A tourist jumps from a terrace at the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in Cuzco. 
A Florida State fan waits for the start of the game between FSU and Virginia Tech in the ACC Championship football game in Charlotte, NC.
Above are cardboard versions of the world's best known landmarks floating in the ocean at the Gaviota Azul beach in Cancún.
It was the first time since 1935 -- when the prize went to a winner imprisoned in one of Adolf Hitler's concentration camps -- that the Peace Prize winner or his representative did not appear personally to accept the award. Liu's absence was symbolized by an empty chair on stage.
So on this notable occasion, the White House released a statement from President Obama on the awarding of the prize to Liu in absentia. And this is how Obama's statement began:"One year ago, I was humbled to receive the Nobel Peace Prize…
Critics have often said of Obama that "it's all about him," that he has a tendency to reference himself no matter what subject he is discussing. Could he do any more to prove them right?
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.) was also overheard saying that “we can’t trust him” not to cave to Republicans and extend the tax cuts again in two years, according to a Democratic source.
The anger aimed at the bill was widespread. As Democrats moved to block the bill from coming up on the floor, chants of “Just say no!” could be heard by reporters outside the room.
Berkley is one of the few Democrats publicly supporting the package. While she said it wasn’t necessarily how she would have written it, the bill should go forward in her estimation because it is “chock full” of tax cuts that will help the working class in her state.
Imagine that - a Washington lawmaker thinking of the best interest of her constituents.
The real cause of the deep anger shown by Democrat lawmakers in the last few days is because they bought into the "40 More Years" book (cover is shown below) by the 'Ragin' Cajun' James Carville. But then the November elections left that dream in smoking ruins.
Link here to the Roll Call report.
A new study was released giving new meaning to the phrase "toxic assets."
"On The Money: BPA on Dollar Bills and Receipts" set out to investigate the extent to which thermal receipt paper containing bisphenol A (BPA) has permeated the market, and whether this hormone-disrupting chemical is escaping onto the money that lies close to these receipts in people's wallets.
More here.
There will certainly be a WikiLeaks movie - it's just a matter of when it will be made. If it is filmed before the story ends - no problem. The rest of the story will be made into a sequel.
Mateo, who identifies himself as both black and Hispanic, made his comments this week after a cab driver was shot several times by a man police describe as Hispanic. The suspect was wearing a hooded sweatshirt, which Mateo has said is a red flag.
The private cab driver was fighting for his life after being shot at least four times by a robber who ended up getting less than $100.
More here.
The demonstrators broke a window and tossed paint on their Rolls Royce, however neither royal family member was injured in the attack.
By the looks of the sparse crowd, Gore wasn't the only no-show.
The photo shows a man watching as a container ship is slowly towed through one of the canal locks.
The Senate on Wednesday convicted U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous (upper photo) of Louisiana on four articles of impeachment, making him just the eighth federal judge in history to be removed by Congress.
The Senate also approved a motion barring him from holding future federal office to prevent another Alcee Hastings situation. Hastings (lower photo) was a judge in Florida appointed by Jimmy Carter.
Congress on Wednesday signaled it won't close the prison at Guantánamo Bay or allow any of its suspected terrorist detainees to be transferred to the U.S., dealing what is likely the final blow to Obama's campaign pledge to shutter the facility in Cuba.
The move to block the prison's closure was written into a massive year-end spending bill that passed the House on Wednesday evening on a vote of 212-206, part of a last-minute legislative rush by Democrats to push through their priorities before ceding the House to Republican control in January.
News of the Guantánamo provision brought a quick and sharp rebuke from The Obama Administration which is strongly opposed to keeping the facility open.
More here.
The attacks stepped up Wednesday, a day after Mr. Assange was arrested and denied bail in London in connection with sexual-misconduct accusations in Sweden. A range of organizations, including MasterCard Inc., and the Swedish prosecutor's office, reported technical difficulties with their websites that appear to stem from so-called denial of service attacks, in which computers flood a server to prevent it from displaying a Web page.
The attacks have hit eBay Inc.'s PayPal and Swiss bank PostFinance.
PayPal refused to handle payments to WikiLeaks and PostFinance closed Mr. Assange's account.
Although these attacks caused some business disruption, they were mostly annoying rather than crippling.
The computers in the office of Claes Borgstrom, the lawyer representing the two women making the accusations against Mr. Assange, also crashed.
More here.
Facing broad frustration from his party's liberal base and many Democrats on the Hill, Obama emphasized the portions of the compromise he reached the previous day that benefit middle class families and the jobless, whose government insurance would have expired without the deal.
Senator Schumer led the unhappy Democrats who kept saying the compromise was a gift to the rich and that Obama is doing an about face (as illustrated below) when Democrats still have the majority in Congress.
Taxpayers in high income brackets are the job creators. Small and medium sized businesses bring their business income into their personal 1040 Income Tax Return because that's how it works for owners of S-Corporation businesses. The net profit from an S-Corp business passes through to the owner's personal tax return.
One of the reasons for high unemployment today is the reluctance of small and medium sized businesses to hire more employees because of the threat that Congress would end the Bush-era tax cuts.
Link to the Washington Post story here.
For the event, skiers got a free lift ticket if they came dressed as Santa and donated $10 or more to the Bethel Rotary Club's annual drive to provide gifts for the area's children in need. They also got an additional lift ticket valid through Dec. 18.
A picture of my cave
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