Stop Islamic Conquest: October 2008

Friday, October 31, 2008

Whole Lotta Trouble, Part 2

And the angel said "Well you must have had a dream"

Who is Behind the Financial Meltdown? - Market Manipulation and the Institutional Speculator

The market is heavily manipulated. The driving force behind the meltdown is speculative trade. The system of "private regulation" serves the interests of the speculators.

While most individual investors loose when the market falls, the institutional speculator makes money when there is a financial collapse.

In fact, triggering market collapse can be a very profitable undertaking.

There are indications that the Security Exchange Commission (SEC) regulators have created an environment which supports speculative transactions.

And you remember it 'till the dream followed through

Puppetmaster

On top of that, when the system is being manipulated by those in power -- be they government regulators, the elected officials who appointed them, or the billionaire-patrons of the politicians -- honest people have nowhere to run. The result is not just the greed that our elites decry, but a greed enforced by fascistic government regulation.

Till the end of the dream and the dream came true

Who is Behind the Financial Meltdown? - Market Manipulation and the Institutional Speculator

There are several instruments including futures, options, index funds, derivative securities, etc. used to make money when the stock market crumbles.

The more it falls, the greater the gains.

Those who make it fall are also speculating on its decline.

With foreknowledge and inside information, a collapse in market values constitutes a lucrative and money-spinning opportunity, for a select category of powerful speculators who have the ability to manipulate the market in the appropriate direction at the appropriate time.

When I want something I get it

Economic 9-11?

So, it is the job of the Federal Reserve to monitor the loans of its member banks, and, if they are "playing fast and loose", to report the matter and, ultimately, it is the job of the Board of Governors to suspend those banks from the Federal Reserve System if they continue with their irresponsible lending practices.

Dare I point out that all of the current members of the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors were appointed by President George W. Bush? Ben Bernanke, Donald Kohn, Kevin Warsh, Randall Kroszner and Elizabeth A. Duke; by 2006, four of the five were in place on the Board of Governors.

Now President Bush -- in reaction to this crisis that the people he appointed to the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors should have seen coming and should have avoided -- has given us a hard-sale on a 700 billion dollar (?) bailout package -- which we all know will cost much more by the time this plays out.

You'd better go he says yes I think I better

Who is Behind the Financial Meltdown? - Market Manipulation and the Institutional Speculator

The effect of being on a "protected list" was to no avail. It was tantamount to putting those listed companies on a "hit list". If the SEC had implemented a complete and permanent ban on short selling coupled with a freeze on all forms of speculative trade, including index funds and options, this would have contributed to reducing market volatility and dampening the meltdown.

The ban on short selling was applied with a view to establishing the protected list. It expired on Wednesday October 8 at midnight.

The following morning, Thursday 9th of October, when the market opened up, those companies on the "protected list" became "unprotected" and were the first target of the speculative onslaught, leading to a dramatic collapse on of the Dow Jones on Thursday 9th and Friday 10th.

The course of events was entirely predictable. The lifting of the ban on short selling contributed to accentuating the downfall in stock market values. The companies which were on the hit list were the first victims of the speculative onslaught.

Stop for a moment I think you should think for a minute

The New Kleptocracy: Biggest "Giveaway" in American History - Interview with Dr. Michael Hudson

MH: Cash for trash is exactly what it was, and the emphasis should be placed on "Emergency" for Emergency Plan. It was rushed through without giving any opportunity to debate. Dennis Kucinich protested, for instance, that this was the first time a major plan that was going to create the equivalent of 700 billionaires, people who are going to become the next power elite to govern America for the next century --that this act was done without any hearings, without specialists--despite hundreds and hundreds of major economists throughout the world saying that it was a disaster and a giveaway. It is cash for trash. It will not resolve the problems.

Would you change your mind, at the very last minute

White House to banks: Start lending now

Under the authority of the $700 billion financial bailout plan approved by Congress and signed by President Bush earlier this month, the administration also plans to dole out $250 billion to banks in return for partial ownership. The Treasury Department, which is overseeing the massive capital injection program along with the rest of the bailout, will pour $125 billion into nine of the country's largest banks this week. Another $125 billion will go to other banks.

When I want something I get it

The New Kleptocracy: Biggest "Giveaway" in American History - Interview with Dr. Michael Hudson

MH: The Secretary of the Treasury said that he really just picked the amount out of the air. There will be another $700 billion next month, another $700 billion after that. Trillion after trillion will go to create a financial elite of kleptocrats. What's happened here by Mr. Paulson of Goldman Sachs is almost a mirror image of what the other Goldman Sachs' Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin did in Russia: he's creating and endowing a class of kleptocrats by giving them liquid treasury securities in exchange for basically worthless junk. It’s actually called the "Worthless Assets Recovery Program, (WARP)".

Whole lotta trouble

White House to banks: Start lending now

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has said the money was aimed at rebuilding banks' reserves so that they would resume more normal lending practices. But reports then surfaced that bankers might instead use the money to buy other banks. Indeed, the government approved PNC Financial Services Group Inc. to receive $7.7 billion in return for company stock and, at the same time, PNC said it was acquiring National City Corp. for $5.58 billion.

Officials have said that there are few strings attached to the capital-infusion program because too many rules would discourage financial institutions from participating.

Whole lotta trouble

Puppetmaster

Yes, you may make a mistake with your money, but the alternative is to have guys with guns and badges take your money from you, and give it to the foxes who are guarding your henhouse.

Whole lotta trouble for you

The New Kleptocracy: Biggest "Giveaway" in American History - Interview with Dr. Michael Hudson

"Mr. Obama is the man who is giving it all away to Wall Street and his major campaign contributors. Look at what's happening with Mr. Rubin, there's no difference at all between his financial advisor Robert Rubin and the Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson." Instead Mr. McCain shifted gears, reversed himself, gave in and said, "now I'm supporting the plan too".

Well this could be a whole lotta trouble

Puppetmaster

Needless to say, they want the economy more regulated -- there is a call for "global macroeconomic coordination".

That means taking more freedom from you, and giving it to our Washington elite.

Whole lotta trouble, baby

The "Worthless Assets Recovery Program"

Our "maverick" John McCain -- but when it comes right down to it, he joins Senator Obama in giving taxpayer dollars to the rich elite of this country, allowing that elite to take over the competition.

Senator Obama -- change we can believe in -- leading the charge in stealing tax dollars from the poor, giving to his rich cronies; McCain agrees with it, and Bush signs off on it. The only change was in control of our wealth -- and it wasn't Robin Hood Socialism, it was banana republic graft, enriching the elite.

Now there's change we can believe in, right Senator Obama?

Whole lotta trouble for you

Financial Meltdown: The Greatest Transfer of Wealth in History

That means the government and the Fed are now committing even more public money and taking on even more public risk. The taxpayers are already tapped out, so the Treasury’s "special deposit" will no doubt come from U.S. bonds, meaning more debt on which the taxpayers have to pay interest. The federal debt could wind up running so high that the government loses its own triple-A rating. The U.S. could be reduced to Third World status, with "austerity measures" being imposed as a condition for further loans, and hyperinflation running the dollar into oblivion. Rather than solving the problem, these "rescue" plans seem destined to make it worse.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Whole Lotta Trouble, Part 1

McCain camp trying to scapegoat Palin

John McCain's campaign is looking for a scapegoat. It is looking for someone to blame if McCain loses on Tuesday.

And it has decided on Sarah Palin.

Would you change your mind, at the very last moment?

McCain's Ties to Islamic Terrorists -- and Heroin Traffickers?

Senator McCain has been on the wrong side of this all along, and as a Republican in the United States Senate, he must have known about this fact, as documented by Senate Republicans going back to 1997, one year before the date that ethnic Albanian groups claim "McCain did everything that we asked of him to the benefit of the Albanian people, including arming the KLA".

Would you say stop for a second I'll bet you could think for a minute

McCAIN AND THE KLA CONNECTION

As the great "reform" candidate who denounces the influence of "special interests" and the power of money in politics, McCain had better tell us exactly how much the Albanian lobby has thrown his way – and to what effect. Of all the lobbyists in Washington, it is the "special interests" represented by the agents of foreign powers that pose the greatest threat to the integrity of the Presidency.

In the morning light he says when will I see you

McCain's Ties to Islamic Terrorists -- and Heroin Traffickers?

Perhaps Senator John McCain, Republican from Arizona, decorated Navy veteran and war hero, and contender for the US Presidency, is another whose name needs to be added to the list of those who take bribes from foreign organized crime and terrorists?

She says I don't think tomorrow, baby

McCAIN AND THE KLA CONNECTION

Joe DioGuardi, rabid Albanian nationalist and chief American apologist for the drug-connected totalitarians of the KLA, has spread the money from his political action committees far and wide, and no doubt McCain is also the recipient of his largess – but at what price to the American people? The McCain campaign must immediately release the figures, and give us some "straight talk" about the KLA-McCain connection: how much did they get-and in return for what? The American people have a right to know how many American soldiers will be put at risk in the Balkans in the service of paying off President McCain's political debts.

Sometimes I wonder if things would change if we stayed together

Two Plus Two, Part 7

That was 2000 -- now it is 2008.

If elected, McCain's foreign policy will be subservient to the interests of those who traffic in heroin, arms, women for forced prostitution, nuclear secrets, and any other contraband-du-jour -- McCain's foreign policy will mean supporting close allies of Osama bin Laden in the Balkans.

Would you change your mind, at the very last minute

Eyewitness to the Ayers Revolution

When Bill Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn led the domestic terrorist group Weather Underground in 1969, a chance meeting led Army veteran Larry Grathwohl into joining the group. Grathwohl served as a courier, running messages between the group's leadership (called the "Weather Bureau") and individual cells that were to carry out attacks.

Grathwohl was also an informant for the FBI.

I think you should stop for a second think for a moment

Eyewitness to the Ayers Revolution

Larry Grathwohl: The instructions I received from Billy Ayers was that the bombs to be used in Detroit must have shrapnel (fence staples, specifically) and fire potential (propane bottles). The intention was to kill police officers.

This could be a whole lotta trouble

Eyewitness to the Ayers Revolution

Larry Grathwohl: When I objected to Billy Ayers that more innocent people would be killed in the restaurant, he replied, "Innocent people have to die in a revolution." Billy also acknowledged during a criticism session in Buffalo that Bernadine placed the bomb at the Park Police Station which resulted in the death of Police Officer McDonnell.

Whole lotta trouble

Eyewitness to the Ayers Revolution

Larry Grathwohl: Has Billy changed? I hardly think so.

Whole lotta trouble for you

Eyewitness to the Ayers Revolution

Larry Grathwohl: As for Billy’s ideas on education, isn't it apparent? Reading, writing, and arithmetic aren't important! Radicalism is what's important. Fits right in with the Billy Ayers' view of creating mindless soldiers to follow his commands — where best to lay the foundations of a revolution than with the young?

This could be a whole lotta trouble

Eyewitness to the Ayers Revolution

Larry Grathwohl: If we are to believe Mr. Obama, he just didn't know Billy was as radical as he apparently is. Really? Just like he didn't know the Rev. Wright was as radical as he is? Obama is a politician and he wants me to believe that he never discussed politics with the Rev Wright or Billy Ayers?

Well this could be a whole lotta trouble

The Heroin Lobby, Part 10

As long as Albanian organized crime keeps laundering money to Senator Biden through AAPAC & Co., Senator Biden will keep doing the bidding of AAPAC's associated AACL.

Whole lotta trouble

Two Plus Two, Part 8

It is important to keep this in mind, because we can assess that one main reason Senator Biden was recruited as Senator Obama's running mate was to give the junior senator from Illinois a little help in the foreign policy arena (Biden's strength in foreign policy recruited by Obama).

This could be a whole lotta trouble

What "incredibly tough" foreign policy actions is Obama preparing?

Foreign policy journals and pundits linked to the Democratic Party have undoubtedly been discussing many such doomsday scenarios, and Biden's language suggests that the use of the US nuclear arsenal, the world's largest, is under consideration by those who are formulating the foreign and military policy of an Obama-Biden administration.

Whole lotta trouble for you

Two Plus Two, Part 8

The expectation is that they will use nuclear weapons to show everybody how tough Obama is.

"A Financial Stake in My Failure"

From Man-hating is an industry:

Then one day, I came to a point where I realized the people who claimed they were trying to help me were part of a network of folks who make their living off the suffering of the victim class. They had a financial stake in my failure to get better. The improvement of my circumstances would have left them without purpose and for that reason, how could they be trusted to objectively provide me with the proper tools to do so?

Think about it and meditate on it.

New label: Cosmic Truths

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Whatever else is said or written about Senator John McCain, he is a war hero.

If you haven't done so, please read John McCain, Prisoner of War: A First-Person Account -- all seventeen pages of it.

It is amazing what we take for granted in this country, especially when you consider what some Americans go through in our defense.

Another interesting article is the three-page interview, John McCain: One Prisoner of War's Fresh Appraisal of U.S. in 1973. On Page Two we find the following:

Since you've been back, has this Watergate business changed your opinion of the President?

No, it hasn't changed my opinion. It has certainly made me sad that this situation should have arisen. However, I feel that in the context of history that Watergate will be a very minor item as compared with the other achievements of this Administration, particularly in the area of foreign affairs. I do hope that this country will get over Watergate and get going again on the very serious problems that we're facing today.

Senator McCain,

It is very moving to read about your experience as a POW in Vietnam. It is incredible what you went through. It is beyond comprehension for most of us what you went through every day, every hour, every minute, during the more than five years you spent as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam.

You probably don't consider yourself a hero -- most heroes don't -- but you are, and you always will be, a hero for what you have done. And, on the occasion of your campaign for the Presidency, I pause to think about all the others who have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice for our nation; I pause especially for those who have been taken from our freedom, and confined by a brutal enemy that seeks to destroy their faith and even their humanity. Your sacrifice, though immense, is but a small fraction of the sacrifices that are made on behalf of our nation, and I can't thank you and all the others enough for all that you have done.

It pains me very deeply, sir, to report your obvious and wrongful ties to Islamic terrorists and to Albanian organized crime.

No one, sir, is above the law -- not a fellow American, not a fellow Republican, not an esteemed public servant, not a President... and not even a war hero. To place anyone above the law is to dishonor and negate the sacrifice you made in Vietnam; to place anyone above the law is to do the work of Osama bin Laden, who seeks the destruction of our great nation.

It is with a heavy heart that I call for an investigation which, if faithfully done, I am convinced will lead to your indictment for various high crimes and misdemeanors, including, but not limited to, influence-peddling, racketeering, and treason.

Know, sir, that while I shall seek your prosecution, you shall not be dismissed from my gratitude for your past sacrifices to this nation, but rather, I shall pray to our Lord for you and yours.

If I may now quote the words of a great American who once gave everything he had that I and others might live safely in the greatest country in the world...

"It has certainly made me sad that this situation should have arisen."

The "Worthless Assets Recovery Program"

We begin with The New Kleptocracy: Biggest "Giveaway" in American History -- Interview with Dr. Michael Hudson by Bonnie Faulkner, October 28, 2008:

BF: Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson's $700 billion so-called bailout, first called "The Plan", was defeated in the House. Then a modified version called "Troubled Asset Rescue Plan or (TARP)" was passed by Congress in it’s "Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008". Still others refer to this legislation as "Cash for Trash". What would you call it?

MH: Cash for trash is exactly what it was, and the emphasis should be placed on "Emergency" for Emergency Plan. It was rushed through without giving any opportunity to debate. Dennis Kucinich protested, for instance, that this was the first time a major plan that was going to create the equivalent of 700 billionaires, people who are going to become the next power elite to govern America for the next century --that this act was done without any hearings, without specialists--despite hundreds and hundreds of major economists throughout the world saying that it was a disaster and a giveaway. It is cash for trash. It will not resolve the problems.

The dollar will plunge. The stock market already plunged.

It is purely a giveaway to Mr. Paulson's colleagues on Wall Street and a giveaway to Mr. Obama's and Mr. McCain's campaign contributors. The Democrats were the major supporters of Mr. Paulson while even the Republicans sought to dissociate themselves from the plan so they couldn't get blamed when the inevitable failure of the plan shows that all that was done was a giveaway of $700 billion to Mr. Paulson's colleagues and pals on Wall Street.

It is important to note who was behind this.

President Bush is the kind of Republican that the left loves to point fingers at, because they can't make up their mind whether he is so blatantly corrupt, or so completely incompetent. This doubt will help Bush, come the day when he is on trial for all of this, because the prosecution will need to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he has been corrupt and not stupid.

So, we know that Bush is not a true Republican as we Republicans understand that word. He never had any attachment to the core principles of the Republican Party or to "his" Republican base, but only satisfied us as much as it was felt he needed to in order to win the election. He long ago abandoned us, and for the most part, we have only reluctantly begun to return the favor in recent years.

But we need to understand that the same is true of our straight-talking standard-bearer, John McCain.

Notice how Senator Obama's name came up here.

How much money has Senator Obama raised for his campaign? In a recent post, I quoted the figure of $605 million dollars, and added the comment "That's obscene."

Yeah, Senator Obama is change we can believe in, alright.

But, Senator McCain got right in line with this giveaway of taxpayer dollars, and President Bush signed it into law.

All three of them need to be investigated criminally for this.

BF: Well, now what and who are being bailed out? People now are saying it's a $700 to an $850 billion revolving money fund.

MH: The Secretary of the Treasury said that he really just picked the amount out of the air. There will be another $700 billion next month, another $700 billion after that. Trillion after trillion will go to create a financial elite of kleptocrats. What's happened here by Mr. Paulson of Goldman Sachs is almost a mirror image of what the other Goldman Sachs' Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin did in Russia: he's creating and endowing a class of kleptocrats by giving them liquid treasury securities in exchange for basically worthless junk. It’s actually called the "Worthless Assets Recovery Program, (WARP)".

The United States of America has become a banana republic.

This is pretty much what was done in Russia to create Russian kleptocrats. In Russia’s case they gave State ownership of raw materials and fuels, oil, other assets to individuals who then diversified their portfolios by selling as much as they could to the West and taking their money out and putting them into dollars and sterling and euros. What’s happening here is that the Wall Street beneficiaries are going to take the money and run and put it in safe economies such as Russia, China and any other non-US economy they can find: the result will be a huge capital outflow, a capital flight that will put downward pressure on the dollar.

The final paragraphs from White House tells banks to stop hoarding money give us an insight into what is being done with this money:

The Federal Reserve began a program Monday to purchase the short-term debt of businesses, known as commercial paper. This market has been frozen since the collapse of Lehman Brothers spooked credit markets last month.

Under the authority of the $700 billion financial bailout plan approved by Congress and signed by President Bush earlier this month, the administration also plans to dole out $250 billion to banks in return for partial ownership. The Treasury Department, which is overseeing the massive capital injection program along with the rest of the bailout, will pour $125 billion into nine of the country's largest banks this week. Another $125 billion will go to other banks.

Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has said the money was aimed at rebuilding banks' reserves so that they would resume more normal lending practices. But reports then surfaced that bankers might instead use the money to buy other banks. Indeed, the government approved PNC Financial Services Group Inc. to receive $7.7 billion in return for company stock and, at the same time, PNC said it was acquiring National City Corp. for $5.58 billion.

Officials have said that there are few strings attached to the capital-infusion program because too many rules would discourage financial institutions from participating.

"But reports then surfaced that bankers might instead use the money to buy other banks. Indeed, the government approved PNC Financial Services Group Inc. to receive $7.7 billion in return for company stock and, at the same time, PNC said it was acquiring National City Corp. for $5.58 billion."

They are using the money to take over the competition.

Have I not written about this in recent weeks?

I told you so.

Back to The New Kleptocracy: Biggest "Giveaway" in American History -- Interview with Dr. Michael Hudson:

BF: You know Dr. Hudson, I was just about to ask you what the difference is between the Russian Kleptocrats and the American Crony Capitalists? Is there any difference at all that you see?

MF: Only that the Russian Kleptocrats were supported by Clinton's Democratic Administration and the American's Kleptocrats are supported nominally under a Bush Administration but primarily by Mr. Obama and the Democrats led by Barney Frank in the Congress, and Nancy Pelosi and by Reid. These are Democrats that must go and if there is any sign of Mr. Obama keeping them on then you know that the Democratic Party has been firmly captured by the Democratic Leadership Committee, i.e. Wall Street's lobbying group within the Democratic Party.

BF: Well now, since you've brought up Barack Obama, he was the one that lobbied "for" the passage of this, isn't he?

MF: That’s correct and the amazing thing was that McCain did too. Last Friday I was attending the American Monetary Institute Conference in Chicago and we had some of the smartest financial brains around at that. It was at Roosevelt University and we all went down to the Student Union to watch the debate. And let's take a look at what happened last Friday. The previous Thursday Mr. McCain had said there might not be a Friday debate because he was going to suspend the campaign until he could straighten out Washington regarding the bailout. So he went to the White House. There was reportedly not much very much that he said during the meeting but the Republican Congressional Leader Boehner made some very good suggestions. He suggested instead of the bailout the government use the money to set up a bank insurance fund of say anywhere from $250 billion to the $700 billion that was mentioned.

The insurance fund would lend money to banks in exchange for their preferred stock. This fund would be financed by levying an insurance charge on the entire US banking system, just like the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation levies insurance rates on the banks. And the rates that would be levied, under the Republication proposal, would have reflected the actual risks involved. So that if the banks got together and lobbied politicians and supported the political campaigns of politicians who wanted to deregulate the industry that’s’ fair enough but let them pay the risks. Let them pay 1% or 2% or even 3% of their deposits for this because that’s what it would take the government to bail out policies that Alan Greenspan and others have supported. Instead of supporting this plan and instead of saying that he’d come to Washington to save American taxpayers from the giveaway, Mr. McCain did absolutely nothing. He was blamed by the media on Friday morning (Friday afternoon too) for saying, "Oh he's come to disrupt a done deal. Look what happened. He went to the White House. Now you have the Congressional Republicans opposing it."

Mr. McCain could have said, "Absolutely," that's just what he's done because he's a maverick and he's going to protect American taxpayers from the bipartisan attempt to both reflect the campaign contributions of their largest contributors--Wall Street. And he's not going to let it happen. He could have jumped in front of the parade. Jumped in front of the opposition to the Act, that reportedly 90% of voters were supposed to oppose, and this would have put Mr. Obama on the defensive. McCain could have said, "I'm opposed on the giveway and supporting taxpayers."

Mr. Obama is the man who is giving it all way to Wall Street and his major campaign contributors. Look at what's happening with Mr. Rubin, there's no difference at all between his financial advisor Robert Rubin and the Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson." Instead Mr. McCain shifted gears, reversed himself, gave in and said, "now I'm supporting the plan too". So the result of the Friday debate, if you remember the first half hour, Mr. Lehrer kept trying to press both presidential candidates on "how do you feel about the bailout, what do you think?"

And they talked about anything else. Mr. Lehrer tried to be more polite and finally he was laughing, and he said, "Aren't either of you guys going to answer my question?" And they both of them said, "No." Now when they refused to give their position to the bailout to the American people. When they refused to take a position on a plan that most voters "overwhelmingly" opposed and then they support the plan this shows they're just in the hands of their financial backers.

Our "maverick" John McCain -- but when it comes right down to it, he joins Senator Obama in giving taxpayer dollars to the rich elite of this country, allowing that elite to take over the competition.

Senator Obama -- change we can believe in -- leading the charge in stealing tax dollars from the poor, giving to his rich cronies; McCain agrees with it, and Bush signs off on it. The only change was in control of our wealth -- and it wasn't Robin Hood Socialism, it was banana republic graft, enriching the elite.

Now there's change we can believe in, right Senator Obama?

I now finish with a blurb from The Lessons of Greed by Thomas Fleming:

Here is this question in a nutshell. If the government's leading economic advisers knew what was going on and allowed it to happen, they are criminals who should be locked up for a long time and have their possessions distributed among their victims; if they did not know, they are incompetent and should be fired and have their possessions distributed among their victims. But is good old Hank Paulson out on the street selling apples to unemployed money managers? No, he is too busy hiring his croneys from Goldman Sachs and giving them the power to cartelize the entire US economy as a wholly owned subsidiary of Goldman Sachs–or, rather, Government Sachs, as the firm is beginning to be called. Is he stupid or a criminal? Fortunately, that is a question to which the answer may be: "Both."

Small wonder that so many people are pinning their hopes on the Democrats–who, unfortunately, were neither more prescient nor less corrupt than the Republicans. When Senator Obama blames John McCain for the crash, he proves what a liar he is. [snip]

Obama -- a liar. Imagine that!

There needs to be a criminal investigation into the graft, corruption, influence-peddling and other crimes that are obviously going on, and Senators Obama and McCain, together with President Bush and Treasury Secretary Paulson, need to answer some questions posed by criminal investigators.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Two Plus Two, Part 8

We begin by considering the first several paragraphs of What "incredibly tough" foreign policy actions is Obama preparing? by Patrick Martin, October 25, 2008:

In remarks made over the weekend in Seattle, Democratic vice presidential candidate Joseph Biden warned that Barack Obama, if elected president, would be compelled to take deeply unpopular actions in both domestic and foreign policy within months of taking office.

In closed-door gatherings with two audiences of Democratic Party insiders and fundraisers, Biden forecast a major international crisis in the first six months of an Obama administration.

He compared Obama to John F. Kennedy, the last senator to be elected president. "It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy," Biden said. "The world is looking. We're about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America. Watch. We're going to have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy."

Biden mentioned the Middle East, Afghanistan, Pakistan, North Korea and Russia as potential points of conflict, but did not spell out the exact nature of such a crisis, observing, "I can give you at least four or five scenarios from where it might originate." He made it clear that Obama would respond forcefully: "They're going to want to test him. And they're going to find out this guy's got steel in his spine."

The most politically significant portion of Biden's remarks came when he admitted that the decisions of an Obama-Biden administration were likely to be deeply unpopular, and he called on the Democratic Party regulars to stand behind the new president even when public opinion turned against him.

"He's going to need help," Biden said. "He's going to need you—not financially to help him—we're going to need you to use your influence, your influence within the community, to stand with him. Because it's not going to be apparent initially, it's not going to be apparent that we're right."

He continued, "There are going to be a lot of you who want to go, 'Whoa, wait a minute, yo, whoa, whoa, I don't know about that decision.' Because if you think the decision is sound when they're made, which I believe you will when they're made, they're not likely to be as popular as they are sound. Because if they're popular, they're probably not sound."

Here is the voice of a longtime representative of the financial aristocracy, voicing his contempt for public opinion—"if decisions are popular, they're probably not sound"—and warning his wealthy audience that the new Obama-Biden administration will have to defy public opinion to carry out its policies. Biden's language suggests that the ferocity of the new administration's response will shock not only public opinion, but even its own supporters.

The words of our elite, preparing themselves for how they are going to run the country through the Presidency that they are buying.

In that context, one must point out Biden's suggestions that nuclear weapons might play a role in one or more of the potential crises. A nuclear-armed Korean Peninsula could lead to "Japan as a nuclear power," he said, which could push China into expanding its nuclear weaponry. The Pakistan-Afghanistan border is "crawling with Al Qaeda" and "Pakistan is already bristling with nuclear weapons, all of which can hit Israel." Biden also noted Iran's alleged drive to build a nuclear weapon.

Foreign policy journals and pundits linked to the Democratic Party have undoubtedly been discussing many such doomsday scenarios, and Biden's language suggests that the use of the US nuclear arsenal, the world's largest, is under consideration by those who are formulating the foreign and military policy of an Obama-Biden administration.

The expectation is that they will use nuclear weapons to show everybody how tough Obama is.

Biden himself has been one of the most hawkish on foreign policy among leading congressional Democrats, backing the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan and Iraq and advocating a US-led military intervention in Darfur. During the Democratic presidential primary campaign, he was the most vociferous of all the candidates in denouncing antiwar protest groups seeking a cutoff of funds for the war in Iraq.

It wasn't just in Afghanistan and Iraq that Biden led the charge; Senator Biden has also been a vocal advocate of US actions in the Balkans.

Here's an excerpt from In Biden, Obama chooses a foreign policy adherent of diplomacy before force by Michael R. Gordon, August 24, 2008:

Biden is widely seen as a liberal-minded internationalist. He has emphasized the need for diplomacy but has been prepared at times to back it with the threat of force. An early advocate of military action to quell the ethnic fighting in the Balkans, he has not been averse to American military intervention abroad. As the debates over Kosovo and later Iraq showed, he has been loath to give the United Nations a veto over American policy decisions. But he has also sought to ensure that the United States acted in concert with other nations.

U.S. actions in the Balkans have resulted in the establishment, in violation of international law, of a narcostate: Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia, the Serbs have been demonized, and Albanian organized crime with ties to Islamic extremists, including to Sheikh Osama bin Laden, now run the place.

It goes without saying that some of the people who suffer the most are the ethnic Albanians of Kosovo, who have been handed over to this thugocracy. Organized crime and Islamic extremists have this in common -- they do the most damage to those nearest them.

The connection that Senator Biden has to this thugocracy is a US Congressman turned lobbyist.

As I document The Heroin Lobby, Part 10, and elsewhere at this blog, Senator Biden has for quite some time been on the payroll of Albanian organized crime.

It is important to keep this in mind, because we can assess that one main reason Senator Biden was recruited as Senator Obama's running mate was to give the junior senator from Illinois a little help in the foreign policy arena (Biden's strength in foreign policy recruited by Obama).

In fact, long before Senator Biden was named as Senator Obama's running mate, it was suggested that Biden was fishing for a cabinet position in an Obama or a new Clinton Administration (Secretary of State Biden?).

Take a good, hard look at this map, because if Senator Obama is elected, this map shows one place you can expect more US troops to be sent; it also shows one place that US nuclear weapons may be used -- in support of Albanian organized crime with ties to Al Qaeda...

and this will be at the behest of Obama's expert on foreign affairs.

Clinton was bad.

Bush-43 has been worse.

But, under Obama, America would be a nuclear-armed thugocracy, coordinating its efforts with one of the worst organized crime cartels in modern times.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Gotham City Teasers V

Inky Black:

Gordon stood up, and walked towards the window. Out there, in the inky blackness of Gotham's night, there were organized crime hitmen, corrupt GBI agents, Gotham Police officers – all looking for one man, all looking to collect a reward for finding him. Word on the street was that there would be no investigation into his death, and that no one would do time for killing him – Falcone would see to that.

Vasilissa the Beauty (Part 1 of 12):

"By the way, Bruce," Fox continued.

"Yes?"

"If you don't mind my asking... just who is it that you think is going to be chasing you?"

The figure paused, and made eye contact with Fox, before turning away, his answer quietly drifting in the air. "Everybody."

Die Another Day, Part 2:

"Are you planning to reprogram the criminal conspiracy, then, so you can win?"

Casting a glance at Alfred, Wayne responded, "I just think some of Batman's capabilities exceed some people's expectations."

The Demon, Part 5 of 5:

Looking at Bruce Wayne, the master commented, "Some people run from their demons so far, so fast, and for so long, that they become demons themselves."

Rocking Boats:

Her hand couldn't quite find the file on the pavement at her feet. For a moment, she took her eyes off the phantom and looked at the envelope. In an instant she had it and was looking up again -- but the Dark Knight had disappeared back into the darkness of the earliest part of the morning.

The Counterconspiracy: Up in Flames:

Looking up, her eyes closed, the fortune-teller answered slowly.

"The outcome will be as it was decided anciently: in defense of justice, the warrior will work magic, and he will execute the punishments ordained by Heaven."

The Counterconspiracy: "Vigilante" Part 2:

"I think Batman is painting a picture for us... I think he's showing us what this 'War on Crime' is really about. There's a trail that begins with Aladdin and the heroin he produces to fund his crime spree, and that trail leads through all the vices of Gotham City – guns, drugs, prostitutes – and it leads through Gotham's political and business elites, who themselves are dipped in smut and vice and the money that comes with it... it's a trail that leads from Aladdin on one end – " and here Inspector Gordon lowered his eyes, and looked right into the mayor's eyes " – and right through city hall to this office on the other end. It's a trail that leads to you and to the men running in this election cycle, one of whom hopes to take your place in January."

The Counterconspiracy: Witness:

"And where is Master Bruce?" Alfred inquired.

"He said he had one more stop to make tonight."

The Detective (Touch the Sun) Part 1 of 12:

"Fear has a name," he added slowly, almost whispering now, quietly enunciating every word, "and its name... is 'Batman'."

____________

Gotham City Teasers I

Gotham City Teasers II

Gotham City Teasers III

Gotham City Teasers IV

Gotham City Teasers V

The complete Index to the Gotham City Series through October, 2008.

____________

From The Dark Knight, Part 5 of 5:

pela68 said...
Now I will have to go over it again to decode the message.

September 28, 2008 12:37 AM

Gotham City Teasers IV

The Counterconspiracy: Marked with Blood:

Leaning forward toward Wayne, Nygma added, "In the pool full of sharks that is Gotham's financial world, the mayor's team marked their victims with blood."

The Counterconspiracy: Up in Flames:

"Here it is, Bruce. Now, pay attention, because it has a few new upgrades."

Attack by Fire: The Pale Horse:

On the table, she placed the Magician and Fire....

"There he works magic; using the eternal flame, he torments the devils," the fortune-teller explained, opening her eyes.

The Counterconspiracy: Witness:

"At that point, a large figure dressed in flowing black crashed down through the skylight, landing behind the assailants," the officer explained, referring to his notes, and proceeding rather matter-of-factly.

"Batman," O'Hara said quietly.

The Dark Knight, Part 4 of 5:

"It incorporates a great deal of stealth technology."

"How does that work?" Sasha asked, looking at the Batmobile.

Mirror, Mirror (Part 8 of 8):

"The official story is that two girls escaped from the ring's custody, ran to the village, told the police, and the lieutenant went out with three or four truckloads of police and arrested everyone." The master looked around. "Unofficially, however, there are some details that seem to have been left out of the story."

Attack by Fire: The Pale Horse:

Sasha winced. At a range of less than five meters from Falcone's men, the Batmobile's flamethrower was being discharged.

The Dark Knight, Part 2 of 5:

In Polygon Delta, three large, armed men stood ready, as the giant figure approached them. Facing the referee, they bowed to him, then the three men and the giant figure exchanged quick bows. The referee stepped between them, raising his right hand. "Ready," he lowered his right hand and stepped back quickly as he said "Fight!"

The Dark Knight, Part 3 of 5

"He taught me things that transcend the mechanics of fighting."

The Detective (Touch the Sun) Part 12 of 12:

"If this indeed has happened, Talia," he thoughtfully said, "then your friend, Bruce Wayne, is the most dangerous man on earth."

The Counterconspiracy: Heavenly Fury:

"Mr. Wayne, Mr. Fox. I am Special Agent DiViglio of the Gotham Bureau of Investigation. This is my partner, Special Agent Kyle."

"How do you do?" Wayne smiled. "This is the head of my corporate legal department...."

The Warrior, Part 2:

"You can battle the Mujahideen," Alfred began, "perhaps even corruption in the mayor's office, but if you battle corrupt elements in the GBI, you will be labeled as 'with the criminals'. Those corrupt elements are, after all, the GBI, and the GBI always gets its man!" Alfred looked at Wayne. "If you battle them, the price could be all of this," Alfred pointed around the Batcave.

"If I don't try to defend Gotham, the price will be my soul."

The Dark Knight, Part 5 of 5:

Sasha was now fully suited up in her body armor, armed with a variety of weapons, including small grenades which were remarkably similar to the Batbombs she had seen down below, in the Batcave.

Her orders were to prevent anyone from moving from the Batcave up into Wayne Manor, and, if it became necessary, to coordinate with Alfred a counterattack to retake the Batcave, should it fall into enemy hands.

The Detective (Touch the Sun) Part 10 of 12:

"Gotham Bureau of Investigation," a voice announced in that same instant from behind, loudly, and with authority. "Nobody move!"

"All right," the phantom quietly said to himself, "now I'm worried."

The Detective (Touch the Sun) Part 2 of 12:

"How did you escape?"

"Alive."

Thanksgiving:

"No," Sasha answered quietly, "the analysis was that the Batsuit did its job against the submachinegun that the female had. It was the military-grade weapon in the hands of the sniper behind him that did it. The computer analysis shows that this was the lethal shot."

The Warrior, Part 3:

The boss turned back from the window, and looked around at the people in the room, making eye contact with everyone. Then, he slowly looked upward and thoughtfully stared at the ceiling.

"I have given a name to my problems," he announced with great deliberation, "and it is 'Batman'."

____________

Gotham City Teasers I

Gotham City Teasers II

Gotham City Teasers III

Gotham City Teasers IV

Gotham City Teasers V

The complete Index to the Gotham City Series through October, 2008.

Gotham City Teasers III

Mirror, Mirror (Part 4 or 8):

The Ancient spoke some more, then the master continued translating. "You have a good heart, a heart of light, but it is wrapped in a dark, armored package. Today you will meet your opposite."

Autumn Rain:

The card inside had a picture of a cat which was attentively, even menacingly, staring at a hole in a wall, presumably the home of a mouse.

The smile had disappeared from her face as she began to realize this was not some kind of note from Bruce Wayne, but was instead something far more sinister.

She picked up the card again and reread the verse:

Blue is the water by which comes the green.
Tall is the lady; she's Gotham's queen.
Under her eyes, the Roman commands,
Fueling the vices of his empire's lands.
For wont of their vices they give freedom away;
High is the price for their habits they pay.
See the green lady, she is a slave,
See her blue knights, they are but knaves.
Powerful is the Roman, this land he does rule;
King takes queen on a knight for a fool.

Suddenly, Sandra felt very much like a mouse.

Attack by Fire: The Pale Horse:

The fortune-teller opened her eyes, looked at the cards, then looked at the master.

"He has descended into the lower parts of the earth. There, he is surrounded by devils."

Meow!:

It was another riddle!

Detectives listened to an illegal bug,
But didn't report the criminal plan.
Crime covers up crime, swept under the rug,
All merely for wont of an honest man.
The truth is hidden by towers of lies,
But the crime of the towers is exposed in riddles.
What really happened is quite a surprise!
Dirty cops, a deal with the devil... the man in the middle.

He looked again in the direction of the door, but the reddish-haired woman was long gone.

Belladonna:

She was assigned to work with an employee who himself had just started at Wayne Enterprises, a thirty-ish looking man named Edward Nygma. He seemed every bit as boring as this work that she needed.

Mirror, Mirror (Part 5 of 8):

Wayne looked at her. He wondered if it was just by accident that Talia rode up beside him.

"And who is Ra's al Ghul?"

"A man who has mastered himself."

Mirror, Mirror (Part 6 of 8):

"Look around you, Bruce. They're not winning this 'War on Crime', and they're not going to win it! The mayor and vice mayor have both said so, their senior staff tell us this every day -- it won't end anytime soon. And no wonder! While they are racking up arrest records bringing in common street thugs, no one is going after the real brains, the real decisionmakers, the real masterminds of the Mujahideen -- no one is going after Aladdin! Key players in the arena, key politicians and key businessmen, don't want the 'War on Crime' to be won, they just want it to be fought. It's a vote-getter and a money-maker."

The Detective (Touch the Sun) Part 10 of 12:

"Looking for someone?" a low, raspy whisper broke the silence.

The smaller figure whirled around, startled, but just as quickly recovered her composure.

"Difficult it is to sneak up on a cat," she purred. "Harder still to surprise a bat!"

Die Another Day, Part 1:

"Batman's intervention in the situation led to an absolute disaster – only a tremendous amount of revision of the story could lead someone to think otherwise."

Alfred looked at Wayne through his bifocals.

"The situation was resolved with a minimal amount of violence, Alfred," Wayne answered, looking back down at the Batcomputer.

"The use of fuel-air explosives in a hostage environment can hardly be considered a minimal amount of violence, sir," Alfred responded. "Three quarters of the hostages died, and the criminals who were holding them escaped."

The Demon, Part 5 of 5:

"What you offer is only more of the same – more pain, more suffering, more injustice, more revenge. By becoming judge, jury and executioner, you have become nothing more than a fool!"

The Counterconspiracy: "Vigilante" Part 2:

"Batman killed over two dozen people. Another dozen or so remain hospitalized. Some of them may still die. The remainder will be horribly scarred and disfigured for the rest of their lives," Bruce Wayne said quietly.

Meow!:

"What's the matter?" teased Vicki. "Cat got your tongue?"

The Counterconspiracy: Witness:

"It's called a 'Batsignal'," Vasilissa smiled. "Press the green button for a routine meeting; press the red button if you are in immediate, life-threatening danger. Once the button is pressed, Batman is summoned, and there is no way to cancel the meeting," she explained.

Mirror, Mirror (Part 4 or 8):

Returning to the present, Wayne looked away from the mirror and looked at his companion.

"Have you ever done that before, Dr. Villanova?" Wayne asked. "Kill someone, that is?"

The Counterconspiracy: Witness:

"'Pivoted?'" O'Hara repeated, looking at the alleyway; there was not enough room for a vehicle to turn around behind the restaurant.

"As in 'on a dime', Detective – those were the exact words of one witness."

Rocking Boats:

"Gotham Bureau of Investigation," the Dark Knight's voice was the kind of whisper that got someone's attention. "But those two agents are dirty." She studied him, as he continued. "And you're rocking their boat."

"How did you know?" she asked.

The Demon, Part 5 of 5:

"Yes, he's a hero, but more than anything else, Batman is a detective. And he's a very good one. When he pieces enough of this together, and gets the information into the hands of the right people, this whole plan will fall apart."

____________

Gotham City Teasers I

Gotham City Teasers II

Gotham City Teasers III

Gotham City Teasers IV

Gotham City Teasers V

The complete Index to the Gotham City Series through October, 2008.

Gotham City Teasers II

The Warrior, Part 3:

"The Knights of the Round Table wore shining armor, but you shall be a dark knight and your armor shall be dark; you shall be a creature of the shadows and of the night. Your heart will be pure, and your works will be good, yet your existence and your reputation will strike terror in the hearts of those who do evil, and it is through this terror that you shall be victorious."

Inky Black:

"Is it fair to condemn Alfred? He should be living out the remaining years of his life in peace." The master gazed off into the distance. "They will come after him, you know. Even if he goes away, they will hunt him down, because he is important to you." The master looked back at Wayne. "That is how it works. You go after what is important to them, they come after what is important to you."

Bruce Wayne stood on the brink of his destiny, peering into his future. It was an inky blackness, where he could clearly discern nothing except the worst of his fears.

"What do you suggest?" he quietly asked.

Vasilissa the Beauty (Part 1 of 12):

"Remember, Bruce, if they can't see you, they don't know you're there," Lucius Fox had been explaining the first time the figure saw the vehicle.

"That's the idea."

The Detective (Touch the Sun) Part 2 of 12:

"I didn't mean to startle you." The voice was a low, raspy whisper. It was the kind of voice that got someone's attention.

Vasilissa the Beauty (Part 10 of 12):

Unnerved now, she struggled to maintain her composure.

Suddenly a popping sound could be heard, and some startled shrieks in the background, as electrical circuits short-circuited and several lights went out. The tall, dark figure did not so much as flinch.

"Like I said, technical difficulties."

Maybe this wasn't a set-up.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Batman."

The Counterconspiracy: Witness:

"If Batman was here fighting the assailants, who was driving the Batmobile?" O'Hara interrupted.

"It appeared to be empty. Witnesses later got a look inside it, and there appeared to have been nobody inside until Batman got in the vehicle with one of the victims."

Autumn Rain:

"Where is he? I know he's nowhere in Wayne Manor," she answered. Alfred had grown fond of her accent.

"It is his way, Sasha," Alfred reassured her. "He is well. Try not to worry."

Attack by Fire: The Pale Horse:

Somebody next to him pointed at a dark vehicle between the warehouse and the utility building.

"It's Batman!" the man yelled.

____________

Gotham City Teasers I

Gotham City Teasers II

Gotham City Teasers III

Gotham City Teasers IV

Gotham City Teasers V

The complete Index to the Gotham City Series through October, 2008.

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Gotham City Teasers I

The Dark Knight, Part 1 of 5:

"This time, it started out as my parents that were falling, but suddenly... suddenly, it was these two tall buildings. They were tall, squarish, two nearly-identical buildings, and the smoke, instead of being the smoke from a revolver, was the smoke from a fire in these buildings. Then one fell, hitting the pavement below, then the other fell."

The Detective (Touch the Sun) Part 1 of 12:

"Tonight, I looked Fear in the eyes," he explained, drinking about half his Scotch. "Fear dresses in black," he said, "and it has a bloody face."

Mirror, Mirror (Part 4 of 8):

"They were taking young women off the streets, gang-raping them to break down their resistance, and getting them addicted to drugs, which they then supplied. All of this to force them into a life of prostitution, dependent on the pimps." She paused, a note of anger in her voice.

The Counterconspiracy: Heavenly Fury:

"So what's that?"

Inspector Gordon looked at the evidence bag being held up by the narcotics lieutenant.

"Cigarettes laced with heroin."

The Demon, Part 2 of 5:

"Bruce, you're a prisoner of your past," she began, not sure how to proceed. "In six months, it will be a new millennium. You need to put it behind you."

"What? My parents' death?"

"Your fixation on the man who killed them." She slowed for a stop light. "He's in prison, Bruce."

The Demon, Part 3 of 5:

"That both you and Master Bruce are still quite young, and it would be a shame for either of you to allow impatience or frustration to rule you." Alfred sipped his tea. "Impatience and frustration are two demons, closely related; allow neither to drive your actions."

Attack by Fire: Three in the Morning:

He smiled. "The prison bars, the prison walls – it's all an illusion. You can walk away any time you want to."

She thought about that, then looked at him. "And what about the prison you are in? Is that an illusion, too?"

The Dark Knight, Part 3 of 5:

"No, hiding is for children. I mean he disappeared, right before their eyes."

Captivated, Sasha's mouth opened.

"As in 'Now you see him, now you don't,'" Wayne explained.

The Detective (Touch the Sun) Part 10 of 12:

"The city you love is in danger." It was a different voice, coming from Bruce Wayne's right.

He looked, and saw Gotham City. It was a beautiful morning, the beginning of a work day, and the sky over Gotham was clean and clear, a deep blue. The day was warm and pleasant.

The Interview:

"Laundering money for organized crime..." Nygma continued, as Wayne looked back out the window, "...by the billions," Nygma whispered.

The Detective (Touch the Sun) Part 10 of 12:

"The danger is not past, Bruce," his mother's voice answered.

The Detective (Touch the Sun) Part 12 of 12:

But Ra's al Ghul knew something more; he knew that it would not end with the destruction of the Gotham Towers.

The Eagle and the Butterfly:

"To murder a man and to destroy an entire village are both crimes, but, as terrible as the one is, it pales in significance when compared to the other."

Late at Night in the Batcave:

"You think this new crime syndicate, the Mujahideen, have nuclear weapons, don't you, sir?" It wasn't a question. "You think they have them here in Gotham."

The Detective (Touch the Sun) Part 12 of 12:

"And when they do not heed this latest warning? What then? Yet another?"

"Patience," he repeated. "When the time is right, the people of Gotham City will come face-to-face with the power that makes the stars shine in the night sky."

With great care, the bearded figure picked up a book and raised his eyes toward heaven. "When the time is right, Gotham City will touch the sun."

The Warrior, Part 3:

"It says: 'In a world darkened by the overcast of evil, one man will emerge, a warrior, and in defense of justice, he will work magic.'"

____________

Gotham City Teasers I

Gotham City Teasers II

Gotham City Teasers III

Gotham City Teasers IV

Gotham City Teasers V

The complete Index to the Gotham City Series through October, 2008.

Foxes and the Henhouse

We begin with the first several paragraphs of The Reckoning - Agency's '04 Rule Let Banks Pile Up New Debt by STEPHEN LABATON, October 2, 2008:

"We have a good deal of comfort about the capital cushions at these firms at the moment." — Christopher Cox, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, March 11, 2008.

As rumors swirled that Bear Stearns faced imminent collapse in early March, Christopher Cox was told by his staff that Bear Stearns had $17 billion in cash and other assets — more than enough to weather the storm.

Drained of most of its cash three days later, Bear Stearns was forced into a hastily arranged marriage with JPMorgan Chase — backed by a $29 billion taxpayer dowry.

Within six months, other lions of Wall Street would also either disappear or transform themselves to survive the financial maelstrom — Merrill Lynch sold itself to Bank of America, Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection, and Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley converted to commercial banks.

How could Mr. Cox have been so wrong?

Many events in Washington, on Wall Street and elsewhere around the country have led to what has been called the most serious financial crisis since the 1930s. But decisions made at a brief meeting on April 28, 2004, explain why the problems could spin out of control. The agency’s failure to follow through on those decisions also explains why Washington regulators did not see what was coming.

On that bright spring afternoon, the five members of the Securities and Exchange Commission met in a basement hearing room to consider an urgent plea by the big investment banks.

They wanted an exemption for their brokerage units from an old regulation that limited the amount of debt they could take on. The exemption would unshackle billions of dollars held in reserve as a cushion against losses on their investments. Those funds could then flow up to the parent company, enabling it to invest in the fast-growing but opaque world of mortgage-backed securities; credit derivatives, a form of insurance for bond holders; and other exotic instruments.

The five investment banks led the charge, including Goldman Sachs, which was headed by Henry M. Paulson Jr. Two years later, he left to become Treasury secretary.

Our current Treasury Secretary, Henry M. Paulson, Jr., is now in charge (and with wide discretion) of spending $700 billion of taxpayer money to deal with this crisis; this same man "led the charge" in 2004 to create the environment which allowed the catastrophe which WE THE PEOPLE are now paying for.

The mouse is in charge of the cheese!

And President George W. Bush, our 43rd President of the United States, a candidate for whom I proudly voted in the 2000 and 2004 general elections, is the man who put him there.

As a Republican, I was so disgusted with the blatant "I'm-so-smart-and-they're-so-stupid" corruption of the Clinton Administration, that until I started researching what was going on in Washington these days, I missed the blatant "I-call-the-shots-and-I-can-do-whatever-I-want-to" corruption of the Bush-43 Administration.

We need criminal investigations and criminal accountability in this economic "crisis" -- a "crisis" which looks to me like it was allowed to happen to destabilize the financial sector and provide cover for consolidating financial power in the hands of those who are pulling the strings.

But, let's not get ahead of ourselves.

We now continue by considering some excerpts from Unscrupulous Manipulation of the US Financial Architecture: The Failed Presidency of George W. Bush by Prof. Rodrigue Tremblay, October 25, 2008:

It is thus no accident that the Bush-Cheney administration has presided over one of the worst financial collapses and credit crises in U.S. history, by packing regulatory agencies with cronies whose mission it was to let rapacious speculators and market manipulators go wild. The result has been the creation of a casino-like speculative economy that is now crashing down before our very eyes.

"It is thus no accident" -- a little understated.

This is criminal conspiracy, and it is especially obvious when we consider that the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors is populated exclusively by appointees of Bush-43.

There's another layer of oversight that was put into place to look the other way.

Under Bush-Cheney, financial markets became manipulated by unscrupulous bankers and by rapacious hedge funds, as public regulation was reduced to a minimum. Millions of Americans lost their homes through foreclosure and many more saw their working and pension incomes eroded and destroyed by inflation and plant closings. And as what could be a protracted recession proceeds, many more will lose their jobs in the coming months, while some older employees may have to postpone their retirement because of the disappearance of their pension money.

"Millions of Americans lost their homes through foreclosure" -- the blame for this belongs in the laps of our big-liberal Washington elite. They wanted affirmative action in housing, so they changed the rules to push mortgages for people who really didn't qualify -- including to illegal aliens.

Like all other affirmative action programs, this pushed people who were not qualified into situations they weren't ready to handle.

The resulting failure then just reaffirms the need for the big-liberal elite to interfere more, so we get more affirmative action.

Funny how the only thing liberal programs do, other than cost money, is generate the need for more liberal programs.

Do you suppose that is an accident?

By the way -- how has the meaning of the word "liberal" changed over the past two centuries or so?

Ah, are we off the subject? Back to corrupt cronyism...

In a parody of President Abraham Lincoln, we can say this has been an administration that deserved to be dubbed "a government of the wealthy, by the wealthy and for the wealthy." Some would not hesitate to say, also in parody, that it has been "a government of Goldman Sachs, by Goldman Sachs and for Goldman Sachs," considering the ubiquitous political and economic role which that firm has played within the Bush-Cheney administration. President Bush's own Chief of Staff, Mr. Joshua Bolten, comes from Goldman Sachs. And these days, everybody pretends not see the real and potential conflicts of interests of other public servants who are now on the giving public side of things, at the U.S. Treasury, and who are going to be on the receiving private side of public money, in a scant few months. It is the same thing with a lot of what the U.S. Treasury does. —Even the Governor of the Bank of Canada, Mr. Mark Carney, is a former employee of Goldman Sachs!

This revolving door -- they come from the business they are supposed to regulate, and go into the government regulating that business, then back to that business, for which they have just written the rules.

Consider this quote from the Sibel Edmonds case; from The Highjacking of a Nation, Part 2: The Auctioning of Former Statesmen & Dime a Dozen Generals by Sibel Edmonds, November 29, 2006:

The foreign influence, the lobbyists, the current highly positioned civil servants who are determined future 'wanna be' lobbyists, and the fat cats of the Military Industrial Complex, operate successfully under the radar, with unlimited reach and power, with no scrutiny, while selling your interests, benefiting from your tax money, and serving the highest bidders regardless of what or who they may be. This deep state seems to operate at all levels of our government; from the President's office to Congress, from the military quarters to the civil servants' offices.

Edmonds makes this comment in the context of her own case, and refers to the "Military Industrial Complex" -- but, do you for a moment think this doesn't apply to the financial sector, as well?

Continuing with Unscrupulous Manipulation of the US Financial Architecture: The Failed Presidency of George W. Bush:

In a related matter, for historical purposes, it will be remembered that, in the fall of 2008, the Bush-Cheney administration sponsored a huge rescue-plus-bailout of the largest speculative Wall Street investment banks (which the Bush SEC had deregulated on March 28, 2004) and of a host of other banking and insurance institutions which had engaged in alchemy or synthetic finance and made risky investments. To that effect, it is ready to place at risk close to $2.0 trillion of public money and let the public debt explode, with few conditions attached to protect the public interest. In fact, the Bush administration stood ready to advance hundreds of billions of dollars and only requested non-voting preferred shares in the troubled banks and insurance companies that it rescued from bankruptcy. As a consequence, contrary to what the Roosevelt administration did in the 1930s, the U.S. government has no direct say about the way the troubled financial institutions are managed and run, and thus, if the bail-out were to be successful, most of the benefits would go to bank owners and their executives; but, if things continue to deteriorate, taxpayers will be the ones left holding the bag.

Key quotes: "with few conditions attached to protect the public interest" and "thus, if the bail-out were to be successful, most of the benefits would go to bank owners and their executives; but, if things continue to deteriorate, taxpayers will be the ones left holding the bag."

Some have said this is an example of corporate socialism for the rich. In fact, this has nothing to do with socialism per se, but everything to do with legal and unapologetical extortionism on a high level. For all these reasons, if the ongoing recession and financial crisis were to turn into a full-fledged economic depression, as it could possibly do, and as it did in 1873-1880 and 1929-1939, it would have to be dubbed by historians "the Bush-Cheney Grand Economic Depression" of 2008-20(?).

It's called "corruption" -- this is illegal.

In this context, let me skip ahead to some more quotes from Unscrupulous Manipulation of the US Financial Architecture: The Failed Presidency of George W. Bush. After a short rant regarding the Bush Administration's interactions with the media, Prof. Tremblay states:

Never has American journalism and U.S. corporate media been so corrupt and complicit, and this is because the United States has never had such a corrupt administration, i.e. the 2001-2009 Bush-Cheney administration.

Considering how the media does nothing with regard to the Sibel Edmonds case, can I really argue with Prof. Tremblay on this issue?

Prof. Tremblay then concludes:

In its countless failures, the Bush-Cheney administration has been an unhealthy mixture, rarely seen in a democracy, of immorality, lawlessness and incompetence. —It won't be missed by most people, both in the U.S. and around the world.

No argument from me regarding that statement, either.

So, here's the best part; from S.E.C. Concedes Oversight Flaws Fueled Collapse by STEPHEN LABATON, September 26, 2008:

WASHINGTON — The chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, a longtime proponent of deregulation, acknowledged on Friday that failures in a voluntary supervision program for Wall Street's largest investment banks had contributed to the global financial crisis, and he abruptly shut the program down.

The S.E.C.'s oversight responsibilities will largely shift to the Federal Reserve, though the commission will continue to oversee the brokerage units of investment banks.

So now, Bush's five foxes on the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors will take over guarding the henhouse.

Here now is another quote from the Sibel Edmonds case; though made in the context of her own case, it seems so applicable to this crisis as well, and this is another reason why I see this financial crisis we are in as just another... ah, but first the excerpt from An Interview with Sibel Edmonds, Page Three by Chris Deliso, July 1, 2004:

CD: What are they so afraid of?

SE: They're afraid of information, of the truth coming out, and accountability -- the whole accountability issue that will arise. But it's not as complicated as it might seem. If they were to allow the whole picture to emerge, it would just boil down to a whole lot of money and illegal activities.

CD: Hmm, well I know you can't name names, but can you tell me if any specific officials will suffer if your testimony comes out?

SE: Yes. Certain elected officials will stand trial and go to prison.

There was a terrorist attack on 9/11, which snowballed into a War on Terror -- and there was a subprime mortgage crisis, which has ballooned into an economic crisis and even a financial meltdown.

Different events, right?

But, what is going on behind the scenes -- in both cases?

Meanwhile, please read the two articles from the New York Times in their entirety, as they are very informative.

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Index to the Gotham City Series

Selected comments from the Gotham City series:

From Gotham City: "Things Change":

Aurora said...
Wow, YD, you've really outdone yourself on this one. I'm going to weave some of this into a post I'm doing tonight.

February 24, 2008 12:25 AM

From Rocking Boats:

WomanHonorThyself said...
now THATS writing!

June 7, 2007 9:08 PM

From The Detective: Prelude:

pela68 said...
!

You have outdone yourself...

That was... Beautiful!

September 1, 2007 6:18 AM

From Rocking Boats:

defiant_infidel said...
What an excellent job, Mr. Boat Rocker!

June 10, 2007 1:56 PM

From Belladonna:

pela68 said...
I bow to you sir! Not in submission, but in awe and jealousy. I wish I had a pinpoint of your talent for writing. You do also make a case, a very compelling case as that. But if you are right, then it is time to get afraid- very afraid.

June 21, 2007 2:12 PM