Time out
My best friend is in ICU and not doing well. All I seem to be able to do is worry about her as I walk around in circles with a sick feeling in my stomach.
Keep fighting the good fight, possums.
FIGHTING THE ISLAMIC JIHAD - ONE KEYSTROKE AT A TIME
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10/6/08
Fellow Icelanders
I have requested the opportunity to address you at this time when the Icelandic nation faces major difficulties.
The entire world is experiencing a major economic crisis, which can be likened in its effects on the world’s banking systems, to an economic natural disaster. Large and well established banks on both sides of the Atlantic have become victims of the recession and governments in many countries are rowing for all they are worth to save whatever can be saved. In such circumstances every nation thinks, of course, first and foremost of its own interests. Even the biggest economies in the world are facing a close struggle with the effects of the crisis.
The Icelandic banks have not escaped this banking crisis any more than other international banks and their position is now very serious. In recent years the growth and profitability of the Icelandic banks has been like something akin to a fairy tale. Major opportunities arose when the access to capital on foreign money markets reached its peak, and the banks together with other Icelandic companies, exploited these opportunities to launch into new markets.
Over this period the Icelandic banks have grown hugely and their liabilities are now equivalent to many times Iceland’s GNP. Under all normal circumstances larger banks would be more likely to survive temporary difficulties, but the disaster which is now engulfing the world is of a different nature, and the size of the banks in comparison with the Icelandic economy is today their main weakness.
When the international economic crisis began just over a year ago with the collapse of the real estate market in the US and chain reactions due to the so-called sub-prime loans, the position of Icelandic banks was considered to be strong, as they had not taken any significant part in such business. But the effects of this chain of events, have turned out to be more serious and wide ranging than anyone had expected.
In recent weeks the world’s financial system has been subject to devastating shocks. Some of the biggest investment banks in the world have become the victims and capital in the markets has in reality dried up. The effects have been that large international banks have stopped financing other banks and complete lack of confidence has developed in business between banks. This has caused the position of Icelandic banks to deteriorate very rapidly in the last few days.
You really should read it all. It's very sobering.Posted by Dinah Lord at 11:08 PM |
The audit noted that the Trading and Markets division (TM) failed to act in the face of potential red flags regarding Bear Stearns' "concentration of mortgage securities, high leverage, shortcomings of risk management in mortgage-backed securities and lack of compliance with the spirit of certain" international standards.
Specifically, among the Inspector General's findings were:
The CSE program's capital and liquidity requirements may not be adequate, given the collapse of Bear Stearns despite compliance with the capital and liquidity limits.
TM failed to limit Bear Stearns' mortgage securities concentration, despite being aware of the growing concentration of such securities beyond Bear Stearns own internal limits. TM should have required a leverage ratio limit on CSE firms, and should have forced Bear Stearns to reign in its leverage. Despite having knowledge of them, TM failed to encourage Bear Stearns to address serious deficiencies in their risk management and pricing models.
TM concurred with 20 of the 23 relevant recommendations.
What is the Consolidated Supervised Entity program? That's what replaced the Net Capital Requirement Law of 1975 and was the SEC program created to monitor market risk in it's place.
“Right now my role is helping people navigate through this crisis and keeping them abreast of the changing landscape,” said Nazareth, 52. “There will be a big role going forward, after hopefully things settle down, with the restructuring of the financial-regulatory architecture.”
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This follows the pattern Russia established with Venezuela: recruiting allies whose interests diverge from those of the United States. The primary function at this point is to irritate Washington, since the primary deployment is naval — and so minimal that it presents no threat to U.S. naval sea-lane control. At the same time, the Somalian announcement that the Russians are welcomed ashore in Somalia opens the possibility of a Russian land base in the region, and the possibility of Russian troops helping to assert government control over Somalian chaos — or at least trying to."
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Happy Eid Unless you happen to be a woman in Egypt, that is. Then it's happy sexual assault day. (But then again, pretty much every day is happy sexual assault day if you're a woman in Egypt.) Oh yeah, Islam honors women and the veil guards your modesty, that's right.
The Eid al-Fitr holiday marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan was once again marred by sexual harassment in the streets of Cairo when Egyptian police arrested dozens of young men suspected of sexually assaulting women in the streets, according to a local newspaper.
The independent al-Masry al-Youm reported that 150 young men assaulted female passers-by on Gamaat al-Duwal al-Arabiya street in the upper-class neighborhood of Mohandeseen. One woman’s clothes were ripped off her body and another had her veil torn, the newspaper reported. Police arrested 38 suspects, between 15 and 22, and questioned three of the female victims.
A report in July by the Egyptian Centre for Women's Rights found that almost half of Egyptian women are sexually harassed on a daily basis while almost two-thirds of Egyptian men -- 62 percent -- admitted to harassing women, including those wearing Islamic headscarves. But only 12 percent of women said they filed a complaint.
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Amajan, or "dear aunt" as the girls she taught called her, survived the Taliban by learning the Koran by heart. But she was always independent, refusing a marriage arranged by her father and then eventually choosing her own husband, an educated and wholly supportive colonel in the army.
The couple lived on the outskirts of Kandahar, where she described, without any drama, the struggle of life for women under the Taliban. "Those of us who are around now are very lucky," she said. "There were others, very brave, who also tried to make things better for young girls through education and teaching them skills. They were caught and they suffered."
Amajan was killed in September 2006. Her husband had walked her to the main road where she was to be picked up by a taxi to be taken to work. Two young men approached on a motorcycle and one of them opened fire with a Kalashnikov. A Taliban commander, Mullah Hayat Khan, announced that she had been "executed" for defying orders to stop working.
I met the two men arrested for her murder last year at the Sarposa prison in Kandahar. They were in their early 20s, dishevelled and craven, repeatedly claiming that they were in danger from their own side as well as the authorities. They had killed Safia, they said, in return for $5,000 offered by a mullah in Pakistan. The men were caught when the mullah wanted proof that they had carried out their task and they attempted, by night, to dig up the body for a lock of hair."
Read it all. It will break your heart. And make you want to throw something right at Mr. Taliban - say a couple of AG 114 Hellfire missiles?Posted by Dinah Lord at 5:00 PM |
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An battle may be brewing between Wells Fargo and Citigroup over which will end up obtaining Wachovia. CNN reported the proposed Citigroup-Wachovia purchase agreement contained an exclusivity agreement requiring Wachovia not seek another bidder or provide information or enter talks that might facilitate a rival bid.
Citing unnamed sources, The New York Times reported Citigroup is seeking $60 billion in damages from Wells Fargo for interfering with the initial transaction. The newspaper said the judge's order could be the opening round in a protracted legal battle between Citigroup and Wells Fargo.
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Financial institutions continue to list and take on water...
And the leaders of the EU have ruled out a Eurobank rescue pool. But I'm sure you'll be happy to know they're all going to have a "global economic summit to examine whether overhauls are needed for the existing World War II-era international financial system."
French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Prime Ministers Gordon Brown of Britain and Silvio Berlusconi of Italy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel convened Saturday at an emergency meeting in Paris to discuss a concerted European response to the Wall Street financial crisis that has lead to a string of bank nationalizations in the U.S. and Europe.
Sarkozy, who has emerged as Europe's most vocal advocate of a continent-wide response, told reporters that for now, Europe's four leading economic powers have agreed to continue to address bank failures one case at a time. He said each country would use "its own means" to safeguard banks from collapse, but would do so "in a coordinated way." Merkel and Brown were particularly opposed to creating a Europe-wide pool for failing banks, the newspaper said.
Oktoberfest surprise. Are you surprised that banks would be sitting on their hands when it comes time to help out? Looks to me like they were waiting for the government to come through. Guess what? It looks like they still are. Major German Bank and 2nd biggest mortgage lender close to Collapse.A spokesman for Hypo Real Estate said a consortium of banks refused to provide the $50 billion required by a government-sponsored rescue plan, the BBC reported. Analysts said they believe Hypo is within a few days of failure. Government officials and banking representatives were expected to meet Sunday to discuss alternatives. Hypo Real Estate has been hit hard by bad debt and the credit squeeze.
The Dutch Government is trying to put a finger in their leaky economic dyke, that of "embattled bank" Fortis by temporarily nationalizing it because its financial situation was more dire than expected.Posted by Dinah Lord at 10:34 AM |
Somali Islamists want MV Faina weapons. And their cut of the loot.
Are the Somali Pirates and al Qaeda's team, the Somali Islamists, getting ready to mix it up? Pirate squabbles since the beginning of time have usually centered around the dividing up of the spoils and the women. This appears to be no exception. The Islamists and the SOMALI GOVERNMENT are all lining up with their hand out to get their piece of the action. And it's not going well.
The Chatham House group has issued a report, Piracy in Somalia, which claims the Abdullahi Yusef government ACTUALLY benefits from the piracy. We know he has relatives in the region and that they are involved with the pirates. Hells Bells, it sounds like everybody is in on it. The locals, the pirates, the Islamists and the Government. What a damn racket!
"The fact that the pirates originate from Puntland is significant as this is also the home region of President Abdullahi Yusuf. As one expert said, ‘money will go to Yusuf as a gesture of goodwill to a regional leader’10 – so even if the higher echelons of Somali government and clan structure are not directly involved in organizing piracy, they probably do benefit."
The Somali President has yet to challenge this statement.
Pass the popcorn as we try to follow the money, possums.
Islamist insurgents have demanded to be given some of the weapons aboard a hijacked Ukrainian ship carrying 33 tanks but the pirates holding it have refused, a local official said on Sunday. The Islamist gunmen from the al Shabaab group opposing Somalia's weak interim government have also received a five percent cut of the $1.5 million paid out for a Spanish ship released several months ago, a resident told Reuters.
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"Al Shabaab wanted some weapons from the Ukrainian ship but the pirates rejected their demands," a local official who asked not to be named told Reuters. "Al Shabaab went away after they were rejected by the residents and the pirates. I am sure the group is not far from the area," he said.
Residents confirmed fears that ransom payments to pirates were being passed onto the Islamist movement and were fuelling the insurgency against President Abdullahi Yusuf's government. One resident and a relative of the pirates holding the Ukrainian vessel said the al Shaabab men received a five percent share of the last ransom paid but had been demanding more.
"Al Shabaab demanded more money from pirates and they disagreed," resident Hussein Ali told Reuters. "They met the pirates near Hobyo and asked for more money...but the pirates refused." They are also expecting a share of any money paid out for the Ukrainian ship and two Greek ships held at Hobyo, he said. "They are waiting for some money from these three ships held in our area. Most of the al Shabaab who asked for money are in the same sub-subclan with the pirates around Hobyo," Ali said.
Most of the money, usually 10-20 per cent of that demanded by the hijackers, is moved quickly along the line to the so-called 'Big Fish' in the clans - in the government of the provincial capital, in Mogadishu and in the Somalian diaspora in Nairobi and Dubai where those behind the piracy are allegedly to be found.
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John Chase, managing director for intelligence and crisis response at AKE, says while many groups originally employed the Islamic hawala banking system as a method to launder money, increasingly groups are asking for cash. 'There are some groups still asking for hawala, but there are other groups asking for money to be delivered by tug. And yes - that means sacks of money.'
Sometimes, however, it is not the money that is most challenging. 'The boats will be held for a while. If they are on their way to port they can be short of food. Then the demand is: "Bring us a cow or some goats killed in the halal way otherwise we are going to start lopping off some heads."'
Of course, al Guardian is all aboard with the "Pirate as eco-warrior" spin being bandied about by the Pirate's PR Spokesman, Ali Sugule. (I know, what has this world come to when Pirates have PR spokesmen?). The Scotsman report quotes Ali quite extensively, who tells us we should "think of them as the Coast Guard". Please.
And I'm sure you'll be happy to know that Portugal is offering their 'political support' to the fight. But won't commit to "military means." Don't knock yourself out, there Portugal. I've about had it with these EU handwringers standing on the sidelines offering their support. Support which usually consists of unbridled criticism of those that are trying to do something about the problem. (feh)
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We heard about this missile strike the day before yesterday...and now we have this news today.
Taliban mad over alleged U.S. strike. And not only are they mad - they're unusually mad. (I think that's meant as "mad" in the angry sense, not "mad' in the nuts sense. Although both would probably apply in this instance.)
The Taliban are unusually angry about the latest suspected U.S. missile strike in Pakistan, a sign a top militant may have died in the attack, officials and residents said Sunday amid reports the death toll rose by two to 24.
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The insurgents were moving aggressively in the area while using harsh language against locals, including calling them "saleable commodities" — a reference to people serving as government spies, the officials said.
Two local residents said Taliban fighters had warned people not to discuss the strike, including with the media, or to try inspecting the rubble at the site. The residents asked not to be named for fear of Taliban retaliation.
Gulf News is claiming that 'Arabs' got killed in this attack.Posted by Dinah Lord at 6:09 AM |
Taliban commander rejects peace talks with 'Afghanistan's puppet government'.
Mullah Brother is back from the dead and calling Reuters on a satellite phone from an undisclosed location. And Mullah Brother must have been watching Whoopie Goldberg on the View while he's been recuperating.
"We reject an offer for negotiation by the Afghan's puppet and slave President Hamid Karzai," Mullah Brother said by satellite telephone from an undisclosed location. He said Karzai had no right to negotiate. "He only says and does what he is told by America."
The harsh rhetoric against Karzai is a departure from recent Taliban statements which have taken a softer line on the pro-Western president who has led Afghanistan since U.S.-led and Afghan forces toppled the Taliban after the September 11 attacks. It also appears to reverse a statement by Brother in March in which he said the Taliban could cooperate with Karzai's government and called for a negotiated ending to the fighting.
Brother served as a top military commander while the Taliban were in power in Afghanistan in the late 1990s and is now one of the movement's senior leaders. He repeated the Taliban's war aim of fighting till the more than 70,000 U.S. and NATO troops were driven from the country and said the insurgents would not negotiate while there were still foreign troops on Afghan soil.Posted by Dinah Lord at 8:55 PM |
From the Daily Mail: Minister who infuriated Muslims put in charge of immigration policy.
It's got a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
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Just got this email from FNC embed producer….as soon as it came in and I saw it, my eyes popped out!! I know this woman!! I read it to my husband…and he agrees! This endorsement is going to really going to cause a storm!! Hang on to your seat! Read!
From: Gomez, SerafinThe head of the LA chapter of National Organization for Women has just endorsed Gov Palin @ campaign rally. Not speaking NOW or her chapter she said but as an individual. ” This is what a feminist looks like,” she just before handing it over to SLP.
Serafin Gomez
Producer, FNC Political Unit
Washington Bureau
Posted by Dinah Lord at 7:56 PM |
What a bunch of happy horse shi& this is...
"On Thursday night, millions of television viewers around the globe caught a glimpse of something Northeast Pennsylvanians can see any night of the week: Scranton voters talking politics. However, local residents themselves will likely never see the footage of the live news show, broadcast on Al-Jazeera English from the upper room of Cooper's Seafood House in Scranton.
While the network is seen by an estimated 80 million people, it has almost no American viewers, but the fact the station chose Scranton as its locale to broadcast from on the night of the only vice presidential debate further supports how some pundits view the Electric City as a representative slice of the American Pie.
"Our goal is to make the international audience aware of what's going on here in America," producer Mariam Simpson, who flew in from Washington, D.C., on Monday to prepare for the show, explained afterward. The station has also broadcast from the Democratic and Republican national party conventions and is heading to Columbus, Ohio, next week for the second debate between Sens. Barack Obama and John McCain. Ms. Simpson scoped out several locations before deciding on Cooper's, and made dozens of calls to find the right people to represent Scranton to the world.
She chose Maggie Marriotti, Tom Egan and Kathy Moran for the panel.
All three are Catholic and pro-life, but the two women support Mr. Obama while Mr. Egan supports Mr. McCain."
You can watch the segment here, should you so choose. It's a double bagger, a barf bag is optional, but there is a douche bag alert because al Jazeera's Mike Kirsh is a douche bag of the first order.
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However, I don't think it's such a good idea myself.
Washington has given rare approval for a research body to open an office in Iran, although it stressed United States policy had not changed.
The American Iranian Council was given a licence to establish a presence in Tehran by the US Treasury Department.
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Asset Control enforces US sanction on Iran.
The AIC is a policy think tank devoted to improving relations between the US and Iran, which have been mutually hostile since Iran's 1979 revolution.Posted by Dinah Lord at 1:01 AM |
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