Ron Paul to Lead Panel Overseeing Federal Reserve Bank

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Ron Paul, Author of `End the Fed,' to Lead Panel Overseeing Central Bank

Representative Ron Paul, Texas Republican and author of “End the Fed,” will take control of the House subcommittee that oversees the Federal Reserve.


House Financial Services chairman-elect Spencer Bachus, an Alabama Republican, selected Paul, 75, to lead the panel’s domestic monetary policy subcommittee when their party takes the House majority next month, the committee chairman said today.


“This is the leadership team that crafted the first comprehensive financial reform bill to put an end to the bailouts, wind down the taxpayer funding of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and enforce a strong audit of the Federal Reserve,” Bachus said in a statement.


Paul, in an interview last week, said he plans a slate of hearings on U.S. monetary policy and will restart his push for a full audit of the Fed’s functions.


“Congress must act to rein in Chairman Bernanke and the Fed before they destroy our currency and permanently damage our economy and financial system,” Senator Jim Bunning, a Kentucky Republican, said in his farewell speech on the Senate floor today. “Public awareness of what the Fed is doing is increasing while public opinion of the Fed is falling.”


Bunning’s views are reflected throughout the country, according to a Bloomberg National Poll that reveals deep skepticism about the Fed.


Americans across the political spectrum say the central bank shouldn’t retain its current structure of independence, according to the poll. Asked if the central bank should be more accountable to Congress, left independent or abolished entirely, 39 percent said it should be held more accountable and 16 percent that it should be abolished. Thirty-seven percent favor the status quo.
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POLL - Unemployment Is Top Issue: Most Americans Say They’re Worse Off Under Obama

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Most Americans Say They're Worse Off Since Obama Took Office, Poll Shows

More than 50 percent of Americans say they are worse off now than they were two years ago when President Barack Obama took office, and two-thirds believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, a Bloomberg National Poll shows.

The survey, conducted Dec. 4-7, finds that 51 percent of respondents think their situation has deteriorated, compared with 35 percent who say they’re doing better. The balance isn’t sure. Americans have grown more downbeat about the country’s future in just the last couple of months, the poll shows. The pessimism cuts across political parties and age groups, and is common to both sexes.

The negative sentiment may cast a pall over the holiday shopping season, according to the poll. A plurality of those surveyed -- 46 percent -- expects to spend less this year than last; only 12 percent anticipate spending more. Holiday sales rose by just under a half percent last year after falling by almost 4 percent in 2008.

Unemployment and jobs are the most important issue facing the country now, the poll finds. Fifty percent of those surveyed identified joblessness as their top concern, twice the number who chose the federal budget deficit and government spending.

Members of Obama’s Democratic Party are about evenly split on the question of whether they are doing better than two years ago. Republicans and political independents are more downbeat. More than 60 percent of Republicans say they’re doing worse under Obama. Just over 50 percent of political independents feel that way, compared with a third who say their situation has improved.
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St. George Holiday Rectory Tour Hermann Missouri - December 11-12, noon - 8 p.m.

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St. George Holiday Rectory Tour
December 11-12, noon - 8 p.m. 

Father Bill Debo and members of St. George Catholic Church provide an incredible display of themed decorations in the historic Rectory on 4th Street to celebrate Christmas. One of Hermann's newest Holiday traditions. Donations to Hermann Ministerial Alliance.  
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Celebrate a German Christmas at Deutschheim State Historic Site - Sponsored by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources

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Celebrate Weinnachfest, a traditional German Christmas
Celebrate Weinnachfest, a traditional German Christmas, at Deutschheim State Historic Site in Hermann on Dec. 4-5 and Dec. 11-12. Sponsored by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the event will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day and is free and open to the public.

Experience Christmas at it would have been celebrated in a typical German American home in the 1850s. Sample German Christmas cookies and enjoy traditional German Christmas decorations of the 19th century. Springerle cookie molds, recipe books and Christmas items will be available for purchase.

Deutschheim State Historic Site is located at 109 W, 2nd St. in historic Hermann.

For more information, call the historic site at 573- 486-2200 or the Department of Natural Resources toll free at 800-334-6946 (voice) or 800-379-2419 (Telecommunication Device for the Deaf). For more information about Missouri state parks and historic Sites, visit mostateparks.com.
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Visitors interested in learning more about Missouri's German immigrants explore the Deutschheim State Historic Site in Hermann, where beautiful homes tell the tale of their 19th-century inhabitants. The Pommer-Gentner House features a period-appropriate garden as well as a half-timbered barn displaying tools from the 1830s and 1840s, while the Strehly House boasts a winery with one of the Midwest's only remaining carved wine casks. (The Strehly House was once home to the printing company of a German-language newspaper.) 

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You can step back in time and learn more about this culture in the exhibits and galleries at the Deutschheim State Historic Site. The site includes the Pommer-Gentner House and the Strehly House. Both houses preserve an aspect of life in the 19th century.

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The Deutschheim State Historic Site is located in Hermann, Missouri, United States. The 69-acre (0.28 km²) historic site was acquired by the state in 1978. It includes a number of historic houses and other structures, such as a barn and winery, built and used by German immigrants in the middle 19th century. The architecture covers a range of contemporary styles brought from Germany and interpreted in the United States, and the houses have furnishings reflective of mid-century German families in Missouri. The site includes grapes planted in one of the original vineyards and the site of a printing press. The buildings include exhibits of tools and artifacts of the period, giving a picture of daily life. Tours of the grounds are offered for the public.
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Kristkindl Markt is at the Festhalle this Saturday and Sunday - Hermann Missouri

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A Winter at Hermann Farm

Kristkindl Markt is at the Festhalle this Saturday and Sunday. 

Enjoy the sights and sounds of an 1860s Christmas with costumed vendors, German food, handmade gifts, roasting chestnuts and a magnificent Tannenbaum.

Kristkindl Markt

Saturday and Sunday, December 11th & 12th

Open from 10 to 4 both days

Hermannhof Festhalle and Hermann Farm Hofgarten 

8th Annual Kristkindl Markt will be held at the Hermannhof historic Festhalle on December 11th and 12th.

An 1860's Christmas season will greet you as the event captures the essence of the old German holiday markets with costumed vendors,

ethnic German foods and all manner of handmade gifts and gift items.   Enjoy chestnuts roasting and winescapes - winery tours & tastings.

 Delight in the sight of the 14 foot tall Christmas Tannenbaum, all decorated with Moravian stars, scherenschnitte (German paper cuttings) and German glass ornaments.

 

Live Nativity Scene

Saturday, December 11th

Open from 6pm to 8pm Hermann Farm Stables

At the Hermann Stable lit with candles you'll see a living Nativity scene, complete with the animals to bring the true meaning of the season to life.  Experience  straw floors, candles, lanterns and sweet farm animals to set the scene to create a Christmas memory for family and friends.  The Live Nativity is new this year as we begin a tradition sure to last.   Call 573-486-FARM for details.

Visit the St George Rectory Tour then stop by our live Nativity to capture the true meaning of the season. Your gift of canned goods most appreciated. We will have baskets for donations for the needy at the Hermann Farm stable

Blacksmithing

Saturday and Sunday, December 11th & 12th

Open from 10 to 4 both days

Hermann Farm Wagon Works

In the Wagon Works Blacksmith shop you can pick up a lump of coal for some deserving friend and find out who was ‘naughty or nice’ when the Belsnickle, a traditional Pennsylvania German figure.  Pay us a visit! You'll meet our own Mr. Goris, the Tin Smith, hard at work crafting punched tin lanterns using tools that harken back to Hermann's early tin smith days. Blacksmiths will be at work and sparks will fly.

For more information, contact 573-486-FARM.
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Say Cheese Wine Trail makes its debut this weekend - Hermann, Missouri

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December 11-12, 2010
Saturday 10:00 to 5:00 • Sunday 11:00 to 5:00

Celebrate the season with delightful pairing of cheese and wine on the Hermann Wine Trail.

Sip and sample classic wine and cheese pairings at seven stops on the Hermann Wine Trail.

Adam Puchta
Four Cheese Ravioli with Quattro Fromage Sauce, paired with Hunters Red and a Surprise Wine


Bias
Herb Marinated Cheese, paired with Sunset Red


Dierberg Star Lane
Greek-style Cheeseball, paired with Dierberg 2006 Syrah


Hermannhof
Smoked Hazelnut Crusted Brie, paired with Traminette


OakGlenn
Stuffed Grape Leaves, paired with Chardonel


Röbller
Baked Pasta with Smoky Cheese, paired with Vidal


Stone Hill
Emmental and Gruyere Fondue, paired with Vidal Blanc 

$30 per person—Advance Purchase Required

Purchase tickets from the Hermann Welcome Center, 800-932-8687 or online at www.hermannmo.info. Ticket price includes a souvenir wine glass.

Visit any or all of the participating wineries and enter a drawing for a gift basket. Participating wineries: Adam Puchta, Bias, Dierberg Star Lane, Hermannhof, OakGlenn, Röbller, Stone Hill.

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Kids go on expensive buying sprees in iPhone games - Video time shift cheat

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"The Smurfs' Village," a game for the iPhone and other Apple gadgets, was released a month ago and quickly became the highest-grossing application in the iTunes store. Yet it's free to download.

So where does the money come from? Kelly Rummelhart of Gridley, Calif., has part of the answer. Her 4-year-old son was using her iPad to play the game and racked up $66.88 in charges on her credit card without knowing what he was doing.

Rummelhart had no idea that it was possible to buy things - buy them with real money - inside the game. In this case, her son bought one bushel and 11 buckets of "Smurfberries," tokens that speed up gameplay.

"Really, my biggest concern was them scratching the screen. Never in my wildest dreams did I think they would be charging things on it," the 36-year-old mother said.

She counts herself lucky that her son didn't start tapping on another purchase button, like the "wheelbarrow" of Smurfberries for $59.99.

Rummelhart joins a number of parents who have been horrified by purchases of Smurfberries and other virtual items in top App Store games. The 17 highest-rated comments on "The Smurfs' Village" in the App Store all complain about the high cost of the Smurfberries, and two commenters call it a "scam."

This year, developers have started to use the system in earnest as the main revenue stream for many games. Of the 10 highest-grossing apps in the App Store, six are games that are free to download but allow in-app purchases. Four of those are easy, child-friendly games. Two of them, "Tap Zoo" and "Bakery Story," have buttons for in-app purchases of $100 in just two taps.

It's quite likely that most of the money pulled in by these games comes from addicted adults who want to quickly build their Smurf villages, bakeries, zoos and zombie farms. But there's a loophole in the in-app purchase process that children stick their fingers through.

Usually, the purchases require the owner of the device to enter his or her iTunes password. But there is no password challenge if the owner has entered the password in the last 15 minutes for any reason. That means that if a user enters the password for a purchase or a free app upgrade, then hands the phone or iPad over to a kid, the child will not be stopped by a password prompt.

Capcom and other game publishers have no control over the 15-minute password-free period, which is set by Apple.

 

However, there's reason to believe that the password timeout doesn't always work.

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Those who think Wikileaks is One Man are Out of Touch with Internet Reality

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Analysis: WikiLeaks battle: a new amateur face of cyber war?

The website attacks launched by supporters of WikiLeaks show 21st-century cyber warfare evolving into a more amateur and anarchic affair than many predicted.


While most countries have plowed much more attention and resources into cyber security in recent years, most of the debate has focused on the threat from militant groups such as al Qaeda or mainstream state on state conflict.


But attempts to silence WikiLeaks after the leaking of some 250,000 classified State Department cables seem to have produced something rather different -- something of a popular rebellion amongst hundreds or thousands of tech-savvy activists.


"The first serious infowar is now engaged," former Grateful Dead lyricist, founder of the Electronic Frontier Foundation John Perry Barlow told his followers on Twitter last week. "The field of battle is WikiLeaks. You are the troops."


Some of the more militant elements on the Internet clearly took him at his word. A group calling itself Anonymous put the quote at the top of a webpage entitled "Operation Avenge Assange," referring to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.


Online collective Anonymous appears to be using social networking site Twitter to coordinate attacks on websites belonging to entities it views as trying to silence WikiLeaks.


Targets have included MasterCard, Visa and a Swiss bank. All blocked payments to Wikileaks on apparent U.S. pressure.
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Wikileaks: Stop Us? You'll Have to Shut Down the Web

The arrest and detention of Julian Assange Tuesday on charges of rape and sexual assault was at the least a convenient development for government leaders who've sought ways to contain the leader of the controversial website Wikileaks. 


But in an exclusive interview with ABC News' Jim Sciutto, Wikileaks' spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson insisted Assange's arrest won't alter the site's calculated release of thousands of secret government cables, which still continues according to plan. The site published a new slate of cables Wednesday.
"It is not derailing us in any way," said Hrafnsson, adding that a group of five to six people is running Wikileaks' operations in Assange's absence. "This is a turning tide and starting a trend that you can't really stop unless you want to shut down the Internet.. Click Here for more info.

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WEB VIDEO - Thirsty Cat tries to fit its head into a bottle of water

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This cat tries to fit its head into a bottle of water.
It claws at the side and bites the top, but can only fit its nose into the opening.
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