French Farce - President Sarkozy, a pliant French Press, tangled love lives and hiding the poignees d'amour

Arnaud Lagardere is a close friend of French Prime Minister Nicolas Sarkozy. His media empire (Lagardere Active Media LAM ) includes Paris Match - and Elle, Europe 1 TV, and the Journal du Dimanche... On August 25th 2005 Paris Match had a scoop.

The tall, elegant, somtimes wife, Cécilia Sarkozy was pictured on the cover on a New York visit with her then boyfriend, the advertising executive and Frech Moroccan Richard Attias CEO of Publicis the massive global advertising agency ......and sales soared to a record 900,000 copies - outselling the issue reporting the death of Pope John Paul II.

The cooing lovebirds had both consented to the photography and its publication. Meanwhile jilted hubby, Sarko was consoling himself with a 47 year old brunette , Anne Fulda a right wing journalist from Figaro (see pic . Who had published a biography of Jacques Chirac) - and spent a sunny Christmas with her on Mauritius. It was at this time that Tony Blair cancelled a planned Downing Street session with him and met him briefly at a hotel instead because he was meeting President Chirac and Downing Street met the demands of the Elysée Palace that M Sarkozy must not be entertained at No 10. The talks were swiftly and diplomatically moved to a Marriott Hotel..

Le Canard enchaîné -- reported that the cuckolded (and not a little upset) pint sized French Interior Minister demanded that his friend Arnaud Lagardère dismiss Paris Match's editor-in-chief since 1999, Alain Genestar. He was offered an Irishman's rise - sideways promotion, he refused and left .(Lagardère insists his exit was due to declining circulation. Ho.Ho.Ho)

"Between the Heart and Reason " ("Entre le coeur et la raison"( -- was a thinly disguised novel of the affair cobbled together by Paris journalist Valérie Domain, with the help and approval of Cecilia Sarkozy. The first print run of 25,000 copies was pulped on the orders of the apoplectic Minister of the Interior. (The same one who, a few weeks later, when asked about the row over the Prophet Mohammed cartoons, said he preferred that people's feeling were hurt to imposing censorship.) It was eventually published in February 2006 by new publishers, Fayard who cleaned up with sales of over 86,000 copies in hardback.

Now Paris Match is under fire again for having taken Photoshop to the expanding waistline of the President in a pic of him canoeing in on holiday recently in New Hampshire.

Rival newspapaer L'Express gleefully published the original retouched pic clearly showing Sarko's poignees d'amour spilling out of his swim trunks whilst canoeing, comparing it with with the doctored digital image used by Paris Match.

For decades, it has been an unspoken rule in France that the press had no business delving into the private lives of politicians - although everyone knew that President Chirac could not be contacted the night Lady Diana died because he was holed up with his mistress... or that Mitterand had a daughter, Mazarine from one of his mistresses Anne Pingeot, housed and protected and paid for by the State ... or that the elegant Giscard D'estaing had a string of enchanting paramours.

However Francois Fillon's government has good Press contacts - who will watch out for Monsieur Le President. Catherine Pégard the top political writer at the conservative weekly magazine Le Point, - who has enjoyed face to face access to Sarko for years has taken up a role as a "special adviser" at the Elysée. Fillon has also hired Myriam Lévy, a reporter for Le Figaro, as a "communications adviser". (During the Presidential campaign, Lévy steadily produced biting and bitchy coverage of Socialist presidential candidate Ségolène Royal.)

However the French Press are facing huge declines in circulation and the stories surface or nearly do... reporters at the Lagardere's Journal du Dimanche, discovered errant sometime / on-off wife , Cécilia Sarkozy, hadn't bothered to vote inn the Presidential run-off on May 6. An article was prepared backed up with a pic of the public-vote roster - it never went to print.

Cecilia's maiden name is Albeniz and she is a great grad daughter of the pianist and composer of that name. This pic shows she did not vote - the registers are publicly displayed.

Ex staff of left wing Liberation run blog Rue89.com, broke the story (Cécilia Sarkozy n'a pas voté... scoop censuré du JDD) about the article's nonpublication claiming Sarko's pal Lagardère had it spiked. Naturally Lagardère denies this , and editor, Jacques Espérandieu, told Agence France Press that the story was killed because of a faiure of Mrs. Sarkozy to speak to them.

Espérandieu did admit however that he had received calls from Sarkozy's entourage (ex-director of the presidential campaign, of Laurent Solly, ex-chef de Cabinet of the Minister of Interior Department, and of Franck Louvrier, a PR helper ) arguing that publication would violate the family's privacy.

Then .."Espérandieu résiste à ces pressions. Jusqu'au coup de téléphone d'Arnaud Lagardère, patron du groupe, qui exige que l'article soit remisé dans un tiroir.

Toll brothers, US premium Housebuilders profits sink 85%

Horsham .Pa. based Toll Brothers Inc., largest builder of luxury homes in the US ,(no sub-prime lenders buy their swish places Us$1 Mn. and upwards) said today its Q3 profit dropped 85 % as the housing downturn and credit worries triggered cancellations and hefty writedowns, on sales down 21% from US1.53 Bn. to US$1.21 Bn.

The quarterly cancellation rate, which rose to nearly 24 percent, was greater than at any point in the 21 years the company has been traded publicly.

Earnings for the Q3 ending July sank to US$26.5 Mn. or 16 cents per share, from US$174.6 million, or US$1.07 per share.

The company, which operates principally in Maryland, was forced to write down property at a cost of $88.5 million, or 54 cents per share, compared with $14.6 million, or 9 cents per share, during the year-ago quarter. Excluding writedowns, earnings were 70 cents per share.

Russian Air power on Show at Zhukovsky airfield. MAKS 2007

It was on July 7th that we noted .... Nikolai Yegorovich Zhukovsky honoured - massive Moscow airport / airbase / research centre named for him .. and looked forward to MAKS 2007 airshow.

It has and Mr Putin has not stinted on spending roubles to demonstrate the expansion in number of new aircraft and technical skills that have been developed.Or on his Ray Bans either.

The Russians build components for the A320 in Voronezh and Irkutsk. In a newly formed joint venture with Airbus, they will convert about 30 A320 passenger aircraft into cargo planes at facilities in Dresden and Siberia beginning in 2011. The Russians hold a five-percent stake in EADS's problem child, the new A350 long-haul jet.

Alexey Fyodorov, 55 responsible for that 5% holding is anxious to have more involvement and a bigger share in the Airbus parent company, EADS. "But you'd have to ask the German and French shareholders about that," he is quoted in der Siegel , shrugging his shoulders. "Sometimes they tell us one thing, sometimes another." Then he adds: "But if the Europeans want us, we will react swiftly and positively."

The Air Show is well under way and the Knights aerobatic team with their stunning Su-27 (NATO "Flanker") wows the crowd. This long-range air superiority fighter and interceptor performs the same role as the F15-Eagle. This was the direct result of the PFI (perspektivnyi frontovoy istrebitel, Advanced Frontline Fighter) program to design an aircraft to match the F15 Eagle.

The Su-27's widely spaced twin Lyulka AL-31F turbofans, help provide greater lift, and reducing wing loading. makes for an exceptionally agile aircraft, controllable even at very low speeds and high angles of attack.

The Russians love showing it off at airshows (Dubai last year) demonstrating the famed Cobra (Pugachev's Cobra is named both after the first pilot who perfected the idea and after the sinister and lethal hooded snake) see in pic topmost plane is in this "stalled" mode of dynamic deceleration (note dirty exhaust as engine strains to hold the huge plane) the - briefly sustained level flight at a 120° angle of attack which it is claimed makes pursuers overshoot and then they follow in for the kill.

Thrust vectoring has also been tested (and is incorporated on later Su-30MKI and Su-35 models), allowing the fighter to perform hard turns with almost no radius, incorporate vertical somersaults into level motion and limited nose-up hovering. (Go here for stunning Cobra video and lengthy detailed and authoritative correspondence on the Su-24 aerobatics)

Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, who is also now in charge of Russia's military and industrial policy, (and set to follow Putin) plans to capture 10 to 12 percent of the world market for passenger aircraft by 2024. Russia's current market share is less than one percent.

The head of Russia's state arms export monopoly Rosoboronexport, Sergei Chemezov,told reporters that Russia had a "strong second place" in the military aviation market after the United States.

Rosoboronexport has already signed contracts worth US$ 2.5 Bn. this year for military aircraft will be supplying the air forces of China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Venezuela.

On the sidelines of the airshow, Chemezov signed a deal worth US$330 Mn. (Euros 244 Mn.) with Indonesia to supply six Sukhoi fighter jets in the biggest ever defence contract between the two countries.

Phelps Dodge / Freeport-McMoRan Company - why they hate the smell of formaldehyde 24/7 in Morenci, Arizona. Cost of copper and capitalism

Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provided trailers for Katrina refugees. It was discovered that unsafe levels of formaldehyde, a componeent of the glue used in the wood ply to make them was perfusing some of the 120,000 they had purchased.

Revelations of high formaldehyde levels caused the government to offer to buy back or replace trailers sold to evacuees at a discount under a federal program. As of May, FEMA had received 140 complaints and replaced 47 trailers. It also said it would not continue to put storm victims into the trailers.

So they sold 60 of them them to copper company, Phelps Dodge ( from March 19th 2007 a Freeport-McMoRan Company - "the world's largest publicly traded copper company" who took them over) ,to house their copper mine workers in Morenci and Safford, Arizona. Employees live rent ree and the company pay the utilities. Estimated median household income in 2005: $42,600 (it was $46,010 in 2000)/ Estimated median house/condo value in 2005: $0 (it was $0 in 2000)

For US8$ you can have a company guided tour round the open pit mines - the largest in the world - "The orientation also will cover safety while on the tour. " - so no chance of seeing the trailer park then - not even for kids, " Because of safety regulations, children younger than 9 are not permitted on a tour."

Employees living in the ex FEMA trailers complained of the smell, irritation causing watery eyes, sore throats, nausea and breathing difficultis in both adults and children.

Formaldehyde testing was conducted in 9 trailers by Associated Consulting Technologies Inc. of Tucson for the company . In a letter to Phelps Dodge, industrial hygienist William Martin wrote, "Mitigation of the formaldehyde exposures is recommended," placing the last word in italics for emphasis.

Random tests conducted on July 30 had found levels ranging from 0.08 to 0.68 part per million, about half of the level found in FEMA trailers. That is below 0.75 ppm, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's permissible level for workplaces. OSHA's regulation is designed to protect adult employees working eight-hour shifts. Travel trailers, described as "temporary housing," have been home to some miners and their families for six months.

The level was 3 times what the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allows for components in manufactured homes. HUD has no rule for trailers.

Paul Boman, Phelps Dodge health and safety manager, as a result sent a letter to the trailer families on August 16th describing the test results and suggesting they could reduce concentrations of the chemical by keeping windows open and running fans or air-conditioners 24 hours a day. (the company pays utilities)

Finally he ended the letter ;

"If you are uncomfortable with this situation, please remember that you may, if you wish, find other living arrangements,"

The reason they are living in the trailers is that there is no other housing available in the area.

Here is the copper price over the last 5 years which explains why Phelps Dodge are digging it out as fast as they can. ..and here is the Freeport-McMoRan Company (FCX) share price over that period.

.. and this is what Zero and beyond - the safety policy which Paul Boman, Phelps Dodge health and safety manager is paid to implement..

...and that's zero fucking true.

More at azcentral.com by Dennis Wagner

NB: FCX closed Aug 22nd US$ 85.59 up US$ 4.30 (5.29%) see this investor discussion forum

"The long term impact of the Internet" - how Lady Dame Jane Pauline Neville Jones' Fan club got to think about it

The Ditchley Foundation is one of those curious, reserved bodies that have much influence but who remain little known and their purpose even less understood - although they have a very elegant, clear, well illustrated and informative website.

Founded and funded by the donations of Sir David Wills and based at Ditchley Park in north Oxfordshire which he acquired in 1953. It , "organises private and highly focussed conferences of senior international experts to address issues of transatlantic and indeed global interest."
For readers here , one of the most interesting this year was held the weekend of June 1st - 3rd on the subject of , "The long-term impact of the internet" which was chaired by Mr Tim Gardam.

"Ditchley’s style and programme provide an opportunity for brainstorming unique in international affairs. Small invited groups of about 40 distinguished men and women are brought together from senior levels in the worlds of politics, business and industry, academic life, the civil service, the armed forces and the media. Conference subjects are carefully chosen in response to new international challenges arising from issues of concern to democratic societies. Conferences stress open, informal discussions that reflect personal thinking and take place under strict rules of confidentiality." says the website.

It would be fascinating to know who attended and what was said at that particular secluded chat. Mr Tim Gardam is of course Principal of St. Annes College, Oxford. A product of Westminster School, Gonville and Caius (Double first) BBC, inventor of Newsnight and Timewatch, and also once a Director Channel 4 who undertook for Tessa Jowell a study of digital TV in Britain.

The Foundation has a list of Governors constituting both the great and the good and many members of the Lady Dame Jane Pauline Neville-Jones Fan club - indeed, surprise, surprise she is one of the Governors. As is Sir Rodric Braithwaite , GCMG once our Ambasador in Moscow whose dulcet tones we so frequently hear on the BBC along with Ms. doe eyed ex Home Office, Director of Liberty Sami Chakrabarti, Oxford know all quasi historian Tim Garton Ash, Peter Hennessy, Peter Mandelson, the mysterious Dr Matt Ridley, Sir Crispin Tickell, Baroness Warnock, and that ever present psephologist Sir Bob Worcester.

..and it seemed like only yesterday that Clarence Mitchell of The Media Monitoring Unit (MMU), part of the Cabinet Office's Central Office of Information (COI), is considering how to add blogs and forum entries into its regular summaries of public policy coverage that are distributed to government ministers.

Hang on it was yesterday ...Government blog "monitoring" - first step to regulation, censorship ...

Now there is a coincidence.

You may be wondering what the picture of Clementine Churchill is doing here - well Winston Churchill when wartime PM used Dytchley as an alternative to Chequers in the war and the Dytchley website has some fascinating pictures of the GOM. This is the caption to the one above...

Clementine Churchill and Viscountess Cranborne in the Library. Viscount Cranborne was the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs 1940-42, and both he and his father, the Marquis of Salisbury, were allies of Churchill and staunch defenders of white-dominated administrations within the Empire.

Severn Power - Burning more gas we haven't got for electricity we probably won't be able to afford

Carron Energy is a private energy company founded in 2003 by Alex Lambie and Shezad Abedi . It was initially backed by Rutland Fund Partners the UK private equity firm that specialises in turnaround and recovery acquisitions .

How Rutland acquired the Uskmouth power plant for £33 Mn, from the Receivers of AES in 2004 and sold it on to Carron for £125 Mn in 2006 for £125 million and made over four times its investment in 20 months, generating an internal rate of return of 150 percent is a fascinating tale told here.

A Five year secured finance facility of £125m was arranged by Deutsche Bank with Strategic Value Partners and Trafalgar Asset Managers .

The three-year darkspread hedge (balancing the value of power against the cost of coal), agreed with Morgan Stanley will also deliver predictable income, further supporting the value of the funding raised.

The arcane and huge world world of energy wholesaling and trading is inherently risky, fundamentally affected by weather patterns, but also the volatility of those regions which supply oil, gas and to alesser extent coal. One US group, Amaranth Advisors, lost $6bn (£3.19bn) off the back of falling prices of natural gas when they bet the farm (firm) on a rise on natural gas prices and were wiped out - well their investors were.

If energy prices fall (see previous post) as a knock on from the US/EU Credit Crunch as demand is hit, many of these cute energy hedging schemes / carbon trading deals could turn VERY sour, may not seem such a good bet... but what do we know ?

Read about the exotic and risky world here of ,"Dispatchable independent power producer supply contract:", "Variable-quantity options "Fixed price per MWh multiplied by variable amount" - a game which it appears most players, use other people's money, butthose with very strong nerves use their own.

This fascinating article which interestingly enough quotes MrAbedi in a former role as, chief executive of Bright-Spark Energy Risk Consultancy in London, who , " sees the (energy) industry structure changing so quickly in the underlying markets that counterparties need margin to cover non-quantifiable or non-hedgeable risk. £

It also quotes Carlos Blanco, vice-president at FEA, a software firm in California who says, "Exotic options, when properly structured, hedged and understood, provide power market participants with a potent tool, giving them the flexibility to manage and transfer inherent business risks to other parties with natural offsets or different degrees of risk tolerance.”

Which sounds an awful lot like snake oil to some people around here.

It also quotes E-lecTrades Anil Suri, “Over the next few years, innovative deal structures will surface to rationally price and allocate the unique risk of power supply. That just means there are even more exotics to come.”

You bet, and we smell singed wallets in the air. ... a step along the road to selling mortgages on double-wides to Viet vets with a habit.

Having purchased Uskmouth A and B coal-fired power station, on the banks of the River Usk near Newport they set about the plan that AES had to install a gas powered station on the site.

The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform,(DBBA) formerly the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) (presumably because we have no more Trade and there is very little Industry left to damage or destroy, has given the go-ahead for Severn Power, - a wholly ownwed Carron Energy company to build a new £400 million, 800MW CCGT (Combined Cycle Gas Turbine) power station on the site of Uskmouth A power station - Uskmouth B a 360MW coal fired unit will continue to operate alongside to the proposed CCGT power station.

Site works have already commenced, to prepare the site for building and to create environmental landscaping features that are an integral part of the development. Severn Power is due to start commercial operation in 2010 following a 30 month construction (Siemens are the preferred bidder) period and four months of commissioning.

A gas supply for the new plant will be delivered by extending the local gas distribution network, which is owned by Wales and West Utilities. The pipeline will be connected using the latest below ground horizontal drilling techniques which will mean minimal disruption to the land above it the pipeline route. (it says in the Press release - but one has recall of a horizontal drilling in Iraq to tunnel under the Euphrates which went horribly wrong.)

It was only 15 months ago that Severn Power submitted proposals under the terms of Sections 14 and 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 (as amended) to the Department of Trade and Industry, which then conduct a consultation, including the local authority and other interested bodies. Section 36 covers the application for a permit to build a power station, and Section 14 the burning of gas.

So UK plc closes coal fired power - and build even more gas burning units and place even more national reliance on a product to heat and light our homes and power industry on what is increasing in price, and whose sources of supply we have negligible control.

.. and it's in the hands of folks who engage in darkspread hedging who trebled their money juggling assets from the receivers.

We hope it all works out nicely for them.

Big Pharma - Medicalisation being brought to a problem you might have

Big Pharma is getting worried, there are no Block Buster drugs coming down the pipeline. So they are desperately looking to find new reasons for doctors to prescribe drugs that have been cleared for human consumption. This branch of medecine (or marketing) is called medicalisation - in which health or behavior problems are defined and treated as medical conditions and thus require - and (it is often claimed) respond to chemical intervention - the research costs are low as well ..

The attraction of this expansion of the role of the doctor / confidant of the patient is that (especially in the USA) , consumer-directed advertisements instruct, suggest, advise patients to ask for a named drug. This creates both consumer confidence in the product and eases the function of the doctor in satisfying the patient / customer's perceived problems.

Increasingly the patients role has changed - once passive recipients of prodding, poking and eventually pills, patients can now occupy active positions as advocates, consumers, or even agents of change.

Increasingly the marketing departments of drug companies identify their target as the consumer not the clinician.

Cymbalta (duloxetine) is an Eli Lilly drug (annual sales US$1.3Bn.) which is a serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor (SNRI), it currently approved in the US for adults with major depressive disorder, and diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain, and was approved in February 2007 for use in generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) a condition which the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) says,"affects more than 6.5 million American adults in a given year." The NIMH represents people who make their living out of dealing with (we'll hesistate to say cure) people who they determine have mental health problems - so they are not in the game to reduce the enormity or complexity of the problem.

It is believed (but not known or provable so far) that Cymbalta, as an SRNI acts on depression and anxiety symptoms, as well as its effect on pain perception by increasing the activity of serotonin and norepinephrine in the central nervous system.

Lilly have filed for FDA approval for the use of Cymbalta in the management of fibromyalgia and presented study data presented at the Congress of the International MYOPAIN Society (IMS) in Washington.D.C. on Tuesday which spent the whole day on considering the "Fibromyalgia Syndrome" - luckily a lunchtime Symposium was supported by an Educational Grant from Eli Lilly & Co.

As a result of a study for six month on 874 patients with fibromyalgia with or without depression who took Cymbalta experienced a greater reduction in pain, compared with patients who received placebo.

At 3 months, patients who received the drug had a significantly greater reduction in pain, compared to patients in the control group. The study was one of f5 submitted by Lilly as part of the expanded fibromyalgia application.

"Cymbalta seems to be a gatekeeper for how much pain message gets to the brain," explained Madelaine Wohlreich, a psychiatrist and medical adviser in neuroscience at Eli Lilly. "Nobody absolutely knows the mechanism of action, but the belief is that the two brain chemicals involved in depression are also involved in tamping down the signals of pain." Lilly is currently investigating Cymbalta as a treatment for lower back pain and arthritis.

Madelaine Wohlreich will also be presenting at the Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine 54th Annual Meeting, November 14-18 Amelia Island, Florida .

The Safety and Efficacy of Duloxetine Hydrochloride for the Treatment of Fibromyalgia: Results from a Six-Month Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled, Fixed-Dosed Trial

Principal Author: Madelaine Wohlreich, MD Co-Authors: I. Jon Russell, MD, Phillip Mease, MD, Timohy Smith, MD, Daniel Kajdasz, PhD, Daniel Walker, PhD, Amy Chappell, MD

Fibromyalgia is one of those rather indeterminate conditions of the human flesh - hence the description "Fybromyalgia Syndrome" this is how the world famous Mayo Clinic introduces it ..

You hurt all over, and you frequently feel exhausted. Even after numerous tests, your doctor can't find anything specifically wrong with you. If this sounds familiar, you may have fibromyalgia.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain in your muscles, ligaments and tendons, as well as fatigue and multiple tender points — places on your body where slight pressure causes pain. Fibromyalgia is more common in women than in men. Previously, fibromyalgia was known by other names such as fibrositis, chronic muscle pain syndrome, psychogenic rheumatism and tension myalgias.



or ....

Life's just much too hard today
I hear ev'ry mother say
The pursuit of happiness just seems a bore
And if you take more of those
you will get an overdose
No more running for the shelter
of a mother's little helper

(c) Jagger / Richards december 1965

Typhoons scramble in Cold War Mk II stand off with Russian Bears

The Daily Mail today adds further details about the launching of Typhoons on Friday from Coningsby, Lincs. on their first action sortie of the new Cold War.(MOD)

Two Russian Bear bombers were detected approaching British airspace on Friday across the North Atlantic, at high altitude. Unlike commercial airliners, they filed no flight plan in advance (BBC repeat this) - although Russian sources deny this.

Ground Controllers sent 2 armed Tornado GR3A fighters took off from RAF Leeming in North Yorkshire. The Russians Bear would not be moved and as the initial planes were running low on fuel, were replaced by a second pair.

Then it was decided to scramble 2 Eurofighter Typhoons, from XI Squadron at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire, were sent up. Eventually,the Russian aircrew turned for home - without ever breaching UK air space.

It is interesting to note that the Typhoon pictured inthe RAF picture has the supersonic graded long distance fuel tanks - these seriously impair acrobatic manouevreing and speed. Have we no in-flight re-fuelling facilities ? The first Tornado's sent aloft were, "running low on fuel" as well.

The MOD announcement says, "Over the next nine months, the Typhoons will progressively replace Tornado F3s, the aircraft which have performed this duty for many years. "

Sat waiting in Hardened Aircraft Shelters the planes will take 4 minutes from shout to lift off - On July 11th Officer Commanding 3 Squadron, Wing Commander Lol Bennett said:

"The requirement for Typhoon was set in 1985 and today is a proud day because Typhoon is now ready to deliver. She is now operational in Southern England and is protecting the UK against potential agressors."

Chief of the Air Staff Sir Glenn Torpy said,"This is a significant day for Typhoon - the performance of the aircraft is stunning. Since 9/11 we have doubled the number of aircraft on Quick Reaction Alert to take into account possible attacks in UK air space that might be directed at centres of population and key installations. "

22 years ......and £ ? Mn's later .. and ready for Cold War Mark II.

Clusterfuck Nation - Hunter S. Thompson lives .... Fear and Loathing on Wall Street

The Clusterfuck Nation Chronicle by Jim Kunstler

August 20, 2007

"Hot Shots". The Federal Reserve seems to be manufacturing an impressive supply of "greater fools" to go along with the dribs'n'drabs of credit that it is dropping into the sucking chest wound that the economy has become for the body politic. The Fed's idea, I suppose, is that if they lend a little money to the geniuses who engineered the latest (and probably last) bubble of the cheap oil age to cover their present losses, then the US economy will "right itself." What I think they don't get is that finance has virtually become the US economy -- if you subtract it, there is nothing left besides hair-styling, fried chicken, and colonoscopies. By "righting the economy" do people mean the ability to keep running a transparently fraudulent set of rackets that have nothing whatever to do with financing real productive activity?

By "greater fools" I mean, of course, buyers willing to step up and purchase securities that other people are shedding as if they were smallpox blankets. But even the Fed's supply of greater fools may prove insufficient when it becomes evident how much bad paper really is out there, and how it has been allowed to contaminate every tradable niche in the banking and investment house of horrors. I don't think we've begun to hear the disclosures.

........Personally, I don't quite get how a financial industry based on bad loans would be helped by borrowing more money to bail out a hopelessly unwinding Ponzi loan racket of the type the industry had engineered for itself -- but maybe I'm lacking the gene for financial creativity that the Bear Stearns bonus babies were all born with."

If you seek an original view on the markets, a good read and something to stiffen the sinews as you clutch at your Starbucks squillion calorie nerve steadier ... read Jim if nothing else.

BTW the grand old Bank of England let it be known that on Monday a bank (one of 57 that have the facility) borrowed £314 Mn. at 6.75% which is said to be a "penal" rate but is actually only 15 points above London Interbank Rate at the time.

This is what bankers call "throwing good money after bad", when they give speeches to conferences of bankers.

Peak Oil/Credit Crunch/Housing Bubble Burst/Dollar Dives/ Fed panics - a simple explanation - with graphs and charts

There is a fascinating (and excellent article) posted on the Oil Drum on August 20th by Stuart Sandiford. US Peak Oil Adaptation: Prognosis in a Credit Crunch.

A unique and thoughtful analysis in which he combines current global and especially North American oil production and consumption and examines the possibility that the emerging current financial/credit crisis could cause a near-term collapse in demand for energy, energy prices, and investment in energy infrastructure.

Chart prepared by Stuart Sandiford showing Average daily production of crude oil from 2 industry sources of data - Oil and Gas Journal (red), and crude plus condensate from te US Energy Information Administration (EIA) (teal) - which produces the official Official Energy Statistics from the US Government. These are presented with with 13 month centered moving averages of each line, recursed once. Graph is not zero scaled to better show changes, click to enlarge. Source: Oil and Gas Journal, and EIA International Petroleum Monthly Table 1.1d. (Now do you think Peak Oil is a load of bollocks?)

For the US he shows that Vehicle Miles Travelled (VMT) has consistently grown each year until late 2005, when VMT flattened out and began to decline slightly which is broadly coincident with the plateauing of global oil supply. .... He suggested in 2005 that this drop in VMT growth would presage a drop in economic growth, and refined this at the start of 2006 to a prediction that the US economy would enter recession in 2007 (a prediction which was also based upon the widely forecast bursting of the housing market bubble - which he shared). He writes ..."I may have gotten the timing at bit wrong, but basically that still looks close, and we may get there by the end of 2007."

This is a highly original and stimulating paper which requires careful study and consideration .. go there NOW.

Meanwhile ...

US light, sweet crude settled $1.65 lower at $69.47 while Brent fell $1.16 to $68.69. The DOW ended down 30 at 13090. Realty Trac report a 93% jump in filings for repossessions on the same month a year ago in the US , and a 9% rise on June's figure.

Eurofighter Typhoon, 20 years in the making, finally seen in action

Last week 2 Eurofighter Typhoons F2's operated by Number 3 (Fighter) Squadron were scrambled for the first time from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire where they had assumed responsibility for the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) element of UK air defence in the southern part of the country on June 29th. They were sent to meet a single Bear-H aircraft after the early warning radar system detected it heading towards UK territory, according to the Ministry of Defence.(Pic obligingly provided by MOD - 2 Typhoons sent up so one could take a snap or two of this historic moment)

This encounter is thought to have ocurred before President Putin announced that 14 long-range patrols by its bomber planes would re-commence after having been stood down to save costs in 1992. His veiled threat was part of political theatre but emphasises how the Russian State is ratcheting up the pressure - especially in a way that the publics of the west can understand.

This is the first time that the Eurofighter Typhoon - a supposedly multi-role (but really only dual role) aircraft has been seen in an air-to-air role - it can now take off, fire missiles and land again. These are the result of what is known as the Retrofit 2 upgrade programme to what is known as Block 5 standard. Previously it could only operate in an air-to-ground role - ie. it could drop bombs. All Typhoons will eventually be dual multi-role capable. It has no weaponry for self defence and has a fly by wire system that even after 20 years development is plagued with problems. (Pic Jan 20th 2006 £50Mn. plane goes up in smoke on landing)

The Block 5 Typhoons are cleared for the 9g envelope as intended, with additional features such as sensor fusion; full direct voice input; enhanced global positioning system; defensive aids sub-system countermeasures including automatic chaff and flare dispensers; radar air-to-surface modes including ground mapping; and initial Forward Looking Infra-Red.

The Block 5 Typhoon will be equipped with air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, plus laser-guided bombs. External fuel tanks are certified for supersonic flight, while air-to-air refuelling is cleared for all customer-specified tanker types.

These do not of course have the Head Tracker Systems which BAE Systems placed a US$3.4 million (approximatelyR24 million) order for with SA based with Denel Optronics (now part of Zeiss) to complete the industrialisation of the optical head tracker system. Denel claim evaluations (unstated authors) have shown the system to be superior to any similar available in the world.

These HST's are designed to designate and exploit the pilot’s LOS (Line Of Sight) for the purpose of slaving the aircraft sensors and systems and thus enabling the pilot to achieve lock-on of sensors, avionics systems and missiles, simply by looking at the target - the Yanqis use an Israeli system from Vision Systems International (VSI) which does the same thing but is called (confusingly) a Head Mounted Display (HMD) which is now installed in F-16's. See here and here for previous posts on these systems.

RAF Coningsby is now the " home" of the Typhoon of which the RAF now has had 43 delivered to Coningsby by June this , and there are now 2 operational squadrons - No 3(F) and XI Squadrons.

The base also houses the Operational Conversion Unit (No 29 Squadron) and the Operational Evaluation Unit (No 17 Squadron). Now that 3(F) Squadron is operational, the fourth Squadron, Number XI, under Wingco Gavin Parker is in the process of building up to full strength.

This is the lead unit for Typhoon's ground attack function, and is expected to be fully operational in both the air-to-air and air-to-ground roles during the course of 2008. All Typhoons will eventually be multi-role capable. Forty three Typhoons were delivered to RAF Coningsby at the end of June this year.

Stickler - can the MSHA produce an honest, report about the Crandall Canyon mine disaster with him in charge?

Richard Stickler is the man who will oversee the federal government's investigation into the disaster that has trapped six workers (3 Mexicans) in the Crandall Canyon coal mine in Utah for 15 days and in which 3 would be rescuers have died. He was appointed less than a year ago...This is what Lord Patel said at the time... Posted Wednesday, October 25, 2006 Bush the Infallible, the Immaculate... does he have divine guidance ?

" ....KING George has now appointed Richard Stickler to head the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) in deliberate defiance of the Senate, which he is allowed to do without Senate approval , when Congress is out of session.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist was forced to cancel a vote on Stickler's confirmation last June due the lack of Senate support for Stickler's nomination. Then in August, in an unprecedented action, the Senate returned Stickler's nomination to the White House before it went on break. Refusing to take the hint, the President renominated Stickler at the beginning of September. The Senate unamused and unmoved by this direct confrontation on their authroity again returned the nomination to the White House.

Senators Ted Kennedy and Robert Byrd have led the opposition to Stickler, citing his industry background and the lack of commitment to MSHA reform that he displayed at his confirmation hearing. The AFL-CIO, United Mine Workers of America, United Steelworkers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, and the International Brothers of Boilermakers have all called on Bush to withdraw the nomination.

Kennedy called for a new nominee:

“We are in the midst of a mine safety crisis — 58 miners have already died this year, more than any year since 2002. (See actual figs from Dep of Labour)

Thirty-eight coal miners and 20 metal/non-metal miners have died in the workplace this year which began with the tragic January 2 Sago Mine disaster in which 12 coal miners died."

On his website Senator Kennedy said of Stickler

"Mr. Stickler has spent the overwhelming part of his career as a coal ndustry executive, focused on profits and production, not on worker safety. In fact, mines where he was in charge had injury rates far above the national average.... During his tenure as head of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Deep Mine Safety, he was well known for granting exceptions from safety rules for mining companies. He even bent critical rules designed to prevent mine fires on conveyor belts and to guarantee that miners could reach safe places to protect
themselves from runaway railcars......

...... read on at the website how mining company interests were protected
and promoted

Bush as ever , was not listening. His nominee, with an appalling record of overseeing mines with incredibly poor safety records stood for nothing.. nobody was going to tell George Bush what to do. Fuck the Senate - they only represent the people. It was a dialogue of the deaf on his side.

Read more here by Max Follmer at Huffington Post August 15th " Mine Safety Czar Richard Stickler: Another Bush Fox Guarding the Henhouse "

Liberal Avenger also reminds us that it is a company Murray Energy Corp,(36 mines onlyone unionised - with UMW) run by Robert Murray that operates the mine that collapsed in Utah (he purchased it in August).The safety record of his mines is abysmal, by spreading money around Washington, he was able to continue operating mines that repeatedly violated safety regulations

Murray is a man with a lot of political influence and as Tim Thompson has found out, now an ex district manager for the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration, a lot of clout which he has been happy to use to obtain his removal from the MSHA.

Facing Thompson at a meeting in Morgantown.Va. Murray said...“Mitch McConnell calls me one of the five finest men in America, and last time I checked he was sleeping with your boss,” ... referring to the senior GOP senator from Kentucky. The quote was repeated in an Oct. 2006 Lexington (Ky.) Herald-Leader article on McConnell’s political influence.

McConnell - the Republican leader in the Senate - is married to Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, who oversees MSHA, has an MBA from Harvard, the first Kentuckian in the President's Cabinet since 1945, and the first Asian nominated by George Bush and has more honorary degrees than you can shake a stick at.

The Obfuscation Report posts .... "Murray's mines produce more than 20 million tons of coal annually ( UK will produce approx 40 Mn. tonnes this year) , according to the Cleveland Plain-Dealer. His companies include Ohio Valley Coal Co., Maple Creek Mining, Inc., KenAmerican Resources, Inc., American Coal Co. and PennAmerican Coal.

Robert Gehrke of the Salt Lake Tribune reported this week that Murray's Galatia mine in southern Illinois has racked up 2,787 violations over the past two years. MSHA has proposed more than $2.4 million in fines at Galatia, according to Gehrke's reporting. (Murray routinely challenges government fines and many are now on appeal. He has paid $588,000 and is delinquent to date on $116,000. Of those, 660 violations were considered significant and substantial, meaning the hazard could "result in an injury or illness of a reasonably serious nature." MSHA issued 94 orders requiring safety issues to be fixed immediately.

Another Murray-owned company - Ken American Resources - and four of its top employees were convicted in a federal court in Kentucky of conspiring to violate federal mine safety rules. 4 mine officials were convicted of 10 counts of illegally using improper ventilation, using two continuous mining machines and lying to federal investigators about the practice. KenAmerican was ordered to pay a $306,000 fine.

A judge later threw out part of the verdict, but the company was ordered to pay $306,000 in fines, an amount federal prosecutors considered too lenient. "

See also his early history from the UMWA files. Promises Made, Promises Broken - Exposing the Real Robert Murray

Alicia Colon in the New York Sun April 3rd 2007 in an article "A CEO with Spine"
quotes his testimony on March 20 before the House Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee, titled "Toward a Clean Energy Future: Energy Policy and Climate Change on Public Lands."

" America is dependent on our coal because it is abundant, with some of our best deposits located on public lands; it is affordable; and it is critical to our energy security to protect all Americans from the hostile and unstable governments from which much of our country's energy is currently imported."

He may have a bad record on mine safety, but he knows where that thar coal is.... anyone taking bets that he doesn't get his hands on it, the same way as as the loggers in Oregon ?

Government mine inspectors have issued 325 citations against the Utah mine since January 2004, according to Federal MSHA online records. Of those, 116 were what the government considered "significant and substantial," meaning they are likely to cause injury.

Murray testified in June this year in a hearing before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Challenged on his safety record by the feisty Californian heavy user of the lip gloss industry, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. he retorted "My employees are important to me and I take their safety to bed every night," Murray said. He wagged his finger at his carefully coiffured tormentor , "My safety record today is one of the best in the coal industry."

Hands up thos who think Stickler is going to say any different.

North American Security and Prosperity Partnership

The North American Security and Prosperity Partnership is taking place August 20 and 21, 2007 in Montebello, Quebec with 30 of the top North American CEOs who represent the interests of the North American Competitiveness Council, ****George Bush, Felipe Calderon and Stephen Harper, surrounded by a 25 Km "security zone" . Few Americans, Canadians and Mexicans even know of this meeting and its significance.


Joint Party Statement of the Communist Party of Canada, Comminist Party of USA and the Partido de los Comunistas de México, Partido Popular Socialista de México

on the August 20-21, 2007 Summit and the SPP

The August 20-21 Summit of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Presidents George W. Bush and Felipe Calderón, and the “Security and Prosperity Partnership” (SPP) deal which will be the centerpiece of their meeting, constitutes a grave threat to the democratic and social rights of the peoples of Canada, the United States and Mexico, to the national sovereignty of our respective countries, and to the cause of peace.

We, the undersigned parties, join with trade union, anti-war, environmental and other social and people’s movements in denouncing the corporate-driven agenda which the SPP agreement seeks to foist on the peoples of our countries, and in urging the widest possible mobilization of labour and other popular forces to stop and defeat this dangerous and reactionary ‘initiative’.

The real class forces driving the SPP are the biggest corporations and banks, acting through various ‘think tanks’ such as the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE), the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE), the Conference Board of Canada, and the (US) Council on Foreign Relations, among many others. A newly-formed “North American Competitiveness Council” composed of 10 leading corporate CEOs from each country, has been directing the SPP process to ensure that “governments look to the private sector to tell them what needs to be done.” Among the firms represented are Lockheed Martin, Wal-Mart, Exxon, General Motors, Home Depot, GE, Ford, Wal-Mart, Merck and Chevron.

According to its corporate sponsors, the SPP aims to “deepen North American integration… transforming all three nations and establishing the dynamics of a new continental economy.”

It would create a common

1. “North American security architecture”,
2. “secure the energy resources and strategic networks needed to remain competitive”
3. Impose a single “regional regulatory harmonization” over virtually all aspects of economic and social life – “agriculture, water, health and emergency services, energy (electrical, nuclear, hydro, and gas and oil), transportation systems (air, roads, rail, ports, and waterways), information and telecommunications networks, and banking and financial systems.”

In other words, the SPP is a ‘fast track’ to a “North American Union” – one firmly under the domination of U.S. imperialism and its transnationals and banks. It would consolidate corporate control over the energy, water, and other natural resources of the continent, further erode labor and democratic rights, accelerate the privatization of public services such as health care and education, and strengthen the drive to militarization under the Bush Administration’s so-called “War on Terror”.

Workers, women, Aboriginal peoples, immigrants and people of color, and all those striving to defend democratic rights, oppose war and aggression, and preserve our environment – that is, the vast majority of the people in all our three countries – have a common interest in derailing this dangerous, pro-corporate plan. As neighboring peoples, we stand for close cooperation and friendship across our borders. We categorically reject any attempt to dictate our future and trash the sovereign rights of our peoples by the likes of Exxon, Wal-Mart and Lockheed Martin, and their right-wing governments.

Unite to stop and defeat the “Security and Prosperity Partnership”

See the SPP Website for their FAQ's and their anodyne answers here eg;

Myth: U.S. Government officials sponsored a secret SPP planning meeting in Banff, Alberta in September 2006.

Fact: The U.S. Government did not sponsor the meeting in Banff. The North American Forum, (Chairman the ever present neo-con George Schultz. Ed.) a private initiative that is separate from the U.S. Government, hosted the September 12-14, 2006 conference “Continental Prosperity in the New Security Environment.” Academics, businesspersons, private citizens, and government officials from the U.S., Mexican, and Canadian governments attended the conference. The North American Forum is not a product of the SPP.

Ho.Ho.Ho. (see this)

Read Linda McQuaig Guradian Comment is Free August 7th 2007 "SPP-eak no evil"... "What is the North American Security and Prosperity Partnership? That's for them to know and you to find out. Good luck."

Here she shows is how it works ..." .... Canada recently raised the limit on the amount of pesticide residue allowed on fruits and vegetables, in order to bring Canadian standards in line with weaker US standards.

This suits the interest of agribusiness, which considered the tougher Canadian standard a "trade barrier" to the easy export of American fruits and vegetables to the Canadian market. But one person's trade barrier is another person's dinner. "

****
The North American Competitiveness Council (NACC) was convened for the first time June 15, 2006, by Carlos M. Gutierrez, Secretary, U.S. Department of Commerce, with "virtually no mention in the the Press / TV Jerome Corsi reported July 11, 2006, in Human Events Online.

The Council is an "apparently extra-constitutional advisory group organized by the Department of Commerce (DOC) under the auspices" of the SPP (see Sourcewatch)

Emphasising Gluteals.EuropeanOlympic class Stiletto Heel racing - Amazing Pictures

Lord Patel was introduced into the odd world of foot fetishism and masochism when reading as a teenager , Christopher Isherwoods's Mr Norris Changes Trains (In the US The Last of Mr Norris) which portrayed in words the louche world of Berlin nightlife in Nazi Germany of the early 30's before it's descent into lunacy, which George Grosz also captured with his acid pen. (who emigrated to the US in January 1933).

So the reports of the 2nd Annual "Stiletto Run" in Berlin came as no surprise. This keenly fought competition by 100 glamorous madchen , over 100 metres in high heels - 7 centimeters (2.75 inches) high and no more than 1.5 centimeters (0.6 inches) wide at the tip was won in an astonishing 14.7 seconds on Saturday by 24 year old Berlin office worker Denise Hanitsch.

"Make your strides as big as possible and never let your foot roll back onto the heel." she claimed to Bild was the secret of her success - and the experience of coming 2nd last year when one of her heels broke.

Was it worth it ? Well 1st prize was a €10,000 ($13,500) gift certificate for Berlin's swanky Kaufhaus des Westens (KaDeWe) department store, the Harvey Nicks of Berlin. (You Tube video)

However after the necessary and detailed research it is evident that Glamour magazine has been holding similiar (but unconnected) events - March 14th in Amsterdam and a similiar event was held by the Russian edition of Glamour magazine on August 1st in Moscow . (Video here)You may also enjoy an extensive gallery of fine pictures of the event, samples above.

Maybe these don't have quite the draw that the Annual Street High Heel race in Du Pont Neighbourhood which stated in 1987 and draws thousands to watch scores of drag queens in stiletto heels, sequined gowns and stylish hairdos - race down 17th Street between P and Q streets.

The next step(?) is evidently to set up a 10 Downing Street petition for this to be introduced as an Olympic event.

Government blog "monitoring" - first step to regulation, censorship ...

The Public Servant daily online had an interesting item on Thursday 16th August 2007 ..

Unit to monitor anti-government weblogs

The Media Monitoring Unit (MMU), part of the Cabinet Office's Central Office of Information (COI), is considering how to add blogs and forum entries into its regular summaries of public policy coverage that are distributed to government ministers.

The summaries are designed to give ministers and departmental communications teams an early warning to issues that are rising up the public's agenda.

It is also seen as a safeguard to prevent departments being caught unawares by debates that are already in full swing on the internet.

The director of the MMU, Clarence Mitchell, admitted that there were several bloggers out there that the government took increasingly seriously.

"There's a whole level of debate taking place online which simply didn?t exist before and departments feel they need to be fully engaged in that," he said.

Mitchell said that the service would not try and intervene in monitored blogs, (Perish the thought says the Lady Dame Jane Pauline Neville Jones Fan Club) but merely give the government more chance to respond to comments, like they do through other methods, like media statements.

Enough government departments would need to be signed up for the cost of the unit to be covered, and, if successful, a service could be operational by the end of 2007.

Clarence Mitchell has of course been heavily involved in providing free Government media services to the McCann family in their heartbreaking collection of funds, to keep them in the manner to which they have become accustomed whilst somebody looks for a daughter they appear to have mislaid - which has probably precipitated the most vigorous debate on UK blogs ever. (See Lord patel's post on the subject)

Linda of Birmingham has commented acutely on this at the PS Online report.

This seems to confirm the view, held by many that blogs and their authors, are subject to monitoring already... it was certainly the case when Foot and Mouth erupted mysteriously at Pirbright as we experienced intense interest from all sorts of Government departments and Agencies, Press, and TV.

Call us old fashioned but this seems a sinister (but not unexpected) turn in the relationship of the Government to their electorate.

Prison Law points out that the FT covered this here on 15th August.

Prison Law also has this interesting extract from The FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin April, 2001by Wayne D. Lord, Monique C. Boudreaux, Kenneth V. Lanning . A Developmental Perspective relating to Child Abduction cases.

FALSE REPORTS

Investigators also encounter cases involving false allegations of abduction. Typically, a parent or primary caregiver perpetrates these cases. They report a child as missing or abducted to hide their involvement in the child's death or conceal their knowledge of the child's location. Such was the case of Susan Smith, who fastened her two sons into their car seats and watched the car coast into a lake. Subsequently, Smith told police that an armed (black) carjacker had taken both her car and her children. A timely and thorough investigation conducted by experienced law enforcement personnel ultimately proved the fallacy of this allegation. In another case, a mother reported her teenage daughter missing and claimed to have received a telephone ransom demand. An intensive 3-day investigation located the daughter at a friend's house where she had been staying with her mother's knowledge and approval. An overwhelming need for attention appeared to motivate the mother's false report.

Read more about Susan Smith here.

Did China trigger Market Meltdown ?

In a very relaxed mood, as dwelling in that warm glow, when Manchester United are thrashed 1-0 by the Blues in our "Derby" match, orders were given to the pantry to break out the Bacardi Breezers and so a slightly lightheaded Toni Fabuloso has been providing me with some long overdue Ayurvedic massage - well that's we call it - something about total body karma she murmers soothingly.

Drifting (as it tends to do at times like this) mindlessly, several possibilities popped up, Collateralised Debt, Blackstone, IPO, China, slump, dollar dives...

Let's begin somewhere near the beginning ...

Stephen A. Schwarzman, 60 (roommate at Yale of Dubya and also member of the Skull and Bones ) is Chairma and CEO of the Blackstone Group LP and co founder with Peter G. Peterson 81 (who is Chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations). This "blue chip" high powered outfit in February this year "purchased" Equity Office Properties in the the largest leveraged buyout ever which required US$23 Bn of funds - a few days later Stephen invited us all to his glitzy party (Rod Stewart provided the entertainment ) to celebrate his 60th Birthday on February 13th. (Cost - US$6 Mn. , but who's counting ?).

On May 20th the Chinese Gubment announced that it's new un-named Investment vehicle ( headed by Antony Leung, Hong Kong's financial secretary from 2001 to 2003, appointed in January 2007) was buying into Blackstone with US$3Bn ahead of the forthcoming IPO at 95% of the IPO price, (The Chinese State holds some US$1.3 Trillion US Treasury Bonds ) . This will give them 10% of Blackstone (for an agreed 4 years) but this was in the form of non voting "investor units" not shares so creeps under regulatory radar. "I see it as the Chinese paying tuition to learn a little bit about how to invest in the rest of the world. " said Trevor Houser on APM radio. - Really ? Sounds like very expensive distance learning.

"To the extent that the state investment company stays below the 10 percent threshold for governmental review...and invests in securities that are liquid, which this security eventually will be, that's a very easy way for the state investment company to put large amounts of money to work with minimum to no controversy," Schwarzman is quoted saying - it also meant that he and his pal could up the IPO offer from US$4Bn. to US$7Bn. (and pocket US$3Bn. more of the readies)

This investment puzzled some folks because the last time the Chinese Gubment tried to invest in the US big style, was when Chinese oil company CNOOC tried to acquire California based Unocal, the folks who had done a deal with the Taliban for a pipleine through Afghanistan (in which famouse pianist Ms.Condileezza Rice helped put together) but which came to a sad end when President Clinton sent the Tomahawks flying into Kabul when his cocksucking girl friend's dirty washing got more publicity than it needed.

Anyway,CNOC pulled out of a bidding war which Chevron won and piled into the sunny seas off Angola at the time.

Perhaps the timing was connected with the visit the following day by Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi to meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in Washington to discuss sticking points in trade in the second round of the two governments' "Strategic Economic Dialogue."

Then came the IPO.

Jim Jubak of MSN Money Markets at Street.com called this a "Must Miss" .."a very, very, very bad deal for investors " and added what now appears to be a very astute rider.."I believe investors are about to learn a great deal about this market".

Note. If Jim talks. Listen.

The market he was talking about was the go-go Private equity market in which Blackstone had shown an astounding annual 23% on average for the company's private-equity funds since 1987. Blackstone at the time of the IPO had US$80 Bn. assets under management which according to the offering showed :

US$31 billion in private-equity funds that do buyouts of public companies

US$18 billion in real estate investment funds

US$17 billion in funds of hedge funds

US $7 billion in senior-debt investments

US$6 billion in hedge funds that invest (?) in distressed bonds, stocks, near-equity debt (called mezzanine debt) and closed-end mutual funds.

What was actually for sale in the IPO was a 15% stake in the company that manages all that money that people have invested - or at least, provided them to invest and for which the co-founders wanted seven billion bucks. (Just pause to get your breathe here)

The company structure is BTW a master limited partnership, so investors will be unit holders NOT shareholders - Shareholders get to vote - on everything, investors just sit and watch the founders and hope the profits roll in like they did in the good ol' days.

Jim pointed to Fortress Investment Group who had IPO'd earlier in the year , with US$30 Bn. funds in management - Offered at US$18.00 they soared on the day to US$35 and had dropped back to US$27 when he was writing - Friday they closed at US$17.57. Ouch!!!

Blackstone offered at US$31 (valuing the company at US$33.43 Bn) closed on the first day (June 22) at US$36 and have slumped ever since to close at US$24.71 on Friday. Ouch! Ouch! - 46 days to lose one thrid of your money investment. Incidentally the day Bear Stearns let it slip that two hedge funds specializing in subprime debt ( a market said to total US$600Bn.) run by its asset management arm were facing a sudden wave of withdrawals by investors - On July 10, Standard & Poor’s announced it was downgrading $7.3 billion worth of securities sold in late 2005 and 2006. This was shortly followed by Bear Stearns CEO Warren J. Spector resigning on a Sunday afternoon.

Despite a last ditch attempt by Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) to delay the IPO and make changes to the generous tax treatment such deals provide - he proposed that publicly traded partnerships deriving income from investment advisor and asset management services pay the federal corporation tax rate of up to 35% instead of the 15% rate Schwarzman and Petersen enjoyed .. More details of how they end up with an effective tax rate of 5% on the sale profits that Lord Patel explained here recently

Yes folks you read that right - 5% Federal taxes !!

Due to tax cuts introduced by Dubya, Stephen's old room mate at Yale, (who is incidentally a massive funder and fund raiser for the Republican Party).

However that is straying from the point. Investors don't get a vote but if you are the Chinese Gubment and have shelled out US$3 Bn. into the founding partners pockets , the founding partner is going to listen?

Now if they, (or Antony Lueng on their behalf) said "Hey fellas", look at all these funny "collateralised debt obligations" (CDO's) these massive tranches of "collateralized bond obligation"(CBO) balance-sheet CDOs and arbitrage CDOs , these "mezzanine" finance deals, "revolvers" , "ramp-ups" we have too much exposure .

Blackstone had US$13 Bn. and a further US$17Bn. in hedge funds who were heavily exposed - " ..let's unload them", says Antony Leung. Maybe. Who knows ?

Now if a big mover like Blackstone starts to dump ..... is that a shot across the bows in the first battle of economic warfare ?

Just a thought.

Fast boats in China

So it seemed sensible to see what reaction is in China to the gyrations of the market and looked at the English Edition of China People's Daily

..Passenger numbers on Chinese airlines rose to 86.7 million in the first half of 2007,16.7% on last year....construction began on the construction of the main body of the first nuclear power station in NE China at Dalian, Liaoning province ..... China on way to being world's second largest exporter this year .... China now marketing 1.5 MW wind powered generator ...

Highlighted and eye catching however was the news about Racing at day 2 of the Qingdao International Regatta, the first Olympic Test Event for sailing in preparation for the 2008 Olympic Games.

In the Women's 470 classes in which the Swede Mrs Therese Torgessen is leading (crew Vendela Zachrisson) - after a disappointing 5th at Cascais in the ISAFChampionships recently, in which Britain's Christina Bassadone and Saskia Clark won a bronze medal but who are trailing at 15th so far.(Official website) .

Just downloading this pic of some happy sailors in the sun and Toni Fabuloso cracked open another Bacardi Breezer and said some more Ayervedic massage was needed.

She talks about Kapha disorders which manifest emotionally as greed and possessiveness and physically as obesity, fatigue, bronchitis and sinus problems.



President Hu had a good time fraternising with all the other members of the SCO and the wannabees, and got nicely treated.

Remember when some mad Chinese journo "crashed the Press conference" at the White House Rose Garden last April and embarassed visiting President Hu for a several minutes ? Talk about meeting a host of indignities."President Hu, your days are numbered!" and "President Bush, stop him from killing!" , "President Bush, stop him from persecuting the Falun Gong." shouted a Falun Gongist in both English and Chinese who had upstage his predecessor Jiang Zemin, in Malta 5 years previously.

This followed the band who the crowd were told would play the "national anthem of the Republic of China" -- the official name of Taiwan - no Chinese flags on the lamp posts, and "official visit" not a "formal visit" a "lunch" and not a "formal dinner".... granting a press pass to granted a one-day pass to Wang Wenyi of the Falun Gong publication Epoch Times - the White transcript that day politely airbrushed her 3 minute tirade calling it an "audience interruption."

Wal Mart and Home Depot ,2 of the US's major retails report sales slowdowns, lower returns, GM and Ford have cut 2007 sales forecasts .. Jumbo mortgages (over US$400K) rates have gone from 6.25% last month to as much as 8%.

Don't mess with Hu.

A soldier's tale

The journey of a VIP bodyguard, sniper against the war

By Army National Guard Spc. Eleonai "Eli" Israel. August 9, 2007

"Two months ago, I took a stand that changed my life forever. As a Soldier, a JVB Protective Service Agent, and a Sniper with the Army who had been in Iraq for a year (running over 250 combat missions), I refused to continue to be a part of the occupation. I regret nothing. This is my story.... "

"In Iraq I was as a JVB Agent—the JVB (Joint Visitors Bureau) served as the protective service for "three star generals and above" and their "civilian equivalents". This included the Vice President, the Secretary of Defense, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, their equivalents in a number of our "allied nations", and others. I trained for my job as part of this "special unit" prior to deployment, and I spent the majority of my tour in the company of the most powerful people connected to the "global war on terror"."

......I have taken and/or destroyed the lives of people who were defending their families from being the "collateral damage" of the day. Iraqi boys are joining groups like "Al Qaeda" for the same reason street kids in the U.S. join the "Cribs" and the "Bloods". It’s about self protection, a sense of dignity, and making a stand.

The young man whose father and cousin we "accidentally" killed, and whose mother and siblings cry every time the tank rolls through the neighborhood, doesn't care who Osama Bin Laden is....

.......I informed my chain of command of my beliefs. I could tell from that first conversation that things were not going to go well. I told them that I believed our presence in Iraq was unlawful. I explained that I no longer believed in a policy of war and that I would file as a conscientious objector. Simply put, I could no longer in good conscience participate in a combat role against the Iraqi people....

Read the whole article here

Fred Thompson President elect - the Fred 'n' Chuck show in Iowa

Readers will know how Rep. Chuck Grassley is our favourite Senator , especially for asking those damned ornery, too, too difficult questions that pesky guys who represent the rural farming vote ask.

Well on Friday he took Fred Thompson the next President of the United States around Iowa State Fair -

"I am unabashedly pro-life," he told the state fair's political "soapbox" where numerous other candidates have appeared in recent days. "I am pro-Second Amendment. And I don't apologize for the United States of America. This country has shed more blood for the freedom of other people than all the other nations in the history of the world combined."

He may, as the pundits on the Beltway keep telling us be running late, but his views on pigs are as sound as Lord Emwsorth's . Asked to comment on the prize boar by a TV presenter, all teeth, tits and hair lacqueur, he paused, he rubbed his chin the way folksy farmers do - or at least guys acting like folksy farmers do...

The pressing media crowd waited...

"It's big" he said viewing the 1,089 lb behemoth.

Washington here we come.

Big Bang in Utah - Key West Bank building demolished by Controlled Demolition Inc.

The Key Bank Tower on 50 S. Main alt Lake City was opened in 1980 and was demolished Baltimore-based Controlled Demolition Inc. on Saturday 18th - to make way for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' City Creek Center development.

These 2 videos Video 1 Video 2 from the Deseret News show how a building is demolished using controlled explosions - completely unlike WTC 7....er....well

There are also several amateur videos on You Tube start with this one here and another here