Morning Christy!

Good morning Christy, Good morning everyone!

It’s cold and damp this morning, ameliorated somewhat with croissants and hot chocolate.

.
on Washington Journal:

8:00 am Steve Geller(D)Florida State Rep. on the Florida State Primary mess

8:30 am Trita Parsi of the National Iranian American Council

9:00 am Drew Thompson, the Director of China Studies at The Nixon Center

where are you again?

Good Morning everyone.

crooks and liars has a piece up claiming seigleman is being beaten while incarcerated

I can’t believe he is still in jail, what is wrong with us?

we have to do something, we have to make sure this doesn’t fall beneath the radar, it had that weak of 60 minutes and then crickets

well, c and l were actually linking to a daily cos piece;

all roads lead to rove

Don campaigned for re-election throughout the early phases of the trial. On election night he was declared the winner, but Karl Rove’s minions stole the election overnight by manipulating the ballots in Baldwin County. It was classic Rovian/Republican election theft. They did it with computers and electronic voting machines. Don went to bed the re-elected Governor of Alabama, and woke up an unemployed defendant. [..]
Something that has not been reported is that they have been physically beating Don. I don’t know the extent of his injuries or exactly how many times it has happened – but it has been multiple times.

Mornin’, friends -

Marion (if you’ve not headed off to church yet) -

Isn’t Collins the one you keep saying used to write good stuff? Missed you on the Saturday threads….after reading that opie yesterday, apparently she still can. *g* Still dredging up a smirk every time I think about it.

you know, this could be the center stone that brings the administration down, this is bizarre, the man won the election, it was stolen literally over night and he was encarcerated to keep people from finding out the election was stolen

this is a water shed event and we are crickets

Oh look he’s even pulling the surprise visit to Iraq card.

BAGHDAD – Sen. John McCain, the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee for president who has linked his political future to U.S. success in Iraq, was in Baghdad on Sunday for meetings with Iraqi and U.S. diplomatic and military officials, a U.S. government official said.

Good morning Redd, good morning dawgs -

I ate and drank too much last night, and now I’m sipping tea and water. Washington Journal is interesting. They have a Florida State Senator (D) talking about the Florida situation.

And Steve has a great post up today.

No Shuster? Do you think that, in some weird way, he’s out in the street pimping out his daughter?

i am so NOT watching sixty minutes tonight.

Let’s hope someone isn’t making up the part about beatings in the hopes it will refocus attention on Seigleman’s plight. Nothing about that fiasco down there would surprise me but it could be very damaging to his cause were it to turn out to be fiction.

Just sayin’……fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately), after the last eight years, I’m a lot less gullible more skeptical (sp?) about EVERYthing I see and hear. It’s become a defense mechanism. :-(

Did you make that reuben casserole yet, or is it for tonight?

A reuben cassrole? yum, yum! What’s that address again, MM?

Hope you have a quick recovery. I also want to give the Dawgs a shout. UGA was the last seed in the SEC tourney and they are playing in the championship today after OT victories against Ole Miss and Kentucky. We beat Arkansas last night after beating KY earlier that day. Its been a wacky tournament with the tornadoes and all…

Washington Post today got it wrong saying the House FISA amendment was bad.

The NYT got it right and said it was a good bill. Go Figure

I read the House amendment, it was an excellent piece of work by Conyers et al

Wagner’s “Flight of the Valkyries” with the Hummingbirds. Love it.

Does anyone have a link to the story about the group suing the telecoms inadvertently receiving information showing the government was illegally spying on them? (Especially how the government took the papers back and told them they should forget anything they read.) Looking for something to use for a 4th Amendment discussion in my civics classes this week and I’m striking out.

I made it for last night. It was really good. The recipe calls for cubing the corned beef and I would suggest getting it sliced very thin or chipped, if you’re going to get it from a deli like i did.

The intent of the recipe was what to do with leftover corned beef on the page I found it, so I’m sure that’s why it cubed. It’s very tasty, just like a reuben.

who owns wapo?

Neither will I.

Hospital mistakes are important to know about and so is sleep.

Wonder how the folks in Afghanistan and Iraq are faring without access to medical care at all and no sleep for years…

But hey, it is all about us.

G’morning everyone. Looking at Christy’s lineup, I am struck by how much I like most of Obama’s supporters. And how off-putting I find Clinton’s bunch. Hmmmm. Just sayin’.

I don’t know where Ottawa Hills is. Is it near Indian Hills?

This is a reply to your comment from a couple of threads ago — by the time you replied I had gone to bed. Ottawa Hills is roughly at the Southeast corner of Hill & Fenton, west of I-475. We lived there for about 3 years in the mid-70s. I don’t know where Indian Hills is — that was a very long time ago.

you may be thinking of the Al Haramain v. Bush case?

lots of good info and links for your class at EFF.

Now it looks like New York is turning into Alabama. MSNBC is now reporting that the prostitute involved in the Spitzer mess is making a deal with the Feds to testify against Spitzer. The only conclusion that I can come to is that his resignation and public humiliation wasn’t enough. They want to bury him. They are going to try and prosecute him on some kind of federal sex charge and put him away.

Kafka couldn’t have written it better.

Bingo! Thanks Selise!

Washington Post today got it wrong saying the House FISA amendment was bad.

The NYT got it right and said it was a good bill. Go Figure

I read the House amendment, it was an excellent piece of work by Conyers et al

there is a clip of bush saying “I don’t email because “I don’t want anyone reading my stuff”

man we could use that clip

i already now it sucks not to be able to get enough sleep… at this point i really don’t want to know all the other reasons to wish i could sleep normally again.

off to work, will catch up later…much later

I know.

;(

OMG! BIGBROTHER is reading this blog. Where’s Winston Smith? :)

In response to bigbrother @ 17
who owns wapo?

The paper is part of The Washington Post Company, which owns a number of other media and non-media companies, including Newsweek magazine, the online magazine Slate, and the education company Kaplan.

The paper runs its own syndication service for its columnists and cartoonists, The Washington Post Writers Group….Wikipedia

Hi msmolly!

I know where that is. It is a pretty old neighborhood. Last night I found their neighborhood website, but it didn’t have a map.

Ta for the “feed”back. Question about whether thinslice/chipped might be better crossed my mind while reading it. Copy printed; “where’s the beef”? *g*

The spy agencies us sleep deprivation in torture…my sympathies…get some medical help…Tryptothan makes me sleepy no prescription at health food stores. Sleep long and deep…happy yawning. When your all out of nuerological transmitters you can’t sleep. Read up on it their is volumes.

And so begins the story of Eliot S.

In response to bigbrother @ 17
OMG! BIGBROTHER is reading this blog. Where’s Winston Smith? :)
Naturally crushed by the oligarchy…the corporation doen’t put with any static! G

Yes, it was a pretty neighborhood when we lived there. I had to look on Google Maps to find the cross streets so I could place it for you (we lived on Kennebec Rd.) because my memory was foggy — we moved in the day Jimmy Hoffa disappeared.

Sorry, pups, for the OT. Don’t mean to hijack the thread for my personal stroll down memory lane…*g*

There is a lot about that whole situation that really stinks on ice.

When your all out of nuerological transmitters you can’t sleep

well, that explains a lot *g*

re: Ashley Alexandra Dupre: the “Kirsten” behind the fall of the House of Eliot: She’s portrayed herself on My Space as from a broken family in NJ, but details are coming out that her family is quite affluent on the Jersey Shore, where she liked to hang out…

Sixty Minutes: The Wrong Medicine: Dennis Quaid’s newborn twins nearly died when they were mistakenly given a drug overdose. The actor and his wife share their story to draw attention to hospital mistakes that kill as many as 100,000 Americans a year. Steve Kroft reports.

New show. Sixty Seconds: The Wrong War. America’s soldiers died when they were mistakenly given orders to launch a pre-emptive war on Iraq. A severely injured Marine and his wife share their story but a mysterious power outage blacks out the show nationwide.

Good Morning Christy and Firedogs,

and Greg Palast makes the claim Spitzer was taken out when he was taken out bec of his opposition to bailouts like Bear Stearns (h/t C&L)

Nicole calls it “compelling”, but he isn’t making the careful, studious case we are use to here from the likes of Christy and Empty. I certainly wouldn’t doubt it, but am going to need a little more corroboration

Palast link

I’m thinking that “they’re beating him” may refer to other inmates. What kind of prison is he in? I don’t think even Rove would promote beatings but if they put him in the worst of prisons, someone will do it for him.

Wagner and gorgeous hummers. Great vid, Christy. I have to be content with Stravinsky, hand-fed squirrels and flutterbies.

Stephanopoulos asked Paulson the right questions about “moral hazard” and the Bear Sterns bailout – Paulson was stammering quite a bit but claimed there was no inconsistency.

fyi -

Ian Welsh hit another one out of the park here last night

the edumacators among us can appreciate his work – breaking it down without dumbing it down

Thank you Jane and Christy

I was uneasy when the press first started talking to her that she said she didn’t want anyone to think she’s a monster. Most prostitutes, I don’t think, would have thought people might think of them as monsters. So it occurred to me she could be doing something much worse than just being caught as a prostitute with a governor. I mentioned it on the threads a few days ago.

I hate what’s happening. All of it.

Oh, and yes, good morning.

Paulson seems to be the common thread in today’s talk shows selling the Administration’s crap program to “fix” the economy. I will keep saying it. I think the principal goal is to dump as much of this as they can on the next President.

Fix the economy? Why can’t we let market forces fix things? It works so well with health care!

Morning, pups. Coffee’s on.

Howie Kurtz asks “Why did it take so long for the media to scutinize the words of Jeremiah Wright, Sen. Obama’s pastor?” Golly gee whiz, Howie. It’s taking a lot longer for the media to cover the words of Hagee and Parsley, McCain’s supporters. Gonna cover them?

Wow! Just finished a forced reading of dowd….have she and collins been sipping from the same “GWB sux” cup? Quickly read but don’t remember a single positive remark in the whole thing.

*snoopy dance at this end of the toobz”

as someone with only the broadest outlines of the Siegelman case in my head, can’t we send in the International Red Cross or something to verify/disprove charges of physical abuse

my limited understanding says Federal prisoners are initially isolated, but surely Gov Siegelman has been in longer than that

I would recommend his congressman, but can guess it’s some Rovebot

imagine how embarassing it would be to send in an Amnesty International, or for them to deny access – and if nothing else it would help to raise the case’s profile

Fix the economy? Why can’t we let market forces fix things? It works so well with health care!

Yeah, genius of the market, invisible hand, etc. These are invoked on the upside of a bubble and conveniently forgotten on the downside.

Hugh, were you’re ears burning last night? I was talking about you. Wishing and hoping that you would compile a new list aimed at McCain. I was telling everyone that after a dinner with friends, I realized that Obama’s negatives were rising, Hillary’s too. But, McCain is seen as an affable guy. Ticked me off big time.

Lovely:

Shell is to slash reserve figures from last year by more than half, taking about 1.3 billion barrels of oil off its books, equivalent to about a year’s production.

Chief executive Jeroen van der Veer is also expected to say that production growth will be zero or near zero until 2010 when he gives the oil giant’s annual strategy presentation tomorrow.

i’m way behind (as per ususal)…. but i did not realize that we’re “officially” now in a recession (via atrios):

The United States has entered a recession that could be “substantially more severe” than recent ones, former National Bureau of Economic Research President Martin Feldstein said Friday.

“The situation is very bad, the situation is getting worse, and the risks are that it could get very bad,” Feldstein said in a speech at the Futures Industry Association meeting in Boca Raton, Florida.

not news to anyone here… but i was surprised to see it being acknowledged so clearly.

Young men and women are spilling their guts out this weekend. These are soldiers who have fought in the quagmires that Iraq and afghanistan have become. The one sentiment that comes across most often, is that the violence, the racism, the sexism starts at the the top and trickles down like Niagara Falls. Here is the page that will give you the opportunity to watch a live feed. The testimonies are heartbreaking. Force yourself to listen to this for fifteen minutes, and see how you feel about the psychopatic leadership of your armed forces. I fikcun dare you.

http://ivaw.org/wintersoldier/howtowatch

The Spitz takedown was supposed to have been triggered by his moving money from his account. That’s BS. he wasn’t paying cash as far as I can tell. So all the structuring is BS.

He was targeted by NorthFork Bank and HSBC, two banks he won cases against and two banks he had the “accounts” in.

The Mann act is alos bogus.. he didn’t transport anyone. That too is a stretch.

But he was a dumb jerk for doing anything that would get him into trouble with the law.

This is an example of the intrusion of government into our lives.

Yes indeed. We must unleash the miricale of the free market. Government is never the solution; government is the problem.

…until rich people start getting hurt, then it’s the solution.

Greg Palast makes the claim Spitzer was taken out when he was taken out bec of his opposition to bailouts like Bear Stearns (h/t C&L)

Well in his article Palast is claiming that Spitzer had taken down at least one predatory lender, Countrywide. And who owns Countrywide? Bank of America. All of the big banks are in this up to their eyeballs and Spitzer was going after them. He pissed off some very powerful people and they took him out. Now they want to bury him for good.

These people are taught to kill and they depersonalize the enemy. We heard about it in Vietnam at the Winter Soldier hearings in Detroit.

When you take a bunch of people who play video games and give them weapons and tell them to kill the enemy, you get some aberrant behavior… which is normalized in combat.

Sometimes the grunts are held accountable. Mostly it is covered up. Never are the officers or higher held accountable for their soldiers.

We have killed 1MM people in Iraq. The rate of killing under the US is far worse than it was EVEN under Sadam. We outdid the monster in his killing of his own people. Good work W!

i’m way behind (as per ususal)…. but i did not realize that we’re “officially” now in a recession

It’s probably because there is no official definition of a recession. The Administration has been hiding behind the “negative growth in 2 quarters” but this is no more definitive than anything else. Basically, we are in a recession when this becomes the generally held opinion. Many parts of the country have been in recession for years under Bush but this was obscured by stock markets fueled by the housing bubble. Now that has gone bust the underlying weakness in the economy is a lot easier to see and a lot harder to hide.

Thanks.

The curious thing about Spitzer is that he acted in his personal life as if he was untouchable.

Since he never fought for the decriminalization of consensual pay sex he becomes a hypocrite.

Hopefully he can beat the wrap and come back as a fighter for the same issues.

The DC madame is going to trial and the feds are a bit nervous because she had 46 pounds of phone records and Vitter and others were there.

We really need to decriminalize and regulate consensual pay sex and stop wasting time with vice squads and prostitution stings. Sean Bell, was murdered because he was in the wrong place… a club where a prostitution sting was underway.

Can we focus on the white collar crooks like the CEOs that are destroying our nation and not some people screwing?

There IS an official arbiter on recession. It is the National Bureau of Economic Research. Has had that job for all my professional life. 2 negative quaters of real GDP is a useful shorthand but NBER looks at lots of data in addition to GDP. NBER won’t declare until after the fact.

One other thing that our soldiers are taught is to look out for each other. My son has a friend who fought in Iraq. Came home because of a medical problem and didn’t think he’d ever go back because of it (he did). During his time home he told me that he wanted to return. “My buddies are there and they need me.” He’s the nicest kid in the world and I’m so worried about him.

I hate this fucking war.

And who owns Countrywide? Bank of America.

IIRC, BofA just recently purchased Countrywide (for four billion) after it went broke on its bad loans.

Would you mind giving your opinion?

I don’t disagree with Palast’s premise,

in my barely caffeinated state I was saying, he is making a charge, now I want to see the indictment

When you see large financial institutions failing, the dollar losing half its value, REAL inflation way up, real unemployment shooting up, gas going up, food going up… the word that comes to mind is depression not recession.

Why beat around the bush?

Thanks to SanderO, Sangemon and Solai.

I only comment about factual economics matters here, because there are so many others who have opinions.

We really need to decriminalize and regulate consensual pay sex and stop wasting time with vice squads and prostitution stings.

But then we’d be just like the rest of the world, a place of sin and depravity.

Yeah, God would really unleash a lot of hurricanes and terrorist attacks then!

because there are so many others who have opinions.

and you don’t?

i miss your opinion… especially when i disagree *g*

I had also heard that in addition to all of that, that Spitzer was also abuot to open some kind of investigation into the bond rating agencies, of which Bear Stearns was one, along with Standard & Poor, and Fitch..

The only upswing is in the MIC which distorts the economic picture since what they produce is useless.

How about you take the MIC out of their economic models and you have a very sick economy.

Did I forget to mention health care costs skyrocketing and 40% of Americans without insurance / care?

The market will be lower than it was when Bush came in.

Remember how they wanted to put SS into the market because it earns more return? hahahaha

Frankly the stats and the stat gatherers are not telling the real story because they are skewed.

There IS an official arbiter on recession. It is the National Bureau of Economic Research.

And who elected them pope? I am sorry but neither the government nor the Congress nor the media nor even most of Wall Street say “Well to know if we are in a recession we really need to ask the National Bureau of Economic Research.”

personally, i like the definition that goes something like:

a recession is when my neighbors are having financial trouble, a depression is when i am.

Bond rating… now that’s a cool business!

Yeah, it would be much better if people with opinions and little training were the ones who were responsible.

Yeah it seems that they’ve been propping up the ratings.

Surprise!, Surprise!, Surprise!

For those of you who are familiar with Palast’s first book, I was thinking he could have had a second title to his piece…The Best Sex Money Can Buy.
(I know the sex part is not the important issue, I’m just being silly.)

What do these people have training in?

There is a report that Helicopter Ben called in some hedge fund managers recently to teach him how they work?

Same for derivatives.

Anyone one trade weather derivatives?

This wis what I love about the Catholic Church…
They should break off diplomatic relations with the US, until we
get out of Iraq…

http://www.nytimes.com/aponlin…..ref=slogin

Good morning pups!

Conversely, when my daughter asked me what “full employment” was, I said that was when all six of my siblings had a job. Pretty good indicator so far. Maybe I’ll call it the egregious employment index and stack it up against official government numbers.

Anyone one trade weather derivatives?

That’s a joke, right?

Capital doesn’t want full employment. It means labor as bargaining power, don’t it?

My question is “What is the magnitude of foregone revenues when the government lowers the fed funds rate a half point?

Does anyone have an idea?

I’m pretty sure I know who ultimately will be resposible for offsetting the shortfall in the form of increased taxes.

am starting to think sub-prime is Grenada, Bond Rating and Bond Insurers is Vietnam

They actually have weather derivatives…

Hedge fund exposure is in the hundreds of trillions of dollars at this date.

Them some mighty big bets.

I only comment about factual economics matters here, because there are so many others who have opinions.

Oh, come on! That’s no fun at all!

Morning, all!

training is no cure for bias or institutional pressure (see bond ratings).

Yeah, it would be much better if people with opinions and little training were the ones who were responsible.

I think that appeals to authority are suspect. There are many well established economists who have faithfully defended Bush economics. Am I supposed to believe them? Why wasn’t the NBER out in the streets in 2005 when the subprime bubble really took off or in 2001 when Bush won his largest tax cuts for the rich? Where are they on hedge funds, derivatives, and the bubble forming in commodities?

I pointed out that the economy was in recession several months ago. Am I supposed to believe it only now?

Not a joke at all. Businesses whose revenues are highly dependent on weather frequently hedge by purchasing securities whose future value is based on future weather conditions. These securities can also be traded on an open market.

Betting on the weather is a fool’s game.

Take it from one who knows.

The supply siders from Chicago have been proven wrong again and again… it doesn’t help THE economy, but it does help the economy of the wealthy.

That’s why their stats are lying.

Really… who cares if large share holders are making out or hedge funds or private equity firms? How many people is that? 5,000… 20,000…100,000?

How about the rest of the 300,000,000?

believe Enron pioneered Weather Derivatives

They bet tens of millions on it!

There are many well established economists who have faithfully defended Bush economics. Am I supposed to believe them?

“He who buys my bread, his song I sing.”

that’s what every farmer does, every year.

It can be very smart when done as a hedge. When it is done as a highly leveraged gamble, not so much.

linked sleep deprivation to serious problems such as diabetes, obesity and heart disease.

ummm – crap.

That’s madness.

Superdelegates!

-G

Well, you succeeded in talking the Great Bush Economy down. Damn naysayer.

-G

Weather derivatives are financial instruments that can be used by organizations or individuals as part of a risk management strategy to reduce risk associated with adverse or unexpected weather conditions. The difference from other derivatives is that the underlying asset (rain/temperature/snow) has no direct value to price the weather derivative. Farmers can use weather derivatives to hedge against poor harvests caused by drought or frost; theme parks may want to insure against rainy weekends during peak summer seasons; and gas and power companies may use heating degree days (HDD) or cooling degree days (CDD) contracts to smooth earnings.

Heating degree days are one of the most common types of weather derivative. Typical terms for an HDD contract could be: for the November to March period, for each day where the temperature falls below 18 degrees Celsius keep a cumulative count of the difference between 18 degrees and the average daily temperature. Depending upon whether the option is a put option or a call option, pay out a set amount per heating degree day that the actual count differs from the strike.

The first weather derivative deal was in July 1996 when Aquila Energy structured a dual-commodity hedge for Consolidated Edison Co. The transaction involved ConEd’s purchase of electric power from Aquila for the month of August. The price of the power was agreed to, but a weather clause was embedded into the contract. This clause stipulated that Aquila would pay ConEd a rebate if August turned out to be cooler than expected. The measurement of this was referenced to Cooling Degree Days measured at New York City’s Central Park weather station. If total CDDs were from 0 to 10% below the expected 320, the company received no discount to the power price, but if total CDDs were 11 to 20% below normal, Con Ed would receive a $16,000 discount. Other discounted levels were worked in for even greater departures from normal.

After that humble beginning, weather derivatives slowly began trading over-the-counter in 1997. As the market for these products grew, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange introduced the first exchange-traded weather futures contracts (and corresponding options), in 1999. The CME currently trades weather derivative contracts for 18 cities in the United States, nine in Europe, six in Canada and two in Japan. Most of these contracts track cooling degree days or heating degree days, but recent additions track frost days in the Netherlands and monthly/seasonal snowfall in Boston and New York. A major early pioneer in weather derivatives was Enron Corporation, through its EnronOnline unit.

Treasury Chief Defends Fed Intervention

WASHINGTON (AP) — Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Sunday defended the Federal Reserve’s decision to help rescue Bear Stearns Cos., the teetering Wall Street investment bank. He sidestepped questions about whether other firms are on shaky ground and the Bush administration might intervene.

Yes, and that’s what I do every time I take off in an airplane. That’s what everyone does to one extent or another every time we wake up in the morning. Risk taking is part of human nature I suppose. We are all driven to take risks of varying degree.

But betting millions of dollars on future weather predictions just seems kind of nutty to me. Particularly long term weather patterns. Meteorology is not exactly an exact science when you get out long term.

Imagine if their boy in DC let Wall street tumble?

They’ll claim it will take “everyone” with them?

Oh really? Why do they bail out the mortgage sellers and not the home owners?

It’s a class thing. A trickle down thing. You take care of the top and the bottom feeders who are clever can make out too. If not screw them!

Shorter Paulson

FNS’s panel discussion was interesting. If for no other reason, it reflected where Fox is going to go with the Wright story.

i guess i see it as a form of insurance – and not a play at the craps table.

Is that a pppppledge ppppin on your uniform!!??

to help rescue Bear Stearns Cos., the teetering Wall Street investment bank.

Note to all Bush-buddies – you’re gonna end up losing.

It’s what he does…

Most of these new fangled financial instruments are completely useless and only a means to extract fees for these financial giants who manage the wealth of high net worth individual.

They love their fees.

How many fees are you paying?

It can be either, depending on how big and how leveraged the investment is.

Insurance is a bogus concept.

I’m watching Stephanapolis’ round table. It’s funny to see how the three Repukes (Will, Halprin, and Marcus) are trying to make Barack’s preacher’s remarks more than what they were.

I also enjoyed seeing that other Repuke, Paulsen, squirm while trying to explain that a handout to Bear-Stearns, which is “a good thing”, is not the same as a handout to ordinary Americans, which is “a bad thing”.

But BOY OH BOY, is George Will a total tool!

It’s a class thing

amen ! all that Wall Street tsk-tsking about those irresponsible mortgagees walking away from foreclosure

would you please explain?

Good morning’ all

I want to take this opportunity to thank Bernanke and Paulson for the reach around to the banks.

Good form assbags!

This economic philosophy will surely help Americans, you know, the Americans that matter…the wealthy ones.

Thanks for all the “heads up” Christy…Interesting line-ups…

I just read this:

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/C…..5Ag01.html

For the first time in the 60-year history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Russia will attend the alliance’s summit meeting on April 2-4 in Bucharest, Romania.

It is clear that NATO will defer to a future date any decision to put Ukraine and Georgia on its Membership Action Plan. This means effectively that the two former Soviet republics cannot draw closer to NATO for another year at the very least, which in turn implies that the earliest the two countries can realize their membership claim would be in a four-year timeframe.

That is a huge gesture by NATO to Moscow’s sensitivities. Conceivably, it clears the decks for what could prove to be a turning point in Russia-NATO relations. Russia may be about to join hands with NATO in Afghanistan.

Many interesting headlines today over at Asian Times…

I thought this was funny.

Bears Stearns Quote du Jour

As we have been saying for some time, there are challenges in our financial markets ….

But BOY OH BOY, is George Will a total tool!

And I repeat myself – it’s what he does.

Welcome – don’t recall having seen your name here before…

Amazing. Juan Williams on Faux News actually brings up Vitter and Craig during a discussion of the Spitzer affair.

Spreading risk to avoid catastrophic financial consequences is fine and dandy.m But the rick management boys have take this to the extreme because of litigation etc. So that the insurance has blossomed into a mega business where the insurer’s exposure is so large that they are now re insured and have to invest more than their premiums to cover their exposure. The basic concept has been perverted and don’t forget the corporate huge profits of the insurers and their escape clauses … remember Katrina and all the hurricane insurance they sold people which provided them no coverage.

It’s funny how the Pukes are starting to spread this new meme that Americans are going to have to rethink the traditional notion that every riffraff family should be able to own a home.

Exactly what IS NATO’s mission again?

my fave from last monday -

“It’s ridiculous, totally ridiculous,”

-’Ace Greenberg, Former CEO
Current Chair of their Executive Committee on rumors of a liquidity crisis at the firm

I read her MySpace blurb on herself but where did you get the affluent New Jersey info? Linkie, please.

Most of the bios on MySpace are fantasies. My daughter couldnt’ resist so she made up one of herslef making herself ten years younger, posting an old picture (very cute, I may add) and described her life in a creative manner. She didn’t bother to mention she was married and had three kids, worked all day and cooked and cleaned when she came home. She was making a point to her 13 year old daughter who insisted what people said about themselves was fact. She’s set straight now.

Home ownership is a rip off.

The American dream is now the American nightmare.

I’ve noticed Juan Williams has been standing up to the Faux Pukes lately. I think he’s found some courage since Chimpy’s ratings have been in the tank.

If there was ever a time, this is it.

Did you see how they were trying to tie Rev, Wright around Obama’s neck?

This Alexandra Dupre is a real creep and she is milking this for every penny.

Music? She is networker social climber ass kisser extroadinaire. She needs a kink in the butt.

She gives 20 somethings a bad name.

OT

I thought this read was a great argument for what we have done in Iraq
From Arthur Silberman:

“There is one final point to be made about all this — and that has to do with the supreme value of a single human life. In our desensitized, dehumanized age, most people have almost no appreciation for what I’m talking about, and our political establishment and media only make this grievous failing worse. Each of us is unique; not one of us can be replaced. Each of us has a family, loved ones, friends and a life that is a web of caring, interdependence, and joy. When even one of us is killed or horribly injured for no justifiable reason, the damage affects countless people in addition to the primary victim. Sometimes, the survivors are irreparably damaged as well. Even the survivors’ wounds can last a lifetime.

This is of the greatest significance. There is nothing more important or meaningful in the world. No moral principle legitimizes our invasion and occupation of Iraq, just as it will not justify an attack on Iran. Therefore, when the first person was killed in Iraq as the result of our actions, the immorality was complete. The crime had been committed, and no amends could ever suffice or would even be possible. That many additional tens or hundreds of thousands of people have subsequently been killed or injured does not add to the original immorality with regard to first principles. It increases its scope, which is an additional and terrible horror — but the principle is not altered in the smallest degree.

So think of the five-year-old Iraqi girl who is no more, or think of any one of the countless other victims of this criminal war and occupation. Think of their families and friends. Think of the lives that have been altered forever, and of the wounds that will never heal. Think about all of that.

Contemplate the devastation and the horror. Make it real to yourself. And ask yourself if forgiveness is possible.”

linky to whole article:
http://powerofnarrative.blogspot.com/

What happens when you pump money into lending banks that went under (Bear Sterns) – they continue lending and lending and lending.

Did the airlines get better after 9/11 after a windfall money surge? Nope. The execs first gave themselves huge bonuses, the service remained lousy and the service is worse than ever.

Actually not at all. Sleep apnea causes Hypoxia, which is causal to all those issues. The loss of oxygen is a true medical problem.

Hypoxia Causes Glucose Intolerance in Humans

Coronary heart disease is frequently associated with obstructive sleep apnea

Like the snark!

But for those wondering, inquiring minds…

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is an alliance of 26 countries from North America and Europe committed to fulfilling the goals of the North Atlantic Treaty signed on 4 April 1949. In accordance with the Treaty, the fundamental role of NATO is to safeguard the freedom and security of its member countries by political and military means. NATO is playing an increasingly important role in crisis management and peacekeeping.

http://www.nato.int/issues/faq/index.html

Safeguard?

aren’t the gas reserves figures fictions in the first place? can you explain how the announcement will affect things? thanks.

good think i don’t believe in an afterlife of hell anymore (as i was taught as a child)… because if i did, i’d have to believe that’s where we would be going.

safeguard the profits of weapons manufacturers

What is the threat to the NATO countries?

Be serious.

I think many of the reserve figures for Oil are myths. Saudia Arabia won’t even fess up to what they think their reserves are.

This is a bit like Sadam trying to get cover by letting the world think he had WMDs.

But these companies like Shell have to have product to sell and as we reach / pass peak oil there is less out there to meet the growing demand. They can explore and try to extract expensive oil or they can just lie about what the reserves are to their shareholders.

They lie.

No, I didn’t watch Faux this morning.

Hi, all, I will be doing the Book Salon chat at 5 pm (ET) today, so come by and discuss my new book on Iraq and the media. Over at E&P, I was among the first in the “mainstream” to promote FDL’s work on Plame etc. way back when……Greg Mitchell

It’s criminal that all those politicos and gasbags were on the “mainstream” air while the most important, courageous, urgent testimony had to trickle out via the IVAW website and KPFA. But three days’ worth of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans speaking out at the Winter Soldier 2008 conference are already archived and ready to stream or download. The table is set to break big media’s boycott of the horrifying, necessary truth delivered by some great patriots. Editors, program managers, and news directors of commercial outlets throughout the country deserve a call or twenty urging them to cover and broadcast clips from this historic event.

http://ivaw.org/index.html
http://www.kpfa.org/archives/index.php?show=87

howard