The ‘technocrats’ who control the European economy have decided the best way of serving their masters, the major banks in Germany and France, is by starting a bank run in Cyprus. The run will quickly spread as other people realize this theft of deposits could happen to them in other Eurozone countries.

The reason people put their money in banks is to protect it. If the Eurozone bureaucrats and Angela Merkel think they can just confiscate money from bank accounts without people abandoning banks, they lack the intellectual capacity of rocks or bricks, and certainly can’t approach the sophistication of a box of hammers. Comparing them to dirt is probably too kind, as dirt is quite useful, while the technocrats keep proving they are not.

Christine is having a terrible time getting over the finish line. It took her 15½ hours to get to Safety, and she had to drop a puppy, which probably explains part of the speed loss. It isn’t certain that she will make it, but you have to admit she is certainly giving it her best effort. I definitely would not want to be the first patient she sees [she’s a dentist] after this, unless she has a solid week of recuperation built into her plans.

The trail from Safety to Nome is mostly downhill and the temperature is above 20°F, but there is 20 knot wind and blowing snow. At least the wind is out of the East, so it is pushing the team towards Nome, rather than hitting them in the face.

Christine made it in around 1:30Pm local time after a decent run from Safety, and has taken the Red Lantern. She has about an hour to clean up before the banquet starts.

Finished At Nome
50 Mikhail Telpin (63)^Q
51 Cindy Gallea (17)
52 James Volek (66)^R
53 Bob Chlupach (43)
54 Christine Roalofs (37)^R Φ

The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Iditarod, while italics indicates Yukon Quest winners. The numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers. The small “R” indicates a total rookie, while the small “Q” indicates an Iditarod rookie who has completed a Yukon Quest.

These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.

This post will be updated during the day, and the map changed on all posts to reflect the current situation.
All posts on the Iditarod can be seen by selecting “Iditarod” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

Éireann go Brách!

Well everyone agrees that he died on March 17^th, but the year is subject to debate. This is his feast day on the Catholic calendar. Enjoy as you are wont.

Wikipedia has more on Saint Patrick’s Day, if you need more.