TELEGRAPH: Eurozone Banking System On The Edge Of Collapse.

Senior analysts and traders warned of impending bank failures as a summit intended to solve the European crisis failed to deliver a solution that eased concerns over bank funding. The European Central Bank admitted it had held meetings about providing emergency funding to the region’s struggling banks, however City figures said a “collateral crunch” was looming. “If anyone thinks things are getting better then they simply don’t understand how severe the problems are. I think a major bank could fail within weeks,” said one London-based executive at a major global bank.

Uh oh.

AT AMAZON, Holiday Flurry deals in Sports & Outdoors.

#OCCUPYFAIL: “Occupy Harvard” Left Vacant — This is What Anarchy Looks Like.

WELCOME TO THE ERA OF HOPE AND CHANGE: Harassment of Wisconsin teacher who appeared in a Scott Walker ad opposed to the recall.

UPDATE: From the comments: “It’s like the White Citizens Councils back in the day across the South… scaring local whites who supported integration. Some liberals today.” Yeah, but it’s not as scary when you’ve got a “soul patch.” It’s hard to get good goons nowadays.

96 HOURS TO THE STONE AGE: How Our Connected Lives Crumble When The Power Goes Out.

A few points. First, you don’t necessarily lose wi-fi and Internet when the power goes out — if you’ve got a backup source of power for your cable/dsl modem and router. I use a big honking UPS that’s enough to keep those two low-consumption items going for days. An inverter is another possibility. Also, have some flashlights and plenty of spare batteries. One of those LED room lamps might be nice, too.

Second, what’s this about being “one of the rare people” who owns a battery-powered radio? Everybody should have a hand-cranked / battery/solar radio for emergencies.

Third, running out of gas? If you own a gas station, you should really have a generator so you can keep at least one pump going in emergencies. (This is likely to pay off financially, and in long-term goodwill, too.) Also, for those who don’t own gas stations, it’s a good idea to keep your car tank at least half-full.
Fourth, running out of cash because ATMs don’t work? Keep a couple of hundred bucks around in small bills. (And some change, too).

And you should have extra blankets, and maybe an alternate source of heat, this time of year. Plus more warm clothes, and some wool socks put away against long-term chill.

Aside from the quibbles above, here’s the key point in the piece: “This is a serious threat, and we need to take it seriously. s I’ve thought about our reliance on pervasive connectivity over the last year, I’ve spoken with C-level executives from both the tech side and the utility side. They get it. But they have businesses to run, customers to serve, business targets to achieve to keep their jobs. It is critical to recognize that the pace of our reliance on pervasive connectivity via our wireless devices is rapidly outstripping our ability to deal with the absence of those services. We need to recognize the extent that our wireless infrastructure is increasingly core to our personal, family, and societal existence. For now, it is a fragile core.”

Yes, it is. It needs to be toughened up.

UPDATE: Reader Marc Greendorfer writes: “I recently bought this portable solar power source. It worked well for me on a hunting trip (charging an Android phone, GPS device and providing a steady source of recharged batteries), though some of the reviews are fairly harsh. It’s nice to be able to open up something the size of a file folder and leave it in the sun as you camp/hike/survive and come back to fully charged batteries/devices. I imagine it would be priceless in a 96 hours situation.” Or in hours 97+.

#OCCUPYFAIL: Neighbors: Occupy Protesters Took Evicted Man’s Belongings.

Wednesday morning, neighbors said they saw two Occupy Iowa protesters moving a mattress across the street and that set off a fiery exchange between neighbors and protesters.

“Them Occupy Iowa people, two of the men came over and took this TV and put it on a flatbed. They got over there and was wheeling it across the street. I told them, ‘How dare you come over here and take this 65-year-old man’s (belongings) who has been put out,'” said the neighbor.

Neighbors said the TV, other furniture and items belong to a man evicted from an apartment near Stewart Park Square where the Occupy Iowa camp is located.

Well, that’s consistent with the core #Occupy message — you’ve got it, I want it, I’ll take it!

#OCCUPYFAIL: #Occupy Raleigh Protester Shoots Up Food Store… Injures 3 People… Then Shoots Himself in Barn.

A SURF SPOT high in the Pyrenees.

HOLIDAY FLURRY DEALS: It’s Electronics Day.

HOW TO SHOOT GREAT VIDEO WITH YOUR SMARTPHONE.

QUESTIONING THE LEGALITY of a separate Euro treaty.

Plus, “Abuse Of Power?” “The plan by France and Germany to build a separate fiscal union after Britain blocked changes to the European Union’s treaty is an “abuse of power”, according to confidential legal advice. . . . Legal advice seen by The Daily Telegraph warns that the breakaway group of 26 countries cannot use the EU institutions or change European treaties without Britain’s consent. The advice was drawn up by senior officials and lawyers working for the Council of the EU, the service that advises governments on the legality of their decisions.”

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Sen. Grassley criticizes universities for “hoarding assets.”

A few years ago, Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) caused consternation among the nation’s wealthiest colleges by scrutinizing their endowments, saying that universities needed to spend more of the tax-exempt funds they were accruing. He also requested a variety of data on tuition prices, financial aid and endowment management. While only a small share of colleges have mega-endowments, the focus on those with billions frustrated many institutions without much money — while causing public relations headaches for those who have plenty.

Then the stock market crashed, the average value of endowments dropped by almost 21 percent, and the issue briefly became moot.

Now, as endowments have rebounded, Grassley is revisiting the issue. In a press release Thursday on a Treasury Department study on donor-advised funds, he blasted colleges for “hoarding assets at taxpayer expense.” (The study did not focus on college endowments, but did note that colleges are frequent users of tax exemption provisions.)

“It’s important to understand whether these tax benefits are fueling the tuition increases by subsidizing high salaries for college leaders and rock-climbing walls and other non-educational amenities to try to attract students,” said Grassley, a member of the Senate Finance Committee. He pointed to tax-exempt bonds and charitable contributions, as well as the income-tax exempt endowments, as examples of preferential tax provisions that universities frequently use.

He linked the issue to the Obama administration’s new focus on college costs, which has emerged in recent days as a key issue.

Interesting angle.

MICHAEL BERNICK: The Phony Populism of Former Labor Secretary Reich.

I’VE BLOGGED ABOUT THE YELLOWSTONE CALDERA FEARS, and now I see that a supervolcano eruption is the subject of Harry Turtledove’s latest book. I ordered it on Kindle, but alas my recreational reading is pretty limited at the moment.

UPDATE: A couple of readers have read it and say it’s disappointing for Turtledove. One writes: “Since your recreational reading time is limited, you might want to put off reading this book.” Oh, well.

FOR SOME REASON, THE PUNDIT-AT-INSTAPUNDIT.COM EMAIL ISN’T WORKING, but you can still reach me at mail4instapundit-at-gmail.com.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Thinking Of A Master’s Degree? Think Again. “Masters programs hit the sour spot of higher education — they tend to be more expensive with fewer financial aid opportunities than other programs, with a smaller payoff. “

MICKEY KAUS: FLOPULISM? “So pro-business, centrist chief of staff William Daley is demoted, Obama moves to a feisty, fight back, progressive posture, casting Republicans as the party of the 1% , and … he loses three points in Ohio? Isn’t Ohio one of the states where populism is supposed to work?”

21ST CENTURY RELATIONSHIPS: “He Poked Me, So I Mocked Him.”

WELL, THIS SUCKS: Blog pioneer Michael Silence got laid off.

FRANKLY, THE RECORD OF “EXPERT GATEKEEPERS” HASN’T BEEN SO GREAT LATELY: Yet Another Annoying Call For Genetic Expert Gatekeepers.

AN IPHONE GAME to raise money for cancer research.

NEWS YOU CAN USE: Everyone is wrong about how people die when they fall into lava.

IT’S SAD THAT THIS IS EVEN PLAUSIBLE: Did the Obama administration delay report on Volt fires? But that’s not the real disaster.

PETER BERKOWITZ: Boot Camp For Citizens: As we learn more about the American political tradition, we may see a shared commitment to freedom and equality behind partisan disputes.

It’s a review of Teaching America: The Case For Civic Education.

BARACK OBAMA: Doing For America What John Lindsay Did For New York?

Related: His Adolescency. “Maybe a better question to ask is where the hell that $5 trillion that Obama borrowed went.”