Episode 473 · Thursday, 27 December 2012

Mac and Cheese

The White House uses holiday media blitzes to mask economic warnings while military tracking of mythical figures sets a precedent for state-sponsored deception.

By The No Agenda Show | 2h 43m listen | 42 chapters
Mac and Cheese cover
The No Agenda Show · No. 473

About this episode

President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama appeared on a holiday special with Barbara Walters, where the President claimed he remained awake during the entire Bin Laden raid. This narrative is challenged by reports placing him on the golf course during the operation, while the First Lady’s promotion of macaroni and cheese is interpreted as a signal for the public to prepare for the looming fiscal cliff and economic austerity.

In the Netherlands, a marketing firm allegedly staged a leak of the Dutch Queen’s Christmas speech to manufacture viral interest in her pro-Europe agenda. Meanwhile, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) utilized military infrastructure to track Santa Claus, a move critics argue acclimates the public to government-sanctioned misinformation. In the corporate sector, Randy Zuckerberg faced backlash over a leaked kitchen photo that appeared to be a staged advertisement for Facebook’s Poke app, while EPA Chief Lisa Jackson announced her resignation as the administration reshuffles for a second term.

Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak exchange unconventional Christmas gifts including a Thunder Tube and a kazoo while broadcasting from Amsterdam and Silicon Valley. Curry recounts a narrow escape from Benghazi as an infant on a De Havilland Comet, and the duo issues a challenge to the global listener network to procure an authentic Mongolian hat directly from the desert.


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CHAPTER 01 / 42 Discussion

No Agenda Christmas Gifts, Thunder Tube and Kazoo

Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak open the show from Amsterdam and Silicon Valley respectively. Dvorak describes receiving a "Thunder Tube" and a kazoo as Christmas gifts, while Curry discusses his current living situation in the "Gibbonation Lowlands" during his exile in the Netherlands.

adam curry· john c dvorak· amsterdam· thunder tube· kazoo· christmas gifts

00:00 Soaked nuts. Officially suffering from PPVNOS and coming to you from Gibbonation Lowlands day 21 living in exile in Amsterdam in the morning everybody I'm Adam Curry and from northern northern northern Silicon Valley I'm John C DeVore You're still up there still in the northern northern amazing yes, but true yeah

00:38 How was your hands and what was good because I got this one gift Okay, what you got one gift and one gift only no I got a bunch of gifts, but I got one gift all right all right roll it out What is it wait a minute? I thought we ordered that is that a different police siren you've got now not a siren What is it? It's an ugo. Oh, it's actually not an ugo. It's just a horn here. Oh That's sound like a siren over this mic. It's terrible. And does this somehow confirm for you that your family members love you? So is that like one of those with a bulb on the end? Yeah, it's got a bulb on the end. Wow. Was that the theme this year? It's like, hey, what do I get dad? Just give him some sound effect for that stupid podcast. I got this too. And they gave you an old bed frame? What is that?

01:54 It's an old, it's one of these old things they used to use in radio I guess it's a, it's a uh, it sounds like a storm or something. Is it vintage or is it a recreation from China? I think it's a recreation personally but, oh god. It's called the Thunder Tube. Oh that's nice. Well I actually don't know where I could use that as a punch in anything. I'm very happy for you. Yeah I'm sure. I also got a kazoo but the kazoo seems to be... Interesting. Well, you know, we celebrated Christmas here in Gitmo Nation lowlands in the old country and I have to say it was quite a different and somewhat pleasurable experience.

CHAPTER 02 / 42 Discussion

Swedish Christmas Traditions, The Little Troll Story

Adam Curry recounts celebrating a non-commercial Christmas in The Hague with an extended family. He describes a Swedish story called "The Little Troll" about a troll who becomes human by helping others, contrasting it with the commercial nature of "The Night Before Christmas" in the United States.

sweden· the little troll· christmas· the hague· singapore· storytelling

02:40 Okay, well tell me about it. Well You know, of course for the past god I don't know how many years how many years I've been celebrating in in the States five six years at least non-stop Of course, it's a bogative holiday. It's all about commerce and buying people crap from China and You know, we so Mickey has kind of an extended family here and that she grew up with and the guys were kind of like her brothers. One of them invited us to his house in The Hague and his brother came in from Singapore, which actually has some interesting information I got from him to talk about later on.

03:21 And it was really so the opposite of the Christmases I'm used to. Yeah, there was the tree and yeah, there were a couple of presents for the kids, but it wasn't like this big commercial thing. And you know, do you guys read The Night Before Christmas at your house by any chance? No. Well, this is not like an uncommon thing in America is we have The Night Before Christmas. I've never heard of it. You've never heard of The Night Before Christmas? No, I've heard of The Night Before Christmas. I've never heard of any bunch of corn balls sitting around the candlelight reading it. Yeah, this is very normal. This is very abnormal. Yeah, but The Night Before Christmas is of course a book about, you know, the children were all, you know, tucked in their beds and snuggled with care, whatever, you know, with dreams that St. Nicholas soon would be there to give us all kinds of goodies and crap. So the whole story is about getting stuff.

04:17 It's a sweet story, but it's about getting stuff. So there's a story that this family does, but apparently a lot of families read this particular story. And it comes from Sweden. I had never heard of it before. It's a very long story. It's not like, in America we're good. We get commercial to the point, short, a couple of pictures, you're done, open up your gift before you go to bed. Now this is The Little Troll. You ever heard of this story? This is about the little troll that wanted to become a human being? It's about Obama? No, it's the little troll who wanted to become a human being and discovered that the way to become a human was to help other people and he helps this little girl and then his life changes and then he eventually becomes... it's kind of a mixture between The Grinch Who Stole Christmas and Pinocchio in a way, in a weird way, only with trolls. And it was just... Trolls? Does he finally get on Twitter?

05:17 It was really nice, John. I have to say it was kind of a non... It didn't bring a tear to your eyes. It did. It did. It did bring a tear to my eyes. Yeah, I have to say. It did bring a tear to my eye. What, is that wrong? Is that so wrong? Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, there was a hilarious moment here in the lowlands. A great Bogative PR moment. There are a couple going on that I'm sure we'll get to. But every year in the Netherlands, the Queen does a speech.

CHAPTER 03 / 42 Discussion

Dutch Royal Family, Queen's Christmas Speech PR Stunt

A marketing firm allegedly staged a "leak" of the Dutch Queen's Christmas speech a day early to generate interest in her pro-Europe message. The hosts analyze this as a "bogative" PR move designed to make an otherwise ignored broadcast go viral through social media channels.

queen of the netherlands· christmas speech· pr stunt· social media· leaked video

05:54 And of course, no one cares about this speech, obviously. I think maybe some really older people, like, okay, let's see what the Queen has to say. So they hired a new PR firm, I have no idea who it is, and they came up with the classic. So if you have a taped speech by the Queen, which is supposed to air on Christmas Day at 1 o'clock, but you know that people are not going to be interested, but yet you have some information you need to program them with, like, I don't know, like Europe, like how great Europe is. What do you do in this day of online, web-based, interactive social media? How do you get some PR going, John? I mean, we could have come up with this one, by the way. Any ideas? School shooting? Man, you're on a roll today! No! No, no. Somebody, of course,

06:47 was able to somehow decipher the incredibly complicated way that the speech was already stored on the internet site on the server and he finds it a day early. So that then I was better finding the DVD or something laying on the seat in the subway, right? And yeah, there's this guy, you know, it was a marketeer a new media marketeer and he found it He tweets that his tweet is like breaking Breaking I just found the Queen's speech. It's unbelievable how I found that yeah

07:23 after I'm sure he was sent the URL. And then of course the news media can pick this up and go, oh my god, it's unbelievable that the Queen's speech has already been revealed before it's been on television and let us tell you she's talking about Europe and how we are Europe and Europe is us and we are the world. And it was just really a fun moment to see a Bogative PR move done in that way here in the in the lowlands for the royal family who are clearly moving into the 21st century with this this action of theirs I like it good idea. Yeah. Yeah, you're right cuz nobody's gonna listen to the thing, but they'll listen to a leaked version Yeah, and it's the same with This just came out today. You saw this Randy Zuckerberg who is Zuck Zucks

CHAPTER 04 / 42 Discussion

Facebook Poke App, Randy Zuckerberg Kitchen Photo Controversy

Randy Zuckerberg expressed public anger over a private family photo being reposted, but the hosts argue the image was a staged advertisement for Facebook's new "Poke" app. The photo features the Zuckerberg family in a kitchen appearing to enjoy the game, which the hosts characterize as a cynical and insincere promotional stunt.

randy zuckerberg· mark zuckerberg· facebook poke· viral marketing· privacy

08:13 Was it his sister? So she tweeted a photo or did she tweet it or put it on Facebook? It doesn't really matter. And it's a photo of the family and Zuck's in the kitchen and she's really angry about this being reposted or whatever. But it's a blatant promotion for the brand new Facebook game known as Poke, which is a standalone app. Came out I guess Just yesterday, you know, it's like oh and she's really angry that someone that someone reposted this picture where her family is in the kitchen playing the game poke because there was a Little sub below caption to it and they're all laughing and they look like they're having a glorious time because it's such an awesome game It's so obvious that this is a promotional stunt. You know, these things sicken me to be honest about it Why do they sicken you?

09:11 Because I mean we have because it's just a complete scam and it's in it's just in the reek it reeks of so much insincerity that the oh I'm so upset by this and that kind of thing. It just really bothers me that people have to Resort to this sort of thing. Well, it's it works. I mean, you know, everyone's talking about that's what bothers me That's the worst part workers. It just gets some attention amongst people that Can't think for themselves. I don't know. Well, whenever you get a leak like that or something, you know something so so obvious It's just like ah, but the have you seen this picture of the Zuckerberg family? We have to Google it real quick. Just Google it. Randy Zuckerberg kitchen photo and you'll see Randy Zuckerberg. It's Randy with an I I think

10:00 Kitchen won't make any difference. And uh, oh really? Okay. And then you'll see that they're all sitting around the table laughing. They're saying, so hilarious! This game is awesome! It looks like they're playing the best game in the universe! You got it? For some reason the images aren't- Oh, there they are. There she is, yucking it up. It's fun. It's like the whole family and Zuck's in the corner, like, overseeing how much these people love their brand new game. I'm trying to see if there's some... Okay, so who took the picture? There's one, two, three, four, five of you. Apparently she took it. I don't know what she looks like. I don't know if she's in the picture. But this is the picture. It looks kind of like her in the middle there, but maybe not. I mean, that thing's staged. I mean, can't you... It's like, what family is doing this with a poke game? Just conveniently brand new. It's so awesome. How does this game even work?

11:02 You're wondering now you they got you It worked once again. I'd like to know what the dishes salsa is doing there, and there's no chips It's funny cuz I I was doing that too. I was like does he heck cuz you know He's so well known for shooting his own food. I'm like where where's the venison? It's got to be around somewhere. I was doing the same thing investigating Investigating the food The kitchen looks like something from a Four Seasons hotel. It's just barren. Yeah, the guy has no class. He's got no style. The thing in the middle, I mean, the sink in the middle is, I don't know. Something that's... All right, anyway. Anyway, something that's not... Well, I got a Santa Claus clip. I'm a little annoyed about the whole thing. I'm beginning to seem like a Bah Humbug guy, but this is just...

CHAPTER 05 / 42 Discussion

NORAD Santa Tracker, Military Technology and Media Deception

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) released its annual Santa tracker report, which a spokesperson compared to the technology used to track North Korean Taepodong missiles. The hosts argue that using military infrastructure to promote a fictional character trains the public to accept media lies and government-sanctioned misinformation.

norad· santa tracker· north korea· taepodong missile· media skepticism

11:50 I'm wondering if this is good or bad to be doing stories like this which are just so bogative it's just ridiculous but can play my Santa Claus clip. This is Santa's big night he and his reindeer entourage will travel around the world so while you wait for the arrival of Father Christmas why not keep an eye on his annual journey a team of volunteers at the North American And Air Response and Defense Command has been making that possible for 57 years. Captain Jeff Davis is a spokesperson for NORAD in Colorado Springs. I'm looking at him on live radar. We've got him passing over Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and headed in the direction of Nairobi, Kenya. He's delivered about 2.4 billion gifts so far. He's about a third of the way done with his journey and he'll be headed over towards Canada, North America. Please, really? Do I have to listen to the whole thing? Is there a big payoff at the end? Tell me.

12:46 You should just listen to the whole thing, it's not that long. As an aviator, it's painful. Let me tell you, we're good. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago, NORAD and the US Canadian team here in Colorado tracked the launch of a North Korean Taepodong missile. And it's a lot of the same tools that we use to track Sina, everything from infrared detecting satellites, ground-based radars, radars that are on ships at sea. It's an intricate system, it's all networked together and once a year on the 24th of December we all come together and watch Santa as he makes his journey around the world.

13:34 This is the same technology they used to track the North Korean missile John did I hear that properly? Oh, yeah So which one is fake the North Korean missile or the Santa Claus I mean they've got me strong this is what this was what comes to mind when I see these kinds of reports it's like Well, let's see. I don't know what parents think about my discussing this because the crock of crap that's involved here is got to have some some mind-bending quality to the youth of the America mostly well That's why what's why people are easy to believe all story people believe. Oh, yeah, Norad, you know didn't understand what they saw on 9-11 Of course the whole thing is it makes total sense confuse everybody about what's real and not real with that outfit. I

14:28 So you have like this, is this, now so I'm thinking, I'm asking the question, because this NORAD report was on over and over again, I couldn't take it. I think there's Canadian CBC too, if I'm not mistaken. But they all do this stuff, you know, oh, you know, we got a report from the army base. It's like, does this, at some point when you realize that there's a bogative, you know, this is like, there's lies lying to you. When you realize it, do you say, oh, that's interesting, the news media's full of crap. Hey, and does this make you a better person?

15:05 Yeah. Does it make you a better person? I'd like to know. You've come to an early realization about the age of 10 or whatever. Right. That the news media is lying to you. Does that make you a skeptic when you get older? Or does it sadden you? Or do you believe that you... does it turn you paranoid because now you don't know what to believe? What does it do? I think it actually trains you to accept the fact that the news media must lie to you when necessary and that it is okay when they do that. Because of course you can't... That's a good one. That's one interpretation I didn't get. That's the only thing I can think of. And because, you know, this has been going on for 57 years apparently. So yeah, I think if anything it's perfect training.

CHAPTER 06 / 42 Discussion

Parental Deception, Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy

The hosts debate the ethics and humor of lying to children about mythical figures like Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy. They discuss the "somnambulistic" state of the youthful brain and how parents participate in these ruses for entertainment.

parenting· santa claus· tooth fairy· childhood development· humor

15:56 Perfect training, but you're not against the the concept of of kids knowing about you know believing in Santa Claus Are you are you one of these? Really, bah-ha. I mean, oh wait a minute care. Where the other wait a minute I'm just concerned about the effect on the law on the youthful brain. I understand but I'm asking you a Parental question did you keep? Keep the farce going with your kids when they were young. I'm sorry. Maybe buzzkill you know, hope they're not listening, but we're keeping it going still That's exactly hey. Oh Seriously, did you did you did you guys like keep it alive? Did you? Participate in the ruse and be honest John. Come on. Talk to me. Well, of course I did I mean that's what you do with kids. It's hilarious. I don't know some people put him on leashes, you know, I'm just

16:45 Yeah, well we do that too, but that's just to keep them from getting killed in an airport. I don't blame anyone for doing that. But you think it's hilarious to lie to them about Santa Claus. You think that's funny. I do think it's funny if you think about it. If you don't think it's funny, then you've got no sense of humor. Of course I think it's funny now. When you have your first kid and the kid's like four, it's like, it's fun. Did you put the cookies and the milk out? Come on, John, tell me. My wife always did. And I always get up and take a bite out of one. Of course you have to. I drew the line at the tooth fairy. I'm like, this is going too far. This is bull crap. We can't be doing this. This is too much. Did you know what we do with the tooth fairy? I think we kept that going. It's all bogative. I mean, of course, kids brain waves are different until they're about 14 anyway. They're actually in a kind of a somnambulistic

17:41 state that's not actually normal. Subnamulistic. Good word. Big word. Big one. Big whopper. Yeah. Like that. So they until their brain starts to adjust to the reality of things, I guess you can buffalo them for a while. I mean, I like to do, I still do the magic tricks. You know, you catch a kid young enough, you can make him think that you know everything's, you know, your whole life to your hand. It takes very little skill to make stuff disappear. Or like the bending of the spoon, that's my favorite. On the table. No, I'm not, no. Making things disappear. Look, gone! Like their allowance. Oh, look kid, your allowance is gone.

CHAPTER 07 / 42 Discussion

Barbara Walters Interview, Barack Obama Bin Laden Raid Claims

Barack Obama and Michelle Obama appeared in a holiday interview with Barbara Walters. The hosts criticize the President's claim that he stayed awake the night before the Bin Laden raid, citing reports that he was actually on the golf course and disconnected from the immediate operation.

barack obama· barbara walters· osama bin laden· navy seals· abc news

18:21 So I did I didn't see it live but of course we had the big Obama's interview Barbara Walters interviewing the president and the first lady and I only saw I don't know if this is the whole thing. It could be I saw like eight minutes online Did you see this by any chance that you and the family huddle around the ABC television network to? To watch the big Barbara Walters interview with the president and the first lady God, no Besides that, we're only getting Canadian TV up here. I would like to play... Although, by the way, I want to mention something. I did get a number, a couple of our producers, even though you thought this was not important anymore, did give me a Slingbox link, and I want to thank them profusely. But the thing is, the curious thing is I got one in Southern California that's off most of the time, or at least recently, but I have the other three, I got three, they're all in Michigan.

19:20 Oh really? Which I think is weird. Is there anybody in New York with a sling box and then give me the code, access code to? Well we only have a few listeners in New York. Dame Tanya of course, I don't think she has a sling box. I mean New York, they're in their own kind of vibe there man. They got their own thing going on. They got no time for us. They got no commute. That's another thing. If you're in Manhattan, you got no commute. You got nowhere to go so you're not gonna listen to the show. Some people come in from Connecticut. Yeah, increasingly. So here's three short little clips I just thought were very, very interesting. Literally very short clips, but each of them really has something very telling about the elitism of the presidency of the United States of Gitmo Nation. This first question is about what keeps the president up at night. What keeps you up at night? By the way, don't you love how she asked the question? There are times

20:18 Oh, really? The night before the Bin Laden raid, eh? This is bullcrap. He was on the... he didn't even know it was going down. They pulled him off... remember they had to pull him off the golf course to do this? He didn't know it was happening the night before. What are you doing? Yeah, he's bogus. He's full of crap. Stop clippity-clopping. It's not good. All right.

CHAPTER 08 / 42 Discussion

Secret Service Protection, Obama Gun Control Hypocrisy

President Obama joked that a primary incentive for his re-election was maintaining Secret Service protection for his daughters. The hosts highlight the irony of the President advocating for gun control while simultaneously valuing the protection provided by armed guards for his own family.

barack obama· secret service· gun control· second amendment· elitism

21:05 Would you stop that? It's very annoying because I don't know if it's weird about that sound effect Which is another device they gave me well go and finish this on I'll tell you later. It's not important It's not like crickets does it sound like crickets? It sounds like you're doing something really annoying is what it sounds like yeah during during the clip even it's annoying Don't do it all right So when you have a president who is talking about new gun rules and gun control and all kinds of laws now because of this horrible so-called shooting that we have no real evidence of, it's kind of interesting when he tells you about the reason he wanted to run for re-election. We joke sometimes about how

21:50 you know, Malia's getting to the age now and boys start calling and sort of, I always talk about how one of the main incentives for running again was continuing secret service protections so that there were men with guns around at all times. That's right, have men with guns around my children all the time. Which of course is... Yeah, he said guns, didn't he? He's literally said guns. Which of course is literally the argument if you look at the left-right paradigm and the pro-con-gun control discussion. The right and the lobby is saying, well why don't we have guns protecting our kids? And it was like, that's crazy! But apparently not for the elites.

CHAPTER 09 / 42 Discussion

Presidential Perks, Air Force One and TSA Exemptions

President Obama cited not having to take off his shoes for airport security as a top presidential perk. The hosts mock the elitism of the President and Barbara Walters, noting their disconnect from the travel experiences of average citizens who must endure TSA screenings and commercial flight delays.

air force one· barack obama· barbara walters· tsa· private aviation

22:31 Then it's okay, then it's alright. But this one, this one is about, got me as kind of, I mean a little bit as angry as your Santa Norad bull crap. What is your favorite presidential perk? What could be, John, his favorite presidential perk? I'd say that Air Force One. Well, uh... The plane? Yeah, I mean look, it has been a while since I flew commercial. This is where I'll read him like a holy crap an a-hole elitist, but it gets better But I remember I remember I remember I used to fly commercial I haven't forgotten yet I'm still a normal guy because I used to have to commute every week from DC to Chicago and

23:22 Not having to take off your shoes before you get on a plane. Let me tell you. Probably a pretty good luxury. That's a luxury right there. Now, hold on a second. She said let me tell you. Wait a minute. Yeah. Oh yeah. When she said let me tell you, that means that she's flying private jets too. Yeah. Oh, Barbara Walters? Absolutely. You know that expensive little trip she mentioned in the last show we did? Yeah. She's bragging about how much money they're spending just saying it a two-second clip from Lindsay Lohan. Yeah, and what an expense I mean, let me tell you let me tell you But I took a commercial plane once and it to take off my shoes and I'd never do it again And there were citizens everywhere and they were stinking and there were kids crying Pretty good luxury and and obviously you're never late for flights because Generally the plane doesn't take off without you

24:18 Generally, what does he mean by that? Well if the other Obama's already on board then you know then you're screwed then you then you got to go back to the dungeon. You know it depends on whoever gets to the airport first. He's the guy that gets to go I guess. That just kind of got my goat. That just like ah really? Elite. It's just so elite. Actually it was funny there was a because of course we've got the big We got the big fiscal cliff coming up. Oh, hold on a second. I forgot we have to do our... And the first lady, I guess it must have been pre-taped because they're all hamming it up there in Hawaii on vacation.

CHAPTER 10 / 42 Discussion

Michelle Obama, Macaroni and Cheese Holiday Message

Michelle Obama discussed serving macaroni and cheese during the holidays, momentarily setting aside her "Let's Move" health initiative. The hosts interpret the emphasis on "mac and cheese" as a subtle message preparing the public for economic hardship following the upcoming fiscal cliff.

michelle obama· let's move· mac and cheese· fiscal cliff· holiday food

25:10 But she was talking about what she does for the Christmas holidays. And what she says at the end here, to me, maybe I'm just reading it wrong, maybe I'm just overly sensitive, but to me, it's a message as to get ready because this is what you're going to be eaten. when it comes to the holidays every year? Well, I'm the hostess in chief. We host a number of events here for a whole range of people. It's very traditional. I mean, there's turkey, there's, you know, the string beans and stuffing, little mac and cheese. This is a time when I throw let's move out the window for a moment and get that mac and cheese. Everybody deserves their mac and cheese. You eat it. Cheese, Santa

25:53 Yeah, exactly. So you felt the same thing like mac and cheese mac and cheese get ready Mac It's not gonna be a cat food Christmas mac and cheese after the fiscal cliff mac and cheese Mac and cheese too. So you use slaves can get used to Mac and cheese Macaroni and cheap cheddar melted together buy a box of crap. It's cheap. I That's the worst Mac and cheese mac and cheese mac and cheese you got the same thing right? I'm like, uh Yeah, I think she said it a little too little little too much reason. Yeah, we eat mac and cheese, too. Yeah sure you do Mac and cheese And this is your mac and cheese and that's annoying glad you didn't watch that and I'd be in a bad mood

CHAPTER 11 / 42 Discussion

Podcast Explanations, Lightning Rod and Grounding Ribbon Metaphor

Adam Curry describes the difficulty of explaining podcasting to strangers and introduces a metaphor for his partnership with Dvorak. He characterizes himself as a "lightning rod" for controversy and Dvorak as the "grounding ribbon" that dissipates the energy, making their dynamic functional.

podcasting· ham radio· lightning rod· grounding ribbon· social dynamics

26:45 I'm not in a bad mood. I'm in a good mood. I have to say I know you're in a good mood because you got to listen to somebody read you a fairy tale. And I cried. I cried about the troll. Poor little troll. He finally gave to became a person. You are. I bet that your family right now is listening to this. No, they're not. If they were listening to this program, they'd be like, they're all in bed. How come? How come John can be more like Adam and sensitive? This sensitive male crying over the thrall becoming a human. He really did. So I've discovered something here though. People are, you know, they're, oh man. It's very hard of course to be here to talk about, you know, anything. You know, like what we do is because, you know, where no matter where you are inevitably people say, hey, so what do you do?

27:47 And this is the dreaded question. I do podcasts and then, oh really? Oh, what's it about? And that's where I'm like, and then I've really got to think, who do I have in front of me? How much time do I have? And how much annoyance am I willing to bear to explain? But you got to, like friends and family. Why don't you just say Google no agenda? Google no agenda. Yeah, but you're stuck in situations and they're like, well, so what's it about this no agenda? And that's what it's about. It is what it is. I don't know, I get out of this pretty easily.

28:23 But someone came up and said something to me that I thought was quite interesting, particularly in light of my ham radio experience. Someone said, you know, Curry, and you've said this, said you're a lightning rod. You just attract stuff and, you know, and which, by the way, if you, if anyone were ever to read our emails and see what kind of things people say about me to John about me, it's all, it's like I'm the lightning rod. You know, I just bring in the, the, the jolts of electricity But then I figured, you know, you are the grounding ribbon. That's why it works. Because when I'm alone, I really miss that. Like, oh, you know what a grounding ribbon is? Yeah, it keeps the, it moves all the electricity down to the ground and dissipates it. Exactly. And it's literally like a ribbon of, you know, of copper, essentially, like a braid. A braid is maybe a better, maybe it's called, is it a braid? I thought it was ribbon. Yeah, it's probably a braid. Yeah.

29:18 You know, but together lightning rod and grounding braid Hey, there you go. It's lightning rod and grounding braid That's why that's why it works between us because you need that grounding braid from time to time and I you know And you get away with it I get away with it. It's like I'm trying to pull something. Well, yeah, you know, you're not you just you get away with it. Literally you you're the good guy alias Smith and Jones. Yeah. Sorry cultural reference beyond you. Yes, indeed. So

CHAPTER 12 / 42 Discussion

European Payment Systems, Chip and PIN vs Magnetic Stripe

Adam Curry reports that many European retailers, particularly in the Netherlands, have stopped accepting American magnetic stripe credit cards in favor of "Pin" or Chip and PIN technology. He notes that some stores now refuse cash entirely, creating significant hurdles for American tourists whose banks have not yet adopted the digital chip standard.

credit cards· chip and pin· magnetic stripe· europe· banking· germany

30:06 What's in the news over there in the lowlands? Anything going on besides just the Christmas? I found it was a very dull news week. I mean, there was nothing going on. Nobody's listening to the show. I'm watching tons of C-SPAN. I'm getting nowhere. Yeah, yeah. Everything kind of shut down here. I mean, kind of. They have two days of Christmas here. You know, the first day of Christmas, the second day of Christmas, and then today would be the third, which everyone basically just took off. You wouldn't think there's a crisis here. Crisis or not, jobs are like, they're not working. It's like, screw it, we're not going to work. I do have an observation about something that's kind of weird that America and Germany have in common. I'm not sure why, I haven't been able to quite figure it out.

31:04 But now that we've been here for three weeks, I've been here for three weeks, Mickey's been here five weeks. Thank you Miss Mickey for the sound effect. So now we had some cash in our Dutch bank account that's gone, so now we have to use cash from our US bank account but it's problematic because they have essentially stopped the or disabled the use of magnetic stripe swipe credit cards Through all of Europe except for Germany. You cannot use a credit card Anywhere pretty much anywhere in the in Europe right now unless I guess unless it has the the digital chip

31:55 Embedded in the card which of course no as far as I know no American bank issues those you just can't use it you now and You can still go to an a wait a minute. Hold on a second stop So I'm just going, I'm flying over to Paris and I'm going to Lucas Carton or something to have a nice expensive meal. And I sit down with my friend and I put down my American Express card to pay for whatever outrageous thing I did. And they say, no, miss you take discarded scrap. And they throw it back at me. Well, I'm not exactly sure about every restaurant. Some restaurant we have found one or two restaurants that still will take a swipe magnetic stripe card. But I'm just punch in the number. No.

32:42 If you're going to a gas station, if you're going to buy groceries, in many places they won't even accept cash anymore. There are literally signs that say you can only, it's called pinning, you can only pin here no cash. Literally no cash. I see- What? No cash. I see people at the little shop. Wait a minute. Stop, stop, stop. So in other words, I got my card there. I go punch it into the ATM machine, which it should be able to read because there's still all those old machines around. I get myself, because I can't use the card, I punch out 500 euros and I go to the gas station to get some gas and they tell me to get lost? No.

33:23 Well, some places, I'm not saying necessarily the gas station, but there are stores for sure. I'll send you a picture of the sign. There are stores that say you cannot pay in cash here. No cash. And it says in English, no cash only PIN. So it has to be the smart card based credit card. For some reason, Germany has also not converted to this. But here's the thing that I find weird is they're all saying, well, the Americans need to catch up. Catch up to what? It's like, you know, and of course it's you know to change this infrastructure to change all of the the card readers etc I mean, that's it. That would be a pretty big deal I mean, that's not something that just happens and all of that we've got 300 million people Yeah, and all of their systems here the the systems used to be actually they if you look at the card readers and they have the mobile card readers and

34:13 There's still a sliding slot, but they've literally put a sticker over the slot that says with a card with a magnetic stripe with a big red circle and a slash through it. Like no, no credit card like that. You can't have photos of this stuff. I will. I will. This is ridiculous. It's... Yeah. What do they do about American tourists? We don't have this this year. They don't care. They really don't care. They're just like, no, no, I'm sorry. I can't take your credit card here. I'm like, what? No. And then you have to take your AT and your debit card, find a debit machine, a cash machine. Those still take it, but I wonder for how long? That may just stop one day too. I don't know. It must.

35:02 Yeah, so it's yeah interesting now the hotel That we've been that I put said Mickey up in three weeks ago You know after she got sent back of course I had to you know get her a hotel real quick You know they took my credit card so of course there's some you know stuff like that It's still accepted, but really just for general walking around and just you know you either have a bunch of cash with you all the time Which you know seems? counterintuitive to the entire system because they really just want you to, at the market, you're at the market, the stalls, like a farmer's market. They want you to pin at the farmer's market. They've all got their mobile machines that you stick your smart card in at the market, just like the meat guy or the cheese guy or the poultry guy standing out there on the market square. No cash, no, no, please pin.

CHAPTER 13 / 42 Discussion

International Banking Treaties, American Expat Financial Challenges

New international treaties and IRS reporting requirements have made it increasingly difficult for Americans to maintain bank accounts in Europe. The hosts discuss how banks are closing accounts for US citizens to avoid the administrative burden of reporting financial activity to the United States government.

fatca· banking· internal revenue service· tax reporting· europe

35:58 You know what's weird about it is that if you're an American you want to get one of those cars in one of those banks and it's just say we're open an account you can't do it anymore you if you're an American it's almost impossible to get a bank account in Europe because of all these new international treaties that require them to report all American money well I'm expecting any minute now because you know I just had some kind of like you know just some money just here and I'm worried because I'm going to have to send money from my US account into the Dutch account so I can use the the damn Dutch bank card. But once they see activity, they have to report that.

36:38 they have to report it, then they'd be like, well, you know, you didn't fill out the forms because I've had this account forever. Yeah, I mean, I've had the account forever, so it's probably going to be, oh, you don't have the forms filled out and maybe you should just close. Yeah, that's what's going to happen. So let's hope that we can get home in a couple of weeks and not I've never heard of any of this. is in the same boat with us. And Germany, of course, is where all the money is in Europe. So I find it interesting that they have not converted to this smart card system. And you kind of would want the Germans to be over here using their plastic. But I don't know. I don't know if it's kind of... We have to get look into this. I don't know if it's just an ICT thing. I mean, I googled it. There's plenty of articles and people say, well, it's just two incompatible systems. But that makes so little sense.

37:45 from so many perspectives. It's not incompatible. It is. That's why the ATM machines work over there because they're all part of this about 10 network star network, MasterCard network, where they're on the back of your debit card. No, no, the part that's incompatible is the actual transaction part. I mean, the back end all fits together and works. It's that transaction where it goes wrong. What does that mean? That you can't transact. I can't use my card. My thing won't fit in their slot. No, I know, but that's just a function of the hardware. I mean, it's just that this is something fake. There's something weird about this story. Okay, well, I hope we will have many people looking into it for us. Yeah, we need some bankers to chime in here with, ah, it's part of a scheme. Yeah, yeah, that's what it is. Scheme. It is. It's part of a scheme, obviously.

CHAPTER 14 / 42 Discussion

All You Need Is Love, Dutch Reality Television

Adam Curry describes a popular Dutch Christmas television program called "All You Need Is Love," which reunites long-distance couples. He compares the emotional format to the vintage American show "This Is Your Life" and comments on the somber, gray atmosphere of the Dutch holiday season.

netherlands· reality tv· all you need is love· christmas specials· entertainment

38:44 Well, there you go. Well, so that's that's just an observation Was there anything else that? I got a clip we can take. Yeah, I mean I got plenty of stuff but no, that's just no news Everything shuts down here. They have the big show called all you need is love Everybody watches it. Everybody cries for three hours and then it's you know, then you have you doing I'm trying to whistle the Beatles song. They actually use that song in the show. Yeah, but they're reuniting people and

39:21 You know, who haven't seen you. I was like, oh my boyfriend lives in Australia. Oh, that's reminds me of This Is Your Life. It used to be a show in the 50s and 60s. It's a... This is your... They have a show. It was a great show. They get some sucker in the audience. They sucker somebody to come to the show, but he's actually the target. Yeah. It's a classic. Yeah. I'm surprised we don't do this show again. So the guys in the audience because he somehow has been bamboozled to come in into the show to watch it Yeah, and then they call him on him. This is your life. This is your life Adam Curry This is your life. They bring you up and embarrass you except in this case. It's it's it's non-stop It's like 30 different stories and it's all you know sad saps and then they have you know and some of them in the audience but others he just shows up at the door and like oh, you know your boyfriend who lives in Uganda and

40:09 You know, and of course, you know, the guy, they brought the guy over from Uganda and the guy's like, damn man, this is cold here. What am I doing here? I don't want to be in this gray, gray ass country. And they put him on a bus and they ship him through the country and the rain and this mist and the grayness. And then, you know, and then, and then he's reunited with his girlfriend for, uh, for, for the Christmas holidays or whatever. And I was like, Ooh, and we all cry because we all know the Ugandans are big on that Christmas thing. Anyway, so that was my media experience here. You're going to play. Okay, now I want you to get, we played this game once before. I want you to predict what I'm going to predict as a future distraction of the week.

CHAPTER 15 / 42 Discussion

George H.W. Bush, ICU Admission and Death Watch

Former President George H.W. Bush has been admitted to the ICU in Houston suffering from a persistent fever and bronchitis. The hosts predict his passing may be imminent and discuss how his death, or that of Nelson Mandela, could serve as a major media distraction from the fiscal cliff.

george h.w. bush· intensive care unit· houston· bronchitis· nelson mandela

41:03 You've done it before and you nailed it. Let's see if you can do it again. And here is the prediction guest time clip. Former President George H.W. Bush may spend Christmas in the hospital. Bush has been in a Houston hospital for a month suffering from bronchitis. His staff said today they need to be extra cautious with his care. Bush is in stable condition. I think you're going to predict Nelson Mandela to die. I've already done that. By the way, a lot of people giving you props even though you called Nelson Mandela, you're getting credit for George Bush being in the hospital. Did you notice this? Yeah, I did. But I can tell you something right now. He's a goner. It's over. I mean, I have inside information for sure. He's not coming out. Okay, but is it going to be before or after Mandela?

42:00 I think he's gone before because you know he's gone before and in fact this is really teeing a lot of people off because you know yeah they always have some Bush retrospective you know packages ready to go for when it's time and they knew that he had Parkinson's they knew it wasn't you know you know they knew that he was not doing too well. I think I even mentioned that you know Don had told me that he wasn't doing that he was actually doing quite poorly And I think he's going to usurp Mandela. Screw you, Mandela. He's going to have a much bigger show. Well, this would annoy a lot of liberals. Because Mandela is a big deal that needs... he could be a one-two punch. I mean, this would definitely cover up what's going to happen when we go over the cliff. Everything. Everything. Total cliff cover-up.

42:50 So you have Bush going out before the 1st, if at all possible. If at all possible. You're a horrible man. I'm not, I'm just telling it like it is. I'm just a realist here. Let me give you the rundown. The BBC had a friend of the family and you'll never see this guy talking about this again because he really let way too much in. The president was admitted to the ICU, the intensive care unit at Methodist on Sunday He's been dealing with a series of setbacks that includes a persistent fever.

43:31 And doctors are doing everything they can to wrap their arms around it. They're cautiously optimistic that their current course of treatment is... I love that, cautiously optimistic. If anyone says that, if you're in a hospital and every doctor... Yeah, you're done. We're cautiously optimistic, Mrs. Curry. It's like, forget it. Call the lawyer. I'm out. I'm done. ...going to be effective. And so, but the President is, he's, they don't put you in the ICU because things are going well. So we're obviously hoping that the medicines and the treatments can help him turn things around. He battled bronchitis for about three weeks and at age 88, despite the great ship that the President's always been in throughout his life,

44:16 That really takes a toll on you. And so coming out of that he was doing his physical therapy that was going well until the middle part of last week, he's just started to have a few low energy days and Things kind of snowballed from there Probably exactly the wrong time because of his weakened condition because of the fight against bronchitis 88 years old it just adds up to a tough situation right now. This guy should not be the spokesperson No, no Let's see what we got here. George H.W. Bush, let me make sure he is 88. I think he's a goner. Yeah, no, I think he's a goner too. I mean, that's why I'm predicting. But it's all a matter of timing. I mean, they gotta do something.

CHAPTER 16 / 42 Discussion

Dairy Cliff, Media Distraction Tactics

CBS News and other outlets have begun reporting on a "dairy cliff," warning that milk prices could spike to $8 per gallon if the Farm Bill is not addressed. The hosts dismiss this as a manufactured crisis designed to distract the public from the actual fiscal cliff and debt ceiling negotiations.

dairy cliff· milk prices· fiscal cliff· farm bill· media manipulation

45:05 I don't know, I mean, I may sound maudlin, but some has to be done. They have done something. I think Bush going. They've done something different. They've done something different. I'm quite amazed you haven't even figured this one out. We have to distract from the fiscal cliff. You don't have to, I mean, yeah, if Bush goes or Nelson Mandela, that would of course change the news cycle. But the simplest thing is to focus them on a different cliff. Alright, hit it. We're hit at the gas pump now. It could be our grocery bills. I'm Ashley Ketz. And I am David Oliver. Good to have you joining us this evening. Shoppers may soon see the cost of a gallon of milk spike between six and eight dollars. It's already around four bucks a gallon spreading your grocery money thin. Color 10's Laurie Patton has been following this issue and joins us now. Laurie. Now wait for it. CBS News is calling this the dairy cliff. There you go. The dairy cliff. We just need to give them a different cliff.

46:05 Go on. Well that's it. I'm not going to play the whole report. It's all about how... The dairy cliff. Yeah. But there's no dairy cliff. This is bogus. Of course it's bogus, but if you... the whole report... I'm out here in farm country and we're looking at dairy. There's a cow now. I mean it's bull crap. Do you want to hear the report? Because then you'll see how people will be severely affected. Our citizens, our senior citizens won't have their milk. Go with the cat food. And some hope the solution to the farm bill would be attached to a reconciliation of the fiscal. Yeah, that's what they're saying. The farm bill. This is just another illusion. And of course, little Timmy has jumped in there with the, oh, the debt ceiling. So we just, you don't need someone to die. You just need, and that's unpredictable.

46:54 You know you you need something you need to focus people on other things so I am I don't have my no I disagree a hundred percent on this one Okay, I think it's the dairy cliff and I think it's the fiscal ceiling the debt ceiling and then that will be the focus and they're just not Anything to distract anything to distract and I know it would be great if when the old man can go be fantastic But they need some cover Well, it's gonna they're definitely gonna lay it on it's gonna win probably in the next let's see our last show Our car next show is gonna be after the first no no no we have one more That's where we got a Sunday show. I'm sorry. I can't remember what day it is. We have a show on Sunday hopefully somebody will listen to it and even though it was on vacation and Which is reflected in our donations I might add yeah and

CHAPTER 17 / 42 Discussion

H&R Block, Alternative Minimum Tax Warning

H&R Block has issued warnings to clients regarding "Taxmageddon" and the expiration of the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) patch. Without legislative action, approximately 30 million taxpayers could see significant tax increases and delayed refunds, with some middle-income households owing thousands of dollars more for the 2012 tax year.

h&r block· alternative minimum tax· taxmageddon· fiscal cliff· irs

47:45 We'll do that show and then from that show to Thursday, I'll bet you all hell breaks loose. That's my prediction. From Sunday to Thursday of next week, all hell's gonna break loose. So our Thursday show's gonna be spectacular. Excellent. Well, we already received a note from one of our producers who has received, I guess they use H&R Block, which is a really, really big kind of strip mall type place where you go and get your taxes done. You literally walk in, With your everything, your pay strips, your W-2s, your 1099s, whatever it is. Cigar box of receipts. Yeah, with your box and you sit down with a consultant who essentially is just running a version of TurboTax on their computer because you're too stupid to run it.

48:33 And they say, here it is. And they take you through it. And they're kind of a financing outfit because they'll say, well, you have some money coming back to you from the government. You get like $700. But you can wait for the check or we'll give you $500 now. And then we'll just call it quits and then we'll go get the 700 and we'll keep the 200. That's kind of how it works. It's kind of like payday. It's kind of a scam. Onerous rip-off. So those guys are sending out emails now to their clients and the top of the email is the alternative minimum tax. Oh, you got to send me that email. Oh, you didn't see it? You were copied on it.

49:15 Oh wow, I'm surprised. Well who sent it then? I don't know, I'll just read you the first line. I saved it of course. I'll read you the first line from what H&R Block are sending out to all of their customers. Hold on a second, where is it? H&R Block article, got it. Loading it up. Taxmageddon financial cliff. What the fiscal cliff means to you. This is what it means to H by the way what it means the H&R block is they're not gonna be able to get this this refund deal work. Yeah, cuz they're not gonna get anything. Yeah, they must be so two things creating taxmageddon for individual filers AMT alternative minimum tax this has not been patched since December 31st 2011 expiration and

50:04 and more than 70 common tax breaks. And right there at the top, what is AMT? A couple of answers there. And it says 34 million taxpayers could be hit with the alternative minimum tax. 34 million, that's quite a lot. And the example they give is you could go from a tax refund of $1,056 to owing $1,400. and that's from, they say, an analysis by the Tax Institute. So that is a difference there of several thousand dollars. Of course, they get really pissed because they don't get any of that deal that they get to shaft people with. But of course, they are asking people to get their stuff in early, et cetera, et cetera, and what to be prepared for. So that's kind of the first

51:00 The first I've really seen of any institute of any standing that has kind of gotten on board with your analysis which you've been talking about to some... Incessantly. Yes, in fact I was crying about the troll but it wasn't about the troll it was about your story of the alternative minimum tax. That's how often you've been talking about it. One of our producers did come up with a clip on the morning show on CBS. you know, that early FDA competitor. And it was actually, it was reasonable and you can play it. It's a fiscal cliff or FDCL, that's what I have on here on CBS. Start with the fiscal cliff looming. What effect do you think it will have? So most of what the fiscal cliff is going to impact is taxes starting next year in 2013 and beyond. But there are portions of it that could impact taxpayers this year, about 30 million taxpayers

51:56 could see their taxes increase this year. A hundred million of them, according to the IRS, could see their refunds delayed and this is because of something known as the alternative minimum tax, that's the AMT. Usually they increase that amount, they adjust it for inflation, but they haven't done it yet. It's all wrapped up in this fiscal cliff debate and so if you're somebody making a household, making $45,000 $5,000 you could actually see your taxes go up as much as $4,000 this year if they don't address the issue I was just gonna ask you and who would that be affected you just said it people yeah, people Return to your harpsichord. That's right citizen back to your harpsichord nothing to see here. So anyway, that's the problem All right. Yeah, it's good at HR. You gotta send me that thing cuz I can use it for a column I'm writing Sure

CHAPTER 18 / 42 Discussion

No Agenda Support, Art Generator and Exile Conditions

The hosts thank the "human resources" in the chat room and the artists contributing to the No Agenda Art Generator. Adam Curry describes his cramped living conditions in Amsterdam, jokingly comparing his temporary setup to a "Hot Pockets tour."

no agenda art· donations· amsterdam· hot pockets tour· podcasting

52:51 Thank you. I gotta get into this column business. It seems like trying to do this I'm trying to get nobody wants to talk about this. It's amazing to me Then there's some morning show that nobody watches I mean the top show is on ABC The second one's today show and nobody watches the CBS show. So anyway, let me let me say In the morning to you, John C. Duvourac. Well, in the morning to you, Adam Currie. And also in the morning to all the ships at sea, boots on the ground, subs in the water, feet in the air. And also in the morning to all the knights and dames out there who have supported the show so religiously over the past couple years. And we appreciate that to an extreme. We sure do, as well as all of our artists. Martin JJ back again with the previous episode's artwork. Ironically. We do love everything that comes in.

53:38 To no agenda art generator dot-com, please Continue to support the artwork. It's a we know that when we have crappy artwork donations are down. It's fact It's just a fact and of course I'd like to say a big in the morning to all of the human resources who are charged up ready to go depleting their 9.1 million dollar value in the chat room I think actually you devalue a little quicker when you're in the chat room during these these holiday season weeks and And that is it. NoagendaStream.com, NoagendaChat.net. You're really, you're burning extra cash. Just, you know, clearly you have no life. But we do appreciate you showing up and keeping us honest. It always works.

54:25 I believe we do have some people catching up who want to get their knighthoods before the end of the year so they can get in, still get a ring and then be in on the new PIN program. And these are people who are not doing it obviously for the ring but they're doing it to support the program known as the best podcast in the universe. And as you know, we produce this show for you regardless of the circumstances. This is the third day of Christmas, between Christmas and New Years. I am in exile in a kitchen slash living room slash dining room slash... What are you doing? Bathroom?

55:05 Well, it's right now. Well, this is how small I need to send pictures Mickey you take some pictures of this. It's kind of it's if you put wheels on this thing. It's the Hot Pockets tour That's essentially that's essentially what it is paying double rent and And just think of it as cozy. It's cozy. Mickey's not gonna take a picture of me and at the kitchen table. With a skivvy shirt on? No, I got a regular shirt on. I have a scarf on because it's also cold. Wear a sweater. Let me see, darling. Yeah, cool. Will you tweet that to the slaves? Thank you.

CHAPTER 19 / 42 Discussion

Executive Producer Donations, Gun Culture and Google Plus

The hosts read notes from high-tier donors, including Felix Cornici and Scott Morgan. They discuss the ownership of gun-related domains and the growth of the No Agenda community on Google Plus, which recently surpassed 1,000 members.

donations· knighthood· thegunculture.com· google plus· no agenda club

55:44 So hopefully we have some people who we can thank for this program. John, do you have a list? Yeah, we do have some executive producers and associate executive producers here for show 473. I want to thank them, starting with Felix Cornici in Farmington, Connecticut. $500. Hi, John and Adam. This donation will make me a knight of the No Agenda Roundtable, but most importantly, it's a small token of appreciation for the best podcast in the universe. and he wishes us a happy new year. Thank you so much Felix. Scott Morgan, your neighbor's, or former neighbor at least for the moment in Austin, Texas, 42902, Christmas gift for John and Adam's family sent in note to you. Yeah, and I looked around, this is the most recent one, he has actually invited Ms. Mickey and I to go to church several times in Austin, and with church I'm talking about the big gun show that they have on Sundays once a month.

56:39 We just haven't had an opportunity to do that yet with Scott and I think his bride and here's the one I got to the newest meme on news He says is about the gun culture. I currently hold the gun culture calm org net domains I'm worried. I just painted a big target on my back any suggestions on what to do with these With the target on his back? Yeah, I think you just keep thegunculture.com. I think it's fine. I don't think you have a target on your back. He says, P.S. I hope to complete my knighthood this week if the world doesn't come to an end. I got delayed when my wife got laid off this month. So this comes at personal expense to Scott and we highly appreciate it. And yes, he will be knighted today during our ceremony.

57:24 If he has the GunCulture.com, I think, and it's just sitting there as a dead domain and he doesn't have a Parker or anything that he can run on it, just post one thing. Just post the Gangnam Style video from YouTube and just leave that on. Let me see. The Rickroll, the new Rickroll is that thing. That's Cy, whatever his name is. Yeah. Hey, John, you've actually seen the video? Yeah Who hasn't seen it? I don't know. I mean, I just you're still kind of I thought you it's very funny promoted green day video Yeah, yeah, I mean it's only been around for a couple years Yeah, it's still funny. Come on David Yegley and pleasant in California three three three three three a donation level We don't see as much as we used to yeah, thank you cuz three of them in a row We throw in the extra penny to get you a night hood. Oh

58:22 I want to thank you, John and Adam, for all the fantastic work you two do to consistently bring us top quality media analysis and entertainment to boot. Adam, I like that you are beginning to use Google Plus more often. I really think the Plus community can enormously expand the No Agenda listener base. And by the way, there are up to 900 people in the No Agenda club. We hit 1,000. We hit 1,000, I think, today. I think we hit 1,000. No, I think they want to hit 1,000 today. Do you think they hit 1,000? I think that when I... Because now I've got sucked into this big Google Plus hole. I was like, I can't get away. I have, you know, there have been a couple things, a couple stories that have been pretty good that I've incorporated. I like that. And I'm just seeing it grow, so let's see. I mean, I'm never one to step away from trying something new. I'll try something new. So I'm trying. I'm trying.

59:16 Good. Anyway, Hillary, he wants to be Sir Dave. Okay, no problem. Wishes the both of us some too delicious karma. It's almost too delicious to believe, my friend. You've got karma. Like that, I guess. When it's played like that, by the way, it sounds like the You Got Karma woman, for some reason, is Hillary. Really? Say, play it again and listen, and just relax your mind and imagine Hillary's doing the whole thing. Let me relax my mind. It's almost too delicious to believe my friend. You've got karma. If you know if I equalize it a little bit, if I EQ'd it so that she's not so muffled, we could do it. I'll work on that.

1:00:01 Yeah, Sarah Bradley in Forestville, California, 26969. My name is Sarah Bradley, not Maynor, which never came through, I don't think, unless JC fixed it. This should qualify me for dame status. December 27th is my 38th birthday. I'd like to have karma to help me find my next husband and have a human resource. Hey, wait a minute, send pictures. Come on. Please look for my email, W donation from a future Dame Sarah in the subject line. And ring size 7 3 quarters. She has nice slender fingers. Send a picture Dame Sarah. We'll put it on Google Plus. Yeah, I don't know if that's doing her a favor. Daniel Rudin in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 20420.

1:00:50 Morning, John. He'll be a by Dame Sarah and Daniel B's associate executive producers for show 473 in the morning John and I'm here is my Christmas gift to the best podcast in the universe May I have a huntsman karma followed by hey citizen clip of your choosing. I mean he says in clips. Do we have? I was going down to New Orleans to celebrate both New Year's and my birthday on the same day. I'd like to extend a big thank you to all my fellow Iowans that I have heard donate in the past as it was hearing them that encouraged me to start donating as well.

1:01:27 Assuming Adam and Mickey make it back to the States I would like to encourage them to make a hot pockets tour to Iowa in 2015 then we will have a big straw poll in Ames and I predict we'll see Rand Paul win followed by the media declaring it utterly meaningless unlike when Bachman won and became an instant front-runner anyway it goes on Yeah, if we ever get back we're gonna stay home for a while. That's my prediction for 2000. You know that we actually have to leave the house. February 15th, we have to be out because our lease is up and we haven't found a new place. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Yeah. All right, Daniel, thank you very much for your support of the best podcast in the universe. Here's I think this is something you'll enjoy. You may return to your business, citizen. You've got karma. Just trying to mix it up.

CHAPTER 20 / 42 Discussion

Global Listener Network, Mongolian Hat Challenge

Adam Curry highlights the reach of the No Agenda network, mentioning listeners helping with ham radio equipment and art projects. He issues a challenge to the audience to procure an authentic Mongolian hat directly from a person in the desert to demonstrate the show's global connectivity.

brazil· mongolia· ham radio· networking· listener challenges

1:02:29 And finally, our last associate executive producer, Sir Gene Naftulyev with 202.02. I tried sending you a package, but the forms to ship tritium take too long to process. What is tritium? Is that some kind of precious metal? It's some radioactive stuff. I should have my present by now. I believe this gets me to the 10th Associate Executive Producer credit and because of the Eastern Lark is flying north. You got to say it properly, otherwise it doesn't work. And because the Eastern Lark is flying north. Galt Karma for Bin Von Pelzmachers. Oh, he wants some Galt Karma for Baron Von Pelzmachers. This is very interesting.

1:03:18 We have a knight sending karma to a baron. Mm-hmm. You've got karma. Oh, yes. And you know, Ray from... I don't know if I should say where he's from, but we've got like three guys, Ray, Dot and Alex. I don't want to give their last names. This is really what they're doing. They're sending me a ham radio, but it's going like through embassies and I think it's gonna fly in a C-17 or something. It's gonna be hand-delivered. This is so awesome. We have an amazing, amazing group of listeners. I was telling someone the other night, I said, you know, so Mickey's working on a project.

1:04:15 which is a really cool art idea. And I'm not going to mention what it is right now, but she's like, well, if I needed to get hold of some guy in Brazil, I'm like, I bet you if I want to, and he's like a famous guy. So I bet you that if I really made a shout out on the show, I bet you we could get in touch one way or the other. We have an amazing network. We really do. Where in Brazil is he? I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. Have a lot of contacts in Brazil. But regardless, anywhere in the world, whatever we wanted, if we want to get to someone, if you believe in six degrees of separation, we span the globe multiple times. Yeah, I'd say that's probably true. We can probably find anyone. Yeah. We need to take advantage. Mongolia, I think, is a bit of a stretch and India, forget about it. Okay. So I want... Let's try it out. I want one of those Mongolian hats.

1:05:13 You know the hats that they wear? The Mongols there in the desert? Yeah. You can probably get a hat. But I want a picture. I want some original art. I want a picture of the guy wearing it in the desert there and then I want it on my head. I bet you we can do that. Alright, we'll make it a current challenge to get a Mongolian hat. With a picture of the dude it came off of. Yeah, with the guy and then... and wash it, wash it before you say anything. And I want a picture of the guy without it on his head shivering. Like, ooooh. Now you're asking for too much. What we only ask for is just your support of the program. You can go to noagendanation.com, you can go to noagendashow.com, and of course... javorac.org slash N-A-N-E. And even if you can't give us a donation in that regard, you can always help propagate the formula. Our formula is this. We go out, we hit people in the mouth. Shut up! Hell yeah. Shut up, slave. Shut up, slave.

CHAPTER 21 / 42 Discussion

Harry Reid, Vitiation of NDAA Amendments

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid used the legal term "vitiate" to quietly strip an amendment from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that would have protected citizens from indefinite detention. The hosts explain that "vitiate" serves as a code word for destroying the legal validity of a provision, allowing controversial measures to be removed without public outcry.

harry reid· ndaa· vitiate· indefinite detention· senate procedure

1:06:35 Oh, yeah, mostly joke clips. No, I know I have I've done I got some real work here I got some some interesting stuff. That's good. So we've been talking about this word that the That Harry Reid used when he went in and slipped. All right, the National Defense Authorization Act 2013 He all of a sudden just kind of, you know slip that into To the conversation and the word hold on a second This is dumb Here we go. I'll play the clip for you, the abbreviated clip. The majority leaders recognize... Could I ask my friend to yield for unanimous consent request and he would have the floor as soon as I finish. Absolutely. Sorry to do that. Without objection, so ordered. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate receives the papers with respect to HR 4310, the Senate's passage of HR 4310 as amended be vitiated.

1:07:28 So We've been trying to figure out what this word is and someone sent me a New York Times article That really blew me away and the word John is viciate. We thought it was a viciate, but it's vitiate vii Know what we were doing, but I got it I want you to go to this page so you can because you have to see this article just to put it away for later vitiate curry calm vi ti a te viciate e I a I, spell it again? Vitiate, V-I-T-I-A-T-E, vitiate. And I'll give you the definition. Spoil or impair the quality or efficiency of, or to destroy or impair the legal validity of. It is basically code for, we want to destroy, he said, we want to vitiate the amendment. There are only a couple amendments. This of course was the amendment

1:08:27 the lead that everyone's baffled by how it disappeared always so we're we have no idea what happened I voted for the amendment I'd voted for so you can reelect me this was the amendment to protect citizens from indefinite detainment without any type of due process and yeah, the way they get rid of it is by saying we're going to vitiate it and if you read this article at vitiate.curry.com, I'm sure you're scanning it by now John, this is a huge word that is used all the time, mainly by the Democrat Party. They use its code.

1:09:06 It will just vitiate that. If someone says, hey I'm going to vitiate you, then you better watch out because it's probably a two to the head scenario. And it's a very interesting word that just, you know, I mean whoever thinks about these things, like yeah, the guy said vitiate, whatever. Instead of destroy remove get rid of here's a little more of that clip without objections And further asking them sent that the adoption of the sentiment be initiated vitiated. Whoops. Goodbye gone done So that's how it works. Yeah, and he sneaks into the dead of night, unanimous consent decree, blows it through, and everybody's baffled. How can it be? What happened to our amendment? I thought it was in there. Oh, it's not in there. Oh well. Oh well. What a bunch of shitheads. Woohoo! Yeah.

CHAPTER 22 / 42 Discussion

Political Language, Fascist Roots of Folks and Clarity

The hosts analyze the etymology of common political phrases, linking "let me be clear" to fascist rhetorical styles intended to silence questioning. They further explore the use of the word "folks" (derived from the German *Volk*) and "homeland," arguing these terms reflect an elitist and nationalist shift in American political language.

etymology· fascism· folks· homeland· political rhetoric

1:10:04 Anyway, so I got another I've been looking at language and I think I got started off start off by Someone sent us a link. Did you see this link about let me be clear? Did you see that? Oh, so someone sent us one of our producers sent us a link and and it was the kind of the etymology of let me be clear or let it be clear, an article written by Daniel Guerin and very interesting about that this really comes from a fascist, it has a, you know, this let me be clear, it has a very fascist background In fact, it comes from his article, Fascism and Big Business, and that whenever a politician says, let me be clear, it essentially is really saying, shut up slave. You have no business questioning this. There is no questioning because it is clear.

1:10:53 And then as I'm thinking about that, and of course I'm here in a Germanic speaking country, I'm thinking about the use of the word homeland, which of course started after 9-11, which to my knowledge, and you can correct me John, I don't think the word homeland was ever really used in the United States before the Department of Homeland Security. recall? No, I don't remember. It may have been used here and there by some one person, but it wasn't in the general lexicon. It all showed up after 9-11 and now it's the homeland, the homeland, the homeland. We've got to protect the homeland. The homeland is like the fatherland in Germany or the motherland in Russia. Yes, well either one is just good.

1:11:36 Something what else have we been picking up on that in particular our president says a lot the vice president says it we've also heard the first lady say it what is it what is like it's another thing that just bothers us whenever we hear him say it what is it look mm-hmm how about folks folks folks so like yeah he says folks Marty says look so far look is to look to me as let me be clear in shorthand but but where's folks coming from Volks is coming from the German Volk. Okay? Yeah, Volkswagen is the people's car. Yes, which was a Nazi car. But really if you look at the etymology of the word Volk, it's even below citizenry.

1:12:20 It's the common people, they are the folk, so you're folks. It's another elitist from the top thing saying folks. Right, if it was Leona Hemsley it would have been the little people. Exactly. But then I'm thinking, and by the way the Germans, or not the Germans, the Nazis specifically, the Nationalist Party, because you know the Nazis, that was just a term that was brought in later, but they were the Nationalist Party, they were talking about one folk one Homeland one Führer one leader and I'm thinking how long until we hear the instead of the president going Hello, everybody. He just says hi everybody. I mean how it can't be that long John I Think we're very close to it. He just might slip it in. You know, if we start if someone starts using the word hail everybody Maybe he's saying hi. Oh, maybe we're just not hearing it right. Hi everybody

1:13:21 He could slip that in, man. I'm gonna pay attention to it. So, so, so... We're definitely overdoing the folks bullcrap. Well, but, but who says that? Who says the folks thing? I mean, that's not, it's not a Southern thing, I don't think, and he's not Southern, he's from Illinois, you know. It's just, where is that coming from? It's coming from his elitist attitude. I mean, he's actually, I think he's sincere when he says that. He's thinking everyone's just a bunch of dummies. Folks, their folks are out there and their poor folks are suffering. They're just getting by, you know, and I, hey, but you know, the greatest part of this job is I got a big giant jet. Two of them as a matter of fact. My wife sometimes flies separately. Is that great or what?

CHAPTER 23 / 42 Discussion

Second Amendment Interpretation, Constitutional Rights vs Government Limits

The hosts critique President Obama's description of the Second Amendment as "granting" a right to bear arms. They argue that the Bill of Rights does not grant rights but rather prohibits the government from infringing upon pre-existing natural rights, a distinction they claim is often lost in modern political discourse.

second amendment· constitution· barack obama· bill of rights· gun rights

1:14:06 And of course what's going to happen now is you'll get email saying what an a-hole I am and that I should go work for Fox News. Because I'm only bashing Obama, no I'm bashing our president. And if you listen to this program long enough, we bash the previous president just as much, if not more. So here's a, now our president though, I will give him this, is of course a constitutional scholar. We all know that he's a professor in the Constitution. I'm correcting that, right? Yes, well he actually was a teaching assistant from what I can tell. I mean this is sketchy. Oh come on. He was actually a professor. But I give it to you. Go on. It's fine. Okay. So...

1:14:48 Now, everyone who listens to this show, The Best Podcasting Universe, knows that you, John C. Dvorak, are also a constitutional scholar and we can ask you all kinds of questions. Yeah, you can ask me whatever you want. I'll take credit for this. Okay. So I'm listening to the president responding, and this was actually a clip from last week and I went back to watch it again. and he's talking about the second amendment and I'd like to hear his explanation again just briefly 15 seconds of the second amendment. Now like the majority of Americans I believe that the second amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms.

1:15:26 Is this the truth, John? What does the Second Amendment actually do? And this is important to know because if people want to repeal, get rid of the Second Amendment, which as ein folk we could do, the folk could all get together, all the folks could say, we don't want this Second Amendment. I ask you, and maybe I'm interpreting this wrong, but I ask wrongly, What does what is the Second Amendment does it guarantee as the president just said here? Let me listen to one more time Let me just listen to one more time the constitutional president the constitutional scholar now like the majority of Americans I believe that the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms. He said like the majority of Americans I believe that the Second America amendment guarantees the right to bear arms. Is this the truth John C. Dvorak? Is that what it guarantees?

1:16:17 Well, the interpretation would would suggest that but let's read the Second Amendment. I'm glad I'm glad shall I read it to you? Yeah, you can I can read it but you can read it you're on the roll though a well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed That is the Second Amendment, right? That does not guarantee the right to bear arms it says that that people have the right to bear arms but that the government is not allowed to infringe upon that right. This is not the right. Am I crazy in this thinking? Well, I don't know.

1:17:07 It's essentially it's like the government can't infringe on a religion. Which is, if you look at all the amendments, they do not grant everything. All the amendments are saying is here's an extra thing the government is not allowed to do. Right. Essentially, we always have to remember this and a lot of people would seem to, especially a lot of people in Obama's camp. The Constitution is designed to limit the government from doing a lot of stuff. And that's why the 10th Amendment was done and put in there to reassert

1:17:45 The fact that the federal government, the states have all these rights. The federal government only has a limited number of rights and we will tell you what they are in the Constitution and that's what they do. They can tax, they can put together a big army to protect the whole place and they can do this and that but they can't They can't do what has been going on for the last 50 years. But this is the interesting thing, is that we already have that right, in fact if you look at many state constitutions, that right is to bear arms is already reiterated, it's in the state constitution. But the Bill of Rights does not, there's no granting of any right to bear arms. We have that right as citizens, as human beings we have that right. The Second Amendment, as with most of these amendments, and the Bill of Rights is only to tell the government what they're not allowed to do. And I find it fascinating

1:18:43 that these three simple lines are so misinterpreted and that it is being reiterated that somehow the Bill of Rights or the amendments give some rights to you. No, no, no. This has nothing to do with rights. We already have these. They cannot be taken away from us at all. Not by the government. Not by the federal government. It can be taken away from you by a city government. Or a state government. That's already available. In New York you can't have a gun. In fact, Dig Gregory, Chip Gregory, the guy who was on that morning,

CHAPTER 24 / 42 Discussion

David Gregory, NBC Gun Law Violation Stunt

NBC's David Gregory is under investigation for displaying a high-capacity 30-round magazine during an interview on "Meet the Press," which is illegal in Washington, D.C. The hosts suggest the incident was a staged "show-and-tell" scam designed to demonstrate the seriousness of gun laws and generate a controlled legal controversy.

david gregory· meet the press· high-capacity magazine· dc gun laws· nbc news

1:19:19 I have the clip of him breaking a law. You want to hear it? It's pretty funny. Yeah, play it. Police are investigating whether NBC's David Gregory violated DC gun laws. Violated! Listen to this. This is a great package. This, by the way, is the Asian woman on, I think, CNN really early in the morning. When he displayed what he described as a 30-round magazine during a Meet the Press interview. Check it out. Check it out! Here is a magazine for ammunition that carries 30 bullets. Now isn't it possible that if we got rid of these, if we replaced them and said, well you could only have a magazine that carries 5 bullets or 10 bullets. Isn't it just possible that we could reduce the carnage in a situation like Newtown? I don't believe that's going to make one difference.

1:20:04 Now, check it out. It's a piece of flimsy metal with a spring. It's a prop. It's the stupidest thing I've ever heard in my life. But listen to how it's described in this tag. A large capacity ammunition device, John. I have a large capacity sperm device. Be very careful. It could be illegal in Washington, D.C. I mean, really?

1:20:45 This is crazy. I'm... it's crazy. Well, I think personally, the show-and-tell thing was a scam. Oh, well, okay. I'd love to hear your take. I think that they brought him, because he's never done this before, he's never had anything, props, never seen a prop on the show. Chip. So he brings a prop on, draws attention to the fact that it's, he doesn't say it's illegal, but then all the news media, oh, he broke the law, we've got to bust him for breaking the law. So he's actually going to be, because the law is fair,

1:21:22 He's actually going to be brought up on charges and of course since he's a good guy, you know, it'll be... It won't be a felony or anything. It'll be spended and all the bullcrap that goes along with it. I agree. But they're going to draw a lot of attention to this and it's going to bring out, you know, it's going to be, wow, these people are serious. Serious. It's the real deal. I think the whole thing is a scam. I'll give that to you. I think you're absolutely right. Hadn't even thought about it that way. It makes a lot of sense. He'll probably, he will do a mea culpa, a mea culpa, I think. He'd be like, oh, you know, I really shouldn't have done that. And he'll probably pay a fine, small fine. Yeah, which the network will pay. Yeah.

CHAPTER 25 / 42 Discussion

Gun Culture, European Perspectives and the Age of Aquarius

The hosts discuss the cultural divide between Americans and Europeans regarding firearms, dismissing suggestions that Americans should adopt European attitudes. They pivot to a discussion on the "Age of Aquarius" and the potential for a global awakening as people become more skeptical of mainstream media narratives.

gun culture· nra· europe· age of aquarius· social evolution

1:22:06 I agree. No, he's never had a prop on that show, ever. So now he's got a magazine out of the blue? Where'd he get it from? It's bullcrap. Yeah. Well, the whole thing is just... the whole conversation. And oh man, this conversation here, ugh. It's so hard, you know. Yeah it is. I mean people are like, well at least Obama's gonna get rid of the guns. And I'm like, why does he hear... We got a bunch of notes from people that came... Well you know you guys are... No, it was tweet. I got a bunch... Some guy tweeting me. You know, blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. Wait, wait, wait! You should think more like a European.

1:22:45 Hey, jerk off! We're not Europeans. You don't think like Europeans. I do. I think like a European. Well, you do, but I mean, generally speaking, Americans are not Europeans. Most of them have never even been to Europe. In fact, half of them can't even find Europe on the map. So get over it. Yeah. Now, it's just, you know, and so this Second Amendment thing is, Here's the other one, like, well you know you've got that crazy NRA lobby, it's the big lobby, the big lobby! It's like, you really gotta lay off the CNN man, you gotta stop watching. But Obama, he's a good guy, he'll get rid of all the guns. Like, really? Look at the mirror and say that, and just, do you understand what you're talking about? This is not possible.

1:23:37 It's not possible. Then I usually have to go into, this is what we do. This is our culture. We make guns. We sell them to other people. Yeah, we sell them worldwide and we blow things up. We like doing that too. And we teach people how to pull the trigger. And we make you, you, oh, they're so militarized here. Now they have, of course the Dutch have Marines in Afghanistan as part of NATO. And they're doing the whole Christmas thing, you know, with the satellite. Hey, Mommy. Hey, Daddy. Oh, they've never done that before. This is all new. They got that from us. Yeah, of course. Of course. It was like, oh, you know, and they're using the same language, you know, well, you know, you know, these people over there and they're they're fighting for us freedom. It's like, wow, citizens. Oh, yeah, that's that's what it is. But you know what? People who listen to this program,

1:24:36 the listeners and the producers of No Agenda, they have a leg up, but they're just in a better spot. Because they're trained, they understand, they know how to look through it and how to not get depressed. We're good for your psyche. And I think that it's going to get better. I can only see more and more people waking up to the reality of the crap that is being shoveled into their brains. And I do see more and I meet more and more people here who are

1:25:12 in Europe, but certainly in the Netherlands. When they're waking up in the Netherlands, it's good. Then there's something happening. That's probably all part of the alignment of all the planets and whatever. Maybe that is part of... Yeah, that's what the whole Mayan thing was about. Age of Aquarius. Yeah, well, we are in the Age of Aquarius. We're coming out of the Iron Age into the Bronze Age. I believe in some of that. Information Age, my friend. I believe in some of that. Some of that's got to be... There's got to be something to it. You cannot deny that You know, we evolve as a species and the planet evolves and stuff happens. Maybe one day we'll not just be the best podcast in the universe but the only podcast in the universe. Well, that could be. Broadcasting on 7 megahertz on HF. The difference between Americans and Europeans I think is epitomized in a clip I have.

CHAPTER 26 / 42 Discussion

Piers Morgan, Deportation Petition and White House Access

A petition to deport CNN host Piers Morgan has gained over 90,000 signatures following his aggressive stance on gun control. The hosts discuss Morgan's recent attendance at a White House Christmas party, suggesting he is a mouthpiece for the administration whose unpopularity is causing him genuine personal distress.

piers morgan· deportation· white house· jeremy clarkson· cnn

1:26:08 They had your buddy, Piers Morgan, who everybody seems to want to deport. By the way, can I just say... Everyone of course knows that Piers Morgan, there's a We The People petition, I think they're now up to 90,000, you know it's like deport Piers Morgan. The Brits have now, including Jeremy Clarkson, bless his heart, are now saying they've started their own petition. No, no, no, don't allow him to come back. There's a petition to send him to Guantanamo. There's a petition to shove him off the... Yeah, the Guantanamo one's the one I signed. Canada. Let me tell you, look at his Twitter stream. This is bugging the crap out of him. This is really... I know what it feels like to be hated. You think so? Oh, dude. Because smart money would just take it as a publicity stunt and just go with it. No, no, no, no, no. You know how I feel when someone says something negative. If I'm deported, I'll refuse to leave. I'll go on the lam.

1:27:02 You know how I feel when someone says something negative right? How do I respond? It like it irks me, you know, what urge? Yeah, you get hurt. Yeah, that's why I think is the one of the reasons they do that, right? Well, of course, but it's a human reaction. You can't help it. I'm looking at his tweet stream. This is irking the guy He says really really pissing him off and I therefore encourage more of it. I think this is fantastic This is the best way. This is the best, you know, and the guy's not without blame. I mean, come on He's a he's a phone hacking douchebag We know it we all know it and you know he's a hypocrite. I think that's the thing It's just a big-ass hypocrite, and that's what and people smell it This is the dawning of the age of Aquarius people can feel the vibrations this guy is no good And that's why this no I think there's some truth to that yeah

1:27:48 Yeah, people can see it. And I'm not a cornball about this stuff, but I do sense, people can often sense that they can be fooled if the guy was any good, but he's not that good. It's a douchebag-ometer. It's built into you and it's getting better. It's just getting better. So he's got Jack Hanna, who's the zoo guy who travels the world and gets all these weird animals. He shows up on all the talk shows and this poor bastard Pierce can't get any ratings and so he's starting to do what the old Johnny Carson show. So he brings this guy on. He's a stiff, Pierce is, and he doesn't get that all these animals are floating around. He doesn't think they're cute and he's just irked.

1:28:29 And Hannah just drops this little, he brings out an armadillo, a three-piece armadillo, some sort of specific armadillo that closes up into a perfect ball. You got to hold it down. This one right here. Wow. You got the batteries in it? What is this? This right here is a three-banded armadillo. Did you say all the batteries are in there? It's a joke. I'm going to put you down there. This animal here is a three-band armadillo. You see it back there. One, two, three. So he says, You- the- Johannes says to his assistant, you got the batteries in it, because it looks like a toy. Yeah. And this idiot, Piers Morgan, says, what was this about the batteries? Thinking he was serious! He's so- such an idiot.

1:29:09 He literally said, and when I saw it my jaw dropped, he was actually wondering why Hannah referred to batteries for this crazy little... It was like, what? Are you that stupid? Yeah. But it's okay to be stupid. I'm okay with that. But you know, I started looking at his Twitter stream and there he's like, I just had a Christmas party at the White House and here I am with Michelle and the President. I'm like, you're a douchebag. Why is he getting invited to Christmas at the White House? The petition has more people have signed the petition than watch his damn show. I mean, seriously, what is that? That can only be because he's getting some kind of marching orders or whatever. I mean, and by the way, he's tweeting about

1:30:01 A picture! With a picture! With a picture! With a picture? Uh huh, with a picture of him and the President and the First Lady. Oh yeah. And I'm just thinking, now, he is just a mouthpiece. And so now it becomes, it comes into, you know, everything becomes clear. The picture is widening up for me because he was of course the replacement for Larry King. Let's not forget where he's coming from. He has received Larry King's throne. It's Prince Pierce, essentially. Prince Pierce is, you know, put onto the King's throne and he's given his marching orders. And this is why he's, he's supposed to be outraged.

1:30:45 But even the Brits now are good friends in Gitmo Nation East. They're like, come on! We know the Americans. They don't want some guy with a funny accent telling them what to do. You're stupid. Even they think this is stupid. Oh, I do not have to follow him. You have to follow him. It's fantastic. I mean, what you want to do is you want to get a retweet from him because, you know, then he's got like three million followers. But look, just follow his... He's pissed. It irks him. It really, really irks him. And I think that's... You know, when you get like a Jeremy Clarkson tweeting, you know, about basically keep Piers Morgan, that hurts him. Because now that's cultural, you know, when you've got his homeland, people in his homeland laughing about him. I know these kinds... I can smell it. I can smell it. Anyway, I encourage it. That's very funny. I encourage it. I think we should continue with this. This is very, very good.

CHAPTER 27 / 42 Discussion

Lisa Jackson, EPA Resignation Breaking News

The hosts report breaking news that EPA Chief Lisa Jackson is resigning from her position. The announcement comes as the administration prepares for its second term, marking a significant departure from the President's environmental cabinet.

lisa jackson· epa· resignation· environmental protection agency· breaking news

1:31:45 So breaking news... Uh oh, hold on a second. Breaking news everybody, breaking news! We've got Jeb Cedarborak on location. EPA Chief Lisa Jackson is quitting. Really? That horrible woman Lisa Jackson. Is this like hot off the wires? Yeah, just like right now, 10 a.m. Pacific time, December 27th. Wow. And is it immediately or is she leaving at the end of the year? Well, that's almost immediately I guess. Any details on this breaking news? I'm looking, I'm looking, I'm looking, I'm looking. Breaking news? No. Breaking news. Oh, interesting.

CHAPTER 28 / 42 Discussion

Webster Firefighter Shooting, Media Narrative and Bushmaster Rifles

A shooting in Webster, New York, involving an arsonist who targeted firefighters, is analyzed for its similarities to the Sandy Hook narrative. The hosts question the authenticity of the reported "suicide note" and the specific mention of a Bushmaster .223 rifle, suggesting the event is being used to further the campaign against specific firearm models.

webster ny· william spangler· bushmaster rifle· arson· gun control

1:32:26 Yeah, we do breaking news on the show once in a while. Yeah, by the time you hear it, it won't be so breaking, but okay. Well, whatever. At least we're not going to be talking about her anymore next year. Next year she's out of the picture. I have a whole bunch of Sandy Hook articles in the show notes at 4-7-3 already? Man, yeah, 473. We're heading to show 500. That's right. 473.nashownotes.com. We started the show, nobody said we'd get to show 200 and we did. 473.na show notes calm and I this is there's a quick little clip and this is about the It was just such a weird story and and the way the clips the fire chief the reports all brought into I think more mind could if if I I'm just I have to remain true to myself when I hear this report I think man this whole thing if there weren't a

1:33:26 They claim two firefighters have been killed and I have a real soft spot for firefighters I support them and financially I've known a lot of hung out with a lot of them. I have deep deep respect For the crap that they go through but you know, so, you know, they report that to have been killed and And they may, really two guys may have been killed, but I'm not so sure the story holds up that these guys were killed by some crazy crap. Just listen to the report and all the things that are being pulled into it. It's very, very disturbing to me. And it seems like we're just on this tear of fake news reports where actual people die. You have the right to know if your name- Oh crap, I'm sorry. I played the wrong freaking clip. Here it is, this one.

1:34:14 was spelled out by the suspected arsonist and shooter in chilling typewritten detail. Down and do what I like doing best killing people. Okay, so I just have to dissect this a little bit So this is the crazy guy who apparently started a fire and he left a typewritten note Which did not catch on fire from this huge blaze I mean that we have the video of some fire and it was a typewritten note not a Facebook page or anything a 60 think 62 year old guy so, you know not like terribly beyond my own age range and

1:34:52 And we have this note, magically we have the note because someone's reading it. I like to start fires so I can kill people. Authorities say 62 year old William Spangler who served prison time for killing his grandmother more than 30 years ago. Of course no way to verify any of this 30 years ago he served some prison time for killing, I mean he may have like... tripped and she tripped over him we don't know any background on that thirty years ago he killed his grandmother that's the message shot at first responders who arrived at his burning house so we don't really know this but now listen to how they how it's portrayed the fire spreading to six other homes

1:35:33 So this is the firefighter on the radio saying multiple firefighters shot I am shot I think it's an assault rifle. I just how would he say that's what and again You know when people when firefighters in the picture I get really I don't want to like go crackpot on it But that's bullshit people don't talk like that when you're shot. Oh I am shot, two of my colleagues are shot. I think it's an assault rifle. He was equipped to go to war, to kill innocent people. Officials say the gunman was well fortified with weapons and ammo. A .38 caliber handgun, 12 gauge shotgun, and a Bushmaster 223 rifle. The same model used in the Newtown, Connecticut school shooting.

1:36:16 Firefighters Tomas Kachufka and Mike Ciparrini were killed. Two others are hospitalized. Spangler, police say, killed himself. I'm a little tired. I'm a little tired of all these guys who go shooting people, killing themselves. This really, the, the, what are the odds of this? What are the odds that of the past, what now, five shootings? That they don't, oh, I got to go kill myself. Even Lee Harvey Oswald didn't kill himself and he shot the president. John Wilkes Booth didn't kill himself. People just don't go... it's always like... because of course the only thing I can then think of as an alternative possibility is this is a setup, what we're hearing may not be real. Now some people may have actually been killed

1:37:08 But then we just kill some kook, some crazy guy. Oh, and let's type up this letter real quick which didn't burn. And then we can just pin it all on the Bushmaster. And late today, they revealed human remains were found in Spangler's burned house and authorities suspect they belong to his missing sister. Let's just throw some extra stuff. I like this. This is like, you know, they had an extra 20 seconds in the newscast. Like, let's write some more crazy crap in there. Motive is always the burning question and I'm not sure we'll ever have. We'll never really know what was going through his mind. Police are investigating whether the death of Spangler's 91-year-old mother in October and donations she may have made to the fire department could help explain the motive for her son's Christmas Eve shootings. I don't even know what that means at the end there. But it's obvious what this is meant to portray is assault rifle, Bushmaster, crazy guy, kill people. This is just what it is.

CHAPTER 29 / 42 Discussion

AR-15 Mil-Spec Changes, Firearm Industry Inventory Liquidation

The hosts discuss a theory that gun manufacturers are using high-profile shootings to liquidate old inventory of AR-15 style rifles. They suggest that upcoming changes to military specifications for these firearms will make current models obsolete, incentivizing companies to drive sales through fear-based marketing.

ar-15· mil-spec· bushmaster· gun sales· inventory

1:38:08 You know, it's an assault, again, it's just an assault on people. And it may not have been any of those. We don't know anything about what really happened. I think it's weird that there would be another Bushmaster. Now Eric had an interesting little comment we were talking the other day. They have changed the... Oh, don't go in... Please don't take me into Sandy Hook, really? No, Sandy Hook got to do it. I thought you were going to say they've changed the story so many times. I'm sorry. No, no, no. They've changed the mil spec on the AR-15 with some new mechanism and these gun companies have got to get rid of all these old guns.

1:38:55 So they're going to try to just move them out as best they can because no one's going to buy them once they figure out what's going on with the mechanism. Oh, is something wrong with the mechanism? No, it's just old-fashioned and it does things that it's just not a good... Apparently, there's something new invention. It's like the new spec is really cool. That's the one you want. Oh, really? Interesting. And so Bushmaster, Bushmaster, Bushmaster, even though it's a place in a negative light, It is a sales pitch. I mean it's publicity for these guys. Yes. Really? Every time they have one of these deals people go out and buy guns. I mean it's like guns go, sales go crazy during these episodes. Every time, in fact I think Horowitz was talking about this. Every time there's a shooting the sales go up.

1:39:43 Yeah, every time there's a shooting, especially a nasty one like these purport to be, sales go up. And this is the way, and just as a crackpot concept, if you want to think about it, this is the way to get rid of inventory of the Bushmasters that they're just not going to, they're going to be languishing. They got to get rid of them. So it's just a way to get rid of excess inventory. I mean, why is a guy shooting a Bushmaster? Why is it always this way? Why are they mentioning the brand name? It doesn't make any sense to me. Why don't they call it, if it's an AR-15, which is essentially what it is, why don't they just call it that? Call it the type of gun, not the brand name. The reason why is because... It's like, what did you ever say, it's a 9mm. Yeah, they will say Glock once in a while because it sounds cool, but generally speaking, 90% of the 9mms out there aren't Glocks. What's the point of putting the brand name in there? Well, because we've got to sell something.

1:40:42 Well, they're selling these guns to get rid of them. That's the thesis. What's the point of having news if you can't sell something? I mean really? Do you work for the Curry Devorah Consulting Group or what? Well, exactly. And by the way, I'm not I promise not to talk about Sandy Hook So you shouldn't have ever been assumed that was gonna go there. It was my mistake. I apologize. I apologize for even doubting you for a second I'm very sorry. We have some people to thank including Sven middle coop middle coat elf gal delft how yes

CHAPTER 30 / 42 Discussion

Value-for-Value Donations, Knighting Ceremony and 30 Rock

The hosts conduct a lengthy donation segment, knighting several new supporters and discussing the "Value-for-Value" model. They also reference a "30 Rock" episode about pre-taping celebrity disaster benefits, confirming that news networks maintain similar pre-produced packages for major events and obituaries.

donations· knighthood· 30 rock· celebrity obituaries· value-for-value

1:41:34 Here's my not-so-random number donation from $181.72. I'm a liberated slave to complete the binary knighthood donation amount of 10 and 10. That's interesting, it's binary. He's a binary knight. We're gonna make that a designation. Your Christmas newsletter fired up my primal instinct to go for the ring to match it with my future pin. Keep up the good work and throw some more of your euro crisis analysis in our direction. Seasoned with a two delicious double tap cheers. What's the cheers part? I don't know. Oh, no, cheers. Okay, okay, I got it. All right. Oh, well, and he will be knighted today, which is very nice. So he wants a two delicious double tap. It's almost too delicious to believe, my friend.

1:42:26 You've got karma. Okay, nailed it. Sir Jason Stevens in Las Vegas with no note. $111.11. I'll look him up and see if he's got anything in the email slot. Joseph Gass in Wilmington, Delaware, 10224. Today during a movie's preview ads, there's Lucy Napolitano telling everyone if you see something say something and I think I should give to Jeb and Adam then off to the local mall mall to return a gift with my wife and I noticed a noodle had open. Oh, no, that was enough for me I'm a shot for Miss Mickey. I stand

1:43:10 People start talking in code. I stand all prisoner of conscience. I stand all prisoner of conscience who are oppressed by the governments everywhere. It's good. I like it. I'll do an extra whatever you said, Joseph. You've got karma. Ms. Mickey will thoroughly appreciate the karma shot. We hope to hear by the end of this week from the, from There's secret heist polizei. If she will be allowed back into the homeland to join the other folks. To get by. Just getting by. I'm sorry, I forgot that part. To just get by. Ulrich Schagirl. Schagirl. Schagirl. Ulrich Schagirl. Schagirl. Schagirl. In Vienna.

1:44:07 Nice town if you can live there. 69, 69. 69! 69, dude! Please quote me as Raphael the pool boy. Good work. Here John and Adam, here is your share of my Christmas money. I actually wanted to donate $69.71 which is $69.69. She brings out two hot mill friends. No, no, let's do that again. He's giving you a little calculation. He says $69.71 is $69.69 plus she brings two hot mill friends. Yeah, that's what I said. No, you didn't say that.

1:44:47 But since I would not want to risk breaking the streak, I shall stick to the traditional amount. Please give all the non-boners a round of Turn of the Year Karma, followed by a little girl yay. Thanks for another year of providing great value. A happy new year to you and your loved ones from Gitmo Nation Wiener Schnitzel. Raphael the Pool Boy. You've got Karma. Okay, Anonymous from Brooklyn, New York. I wonder if it's the same Brooklyn, New York anonymous. Anyway, 6969, please keep anonymous, yes. You guys have kept me sane through the very rough work month of a startup. I wanted to make sure I donate before the new year and before I fly to ski out west. Good life. Requesting a triple shot of karma. First one for Adam and Mickey and their troubles in Europe. Hope everything is resolved fast and furious and you can get back to Texas.

1:45:44 The second for JCD and his family may the tech grouch buzzkill stay healthy and grouchy for the new year the last for myself to stay safe and sane up in the mountains of Wyoming and even get laid PS I will be listening to this note while barreling down at 30,000 foot vertical with a headspace in one ear a headphone in one ear. Sorry Wow I mean, how do you even get the space part out of that? I have no idea You've got it's okay. I love you anyway, and that wraps up our 69 Hey, you know that's actually not true cuz Jan Purcell sir Jan and Hamburg Actually sent us $69 and then he sent a second donation of 69 cents saying oh, okay? Well, I got fooled by that one then all right

1:46:35 Quick donation to keep Swaziland up and running to say you, in other words, if this is all we got we still would have been carrying it on. Say you give for the best pod, you get, anyway. We give the best podcast universe, please give yourself and all the supporters of the show a load of karma Thanks for being here during the holidays and skate safely. All right. Thank you very much. Sir. Young. Here's a load of karma You've got karma blowing a load of karma on all the citizens, sir Robert gold in Toronto sick Toronto 6666 ITM AC and JCD This 66-66 donation covers my voluntary shipping contribution of $33.33 on my I Hope It's On Its Way Soon Night Ring and I can't wait to get it night pin. Excellent idea and I'm glad to contribute to shipping tithe early.

1:47:23 Anything that ends the year with a few magic numbers can only be a good thing. General Purpose Karma, toot of the head, and a Parliament mumbo would be appreciated. Happy New Year, mofos, and I'll hear y'all in 2013. In Victoria they had this big parade. The parade consists of buses that were covered with light bulbs. Really? Not quite sure what the appeal was. Brian Rogers, Newton, New Jersey, $60.06. Let's see, look him up, see if there's anything there. Joseph Esposito, for you, Sergio the Dish Slave in Stockton,

1:48:12 Hey guys, Sir Joe the Dish Slave here with a donation that makes my wife an official dame. I wanted to get this in before the new year was out so we'd have another set of matching rings to go with our wedding bands. Dame Sam has been the absolute best thing in my life and there's no one else I'd rather be have next to me at the roundtable. Please send some Christmas karma out to our family. Merry Christmas. That's so sweet. We will be daming her in a bit. You've got karma. Damage on the way. Ryan van and Tempe Arizona no comment $56. Mr. Max powers Reading, California 5555. Please use my aka Mr. Max powers greetings Josh and Aden Thanks for the great work. Could I get a mumble? Don't eat me Hillary to the head and karma for all the fellow slaves in the chat. Oh

1:49:02 Thanks again, this should be 16665 on my way to knighthood. Going to give 20 donations of 5555 times 20 equals 11111. Getting the extra satisfaction of pissing Adam off 20 times for his hated donation of 5555. Oh eat me Hillary Clinton! You've got karma. What is this hated donation thing? I don't even know this. I have no idea. Something I must have said what I'm surprised by is that is the first don't eat me Hillary Clinton request Yeah, I know it's weird. Well. It's probably getting old James be my mom in Ringo, Louisiana 5252 shout to his wife melody for her birthday on the 27th man We have many more together. She's on the list Eliza or Elisa Eliza Martinez in Florence, South Carolina 5248 I would say Elisa

1:50:03 Yeah, I would think so. ITM John C. Devours and Madam Curie. After spending most of my last paycheck in rent, expensive auto repairs and family donations, I said, fuck it. I'm donating the remainder of $52.48 to the best podcast in the universe. Why? Because even though I've been keeping in touch with what happens in Puerto Rico since I left, no radio show or newspaper on the island has ever mentioned the anesthesia drug. Huh. I found out by listening to No Agenda. That's value for value. I'd like a fiscal cliff scream and a la manona karma. I don't even know what I got. Just a bunch of weird letters on my screen. I know what he means. Since I'll be living off my credit cards until my next paycheck on January 3rd. So what a bummer, man. It's like he found out about the drug, but then he gave all his money and he can't buy any of it. That's a bummer. He didn't want any of it.

1:51:00 Oh that. You've got karma. I know what my karma people want. Blake Hughes and Stourbridge, Stourbridge, West Midlands, Stourbridge, Stourbridge? I don't know how to pronounce that. S-T-O-U-R-Bridge. It's 52 bucks which is a dollar a week for 2012. This is a good idea by the way. It's also, this is interesting. Here is 52 bucks which is a dollar a week for 2012 which everyone should give and it's also 33 pounds in English money. Everyone should be donating this is a minimum to support the show. Thanks for all your hard work. Yeah, it's 50 cents a show It's not bad and for providing me with over 250 hours of entertainment this year. Yeah, please Could I have a clippity-clop don't eat me Hillary almost too delicious and karma for 2013 keep up the great work And he's in actually in Birmingham

1:51:54 Don't eat me Hillary Clinton! It's almost too delicious to believe my friend. You've got karma. Chris Witten in Millboro, Virginia, 50 bucks. Have either of you seen the 30 Rock episode Operation Righteous Cowboy Lightning? It's about how Jack Dougherty comes up with the idea to pre-tape a celebrity disaster benefit that would cover any disaster so they would be the first network to jump on it. I wonder if there's any truth to this. Yes, there is. We'll talk about it after we do this thing. This is actually worth discussing.

1:52:32 I think we've discussed it before. He says they poke fun at other media behaviors like product placement. This would fall in line, this is their last season so they can do all this now. They would fall in line with similar idea that networks pre-produce celebrity obituaries, of course. Anyway, can I get a don't eat me 999 karma for my business? Of course. Don't eat me Hillary Clinton. You've got karma. Sir Peter Tote... What? I'm just laughing. Just laughing. Sir Peter Tote's 50 bucks and Shad Rich in Seattle, another $50. That'll conclude our donation segment for show 473. Want to remind people to go to Dvorak.org slash NA channel Dvorak.com slash NA if you can't get to the former site. Also, NoAgendaNation.com which has a donate button as well as NoAgendaShow.com

CHAPTER 31 / 42 Discussion

No Agenda Business Model, Public Service and Magic

Adam Curry and John C. Dvorak reflect on the unique nature of the No Agenda business model, which relies entirely on listener support rather than traditional advertising or bank financing. They describe the show as a "worldwide public service" that defies conventional economic logic.

business model· podcasting· public service· social media· banking

1:53:28 Thanks very much. Yeah, and I, you know, a little light today, but still nice to see people hanging in. That's very, very kind of you. It really does help with the some, you know, some of the extra expenses we have going on here show wide during our exile here in Gitmo Nation lowlands. But also just the stories and everything that, you know, the well wishes, the beautiful pictures. the troll stories, all the lovely things that you people are sending us. It's all so nice. Isn't it, John? Sweet. It's sweet. It's sweet. It's very sweet. It brings tears to the eye. Devorak.org slash endgame. You're so sincere when you say that, too. It's your birthday, birthday! I'm so much happier!

1:54:16 Sarah Bradley congratulates herself turning 38 today and we congratulate Sarah as well. Remember to send that picture to us. James B-Man congratulates his wife Melody. She's celebrating her birthday today and Daniel Rudin, he will be celebrating on the very first of the new year. Congratulations and happy birthday from all your buddies here at the Noah Jenta Show. And then we have, I guess we'll have a few more nights, but these are the actual last nights as we count it down on 474, which will be a palindrome show, 474, the last episode of 2012. I'm sure we will probably have maybe one or two palindrome nights just checking in, but that's it. Then there's no more rings, it's over to the pins.

1:55:05 So we have one, two, we have three knights and a dame. People listen long enough and they contribute long enough. You do get to join the roundtable. This is what's really wonderful to see this happening. In the beginning it was like there was a couple people and then it just took a long time for other knights and dames to come on board. But as the show just ages, What is that for? Why are you hitting me with the bell? I just hit it. It was a mistake. I wasn't thinking. I could have done this. Yeah. Squirrel! Don't just hit me with the bell for no reason. Hey man. Get your blade instead. Yeah, yeah.

1:55:46 There you go. Matthew Witterig, Felix Carnici, David Yagley, and Sarah Bradley all step forward along with Sven Middleco, please. As all of you have reached the level of either knight or dame, we are very, very happy to have you. And I hereby pronounce thee Sir Matthew, Sir Felix, Sir David, Dame Sarah, and Sir Sven all knights of the Noah's in the round table. For you, I've got hookers and blow, red boys and sardine, hot pan Hot pants and booze, wenches and beer, rumenesque, women in rose, geishas and sake, vodka and vanilla, sparkling cider and escorts, and mutton and mead. Thank you so much. It really does, really does matter. This is another thing when people say, what do you do? I said, well, I talk about this. What's the business model?

1:56:38 It was a business model. That ended in the late 90s. I had this exact conversation. I said, well, you know, the people support us and, you know, that helps us get by and we all kind of, it's kind of a socialist thing when you think about it, but we're all getting by and say, oh, so that's your business model. I said, no, it's not a business model. It's not. It's magic. No, it's a business model. I said, no, it's not a business model. You can't put, if you went to a bank and said, here's my business model. I'm gonna do a show and then I'm gonna do it with, my partner and I are gonna do a show. Oh, by the way, he lives in California, I live in Texas. And this show is gonna be so good that people will call it the best podcast in the universe and will send us money to support us to keep the show going. You know what the bank would say? That's not a business model, get the hell out of my office. And yet, here we are.

CHAPTER 32 / 42 Discussion

Global Oil Logistics, China Slowdown and Indonesia Production

Through a contact at the Dutch oil storage company Vopak, Adam Curry reports a significant slowdown in oil shipments to China. The industry is reportedly shifting production focus to Indonesia, while the price of natural gas is expected to remain suppressed for two more years until Japan fully transitions its energy infrastructure.

vopak· singapore· oil storage· china· indonesia· natural gas

1:57:41 Moving towards 500 episodes of some kind of beautiful thing that is being done as a worldwide public service It's a public service. It's totally a public service. So I gotta tell you about so at this dinner this was It's funny because this is one of Mickey's, you know, so-called brothers really they do have that relationship even though they're not related by blood and And his name, believe it or not, is Eon. It's freaked me out because I'm like, oh my god, your name's not Ian? No, it's Eon. I'm like, oh, you got to meet my friend John. Because you'd probably say, hey Ian, nice to meet you. Okay, you still with me? Hello? Hello? Yeah, what happened? You didn't get my Eon joke. Well, I heard Eon, but oh, you mispronounced it? No, his name actually is Eon.

1:58:34 Oh, well see I told you that was in existence. This is you're not listening. What are you doing? Are you playing with your toys? No, no you were disconnected for us. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Oh, that's don't get mad at me. It's mad at the Internet's and I'm see Mickey's sending files or something. I don't know. She's sending emails or Facebook. Are you doing Facebook? I'm doing Facebook. You asking me? No, I'm asking Nicky. Well if you missed me for 10 seconds then there must be some network thing. Anyway, so this is Eon's wife who said this is your business model but they are expats, they live in Singapore and he works for one of the few it turns out but for a Dutch

1:59:20 oil and chemical storage company, Vopac, Victor Oscar Papa Alpha Charlie. And so he's a pretty big muckety-muck there. And they're in Singapore, and what they do is they literally store oil and sometimes chemicals for national companies, for governments, for traders, whatever. He says, literally, I run a hotel for oil. Yeah, yeah, these are all over the world right so very Very interesting guy because you know this whole thing you know remember this is the family where the troll story was read right so we're all crying about the troll and then I'm talking this guy said you know so what do you do and he's telling me a little bit I said oh that's interesting because you know I'm really into the pipelines and I studied this and I started laying a little bit of pipe on him and he's like oh my god you actually understand what's going on in the world I said yeah I do and then he started telling me something you know give me the dirt man what's going on in the world of oil

2:00:20 So here's just a few of the things he told me. I just want to pass it on, we can do with it what we want. So first of all, turns out, so they are the hotel, the oil comes in, they ship it off. And of course most of this oil has been going to China because China needs all the oil to make all the crap that we then buy. He says big slowdown, big, big slowdown. Oil is now moving away from China, going to Indonesia. And so I'm like, Indonesia? He says, yeah, now Indonesia, it's gonna be the new production center. And he says, interestingly enough, there's a lot of Muslims there, a lot of the Shia, Sharia stuff going on. And I say as a joke, I say, oh, that's great. So now we have a reason to go drone them so we can take over the production and run the show there. And he laughed and he said, yeah, you wait, that's exactly what's gonna happen. So Red Book drones in Indonesia.

2:01:16 In fact, there's already a news report in today about some clash with Shias and Sunnis and there's gonna be all kinds of terrorists in Indonesia. I guarantee it. You can just wait for it. So that was one. Then I'm saying, well, tell me about Japan and what's going on there and what's with the natural gas now that they shut down the shut down the nuclear plants. He says, it's all oil still going to Japan. It's going to be two more years until Japan is really ready to open up their gas turbines. And that's when he predicts the price of gas will go up enough so that it actually is profitable to get this stuff out of the ground. So two more years away from the real gas price rise that you and I have been talking about. And then finally,

2:02:05 Natural gas. Natural gas, yes. And I thought this was kind of the funniest. He says, you know, so we're talking about... You've got to stay in touch with this guy. No, this guy is great. He's already sent me videos to watch and a book to read. He says the book to read is Monsoon. I've never heard of this book, so I've got to find this book. And he sent me videos, which I'll be posting in the show notes. The guy is, it's Finn, and he was tripping out because, you know, he never expected there to be a guy let alone some disc jockey who's at this trolled Christmas dinner who's like totally gets what it is and he's like, oh my god, this is so nice to talk to someone who understands how the world actually runs. And then I lay my God thing on him like the world runs on gold, oil, and drugs and he's laughing, he's like, ah, this is so great, you've gotta come visit. Anyway, so he then lays in to me about Iran.

CHAPTER 33 / 42 Discussion

Iranian Naphtha Exports, Sanction Loopholes and Petroleum Feedstock

Despite US sanctions on Iranian petroleum, a major loophole exists for "Naphtha," a liquid feedstock essential for producing plastics and high-octane gasoline. Industry insiders claim that Naphtha exports continue unrestricted because a total ban would collapse global production of everyday items like trash bags, revealing the sanctions as partially symbolic.

iran· naphtha· sanctions· barack obama· petroleum products

2:02:58 And I'm laughing, I'm like, ah, you know, it's so funny in America where they show these guys with white lab coats on and they're in the centrifuges and they're making bombs and they're going to kill Israel. And Bibi Netanyahu is showing the picture of the ticking the bomb with the fuse lit and we're all afraid of the Iranians. And he's laughing, he says, yeah, no, it's crazy. And that embargo, he said, what a bunch of crap that is. I'm like, what? You can't tell me you can't have Iranian oil. He says, no, the oil, the oil exports, sure. You know they've slowed that down. But that's not the main thing that Iran exports, it's NAFTA. He says that's the stuff that they're making the real money off of. NAFTA, N-A-P-H-T-A. The NAFTA oil. Because he said if they shut off the NAFTA exports, you wouldn't have trash bags within a week.

2:03:45 Goodbye love. Let me kiss. You won't have what in a week? Trash bags. Nafta oil is what they make naphthalene from and that's what all the petroleum products... are made from the, I guess it's a really sulfur rich or some version, that it's not necessarily appropriate for burning in your car or being refined into petrol. I thought for sure you would know about naphtha oil, N-A-P-H-T-A. No, no, it's not called naphtha oil. Naphtha. It's just naphtha. Naphtha. And it's been around forever. It's just a liquid goo that comes out of a refinery.

2:04:23 Well, he says that there's no export restrictions on that and that's really what they're making the money on. He says they would never restrict that because then the whole world production of everything made for patrolling would just have to shut down and that that's really the stuff that's important. I thought that you probably would have... It sounds to me like this is a bogus thing then because NAPTA is Well, let me go look at the book of knowledge. Hit the button. Oh, I hit the button but it didn't go. Yeah, right. This is what he said. Naphtha typically consists of 15 to 30% crude oil, which is oil. Light naphtha is the fraction of boiling. This is boiled oil. Heavy naphtha boils blah blah blah. Naphtha is used primarily as a feedstock for producing high octane gasoline.

2:05:19 via cat forming and it's used in the bitumen mining issues. Yeah, this is what I know about it. Producing olefins and steam crackers which means that probably poly-alpha olefin comes from this stuff which is the stuff using synthetic. So let me read to you from the Federal Register, maybe this will help. This is the Federal Register Wednesday, December 26, 2012, 2205. By the authority vested in me as President of the United States Constitution blah blah blah Barack Obama I determined pursuant to section 1245 D of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2012 public law blah blah

2:05:57 There is sufficient supply of petroleum and petroleum products from countries other than Iran to permit a significant reduction in the volume of petroleum and petroleum products purchased from Iran by or through other foreign financial institutions. It's tricky language and I think words do matter that they're talking about petroleum products. I think that this is a pre-petroleum product that NAFTA is not really the petroleum product and therefore... Well actually what's interesting to me based on what he says, it yeah it would be a pre-petroleum product which is an end product and a post-

2:06:38 crude oil product, it's in between crude oil and a finished product. So it's the stuff that you get from crude oil and then it's a feedstock for making high octane gasoline. So it's essentially you boil some oil and you send this stuff off on its way. So it's essentially what they've done here. In other words, we've been tricked. Hoodwinked, I tell you. We've been hoodwinked, that's the word. We've been hoodwinked by the use of the, oh no, naphtha's different. No it's not. So he literally... Is that what he said? Yeah, he said there's no restriction on NAFTA. He said... and I'm like... This is bullshit! This is amazing! When he said to me... this is why it stuck in my brain because he was talking NAFTA. I'm like North American Free Trade Association? He's like, no, PH NAFTA. I've never heard of NAFTA. Like NAFTA. He says there's no restriction. We're shipping the stuff in and out from Iran all the time because there's no restriction on the NAFTA. It's a scam. It's a big lie.

2:07:39 Wow. Yeah, good, huh? Yeah, that's a 10. Oh You don't have a clip. Unfortunately, I can't give you a clip of the week, but Wow interesting though, right? Yeah, it's just unbelievable. So yeah, I'm keeping in touch with the guy for sure and so he sent me I put it in the show notes, the book that he said I had to read. But it was just cool, you know, it's like, oh, it's so nice to have, I'm just laying all of my South Stream, North Stream, you know, all my pipeline stuff on it. Right, nobody else, nobody else that he ever runs across knows anything. Ever, ever, ever, ever. You know, his wife is talking about- There's human rights violations, there's human rights violations.

CHAPTER 34 / 42 Discussion

Benghazi Connection, De Havilland Comet Flight Anecdote

Adam Curry shares a story from his infancy involving a flight from London to Uganda that stopped in Benghazi, Libya. During refueling, his parents briefly believed he had been kidnapped, only to find he had crawled to the back of the De Havilland Comet jet, establishing a personal, historical connection to the city.

benghazi· uganda· de havilland comet· childhood story· aviation

2:08:23 Damn Iranians. Yeah, they got white coats on. They're cooking up bombs. They're gonna make a bomb. Now, I gotta tell you a funny story my dad told me. Because my dad is in Holland and I went to visit him yesterday. And he's in the home and he's a little messed up, my old man. Now you know that we lived in Uganda the first three years of my life. Yeah. And so, the old man is getting old and so he's talking and my sister's there. Willow? No, Tiffany. Willow's in Italy. Tiffany lives here. And he lays this outrageous story on us. And it took me a while to get it out of him straight. The way it came out, I was like, wow, that's really crazy. So when we apparently moved to Uganda for a few years before Idi Amin, so I was born in 64, so I think 64, 65.

2:09:18 We got there and we flew on one of the first de Havilland comet airplanes This is one of the first one of the first comment. Yeah, one of the first jets and we flew from London I guess we somehow we went to we got to London somehow and then we flew from London to Uganda But we had a stopover guess where we stopped over somewhere in the Middle East would be my guess Benghazi Oh cool. Yeah this is what I said, I said cool and he tells me this story that it was really weird because the guy, this was like a year or two before the revolution, before Gaddafi, so it was King, who was it? Adiri or something I guess. I don't know. So they have this stop in Benghazi, I mean so I was in Benghazi, I was like one year old

2:10:12 But what had happened is, because it was... Coincidence? I'm telling you, I'm telling you. But because this was, you know, this brand new plane and, you know, it wasn't full, the passengers had to spread out in the plane for the weight and balance. This is... Oh brother. Right? So even my parents, I guess, were split up and, you know, they had put me in my little carry-on crib, whatever, with the blankets. And so they have to stop in Benghazi to refuel and it's really weird and guys with AKs, I guess it was an AK back in the day, AK-47s and they're refueling. They get back on the plane, the plane takes off and they just glance back and saw the pile of blankets, then the plane's in the air and then my mom goes back to check on me, I'm not underneath the blankets.

2:11:04 And they have this, and so they believe that I've been kidnapped and I'm still in Benghazi. This is crazy. This is a crazy story. Where were you? Well, apparently, so they had just walked off the plane, you know, during refueling, left me on the plane, which is pretty unbelievable as is, thanks mom and dad. And I had got climbed out and I had crawled all the way back to the back of the plane underneath all the seats. So they spent like a half hour thinking, trying to convince the guy to fly back to Benghazi to go get me. I had no idea. I just, you know, like Stewie or something, I had like, you know, my hands and knees crawled all the way to the back. Anyway, I thought it was kind of a funny story because it was Benghazi. I thought it was kind of an interesting little Christmas story. Yeah, a little Christmas story about Benghazi. Now, so while I'm on Benghazi... We've got connections to Benghazi that go way back. So while I'm on Benghazi, remember the four State Department officials resigned or were kicked out or whatever?

CHAPTER 35 / 42 Discussion

State Department Reassignments, Hillary Clinton Plastic Surgery Theory

The hosts report that State Department officials allegedly "fired" over the Benghazi report were actually just reassigned to different desks. They also speculate that Hillary Clinton's recent absence from the public eye is a cover for extensive plastic surgery in preparation for a future presidential run.

hillary clinton· benghazi· eric boswell· plastic surgery· state department

2:12:06 Because of the the report the account right kind of a review board report well here we go The highest ranking official caught up in the scandal assistant secretary of state Eric Boswell Hasn't actually resigned No, he's he's just resigned from one of his many tasks See, they made it sound like he's resigned voluntarily, but the only thing he's done is he's just quit from one desk and he's switching over to another desk. And the three other officials, deputy assistant secretaries, Charlene Lamb, Raymond Maxwell, and a third whose name we don't have, they haven't been kicked out, they've just been reassigned.

2:12:51 So they make it all sound like, oh, people have been held accountable, but no one's actually fired and no one quit. Huh, what a shocker. And I have a little prediction for you. You got the red book? Uh, yep. So Hillary is now out for a couple weeks, and I don't even know she'll ever testify about Benghazi, but here's what we need to look out for. When she comes back, and I predict six more weeks, because I have experience with this, six more weeks, she's going to look dynamite. Oh, you think she's getting plastic surgery. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Perfect time to do it.

2:13:34 Get a little nip, get a little tuck, get your hair done. Oh yeah. Right, and you got to be out when you get plastic surgery, especially at her age. And you're going to have massive plastic surgery because she looks terrible if you see her without her makeup. Well, she doesn't need massive. And she's got to run for president. No, she doesn't need massive. She needs a little work around the eyes, a little work on the eyelids. I think she's going to get massive. But 10 weeks would be more than enough. So I'd say she's been out for four, give her six more. She's back at the inauguration. When's the inauguration? Coming up in a couple weeks. She's got to be back sooner than that then. She's got it. Well, she could make... She may not be at the inauguration. I think it's too early. Yeah, unless she's gonna wear sunglasses and bundle up. Oh yeah, scarf on the head and sunglasses. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That could be a possibility. Yeah, a lot of makeup. Spray on makeup. Just spray her. Oh yes.

CHAPTER 36 / 42 Discussion

Syrian Conflict, Nerve Gas Claims and YouTube Defections

Mainstream media reports claim the Assad regime has used nerve gas against rebels, supported by "shaky cam" YouTube videos. The hosts express skepticism regarding the authenticity of these videos and the high-profile defection of the Syrian military police chief, which was also announced via social media.

syria· bashar al-assad· nerve gas· al jazeera· military police

2:14:38 I think you got yeah, you may be onto something there. I'm gonna buy you that. Yeah, put it in the book man. Put it in the book. I mean, I've got a oh, sorry. Yeah, please. No, I was just gonna say, you know, meanwhile Sirius heating up. We've got, you know, Assad using nerve gas. Seven people killed with nerve gas. He's using his chemical weapons. Here's proof. Here's the audio. Horrible video they found over there at the Al Jazeera's. Because the guy's like can't breathe You got to see the the video to this the guy

2:15:21 These these Arab actors that they have in some of this crazy good it suck it stink. No this guy's good Ah yes, and of course we had the Syrian chief of the military police defect. Now in another significant blow to the Syrian government, the commander of the country's military police has announced his defection. In a recorded message uploaded to YouTube, Lieutenant General Abdulaziz Al-Shallal says the Syrian army has deviated from its fundamental mission of protecting the nation. Yeah, remind me when I resign to put it on YouTube first.

2:16:11 Yeah, I mean, you know, the guy could be on Newsnight, on the BBC. He's gonna just have to go to Turkey and he's gonna upload to YouTube. Yeah. Pretty dubious. Is that the... when it's on YouTube now and it's shaky cam, that now is the official, it's real video? No, it's baffling. I'm getting a little tired of YouTube to be honest about it. I mean, it's good for some things but All that stuff that's uploaded the shaky cam crap. Yeah, that's that's quite a I have a moment of the Dvorak curry consulting company Group, it's actually creative work. I think whatever CD, but gee yes, but it's group group group not group group group So there's some Joker that did somebody sent me this answer. So you got to watch it. You know this clip It's a it's that that one of those anti

CHAPTER 37 / 42 Discussion

Demand a Plan Parody, Voiceover Production Advice

The hosts review a parody of the "Demand a Plan" gun control celebrity PSA. While they agree with the message of disarming the government, they criticize the poor production quality and amateur voiceover work, offering professional advice on how to use high-quality vocal talent for political messaging.

demand a plan· gun control· parody· voiceover· production quality

2:17:15 One of these anti... you've seen this commercial, it's got everybody and their scissors saying we've got to stop shooting people, we've got to demand a plan, demand a plan. Yeah, we played this on the last show. Do we play the parody? No, not the parody. We played the real one on the show. Yeah, we played the real one. This is the end of the... This is a parody version where they mouthed in, you know, the government's got too many guns. We got to demand the plan to disarm the government. You know, it's kind of... I haven't seen that. I haven't seen that. So someone did a parody and it was... Okay, it's not all that good, right. But here's the problem. I'm going to just... This is just a piece of free advice from the consulting group. Wait a minute. Why are you giving it away?

2:17:55 Because it needs to be done. Okay. It's like they keep saying people keep sending this crap in and yeah, let me tell you what it what the device is. This is only a tip of an iceberg of advice. Okay. An avalanche of advice. If you're going to do one of these things and then you have a punchline at the end, and you've maybe edited it okay so it kind of works to some extent, you don't bring in a voiceover guy who just graduated from high school and his voice is still changing and have him do a little voiceover. You can get voiceover work, you can find it on the internet, there's plenty of good booming voices that'll work for about 10 bucks a line.

2:18:34 You only need about five lines. 50 bucks is going to cost you to beef up and instead you're going to get this particular kind of sound which immediately goes oh it's an eye roller with this amateurish guy's got no punch. Terrible ending. Ruined the whole thing by the way. Demand a plan right now. Right now. Demand it! Enough. Enough. Enough. Enough. A plan to ban guns from government because government uses guns to kill innocent people too. Oh, God. Could it be any worse? Yeah, it could be even worse, but this was pretty bad. Oh my God. And a plan for government. It's terrible. I mean, not only do you need the Curry Dvorak, you need the Curry Dvorak voiceover group to help you with this.

2:19:29 Yeah, you can hit that big ball voice to some extent. Demand a plan. Yeah, I can't do it with this mic. But there are some guys that do this, that voice, that big ball voice, it's called big balls. Yeah, big balls. Inner world. That are just, they wear jeans. Inner world. Where lesbians wear comfortable shoes. Anyway, I was just, I find it annoying. I'm with you. I'm with you. So I got one clip. Dr. Oz, hit it. Oz, let's take a little clip to show you how awkward it got in one moment. Wait a minute, did Dr. Oz really say that?

CHAPTER 38 / 42 Discussion

SpaceX Grasshopper Test, Elon Musk and Private Rocketry

SpaceX released video of its "Grasshopper" rocket successfully hovering and landing vertically. The hosts express skepticism toward Elon Musk's ventures, characterizing the private space industry as a playground for wealthy "douchebags" rather than a revolutionary leap for humanity.

spacex· elon musk· grasshopper rocket· reusable rockets· technology

2:20:25 Yeah. He said, I like soaked nuts. After sex. Okay. The guy just went up 10 points in my book. Soaked nuts. Soaked nuts. Really? And this was on broadcast television? Yes. Wow. Oh, that's hardcore. Soaked nuts. So I have a pet peeve and first I want to tell you what kind of sparked it. And then I'll play the... So this is what sparked the pet peeve. We have this private space industry that is being built around us. And some of it is real and whatever. To me it's like... I used to be into model rocketry and these guys just had bigger rockets.

2:21:18 This is the... I guess it's real, I don't know. I mean, this could be an animation for all I know. The private rocket maker SpaceX says it has successfully tested the first completely reusable rocket. Take a look at this newly released video. It shows the Grasshopper rocket launching 12 stories into the air. Then it hovers briefly before reversing direction and landing softly on the launch pad. A reusable rocket could lower costs for space missions significantly, but more testing is needed.

2:22:09 and People who are really in the technology hate me when I talk about this stuff I'm saying, you know, cuz you know Elon Musk is like some hero. He's like the Tom Swift or our era You know, I don't know. He makes expensive battery cars that you know are useless as far as I'm concerned certainly in the apocalypse So, you know, I got this space thing and he's like a superhero people love this guy and I just think he's a douchey twat and

2:22:48 So we have one of these over here. He's a what? A douchey twat like soaked nuts, a douchey twat. So we have one of these douchebags over here. His name is Michiel Mol and he his daddy got really really rich by selling off you know some bogative IT firm I don't know 10 years ago made a huge before the bubble pop made a huge amount of money big big government contracts billionaire. So this is his kid and you know the kids always had Ferraris and I say he had a game company He's had some pretty cool things, you know, but toys and he now he has, you know, Formula One team and now he's he's all over the newspapers with his SXC which stands for space expedition company or corporation which actually used to be called the space expedition Curacao and

CHAPTER 39 / 42 Discussion

Space Expedition Corporation, Commercial Space Flight Scams

The hosts deconstruct the business model of the Space Expedition Corporation (SXC) and Virgin Galactic, calling them "fantasy rides" for the ultra-rich. They argue that paying $95,000 for a suborbital flight that barely reaches 100 kilometers is a marketing scam designed to sell "astronaut wings" and expensive training courses rather than actual space exploration.

sxc· michiel mol· richard branson· space tourism· astronaut wings

2:23:44 because he bought into it and it's a huge huge huge scam I just want to unveil the scam because the same scam that Richard Branson is doing with this bullcrap selling tickets on a space ride and I just only he was on CNN I'm gonna play a little bit And then I just want to tell you what's really going on here and how this is just soaking up money from people who have way too much money for some bullcrap fantasy ride. Initially a craft called Lynx made by X-Core Aerospace in California is to take passengers up. SXC co-founder Mikkel Moll told me how the reusable craft is shaking up the space industry. Shaking up the space industry, John? The space is being... My God!

2:24:32 It's a revolutionary new spaceship which fits just a pilot and a co-pilot. So there's one passenger, so to say. So it's just two people on board? Just the two of you, yeah. And it has four revolutionary new rocket engines. Revolutionary new rocket engines! Which make it so special. It's a really small engine. In reality, it's no more than this. And it's extremely powerful and efficient. So with those four small engines, we can take you to an altitude of over 100 kilometers. Which makes you an astronaut. Exactly. Officially. Officially, you get your astronaut wings and then the official title you can use. Do you hear what's going on? Have you figured out what this is yet, John? Not really. I mean, besides just being bullcrap. Yeah. No, what it is, do you know these like fantasy rides where you can, you know, you can for $20,000, you can fly in a MiG fighter?

2:25:22 Or, you know, whatever it is. This is exactly what this is. They take you up to 60,000 feet, which by the way, the Concorde did in 1972. If if they ever get you up there for $95,000 they're gonna put you in effectively an f-16 with Amazing new rocket engines if it ever happens if it ever really happens, but they've already got 40 people to give them $95,000 but if you look at their website, they're not gonna fly until 2014 however, you know you have all these patches you see and

2:25:58 And you have to go through the training and the training you get your g-force patch your Desdemona simulator or whatever that is the mission tactics course the albatross jet course the zero-g flight and for each one of course you're paying like 10 grand outside of the 95 grand And let me see if I can find this video. So here is the training flight, which you can of course take now after you've deposited your $95,000 in the hopes that in 2014 you will fly up into space. I'll give you the rest of his pitch. It's kind of funny. And of course, you get a title. Then you're an astronaut. So people have to call you Sir Spaceman or something like that. Accelerates.

2:26:46 Like a normal plane, but then more like an F-16 with afterburner speed. And immediately you go straight up into the air and within a minute you break the sound barrier. Right! And in three minutes you're going Mach 3, so close to 4,000 kilometers an hour. And you're actually in space already. In four minutes the engine stops, you're weightless, you float to an altitude of over 100 kilometers, the ship turns upside down, and this whole top is a glass canopy. So you have this beautiful view of Earth. And you're seeing all of this animated, because all they have is animation. The sky is black, of course, because you're really in space. And you see this Earth with this thin layer of atmosphere.

2:27:26 And I've not been there yet, but I talked to a number of astronauts who have been there and they all claim that it's really a life-changing experience. To be there, the two of you up there, seven billion people down there, it makes you ambassador of Mother Earth itself immediately. Ambassador of Mother Earth itself! So, I just want people to understand, because this is in the papers here and it's the same with Richard Branson. This is bullshit! This is not some magical, fantastic, oh, finally, space flight for normal human beings. No! It's a fantasy ride. They're selling people with way too much money a bunch of bull crap. And part of it is you pay an extra $20,000 for the

2:28:07 Flight in the L-39 Albatross trainer because you have to train in order to do this magical space flight. Here's the video. The L-39 training mission. Training mission. Specifically designed for Space Expedition Corporation. It creates realistic mission circumstances similar to the actual link spaceflight Now the time has come to make space accessible together with former pilots of the Royal Dutch Air Force Future astronauts fly and experience the very same maneuvers and g-forces The ultimate spaceflight experience. It's a scam for rich people. So stop believing it

2:28:57 Yeah, well... I just had to get it off my chest. Because it's so irritating. Apparently. In fact, I even got to play the- I don't see Curry's pet peeve of the day. I just want people to know that this is no big deal. 60,000 feet, 80,000 feet. It's all been done. This is nothing special. It's just a bunch of rich boys pretending to be astronauts. And they hire ex-astronauts to do their pitch videos. This is nothing special. Yeah, well... Did send a couple guys have actually gone up with the Russians, but it cost 28 million dollars talking about somebody with too much money That's a little different though. That's that's not what this is. That's no that's different They actually take you up and drop you off at the space I don't think I just doesn't sound like a come a good weekend to me not something like I really want to do No, no, I agree. So anyway, I call that the Bogota frontier. All right. I saw a movie the other night People might want to check it out. Yeah, what's that?

CHAPTER 40 / 42 Discussion

Visioneers Movie, Spontaneous Human Combustion and Cloud Failures

John C. Dvorak recommends the 2008 film "Visioneers," which features themes of spontaneous human combustion. The hosts also discuss the Christmas Day failure of Amazon's cloud services, which caused widespread outages for Netflix and other streaming platforms.

visioneers· zach galifianakis· spontaneous human combustion· netflix· amazon web services

2:29:57 Visioneers, 2008 movie with, it's definitely something, it's offbeat, it's Zach Galifianakis or whatever his name is, and a bunch of other... It's kind of a B movie about this corporation that's taken over the place and the salute is giving everyone the finger so it's kind of juvenile, the movie, in many ways. It's about people, they start exploding just out of the blue.

2:30:33 Yeah, they just blow up. So I think it's actually an homage to spontaneous human combustion. Right, which you've been tracking for many, many years. This is one of those specialities. Yes, I'm glad to see somebody finally made a movie. It has a fantastic rating of 6 out of 10. On Rotten Tomatoes. It's free on your Netflix. Hey, did I see that the cloud failed on Christmas where Netflix just fell apart and no one could watch? No, I didn't know that. Yeah, it was pretty funny. It doesn't surprise me. Of course not. It's like, whoa! Yeah, it was like Netflix and of course Amazon streaming stuff didn't work either. I mean, we don't have any of that here. But I just thought that was pretty funny. Yet. Yeah, really. No, man. You know what I'm all over now, right now, with my new thing is?

CHAPTER 41 / 42 Discussion

APRS Technology, Ham Radio Licensing and Geek Culture

Adam Curry promotes the Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS) as "Twitter for ham radio." He encourages listeners to obtain their FCC licenses, dispelling the myth that the tests are difficult and challenging "geek girls" in the media to prove their credentials by becoming licensed amateur radio operators.

aprs· ham radio· fcc license· geek girls· communication

2:31:29 APRS. You got to get this. APRS. What does that ring a bell? Well, it's been around for 20 years, I think. Automatic Packet Reporting System. It's basically Twitter for ham radio. It's pretty cool. I was able to send an email... Let me go to one of the fine ham sites. I was able to send an email from my handheld radio. It's kind of a mind bender when you see how it works, but it's really mature and it's been around for a long time. So they have an internet backbone, but if that falls away then it still works. And you can just send messages to each other. So I actually have people sending... It's kind of like a Twitter that you need a license for, and I like that. Well, what license do you need? Do you need a general to use this thing? No, no, no. You can do it with a technician license.

2:32:31 And I just want to say something about the ham radio licenses to everybody who's been hearing us talk about this. If you've ever talked to someone who's into ham radio, and I think even we might have given this perception, they're like, oh, you have to study for this test and you have to do this test and it's really like, it's a hard test, man. It's like technical test. It's the biggest bunch of bull crap. Because the answers by law with the questions the multiple-choice questions are published Okay, so with the four with the four answers three of which are wrong. They may be in a different order So even if you weren't interested you only have to memorize all the questions and the answers that for every test it's the same for the general and same for the extra class and

2:33:21 If you can memorize, even if you don't understand a thing about it, you can still pass this test. So I don't want there to be any magic that it's tough or whatever. Anyone who knows anything about computers could probably without studying the answers. Yeah, without getting 75% of it. Exactly. So you can pass this test, guaranteed. Guaranteed you can pass this test and it's worth it because we can do fun things and we can you know and without all the a-holes You know, it's because most a-holes won't even go for the test So pass the test take the test even the technician pass the test join the club. There's a lot of cool stuff We can do that's my pitch

2:34:07 I like it. You're good. I'm glad you're on board. I'm also dispelling the myth that once they remove the requirements for Morse code, which by the way, now that I've actually learned it, five words per minute, really? Is that what stopped me from wanting to do this test? Which still had all the questions and answers published? Anyone can do five words a minute. It's really not that hard. But you don't even have to do that anymore. So get on board with the plan. Join us. It's Twitter with a license and worldwide and without the stupid wires and no log files and no tracking and we can be awesome. Yeah, I think people should get it. Everyone should get a HAM license. It's not a big deal. It's easy enough. If they listen to this program, they should. Yeah, they should.

2:34:59 It's not a big deal. It's good to have. It's kind of cool in some nerdy way. People always like, I'm a nerd. I'm a geek. Well, get your ham license if you're a nerd and a geek. Especially some of the women out there who like to call themselves geeky girls. Oh, I'm geeky. I'm a nerd. A lot of actresses do this. What's the name of that girl in the Love, Miz show? She's always, oh, I'm a geek. I'm a geek. I'm a kind of, I play games on the computer. That's I'm a geek. Oh, you mean Jolie O'Dell? Julia Odell's not an actress. Maybe she is. No, I'm thinking of Anne Hathaway. She claims to be a geek girl. Really? She's not a geek girl. No way. But she says. You ask her. Oh, I'm a geek girl. I'm like the computer. I'm buzzing her out. Molly Wood. Molly Wood. You should have a ham radio license. If Molly Wood doesn't get a ham license, I'm banning her from Twitter.

2:35:51 You're banning her from or you're blocking her which one blocking but it isn't a ev John F. Dvorak Well, you know Mickey should get a license. She doesn't know she does not claim to be a geek girl at all She does no no no no no, she is not going to get her license. Oh No, I think Natalie Del Conte. There's another one. Oh, Natalie Del Conte must get a license. How about Veronica Belmont? Absolutely. She makes a big deal out of being a geek girl. If you don't have your ham license, you are not a geek girl. I think we've gone to something here. This is going to be our... This is 20, ladies and gentlemen. We're kind of rolling it out in advance. A little heads up on what we're going to be pushing. This is the new agenda on the No Agenda Show.

2:36:41 yes the new notice the new no agenda agenda so that the new no agenda is agenda exactly and you have an end of show clip here do you want to play or is that uh... not something that i let me let me set it up it's a uh... this is a long dan burton was a congressman who we headed up a bunch of uh... committees in congress who did did mostly investigative stuff and i have to clips are but just the one we need to play the initial clip he talks about what congressional powers you have with congress can and cannot do and what the president can and cannot do and and and it's up to congress to investigate the president and he has a few anecdotes about his days as the uh...

CHAPTER 42 / 42 Discussion

Dan Burton, Congressional Oversight and Executive Power

The show concludes with a clip of former Congressman Dan Burton discussing the power of congressional investigations. Burton recounts his aggressive use of subpoenas during the Clinton administration and reflects on how an Attorney General can protect a President from legal accountability, while the hosts sign off for the year.

dan burton· bill clinton· subpoenas· congressional oversight· janet reno

2:35:51 You're banning her from or you're blocking her which one blocking but it isn't a ev John F. Dvorak Well, you know Mickey should get a license. She doesn't know she does not claim to be a geek girl at all She does no no no no no, she is not going to get her license. Oh No, I think Natalie Del Conte. There's another one. Oh, Natalie Del Conte must get a license. How about Veronica Belmont? Absolutely. She makes a big deal out of being a geek girl. If you don't have your ham license, you are not a geek girl. I think we've gone to something here. This is going to be our... This is 20, ladies and gentlemen. We're kind of rolling it out in advance. A little heads up on what we're going to be pushing. This is the new agenda on the No Agenda Show.

2:36:41 yes the new notice the new no agenda agenda so that the new no agenda is agenda exactly and you have an end of show clip here do you want to play or is that uh... not something that i let me let me set it up it's a uh... this is a long dan burton was a congressman who we headed up a bunch of uh... committees in congress who did did mostly investigative stuff and i have to clips are but just the one we need to play the initial clip he talks about what congressional powers you have with congress can and cannot do and what the president can and cannot do and and and it's up to congress to investigate the president and he has a few anecdotes about his days as the uh...

2:37:17 uh... hit chief investigator when he was heading the committee at that did the house uh... rules and some others yet to a three committees and this is the way we don't know if you're going to write okay gotcha always going after clinton and he has some interesting anecdotes that are worth listening to nice okay we will roll that out and uh... we will have our final broadcast of the best podcast in the universe on uh... sunday and that final two thousand twelve broadcast That's what you think. Well, yeah, you never know. So let's see if we can get some 474 knights in just before we end out the year. Thank you again. Take a chance. Thank you again for supporting us. Day 21 in exile here in Gitmo Nation Lowlands. In the morning, I'm Adam Curry.

2:38:07 and from northern northern northern northern northern silicon valley i'm john c devorak we back on sunday right here with more no agenda and uh... when you want to explain to people about the investigations power of congress and what role it plays generally uh... how do you uh... explain that role of congress well uh... the congress has a responsibility to uh... fair doubt waste fraud abuse in government and in the executive branch. We're supposed to oversee that. Most committees in the Congress and the House don't do a really good job of it. When I became chairman, Newt charged me with the responsibility of really

2:38:48 being aggressive in a number of investigations. I investigate health and human services, the Food and Drug Administration, the FBI, as well as the White House. And we found that there were people in jail for 30-some years for crimes they didn't commit. J. Edgar Hoover knew about it, like Mr. Joe Salvati of Massachusetts. So there were a lot of things that were wrong in government that weren't readily known. And so when we had our investigations, we were very, very aggressive. What did we do? I issued over 1,200 subpoenas. I don't think anybody will ever touch that record. I'm not sure it's a good record, but it was one I thought was necessary. It's because we wanted to get to the bottom of a lot of these things. And I think it paid off. And I will tell you this, we not only put pressure on the Clinton administration, I put pressure on the Bush administration and his chief counsel at the White House as well, in particular where the Salvador case was involved.

2:39:44 And so I know you've probably heard of Whitey Bulger who was just captured recently. His brother, Billy Bulger, was one of the people we had before our committee in Boston working on that Bulger investigation. So there were a lot of things we did and that's the responsibility of Congress. The oversight of the executive branch and the agencies of government is extremely important because no matter what you believe, what you think, there's going to be waste, there's going to be fraud, and there's going to be criminal activity and abuse in any government. And you have to really take a hard look at it. Well, with that hyper-partisanship you were talking about earlier, and some of its root causes, did your aggressive stance for investigation contribute to that? And if so, is that the price that you think is necessary to pay?

2:40:38 I think that it did contribute to that because you're really stepping on toes. When you go after the President of the United States, you'd better have armor plate and you'd better realize they're going to do whatever it takes to negate what you say and to put a stop to your investigation, which they did. And they contacted the head of my golf team when I was in high school, girls I dated in school. They went into everything. So I think that's one of the things you have to expect when you're really aggressive. And it does cause problems. But nevertheless, I have no regrets about it. I feel if you're going to do your job and do it

2:41:20 to the best of your ability and live up to your commitments to the Constitution. You have to be ready to take the slings and arrows and outrageous fortune. What did you learn through that experience about the powers of the executive and the powers of the Congress? As I said before, I learned that the President of the United States, if he has an Attorney General that will really stand behind him, I think there's very little that can be accomplished as far as bringing illegal activity to the fore and to justice. Richard Nixon, he went to his attorney general during Watergate and didn't get his support. Had he gotten his support, I don't think he would have left office.

2:41:59 Conversely, when we went after Bill Clinton and had over 100 people take the Fifth Amendment or flee the country, and we had, I felt, very strong evidence of some illegal activities, Janet Reno really protected him, and I think that ended up helping him a lot. But I want to point out, And if Bill or Hillary is paying any attention, I would say that they did some good things. And I think that the economy of the country was helped because he worked with Newt Gingrich. So there were some positives. But nevertheless, I still feel like there were some things that were wrong that we were pursuing. Let's take a little clip to show you how awkward it got in one moment. You can't answer this question.

2:42:45 After sex food. Lots of insights here. It's wonderful. What about for you? Oh, please. I like soaked nuts. The best podcast in the universe. Dvorak.org slash N A. Don't eat me Hillary Clinton.