Pouring oil in Muddy Waters - The Iranian Oil Bourse partially uncovered

Interview with Chris Cook, Originator of the Iranian Oil Bourse
By Julian Jackson POwerswitch and Chris Vernon of Oil DRum

Fascinating insight into part of the history about the supposed Iranian Oil Bourse, Euros, OPEC, Peak Oil and much else about transparency in international oil markets.

Julian Jackson (JJ): I wanted to ask you, what is the current state of play with the Iranian Oil Bourse?

Chris Cook (CC): The current position is that there are two conflicting positions. One is the official one, or should I say semi-official one, the other is the actual facts of it, or maybe it's the difference between the apparent and the real. The problem with this has been that the sponsors of this exchange, the Oil Ministry, have resisted from the outset any real transparency. Therefore the announcements we have seen in relation to an oil exchange would be in reality a travesty of an exchange. It bears no relation to the proposition that was put forward, the feasibility study that was done, and what the President [of Iran] wanted: more transparency in the oil market.

What we are looking at is a political problem: all that has been done is a building has been bought, a legal entity has been put together, but all the nuts and bolts, the elements of an exchange, essentially there is nothing behind it at all which is worthy of the name of an exchange.

JJ: That's a bit of a shock to me - I don't speak Farsi, but I've been following as much as I can in the news, and I thought things were further advanced than that.

CC: They appear to be, but that is in fact not the case. It suits certain elements within the Oil Ministry, who have been obstructive throughout this process.

Now read on........

see also .....
Asia Times Middle East: Jan 21, 2006

PERCEPTION and REALITY
What the Iran 'nuclear issue' is really about
By Chris Cook

Thought for the Day

Mulling over the setback George has had at the hands of a Black Female Judge, and the appeal by runty Gonzalez.

Would Alberto please tell us, given his understanding of the "Unitary command" the President enjoys under the Constitution ... is there anything that the President cannot do ?

Consider ...

Lies about WMD
Winnebagos of Death
Lies about Yellowcake
Colin Powell's UN speech
His State of the Union Speech
Abu Ghraib
Plame uncovered
Guantanamo Bay etc,
Rendition
Torture by proxy
Warantless wiretapping
SWIFT Banking records
Conditional signing of Bills from Congress
2 Stolen elections

That just about leaves child rape and murder and there are some would say the Iraqi Blockade qualified there.

BBC Terror Plot DIY manual exposed. NO comment from Scotland Yard.

Here are three recent BBC follow up stories on the Transatlantic terror Liquid/Gel Bomb Plot disrupted Shock Horror News Story since Home Secretary John Reid (Our Saviour and our Strength) and The Attorney General Lord Goldsmith told us all not to speculate.....

Terror police find 'martyr tapes'

Police investigating an alleged plot to bring down airliners have found several martyrdom videos in the course of their searches, the BBC has learned.

Unofficial police sources said the recordings - discovered on laptop computers - appear to have been made by some of the suspects being questioned.

Scotland Yard has refused to comment on what officers are finding.

Terror detectives 'find bomb kit'

Police probing an alleged plot to bring down flights have found a suitcase containing items which could be used to construct a bomb, the BBC has learned.

Officers have been searching a piece of land called King's Wood in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire.

A police source told the BBC the case contained "everything you would need to make an improvised device".

Other officers have confirmed only that a suitcase was found. Scotland Yard has not officially commented on any finds.



UK terror plot police in Pakistan
By Aijaz Mahar
BBC News, Islamabad

A team of British officials investigating the alleged airline bombing plot has arrived in Pakistan, a Pakistani minister has said.

The "legal experts" are liaising with Pakistani officials who detained a British suspect, said Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao.

Rashid Rauf is one of 17 alleged plot suspects reportedly held in Pakistan and is a key focus of investigations.

British authorities refused to comment on the UK mission in Islamabad.
--------------
Notice anything ....well ...er ...formulaic about these stories.

Headline
Terror Police .....

Body
Statement of fact (s) quoting "Unofficial Police source" , "Police source" .. "the BBC has learned" also always maintaining that it is an "alleged plot"... or a quote from Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao. See *****

Tail

Refusal to comment by Police / Government officials

Then a lot of puff to fill in the odd para or three which add no essential facts but plenty of exciting but useless and uninformative colour.

So we can expect further stories using the same model .... maybe ....

Terror Police find DIY Bomb Manual

Police probing an alleged plot to bring down airliners have found copies of an Al Quaeda DIY Manual for making bombs from common household liquids. It was found on a lap top computer seized in arrests of terror plot suspects the BBC has learned.

A senior police officer told the BBC the manual contained "everything you would need to make an improvised device".

Scotland Yard has refused to comment on what has been discovered on the seized computers in raids on terror plot suspects.

Professor Bill Brain of Dull As Ditchwater University Computing Department told the BBC , " Lap top computers could quite easily be used to store such manuals, probably in several languages, they could easily by transmitted by electronic means."

---------
*******
The BBC happily also managed to quote Pakistan's Interior Minister Aftab Khan Sherpao on July 17th 2005 year when they released the " Image of bombers' deadly journey", he told the BBC , "far closer scrutiny would be given to madrassas preaching extremist views"
Handy man to have around when you need a quote Mr " Rentagob" Sherpao.

Should you ask, out of interest or indeed, curiosity the Image of bombers' deadly journey from over 6,000 hours of videotape .. buty then of course they seem to have only passed by cameras that were not working that day, more's the pity.

Israel, Corruption, Olmerde, vanishing US$58 MN and "Jobi" and some Dots to join.

The World Bank is concerned about the corruption of Governments,on May 9th 2005 they produced the last of regular reports of 209 countries between 1996-2004.

Beginning in the late nineties they began to develop and analyze measures for six components of good governance:

1. Voice and Accountability - measuring political, civil and human rights
2. Political Instability and Violence - measuring the likelihood of violent threats to, or changes in, government, including terrorism
3. Government Effectiveness - measuring the competence of the bureaucracy and the quality of public service delivery
4. Regulatory Burden - measuring the incidence of market-unfriendly policies
5. Rule of Law - measuring the quality of contract enforcement, the police, and the courts, including judiciary independence, and the incidence of crime
6. Control of Corruption - measuring the abuse of public power for private gain, including petty and grand corruption (and state capture by elites)

Naturally such reports don't hit the headlines but this one did in Israel because the World Bank had decided that Israel was one of the most hazardous nations, citing its unstable and inefficient government and its relatively high level of corruption among its leadership, as well a low ranking in law enforcement.

On every single index Israel scored way below every developed nation, for example regarding government corruption, which includes the use of authority to achieve private and personal profits, Israel was given a score of 80.8 percent. Italy scored lower at 74.9 percent, while the average rank among developed countries was 91.4 percent.

Israel also scored the lowest among all Western nations regarding political stability, which includes the risks the government faces with regard to foreign sources, such as terror, bombings and local violence, with a rank of a mere 15 % – far from the average score of 83.5 %

At the time the report was produced Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir, research director of the Business Ethics Center of Jerusalem pointed out that not only were standards bad but had been worsening.

A significant decline was registered since 1998 in all six governance indicators used by the World Bank: Voice and Accountability (from 76 to 60); Political Stability (from 30 to 15); Government Effectiveness (from 84 to 81); Regulatory Quality (from 74 to 72); Rule of Law (from 83 to 74); and Control of Corruption (from 88 to 79). All figures on a 0-100 scale where 100 is ideal; Finland scores over 97 on all six measures!)

So when the headlines in the Daily Telegraph today report the well known case of Prime Minister of Israel Ehud Olmert , ex Mayor of Jerusalem being able to buy a garden flat two years ago for $1.2 million even though the market price at time was $1.8 million no one in Tel Aviv is very surprised.. This favourable price reduction was allowed by the developer , it is alleged because he used his influence to allow the building containing the apartment to be redeveloped in spite of planning restrictions.

Israeli state comptroller, Micha Lindenstrauss, who is investigating the case, said Mr. Olmert would be questioned concerning these allegations - which surfaced 2 years ago.

This is not the first time is the not the first time Ehud Olmert has been accused of corruption. An earlier claim was investigated and dismissed by the state comptroller.

At the same time Haim Ramon, the Israeli justice minister, and close aide and friend of Ehud Olmert is to resign, one day after the attorney general decided to indict him over accusations of sexual harassment.

"The minister has decided to tender his resignation on Sunday in keeping with his decision to renounce his parliamentary immunity,"

spokesman Tzahi Moshe told the press today.

Menachem Mazuz, the Israeli attorney-general, on Thursday decided to indict Haim Ramon over accusations of sexual harassment lodged by a woman soldier, in keeping with the recommendation of a police investigation.

On Tuesday, the FBI in the US issued an all countries alert calling for the arrest of Jacob "Jobi" Alexander, the former chief executive, who is suspected of fleeing the country - he and two other directors are wanted to answer questions on backdating stock options - a recently discovered way of defrauding shareholders but long practised it seems. In late July, Jacob wired $57 million to an account in Israel, according to court filings from the Justice Department. He is now said to be in Israel , which does not of course have an extradition agreement with any country.

Comverse, founded in Israel by Jacob had Mossad connections, and acquired another Mossad connected firm, Odigo, shortly after it was revealed that Odigo employees had been forewarned of the attacks on the World Trade Center on 9/11 2001 - and may have alerted many other Israelis in the US an especially people who worked in the WTC.

It is a recorded fact that only one Israeli citizen was killed in the WTC towers, a major financial NY finacial centre. (Out of which the retail store of Estee Lauder had only just departed before 9/11)

Odigo, like many Israeli software companies, is based and has its Research and Development (R&D) center in Herzliya, Israel, the small town north of Tel Aviv. Which is where you can find the Headquarters of Mossad.

You will also find Mossad's Interdisciplinary Center (IDC).The IDC, a private, non-profit university is headed by Shabtai Shavit, former head of the Mossad from 1989 to 1996, and is called the International Policy Institute for Counter-Terrorism and was called the International Centre for Terrorism Studies (ICTS).

The IDC also has a "Marc Rich Center for the Study of Commodities, Trading and Financial Markets" and a "Lauder School of Government, Diplomacy and Strategy." Marc Rich, a resident variously of Switzerland and Israel, is the fugitive financier who was pardoned from massive US tax bills, by President Clinton in his farewell rasberry to the US voters.The cosmetics magnate Ronnie Lauder, who was a major financial supporter of Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and his far-right Likud Party, founded the Lauder school.

So if like Jacob you have wired US$58 Mn and you want to skip the country you send the money to Israel and head for Lod Airport and the corrupt Government of Israel where rumour has it you can become a citizen overnight ... for a shekel or two. ?

Well yes, but only if you are a Jew. Hell they don't want the country full of non kosher crooks, they have enough to be going on with of their own, maybe that's why they built that fucking big wall.

JOIN THE DOTS

ICTS (UK) Limited, South Block, Entrance D, Tavistock House,Tavistock Square, London,WC1H 9LG is a subsidiary of ICTS International which is the company that was developed from Fraport AG, the owner and operator of Frankfurt Airport which was split off from ICTS Europe Holdings B.V., (NASDAQ: ICTS) which Nasdaq Stock Market said that it was delisting the securities of the Company because the Company had not filed it's annual report on Form 20-F for the period ended December 31, 2005 as required by Marketplace Rule 4320(e)(12). They are still quoted but barely traded at present.

INFRACO JNP LIMITED, is Tube Lines, is a PFI joint venture between specialist public services provider Amey and U.S. private industrial firm Bechtel, and the Mayor of LOndon (who was on his way back from Singapore and Olympics triumph on 7/7/05) they have business associations with ICTS (UK) Limited and their subsidiary Fortress GB Ltd.,

Mr Oded Shoham, was Col. Shoham and was the former head of the Technological Research, Development and Implementation Center of the Israel Defense Forces' Intelligence Corps. He was CEO , ICTS Technologies USA, Inc. part of ICTS Europe Holdings B.V which (confusingly) changed it's name in May 2005 to i-sec Technologies BV of which he is CEO.

Clue. A bus blew up in Tavistock Square on 7/7/05.

Global "War on Liquids" is now worldwide...

If you want to get an update on how plausible ..or indeed risible the idea of making a bomb in a lavvie on board a jetliner from household goods, then blow the whole fucking thing up ...read on. First read about how eating cake is an esential IslamoFascistMulsim Jihadist pre-suicide bombing ritual..."What Does A Terrorist Preparing To Bomb 10 Airliners Do Beforehand? Buys Cakes "

Mass murder in the skies: was the plot feasible?
Let's whip up some TATP and find out
By Thomas C Greene in Washington

Some thoughts on blowing up airplanes

BINARY EXPLOSIVES
Political Animal - see the comments especially

NYPD gives details of July 7 bombs
With link to FBI bombmaking instructions here

...and not forgetting the Terror BEFORE the Toilet Terror Threat ...
Ricin - of Mice and Men

First thing you need is a check-list

1. Obtain Passport
2. Buy Airline ticket

Estee Lauder in major Terror plot Threat

OH My GOD !! Terror threats threaten the cosmetics industry !! Estee Lauder's profits have dived for 5 straight Quarters , and announced cuts in Earning per share (EPS) of 25% today - despite massive cost cutting moves . Estee Lauder pointed out that 7 % of its annual $6bn sales are attributable to purchases made at travel retail outlets, primarily in airports. (Cosmetics Design Report)

Currently the British Airports Authority says that any items that could contain liquids, such as tubes, cans, plastic containers and bottles will not be allowed to be carried on board as hand luggage.

This means that just about every possible cosmetic, toiletry and fragrance item - from Chanel No.5 to anal bleaching peroxide lotions - cannot be carried on board.

Similar measures are in force, in the US and other major destinations worldwide.

The delicious irony of course is that Ronnie Lauder , head of Estee Lauder and biggest shareholder was / is of course one of the bigest funders of Ariel Sharon - probably the world's greatest State Terrorist - although he holds his equal in the pantheon of Israeli State Terrorists, with Shamir, Begin, Meir, Peres, and now Olmerde.

As ye sow ...

Black Woman Federal Judge Orders Halt to NSA Wiretapping - but it won't happen until Sept 7th at earliest.

Dan Eggen of the Washington Post reports at 5.18 pm EST U.S. District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in Detroit, Mich. wrote in a strongly-worded 43-page opinion that the NSA wiretapping program violates privacy and free-speech rights and the constitutional separation of powers between the three branches of government. She also found that it violates a 1978 law set up to oversee clandestine surveillance.

It is worth recording here thatIn 1979, Anna Diggs Taylor a graduate of Yale Law School in 1957 became the first black woman judge to be appointed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Nineteen years later, she became the first black woman Chief Judge for that circuit as well.(see Pic)

"Obviously, of course I'm disappointed," said the sobbing, creepy Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said at a briefing for reporters. "I believe very strongly that the president does have the authority to authorize this kind of conduct, particularly in a time of war, conduct that's very consistent with what other presidents have done in a time of war. And we believe the authority comes from the authorization to use military force and from his constitutional authority as commander in chief."

Of course the little runt is unhappy, 43 pages of legal arguyment to upset his tawdry script that the President can do any goddam thing he wants, because there is a "War on terror".

"Today's ruling is a landmark victory against the abuse of power that has become the hallmark of the Bush administration," said ACLU Executive Director Anthony D. Romero. "Government spying on innocent Americans without any kind of warrant and without congressional approval runs counter to the very foundations of our democracy."

He called the ruling "yet another nail in the coffin of the Bush administration's strategy in the war on terror. . . . The judge very clearly points out that this, at its core, is about presidential powers."

Three cheers for Democracy and the separation of powers!!!!


However ... As the Justice Department have appealed, a hearing will be held before Judge Taylor on Sept. 7, and her decision will not be enforced in the meantime

I caught up with Seth Tumbleweed for his reaction to this shock , awe and horror legal announcement.... he said " I jes' tell you, this here is the classical paradigm affecting the post war, post industrial society as the globalisation of war by that runty Texan hits the old air conditioning ... just as long as that they airconditioning works ... probably not if it's made in Korea." Hew whittled some more on an antique coon dog collar made out of buffalo hide and continued..." That Texan carpetbagger may talk big but , when they call the lawyers in the front line... well you jist , ...you know they got a beating comin'." I left him whittling.

Tzipi beats up support for her Premiership bid

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, housewife and mother, had a busy day today in New York meeting Senator and presidential hopeful Senator Hillary Clinton, after intensive discussions with United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

Tzipi flew to the United States to put forward Israel's case concerning the United Nations Security Council ceasefire resolution. She was due to arrive on Saturday but put off clearing her trip with Ehud Olmert until 3 hours befoire her departure. He explained that she would be trapped by pro-Arab elements and cancelled the trip.

No further details of what she has beenn talking about, or who else she may meet have been released.

Lord Patel understanbds from diplomatic gossip that changes are due in the Prime Minister's office ... watch this space.

Dan Halutz - follow the money - betting on defeat

Israeli newspaper Maariv has published a story by Reporter Yehuda Sharoni that Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Dan Halutz sold his investment portfolio the day the war broke out.

According to reports, 3 hours after Hezbollah attacked an IDF patrol and abducted two soldiers, at 12 P.M., Halutz found the time to call his investment adviser at the Bank Leumi ,Dizengoff Street Branch in Tel Aviv and order him to sell the shares in his investment portfolio, worth NIS 120,000 (US$25,000 ish). Over the next two days the value of the stock in the Tel Aviv stock exchange lost 8.3 % of its value

Halutz reportedly did not see a problem with his behavior. But he was critical of the newspaper that published a "malicious, evil story that certainly some [interested party] is behind its leak."

Halutz told Maariv that "one cannot link [the sale of the stock] with the war. Such a connection is fantastic. At that time I did not think and did not expect that war would occur." He confirmed the details released in the story.

Haaretz remarked, "Politicians are looking for a scapegoat, since the public will not be satisfied with the removal of Northern Command head, Major General Udi Adam. It is no surprise, therefore, that the offices of the prime minister and defense minister refrained from issuing a statement supporting the current chief of staff."

As to what the average soldier in the IDF thinks of his military leader's priorities ...? . or the parents of the dead one's....?

Hizbollah fighting to get back their country, Halutz fighting to keep his bank balance ?

Perfumier Lauder runs into trubble in Ukraine with CETV

Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (CME) (NASDAQ/ Prague Stock Exchange: CETV) has TV interests in the Ukraine (Studio 1+1, Studio 1+1 International, Kino) is controlled by cosmetics heir Ronald Lauder. In an oral decision issued today, a district court in Kiev ruled that Igor Kolomoisky (43) , (see v. rare pic) owner of the conglomerate Privat including the Privat Bank, is entitled to the 70% interest in Studio 1+1 LLC which claimed to be held currently by Alexander Rodnyansky.

CME protests this ruling today its Ukrainian subsidiary Intermedia, which owns 30% of Studio 1+1 and is a party to the proceedings and sale from their offices in Hamilton Bermuda, they are going to appeal this decision.


Michael Garin, CME’s Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Today’s outcome is very disappointing, which is why we will appeal this decision. We have a longstanding binding agreement with our partners that we are entitled to a 60% interest in Studio 1+1 and they are entitled to a 40% interest. Alexander Rodnyansky is effectively a custodian of our interest until a previously agreed restructuring of the ownership of Studio 1+1 to reflect these ownership interests has been completed. Igor Kolomoisky has acknowledged this right in the course of the proceedings in Kiev. The 40% interest in Studio 1+1 is not the property of CME and we cannot compel the sale or transfer of it. Any transfer, however, can only be by legal means. Accordingly, we do not believe that any person can have a legitimate claim to a 70% interest in Studio 1+1. We are confident the government is committed to ensuring the interests of foreign investors in the Ukraine are protected.”

The ruling is similiar to problems CME faced in a 5 year legal struggle trying to gain control of its operations in the Czech Republic after using similar arrangements.

"The obvious risk in this situation is that Mr. Kolomoisky, if successful at the end of the legal process, decides and manages to walk away from the ... contractual agreements...Should this worst-case scenario materialise, the impact would obviously be negative for CME, as the Ukraine is a promising market for the company," said a JP Morgan analyst to Reuters and added. "However, especially if compared to the previous episode in the Czech Republic, the impact should be manageable."

It also shows what a rough tough world it is dealing with the rubble left behind the crumbling of the USSR empire. CMTV ended the day 1.5% down but are 6% up on the week.

As some background ...

It was the attempt by Yulia Timoshenko to transfer ownership of the Nikopol Ferroalloy Plant (NFP), the world's largest ferroalloy producer, to a group of people including the Igor Kolomoisky ( from Victor Pinchuk, son-in-law of the former Ukrainian president, Leonid Kuchma who had benefited from a supposed "privatisation" of state assets) which led directly to president and ex - colleague Yushchenko to dissolve his government in September 2005.

Igor Kolomoisky is a native of Dnipropetrovsk but sensibly maintains a base and a home in Switzerland but has interests in Israel (and has contacts with Nathan Sharansky) and is a major funder of a Ukraine Holocaust Memorial.He is on the supervisory boards of the largest companies controlled by Privat: Moscomprivatbank, Naftokhimprykarpattya, and Ukrnafta. The group controls metallurgical and ferroalloy plants and now holds monopoly positions on the national market of manganese ore. Its active assets include stakes in 5 ore mining and dressing factories (OMDF). The group runs ferroalloy production in Russia and Romania. Other big holders in the group are Gennadiy Bogolyubov and Alexei Martynov. Its total assets are said to be $1.5 Bn.

Author of remarks ...“You can get out of prison some day, but you can’t get out of a forest with your head cut off.”

“I told Pinchuk, ‘life is a supermarket. you can take whatever you like, but the cash desk is at the end’ ”

"In my opinion, if the authorities declare their commitment to the freedom of expression and other fundamental values, TV should be viewed as business, rather than politics. Nowadays, entertainment is an industry; ever more tycoons from this sector hit the lists of the world’s wealthiest people. They outshine carmakers, metallurgy and processing kings, etc. I believe in business diversification, in moving ahead and expanding. It is in this context that the purchase of the 1+1 Channel shares should be considered."

UPDATE THURSDAY

Not a good week for Ronnie, Estee Lauder reported sales up 5% yo US$1.6Bn in Q4 but net 9ncome fell from US$66 Mn to US$44Mn EPS down from 30 cents to 21 cents.. The shares fell 43 cents or 1.2%. No more Klimt's for a bit then.

Go here and here for more details of the Byzantine world of Ukrainian Business / Politics

Rupe's Rags catch on ... Baby boomers exposed

It is not often that Lord Patel is anxious to show how superior his newsgathering acolytes are than those of Mad American , sinophil Rupe Murdoch but we had to point out on Monday that the Edior of the Sunday Times couldn't distinguish the home town of the 3 Asian guys who carried the bombs on 7/7 as coming from Beeston, Leeds , West Yorkshire and NOT 100 miles away in Beeston Nottingham. Newspaper of Record. My ass.

Now Rupe has evidently told his sleuthing journos to take a trick or two from us. Last week immediately after the hoax alarms organised by Johnny (I'm a hard Man) Reid, we reported on the morning of the 10th August ...

Here's a funny thing .... from the BBC site of pictures ..."And with the security alert focusing on liquids, mothers were told that they would be required to taste baby milk before it would be allowed on to a flight." Exploding baby milk and dying suicide bombing babies - how evil can these bastards get ? Good job the picture shows a Somali (?) woman with a baby , not a white woman. 10th August

(Interestingly these pictures disappeared a few hours later, never to re-appear.)

However in Today's Super Soaraway Sun, after pictures of the groping heir to the throne, we find Chief Reporter JOHN KAY and SIMON HUGHES say there is a "Hunt on for Baby Bombers" (Pic of one of the Al Quaeda monsters in the womb)

HATE-filled mums willing to sacrifice themselves and their BABIES are being hunted in the war on terror.

There's more ...

The discovery prompted fears that there were fanatical mothers in secret al-Qaeda cells in Britain ready to become suicide bombers — and to die with their tots in their arms.

And it emerged as the reason why women at airports were ordered to drink from their babies’ bottles before being allowed to board flights during last week’s massive alert.

Wow! The SUN has worked it out .. or secretly been reading up on Lord Patel's pages.

We are under threat from the Baby Boomers. One minute a chuckling infant, chug-a-lugging (as they say in Rupe's own country) on his inoccent looking bottle .... the next minute BOOOOOOOOM !!!!

My God ! These Muslim women should have their babies torn from their wombs, their children killed in front of them. Have they no Christian Charity ?

At least the IDF simply kill babies with their mothers , by precisely guided rocketry and laser guided bombs ... or cluster bomblets or phosphor bombs or hyperbaric bombs or air fuel bombs or artillery shellfire from 20 miles away.

Magazines from the Top Shelf

Of the many things to like about America are their wonderful magazines - Rolling Stone brings us the picture of when President Bush cut short his meeting with Prime Minister Yo Blair to meet the American Idol winners en bloc. They didn't have the scoop that CNN could call on, that the Fox program winner Taylor Hicks, “has a personal connection inside the White House: Susan Whitson, Laura Bush’s press secretary, who taught him 9th grade English at Hoover High School in Birmingham, Ala,”

In September Vanity Fair (which seems to have been given over to boosting cocaine snorting Kate Moss's career), Graydon Carter rounds of his Editorial with a provocative, novel but challenging thought (and we don't just mean the grammar).

On this fifth anniversary of 9/11 perhaps it's time to review the administration's assertion that that was the day the world changed. It really wasn't ; 9/12 was. That was the day the neocons in the White House began using this devastating attack on American soil to further their own dreams of taking over Iraq. That was the day the administration began plotting to remove a dictator over there and to create one here.

Which just makes us wonder ... what are Dubya's musical tastes ?

Stiff Little Fingers ... "Suspect Device" maybe ? Click for the lyrics here.

The Ideal Patsy

In some ways she was far more acute than Winston, and far less susceptible to Party propaganda. Once when he happened in some connection to mention the war against Eurasia, she startled him by saying casually that in her opinion the war was not happening. The rocket bombs which fell daily on London were probably fired by the Government of Oceania itself, “just to keep the people frightened.”

George Orwell, 1984 published 1948

Waheed Zaman, 22, DOB May 27, 1984 of 104 Queens Road, Walthamstow UK National Insurance No. JE296729B.

The Times Online (Rupes Rag)Mr Zaman is a biomedical science student and a well-known political activist. He is head of the Islam Society at London Metropolitan University and is reported to have spoken at Muslim rallies and written a number of articles about Islam for the student magazine.

His older sister, Safeena Zaman, 24, defended her brother in an interview with The Sun. She said he was proud of being British.

She said: "He loves fish and chips and Liverpool Football Club and his favourite TV programme was Only Fools and Horses. He even wanted to join the police as a forensics expert.

"As part of his work with the Islamic Society at university he would organise Muslim events and would often give talks. He is a great believer in the importance of integration between our community and the Western world."

According to a report in London's Evening Standard Mr Zaman and other suspects in the area attended the Edinburgh Road Primary School.


The Sun Online (Rupes Rag)Terror suspect Waheed Zaman met controversial MP George Galloway many times, his sister said last night.

Safeena, 24, said of her 23-year-old brother: “He saw it as his duty to stand up for his community and that’s what led him to know George Galloway. He has a lot of respect for him and has met him many times.”

A spokesman for MP Galloway, above, said: “Waheed Zaman is not a name that George is familiar with. He is not known to him on a personal level.”

Now why would a guy like Waheed want to deal with the spooks ? Because he is a loud, visible sortta guy, lotsa contacts wants lotsa attention ? Plausible ? Gullible ? It's not impossible to believe he has had a few intimate momentson a comfy sofa, in the lounge of the Horse Guards Hotel or the Charing Cross Hotel over a glass of sparkling Appletiser with a glamourous, young and friendly lady.

How else do you find a way into these secretive fucking Muslim IslamoFascist Jihadist societies? With their plots for bombs, mass suicide and Armageddon ?

"The rocket bombs which fell daily on London were probably fired by the Government of Oceania itself, “just to keep the people frightened.”

AOL open their chequebook. Again.

Troubled AOL has been busy building its facilities this year by buying in companies to expand the web resources for users in 3 deals, in which they have acquired leading edge web technology in personal communications , web advertising and video search , all for "undisclosed sums".

Michael Jones, Nate Thelen and Javier Hall the 3 founders (in 2001) of Userplane (12 employees) were about to sign up serious funding from a Venture Capital outfit and met AOL’s CEO, Jon Miller - the result , AOL have taken them over. Expect to see an abundance of new features and innovation as a result they say..Good WAPO article on technical implications of deal here

Userplane has licensed its chat technology to more than 100,000 Web sites and online communities, including MySpace.com, Date.com, Honda, Red Bull and Marvel Comics and curently has a presence in 25 countries.

This follows the acquisition by AOL of Washington based Lightningcast in May (34 employees)who pioneered software for delivering advertising into on-demand, live, and downloaded video content across the web.AOL have been customers since 2002 using Lightningcast's platform, first for audio (AOL Radio) and later for video streaming advertisements (AOL Video) - partnering broaadband network, "In2TV", from AOL and Warner Bros. They will continue to operate as a part of AOL subsidiary Advertising.com

AOL also acquired video search engine Truveo (Based in Burlinghame CA) in December last year. Founded only January 2004 with angel finance by CEO Dr. Tim Tuttle and CTO Dr. Adam Beguelin it launched its video search engine technology in September 2005 utilizes a proprietary web crawling technology they call "Visual Crawling". A unique technology ythet they claim has enabled Truveo to build the most comprehensive index of high-quality, current video on the web..

This adds to the AOL Video Search in June 2005 which was largely based on the acquisition of Seattle-based Singingfish in November 2003.

"The next few years will see a dramatic increase in the amount of video available on the web," said Dr. Tim Tuttle - nothing is more certain as traditional printing presses have been hit by the web , perhaps the TV studios are going to be hit as the amateur film maker, newscaster, newshound stakes their place.

Expect to see AOL open its cheque book again before the year end. Rumours persist about Technorati.

The Transatlantic Airplane Bomb Plot Armageddon - DON'T TALK ABOUT IT !

So the Guradian reports "Media must stay silent on suspects"

In a joint statement, The Home Secretary John Reid (and PM in waiting - Our Saviour and our Strength) and Attorney General Lord Goldsmith have called for the media to show "considerable restraint" to avoid prejudicing any future trials.

This presumably relates to the fact that no flight tickets had been bought by the cold blooded (but evidently not well prepared killers) and indeed some of the suspect suicide bombers had not got round to getting a passport (well a real one , maybe they had dud ID)...or that most of the suspects were known to the SIS / Police before 7/7 and had been under surveillance with phone taps, photography - even to the comical level that "suspects stepped up their Internet searches for possible U.S.-bound flights, etc.," .. master planners at work, evidently REALLY WELL PREPARED AFTER 12 MONTHS OF PLOTTIN' AND A PLANNIN'. Make the Miami 7 look like professionals.

It is evident that this whole crock of shit is now falling apart - See the Miami 7 , see the "Ricin " gang, see Forest Gate a raid of 250 cops based on "solid intelligence", see the rapid release of so many "arrested" under the Terrorism Act.

The truth is that there is not the slightest shred of evidence produced anywhere to put any of these people on trial for attempting to bomb anything, anywhere.

They are just a bunch of infiltrated wannabes who have been exposed for that, to further the career of John Reid at the expense of the travel industry , BAA, and passengers. All these people were known about for over 12 months. The "exposure" discussed and planned on both sides of the Atlantic was aimed to ;

1. Introduce even more draconian measures for controlling the population.
2. To increase the element of fear and justify notching up the new "Critical" threat level.
3. To boost John Reid's grab for the Premiership (revealed here over 4 weeks ago) and fuckover Gordon Brown's chances of the top job slot.

The Wise men say (Under dire threat of The Contempt of Court Act 1981 ) "We must avoid the publication of materials which may impede or prejudice the complex and ongoing investigations by the police and avoid the risk of prejudicing potential future legal proceedings or prejudging their outcome."

It was of course the persistence of Bridget Dunne and many others in demonstrating the absurdity of the published Timeline for the 7/7 bombers - ie that they had jumped on a train at Luton that did not exist which led one of the wise men,The Home Secretary John Reid (and PM in waiting - Our Saviour and our Strength) to tell the Police to correct the record. The Met's response (AKA Dumb Ox Clarke, Heard of Terrism at the Yard ) was, to say it was the Home Office who stated the time of the train the "suicide bombers" caught from Luton ... hmm...er..er the Police are actually part of the Home Office .. do they ever talk to each other in there ? Evidently not. Not Fit for Purpose and yet they pull this stroke.

Far from the chance to "impede or prejudice the complex and ongoing investigations " it will be entirely helpful if there is the widest public discussion of this whole farrago and charade of incompetence.

The Daily Torygraph report that John Reid (PM in waiting - Our Saviour and our Strength) himself has "prejudged the trials for some of the members (of the plot)." according to David Davies the Tory spokesman, who is quoted from a remark he made on Sky TV. Reid is also embroiled in an argument with Gordon Brown and the Treasury about the publication of the names of suspects (required when their assets are frozen) under UN inspired legislation - which simply underlines his grab at the Prime Minsitership , and his ill concelaed contempt for the fellow Scot from the Lang Toon.

MEDIA ACCURACY

The Sunday Times has a leader on the usual lines, abour disaffected muddle class Muslims and youth etc etc.,it also claims ....

"When an undercover reporter from The Sunday Times visited Beeston in Nottinghamshire, where three of the July 7 bombers came from, he found either a denial that they had been involved or, perhaps more alarmingly, respect for them as Muslim martyrs."

Please note Mr Murdoch , there is a Beeston in Nottinghamshire , but the Beeston that the three Muslims carrying the bombs on 7/7 came from is in West Yorkshire.100 miles away.

PS. Of course it would be a Godsend if the trial could not be held as if it had been prejudiced, by say the publication by the Bank of England of their names, addresses etc., ... wouldn't it?

Japanese illegals take over US. Chemical warfare useless.

When they inscribed the lines from the Jewish poetess Ms. Lazarus about bringing the hungry and huddled massese on the Statue of Liberty ( now paradoxically closed for ever) they hadn't imagined that the hungry would include the The Japanese Beetle (Popillia japonica Newman) which first arived in the 1930's in the US in a nursery in southern New Jersey.

Without its natural enemies it has spread as a pest of both gardens and agriculture and is to be found in nearly every state , and in it's adult form is to be found everywhere this month.In Jpan faced with natural predators it present no problems to the gardener or the gariclturalist.

The insect is a voracious eater both in the larval grub stage in the spring when it feeds on plant roots, of various plants and grasses and often destroying turf in lawns, parks, golf courses, and pastures. It is today the most widespread turf-grass pest in the United States and it causes damage in Millions US$'s and is the cause of over US$350 MN. expenditure on pest control with insecticides.

The distinctive shiny metallic green and bronze adult beetle is 1/2" long. During the feeding period, females intermittently leave plants, burrow about 3 inches into the ground--usually into turf--and lay a few eggs. This cycle is repeated until the female lays 40 to 60 eggs which will hatch by mudsummer and start to devour turf roots, in the winter the grub burrows and hibernates , then re-appears to destroy more turf in the spring and pupate to become an adult after about 10 months of subterranean life..

Chemical controls

A fearsome armoury is used Carbaryl,Malathion, Methoxychlor,Rotenone for the adults and Imidacloprid , Bendiocarb, Isofenphos, Chlorpyrifos, Diazinon for treatement of the soil in the spring to kill the grubs.

Biological control
The US Department of Agriculture has been at the forefront of biological pest control since WWII and has directed a lot of effort to control (with some success) but have failed to eardicate this expensive pest.

2 nematodes , sprayed in a nutrient / water mix Steinernema glaseri and Heterorhabditis bacteriophora are commercially available. A spray of Bt or Bacillus Thuringiensis is often used as well. These worms and bacterial pests infest the beetles and kill them.

Milky spore or the sporulating phase of the bacterium Bacillus popillae is sprayed on the soil and will inevitably be ingested by the larvae, wher is matures and grows rapidly and distends and eventually kills the grub which will have taken on a characteristic white colour , hence the name.

Tiphia vernalis--is a small, parasitic wasp of Japanese beetle grubs resembles a large, black, winged ant. Its current distribution is believed to be throughout the Northeastern United States and south to North Carolina. Like all the parasitic wasps the female wasp digs into the soil, paralyzes a beetle grub by stinging, and then deposits an egg on the grub. When the egg hatches, the emerging wasp larva consumes the grub which has made both a handy home and a tasty breakfast.... or two.( Tiphia popilliavora is also said to predate on the Jpanese Bettele)

Istocheta aldrichi This solitary fly is an internal parasite of the adult Japanese beetle and is the most serious natural predator of the beetle in Japan. The female flies are capable of depositing up to 100 eggs during a period of about 2 weeks. The eggs are usually laid on the thorax of the female beetles. Upon hatching, the maggot bores directly into the beetle's body cavity, killing the beetle.

Attempts at establishing this predator in the United States have met with limited success, primarily in New England.

Because it does not take this fly long to kill the beetle, I. aldrichi can often suppress Japanese beetle populations before beetles can reproduce.

I. aldrichi is commonly seen feeding on aphid nectar deposited on Japanese knotweed (Polygonum cuspidatum), another pest from Japan.

Lord Patel sought the views of Seth Tumbleweed about this pesky pest , he caught him carving an antique wooden duck decoy our of a piece of a stoop hand rail made from sassafass wood...." Well this is the paradigm of the post war , post industrial society and its direct relationship to asset mobility and globalisation" started Seth, " we whupped they Japs at Iwo Jima and dropped the big bomb"... but they crafty guys had one on us and sent a bomb long time afore. They Jap beetles pretty sure enough taken the continent over since."

"Jest watch they Muslims do the same" he said, " First they Japs sent us Sony TV's with cases looked like wood but made of plasticky stuff , next thang y'now they've tookover the car industry" .

Lord Patel left him whittlin' away. (Pic of a beetle on a flower of Althea a popular garden plant related to Hibiscus.