And that is all.

Click Me! Support The Keith Richards Home For Aging Sluts

Saturday, January 17, 2009

WFRL: Stockholm Syndrome


Muse
Stockholm Syndrome
HAARP Tour ~ Live from Wembley
and she'll scream
and she'll shout

and she'll pray

and she had a name

yeah she had a name

How Charlie K came to stop worrying
and love The Obamanable:

KRAUTHAMMER: What is interesting is the fact that he would want to do this. And you see that since his election he has kind of reached out to people that may not be ideological allies, to Rick Warren, the pastor who will be at his inaugural, to John McCain, whom he has treated with a lot of dignity and respect, and to a bunch of right wing columnists last night, in part, because I think he is a guy who is intellectually curious and wants to exchange ideas, but also in part he wants to co-opt the vast right wing conspiracy.

And I'm here to tell you that, speaking for myself, he has succeeded. I am brainwashed entirely. I'm in the tank, and I am a believer of hope and change and, above all, audacity.

Floatin' Powa News Service: Seconds Out ~ Los Endos


Genesis
Seconds Out ~ Los Endos
1977


Operation Cast Lead ~ Update #14

Israel to announce ceasefire?


Hezbollah plots bloody vengeance

Amazing video of IDF Heroes

IDF Officer uses Hamas terrorist as shield vs grenade: "Soldiers from the IDF Golani Infantry Division get ambushed by terrorists and respond by killing them." You don't expect to see anything like this anywhere other than in the movies. Fair play to the IDF soldier, takes some guts to do that. Speaking of which I'd imagine there is a fair amount spread over the desert after that grenade went off.
PENTAGON SUSPENDS MUNITIONS DELIVERIES TO ISRAEL

Analysis: A conflict with no name

CAIR: Jesus was a Muslim

Israel’s Gaza Offensive Divides Arab States, Sparks Summit Spat
Good. Isaiah 17 upon yez.

UNGA witnesses brief clash between President, Israel diplomat

Unga, even! Well Bunga back at ye.

OIC president praises Iran’s stance on Gaza

Ahmadinejad's remarks at the Arab Gaza Summit





Czech Republic Calls for Eu Summit to Promote Nabucco




Madame Secretary Hillary Sez: US to achieve political agreements on Nabucco

Former Russian satellites in eastern Europe are hit hardest of all

Naturally. Czar Bad Vlad is letting them know there is nothing "former" about it.

Moldovan PM: Chisinau Will Not Take Sides In Gas Dispute

Kremlin: German, Italian and French energy majors ready to join consortium with Gazprom

European gas firms seek deal on Ukraine

Russia to open a ‘second front’ in gas war

Pro-Kremlin youth group brings firewood to Ukraine's embassy


Russia’s new elite grabs another bit of London

Russia Sends Two More Warships To Fight Somali Pirates

Russia seals recognition of Georgia "breakaways"


Russia's Ursa Bank offers to buy back euro bond


Russia invites Europe to weekend gas talks
Weekend at Vladmirs.

Russia "hopes" US will not seek NATO expansion
It's a threat, not a"hope". Russia is telling us NOT TO seek NATO expansion.

Russia to create "National OS" Based on GNU/Linux?


CTC shareholders elect new Board of the Russian Mission
Among private oil companies - participants in the consortium - Chevron Caspian Pipeline Consortium Company (15%), Lukarco BV (12,5%), Rosneft-Shell Caspian Ventures Limited (7,5%), Mobil Caspian Pipeline Company (7,5%), ...

[SNIP]
Turkey-Bosnia should boost coup in energy

Kazakh Opposition Newspaper Found Guilty of Slander


Armenian Police Break Up Opposition Protest


TURKMENISTAN: GOVERNMENT SHAKE-UP TARGETS ENERGY SECTOR


Turkmen Gas Still Earmarked for Russia

PETRAEUS VISITS TURKMENISTAN

IEA sees first two-year oil demand fall in 26 years
Maybe everyone else bought a Jotul too...

Opec Output to Fall in First quarter

Iran's Leader Says He Plans To Avoid Prejudging Obama
Mighty white of him.

Iran trying to buy high-performance metals


Iran urges cutting of ties with US and Israel

Yes, I agree..let us cut off some ties expeditiously.

Evading sanctions, Iran turns to China for banned materials


CIA Sez: Oil price weakness pressures Iran, Venezuela...
..but Russia is better able to manage because of its sovereign investments, CIA Director Michael Hayden said on Thursday..
New US, UAE Deal Raises Eyebrows
Raised mine.

I guess the Obamaphiles figure if Bad Vlad can do it - so can they:
JANUARY 6, 2009: Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, thereby removing the limitation on the number of terms an individual may serve as President.

President-elect Barack Obama has promised to create a new position for the country - Chief Technology Officer
[PRESS PLAY]
This is the Central Scrutinizer. It is my responsibility to enforce all the laws that haven't been passed yet.
Norway and China have signed an agreement on enhanced cooperation

Belize & Chinese Petroleum Corporation sign agreement

Gold Man Sacks upgrades China construction material firms

Gold Man Sacks downgrades three EU "capital goods" cos

Gold Man Sacks looking to invest in cement
Concrete: Making excellent shoes for uppity proles since the Roman era!

China bank gains on Gold Man Sacks Say So

HSBC Sez: Buy China Shares as Earnings Outperform Region


Gold Man Sacks downgrades HSBC

Hong Kong shares end morning firmer as China banks offset HSBC slide

US Bank Lifeline Hoists Asian Stocks

Mugging Bank of America


US: Regulators Close Two Banks

Bank bailout: Get ready for next phase



US to lend $1.5 billion to Chrysler Financial

Europe charges Microsoft with abuse of monopoly again


Thousands Of Candidates To Run In Iraqi Local Elections


Islamists Take Over Ethiopian Bases in Mogadishu


In a flourish, Sarkozy stresses global reform


UK: Athiest bus slogan sparks driver protest

Coalition Agrees on Emissions Cuts

"Next Biofuels": Bursting The Green Bubble

.....it's all about the Green




Simon & Garfunkle
The Boxer

I am just a poor boy
and my story's seldom told.

I have squandered my resistance
for a pocketful of mumbles
such are promises...

All lies and jest!
Still, a man hears what he wants to hear
and disregards the rest


Friday, January 16, 2009

WFRL: Excuse Me, Moses


Excuse Me Moses
Godzilla Killa


Moses: The Birth of a Leader
Based on the teachings of the Lubavitcher Rebbe

The parshah of Shemot is the story of a galut - of the exile and enslavement of the Children of Israel in Egypt, which our sages regard as the father and prototype of all subsequent exiles and persecutions of the Jewish people. It is also the story of the making of the quintessential Jewish leader, Moses.

Everything the Torah tells us about Moses is a lesson in Jewish leadership. We are told that Moses' mother, Jocheved, was born "between the boundary walls" of Egypt when Jacob's family first arrived there. This, explains the Lubavitcher Rebbe, means that Jocheved belongs neither to the "old generation" born in the Holy Land, to whom galut will always be a foreign and unknowable world; nor is she of the generation born in Egypt, to whom the state of exile is a most natural and obvious fact of life. Rather, she straddles both these worlds, meaning that she has intimate knowledge of the circumstance of galut as well as the transcendent vision to supersede it. So Jocheved is the woman in whose womb could be formed, and under whose tutelage could develop, the one who could redeem the Children of Israel from their exile.

The circumstances of Moses' birth are a lesson in the selflessness demanded of the leader. Jocheved and Amram had separated when Pharaoh decreed that all newborn Hebrew males be cast in the Nile. Their eldest daughter, Miriam, rebuked them: "Your decree is worse than Pharaoh's: Pharaoh decreed to annihilate the males, and your action shall spell the end of all Jewish children." Amram and Jocheved realized that, as leaders whose actions will be emulated by others, they had to rise above the personal danger and anguish involved in fathering Jewish children in these terrible times. The result of their remarriage was the birth of Moses.

Infancy and Childhood

When Moses is born, the "house was filled with light" attesting to his future as the enlightener of humanity. But right away this light has to be hidden, for he, as all Hebrew newborn males, lives in perpetual fear of discovery by Pharaoh's baby killers. Then he is placed in the Nile, precariously protected only by a reed basket, sharing, if only in potential, the fate of his fellow babes cast into its waters.

Here we have a further lesson in leadership: the leader cannot appear from "above," but must share the fate of his people. This was the lesson which G-d Himself conveyed by first appearing to Moses in a thornbush: "I am with them in their affliction."

But Moses' placement in the Nile was not only a demonstration of empathy with the plight of Israel: it was also the first stage of their salvation. Our sages tell us that Pharaoh ordered all Hebrew male babies to be cast into the Nile because his astrologers told him that the savior of Israel will meet his end by water (this prediction was fulfilled many years later when Moses was prevented from entering the Holy Land because of the "Waters of Strife"). On the day that Moses was placed in the Nile, Pharaoh's astrologers informed him that the one destined to redeem the people of Israel has already been cast into the water, and the decree was revoked. As a three-month-old infant, seemingly a passive participant in the events surrounding him, Moses was already fulfilling his role as a savior of his people.

Thanks to Miriam's ingenious ploy, Moses is nursed and raised by his own mother in his early childhood. But then he is brought to Pharaoh's palace to be raised as a member of the royal family. Moses must be both Hebrew slave and Egyptian prince. To lead his people, he must share their fate; to defeat the forces that enslave them, he must infiltrate the citadel of Egyptian royalty. He must "come to Pharaoh" (Exodus 10:1) and gain intimate knowledge of the essence of his power and vitality.

Defender of Israel

The first of Moses' actions to be explicitly recounted by the Torah delineate two central tasks of the leader: to defend his people from external threat, and to safeguard their internal integrity.

On the day that Moses attains adulthood, he "goes out to his brothers" and "sees their affliction" - his years in Pharaoh's palace have not inured him against affinity with this tribe of Hebrew slaves and sensitivity to their plight. He sees an Egyptian beating a Hebrew to death. He is compelled to act, sacrificing, with this single action, his privileged life as a member of the ruling class and binding his fate to that of his brethren.

The very next day Moses acts again, this time to intervene in a quarrel between two Jews. Seeing two of his brethren in conflict, he suddenly comprehends that the source of their enslavement is not the power of Egypt, but their own internal disunity, and that the key to their redemption lies in fostering a sense of mutual interdependency and responsibility among the members of the fledgling nation of Israel.

From these two demonstrations of leadership one would expect Moses to proceed directly to his ordained role as leader of Israel. But first he had to become a shepherd.

The Faithful Shepherd

For the role of a leader in Israel is not only to defend, redeem, preach and govern, but, also and primarily, to nurture. Moses is the savior of Israel and their teacher and legislator, but also their raaya meheimna - their "faithful shepherd" and "shepherd of faith" - meaning that he is the provider of their needs, both materially and spiritually, feeding their bodies with manna and feeding their souls with faith.

So Moses is driven from Egypt to faraway Midian to become a shepherd of Jethro's sheep. The Midrash relates how another shepherd, David, learned the art of leadership by caring for his father's flocks: he would have the small kids graze first on the tender tips of grass before allowing the older sheep and goats to feed on the middle portion of the stalks, and only afterwards releasing the strong, young rams to devour the tough roots. A leader cannot simply point the way and a teacher cannot simply teach; he must "shepherd" his flock, supplying to each guidance and knowledge in a manner that can be absorbed and digested by its recipient.

The Midrash also tells how, one day, a kid ran away from the flock under Moses' care. Moses chased after it, until it came to a spring and began to drink. When Moses reached the kid he cried: "Oh, I did not know that you were thirsty!" He cradled the runaway kid in his arms and carried it to the flock. Said the Almighty: "You are merciful in tending sheep - you will tend My flock, the people of Israel."

The Lubavitcher Rebbe points out that in addition to demonstrating Moses' compassion, the incident holds another important lesson: Moses realized that the kid did not run away from the flock out of malice or wickedness - it was merely thirsty. By the same token, when a Jew alienates himself from his people, G-d forbid, it is only because he is thirsty. His soul thirsts for meaning in life, but the waters of Torah have eluded him. So he wanders about in foreign domains, seeking to quench his thirst.

When Moses understood this, he was able to become a leader of Israel. Only a shepherd who hastens not to judge the runaway kid, who is sensitive to the causes of its desertion, can mercifully lift it into his arms and bring it back home.

The Ultimate Sacrifice

After many years of leadership in the making, the stage is set. He was a Hebrew baby cast into the Nile, an infant at Jocheved's breast, a young Egyptian prince, a fearless defender of his people, an equally fearless campaigner for Jewish unity, a shepherd in the wilderness. Then G-d revealed Himself to him in a burning bush to say: I have seen the affliction of My people, I have heard their cries, I know their sorrows. I'm sending you to redeem them. Go, take them out of Egypt, and bring them to Mount Sinai for their election as My chosen people.

Most amazingly, Moses refuses to go.

He doesn't just refuse - for seven days and seven nights he argues with G-d, presenting every conceivable excuse to decline his commission, until "G-d's anger burned against Moses."

First came the excuse of humility: "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?"

G-d ends all debate along those lines with the words: "I will be with you." Can even "the humblest man on the face of the earth" plead unworthiness after that?

But I don't know Your essence, says Moses. How can I present myself as a messenger when I can't explain the nature of the One who sent me?

So G-d tells him who He is.

They won't believe me when I say that G-d sent me.

G-d rebukes Moses for slandering His people. Yes, they will believe you. Whatever else you say about them (and there's lots to say), they are believers. But if you're not convinced of their faith, here's a few magic tricks you can perform.

Moses' excuses are running out. He tries: But I have a speech impairment. A leader needs to give speeches, you know.

G-d's answer is so obvious it hardly needs repeating.

So Moses finally just cries: O please, my G-d, don't send me. "Send by the hand of him whom You shall send."

Why, indeed, is Moses acting so strangely? His brothers and sisters are languishing under the taskmaster's whip; Pharaoh is bathing in the blood of Jewish children. The moment for which the Children of Israel have hoped and prayed for four generations has finally come: G-d has appeared in a burning bush to say, "I am sending you to redeem My people." Why does Moses refuse? Out of humility? Because he's not a good speaker?

Our sages interpret the words, "Send by the hand of him whom You shall send," to mean: send by the hand of him whom You shall send in the end of days, Moshiach (the Messiah), the final redeemer of Israel.

The Chassidic masters explain that Moses knew that he would not merit to bring Israel into the Holy Land and thereby achieve the ultimate redemption of his people. He knew that Israel would again be exiled, would again suffer the physical and spiritual afflictions of galut (if Moses himself would have brought the Children of Israel into the Holy Land and built the Holy Temple, they would never have been exiled again and the Temple would never have been destroyed, since "all Moses' deeds are eternal"). So Moses refused to go. If the time for Israel's redemption has come, he pleaded with G-d, send the one through whom You will effect the complete and eternal redemption. For seven days and nights Moses contested G-d's script for history, prepared to incur G-d's wrath upon himself for the sake of Israel.

(This extreme form of self-sacrifice, in which a man like Moses jeopardizes his very relationship with G-d for the sake of his people, was to characterize Moses' leadership throughout his life. When the people of Israel sinned by worshipping the Golden Calf, Moses said to G-d: "Now, if You will forgive their sin--; and if You will not, blot me out of the Book which You have written.")

Nor did Moses ever accept the decree of galut. After assuming, by force of the divine command, the mission to take Israel out of Egypt, he embarked on a lifelong struggle to make this the final and ultimate redemption. To the very last day of his life, Moses pleaded with G-d to allow him to lead his people into the Holy Land; to his very last day he braved G-d's anger in his endeavor to eliminate all further galut from Jewish history. In Moses' own words: "I beseeched G-d... Please, let me cross over and see the good land across the Jordan, the good mountain [Jerusalem] and the Levanon [the Holy Temple]. And G-d grew angry with me for your sakes... and He said to Me: Enough! Speak no more to Me of this matter..." (Deuteronomy 4:23-26).

Says the Lubavitcher Rebbe: G-d said "Enough!" but Moses was not silenced. For Moses' challenge of the divine plan did not end with his passing from physical life. The Zohar tells us that every Jewish soul has at its core a spark of Moses' soul. So every Jew who storms the gates of heaven clamoring for redemption continues Moses' struggle against the decree of galut.

Floatin' Powa News Service: Glowballistically Frozen


Vivaldi
The Four Seasons ~ WINTER

Oil is weapon against Israel, US, says Iranian aide

Hamas’s Iranian Guardian


Iran's leader issues fatwa against Israel trade

So? I hereby issue an Obesetwa against Iran's leader...


Ahmamadmanjihad: 'Not feasible' for Israel to live
Helllllooooooo, Haman!

Iranian lawmaker slams Saudi, Egyptian positions on Gaza issue


Israel's pointman on Gaza in Egypt for truce talks


Israeli charged with passing information to Iran

Kashmiris torch effigy of Israeli PM


OIC president to visit Tehran


OIC, AL asked to announce ‘Jihad’ against Israel

OIC envoy may be sent to Gaza

The UN Lynch Mob

UN-acceptable censorship

U.S. Signs Nuclear Pact With U.A.E.

Turkey's Erdogan: Israel should be barred from UN

Turkey: Police forces alleged to be under Gülen

In American Pravda: China Works to Raise Mideast Profile

Obamanable Snowjobman sez:
"We are going to start on day one, we are going to take a regional approach, we're going to have to involve Syria in discussions, we are going to have to engage Iran..."
Saudi Arabia:
KSA ARRESTS BLOGGER, BLOCKS HIS BLOG, BECAUSE HE BECAME A CHRISTIAN

Kyrgyzstan Enacts Controversial Religious Law


Azerbaijani Family Disappears After Protesting Police Actions

Council Of Europe Slams Azerbaijan Over Foreign-Broadcast Ban


CEOs suggest OPEC temporarily stop oil production to up prices

Crude Oil Declines After OPEC Reduces 2009 Demand Forecast


Iran Wants Increased Stake In Azerbaijani Gas Field


Russia committed to build Bushehr nuclear plant in Iran

Gazprom the Great


Russia proposes summit of EU gas importers


Gazprom looking for extra gas routes

EU impotence seen in continuing gas crisis

EU premiers plead with Ukraine and Russia for gas
Bad Vlad, He Must Break You


Russia Proposes European Companies Share Cost of Transit Gas


Solving Europe's Gas Problem
Maybe they can harness whatever is experiencing massive flatulence on Mars



Former German Chancellor Schroeder To Join BP's Russian Venture


Rep. Howard Berman calls for "new approach to Russia"
Nu?
A key goal of Berman's is to beef up U.S. diplomacy and foreign aid, which he said had been eroded and militarized in recent years.
Russia Devalues Ruble for Third Time in Four Days

Kazakh uranium output fails to meet target


Tajik President Fires Energy Companies Chiefs


Arts Stagnating in Turkmenistan


TURKMENISTAN BOOSTS OIL PRODUCTION


China's CNPC signs deal for Iran oilfield


Iran and China sign $1.7bn oil contract

CentGas denies rumor on Turkmenistan's delayed gas export


China sends officials to handle Sudan hostage standoff

China to Cut Fuel Prices After Global Oil Declines

China to build a refinery in Syria


China becomes world's third largest economy

Chevron delays offshore drilling


South Africa: Chevron Mum On Cape Plant

Georgian Opposition Parties Call For President To Resign

Venezuela Reopens Oil Exploration Bids To Western Co's

Far-left Greek commies threaten police, call for armed uprising

Paulson's 'understudy' wrong to head Treasury

Ex-Goldman partner 'Goldfinger' launches buyout fund


Goldman Sachs Said to Plan Takeover of Universal Studios Japan


Gold Man Sacks Finds a Way to Dole Out Cash


Businesses, Environmentalists Set Plans on "Climate Change"

They sure as hell can't call it Glow Ball Warming when half the country is calling in at temps well under zero right now ~

EU Parliament Approves Abortion and Same-Sex Unions

An Emptiness Only the Holy Spirit Can Fill


7.3 between Russia & Japan, Tsunami Warning Issued


4.7 in Kazakhstan


5.0 in Southwest China

Viewers Reporting Earthquake Near Idaho-Wyoming Border


Johnny Winter ~ Highway 61
The Prophet Zimmy's BD Party ~ 1992

Thursday, January 15, 2009

WFRL: Silly Ferals. No, not that Paul Williams!


1974: Trailer for
Phantom of the Paradise
Directed by Brian DePalma



Phantom of the Paradise
"Meet the Devil"



Phantom of the Paradise
"The Hell Of It"

3 Wood: Federal Fissures


Frank Sinatra & Groucho Marx
"It's Only Money" ~ 1951



Fissures are starting to show at the Fed:

Fault lines emerge at Fed ~ Bernanke, Philadelphia Fed's Plosser differ publicly on new policy
"WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Key fault lines are emerging at the Federal Reserve over the central bank's journey into uncharted monetary policy.

In a speech on Tuesday, Philadelphia Fed Bank president Charles Plosser publicly took issue with positions advocated by Fed chief Ben Bernanke.

Plosser urged the Fed to "proceed with caution" with the new policy.

On Monday, Bernanke signaled that it was full speed ahead - with existing programs needing additional resources and new ones in the works to stabilize the financial system.
"It is a huge disagreement," said Robert Brusca, chief economist at FAO Economics."
For those unfamiliar with how this works, you never, ever disagree with your boss in public if your boss happens to be the Federal Reserve Board Chairman.

Did I say never?

You can disagree in private, go into a closed room with the Fed Chairman and disagree, yell, rant, whatever. But when you are done and you go out into the public, you dang well better be singing off the same sheet of music. Otherwise, you are signaling very bad things to the monetary markets.

And we don't need to go making any more bad things to go happen in the monetary markets than we already have, do we?

So what are they disagreeing about? This:

"Underneath the surface is a real concern about how and when the Fed tries to exit from its new monetary policy.
Fed officials who pay attention to the money supply believe that the Fed's current policy of printing money never ends well and the danger of inflation is very high. They believe the Fed must withdraw the stimulus before there is any sign of inflation or it is too late.

Bernanke wants the flexibility to take his time.

William Poole, who recently left his post as president of the St. Louis Fed, says it is crucial that the Fed set a target for cutting its balance sheet.Poole said the expansion of the Fed's balance sheet is unprecedented and research suggests that a surge of inflation is sure to follow.

"I would say if the policy is not reversed, there is a high probability that the unpleasant risk (of inflation) materializes," Poole said in an interview."

That is a lot of "Fed-speak" to digest.

Translation: When the economy turns around, and it will, how fast should the Fed's clamp down the money supply and ratchet up the interest rates to try to constrain inflation? Plosser wants it to happen real quick. Bernanke wants to take his time and make sure the economy is growing well before he clamps down.

Remember, part of the reason we are in this situation is Greenspan and the Bernanke increased the discount rate for 17 consecutive quarters. I was hollering after the first 8 quarters that they needed to slow down and back off the increases, cause I could see what they were doing to the adjustable rate loan market. I suspect that Bernake learned his lesson from that experience and realizes that the rate increases have to be phased in over a sustained period of time.

What that means is we will trade some inflation for economic growth.

Keep an eye on the Fed for more signs of discord in the future. Plosser may need to think about clearing out his desk if he can't keep his yap shut.
~ 3 Wood

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Paul L. Williams: Bailing Out Jihad


Supertramp
Crime of the Century

Economic Jihad:
$700 Billion Bail-Out Aids Oil Rich Arab Sheikhs


By Paul L. Williams

(author of The Day of Islam)

    Oh, you Muslims everywhere, sever the ties of their nation, tear them apart, ruin their economy, [and] instigate against their corporations.

    ~ Blind Sheikh Abdel Rahman, principal architect of the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center

Shares in Citigroup plummeted today to $5.07 - - their lowest level since the banking giant began receiving massive transfusions of cash from U.S. taxpayers. The company, according to the Wall Street Journal, is expected to post fourth-quarter losses in excess of $10 billion.

The deteriorating condition is expected to cause Citigroup to sell its stake in Smith-Barney retail brokerage to Morgan Stanley.

To most readers, such news is economic gibberish that is more apt to evoke a yawn rather a cry of alarm.

Yet the situation within Citigroup is a tell-tale sign that Americans no longer are in control of their destiny and that the future of the country will not be controlled by President-Elect Barack Obama but rather by oil-rich Arabs.

Citigroup which presents itself - - along with Well Fargo, J.P. Morgan Chase, and the Bank of America - - as one of the four leading financial institutions within the land of the free and the home of the brave.

It has convinced U.S. government officials - - including Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, President George W. Bush, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi - - that its demise would wreck havoc for middle class Americans and financial devastation for lending agencies throughout the country.

On the basis of this argument, Citigroup has become the principal beneficiary of the $350 million that has been spent under the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The megabank, thus far, has received $45 billion from Uncle Sam - - $20 billion in November and $25 billion in October. And now the firm is crying out for an additional transfusion of billions more in order to become financially solvent.

Sure, it's nice for Americans to help Americans and to take preventive measures against a full-scale depression.

But the $45 billion shelled out to Citigroup may do little to aid the plight of Main Street Americans.

The firm is not owned by U.S. bankers and businessmen but rather by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth consortium of oil-rich Middle Eastern countries, who gained control of the megabank in November 2007. Presently, the largest single shareholder is Prince al-Waleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia.

Prior to this buy-out by Abu Shabi, Citigroup was the First National Bank of New York, an American firm that pioneered the use 24-hour ATMs and the country's largest issuer of credit and charge cards.

Within a year of the take-over, the firm ran into a swamp of quicksand as a result of poor management and troubled mortgages in the form of collateralized debt obligation.

Why do the economic eggheads in Washington care if a consortium of rich sheikhs go belly-up?

The answer lies in the fact that the only standard for U.S. currency remains oil. In 1971, President Richard Nixon eliminated the gold standard (the Bretton Woods System) in order to offset rampant inflation and a growing trade deficit. Nixon believed that such a measure was prudent since the gold coverage of the paper dollar deteriorated from 55% to 22% in 1970. He did not believe this drastic measure would cause the dollar to free-fall since its value remained linked to a tangible commodity: oil. The dollar remained the fiat currency for petro trading and, therefore, retained intrinsic value.

This would be all well and good as long as the Arab nations required U.S. military support for protection.

But the need for protection, thanks in part to the removal of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, is no longer a pivotal factor in Arab economics. And U.S. officials, including Bush and Obama, realize that a decision by OPEC to deal in euros would result in a valueless currency and an economic plight from which there would be scant chance of recovery.

"The Arabs have us over a barrel," financial analyst Patrick Walsh maintains. "Should they decide like the Iranians and the Venezuelans to trade in euros, the trillions shelled out for the bail-out will have little or no impact on the recession and will only serve to further devalue the dollar."

How has the $45 billion already allocated to Citigroup been spent? Perhaps it has served to prevent members of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority from losing their harems or to enable them to sustain multi-million dollar losses in Monte Carlo. Or, better yet, maybe it has enabled the United States to retail its vassal status before the leaders of OPEC.

Small wonder the $700 billion is provided to banking firms, such as Citigroup, without accountability.


SPLEEN SEARCH: BIN TALAL

Floatin' Powa News Service: You Know My Name


You Know My Name (look up the number)
The Beatles

U.S. military report warns 'sudden collapse' of Mexico is possible
[press play]

At the Volcano's Edge: European Jews Under Fire

Rites of Passage: In Cuba, a Revival in Judaism Leads Some to Israel


Bin Laden tape calls for holy war in Gaza


Qatar says has quorum for Arab summit on Gaza

Summit venue row exposes Arab divisions

Iraq to attend Arab summit on Gaza offensive


Israel hit by second round of rockets from Lebanon


Greece: Protests planned over US arms to Israel

Almost half of Germans think Israel is aggressive
LOL. Well... almost half of Jewtians that lived think Germany is aggressive. With good reason.

Poll says American public backs Israel

India Aware of Pakistan Troops Being Moved to Border

Sri Lanka says it has seized Jaffna peninsula


Iran executes two men by stoning

5.3 in southeast Iran


4.0 in northeast Iran

Iran Gives Hamas Enthusiastic Support, but Discreetly, Just in Case



Russia to Send Trial Gas Flows to EU Jan. 13, Focus on Balkans

No Russian gas flowing to southeast Europe


Gazprom declares force-majeure on European exports

Despite Deal, EU Still Awaits Flow of Russian Gas

Gas Crisis in Europe Continues

Bulgaria may impose further gas rationing

Bulgarian & Slovak PMs head to Moscow

Georgian Energy Deal With Russia Raises Ire

Russia seeks to expand Blue Stream gas pipeline

Nabucco officials: Now is the time to build pipeline

Turkmenistan parliament de jure extends its power

A 'Black Week' For Central Asian Media Freedom

Dragon Oil Provides Turkmenistan Drilling Update
Yes, Dragon Oil. This shit just writes itself.

Turkmenistan Emerges as Serious Natural Gas Player

Czech art spoof sparks EU outrage

Slideshow: Czech art hoax sparks outrage

Oil falls below $36


Nasty Battles Behind the Scenes at Merrill Lynch


Citigroup: Now the Bank is All But Extinct

Bloomberg vs Czar Paulson

Fault lines emerge at Fed

Confirmation Hearings for Geithner Postponed

Obama's Climate Czar Is Board Member of Major Carbon Offset Co

EPA nominee pledges to take on global warming


ACLU Seeks To Prohibit Free Exercise Of Religion

Obama’s abortion bailout?

WILL OBAMA AIRLIFT 100,000 MUSLIMS INTO US?

61 freed detainees said back in terror
The remainder were unavailable for comment.

Pilot’s 3-Day Run From Ruin Ends

Several Earthquakes Strike in Central America

Cholera has killed 2,106 in Zimbabwe



Hallowed Be Thy Name
Iron Maiden

WFRL: DJ "mrsoc" spins ~


Michael Penn
No Myth


Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Floatin' Powa News Service: Sacred Ground


Jerusalem of Gold
Liel Kolet & Klaus Meine (Scorpions)


I will speak in the anguish of my spirit. ~ Job 7:11


Europe Reimports Jew Hatred
The mythical Arab Street now reaches deep into Paris, London, Berlin and Madrid

Anti-Israel Protests in America Cross the Line of Decency

Calgarians were surprised Saturday to see members of the Aryan Guard, a white supremacist, neo-Nazi group, at a local protest of Israel's actions in the Gaza Strip
Me? I am surprised they were surprised. All evil meets three times daily at Jew Hate Junction.

Gaza Bedfellows: UNRWA And Hamas
Once upon a time, terrorists had to hide from the forces of the free world and filch their living on the sly. That's changing, thanks to long-running efforts by the United Nations, bankrolled most prominently by the U.S.

In the current violence of Gaza, we are seeing the fruition of one of the most bizarre creations of modern diplomacy: a UN-supported welfare enclave for terrorists.

UNRWA : "Nowhere is safe" for trapped Gaza civilians

UN chief heads to Mideast to press "Gaza resolution"

Olmert Says He Made Rice Change Vote

Bush Calls for "Sustainable Cease-Fire"


Palestine Appreciates Malay'sia's Efforts For Peace

Awwwwww ain't that sweet......

Abdullah Urges UN To Set Up War Crimes Tribunal

Indonesia asked to seek coalition against Israel

Is that right? Key disasters in Indonesia since 2004
Iran Calls On All Nations to Cut Ties With Israel

Iran to punish foreign traders with Israel

Larijani to attend OIC meeting on Gaza in Istanbul

Iran's Hamas Patronage Almost Two Decades Old


Pakistan "Nawaz" for convening OIC session to halt Israeli attacks


Operation Cast Lead ~ Update No. 11

Hamas: Damaged But Not Destroyed

Jordan denies gunfire into Israel

Barack Obama signals that door is open to talks with Iran

Iran says OPEC likely to make fresh output cut in March

Turkmen Leader to Keep Lid on Democracy


TURKMENISTAN: PRESIDENT ENCOURAGES BABY BOOM
Reminded me immediately of Ceausescu's Romanian "demographic policies".....

Turkmen President Wants Laws That Match International Standards

5 committees created in national Turkmen parliament

As I told you in an earlier post they have also just changed their currency. Turkmenistan is in the process of "rebranding". Why?

USA to assist Turkmenistan to develop telecommunications


Supply Route to Afghanistan via Russia Almost Open

Putin extends olive branch to Turkey


Russia Says Ukraine Signs New Gas Monitoring Deal

Accusations reignite Europe's gas row


Russian gas to Europe 'blocked'


Europeans 'afraid of tomorrow'

Slovakia tests EU's patience with nuclear plant relaunch plan

Go with Putin, or Go Nuclear

EU to grant financial aid to Bulgaria over gas crisis



Putin’s Davos Pitch Won’t Thaw Europe’s Chill

Russia's Medvedev opens his blog to comments

Gazprom may be liable for causing harm

Ya think?

One Way For Europe to Sidestep Gazprom

Stanishev to Discuss Nabucco Project at Forum in Budapest

China to Expand Mauritanian Port
I know some of you are going: Where TF is Mauritania & why should I care?

Mauritania:

(Arabic: موريتانيا‎ Mūrītāniyā), officially the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, is a country in northwest Africa. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean on the west, by Senegal on the southwest, by Mali on the east and southeast, by Algeria on the northeast, and by the Morocco-controlled Western Sahara on the northwest. It is named after the ancient Berber kingdom of Mauretania. The capital and largest city is Nouakchott, located on the Atlantic coast.

The civilian government of Mauritania was overthrown on 6 August 2008, in a military coup d'état.

China urges better ties with EU, still angry with France

60 Minutes oil piece doesn't deliver the goods

Short End of the Pipeline


Chevron Exec appointed to board of Latin American & Caribbean Foundation

New TNK-BP chief executive to be named in weeks

Pfizer Upgraded at Goldman Sachs


Carbon trading can fetch Gulf $5bn annually
Sponsored by Cha-Ching, the preeminent god of Glow Ball Dhimming

Bernanke Says Stimulus Alone Won’t End Crunch

Depression Looms

Businessman Parachutes From Plane, Vanishes

Clinton vows 'smart mix' of diplomacy and defense

Genachowski to Lead FCC

Small earthquakes continue at Yellowstone

Large Earthquakes Trigger A Surge In Volcanic Eruptions


Jerusalem of Gold / Theme from "Schindler's List"
(written by John Williams, performed by Itzhak Perlman)
from the ending of "Schindler's List"



Itzhak Perlman performs the theme from "Schindler's List"