De Menezes murder - no blame, no discipline. NO WAY !!!!

The IPCC decision on Stockwell shooting discipline in full from their website

No disciplinary action will be taken against four senior Metropolitan Police Service officers as a result of the fatal shooting of Jean Charles De Menezes. All disciplinary reviews have now been concluded.

The four senior officers are Deputy Assistant Commissioner Cressida Dick and three officers identified as Silver, Trojan 84 and Trojan 80. (WTF ?)

Independent Police Complaints Commission chair Nick Hardwick took the decision after considering the views of the Metropolitan Police Service, the Metropolitan Police Authority and the solicitor for the family of Jean Charles de Menezes.

The health and safety trial verdict made it clear that mistakes were made that could have been avoided. The issue considered by the IPCC was whether those mistakes amounted to personal misconduct.

Planning and management were central to Deputy Assistant Commissioner Dick's responsibilities on that day. The IPCC considered whether DAC Dick was responsible for failures in the planning or management of the operation that amounted to a disciplinary offence and which led to the conviction of the Office of the Commissioner for the Metropolis. The trial jury's response to this, having considered all the evidence, in their rider was unequivocal – in reaching their verdict they attached "no personal culpability to Commander Dick."

The IPCC cannot foresee any circumstances in which new evidence might emerge which would cause any disciplinary tribunal to disregard the jury's rider.

The responsibilities of DAC Dick and Silver, Trojan 84 and Trojan 80 were intertwined. The IPCC cannot see how any disciplinary tribunal could conclude that although no personal blame is attached to DAC Dick, it could attach to the other three officers.

So that's OK then.

We don't know who murdered Charles de Menezes. We don't even know if they were members of the Metropolitan Police.

What we do know is that " failures in the planning or management of the operation" were magically not the responsibility of anybody.

"The IPCC cannot see how any disciplinary tribunal could conclude that although no personal blame is attached to DAC Dick, it could attach to the other three officers." ...well we could of course give them a chance ... but then we know where that will lead.

PS : From June 1995 to January 2003 Nick Hardwick was Chief Executive of the Refugee Council. From 1986 to 1995 he was Chief Executive of the charity Centrepoint. He has also been a member of the Social Security Advisory Committee, the Prince's Trust Ethnic Minorities Advisory Group and (wudja bleeve it ?) the Holocaust Memorial Day Steering Group.

Obviously well qualified for his task with a BA (Hons) from Hull University in English Literature and has an Honorary Doctorate in Social Sciences from the University of Wolverhampton.

God moves over to Catholic Church

Former PM and celebrated war criminal, Tony Blair has left the Anglican Church to become a Catholic (BBC)

Could there be any connection...

...between the diving pound sterling against the Euro and the willingness of the BOE to spirit up (and away ) unimagineable sums of money to support a second mortgage lender / bank (no make that 4th string) bank ...?

I only ask.

Another mouth to feed

Massive escalation in aerial bombing in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Centre for Strategic and International Studies have produced their latest report trends in the US use of airpower in the Iraq and Afghan Wars during 2004-2007 by Anthony Cordesman. (OEF = Operation Enduring Freedom / OIF Operation Iraqi Freedom)(click to enlarge)

Airpower is clearly playing a dramatically increasing roles steadily more important role in ground attacks over time with increases recorded of over 70% .The data show a steady rise in air activity, with particularly sharp rises in the impact of bombing in Afghanistan.

In Afghanistan,e total number of close air support/precision strike sorties flown (i.e not B1 bombers etc.,) , that dropped a major munition rose from 86 in 2004, 176 in 2005, to 1,770 in 2006 ( a10-fold annual increase), and 2,926 in 2007 ( + 70% as of December 5th compared with 2006) remembering that these figures do not include 20 mm and 30 mm cannon attacks or rockets ruling out nearly all air-to-ground attacks by helicopter gunships like the Apache , armed with 30mm cannons and rockets. This would also rule out the AC-130 gunships that are armed with 20mm Gatling guns.

Here is a brief extract from the Air Force Link "Dec. 20 airpower summary" of recent bombing activity in Afghanistan ..

In Afghanistan, an Air Force B-1B Lancer dropped guided bomb unit-38s on enemy firing positions in the area of Garmsir. Coalition forces were engaged by enemy combatants. The on-scene joint terminal attack controller (JTAC)reported the strike was successful.

Enemy combatants in Asadabad were struck by GBU-38s (500lbs) and GBU-31s (2,000 lbs) dropped by a B-1B. The strike was declared successful by the JTAC. (The B1-B can carry 75,000 pounds internal bomb load)

On the same date Air Force Link had a fascinating story.'Toys for Iraqi tots " Otherwise here is another typical report for October 25th 2007 and onother (latest available) for December 16th
- " In total, 41 close-air-support missions were flown in support of ISAF and Afghan security forces, reconstruction activities and route patrols. " NB - a Total of 289 in November !!!!!! - they also report, "In total, coalition aircraft flew 61 close-air-support missions for Operation Iraqi Freedom." NB - a Total of 81 in November !!!!!!

The data on airlift and tanker flights reflect the fact that this is a war where virtually all troops move by aircraft, and where air cargo plays a critical role in both theaters - preumably becaue of the danger s inherent in land based convoys of both men and materiel.. Passenger transfers essentially have plateaued since 2005, but total short tons of cargo delivered increased by nearly 50% between 2005 and 2007.

THere has been a major increase in tanker refueling activity since 2006 , 42,083 receiving aircraft in 2006 versus 73,174 (+ 73% ) in 2007 with virtually the same fuel weights offloaded
( 871 Mn pounds 2006 / 865 Mn pounds 2007) suggests lower fuel loading for bomber / fighter strikes rather than long range surveillance / transports.


Lenin's Tomb has handily inserted these figures into an Excell spreadsheet / Graph for easier and clearer understanding of the impact and sudden escalation of the aerial war.



See : Our Only Tool is a Hammer - Is the Bombing of Afghanistan a Viable Strategy? by J. C. Adamson

See :A Dossier on Civilian Victims of United States' Aerial Bombing of Afghanistan:

A Comprehensive Accounting [revised]

"What causes the documented high level of civilian casualties -- 3,000 - 3,400 [October 7, 2001 thru March 2002] civilian deaths -- in the U.S. air war upon Afghanistan? The explanation is the apparent willingness of U.S. military strategists to fire missiles into and drop bombs upon, heavily populated areas of Afghanistan."

Professor Marc W. Herold Ph.D., M.B.A., B.Sc. University of New Hampshire

March 2002

When U.S. warplanes strafed [with AC-130 gunships] the farming village of Chowkar-Karez, 25 miles north of Kandahar on October 22-23rd, killing at least 93 civilians, a Pentagon official said, "the people there are dead because we wanted them dead." The reason? They sympathized with the Taliban¹. When asked about the Chowkar incident, Rumsfeld replied, "I cannot deal with that particular village." Murray Campbell, "Bombing of Farming Village Undermines U.S Credibility," Toronto Globe & Mail [November 3, 2001].

Not to mention the use of long range artillery.Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS), nicknamed the '70km Sniper', provides pinpoint accuracy delivering a 200lb high explosive warhead over 60 Km. ..and the "muthafuckers" in action.

Bank robbers don't carry guns and wear masks these days

"The good times of too-high price almost always engender much fraud. All people are most credulous when they are most happy; and when much money has just been made, . . . . there is a happy opportunity for ingenious mendacity." Walter Bagehot Lombard Street 1873

Bear Stearns - serial NY Bankruptcy Court appearances - fugitive UK citizen in the dock in Vienna - white collar crime - banking Caribbean styleiz Bear Stearns - serial NY Bankruptcy Court appearances - fugitive UK citizen in the dock in Vienna - white collar crime - banking Caribbean style Postman Patel Sat. Sept 1 st 2001.

"Bear Stearns had two funds that got creamed in so-called collateralized debt obligations, or CDOs, backed by home-loan bonds and other "assets" they were"Bear Stearns High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Master Fund Ltd., 07-12383 " which raised US $642 million on the launch last last summer. (Ralph Coffi managed the fund and to lose 20% in it's brief 10 mionth life - they had "re-stated losses" in April from 6.5% to 18.97 or 23% for the year). It looks like investors have lost their shirt and attorney's are hovering on behalf of distressed clients.

A sister and less ambitiously titled fund - " Bear Stearns High- Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Master Fund Ltd., 07-12384," fared better but flunked all the same. However the 4 year old fund which launched with US$916 had been thrown a US$3.2 Bn lifebelt by Bear Stearns.

In August Judge Lifland in the Bloomberg) S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of New York (Manhattan) this week refused to grant protection from U.S. lawsuits for Bear Stearns Cos.' two bankrupt hedge funds, finding the Cayman Islands wasn't the proper jurisdiction for them to liquidate assets.``The only adhesive connection with the Cayman Islands that the funds have is the fact that they are registered there,''

``There are no employees or managers in the Cayman Islands, " he added in his written judgement," the investment manager for the funds is located in New York, the administrator that runs the back-office operations of the funds is in the United States along with the funds' books and records, and prior to the commencement of the foreign proceeding, all of the funds' liquid assets were located in the United States.''

On the Sunday Afternoon of August 4th August 4th Bear Stearns CEO Warren J. Spector resigned.

Barclays Bank sue BS

Barclays Bank is understood to be seeking unspecified damages, in an amount to be determined in a jury trial - BS say , "we believe this lawsuit is an attempt by Barclays to avoid taking responsibility for its own actions." Ho.Ho.Ho.

Barclays said that it had lent up to $400 million to Bear's asset management division (BSAM).

It claims that it was defrauded by the unit and Matthew Tannin, a Bear Stearns fund manager, with the help of Ralph Cioffi, another executive. (fingered by Lord Patel in SEptember)

Mr Cioffi is already under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the American regulator, over allegations that he withdrew about $2 million of his own money from one of the funds before its collapse.

Barclays alleges (with good cause) that Mr Cioffi and Mr Tannin misled it over the value and security of the funds, the High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Fund and the High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Fund.

In the court papers Barclays also claims that Bear Stearns dumped troubled investments in the riskier of the two funds. (Bankers , my word is my bond etc., ?????)

It states: "Bear Stearns, BSAM and Cioffi hatched a plan to make more money for themselves and further to use the Enhanced Funds a repository for risky, poor-quality investments by creating a new investment vechicle called Everquest Financial Ltd ... co-led by Cioffi and through which he stood to benefit personally."

"Bear Stearns is solidly in the red on $1.9bn sub-prime hit"

Is the headline in Friday's Times after BS announced $854 million loss(US$6.9 a share) for the three months to November compares to a $563 million profit in the final quarter of 2006 ( US$4.00 a share - a OS$10.00 turnround). Revenues fell from $2.4 billion to a $379 million loss in the final quarter. For the full-year, profits fell from $2.1 billion to $233 million while turnover declined from $9.2 billion to $5.9 billion.

Elsewhere Morgan Stanley's Chief Executive Officer John Mack said he would not accept a bonus this year after reporting the first (and whopping loss) loss in the 72 year history of the bank.

See also Deal Breaker "Bear also owned a significant minority stake in ACA, the small bond insurer downgraded yesterday by Standard & Poor’s. Although Bear didn’t have a managerial role in ACA, it’s potential collapse does not sit well with some managers already wary of what the fund manager who spoke to DealBreaker called “the Bear curse.”

Also Financial Times " Bear to tackle fall in prime brokerage" ..."Bear’s decline in prime brokerage began about three years ago and has been accelerated by its recent mortgage-related troubles, including the collapse of two hedge funds run by the bank’s asset management division,...."The troubles have raised questions about its financial stability."

Also Blogging buyouts Were Bear Stearns' collapsed hedge funds pyramid schemes?

Also the Big Picture

Billionaire Warren E. Buffett said his Berkshire Hathaway won’t buy a stake in Bear Stearns, while China Citic Bank said it is not in any talks to buy into troubled bank and currently has no plan for such a stake purchase.

October 18th 2007 NYT Buffett and Citic Deny Bear Stearns Talks

Billionaire Warren E. Buffett said his Berkshire Hathaway won’t buy a stake in Bear Stearns, while China Citic Bank said it is not in any talks to buy into troubled bank and currently has no plan for such a stake purchase.

Their denials follow a New York Times report last month that Bear Stearns, among the institutions hardest-hit by the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States, was in talks with investors, including Mr. Buffett and Citic, about selling a stake."

BS shares were approx US$115 a share at the time and closed shade below US$90 yesterday.

Tree surgery

Omagh Bomber acquitted - FRU double agent who warned Special Branch ignored

Sean Hoey, now 38 an unemployed electrician from Jonesborough, south Armagh,was today cleared of the murder of 29 people in the 1998 Omagh bombing, the worst atrocity in more than three decades of sectarian violence in Northern Ireland.The the trial concluded on January 17 this year and Judge Weir who heard the case without a jury has taken 11 months to reach his verdict.

Judge Weir criticised the process of bagging, labelling and recording of exhibits and hit out at the "slapdash approach" and "cavalier disregard" the police and some forensic experts had for the integrity of forensic items.

Judge Weir said two police officers had told untruths in a deliberate attempt to bolster their statements and said there had been a calculated deception that made it impossible for him to accept their evidence.

Only one person, Hoey's uncle Colm Murphy a County Louth builder and publican, has ever been convicted of involvement in the blast, but his conviction was overturned in January 2005 after he had spent three years in jail - a retrial ordered by the Court of Criminal Appeal, on the grounds that two Gardaí had falsified interview notes and he now faces a re-trial. This may be delayed or forgotten about as his lawyers claime he is lawyers claiming he is suffering from short-term memory loss as a result of a car accident.

In 2003, Michael McKevitt, understood to be the leader of the Real IRA, was jailed by a Dublin court for 20 years for "directing terrorism", although the trial judge was explicit that the charges were unrelated to the Omagh bombing.

The car bomb attack on August 15 1998, killed Protestants and Catholics and left 220 wounded, many with horrific injuries. The 500 lb bomb was placed in car stolen in County Monaghan (Eire) a week before. It had its Republic of Ireland number plates replaced with Northern Ireland plates and was parked outside a clothes shop on Omagh's Market Street, less than 30 minutes after the first warning was sent to local media. (See pic : click to enlarge)

Three different warnings were received by news organisations in the province half an hour before the bomb detonated.

Discrepancies over the location of the bomb in those calls simply added to the confusion - resulting in Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers leading people towards the bomb, rather than away from it.

The bombing was carried out by the Real IRA, which opposed the Good Friday agreement that had been signed in April.In July 2001 a double agent using the pseudonym Kevin Fulton alleges he told his Special Branch handlers days in advance of the Omagh attack by the Real IRA.

Kevin Fulton was an ex Britsh soldier , a Catholic from Newry , who was given false discharge papers from his regiment and told by the shadowy military intelligence agency, the Force Research Unit (FRU), to infiltrate the IRA. As part of long- running investigations by the Sunday Herald into Ulster's Dirty War, Fulton has already claimed he warned RUC Special Branch that the Omagh bombing was being planned at least 48 hours before the Real IRA placed the bomb. *See Brig. Gordon Kerr

Hoey, who was already in jail on remand for other alleged offences, was charged with the murders and multiple other crimes in May 2005. See Lord Patel's post Omagh bombing: man faces murder charges:6.14PM, Wed May 4 2005

The trial eventually began in September 2006. Hoey pleaded not guilty to 58 offences,(2 were dropped). Today his mother Ritea, said outside the court : "I want the world to know that my son Sean Hoey is innocent."

The early proceedings were dogged by controversy as it emerged that some witness statements had been lost and others altered. During the 56-day trial, prosecutors tried to tie Hoey to the Omagh bombing and other explosions by using DNA evidence specifically a type called low copy DNA. But his lawyers challenged the evidence, claiming it was unreliable.

Hoey's defence team repeatedly argued that the police had tampered with evidence and that exhibits had been wrongly labelled. They said there had been a police 'conspiracy' to 'bury' evidence. They also challenged the integrity of some of the police and forensic witnesses.

In this much awaited verdict Judge Weir quoted a judgment by the Court of Appeal, which said justice demanded " proper evidence and not merely evidence which might be true to a considerable extent, probably is true, but which was so convincing in truth and manifestly reliable that it reached the standard of proof beyond reasonable doubt."

He went on to say : “The evidence against the accused in this case did not reach that immutable standard. Accordingly, I find Mr Hoey not guilty on each of the remaining counts of the indictment.”

So all the FRU and their state paid assassins can sleep a little more comfortably as their secrets don't surface in a court .. again.

Lee Jasper and his fascinating friends in Cultural Diversity

Collectors of self serving, lying Press release's from two faced, deceitful, dishonest politicians might carefully examine this one from Kenny Livingstone the Mayor of London ... Mayor's statement on the false allegations made by Andrew Gilligan 18 December 2007

In it comical Kenny he details 8 broad allegations made by Andrew Gilligan in a series od detailed articles in the London The Evening Standard from 5 December to 15 December - the last, " Secret emails expose Mayor aide scandal" which makes 8 separate very detailed allegations e.g "The emails - obtained by the Standard - show that Mr Jasper's friend, Joel O'Loughlin, grossly overcharged, deceived the LDA and failed to provide any of the services he promised."(See e mail May 1st 2007 )

The full story with all the links is here is here

A later Press release from Kenny is somehow is self Explanatory. Andrew Gilligan's false allegation about Lee Jasper's "godson" 18 December 2007 ... Apparently Lee doesn't have a god son.

All this is made more exciting by a further story in the Evening Standard today Ken confronted over grant scandal by Ross Lydall, City Hall Editor 18.12.07
apparently Brenda Stern a lawyer on secondment from a City law firm to the LDA and is evidently well informed in the matter of a series of grants, worth around £2.5 million in total, made by the LDA to organisations with which Mr Jasper has links. In several cases Mr Gilligan's investigations have raised questions about how the money was spent and the results - or lack of them - that were achieved.

Kenny accused her of a "stunt".

Which answers few questions but does raises one. Why doesn't Kenny reach for his lawyers, issue an injunction and follow it with a writ for libel against Gilligan and his employers ?

Notes

Joel O'Loughlin is a management consultant specialising in equality and diversity management. Joel is Group Director of Diversity International Ltd a successful business employing 5 people in Liverpool. Sandra St Rose is a Director and may be a graduate of Common Purpose - her fascinating website is here. They have a fascinating list of clients.

Joel has held a number off senior positions in the voluntary sector over the past 25 years including Director of project Fullemploy, NCVO Trustee, Chair of the Urban Forum and a Commissioner on the Deakin Commission for the Future of the Voluntary Sector. Joel currently sits on the Board of Business Link Merseyside and is a BME regional representative on the North West Regional Assembly.

Furriners buying in at the bottom

Investment bank Morgan Stanley said today it has sold a portion of itself ( 9.9 % or less of Morgan Stanley's total shares outstanding.) to China Investment Corp., an investment arm of the Chinese government, for $5 billion to raise capital after taking $9.4 billion in writedowns on mortgage-related investments.

The Blue chip Wall Street bankers report a loss of $3.59 billion, or $3.61 a share, during the fourth quarter ended Nov. 30, marking the first time Morgan Stanley has posted a quarterly loss in its 72-year history. Just a year ago, Morgan Stanley posted a profit of $2.21 billion or $2.08 a share.

In the latest major overseas investment by a sovereign wealth fund, the Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC) said last week that it would inject 11 billion Swiss francs (US$9.74 billion) into UBS, Switzerland's largest bank.

UBS said a strategic investor in the Middle East, which it did not want to identify, is injecting an additional 2 billion francs into the bank, which revealed further writedowns of around US$10 billion due to a crisis in the US subprime mortgage sector.

Dow Chemical is to place its plastics business in a joint venture with Kuwait's state oil company.

Citigroup announced some $6.8bn of write-downs and losses in the third quarter, and the potential for another $11bn in the fourth quarter.It then sold up to 4.9 % of itself for $7.5 billion to the Gulf Arab emirate of Abu Dhabi in a complicated deal that involves paying a fixed coupon of 11%. That is well above the average yield on US junk bonds of 9.4 per cent, according to Merrill Lynch data.

Abu Dhabi will be Citi's largest shareholder.

In May, China's (then) new state investment agency, China Investment Corp., took a $3 billion stake in U.S. private equity firm The Blackstone Group,this is in the form of a non-voting stake of just under 10%.

Billionaire corporate raider Nelson Peltz's Trian Group has teamed up with up with the Qatar Investment Authority, an arm of the emirate's government, and in a classic corporate raid they now have 4.5% of the company.(Peltz bought drinks group Snapple for US$300m (£149m) and sold it three years later for US$1.5bn.)

Today it has been announced that Milestone Resources, the investment arm of Dubai based Mahesh “Micky” Jagtiani’s Landmark Group, had acquired a 7.4% stake in Debenham's plc and could be poised to buy it. ( A trade off maybe for thr news that UNiversal Studios are helping to make Dubailand the ME Disneyland ...given the outdoor temperatures in Dubai , truly a Hell on Earth)

Bear Stearns reports results tommorrow before the bell. Wear a hard hat.

Set Smoot Free - AGAIN - Part II

43-year-old Kevin Andre Smoot from Woodlands, Texas was up before Judge Michael M. Mihm for sentencing yesterday, he was once the managing director of Eagle Global Logistics, Inc.'s freight forwarding station in Houston and got mired in the corruption of his employers who were defrauding the US Government on Iraqi transport contracts.

His boss, Christopher Cahill, was the regional vice president for the Middle East and India for Eagle Global Logistics or EGL and is already serving a 30-month prison sentence for inflating invoices for military shipments to Baghdad through EGL's subcontract with Kellogg, Brown and Root - (then) a branch of Haliburton -- under the LOGCAP III prime contract.

Weighing the good from the bad, Judge Mihm said he was certain Mr. Smoot would never commit another crime and until that point and led a good life. But, his sentence should reflect how war contracts should not be a part of 'corrupt practices.'

Along with his prison sentence, Mr. Smoot must pay $17,970 in fines and restitution and serve two years on probation. He'll begin serving his sentence at the least secure facility closest to his family in Texas beginning Jan. 28.

See previous Lord Patel Posts Set Smoot Free and especially the post from people who know him personally.

Smoot played a tiny bit part in the massive fraud that has been taking taking place in Iraq by huge Corporations like Halliburton / KBR - he finally pleaded guilty, although his initital response to enquiries was to lie to the FBI when federal investigators came asking about a 'war risk surcharge' of 50 cents for each kilogram of freight transported to Baghdad.

Fuck me the guy's job was on the line.... go after the really big guys who have been reeling in millions.

Lord Patel Says again SET SMOOT FREE... and really go after the guys who really are behind the big fruds .. for example read the post about how oil both crude and refined is STILL NOT METERED in Iraq FOUR YEARS AFTER THE ILLEGAL INVASION .. allowing massive fraud daily.

If anyone has an address for Smoot please post it here.

PS Public Law 108-106, the Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Defense and for the reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, 2004, appropriated $18 billion for the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund (IRRF). To oversee the handling and treatment of these funds by the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA), this law also established the Inspector General of the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA-IG) to provide for the independent and objective conduct and supervision of audits and investigations relating to the CPA's programs and operations. (www.sigir.mil website of his office for more information of the massive billion pound boondoggles)

See The Inspector General's October 2007 report for Congress here

"The Inspector General (IG) testified this quarter before the House Oversight and Governmental Affairs Committee on the status of corruption within the Government of Iraq (GOI). As the IG reported to the Committee, corruption in Iraq is a “second insurgency” that exerts a corrosive force on Iraq’s fledgling democracy."

And just to put progress in Iraq on a definite and quantative basis....

"In an October 6, 2004 briefing to the Secretary of the Army, the PCO reported 26 electricity restoration projects completed and 12 ongoing. Of the completed projects, 11 are generation projects, 12 are transmission projects, and 3 are management projects. The 30-day average peak generation capacity in September was approximately 4,970 MW, up from 4,700 MW in July. On September 6, 2004, the system reached a record peak generating capacity
of 5,100 MW. " Report by IG October '04

Electricity Production Breaks Records

Thanks to new U.S.-financed electrical projects, a drop in attacks on infrastructure, and improved maintenance programs by the Ministry of Electricity, Iraq’s electrical output this quarter reached its highest levels since the 2003 invasion, averaging over 4,500 MW per day.
Highlights of IG report Oct 2007

..and from the report also ..."total relief and reconstruction investment for Iraq from all sources—the United States, Iraq, and international donors—passed the $100 billion mark."

Which to put it another way is 50 Bn Sterling or the total exposure of the UK Treasury (AKA UK taxpayer) to Northern Rock....er...currently

By the Way : Silly Fact No 778 : A Smoot is a unit of measure (see Wikipedia as well and here ). Enter 1 smoot in meters at Google and the calculator will respond that 1 smoot is 1.7018 meters. Google also uses the smoot as an optional unit of measurement in their Google Earth software.

Part of White House Buildings on fire

Strolling past the Eisenhower Executive Office Building (near the Wset Wing) which houses the the (ceremonial) Office of the Vice President, the Office of Management and Budget, and the National Security Council we took the opportunity to take this snap of an overwarm office building.

According to ABC News everyone has been evacuated from the building. There is as yet no word on the cause or extent of the fire.

Britney Spears teenage sister Jamie-Lynn is pregnant with her first child.

Bosses at children's TV network Nickelodeon, where the 16-year-old fronts hit show Zoey 101, have confirmed the forthcoming happy event.

Lord Patel accepts no responsibility for either event but has been searching for a very large star in the East.

Iraqi oil unmetered 4 years after illegal invasion - Turkey bombs Kurds with US help and approval in N. Iraq

Warren Sach (born in Essex, UK. University College, London, and Magdalene College, Cambridge -see pic) is the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's representative on the International Advisory and Monitoring Board (IAMB), which audits the Development Fund for Iraq.

He told the UN Security Council yesterday that 4 years after the US invasion the Iraqi Government the government had made some progress in metering it'c crude oil production and refined product but it was also concerned about cost controls and smuggling.

"Overall progress has been very slow and there is still no comprehensive metering at oil fields, storage facilities or refineries," Sach said before the council voted in favor of extending the Iraqi requested mandate (they say for the last time) of U.S.-led foreign forces for one year. The IAMB stated in December 2006 that an oil metering contract had recently been let - It became apparent by January 31st this year however that the , the December 28 statement that the oil metering contract was in place was incorrect. No one has apologized, and the (unmetered) oil continues to flow. See also CNN 28th Dec 2005 / See IAMB Press release Jan 30th 2007 final paragraph

Sach said the IAMB remains concerned about significant unresolved control deficiencies and that without a comprehensive oil metering system, it is difficult to control smuggling. (Ho.Ho.Ho.)

The majority of Iraqi oil is exported through the southern port of Basra. On Dec. 16, Iraqi forces assumed responsibility for security over the southern region of the country from British forces, including Basra, the nation's second largest city.

Iraq's U.N. ambassador Hamid al Batyati explained to the SEcurity Council that he acknowledged past monitoring problems but now, the government has some meters in Basra and is tightening up security. (So that's all right then ?)

See Shell holding Iraq oil metering talks By Thomas Catan Financial Times 12 th April 2006

Turkey Bombs PKK in Iraq

Turkish media reports ( Turkey's NTV television ) that up to 50 planes have bombed 10 villages in Northern Iraq in an attempt to squash the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels. BBC reports that Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed the air strikes as a "success".

A "comprehensive air campaign" was carried out from 0100 on Sunday (2300 GMT Saturday), hitting the regions of Zap, Hakurk and Avasin as well as areas in the Kandil (Qandil) mountains in an operation lasting three hours, the Turkish military said.

Cross-border artillery barrages were also used fom the town of Cukurca in Turkish territory.

Reuters reports that Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Hajj Humoud summoned the Turkish ambassador and demanded an end to strikes which "may affect the friendly relations between the two governments and peoples," the foreign ministry said.

The BBC World at One reported that American military had provided the Turkish Air Force with Targetting information and had approved the attack although there was no official comment in Baghdad.

On Sunday, Ankara's most senior general Yasar Buyukanit said Turkey had received tacit US consent for the operation by providing "intelligence" and opening up northern Iraqi airspace.

"We strongly condemn this cruel attack on Iraqi sovereignty and on the principle of friendly neighbourhood," the Iraqi parliament said in a statement that spoke of "several innocent civilian casualties".

State Department spokesman Tom Casey said that they declined to confirm or deny what help might have been given, saying only that the strikes were "in keeping with" past air raids in northern Iraq.

"That said, we want to make sure that the actions that are taken are done in an appropriate way, that hit only those targets that are PKK and avoid civilian casualties," Lying fucker.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who made an unannounced visit to Iraq yesterday, only referred to the Turkish operation indirectly, saying: “No one should do anything that threatens to destabilise the north [of the country].” Lying Fucker

Masoud Barzani, the Prime Minister of Kurdistan decided not to travel to Baghdad to meet Ms Rice because of his anger over the US's role in the Turkish military action.

See more comment and information about damage .\/ deaths / injuries in bombed areas here at Countercurrents

Double speak - check what a human shield is

Click to enlarge
From wake from your slumber via Xymphora

Another price rise forced on Belarus by Gazprom

After President Putin's weekend visit to Minsk in Belarus it was announced that ed $1.5 billion in loans wre to be provided to help its economy adjust to rising prices. They also signed a Belarusian-Russian intergovernmental agreement on equal conditions in railway pricing policy.

Belarus will also pay 19% more for Russian gas in 2008 - US $ 119 (82 Euros) . Following a dispute over energy prices at the beginning of 2007, Gazprom forced Belarus to accept a doubling of gas prices this year -- to $100 per thousand cubic meters -- and an unspecified increase for 2008.

Sergei Kupriyanov, of Gazprom, said on Saturday that Belarus would pay US$119 in 2008. This was a relief as there had been talk of a rise of 50% and planners were working on a price of US $125.

President Putin's visit to Belarus produced calls for closer cooperation but yielded no signs that the neighbors were moving toward the creation of a unified state. The two countries signed an agreement in 1996 that envisioned close political, economic and military ties, but efforts to achieve a full merger have foundered.

“I hope today as issues on the agenda of the Union’s Supreme State Council (SSC) session are discussed, we will be united by an urge towards taking more energetic steps with a view to forming the common economic space, creating a full-fledged Customs Union, removing the remaining trade barriers,” President Putin stressed during a session of the Supreme State Council.

Since the founding of the Union State the trade between Belarus and Russia has quadrupled from US$5,2 billion in 1995 to US$19,9 billion in 2006. In January-September this year, the Byelarussian–Russian trade reached IS$18,1 billion, up 22.8% over the same period last year and is expected to exceed US$23 Bn in 2007.

President Lukashenko repeated an earlier statement that Belarus would join forces with Russia in opposing U.S. plans for a missile shield in Europe.

A senior Russian general said last month that Moscow could provide Belarus with short-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads as part of the Kremlin's response to U.S. plans for missile defense facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic.

Last month he suggested deploying missiles in Belarus in retaliation for the proposed U.S. missile shield.Belarus, already hosts a Russian-operated early-warning radar system (The Pechora-type large phased array radar (LPAR) at Baranovichi (nr Minsk) in Belarus commenced construction in 1985._and a limited number of Russian military personnel.

PS 25% of EU gas originates in Russia at present. The volume of imports rises every year.

Watch Byelorussian TV live (Russian language) here (Windows Media)
Listen to English Language Byelorussian Radio here

Northern Rock .. Apocalypse (almost) Now

Today at 7.30 am, before the London markets opened the UK Treasury made a most extraordinary and unprecedented announcement. (cue Ride of the Valkyrie)

The guarantees (at the request of thje Directors of Northern Rock plc) have been extended to include :

* all uncollateralised and unsubordinated wholesale deposits and other borrowings which are outside the guarantee arrangements previously announced by HM Treasury;
* all payment obligations of Northern Rock plc under any uncollateralised derivative transactions;
* in respect of all collateralised derivatives, and all wholesale borrowings which are collateralised (including, without limitation, covered bonds of Northern Rock plc), the payment obligations of Northern Rock plc to the extent that those obligations exceed the available proceeds of the realised collateral for the relevant derivative or borrowing; and
* all obligations of Northern Rock plc to make payments on the repurchase of mortgages under the documentation for the "Granite" securitisation programme.

In other words all those items that were excluded in the original gurantee for the company in September.

This extension (it is claimed) meets the "objectives of the Tripartite Authorities of financial stability and the protection of the taxpayer and consumer and for the purposes of Northern Rock plc's credit ratings in respect of the wholesale obligations described above."

Northern Rock plc will pay an appropriate fee for the extension of the guarantee arrangements. Termination will be provided by 3 months notice.

This amounts effectively to Nationalisation as the Bank now gurantees all the companies debts ...totally ...100% ... the complete balnce sheet. As Vincent Cable said on BBC 4" World at One" minutes ago ..."the worst of all possible worlds"

"Prudent" Gordon Brown must of course have been involved in this decision. In front of the Tresury Select Committee (TSC) Lord King said "he didn't want to speculate whether Northern Rock would be nationalised".

Angela Knight of the British Bankers Association told the TSC she didn't think the move "was helpful".

Granite defaults.

Those following this tortuous saga will remember that the "Granite" bonds based on the spurious (if not fraudulent basis) that a trust for the benefit of the NE Downs Syndrome Association administered the bonds issued by NR plc.

They will also remember ..

"See Prospectus Page 6 -" Principal of the offered notes may be repaid earlier than expected if a trigger event or an event of default occurs in respect of these notes."

Well a trigger event did take place .. see SEC filings

"On September 14, 2007, Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, a division of the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. ("Standard & Poor's") and Fitch Ratings Limited "Fitch") each downgraded Northern Rock's long-term credit ratings from "A+" to "A". On September 17, 2007 and September 19, 2007, respectively, Fitch and Standard & Poor's further downgraded Northern Rock's long-term credit rating from "A" to "A-". The downgrade to "A-" by Fitch constitutes a trigger event under the Funding 2 basis rate swaps entered into in connection with the Granite program, under which Northern Rock acts as Funding 2 basis rate swap provider. For a description of the potential consequences of this trigger event, please see the section entitled "The swap agreements - The Funding 2 basis rate swaps" in the prospectus of Granite Master Issuer plc (the "Company") dated May 17, 2007 and the Funding 2 Basis Rate Swap, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission as Exhibit 10.1 to the Company's Form 8-K dated May 23, 2007. Northern Rock (i.e the Directors Ed.) has indicated that it does not currently propose to take any further action following the trigger event, due to the liquidity provided by the standby liquidity arrangements it has recently agreed with the Bank of England, as described in the preceding paragraph. Fitch has stated that it considers these standby liquidity arrangements of sufficient strength and form as to satisfy the substance of their criteria and does not currently propose to take any negative rating action with respect to any notes issued by Granite Master Issuer plc (the "Company"). Additionally, Moody's Investors Services Limited ("Moody's") has placed its "Aa3" long-term rating of Northern Rock on review "direction uncertain." The short-term credit ratings of Northern Rock remain at A-1 by Standard & Poor's, F1 by Fitch and P-1 by Moody's. "

See SEC Filing

September 14th SEC Filing Ref 333-141533

In other words ...well yes Moody's have downgraded etc but..we...we'll ..er..ignore it.

Curiously so did everyone else.

Why ?

Simply because the prospects of liquidating the fund were too awesome to consider.

What happens when a CDO liquidates

This is evident if you read the Wall Street Journal Page C1 yesterday(17th Dec.) by Karen Richards and Carrick Mollenkamp."CDO Battles : Royal Pain Over who gets what" which details the default and liquidation of the "Sagittarius" fund involving Deutsche Bank,acting as TRustes, Bond Insurere MBIA INc , and Investors Wachovia Corp and UBS AG.

On November 6th Sagittarius a mere US%985 Mn Collateralised Debt Obligation (CDO) triggered a default.

Now as a result Deutsche Bank filed on December 3rd to the Court effectively to ask the ocurt to tell them who to pay (As Trustee it is their job to distribute the funds on default). The reason for their action is that Bond insurere MBIA is claiming prior rights and that Deutsche as Trustee should not distribute any "interest or capital" .. hence UBS whose UBS Absolute Return Bond Fund and UBS Global Bond Fund with a mere US$1.2 Mn holdings of the CDO are involved. Wachovia isn't a party to the filing so far but has CDO holdings in Sagittarius.

Now given that there are ( a guess as know one really knows) some US$600 Bn dodgy CDO's out there ... According to the WSJ article JP Morgan reckon that US$40BN to US$50Bn bonds are due to go belly up by the second Quarter of 2008.

A lawyers breakfast of course. You can hear them in their parlours ..."I love the smell of burning CDO's and SIV's in the morning"

At first the Directors of Northern Rock just blindfolded themselves and now they called in Uncle King and Darling to protect them. And Uncle King and Darling have obliged with our money.

At a cost to the UK of US$200 Bn plus if everything goes tits up. Richard Peston .."In a technical sense, it means that the gross exposure of the taxpayer is more than £100bn. Or to put it another way, the public sector is now directly or indirectly funding all of the Rock's mortgage lending."

This is the most calamitous fuck up imagineable, in which a small bunch of frightened men have, in secret thrown away the tax payers money.... in losses which will exceed the current 30 odd billion sterling in the hole.

Prudent ...my arse.

See also Peston BBC

PS. This move has been claimed by others (not the Treasury) to make Northern Wreck saleable. Please note ..."Termination will be provided by 3 months notice" now which "private" buyer is goung to buy on those terms ? Which market lender will provide them with funds on those terms ?

NOw..who is next in the queue at the BOE wicket gate to ask for loan gurantees...A& L , B & B ?





Click to enlarge

Vani - The Golden Land of Colchis

"Wine, Worship and Sacrifice: The Golden Graves of Ancient Vani," on view Dec. 1 through Feb. 24, 2008 at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, presents spectacular gold, silver, ceramic vessels, jewelry, Greek bronze sculpture, Greek and Colchian coins, and Greek glassware. Together these objects provide a rich and informative view of the ancient land of Colchis and its principal sanctuary city, Vani, a town in the Imereti region of western Georgia.

A silver belt from Colchis 4th Century BC from the Georgian National Museum at Tblisi - a slideshow introduces the exhibition at the above link ..if you can't make it to Washington.

Recent post by Lord Patel here.Vani - The Land of the Golden Fleece

"You were in the land that had invented wine. Your workers had been busy smelting iron when other nations were still stuck in the Bronze Age. You could choose between luxury goods imported from your showy Persian neighbors to the east or from the Greek aesthetes who lived farther west. Since Colchis was famous in antiquity for gold and precious metal -- it's where the Greek hero Jason went to grab the legendary Golden Fleece -- you'd be wearing gold-spangled robes while pouring and drinking your famous Colchian wine from gold or silver vessels."

Read more of Wapo Review. also more here

Dec. 1-Feb. 24:
10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Daily (Closed Christmas Day)

Arthur M. Sackler Gallery - Smithsonian Institution
1050 Independence Ave. SW Washington, DC
• Information: 202-633-1000 • Price: Free

You might like to visit the Georgian Ambasadorial website and read about the exhibition and also ...



How ..."One of the priority tasks of Georgia's foreign and security policy is a full integration into the Euro-Atlantic community, which will enable our country not only to insure its security but also to contribute its own share to strengthening of peace and stability in the world. We keep right on target for democratic development and are willing to assist other countries too in the democratization processes, to which the establishment of peace and stability is one of the essential prerequisites.

Of great importance, in this context, is the participation of Georgia's armed forces in international peace operations. Since 1999 Georgian peacekeepers have been engaged actively in an effort to protect peace and stability in various regions of the world, within NATO-led and Anti-terrorist Coalition’s operations.

With this involvement in international peace operations, Georgian military units get the benefit of experience in interacting with the NATO member and partner states, which brings them in a closer alignment with the standards applying in the NATO member states.

The first peace operation Georgia was involved in was the NATO-led operation in Kosovo (KFOR)."

Naturally now that nasty old Mr Putin has shoved up the price of gas they are keen to display their anti-communist values and Washington is delighted to help in any way ...

Wonderful thing diplomacy.

The Wit and Wisdom of Lord King - The Gubment Wanker on Threadneedle Street

Lord King. Speech at the Mansion House 16th June 2004

"Over the past year,the Bank has been able to reflect on the changes stemming from the Bank of England Act 1998 and the associated Memorandum of Understanding between the Bank, Treasury and FSA on financial stability. That legislation inevitably changed the Bank’s relationship with the City and the financial sector more generally. Freed from the responsibilities of day-to-day regulation,the Bank has been able to focus on two principal objectives: maintaining monetary stability and maintaining financial stability."

Lord King. Speech at the Mansion House 16th June 2007

"Your decision to grant independence to the Bank of England ten years ago is widely and rightly regarded as a fundamental improvement to the conduct of economic policy in this country, and we in the Bank are grateful to you for giving us the opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of an independent central bank."


Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, was interviewed by Robert Peston, BBC Business editor, for a File on 4 special on Northern Rock 6th November 2007

MK: "Well it’s its true that in some countries there is a system in which it’s possible to intervene pre-emptively and take the retail depositors out of the bank and transfer their accounts to another bank. And its very attractive to have that facility because if we’d have had that power that is something that I’m sure we would have exercised or the FSA would have exercised at the point when we gave the lender of last resort support to Northern Rock, because that would have prevented a retail run on the bank.

We don’t have that power in Britain. We need it."

Isn't it odd the first time the system is tested it fails and now after 3 years when "the Bank has been able to focus on two principal objectives: maintaining monetary stability and maintaining financial stability." the King discovers he hasn't the powers he needs when the going gets tough ?

Incidentally on June 16th he also said ..

"Our central view remains that inflation will fall back this year as the rises in domestic gas and electricity prices last year drop out of the annual comparison, and the recent cuts in prices feed through to household bills."

Which displayed not only a blindness to what is going on in the energy markets but an evident disconnect with the market... and risible to anyone involved in the energy market anywhere in the world and especially the EU ..... in 2004 at the Mansion House he said ..."The risks to financial stability now come at least as much from lack of liquidity in markets as in individual institutions. So the eyes and ears of the Bank need to be sharper than ever. That is why the Bank remains, to quote Governor Cobbold in 1958, ‘a bank and not a study group’, and I have encouraged staff in the Bank to learn as much as they can from outside Threadneedle Street and not just from the files or computers inside."

Sharp fucking eyes and ears indeed .....

Bloomberg December 14th

"U.K. gas for next winter traded at 58.75 pence ($1.19) a therm today, after yesterday reaching its highest in 15 months, following gains in the cost of crude oil, a price benchmark for gas in much of Europe. Power contracts in Britain tend to follow the price of gas because it fuels about 40 percent of the U.K.'s electricity generation."

On that Date Npower said : "Since April this year the increase in forward wholesale energy costs has been 75% for gas and 78% electricity, as measured by the well-respected Heren Energy Index."

The Independent on Saturday reported in a story "British Gas warns of big price rises in the pipeline"

"Npower followed Centrica's lead last week by raising its tracker rates for gas by 17% and electricity by 13 %."

"Last winter, wholesale gas was trading at about an average of 37p per therm. That compares with 53p per therm now."

Which surpises no-one who keeps their eye on the energy markets worldwide ...say by simply reading The Oil Drum. for example this report on the European Gas Market by Euan Mearns whch amongst many other worrying conclusions has message for the BOE and the myopic Lord King. (Not to mention the wholeGubment and House of Commons / Lords)

"OECD Europe gas imports are forecast to grow from current 197 BCM per annum to 442 BCM per annum by 2020 - if we see business as usual growth in demand and consumption. Where will this additional 245 BCM come from? Some may come from N Africa and some from West Africa and Qatar. It seems unlikely that an increase in imports on this scale will be possible and that high price and shortage will ration supply. This market driven outcome may hit the poorer nations hardest and one may suspect this may have a destabilising effect."


Click to enlarge.

Lord King is about to be grilled by the House of Commons Treasury Select Committee(TSC). Don't expect much wit ...and there will be very precious wisdom displayed by either him or his interlocutors.

UPDATE the Daily Torygraph examine the propsects for Lord King who meets the committee today at 10.30...no mention of his Mansion House speeches. "the TSC is after vital information on what went wrong with the tripartite system of regulation between the Bank, the FSA and the Treasury. On that issue, Mr King will almost certainly be reminded of one telling exchange from his last appearance.

Then, TSC deputy chairman Michael Fallon asked: "Who is actually in charge?" To which Mr King replied: "What do you mean by 'in charge'? Would you like to define that?"

What a fucking intellect.

Hot Chocolate = Hot Sex

Tumerica is a Jezebel ... this is what she posted February 27, 2006
Simply Luscious Hot Chocolate—Easy and Fast

Tired of kiddy-style, overly sweet hot chocolate? ....

First, you need to have either baking chocolate or a bar of high-quality bittersweet chocolate on hand. We are lucky to have a Trader Joe's nearby, where they stock fabulous 72% cacao Belgian chocolate bars in the pound-plus size for about $4. Take two squares of bittersweet chocolate and drop them in a cup of milk. No wait—trust me on this. Stick your cup in the microwave and zap for two to two-and-a-half minutes (checking to make sure it does not bubble over). Stir thoroughly when you remove it to finish dissolving all the melted chocolate into the milk. What's surprising is that it does dissolve and turns into a thick, irresistable treat (though not a low-calorie one).

Well this is the stuff ...


If you don't live in the US of A then simply hop on plane and get down to Trader Joe's pronto. A 1" cube to say 1/2 pint milk - and we mean milk not that whitewater (not the scandal a la Cintonan) that the health freako nuts call semi or full skimmed ...straight as it comes from the cow.

Men ...not only will you live longer (Dutch reports confirm this) your performance in the sack will be epic... Promise. Nature's Cialis.

The perfect accompaniment to watching the Colts stuff those pussy cats from Oakland. Peyton Manning is God!

The Meteorological Office are a bunch of useless wankers

As a matter of historical record this is what Lord Patel posted on 11th April 2007

The Met Office have today issued their Forecast for Summer 2007 - this is it ...

Temperature

"There is a high probability (at least 70%) that mean summer temperatures will be above the 1971-2000 long-term average over much of western Europe, including the UK. Indications for this year suggest the odds for a particularly hot summer, similar to those experienced in 2003 and 2006 across the UK, are around 1 in 8."

Precipitation

"Prospects for rainfall are uncertain. However, there are currently no indications of an increased risk of either a particularly dry or a particularly wet summer." ENDS

Apparently this garbage is "derived using global forecasting models and statistical methods."

It is employees of this outfit that can tell us what the climate will be in 50/100 years but boiled down there is a 12.5% chance of a hot summer (if you want the Bayesian analysis) and it probably won't be very dry or very wet.

They helpfully add that "The summer forecast will next be updated at 10 a.m. 1 May 2007." Peer reviewed scientists my arse.

They did update on May 1st (see here)

Update to Met Office summer forecast

The Met Office issues a long-range forecast for the summer and then reviews it on a monthly basis. The latest seasonal forecast from the Met Office, updated today, still indicates that this summer is likely to be warmer than average.

Following the trend set throughout 2006 and the first part of 2007, seasonal forecasters say there is a high probability that summer temperature will exceed the 1971-2000 long-term average of 14.1 °C.

The Met Office will issue an update of the summer forecast on 30 May 2007.

The Pitt Report

Sir Michael Pitt was asked by ministers to carry out a review of the flood-related emergencies which occurred during the summer of 2007. The interim report of the Review was published today . It is being published now to achieve three objectives:

• to identify issues which need urgent action;

Here is the second paragraph ....

"The severe flooding which affected much of the country during June and July 2007 followed the wettest-ever May to July period since national records began in 1766. Met Office records show that an average of 414.1mm of rain fell across England and Wales – well over double usual levels (see Table 1). The additional volume of rain which fell from May to July was 31,140 million cubic metres – more than four times the amount of water in all the lakes in England and Wales combined."



and on a wider front ..



Nowhere will you find any critical remarks about the Meteorological Office forecasting. In fact forecasting is not mentioned ... A search for the word "Forecast" yields nothing.

"no indications of an increased risk of .... a particularly wet summer"

On September 7th The Met Office issued a sumary of the summer. Remember on May 1st in their revised forcast they said they said a high probability that summer temperature will exceed the 1971-2000 long-term average of 14.1 °C.

Here is the anomoly map published that day ...
That means the average for the summer was virtually unchanged from the 30 year average 0 except for tiny areas in the Western Highlands. That means they got it wrong in Spades )say 400% wrong) on precipitation and were totally wrong about the mean temperature.

You would have thought that the first and most critical recommendation is to see why the long range forecasting undertaken by the Met Office is so fucking piss poor... so worthless as to be useless.... and the "derived using global forecasting models and statistical methods." is meaningless piffle.

Maybe they could spend less time on telling us about the global climate in the next 50 years and spend more time, concentration and effort on improving forecasting methods.

Of course you will not hear a word about this scandalous record in the Press.