wtf?

How do people bring themselves to buy these things... who has the money to keep up with "fashionable" items.

Coincidentally, "fashionable" items seem to be what was once hardcore stuff... military looking or work looking boots for +$500?

It's kinda like how bands "sell" out and become mainstream.  and trendy clothes for young girls start becoming in demand for old ladies.

 

Wed, 12/26/2012 - 06:42 | 3095846 polak potrafi
polak potrafi's picture

provide the solution to the FC problem

 

Merrz Xmass

 

and

 

a Happz New Zer

 

The resolution of the FC is simple. There are few guzs (wit boobz) digged deeeep in a few rating agences

who are watching the dissolution of Christmas dreams. And thez are counting. The absolute minimum is

glowing like the Betlejem Star. 1.2 trillion over next ten years (until 24.12.22). Half of it in spending cuts,

and half in revenues.

 

To be absolutelz clear, the guys in the rating agencies do not care for the slide between spending cuts and new rewenues.

This is the place where the local folklore kicks in. Bonner vs Barak. And we reallz hope that the Bonner people who are pazing for

the too fat Chrismas excesses of the Barak people would not agree for anzthing less than the 50:50 deal.

 

HOWGH

Wed, 12/26/2012 - 08:58 | 3095889 Eugend66
Eugend66's picture

Nothing special to add .... . Merry Christmas to All.

Peace.

Wed, 12/26/2012 - 09:40 | 3095949 spentCartridge
spentCartridge's picture

Merry Christmas folks.

 

Thanks for the info and the super dry humour.

 

Love it!

Wed, 12/26/2012 - 10:00 | 3095968 NEOSERF
NEOSERF's picture

TYLER - AND IN OTHER HOME PRICE NEWS WE ALL KNOW BUT WON'T EVER HEAR ABOUT IN MAINSTREAM MEDIA...

After tracking home price trends in 25 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs), Radar Logic found prices in October are now 6.9 percent higher than a year ago, according to the company’s RPX Composite price.

“However, this increase was driven by a change in the composition of sales rather than price appreciation,” Radar Logic stated in a recent report.

Upon closer scrutiny, the analytics company explained the price increase is mainly the result of a decrease in distressed sales, or “motivated sales,” and the actual price increase for “non-motivated sales” is much smaller than the overall yearly gain.

For example, the report points out that as of October, 23 of the 25 MSAs saw a decline in sales of foreclosures and REOs. And, motivated sales represented just 13 percent of all sales in the 25 MSAs, down from 24 percent a year ago. In addition, motivated sales were priced 32 percent lower than non-motivated sales in the 25 metros.

“The decline in relatively low-priced motivated sales as a percentage of total sales has put upward pressure on RPX prices for many MSAs, as well as the RPX Composite,” the report explained.

While the composite follows trends in just 25 MSAs, Radar Logic says it suspects the same holds true for most major housing indexes.

When non-motivated sales are observed separately from motivated sales, Radar Logic found “prices in such sales have not increased nearly as much as the aggregate figures suggest.”

For non-motivated sales, prices increased 2.7 percent during the same time period, less than half of the overall RPX composite, the report noted.

However, Radar Logic added that non-motivated sales actually include short sales, so increasing short sales can bring down the overall price of non-motivated sales since short sales also sell at a discount.

Among individual metros included in the RPX Composite price, Washington D.C. posted a significant 10 percent yearly increase, but the gain in non-motivated sales was just 1.5 percent. The report says the increase in D.C. is largely due to the decrease in motivated sales, which fell from 16 to 8 percent.

In Atlanta, the RPX price increased 4 percent from last year, but non-motivated prices actually decreased by 4.3 percent. Radar Logic says this shows the increase “is almost entirely attributable to the decline in motivated sales,” which fell from 28 percent to 19 percent.

On the other hand, San Jose saw a 12.9 percent yearly increase in non-motivated sales, with the overall increase at 14.2 percent. Motivated sales for the metro decreased from 14 percent to 7 percent.

The report says Chicago, Milwaukee, and Phoenix displayed similar patterns.


Wed, 12/26/2012 - 15:14 | 3096775 JenkinsLane
JenkinsLane's picture

Thanks for all your efforts Tylers, I greatly appreciate them.

 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you and yours.

 

 

Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site!