" .... the neoconservative penchant for covert action."

Those words are the final phrase in Tom Griffin's 2nd Part of "The Godson approach to political warfare:" in Spinwatch

It starts with this chalenging and arresting statement ...

The claim that Sinn Fein’s Martin MI6Guinness was an MI6 agent must rank as one of the more intriguing intelligence stories of recent years, but a careful examination of the episode may reveal more about disinformation techniques than infiltration of the IRA.

The accusation was originally made in May 2006 by an ex-soldier known by the pseudonym Martin Ingram. A former member of the British Army’s Force Research Unit, Ingram had established some credibility because of his role in identifying Freddie Scappaticci as Stakeknife – a key informer within the IRA

Tom Griffin goes on to explain ..

Ingram’s contention is based on an unpublished document which he claims is a record of Martin MI6Guinness and an MI6 handler plotting the IRA’s human bomb attack campaign of 1990. Both the Sunday Times and Ireland’s Sunday Tribune were shown transcripts of this document, but neither was permitted to see the original.

Both papers were sceptical about the material, which the Sunday Times described as ‘a fabrication.’ Such a forgery would be consistent with the covert action techniques described by Roy Godson in his book Dirty Tricks or Trump Cards.

“People will believe what they want to,” Godson writes. “Disinformation is unlikely to have much impact on targets not predisposed to a certain belief. Therefore the primary consideration of the forger is to identify and play to predispositions; worrying about the quality or plausibility of the disinformation comes second."

Who would be predisposed to the belief that Martin MI6Guinness is an MI6 agent? One obvious answer is dissident republicans, who see the Good Friday Agreement as a betrayal.

Pic is of Martin MI6 Guiness furthest right in 1972 when he was 21, dressed in an IRA uniform at the funeral of fellow IRA member and close friend Colm Keenan.

Colm and Eugene McGillen, were both killed on Bloody Sunday when MI6Guinness has admited to the BS Enquiry that he was 2nd in command in Derry on that day .. but refuses to accept he fired the first shot.

" .... the neoconservative penchant for covert action." 7/7 , 21/7 , London , Glasgow and the general out of school activities of the Lady Dame Jane Pauline Neville-Jones Fan Club.

AEGIS "shoot 'em up gang" wins biggest DOD contract in Iraq

Press release from Aegis website today

AEGIS Wins Contract Renewal

Aegis Defence Services Limited, a security and risk management company, has won the renewal of the US Department of Defense's (DOD) contract to provide Reconstruction Security Support Services in Iraq.

This two year contract, the largest single security contract awarded by DOD, is anticipated to be valued up to $475 million.

Tim Spicer, Aegis CEO, stated, "We are very pleased to receive this award which we believe is a fine reflection of both our previous performance and our ongoing commitment to serve our client, the US Army Corps of Engineers Gulf Regional Division (GRD), to the best of our ability."

Since 2004, under the original contract, has Aegis provided a command, control, communication, intelligence and security framework to GRD - enabling the reconstruction effort to take place in as secure an environment as possible. During this period, Aegis has travelled over three million miles throughout Iraq and completed over 20,000 missions.

"We are delighted to continue supporting DOD. A secure environment will allow Iraq's critical reconstruction to continue and help create the conditions that will enable the country to re-establish itself as a self-supporting nation" Spicer said.

The announcement of the award means Aegis will have worked continuously in Iraq since the start of its original three year contract in June 2004.

Washington Post story today
Lord Patel post February this year

Pics above from the AEGIS "trophy" video shot by their security guards in Baghdad randomly shooting Iraqi civilians. The video, appeared on a website that has been linked unofficially to Aegis Defence Services, contained four separate clips, in which security guards open fire with automatic rifles at civilian cars. All of the shooting incidents apparently took place on "route Irish", a road that links the airport to Baghdad. The Video is on Google Video and was there 5 minutes ago

Cheddar Cheese eating surrender monkeys to "guard" Kuwait ?

The Kuwait News Agency reports that His Most Excellent Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah said on Wednesday that UK troops leaving Iraq would only be passing through Kuwait and would not take station in any base here, as there is no need for such a step.

His Most Excellent and Exalted Supreme Highness told Al-Nahar local daily that there are no agreements between the two states on having bases or stationed forces.

Which is curiously at variance with the report in todays Daily Telegraph that ..

The troops leaving Iraq would operate from a new base in neighbouring Kuwait, from which they would escort convoys and train Iraqi forces.

Military chiefs are negotiating with the Kuwaitis and a new barracks, called the Kuwait Support Base, should be operational by the end of the year.

US debt limit has risen 70% under Dubya

The US Congress through the The Senate Finance Committee ( Chairman Max Baucus,DEM Montana) must approve any increase in borrowing powers of the US Government.

On Wednesday they approved an US $850 billion increase to US$9.815 trillion lest the Government default as its current borrowing limit of $8.965 trillion (agreed March 20thth 2006) is reached. (Federal debt Friday was US8.929 Tr.)

The committee approved the bill on a voice vote and the full Senate will approve by early October (they have no fucking choice having voted for the 'o8 Budget spending bonanza). Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has been urging Congress to act quickly to avoid unnerving financial markets that are already jittery over rising mortgage foreclosures.

At current rates of pissing the taxpayers money into the Iraqi sand, on Osprey, B2, bridges to nowhere etc., that will give Bush and his spendthrifts the ability to continue borrowing into 2009, well after next year’s presidential and congressional elections.

This will be the 5th increase in the U.S. borrowing limit during Dubya's Presidency when U.S. borrowing limits stood at US$5.6 trillion and will shortly have risen by 70%.

Meanwhile the US$ has slumped to it's lowest ever against the Euro and the Oil price is bumping up against US$80 a barrel.

Testclear for Dopes

An inoccent in so many matters Toni Fabuloso brings our attention to an outfit called Testclear

Who will happily sell you Pass Urine Drug Test , Pass Hair Drug Test , Pass Saliva Drug Test , Drug Testing Kits , Alcohol Breath Analyzers ,Drug Testing Books ,Drug Identification Test , Infidelity Test (detects traces of semen that are left in undergarments after sex) , Hangover Pills , Paternity Test Pregnancy Test.

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You could keep off drugs of course which is what I tell Toni as we head off for a spot of Ayurvedic Massage.... my vasti marma needs a little coaxing.

Where are they Now ? No. 431. The Muslim Mercedes Jihadist Suicidalist Bombers of early Summer ?

"LONDON’S worst ever bomb carnage was foiled yesterday — thanks to a drunken reveller, a hero cop and a car clamper." Sun 29/6/07

Friday June 29th (2 days after Gordy took over at No 10) a pale metallic green Mercedes (model type and Registration Number never released) was clumsily parked outside the large, busy, three-story Tiger Tiger nightclub in Central London. An ambulance crew responding to an unrelated call at 1:30 a.m. noticed smoke in the vehicle and alerted Police.

It was reported later that , a brave , heroic, selfless, hero / police officer leaned inside to switch a cellphone off that was the bomb's trigger and turned it off.

A second pale blue Mercedes 280, ( Registration Number never released) was illegally parked in nearby Cockspur Street about the same time. Traffic officers hauled it away to an underground garage at Hyde Park. Many hours later , after news of the first "bomb" blanketed the airwaves, that dopey car parkalistas told Plod that the towed car reeked of gasoline.

No one claimed responsibility (then or since) for the bombs ( a collection of petrol in cans, propane gas cylinders and a quantity of brand new nails) , and police arrested no arrests. A senior government official said the two explosives appeared to be "al Quaida inspired." "International elements" were believed to have been involved with the bombs, Whitehall sources told the BBC.

"Simultaneous, co-ordinated bombs have historically been a distinguishing feature of [al-Qaeda's] anti-Western attacks "Frank Gardner,BBC security correspondent.

CBS News has reported that a message appeared on the widely used jihadist Al-Hesbah site, at 8:09 a.m. June 28, saying: "Today I say: Rejoice, by Allah, London shall be bombed." (ie before the cars were parked)

Later that day Peter Clarke the Sphincter of the Yard , said the similarity of the bombs indicated that they were probably the work of the same people. "The threat from terrorism is real," Clarke said. "It is here, enduring. Life must go on, but we must stay alert." ***

Botched London plot leaves 'gold mine' of clues D. Tel

"Last night, scores of specialists were taking the vehicles apart at secret locations, confident they will find crucial clues to the identity of the terrorists. Police expect to find DNA from the bombers and to secure evidence about where the bomb material came from."

Police have crystal clear video image of car bomber

"Police have a 'crystal clear' video image of a man who tried to kill hundreds of people by blowing up two cars in central London, according to reports." Daily Mail

Curiously enough, however extensively you might search for further information after June 29th /30th on the web, it is impossible to find anything about the wannabe jihadist suicidalists, police activities, the cars, leads ..... anything.

Plod has a history of the cars, (even after failing to ask for public help - have you seen this car etc., ) a "crystal clear pic of the driver" in Cockspur Street (curiously unpublished) and a gold mine of evidence, and details on mobile phones.

Maybe it was just members of the Lady Dame Jane Pauline Neville Jones Fan Club having a good larf.

*** "It is here, enduring. Life must go on, but we must stay alert." ... readers please note this will be one of the many wise and witty saying of Peter Clarke PC in Lord Patel's forthcoming slim anthology, "The Plod's Plod. The Wit and Wisdom of Peter Clarke PC " Lunchbucket Press - which should hit the shops in time for Christmas.

Itchy ears ?

You Tube <<<< Click and watch - is this guy telling the Truth ?

Northern Rock Solid ?

"Business as Usual" says the tosser who is the CEO, in his striped rayon tie and Terylene suit, pulling down £1.35 Mn. this year, as he drove the company over the edge into insolvency.

Closed Pension Funds anybody ?

Film of crowds at Northern Rock local branch this afternoon someone sent in.

Kiddie Porn - where do you draw the line - on the Railway

This snap was taken at Rawtenstall Railway Station of the East Lancashire Railway this week of a somewhat faded Edwardian (?) enamel sign attached to a fence immediately adjacent to the outside tables of their excellent cafe.

As Chris Langham has gone down for 10 months - it does set one wondering about how what is acceptable / unacceptable for public display changes.

Would Pears soap consider using such an image these days ?

Should ELR display such a poster however authentic ?

You can see and buy copies of the poster on paper at http://www.allposters.com/-sp/Pears-Soap-Posters_i1206620_.htm @ £13.99 - the colour hasn't faded however.

Northern Rock - the rewards of reckless lending

UPDATE 1900 hrs The Northern Rock and Alliance & Leics. websites for customers have been down since late last night so customers cannot log onto their accounts.

Listening / watching the media response to the BOE decision to fund Northern Rock we repeat ;

There are two tests of solvency ;

1. Inability to pay debts as they become due.
2. Insufficient assets to cover liabilities.

Northern Rock borrows money wholesale and lends it to people to buy houses. Due to the interbank rate now exceeding Base Rate by over 1 % their sums don't add up. Loans are due for repayment and cannot be replaced. They are insolvent.

In UK law, the people who decide that a company is solvent / insolvent are the Directors. When they judge themselves insolvent they are obliged by Company Law, to undertake certain legally prescribed steps, which effectively places control of the company out of their hands - into those of receivers, administrators.

The Money jugglers of the City have shrewdly put (switched) the onus for judging insolvency upon the FSA - who are hopelessly ill -equipped to make such judgements - and of course rely totally upon the information the Directors provide them with.

If the BOE hadn't stumped up, the Directors would have had to file for Administrators to be called in. Period.

If the BOE hadn't stumped up, the Directors could not continue in business as they had lost their ability (and confidence of lenders) to raise capital to continue to fund their loans. Period.

That is the simple, clear, transparent unvarnished TRUTH.

On Tuesday Governor King was waffling on about "penal rates" and days later lends these reckless Directors at below LIBOR.

Yesterday Darling was waffling on about "old Fashioned Banking" and then accedes to propping up this train wreck.

Why ?

Because the wonderful , sparkling, carefully crafted City mountain of debt, the product of 10 years of Gordy's alleged Prudence, is crashing out of control, the Bank of England is out of control.

Take note that the latest tranche of £4.4 billion relief fund issued by the BOE on Tuesday was drained by the major banks in minutes -
Abbey and Halifax have increased Tracker mortgage rates by 0.1% - 0.2 %... and there is more to come.

Take note, this didn't happen over night, the warning signs have been there for years. Trade deficits have built up, Fiscal deficits have built up and been concealed / camouflaged by PFI / PPP etc., Revenue have declined by theft, loss of North Sea oil and gas and sheer incompetence.

UPDATE 1600 Hrs

So you ask ,how come they say they are on track to make a profit - well look back to the statement last night from the Directors of NR remember - Profit calculation " excludes any provisions that may have to be taken through the profit and loss account in respect of today's crisis".;

"As announced on 20 August 2007, Northern Rock only has a £75 million direct exposure to the US sub-prime market which is all rated AAA, and a £200 million exposure to the US CDO market, within which there is indirect exposure to US sub-prime.

We also have £325 million of investments in a number of Structured Investment Vehicles (SIVs)of which £305 million is bank sponsored. Included in the £200 million of CDOs referred to above is a modest exposure of £22 million of SIV "Lites

Now that is a total £555 Mn of assets they call " a direct exposure of £75Mn" - Note well they don't say they are worth £75 Mn. They are in fact worthless - and maybe that £555 Mn. worth of assets is worth at best 10 cents on the dollar so your £500 Mn. profits evaporates as a £500 Mn hole opens up in the balance sheet.

As is the share price now below the Float price of £4.52 in Oct 1997)

Egg on Face time ...
10th August 2007 note to Investors..."Investors in the banking sector should look to Northern Rock and HBOS for both value and growth, according to specialist broker Keefe, Bruyette & Woods."

To read a little history of the wankers at Threadneedle Street go here

Prudence defenestrated as Darling / Gordy agree to BOA bailing out reckless lenders at Northern Rock ........

There are two tests of solvency ;

1. Inability to pay debts as they become due.

2. Insufficient assets to cover liabilities.

Northern Rock borrows money wholesale and lends it to people to buy houses. Due to the interbank rate now exceeding Base Rate by over 1 % their sums don't add up. They are insolvent.(Banner above from their website Main page)

So the BOE has arranged as the Lender of the Last resort to lend them money at a "penal rate" of 1 % over base rate - which is in fact lower than the current Market Rate to "tide them over", during these entirely forseaable and foreseen conditions.

The BOE statement issued at 0700 says ; (see impact on NR share price)

The decision to authorise was made by the Chancellor on the basis of recommendations by the Governor of the Bank of England and the Chairman of the Financial Services Authority in accordance with the framework set out in the published Memorandum of Understanding between the Bank, FSA and HM Treasury.

The FSA judges that Northern Rock is solvent, exceeds its regulatory capital requirement and has a good quality loan book. The decision to provide a liquidity support facility to Northern Rock reflects the difficulties that it has had in accessing longer term funding and the mortgage securitisation market, on which Northern Rock is particularly reliant.

Northern Rock have issued a simultaneous statement ;

STATEMENT ON MARKET CONDITIONS AND TRADING UPDATE
14 SEPTEMBER 2007

It has now become clear that the global credit and liquidity markets have not recovered .....Northern Rock has taken action to preserve liquidity and to maintain margins on its current loan book, while modifying its lending approach to avoid writing new business that is unprofitable in current conditions. (Trans : We've stuck up mortgage rates)

Although Northern Rock expects ....

its new lending volumes to increase once the wholesale funding markets return to more normal volumes and prices, it must now plan on the basis that the wholesale funding markets will not return to historic levels in the short to medium term.(Trans : didn't see this comin g but by Christ it's a big one)

While Northern Rock has continued to raise new funds,

...these have been mainly in the short term wholesale debt markets and the amounts raised have not allowed Northern Rock to refinance maturing liabilities as well as to write new business at previous levels.(Trans : Business has come to grinding halt)

So how did we get into this position ? well...

" In the first 8 months of the year, Northern Rock’s total net lending was up 43% over the same period in 2006, with net residential lending up 55%." and they claim the quality of those loans based on recent historical past is good - 3 month arrears in the residential book were 0.47% at the end of August half the industry average and 1.2% on the standalone unsecured book. Together this was about 0.9% of loans.

Of course we made some dodgyt investments but don't we all and relying on Credit Rating Agencies (and when this all blows over they have some questions to answer)

"As announced on 20 August 2007, Northern Rock only has a £75 million direct exposure to the US sub-prime market which is all rated AAA, and a £200 million exposure to the US CDO market, within which there is indirect exposure to US sub-prime.

We also have £325 million of investments in a number of Structured Investment Vehicles (SIVs)of which £305 million is bank sponsored. Included in the £200 million of CDOs referred to above is a modest exposure of £22 million of SIV Lites.(rans : There is a fair crock of shit at the back of the cupboard)"

Adam J Applegarth, Chief Executive of Northern Rock, comments;

“We are seeing extreme conditions in global liquidity, which have impacted on world markets. As a result, we have taken prudent action to rein back our lending until markets normalise.

So the brief outline is - the CEO of the major company lending money for housebuying blames it all on , "extreme conditions in global liquidity" which is in NO way related to us expanding our book by 55% in the first 8 months of the year.(Trans : Handing out fistfuls of money to anyone who walked through the door)

It is , "albeit disappointing, that our profits will be affected" - any sensible analysis shows that their £588 Mn profits are actually going to be wiped out. Not only this year, but next year as well.(Trans : We are up for sale)

Now the Financial Services Authority ," judges that Northern Rock is solvent" - so the BOA and Treasury have by resorting to their prior arranged financial legerdermain, shifted responsibility for judging that problem off their shoulders and waving their TRi-partite MOU have told the Chancellor that he needs to authorise the Bank to act as LOLR - and they have managed to extract a promise that ....

"In its role as lender of last resort, the Bank of England stands ready to make available facilities in comparable circumstances, where institutions face short-term liquidity difficulties.(Trans : Barclays, Bradford & Bingley, RBOS the door is open, Fill Ya boots) "

Even briefer - "it's not us Gordon, it's that terrible world liquidity crisis, which none of us saw coming, and we in the City want your authority to bail out the first boat load of reckless lenders ... and there will be more to come" Strange how the shareholders saw what was coming.

Prudence ?





See also Aliance and leicester down 5% on opening and below 900 , was at 1200 in June.

Bank of England is out of control...

... in the sense that the BOE is not IN control.

Mervyn King, the Governer of the BOE wrote to the Chairman of the House of Commons Treasury Committee , T.Hon. John McFall MP in advance of his meeting them with the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) members on the 20th September .

Three distinct policy instruments can be deployed by central banks: interest rates, money market operations, and other general liquidity support operations.

1. The fiddling with interest rates is mostly a form of delusional self importance exercised by the MPC and is a one trick pony with which they try to adjust the wholly spurious way UK Domestic inflation is calculated.

2. Money market operations are described by King thus ..

" ...the smooth functioning of the payment system among banks – the short-term money markets and what is known as the high value payment system. Central banks discharge that responsibility by providing reserves that enable banks to settle among themselves. In the reform of our money market operations a year ago, we made very clear, and this is a unique feature of the British system, that the banking system as a whole will get the reserves that it itself requests."

In other words they merely act as managers, responding as required to market con ditions.

3. So King ponders ....

" So, third, is there a case for the provision of additional central bank liquidity against a wider range of collateral and over longer periods in order to reduce market interest rates at longer maturities?"

"On the one hand, (my father was always asking for one handed accountants and economists) the provision of greater short-term liquidity against illiquid collateral might ease the process of taking the assets of vehicles back onto bank balance sheets and so reduce term market interest rates. But, on the other hand, the provision of such liquidity support undermines the efficient pricing of risk by providing ex post insurance for risky behaviour. That encourages excessive risk-taking, and sows the seeds of a future financial crisis."

There has however been a lengthy history of excessive risk taking which the BOE have sat and watched develop.. CDO's , slicing and dicing, and all manner of asset backed but assetless parcels of debt swapped around on shorter and ashirter terms to finance deeper and riskier debt with near banks and veru distant banks such as hedge funds and outright fraudsters.

Now the crunch has arrived ... as he outlines on Page 9 ...

In addition, central banks, in their traditional lender of last resort (LOLR) role, can lend “against good collateral at a penalty rate” to an individual bank facing temporary liquidity problems, but that is otherwise regarded as solvent. The rationale would be that the failure of such a bank would lead to serious economic damage, including to the customers of the bank. The moral hazard of an increase in risk-taking resulting from the provision of LOLR lending is reduced by making liquidity available only at a penalty rate. Such operations in this country are covered by the tripartite arrangements set out in the MOU between the Treasury, Financial Services Authority and the Bank of England.

Because they are made to individual institutions, they are flexible with respect to type of collateral and term of the facility. LOLR operations remain in the armoury of all centralbanks.

Now the credit crunch has delivered up it's first victim. The Bank is caught between a Northern Rock and a Hard place. With nearly 20% of all UK domestic mortgage lending, with some £24 Bb. of customers deposits, they cannot finance their £113 Bn. loan book.

The shareholders have sensed the impending crisis, with the shares halving in value in the last 6 months. Now the BOE as LORL is going to bail them out.

"The moral hazard of an increase in risk-taking resulting from the provision of LOLR lending is reduced by making liquidity available only at a penalty rate."

Bollocks. The Bank is forced to keep them afloat because the ripples would run, far, wide and deep - the decision is not financial, it is political. Next bank up for support will be Barclays - we will learn more in the morning when the BOE makes a statement about bailing out the improvident bankers of Northern Rock.

Meanwhile 3 month LIBOR is nearly 125 basis points over base rate and will go up further after the BOE announcement. Mortgage rates will rise for lenders, unrelated to BOE Base Rates which the Bank fondly imagines that it manages - remote from the actual, real market.

The guys who run the financial services know what a bag of shite they have been hawking around, they have withdrawn from inter-bank lending because they know what a heap of ordure it all is.

Prudent savers will be moving their deposit accounts out of Northern Rock in the morning... where to ?Try Santander AKA Abbey.

Iraq - Bush advised to try coitus interruptus - retired soldiers demand "withdrawal"

Daily Kos reports that Gen. David Petraeus may be popular with members of the U.S. Congress but his superior, Admiral William Fallon, chief of the Central Command (CENTCOM), described Petraeus as a sycophant when they first met Baghdad last March.

Fallon apparently told Petraeus that he considered him to be "an ass-kissing little chickenshit" and added, "I hate people like that" .. remarks that followed petraues tryin g to ingratiate himself a superior.

What Petraues did do was serve as front man for the George W. Bush administration's effort to sell its policy of increasing U.S. troop strength in Iraq to Congress.

Petraeus was installed in the office of Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, in early February just before the Senate debated Bush's troop increase.Senators were then approached on the floor and invited to go McConnell's office to hear Petraeus make the case for the surge policy.Which he did. They made him C in C as a result. - then they asked him if he had done a good job.

On top of this these people from the remarkably named Council for a Livable World
...

Senator Gary Hart, Chairman, Council for a Livable World
Lt. Gen. Robert Gard (USA, ret.), Board Member, Center for Arms Control & Non-Proliferation
Brig. Gen. John Johns (USA, ret.), Board Member, Council for a Livable World

Signed off an a statement demanding withdrawal...

"So far, the Iraq war has not served a single major U.S. foreign policy interest. The weapons of mass destruction we invaded Iraq to eliminate turned out not to exist; and while U.S. forces have been tied down in Iraq, Iran resumed enrichment of uranium and North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and detonated a plutonium device. Far from spreading democracy to the Middle East, the Iraq war has strengthened the Middle East's authoritarian regimes.

Because of Iraq, both through the flawed case for war and the bungled management of the post-war environment, American prestige and credibility in the world are at their lowest points in decades. Among the many consequences is the reluctance of other countries to credit American assertions about Iran's nuclear program or to join in effective collective action. Our invasion and continuing occupation of Iraq has undermined our moral legitimacy, undercutting our goal to marginalize and isolate Al Qaeda from its recruitment and support base."

The complete statement is available here.

Taliban shot by "the dozen" in Afghanistan as ramadan kicks off with nationwide deaths and air strikes

Ramadam ( a period of spiritual cleansing) kicked off peacefully in Afghanistan with only 75 dead on Day 1. In Uruzgan "insurgents"attacked a joint Afghan army and U.S.-led coalition patrol with rocket-propelled grenades and gunfire.

Afghan soldiers "cleared" Taliban fighters from firing positions within the village of Aduzay. Meanwhile airstrikes were called in and left 45 dead "Taliban".

The coalition reported that no Afghan or coalition soldiers or civilians were wounded or killed in the Aduzay incident.

The bag for shooting dead Taliban has grown rather well these last few weeks (Maybe they use the Monbiot calculus) with, " more than 300 suspected Taliban fighters killed since late August", according to the U.S.-led coalition.

Associated Press have been attempting to count the dead insurgency-related violence this year based on figures from Western and Afghan officials. The bag so far is more than 4,300 people. Men, women, children ...Other sources claim more than 7,000 people have been killed during the past 19 months in Afghanistan.

Zhari district, Kandahar today an Afghan-NATO patrol found and defused 3 IED's and were shortly after ambushed by Taliban fighters. A helicopter gunship joined the ensuing battle, which left 12 "militants" dead, said Syed Agha Saqib, the provincial police chief .

Zabul province:11 Taliban fighters were killed by heroes of the NATO helped by Afghan soldiers on Wednesday, said Gulab Shah Alikhail, the governor's spokesman. (some reports say " a dozen killed").

Herat province : 2 Police were killed in a 5 hour fire - fight on Wednesday.

Farah province : 1 Afghan soldier was killed

Takah province : 2 "civilians" were killed by a bomb hidden in a cart that exploded near a police station.

Helmand province : Police shot and killed a would-be suicide bomber before he could detonate his explosives on Thursday, said Gen. Mohammad Hussein Andiwal, the provincial police chief. Fighting erupted after after a suicide bomber rammed a U.S. security firm convoy , killing two local staff and wounding eight other people.

Paktia province : an Afghan security guard was killed in a roadside bomb attack

Badakashan province : a Bangladeshi national was shot dead by "suspected insurgents".The man was working on a microfinance project in the rugged, underdeveloped province of Badakshan and had gone to a remote village with a colleague to collect a loan when he was attacked, the provincial police commander said. Two gunmen opened fire on them as they approached the village on Wednesday, commander Aqa Noor Kendoz said. The Bangladeshi was killed and his Afghan colleague was wounded.

The Taliban did no claim responsibility. The victim as employed by the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee (BRAC) as an area project manager.

He was the first foreign national with BRAC to be killed in Afghanistan although some of the group's Afghan employees had been targeted. BRAC has been in Afghanistan since 2002 and works on development projects, including building schools, roads and clinics. Its microfinance programme in Afghanistan work largely with poor and disadvantaged women.

GI's trophy Pic above - learn more here and here

Novozymes agree to supply enzymes for Brazilian bagasse - bioethanol process - and Brazilian Politics dirty dancing

Novozymes has concluded a development agreement with CTC, (Centro de Tecnologia Canavieira)the Brazilian sugar cane industry’s technical center. Under this agreement Novozymes will contribute enzyme technology for developing bioethanol from bagasse.

Novozymes and CTC are collaborating on a research project to produce bioethanol from bagasse – the fibrous waste celulose residual product of sugar production from sugar cane.

When fully deeloped the process will provide higher ethanol yield in the production process from sugar cane, reduce energy inputs, optimize the process economy and energy balance. This will make less damnds on land use and reduce even further the emissons from ethanal production of the so called "greenhouse" gases.

This is seen as a landmark agrement and will be signed today the presence of Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (1st Braz. Pres. to make it to Denmark ***) and Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen.

Brazil is the world’s largest producer of biofuel almost all of that from sugar cane and Lula is on a trip to get tariffs cut or removed. (See IHT report) Almost 40% of Brazil’s gasoline consumption is now covered by bioethanol, and the country also exports a large proportion of its production - which of course atracts a 62 cents a gallon import duty into the US and the EU has tariffs. (see Miami Herald report on WTO case by Brazil)

Prs. Lula had spent 2 days in sweden as a guest of Parliamentary President Per Westerberg and Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt who announced the intention of removing their special tax on imported ethanol.

Sweden was the second stop on Lula's Nordic tour that began in Finland on Monday where Tarja Halonen, the Finnish president, said Brazil deserved a seat on the UN security council.

He landed in Denmark Wednesday evening and with his wife, Marisa Leticia was met by Queen Margrethe (in red hat) and was heading for Norway later in the day and then travelling on to Spain to meet Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero and King Juan Carlos.

Brazil and Nordic bloc trade increased by 80% since 2003 and reached (€2.8 billion) in 2006 claims the Brazilian Foreign Ministry.

CTC, located in Piraciciba in Sao Paulo, is supported by 160 companies producing sugar and alcohol who deal with 12,000 sugar cane suppliers. They have 300 employees in nationwide experimental stations.

The centres undertake research in logistics, and agronomy, including mechanic planting and harvesting, biotechnology, biological pest control, healthy seedlings, geoprocessing, satellite images, production environment charts, sugar and alcohol production, and power generation.

*** Pres. Lula's friend and ally, President of the Brazilian Senate, Renan Calheiros, has narrowly survived a vote today (behind closed doors and thanks to six vital abstentions) to expel him from office . This follows a lengthy corruption scandal in which had denied accepting bribes from a lobbyist in exchange for government contracts - but did admit using the lobbyist to pass on child support payments to his former mistress and his 2 year old daughter.

It got a bit rough inside and outside and a few punches were thrown and the un gentmanly Renan shouted at his former fellow Senator Heloísa Helena that she was a constant tax avoider to evade taxes taxes. She shouted back that he had never done such a thing and that Renan should wash his mouth out with disinfectant before he spoke of her.

Bio Warfare research at Addlestone within the Egham exclusion zone

The previous post brought attention to the role of the Department of Statutory and Exotic Bacterial Diseases, Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Addlestone, Surrey KT15 3NB, (within the 3 KM zone of the Egham Foot and Mouth Disease outbreak announced today ) in undertaking Bio-warfare research. This is a single example of the work udertaken there. Much of it is of course secret.

Abstract

" ....Brucella species have also long been considered potential biological warfare agents, and in 1954 Brucella became the first biological agent to be treated as a weapon and field tested on animals under the old U.S. offensive biological weapons program. Recent history has raised awareness in this area (28), and the organism remains on the list of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention category B potential biological warfare agents (25). (Note date of paper is 2006)

28.Whatmore, A. M., T. J. Murphy, S. J. Cutler, and A. P. MacMillan. 2004. An assessment of the potential of amplified-fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) for use in identification and typing of Brucella isolates, p. 95-99. In P. H. Elzer and K. T. Metodiev (ed.), Risk infections and possibilities for biomedical terrorism. NATO Science Series, IOS Press, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

25.Rotz, L. D., A. S. Khan, S. R. Lillibridge, S. M. Ostroff, and J. M. Hughes. 2002. Public health assessment of potential biological terrorism agents. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 8:225-230. [PubMed].

Here are descriptions of the sort of work that these laboraties are involved in developing BW detection and identification using portable equipment - note that portable detection has been used on all the FMV sites and then verified in the laboratory later.

"We have produced recombinant antibodies to biological warfare agents and simulants using an M13 phage-display system. By using large libraries, many specific antibodies were selected within a few weeks. By modifying the methods of biopanning used we selected for highly specific antibodies that do not react with closely related, non-infectious species of bacteria. We have used the same system to produce antibodies to smaller ligands and haptens. Once useful antibodies have been found they can be produced quickly and cheaply in simple bacterial fermentations. We will ........... are improving these antibodies by random and directed mutagenesis to improve their utility in biosensors, and show examples of recombinant antibodies giving real time detection on biosensor surfaces."

"The requirement is for rapid, sensitive and specific assays for identification of biological warfare (BW) agents in clinical or environmental samples so that appropriate protective measures may be taken. The (deleted) is researching physical and biochemical methods for the identification of pathogens in the field, including flow-through detection systems capable of real-time pathogen identification. Clinical diagnostic systems are also being developed which enable the movement of diagnostic tests closer to the point of infection...... research in the areas of real-time and near real-time sensor development including antibody and DNA based detection systems as well as other technologies required to overcome the unique
challenges of detection and diagnosis on the battlefield."

Strange FACTOID

In "The War of the Worlds" by H.G.Wells the 2nd day of the Martian landings were on Addlestone Golf Links. Surrey.

Keep posted. This looks like a story that will either run or be stopped dead in it's tracks.

UPDATE 2300 hrs

BBC Radio / TV News and Newsnight do not mention existence of VLA labs within the 3 Km. Egham exclusion zone. Farm adjacent to outbreak is undergoing a cull of 200 cattle and 300 pigs.

The causative strain of FMV has not been fully decoded but is an "O" series - the final results will be known in the morning. Paradoxically the testing is being udertaken at NIAH Pirbright.

Not a peep from Mr Benn - but BBC TV news showed CVO Debbie announcing, pleased as Punch last week that FMV had been exterminated in the UK in 20o7.

UPDATE Wimbledon Press report traffic gridlock for hours - woman gives birth in traffic. All traffic is being diverted. Now why would Plod divert traffic for FMV ? How very odd. Headline is - "Traffic gridlock around foot and mouth exclusion zone"

Biological warfare Site at Addlestone is within exclusion zone of new FMV outbreak - 6 KM to Heathrow

A suspected case of foot-and-mouth disease has been Confirmed DEFRA notice / National movement ban in place

Debby Reynolds CVO said:

“At this stage we have not identified the strain or origin of this outbreak. The situation remains uncertain, and I urge all animal keepers to be vigilant for signs of disease, practice stringent biosecurity measures, including the movement ban and licensing conditions.”

The government has declared a three-mile exclusion zone around the affected site and a pre-emptive slaughter of cattle has been ordered.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown is to chair a meeting of the government's emergency committee, Cobra. The site is 6 Kilometers from Heathrow and includes the Veterinary Laboratories Agency at Weybridge - a site where Biological Warfare research is conducted - anthrax is known to be kept there.


Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA) - Weybridge Head OfficeWoodham LaneNew HawAddlestoneSurreyKT15 3NB
Tel:
01932 341 111
Website:
www.vla.gov.uk

New case of Foot and Mouth suspected in Surrey - Government Biological Warfare Research site within exclusion zone at Addlestone.

A suspected case of foot-and-mouth disease has been discovered 30 miles away from the last outbreak in Surrey. (DEFRA notice)** Confirmed / National movement ban in place

Debby Reynolds CVO said:

“At this stage we have not identified the strain or origin of this outbreak. The situation remains uncertain, and I urge all animal keepers to be vigilant for signs of disease, practice stringent biosecurity measures, including the movement ban and licensing conditions.”

The government has declared a three-mile exclusion zone around the affected site and a pre-emptive slaughter of cattle has been ordered.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown is to chair a meeting of the government's emergency committee, Cobra. The site is 6 Kilomteres from Heathrow and includes the Veterinary Laboratories Agency at Weybridge - a site where BIological Warfare research is conducted - anthrax is known to be kept there.

10.30 BST


** The Zone comprises that part of England contained within a circle with a radius of 3 kilometre centred on grid reference TQ 0120570538. (near Egham) The grid reference is a British National Grid Reference. (map PDF!)

----------------------
EU lifts all restrictions on British meat BRUSSELS (AFP) — The European Union decided on Tuesday to lift all remaining restrictions on the export of British meat, signalling the all-clear after an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

Reuters

To save Baghdad we had to destroy it

The delightful, polylingual Nur has her views on the nocturnal Baghdad bashing via L'Orient du jour

According to Iraqi officials, [inexcusable] US air strikes in Baghdad killed 14 civilians during the night of 5/6 September, an embarrassing incident at a time when US military command is claiming [phantom] success in the pacification [submission] of the country.


In a [disingenuous] communiqué, US command [falsely] explained that the [repugnant] operation was conducted against [misidentified] extremist Shi’ites who were part of an [alleged] terror cell operating in the al-Washash area of Baghdad”. “Ground units” [jokers] called in a [dis]proportionate air strike against building a [wrongly] identified as the source of light arms fire, continued the communiqué. “Four [apartment] buildings were damaged [completely destroyed]. Two were enemy bastions [an internet café] and two neighboring [residential] buildings were subject to moderate damage [toppled].


Crocker of shit

Urgent news from No 10 - Cat re-installed - safe to bomb Iran

From No 10 Downing Street 11th September Press briefing..... and there will be absolutely no fucking pictures of cats on this blog. None. Period.

The Press were also told that Sir Ronnie Flanagan former Chief Inspector of Constabulary and leading patient for the NI Alzheimers for Police Officers Syndrome was is leading an independent review of the police service for the Home Secretary. Well he would if he could fucking well remember what he did between 1974 and 2006... un fortunately it's all a blur.

Sex, Lies, Polygraph tests Larry "Augean Stables"Flynt and Vitter the Shitter

Times Picayune reports on the Press conference in Beverly Hills CA. when Larry Flynt introduced Wendy Yow Ellis. (pic) She claims she met Senator Vitter through an escort service and saw him two to three times a week in an apartment at Dauphine and Dumaine streets in the French Quarter. Vitter was elected to the U.S. House in May 1999 and sworn in to office June 8.

At first, Ellis said, he knew her only by her stage name: Leah.

Ellis said the affair ended "abruptly" when she gave him her real name. She shares a first name with his wife, Wendy Baldwin Vitter.

"When I asked him if he would like to carry this beyond the business, I gave him my name and phone number. I said, 'My real name is Wendy,' and he said, 'Oh my God,'" Ellis recalled. "I did see him a few times at the club I danced at after that. He just kind of gave me a look of disbelief."

"It is not a question of muckraking and exposing the perverts," Flynt said. "It's more than that. It is trying to maintain some honesty in the government." Flynt produced parts of an Aug. 22 polygraph test that he said confirmed her account, but Ellis could provide no financial records, photographs or other evidence to support her assertion that the Louisiana Republican was a client during that time.

Vitter has denied her claims in the past.

Maybe hoping to sell a few of his DIY mags as well as "Wendy" later said she would appear in Hustler magazine in January.

Apologies for all the sexual matters today but there is a lot of it about - not including "Pandora" and his box, whose bottom now firmly resides in the Colony Hotel , Tel Aviv, a former Pasha's Palace .

Dame Jean Palfrey fingers Ronald Roughead and pleads Classified Information in "Honey Pot" defence - US government entrapment / sting ?

Citizens for Legitimate Government (CLG) reports that the beautiful, glamorous, funloving Dame Jean Palfrey, ( and would be emigrant to the EU) has revealed that Ronald Roughead of SAIC (and 1200 First Street, Alexandria.VA. 22314 tel : 703-836-0522) was a customer for sexual services of a romantic kind (see Lord Patel when he revealed this June 18th 2007 )

At the hearing on Friday, beautiful Judge Kessler adjourned the matter without setting a date to allow her time to consider whether she would allow Montgomery Blair Sibley to appear as Jeane Palfrey's counsel in this matter. Briefing on that issue is scheduled to be completed by September 26th 2007.

However, not wanting to delay this matter further, Palfrey has filed pro se (that means as herself - ie not represented) September 11th a pleading of note. This fascinating and almost unprecedented pleading explains the factual basis for invoking the Classified Information Procedures Act and is entitled Memorandum of Fact In Support of Motion for Pretrial Conference to Consider Matters Relating to Classified Information. The Memo sets out in detail Madame Palfrey's basis for raising the so called "Honey Pot" defense.

"Most noteworthy is that for over 13 years Defendant operated her escort service without a single arrest of an escort though she was operating in a metropolitan area that is policed by over Fifty (50) law enforcement agencies. Moreover, given that there are at least Seventeen (17) federal intelligence agencies operating in Washington D.C., it is much more than supposition that the Defendant’s agency was allowed to operate without police interference for the benefit the agency. etc., "

The fragrant and lovely lady alleges that the United States Government has been directly or indirectly benefiting from the operation of her service by monitoring her customers and is thus equitably barred from prosecuting her .. and provides many fascinating details to support her argument - which Judge Kessler will throw out.

She also clearly identifies US citizens who benefited from her commercial services Senator Vitter "the Shitter" , Randall Tobias of USAID , ex CEO Eli Lilly, (Tobias held a Top Secret security clearance, the result of what is known as a supposedly rigorous "Single Scope Background Investigation," or SSBI) and Harland "Shock and Awe" Ullman . Madame Jean , with the cruel black upswept 50's glasses also confirms Lord Patel's revelation of June 18th that Ronald Roughead of SAIC with a stellar security clearance -- was also a customer.

Yardbird.com examines the curious nexus of these slaves to gross sexual appetites, Sen. Vitter serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which has oversight responsibilities of U.S. foreign policy agencies, including Tobias's former office at USAID.

Vitter is also currently the ranking minority member of the Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Democracy and Human Rights, which oversees, among other things, the State Department, the U.S. Foreign Service (i.e. the diplomatic corps), and U.S. participation in the United Nations.

Does foreign intelligence figure in all this? Public records show that USAID has long been a front for CIA intelligence gathering, as well as a conduit for CIA funding to foreign governments and agencies. Perhaps even providing glamorous ladies / men from Dame Palfrey's perfectly legal escort services for visiting VIP's ? etc.,

This nexus of CIA backed USAID, Senator Vitter on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and two beltway bandits appears to be more than a coincidence.

Following his guilty plea after an alleged homosexual liaison in a public rest room, U.S. Senator Larry Craig found himself the target of a Senate Ethics Committee Investigation. ( he is now trying to withdraw his guilty plea and a hearing will be held Sept 26th Edina courthouse, Minn. 4 days before he is due to retire, as previously announced. see WAPo today )

It is not immediately known when the public can expect the appropriate ethics investigation of Foreign Relations Committee member Sen. Vitter, who admits to heterosexual encounters with prostitutes.... but don 't hold your breath as the Republicans struggle to control the activities of their dysfunctional members.

Vanity Fair , Washington's $8 Billion Shadow By Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele March 2007. Mega-contractors such as Halliburton and Bechtel supply the government with muscle, other outfits with missiles. The biggest, most powerful of the "body shops"—SAIC, with 44,000 people and revenues from Uncle Sam of $8 billion last year—sells what passes in this murky world for brainpower, including a lot of the "expertise" behind the Iraq war.

Dr Strangelove is alive and well and flying nuclear tipped ACM's across the United States

Why was a nuclear-armed bomber allowed to fly over the US?

Bill Van Auken 7 th September 2007

Wednesday’s extraordinary news that a US Air Force B-52 bomber flew over the length of the United States armed with six Advanced Cruise Missiles (ACM's) carrying W80-1 nuclear warheads has attracted surprisingly little media attention.

The story, first broken by the Military Times web site based on tips from military officers, was relegated to the bottom of page 16 in Thursday’s New York Times and to page 10 of the Washington Post.

Featured prominently in both newspapers and generally in media coverage were reassurances from a spokesman for the Air Force that it represented “an isolated mistake” and that “at no time was there a threat to public safety.”This incident, however, has immense and ominous significance. Describing it as an “isolated mistake” begs the obvious questions of how a nuclear-armed B-52 was allowed to become airborne—ostensibly without the approval of senior officials—and who ordered this extraordinary flight, and why.

The B-52 took off from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota and flew to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana on August 30 after six nuclear-tipped Advanced Cruise Missiles were mounted on the pylons under its wings. Each of the warheads carried a yield of up to 150 kilotons, more than ten times as powerful as the US bomb that leveled Hiroshima at the close of the Second World War. The mistake was only discovered when the plane landed at Barksdale.

All ACMs loaded with a nuclear warhead have distinct red signs distinguishing them from ACMs without a nuclear yield. ACMs with nuclear warheads also weigh significantly more than missiles without them.

As far as is known, the incident marked the first time that a US plane has taken off armed with nuclear weapons in nearly 40 years. While bombers were kept in the air in the 1960s as part of the nuclear brinksmanship with the USSR, the practice was halted in 1968 after a series of accidents involving nuclear-armed B-52s. After that, bombers loaded with nuclear weapons were kept on alert at the end of runways for rapid takeoff until 1991, when this practice was halted as well.

A Pentagon spokesman said that the incident prompted an emergency call by the Air Force chief of staff, Gen. Michael “Buzz” Mosley, to Defense Secretary Robert Gates, adding that “it was important enough that President Bush was notified of it.”In response to the episode, the Pentagon has announced that a munitions squadron commander at Minot has been relieved of his duties and several airmen have been decertified for handling nuclear weapons. It also reported that an investigation is continuing.

The Air Force announced in March that the Advanced Cruise Missile (ACM) is being phased out under a nuclear reduction treaty signed with Moscow in 2002, and it has been suggested that the weapons were being transported between the two bases as part of this process. The transport of weapons from one base to another, however, is normally carried out in the holds of C-17 and C-130 cargo planes, not fixed to the wings of combat bombers.Someone had to give the order to mount the missiles on the plane.

The question is whether it was a local Air Force commander—either by mistake or deliberately—or whether the order came from higher up.

The first scenario recalls nothing so much as the 1964 black comedy produced by filmmaker Stanley Kubrick, Dr. Strangelove. The film’s plot centered on the unilateral order given by a delusional air force commander, Gen. Jack D. Ripper, for an air wing to carry out an unprovoked nuclear first strike against the Soviet Union. The US president is shocked to find out that supposed failsafe systems barring any such strike without his direct order have been overridden.

Given the Pentagon’s claim that the incident represented a “mistake,” the Minot-Barksdale flight indicates that the present failsafe systems—either deliberately or inadvertently—do not prevent a single commander from deploying nuclear weapons.Experts on nuclear weapons have described the episode as shocking and inexplicable. “It seems so fantastic that so many points, checks can dysfunction,” said Hans Kristensen, the Federation of American Scientists chief researcher on US nuclear forces. “That’s perhaps what is most worrisome about this particular incident—that apparently an individual who had command authority about moving these weapons around decided to do so.”

Representative Edward Markey, a ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, issued a statement declaring it “absolutely inexcusable that the Air Force lost track of these ... warheads, even for a short period of time.”Markey added, “Nothing like this has ever been reported before and we have been assured for decades that it was impossible.”…The second possibility—that the flight was authorized at a higher level—poses an even more immediate threat.

B-52s from Barksdale have been used repeatedly to strike targets in Iraq, firing cruise missiles at Iraqi targets in 1996 and 1998, and in the “shock and awe” campaign that preceded the 2003 invasion, carrying out some 150 bombing runs that devastated much of the southern half of the country. Moreover, the weapon that was fixed to the wings of the B-52 flying from Minot air base was designed for use against hardened targets, such as underground bunkers.

Given the ratcheting up of the threats against Iran and the previous reports of plans for the use of “tactical” nuclear weapons against Iranian nuclear installations, there is a very real possibility that the flight to Barksdale was part of covert preparations for a nuclear strike against Iran.

If this is indeed the case, the claims about a “mistake” by a munitions officer and a few airmen in North Dakota may well be merely a cover story aimed at concealing the fact that the government in Washington is preparing a criminal act of world historic proportions by ordering—without provocation—the first use of nuclear weapons since the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki more than sixty years ago.

Commander disciplined for nuclear mistake
By Michael Hoffman - Staff writerPosted : Friday Sep 7, 2007 19:02:15 EDT

The Air Force continued handing out disciplinary actions in response to the six nuclear warheads mistakenly flown on a B-52 Stratofortress bomber from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., on Aug. 30. The squadron commander in charge of Minot’s munitions crews was relieved of all duties pending the investigation.

Oil at record high - Euro at record high - weak dollar so Fed is ready to cut rates, soften the blow and extend the misery

October West Texas crude rose to close at $78.23 a barrel today, marking the highest closing level ever for the front-month contract traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

OPEC has agreed to raise actual production levels by 500,000 barrels per day and lift the cartel's quota to 27.2 million barrels per day as of Nov. 1. There is widespread scepticism that OPEC can in fact in crease output even if they wanted to.

The dollar closed today 1.38395 to the Euro, up 0.21% near to record high of 1.38520.

This dollar weakness reflects the market anticipation that the Federal Reserve to cut rates on or before they meet on September 18th by up to 50 basis points from 5.25%. Last week's surprise US jobs data (Employers cut 4,000 jobs last month) is also weakening sentiment for the dollar.

The FTSE 100 closed up 146.6 points at 6,280.7, the biggest one-day percentage rise since Aug. 17 when the U.S. Federal Reserve cut its discount rate in an effort to calm panicky investors. In the previous two sessions, the UK benchmark index had lost more than 2.8 %.

(Fortune Magazine) -- "Credit crises have always been painful and unpredictable. The current one is particularly hair-raising because it's occurring amid the first truly global bubble in asset pricing. It is also accompanied by a plethora of new and ingenious financial instruments. These are designed overtly to spread risk around and to sell fee-bearing products that are in great demand. Inadvertently (to be generous), they have been constructed to hide risk and confuse buyers."

Other European markets also finished higher today.

England RU Fly half crisis

It's been in crisis since Richard Sharp retired in 1967

McCann's phones bugged - e-mails intercepted - details in Police dossier

Sunday, August 12, 2007 McCanns - Nemesis ?

"Could the Portuguese Police (the inheritors of the feared PIDE of Salazar) portrayed in a truly xenophobic fashion by the UK press as a bunch of stumbling, bumbling Inspector Cloiseau's be playing games ? Short of damning clues, possessors of unusable telephone traces, e- mails, could they be trying to flush out their quarry ? "

The Sun today

"it emerged Portuguese cops bugged the couple’s phones and intercepted their emails in the probe over Maddie"



Channel 4 also report that the dossier of evidence handed to the judge contains details of phone calls / e-mails....

Bear Stearns buy in of 8.1 Mn shares = biggest shareholder is Joseph Lewis - East End boy made good

Joe Lewis calls me from Lyford Cay in the sunny Bahamas to tell me that he has bought into Bear Stearns the serial visitor to the New York Bankruptcy Court - a total of 8.1 Mn. shares (closed yesterday NYSE US$107.50) which makes him the biggest shareholder after founder James Cayne (5.8%) and Putnam Investment Management . Joe, 70 next birthday, who seems to have missed out on a knighthood, or even a baronetcy is a native Londoner but spends most of his time running his 140 company plus empire from the poolside . He tells me he has has been building up a share stake in Bear Stearns from since early August.Aug. 6 to Sept. 4 speending US$860 Mn. (ish)

Checking the SEC filings, they show he has accumulated a stake of at least 7% in the company in the period Aug. 6 to Sept. 4 . The share chart below shows the impact f his steady purchases and the intital jump when he started buying on August 4th afer the 35% drop when they disclosed their hedge fund problems and started losing CEO's.

Best known as a shareholder in ENIC sports and Media group which controls struggling Premiershit Division Tottenham Hotspur (The club's motto is Audere est Facere = "To Dare is To Do") he has many, many finger in many, many pies, currency trading (Sold his currency trader HotSpot FX for US$77 Mn. to Knight Capital Group in Jan 2006), Florida Golf courses Alcatraz Brewing, and operates through a range of offshore vehicles like Tavistock group, and used entities named Aquarian, Cambria, Darcin, Mandarin and Nivon in this instance to make his stake.

Joe was off to the golf course - a major passion - he owns two Florida clubs "Lake Nona" club (resident Ernie Els) and the "Isleworth Club" (resident Tiger Woods). He is presently developing a new golf community in the Bahamas (the opposite and currently unfashionable end from Nassau) called "Albany Golf & Beach Club" with these two, who are apparently quite good at the game. (Golf is a game where you hit a small ball into a hole some hundreds of yards away with a stick)

Bloomberg put him at 486 on their list of billionaires with a net worth of US$2.5 squillion

BS have been talked about as a quarry for takeover and there is wild specualtion in certain quarters of North London as to whether Joe is serious or ready to sell out when the big bidder comes calling . I ask him but he says nothing. As per.

For more fascinating information on Bear Stearns see post on September 1st 2007 -
http://postmanpatel.blogspot.com/2007/09/bear-stearns-serial-ny-bankruptcy-court.html

Pic of property at Isleworth Country Club and Golf Course, a Tavistock development - Carl Hiassen eat your heart out.