Seen on a facebook post:

A fair number of the "disabled" are that way because of crooked doctors who are willing to fake the documentation to get disability. "Oh, you have headaches, here let me give you a signoff for disability". I don't disagree that some of them are unemployable with their current attitudes, but that is different from disabled and deserving money from our pockets. Put them to work cleaning our streets, but then again, they'd fall and hurt themselves just to get out of it, and give some lawyers something more to do to steal from our pockets. Probably is better to just give them a check for doing nothing more strenuous than showing up at Walmart to spend the automatic deposit to their ATM card..... It's a crock!

Question from a reader: Is the card dealer on Casino Royale the actor who plays Baal on stargate?

Good question. The dealer at the 150 million card game does look like the actor from Stargate.  The dealer looks younger though, but it's still hard to tell.  Lets see if we can find an answer on the internet.....

First I needed to find the cast list for the movie Casino Royale. So I googled for:

• casino royale cast
  • Results 1 - 10 of about 111,000 for casino royale cast.

 I found the full cast and crew listing at http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0381061/fullcredits

Cast (in credits order) verified as complete

I looked for the dealer, but I only found Jessica Miller, who was probably the lady in the first betting scene.

Then I googled for: stargate baal

The scifipedia had the results I needed:

Aha, so it's is Cliff Simon. His name doesn't exist in the cast of Casino Royale. But who is the dealer.

I finally found him. "Daniel Andreas"

IMDB doesn't have a picture. I googled him, and came up with lots of interesting results:

1. Andreas Daniel

1. AMW.com | Daniel San Diego - Fugitive

1. FOXNews.com - WANTED: Daniel Andreas San Diego for Eco-Terror...

1. Daniel Andreas Filmography - Yahoo! Movies

1. Homeland Security National Terror Alert - Homeland Security News...

1. $50000 reward in Chiron probe / FBI seeking fresh tips on blast...

1. Daniel Andreas — Blogs, Pictures, and more on WordPress

1. Daniel Andreas - Trailer - Showtimes - Cast - Movies - The New...

1. Daniel Andreas Carlsson | Facebook

Wow! Wanted for terrorism?  Is that before or after Casino Royale?  Does the FBI know they shouldn't believe everything they see in the movies?  Still, where was the card dealer being a terrorist in the plot of Casino Royale?

 Digging a little deeper, I finally found some autographed pictures of Daniel Andreas:  http://jamesbondautographs.blogspot.com/2007/10/2-8x10-shots-signed-by-daniel-andreas.html

Separated at birth?

What do Arnold Schwarzenegger and Judas Iscariot have in common?

I never would have thought the two would be linked, but it turns out that they are.

Tonight, when I went to http://www.chat11.com wiki, I found that they were randomly selected to be the featured story links:

Fascinating connection....

• Northern Trust (NTRS, news, msgs), based in Chicago, has one of the best fundamental performance records in the business. Its profits are one standard deviation above those of its peers through June 30, and its loan default rate in the second quarter this year was just 0.03%. The main reason is that its noninterest income is four times greater than its net interest income, meaning that it doesn't depend on loans to make a profit. Whalen believes its performance margin compared with those of its peers will widen over the next few quarters as banks with more credit exposure take a beating.
  
• US Bancorp (USB, news, msgs), based in Minneapolis, still has a return on equity of 22% and has a high proportion of its income coming from nonloan services. It has charged off 1% of its total loans and is adding to loan-loss reserves at a 2-1 ratio without cutting dividends, which speaks well for management. Whalen says it is very unlikely that US Bancorp, "one of the best-performing commercial banks in the world," will ever need to obtain additional capital or sell itself to outsiders.
  
• Washington Federal (WFSL, news, msgs), a thrift based in Seattle, reported a 10.1% return on equity through the second quarter, compared with a negative 4% for peers. Returns have tracked a full standard deviation above those of its rivals. Its main operating unit reported just 0.21% of loan defaults versus 1.26% for its peers. It has received advances from the Federal Home Loan Bank system equal to 16% of its assets, but its strong capital position and profitability still make it a top choice for cash deposits.
  
• Charles Schwab Bank (SCHW, news, msgs), based in San Francisco and the thrift subsidiary of a discount brokerage, has an "eye-popping" return on equity of 27%, which is 1.26 standard deviations above those of its peers, making it almost countercyclical. With virtually no credit losses in the second quarter, Whalen calls the thrift subsidiary of Schwab a "pretty safe place to stash your loot" and says it deserves kudos for its success in a declining credit market.
  
• Bank of Hawaii (BOH, news, msgs), based in Honolulu, sports a return on equity of 26% and is a full standard deviation above its peers in funding its loans. With just a 0.46% charge-off rate and high average maturity of its loans, Whalen thinks it has done a beautiful job in a tough environment.
  

Source:  http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/SuperModels/5BanksSafeFromTheStorm.aspx?page=2

"On tax policy, health care reform, trade, government spending, and a long list of other issues, we offer very different choices to the American people," McCain says at every turn.

Concurs Obama: "When it comes to the economy, John McCain and I have a fundamentally different vision of where to take the country." --- Real Clear Politics 6/17/2008

"Presidential candidates...offering sharply contrasting remedies for the country's ailing economy"

"McCain says "Barack Obama would ...raise taxes for Americans of every background" where McCain "has emphasized lower taxes"--- New York Times 6/10/2008

"Obama ... derides McCain's plans to extend the Bush Administration's tax cuts, eliminate the Alternative Minimum Tax, and slash corporate taxes."--- Business Week  6/12/2008

"WASHINGTON — Senator McCain assailed Senator Obama's approach as the "single largest tax increase since the Second World War."--- New York Sun 6/10/2008

Very funny example of what a conversation might be like between old Bill and new Bill....

http://www.236.com/news/2008/04/23/if_they_imd_old_bill_clinton_a_1_6032.php