Boeing 787 Dreamliner - Some Good news and some very, very , very bad news

The 100% composite wing box on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, weighing 55,000 , the first ever for a Boeing commercial airplane has caused caused considerable problems and stalled development whilst it has been redesigned. It was designed and built by a joint team of Boeing, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Fuji Heavy Industries.

Full scale destructive testing has just been completed , a major milestone in certification - albeit some 2 years behind schedule.

This also provides a verification of the simulations and analytical methods used to calculate the loads the structure will have to carry. (video of test available here)

The wing box is a cantilevered beam that carries the wing to the fuselage and supports leading- and trailing-edge devices, control surfaces, engines and landing gear. The test piece represents a portion of the wing section that begins at about the center of the airplane and stops at approximately one-half of the span of the wing -- approximately 50 feet (15.2 meters). The piece measures approximately 18 feet (5.5 meters) at its widest point.The upper and lower surface panels and the spars of the wing are made entirely of the same composite material being used on the fuselage.

Each main wing rib is however a monolithic aluminum structures, each machined from a single piece of aluminum plate.

Certification requires, the wings must withstand loads up to 1.5 times, or 150 percent, of the highest aerodynamic load that the jet could ever be expected to see in the entire lifetime of the 787 fleet.

Structural testing will now have to continue on two full-scale 787 airframes as part of the certification process for the airplane to demonstrate the performance of the structure through multiple lifetimes of normal operational loads and test the structure beyond the points expected to be seen in service.

Fastener problem on Dreamliner due to engineering error at Everett

It has been revealed today that the problems with fasteners - another that has caused major delays , has been identified as an engineering error made in Everett.

Thousands of fasteners on every Dreamliner used inside the fuselage to fasten titanium structure to carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic composite are going to have top be replaced , up to 8,000 on each of the first down planes under construction.

The problems emerged with the fasteners emerged after a pressurization test in October .The problem arose only on structures installed inside the fuselage shell — such as the floor grid — where titanium was fastened to the composite. What this means in terms of further delay is not yet known. It will certainly delay the first flight even further than previously planned.

A whole series of strict Boeing specifications governs installation of fasteners, depending on the materials being joined together. It appears that with these fasteners , the instructions for fastening titanium to composite bewildered mechanics.

An operations manager at a Dreamliner supplier plant said he examined the specifications closely with an experienced design engineer after the problem was discovered and realized the mechanics were not at fault.

Several specifications from Boeing provided ambiguous instructions and measurements that led mechanics to cut too shallowly the tops of the holes they were drilling.

Boeing discovered the fastener problem last month, in the midst of the strike. A pressurization test on one of the completed Dreamliners revealed a small gap under the heads of thousands of fasteners inside the fuselage.


Whilst not a safety problem it potentially could reduce the airframe's durability. Boeing and its partners must fix it on all the planes now in Everett and on all the partially completed sections at supplier plants worldwide. It also reveals a serious lack of quality-control inspection, especially early in the program.

Apparently , the specification that mechanics consult for precise instructions made the job impossible. With these specific fasteners they wouldn't sit properly in the hole unless the top of the hole is widened to accommodate a bevel, a curved join between the head and the shank of the fastener. The mechanic has to prepare the hole by cutting it wider at the top, first consulting a specification to find out exactly how much to cut.

But the documents were confusing. The regular spec document for installing fasteners sent the mechanic to another spec if composite plastic was being drilled. This spec then correctly sent the mechanic back to the first if the fastener head was on the titanium side, as in this case.

But a sub-specification that supposedly superseded the second spec contradicted the main spec with a table containing different and inaccurate measurements. A separate document clouded the instructions further.

The specifications were prepared in Everett by Boeing engineering staff and were supposed to be translated by Boeing planners into easily followed instructions.

Boeing acknowledges that the instructions were confusing and says they are being rewritten.

Fixing the mess means undoing much interior installation work already completed.

A person working on the 787 in Everett said the insulation blankets that lined the walls of Dreamliner No. 1 in Everett were removed to allow access to the fasteners.

The location of all the fasteners is not certain, so "they have to reinspect the airplane from nose to tail," he said.

Quality-control inspectors are "crawling through" the first two airplanes in the assembly bay "ripping all the systems out, everything that's in the way," said an Everett 787 mechanic.

787 partners under pressure - and hurting

Global Aeronautica, a joint venture between Boeing and its Italian partner Alenia, assembles the 84-foot-long central fuselage from sections that arrive partly complete from Italy and Japan.

At the Spirit AeroSystems plant in Wichita, Kan., a person familiar with the situation said the problem affects up to 3,000 fasteners per plane.

Vought next door in Charleston is less affected by the problem than other 787 partners. Only the rear fuselages of seven airplanes — No. 5 through No. 11 — have to be reworked which will take about a week per airplane to remove and reinstall all the fasteners - involving replacing fewer than 2,000 fasteners per airplane on its 38-foot-long sections.

Boeing is expected to announce a new Dreamliner delivery schedule incorporating both the strike delay and the fastener fix ... some time real soon now.

7/7 Forensic Explosives Report to be revealed as a result of FOI request

Leeds Crown Court heard today from a forensic toxicologist who producd a legthy, detailed and fascinating report, which revealed after examining hair and urine samples that Shannon Matthews had regularly been ingesting the drug Temazepam and travel sickness medication for up to 20 months before her disappearance earlier this year.

Regrettably the otherwise excellent Forensic services reports are not always availble in such detail or with such speed.

Remarkably the forensic report regarding the bombings on 7/7/05 is still unavailable (remember 56 people died that day and many many more were injured - such Danny Biddle who Home Secretary at the time, John Reid refused to meet and who has signed a petition asking for a Public Enquiry) and the public still do not know (amongst many other things) ;

1. What explosives / detonators were used in the bombs that exploded that day.
2. What triggers were used - remote or local.

Bridget Dunne has been a dogged pursuer of the truth and for the July 7th Forum sent the following ;

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 9:22 AM From "J7: The July 7th Truth Campaign"

julyseventh@fastmail.net

To public.enquiries@homeoffice.gsi.gov.uk

Subject Re: FOI request T16655/7

We requested a copy of the final forensics report into the events in London on 7th July 2005, and your response was:"This information will be put into the public domain following theupcoming trial of 3 defendants charged as a result of the continuingpolice investigation into 7/7 and it would therefore not be in the public interest to ask the Forensic Explosives Laboratory to disclose itbefore the conclusion of this."

As this trial has now concluded we request a copy of the final ForensicExplosives Laboratory report,

Regards
Bridget Dunne
on behalf of J7: The July 7th Truth Campaign

On November 11th 2008 she posted , "I have sent a reminder as we haven't had a reply. "

If Mr (?) J Fanshaw is still handling such matters, we look forward with interest to the reply. Of course if you want to gee things up you could send an e-mail based on the details above asking for a copy of the reply to her.

Wireless CCTV Ltd introduce new lightweight remote controlled outdoor dome camera system for rapid and temporary usage

Wireless CCTV Ltd (WCCTV) (part of Cellhire Plc ) claim (with some justification) to be market leaders in the provision of mobile surveillance solutions, which combine the latest mobile telecommunication technologies (3G HSUPA) and CCTV.

They have just announced the launch of a new WCCTV 3G Wireless Dome Camera System which is IP65 NEMA compliant (compliant protection protocol protection against ingress of solid foreign objects and ingress of water to Association of Electrical and Medical Imaging Equipment Manufacturers standards) and offers high-speed 3G HSUPA connectivity, increased storage capacity of up to 500GB and provides the user with complete flexibility and portability.

This is a simple easily installed , lightweight (4 Kg) "one box" solution deployable virtually anywhere for temporary surveillance .

Users are able to connect remotely and access live images or stored digital footage from the internal hard drive using a PDA, PC, laptop or monitoring station.

The camera can be controlled remotely with full pan, tilt and zoom functionality and a 360 degree field of vision.

Pssst .. wanna buy a used car company .... just in time for the holidays ?

General Motors Corp. Chief Executive Richard Wagoner, Ford Motor Co.'s Alan Mulally along with Robert Nardelli of Chrysler LLC are scheduled to testify at a House Financial Services Committee hearing later today after telling a Senate panel yesterday that they need US$25 billion to keep operating. (They each turned up in their respective corporate jets)

Their shares reacted today - GM were down 15% @ US$2.63 - Market Cap US$ 1. 7BN and Ford were @ US$1.49 down 11.3% - Market Cap US$3.54.

So the US taxpayer stumps up US$25 Bn to keep them going to Christmas and yet they share a Market value of ... say US$ 10 Bn. ...tops ?

Since the first amphibians crawled out of the slime
We've been struggling in an unrelenting climb
We were hardly up and walking
Before money started talking
And it's sad that failure is an awful crime.
Well it's been that way for a millennium or two
But now it seems there's a different point of view
If you're a corporate titanic
And your failure is gigantic
Then in Congress there's a safety net for you.
I am changing my name to ChryslerI am going down to Washington D.C.
I will tell some power broker
What they did for Iacocca
Will be perfectly acceptable to me
I am changing my name to ChryslerI am headed for that great receiving line
So when they hand a million grand out
I'll be standing with my hand outYessir, I'll get mine.

—Tom Paxton, "I'm Changing My Name to Chrysler" (1979) (hear it sung by Tom on You Tube)

That's a picture of cars imported being held at Long Beach, CA...some of them have been lying around 3/4 months. ...

See GM makes you sick 18 / 3 /05 also Friday, February 24, 2006
Disembowelled US - 3 more years of Dubya

Will the last person leaving Michigan please switch off the lights.

Operation Ruby - Human Trafficking - another successful swoop against gangmasters

More than 200 staff from nine organisations including the East Midlands Foreign National Crime Team, Northamptonshire Police, the UK Human Trafficking Centre, the UK Borders Agency, Serious Organised Crime Agency and the Gangmasters Licensing Authority were involed in a swoop yetserday on a field near Holbeach in South Lincolnshire where some 6o immigrants from countries across Eastern Europe, including Poland and Lithuania were picking leeks for UK supermarkets.

This resulted in 3 men being arested on suspicion of human trafficking for the purposes of labour exploitation.They More than sixty men and women - migrant workers from countries across Eastern Europe, including Poland and Lithuania - who were picking leeks in the field as part of an organised gang have been held in custody at Kettering and Wellingborough on suspicion of
people trafficking and money laundering.

Search warrants involving Northamptonshire Police, Kettering Borough Council and Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service have been carried out at premises in Kettering where it is believed that the migrant workers were living in conditions that were overcrowded and potentially unsafe.

The action – called Operation Ruby – centres on allegations that people were recruited through advertisements and agencies in Eastern Europe and travelled to the UK on the promise of work.

UPDATE 20/11/08 BBC "Farming Today" report that 9 have been arrested, 21 premises searched and the operation took 6 months to plan.

OPT - 80 a new weapon in the armoury to fight Clostridium difficile ?

Perhaps there is some good news for managers of filthy, badly run NHS hospitals as Optimer Pharmaceuticals experimental drug, codename OPT-80, saw a 92.1 % rate of “cure” compared with 89.8 % in patients taking Vancocin (Vancomycin) , (made by ViroPharma of Pennsylvania) in a Phase 3 trial for the treatment of Clostridium difficile.

In addition, only 13.3% of patients treated with OPT-80 experienced a recurrence vs. 24.0% for Vancocin (p = 0.004).

The study involved 629 patients in the United States and Canada and was conducted in more than 100 clinical sites throughout North America. OPT-80 is the only antibiotic therapy currently in Phase 3 worldwide clinical development for Clostridium difficile infection.

Optimer have been conducting late-stage studies of the drug under fast-track status from the FDA, which allows it expedited review because the drug addresses a serious unmet and growing medical need.

The next step is to complete the on-going second Phase 3 study at clinical sites in Europe and North America to support an NDA filing."

The news has produced a healthy response to the shares - Optimer (Nasdaq : OPTR) .

OP- 80 a new type of antibiotic

OPT-80 is the first in a new class of antibiotics called macrocyclics, which inhibit the bacterial enzyme RNA polymerase, resulting in the death of Clostridium difficile. The narrow spectrum profile of OPT-80 may eradicate Clostridium difficile selectively with minimal disruption to the normal intestinal flora. This may facilitate the return of the normal physiological conditions in the colon and reduce the probability of CDI recurrence.

Criminal records Bureau Chief Vince Gaskell to head the ID card launch ... IDeal man for the Job

Vince Gaskell, now 56, joined the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) as chief executive in 2003 after working as Change Director at the Child Support Agency and the Department for Work and Pensions.

During his time at the CRB he oversaw:

* the prevention of more than over 80,000 unsuitable people from gaining access to children or the vulnerable, as a direct result of CRB checks

* an increase in customer satisfaction each year from 50% back in 2002 to over 90% in 2007

* CRB achieving self-funding status with its fees frozen for the past two years.

It must be remembered of course that CRB checks are also undertaken not only on directly on behalf of Public Sector organisations but also private companies and individuals through such bodies such as the Security Industry Authority -"Last year, for instance, we completed over 116,000 checks for the security industry. That’s in the context of finalising between 3,000,000 and 3,500,000 checks overall. In terms of the checks we carry out on behalf of the security sector, 99% of them are submitted by the SIA." Said Vince in an interview in 2007 to info4Security (see also, his interesting remarks about sharing data internationally)

The SIA manage the licensing of the private security industry as set out in the Private Security Industry Act 2001. The SIA have 2 principal responsibilities

1. The compulsory licensing of individuals undertaking designated activities within the private security industry.
2. To manage the voluntary Approved Contractor Scheme, which measures private security suppliers against independently assessed criteria.

Now Vince is to join the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) board as a member and executive director for New Service Implementation to increase capability in the run up to the start of the National Identity Scheme.

Currently this covers ( catchily entitled "Wave One":
* The first stage of the National Identity Scheme goes live on 25 November with the first identity cards for non-EEA foreign nationals

* identity cards for airside workers at Manchester and London City airports when they go-live from autumn 2009 and, subsequently, others working in sensitive roles and locations..." as part of an 18-month evaluation period of the benefits for this sector."

* the plan to allow the public to pre-register their interest in the identity card programme, with a small number of citizens being issued cards in late 2009.

* the incremental roll-out of identity cards for young people from 2010 starting in 2011/12 general roll-out will begin - for more details see The National Identity Scheme Delivery plan , which was was published in March 2008.

The delightful Home Secretary made a speech to the Social Market Foundation on 6th November 2008 setting out the triumphal progress of this absurd and immensely costly scheme for identity cards and actions claimed to have been taken in response to issues raised by the public. "Making Identity Cards a reality" (text)

She also claimed that over the next ten years the cost of setting up and running the UK scheme is £4.7 Bn. and that the foreign national scheme will cost £326m (for this year or 10 years was not clear) .

Darling Jacquie also explained how the provision of cards would involve the "market" ..."As the Delivery Plan we published last March set out, we want these services to be provided by the market, giving people a competitive choice that ensures convenience and cost-effectiveness" .. and providing a lucrative business for their friends in the security industry.

Apparently according to Identity and Passport Service chief executive, James Hall, we are now at an "exciting phase in delivering the National Identity Scheme" . Vince will apparently enable the IPS to use his experience with the CRB as it builds its relationships with the many public and private organisations which will use passports and identity cards as a core part of their personal security and identity assurance regimes."

'bama's Civilian National Security Force gets a bit nearer - AIPAC star Leibermann keeps Homeland Security Committee Chairmanship

Renewing American Leadership by Barack Obama -From Foreign Affairs, July/August 2007 Journal of Foreign Relations , "... we need to commit sufficient funding to enable the National Guard to regain a state of readiness."

Senator Joseph Lieberman (darling of AIPAC) will keep his chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, after a vote in the Democratic caucus voted 42-13 , despite his support of the Republican presidential bid of Senator John McCain.

Rahm Emanuel, Obama's Chief of Staff appointee, talked to NY Daily News reporter Ben Smith in 2006 about his mandatory civil service plan. The idea was detailed in Emanuel's co-authored book, The Plan.This Socialist National Civilian Security Force is exactly what Obama was talking about on the stump this year.



This is mix of Rahm Emmanuel talking about his "Plan" and Obama on the stump talking about his Civilian National Defense Force.

Text of Rahm's remarks available here

Here is Obama talking about his Civilian National Security Force ;



Aren't you glad you voted for change ?

Paul Rowen MP reveals the Pension benefits of our Judges

Ernest, worthy but dull, single and debonair, ex school teacher and Liberal Democrat MP for Rochdale has improved his PMQ techniques and he recently managed to unearth some fascinating information about the pension arrangments of the Judiciary in England and Wales.

He asked the Secretary of State for Justice
(1) what the average payment per person to members of the Judicial Pension Scheme was in 2008;
(2) how many individuals belong to the Judicial Pension Scheme.

The lovelyBridget Prentice (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Ministry of Justice; Lewisham East, Labour) replied in a written answer

The average annual pension paid to members of the Judicial Pension Scheme (including dependants) for 2006-07 was approximately £36,000.

As at 31 March 2007 there were 2,101 active members of the Scheme.

How to boost the economy

Whilst strolling round Tesco with Lady Patel it used to afford some modest juvenile amusement to select (preferably) pastel green toilet paper which when discovered by Lady Patel at the till would cause a satisfying Krakatoa style explosion.

Apparently any colour other than white is unhygienic, disgusting, vile etc... and very problem a loathsome .. and probably a French idea. Therefore in researching National Toilet Day (Tomorrow !) and discovering Renova, a French supplier of the most violently coloured toilet paper imagineable (they also do a shocking Pink which they describe as Fuchsia) , which they describe as the sexiest (?) ever, we felt that by supporting their sales (Euro 2.17 per roll or Euro 5.21 for a 6 roll Gift pack) we could also help the Chancellor.

It is possible to buy on line and there are but 2 suppliers in the UK, Horrids of Knightsbridge and Meson de Tapas 4b Worsley Road, Worsley, Manchester, UK - Tel: +44 07802 555525 .

If we are to be seduced into shopping by Alastair Darling with a raft of tax breaks it is our patriotic duty to ;

1. Ensure that we provide the maximum margin to the shop to ensure their survival in these trying times.

2. By purchasing from a French company we boost the spirit of Entente Cordiale and simultaneously add that international dimension to our efforts to solve the world's financial problems.

3. Everytime you (or your family) use the product you can muse over what a splendid job Gordon Brown and Alastair Darling are doing to boost the economy.

Happy bottom wiping !

Jean-Marie Demange of ruling UMP party in France kills lover , commits suicide - French political life scandalised

65 year old Jean-Marie Demange was a heart surgeon, a leading light in the ruling Right-wing UMP party , member of the French Parliament and had been mayor of Thionville a town of 47,000 in the Moselle region for 13 years. He had lost the position to the Socialist Bertrand Mertz, who won with 51.5% of the vote. in local elections in March.

It appears he killed his lover (Karine "A") with a shot to her head at point blank range with an automatic pistol on the balcony of her apartment, after what witnesses called a heated argument - which were apparently quite frequent.

It appears he then retreated to the apartment and shot himself.

Demange, a member of the parliament's foreign affairs commission, was also in the middle of a rather messy divorce.

Under French parliamentary rules, he will be replaced in the National Assembly by his number two, Anne Grommerch.

Pacific Ethanol adds to third-quarter loss

Those poor deluded souls, excited by Bill Gates's investing in Pacific Ethanol (NASDAQ GM: PEIX), "Meeting the demand for clean burning fuels", will feel let down after the Sacramento refiner revealed the third-quarters loss just got worse, although the adjustment won't affect the company's cash outlays.

The corn based ethanol producer has announced it's increasing its non-cash "impairment charge" resulting from its decision last fall to suspend construction on the new plant in the Imperial Valley.

The charge was increased to US$40.9 million. Last week, in announcing its earnings, the company had pegged the charge at $26.6 million.

That brings the company's total loss for the quarter came to $69.2 million, or $1.23 a share. With profit margins eroded by lower ethanol prices and higher costs for corn, investors saw the shares down 3 cents to 70 cents.

Despite this setback the company are still upbeat and claim that they have achieved their goal of
220 million gallons per year of ethanol production capacity in 2008 - which they intend to grow to 420 million gallons total capacity per year in 2010.

In addition, they are working to identify and develop other renewable fuel technologies, such as cellulose-based ethanol production and bio-diesel.

Bill's Cascade Investments which had 21% of the company however saw the light almost exactly a year ago on November 18th 2007 and bailed out. They converted its preferred stock to 10.5 million common shares and selling. He lost US$24 million on the investment. He paid US$84 million for his stake in 2005.

US average ethanol producer price last week was US$ 1.8768 per gallon (ethanolmarket.com) , the pump price for gasoline (EIA) this week is US$2.08 .

Corn used for ethanol production for 2007/8 is said to have increased to 3.3 billion bushels, up from expected use of 2.125 billion bushels in 2006/07.

Aerial bombing continues relentlessly in Afghanistan

In total, 52 close-air-support missions were flown in support of the ISAF and Afghan security forces, reconstruction activities and route patrols reports the US November 14th Airpower summary .

On November 16th an Air Force MQ-9A Reaper and an Air Force MQ-1B Predator used Hellfire missiles against anti-Afghan forces who were placing IEDs along a route in the vicinity of Bolocan. The missions were confirmed a success by on-scene joint terminal attack controllers.

Always remembering that On November 6th , an Air Force MQ-9 Reaper dropped guided bomb unit-12s and used Hellfire missiles against anti-Afghan forces who were firing rocket-propelled grenades at coalition forces in the vicinity of Bolocan. The mission was confirmed a success by an on-scene joint terminal attack controller.

In the vicinity of Bari Kowt, an Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle dropped a guided bomb unit-31 and GBU-38s on enemy fighters who were attacking coalition forces from behind a tree line. A JTAC declared the mission successful.

In total, 51 close-air-support missions were flown on November 16th in support of the ISAF and Afghan security forces, reconstruction activities and route patrols.

28 year old Cuban model Mayra Veronica is said to be the modern equivalent of Betty Grable

Herman Simm - Super Spy in Talinn - but who for ? Russia ? US ? Israel ?

Herman Simm, 61, a high-ranking official in the Estonian Defense Ministry in Tallinn,and his wife Heete a lawyer at Estonia's National Police Board were arrested in Tallin ,Estonia (pop 1.3 Mn.) on September 21st. it was an event that received little publicity. Kommersant 23rd September 2008 IHT 2nd September 2008

It appears that Simm had access to nearly all documents exchanged within the EU and NATO and it is assumed that every document that circulates between EU member states was passed on to the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, the SVR -- including confidential analyses by NATO on the Kosovo crisis, the war in Georgia and even the missile defense program.

Teams from NATO and the EU are said to be investigating this spy scandal which is said to be the equivalent of the breaches undertaken by Aldrich Ames, a former CIA agent who for years funneled information to the Russian intelligence service, then called the KGB.

A US official from NATO heads the teams as they are unearthing the enormity of the betrayal. A German government official has called the situation a "catastrophe," and Jaanus Rahumägi, a member of Estonia's national parliament who heads the parliamentary oversight committee for the government security agency, fears "historic damage."

It appears that Simm started his contact with the Russian intelligence service as early as the late 1980s. When Estonia's NATO membership was first discussed "in the mid-1990s, Simm was officially recruited by the Russian government," claims Rahumägi. There is evidence indicating that the relationship was fairly loose to begin with. It's possible the KGB successor organization, the SVR, kept Simm as a "sleeper."

Simm rise in the small government service was rapid and in 1994 he became the Estonian chief of police in the new democratic government headed by Mart Laar. Later, he was transferred as a department head to the Defense Ministry, where he was responsible for the secret coordination with NATO and the EU - which also invloved extensive EU travel using a diplomatic passport.

Simm's principal motivation appears to have been financial, as he owns several plots of land and properties around Tallin in Raplamaa, Suure-Jaani, Ida-Virumaa, Padise and Pärnu with family members (Paul and Martin Künnap, the sons of his stepsister) and a smart lavishly renovated, whitewashed residence in the small city of Saue near Tallinn. Visited it appears by an SVR contact believed to have been travelling on a bogus Spanish passport.

Estonia's spy scandal hits relatives of Herman Simm Estonian business channel 17th October 2008

Now the hunt is on for other active agents - it can only be assumed that the Russian intelligence apparatus maintains a number of Simms in the Baltic States.

Jutta Rabe, a German journalist says Simm was involved in the cover-up of the evidence about weapons smuggling from Russia to Israel.

The Estonia was a Swedish and Estonian joint-venture ferry that operated between Stockholm and Tallinn and sunk on September 27th 1994 and was regularly used to transport military contraband with the approval of the Swedish state, led by Carl Bildt. In the weeks prior to the sinking, contraband military shipments from Russia had been transported on the ferry and taken to Arlanda airport where they had been flown to a third country with the knowledge and support of the Swedish state. The third country was Israel. Over 1,000 people died.
See - War materials smuggled on Estonia 12th February 2004

Rabe, speaking on 14th anniversary of the sinking at an event at the Estonian National Library in Tallinn , days after the Simms arrest told the audience of relatives and news reporters that Simm had been on the "dive platform" during the first official dive to the wreck after being "exchanged" at the last minute for another person.

This was not reported in Estonian papers but was published published in the Finnish newspaper, Turun Sanomat published in Turku on the 2nd October.

If Simm did not work for the Russians in 1994 - who was he working for ? The US ? Israel ?

Rabe says that at the time of the dive, Simm was the highest officer of the Estonian secret police, and he requested that divers go to the cabin of Captain Avo Piht and search for the pilot's case belonging to a certain Aleksandr Voronin. Voronin is suspected of being involved in shipping hi-tech military contraband from Russia to Israel.

The divers on the wreck that day worked for Rockwater, a subsidiary of Brown & Root Energy Services (BRES). Each diver had signed a lifetime agreement obliging them to remain silent about what they did on the wreck some 200 feet below the surface. BRES is a subsidiary of Halliburton.

Copies of the diving logs, show that the sought-after case was finally found in Cabin 6230, the cabin usually reserved for VIP guests or the relief captain [Avo Piht], who was also on board.

Aleksandr Voronin was traveling on Estonia with Vassili, his 15-year-old son, and his father-in-law, Vassili Kruchkov. After being rescued, they told the press they were on a business trip to Denmark.

It is interesting to note that the much sought-after and recovered pilot's case belonging to Voronin and was in the hands of the Swedish and Finnish authorities, disappeared and has not been seen or heard of again. Who wanted it recovered and disappeared ?

The first independent Estonian government was headed by Mart Laar (1991-94) who had close Zionist connections. Laar, for example, was one of the three people involved in Estonia's first purchase of weapons – a very bad $50 million deal with Israel. It later became evident that Israel had sold Estonia very poor quality weapons captured in Lebanon, most of which did not even function in cold temperatures. Estonia was compelled to sue Israel as a result of the fiasco.

Laar was also involved in financial scandals concerning transfers of Russian rubles to Chechnya In a 1994 no-confidence vote, parliament removed Laar from office amid opposition accusations of lying to the people, following sale of billions of rouble notes collected during the 1992 Estonian monetary reform to the cash-deprived Chec hen Republic of Iskeria instead of delivering them for free to Russian fedeartion, as the latter had demanded. He did however return as Premier March 25th 1999 to January 28th 2002.

Andrus Öövel, a former Estonian defense minister, said: "As far as I can recall, Herman Simm was advanced rapidly to his high position during Mart Laar's first government."

After the Rose revolution in Georgia, Laar became advisor to US educated puppet , President Saakashvilli .

Simm, it appears, was a key agent of Laar, who, in turn, was a big friend of Israel. This is a key point, because the evidence indicates that the Russian military contraband being carried on Estonia was bound for Israel.

Andrus Öövel, a former Estonian defense minister, and now Head of the Border Security Programme at the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) is quoted in Der Spoegel : "As far as I can recall, Herman Simm was advanced rapidly to his high position during Mart Laar's first government."

Police renew appeals for help in finding Natalie Bracht and her 5 children

Northumbria Police have made another call for help in finding 35 year old Natalie Bracht and her 5 daughters who left their home in Sunderland 6 months ago (17/5/08).

See - Thursday, June 26, 2008 - Natalie Bracht disappears - oh and five kids as well, on the lam for a month and no National Press for more information about this very strange case which involves according to her testimony - Mossad, South Gosforth Reformed Synagogue, Reformed (non-religious) Rabbi: Dr Robert Ash (organiser/handler), the mysterious funder of Nu-Labour David Abrahams . Bernard Schaeffer (along with pretend wife who wants to 'look after' five children), Sir Jeremy Beecham, Dr. Marc Orlim Bereleowitz ('interviews' children) David Hozen - Judge brought in from Manchester to rule in custody case . (These names may be incorrectly spelt).

See also story at Indymedia 26th June 2008, on role of Tony Gosling and his arrest after meeting and interviewing Natalie Bracht

Det Ch Insp Ian Bentham, who is leading the search, said: "After so much time now, we all want to know if they're safe and well. " It is said that Natalie Bracht has been assessed by independent medical experts as suffering from a personality disorder

The girls are known as : Manjuh Vossing, aged 13; Naomi Joy Sharan Vossing, 12; Indira Zoe Pirijo Bracht, 10; Naima Sina Isis Marjaleena Anutosch Bracht, 9; and five-year-old Margo Noemi Elinour Chrisanty Bracht.

Anyone with information can call Northumbria Police, on 03456 043 043, or contact the Missing People charity, on 0500 700 700 or email seensomeone@missingpeople.org.uk.

Also for Missing persons details http://www.missingpeople.org.uk/areyoumissing/missing/detail.asp?dsid=1555

World Toilet Day - something to celebrate

It is either serendipity or excessively prescient planning that whilst the financial services and systems of the developed world are disappearing down the toilet that globally we will all be celebrating World Toilet Day on Wednesday.

The local representatives for this jamboree, engineered by the quaintly named World Toilet Organisation are the secretive DEFRA quango , The Consumer Council for Water (CCW). This was set up in 2005 , "to provide a strong voice for water and sewerage consumers in England and Wales" the Chairman is Dame Yve Buckland - £48,554 for a 3 day week.

According to them, in the UK we visit the loo or water closet as Lord Patel's nanny quaintly called it, 2,500 times a year and spend in a lifetime some 3 years perched on it.

The CCW have undertaken research (February 2008 - Educating the Public - Research into flushable products 62 page pdf ) which has revealed that ," the majority of consumers are unaware that many items, unlike toilet paper, don't break down and can get caught in pipes, building up a blockage over time".

Apparently we collectively use the toilet for the disposal of everything from Toilet cleansing cloths, face wipes, baby wipes, cotton wool, tampons, sanitary towels, condoms, nappies, razor blades and plasters, along with fats, oils and grease which can all lead to blocked drain horror syndrome - unsightly, smelly and expensive to repair.

The French who have long celebrated the public function of toilets are holding events throughout France sponsored by suppliers : Point WC, Evolance, Roca, Laufen, Dyson, Renova and Horay. Visit any of these venues and see how they have interpreted this very special day.

Should you be unaware of the laudable aims of the World Toilet Organization they include ;

World Toilet Organization (WTO) stands up for the 3 "WE (s)" in the theme "We Deserve Better".
1. Toilets deserve better social status. WTO has been striving to elevate the status of toilets to make them status symbols and objects of desire. WTO speaks on behalf of toilets "WE DESERVE BETTER SOCIAL STATUS".

2. Toilet cleaners. WTO aims to professionalize the sanitation and restroom industry and to upgrade the skill sets of the restoom cleaners. WTO speaks on behalf of the toilet cleaners "WE DESERVE BETTER PAY, RESPECT AND PROSPECTS".

3. WTO speaks on behalf of 2.5 billion toilet-less people, "WE DESERVE BETTER PLACES TO DEFECATE -- PROPER TOILETS".

Perhaps WE could also add that they should adopt measures to prevent our Governments sending our cash, curency, savings, pension plans, investments down the pan as well.

Shopping is patriotic - if not essential

At a Press Conference at 10 Downing St. post 9/11 the (then) Dear Leader said.
"People in this country ask what should they do at a time like this," Mr. Blair said. "The answer is that they should go about their daily lives: to work, to live, to travel and to shop"

Rudolph Giuliani, the Mayor of New York, on CNN on September 21, 2001 said “Come here and spend money, just spend a little money, go to a store, do your Christmas or holiday shopping now, this weekend. … buy your birthday gifts for the next three or four months.” He added: “We’re the best shoppers in the world.”

Apparently Alastair Darling is preparing whopping tax cuts for us all so we can rescue the bankers by all going shopping.

Consumption and retail therapy is the universal - if not global, cure - all.

Moves to impose stricter controls on rearing captive game birds in the UK.

The Farm Animal Welfare Council (FAWC) have published their opinion (17 page pdf) on "The Welfare of Farmed Gamebirds ". This follows on from a DEFRA report after Newcastle disease broke out in farmed pheasants in 2005 which took 5 days to produce.

A Code of Practice for the Welfare of Gamebirds is in preparation which follows on from that currently in operation designed by the The Game Farmers Association (GFA) which is a trade organisation dedicated to the production of quality game birds for the UK shooting industry -the FAWC is contributing to the working group on these deliberations. The revised Defra Code of Practice on the Welfare of Farmed Gamebirds is expected to be published in 2009.

The FAWC report says that "There is little evidence of industry audit of compliance with industry Codes of Practice. "

The scale of the business in rearing pheasants and red-legged partridge ( a non - native species - the native Grey Partridge is on the RSPB Red list of species needing urgent action to address population decline) to supply the needs of people who want to (legitimately and legally) kill them for entertainment is remarkable.

Approximately 40 million gamebirds (30 to 35 million pheasants and 5 to 10 million partridges) are estimated to be released each year in Great Britain for shooting (the report does not cover reared quail, grouse or ducks ). The FAWC say that about half the pheasants reared and up to 90% of partridges are imported into Great Britain. These imports are mostly as hatching eggs, with a lesser number as day-old chicks from France.

Day-old pheasants are placed for rearing on about 400 farms in Great Britain for up to 7 weeks, prior to sale and release. Up to another 2,500 smaller premises with gamekeepers rear birds for their own estate. It is estimated that there are up to 7,000 shoots registered to release pheasants. Furthermore, there are up to 1,500 premises rearing partridges and 3,000 releasing them.

There is little information about survival of birds bred prior to shooting or the fate of those who escape the "sportsmen". It is said that some 2 Mn birds survive until the following spring.

Current legislation covering the business of rearing birds to shoot

European Directive 98/58/EC lays down minimum standards for the protection of animals bred or kept for farming purposes. Article 1(2) (b) states this Directive shall not apply to "animals intended for use in competitions, shows, cultural or sporting events or activities". This is claimed to exclude gamebirds destined for shoots from the protection of the Directive - even though they are kept under ostensibly farmed conditions on agricultural land.

In the UK this Directive is translated into domestic legislation as the Welfare of Farmed Animals (England) Regulations 2007 (with similar legislation in Scotland and Wales) in which a ‘farmed animal’ means an animal bred or kept for the production of food, wool or skin, or other farming purposes, but not including "an animal whilst at, or solely intended for use in, a competition, show or cultural or sporting event or activity."

The Animal Welfare Act 2006 (and similar legislation in Scotland) defines an ‘animal’ as a vertebrate other than a human and a ‘protected animal’ as one commonly domesticated in the British Isles, one under human control, whether on a permanent or temporary basis, or one not living in a wild state.

This should give farmed gamebirds protected animal status when they are under human control, even if they are not ‘farmed animals’ under the law. The lack of clarity in the law does not ever appear to have been tested at law.

Paradoxically gamebirds whilst in transit on journeys of more than 65 km is covered by the Welfare of Animals (Transport) (England) Order 2006 (and similar legislation in Scotland and Wales).


The Game Act of 1831 still applies in England and Wales - Scotland has different but essentially the same legislation which combine to impose close seasons for shooting.

A game licence is required, under the 1831 Act, in order to hunt game species. The British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC) suggested in 2005 that only around 40,000 guns (of the claimed 450,000 participants ) bother to buy a licence as the police rarely prosecute on a failure to have a licence alone.

Joan Ruddock, junior environment minister, announced in July 2007 changes to the Game Act the £7 Game licences will no longer be needed to shoot or sell pheasants and other game and there will be no restrictions on selling game birds and venison all year round - changes that came into effect on August 1st that year. Lord Rooker, the rural affairs minister, said: "Many of the laws surrounding game licensing are outdated and irrelevant. We don't need laws that were originally intended to stop peasants killing pheasants."

David Fursdon, the Country Landowners Association President, said: "The removal of these outdated laws shows that the Government takes both shooting and the game industry seriously, and that the announcement takes place at the CLA Game Fair highlights the significance of the announcement to all people interested in country sports. "

Given the low level of observation of the law the fee of £6 (+£1 admin fee) produced an income of £251,884 in 2006, whereas its administrative costs amounted to £307,732. Game fishermen continue to pay a licence fee of £61.25 and coarse fisherman £22.25.

Economics and costs of the gamebird industry in the UK

As many as 70,000 jobs are said to depend on the game shooting industry and shooting is quoted as being worth £1.6 billion to the UK economy which involves 480,000 people who entertain themselves by shooting live quarry (research commissioned by the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (BASC), the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) and the
Countryside Alliance). It is estimated that there are up to 7,000 shoots are registered to release pheasants and 3,000 for partridges.

Information supplied by the industry to FAWC that day-old chicks reared in Britain cost between 80 and 100 p each (but as little as 40 p each for French imports). Poults reared to 7 or 8 weeks of age are sold to shoots between £2.50 - £4.00. Prices have risen in the 2008 season in response to significant increases in feed prices.

Shot birds may be worth as little as 50 p each to the shoot for meat - although many shoots simply bury the shot birds as the costs of packing / distribution etc., cannot be covered by the price the food industry will pay for what is a very limited market for game.

New EU Food Hygiene Regulations came into into force on 1 January 2006. The Regulations cover the supply and handling of game meat and require that anyone supplying game to a registered game dealer will have had to undertake the necessary training to meet competent person status.

Meat Hygiene Service (MHS)data puts the total farmed game processed between July 2004 and June 2005 at 1.6 million units - this includes ALL game species including rabbits / hares .

A day's shooting can cost the "sportsman" between £25 and £40 per bird shot, although such prices vary widely. The cost of a day’s shooting varies between £100/gun for a smaller shoot,
to £1000s/gun on a larger shoot.

Welfare concerns in breeding gamebirds in the UK

FAWC identified a number of potential and actual welfare problems associated with the intensification of gamebird breeding and rearing in Great Britain.

Most of the welfare concerns relate to selection and sourcing of breeding stock, housing systems, confinement, transport, stockmanship and the use of various management devices and procedures, including:

1. Confinement of semi-wild species, either in open pens offering birds a challenging nvironment, exposed to adverse weather, or various cage systems offering a barren environment, restricting space and potentially the expression of normal behaviour;

2. Use of management devices, including bits, spectacles, and brailles;

Bit – a strip of hard material, usually plastic, fitted round the upper mandible, preventing the beak from closing.
Bumpa-bit – a plastic bit with an additional loop of plastic in front of the upper mandible.
Spectacles – flaps of plastic clipped to the top of the beak restricting forward vision.
Braille – Loop of canvas or similar material twisted into a figure-of-eight round the wing, restricting its full extension and, thus, flight.

3. Beak trimming instead of, or as well as, bitting;

4. Stockmanship, including training, record keeping, seeking of prompt vet-erinary advice and development of best practice;

5. Transport of day-old or rearing birds in vehicles, crates or other receptacles that may not be suitable;

6. Availability of licensed medicines to treat or prevent disease;

7. General biosecurity; and adaptation/acclimatisation of birds to outdoor conditions prior to and during release.

FAWC Recommendations

The report recommendations cover Paras 58 - 73 Including Banning beak trimming, use of Spectacles and research is required into the effects of bumpa-bits on the welfare and health of pheasants. Brailles for pheasants should only be used in open pens, where there is strong evidence that otherwise birds would be lost from these pens.

Barren raised cages for pheasants should not be used. If industry does not phase out barren cages then Government should act to ban them within five years from the publication of this Opinion.

Small, barren cages for breeding partridges should not be used, particularly to house birds continuously for three years.

Pics : November 4th was the first day of the "hunting" season Cyprus - the weekend saw thousands of "hunters" with their dogs dressed like war fighters shoot anything that moved. This loathsome fool was happy to swagger about to display his trophy and be photgraphed.

Macaulay said "the Puritans banned bear baiting, not because it pained the bear but because it gacve pleasure to the spectators". Anyone who kills semi-domesticated animals for "sport" is beneath contempt - one might as well justify abortion because it provides an income for the medical profession as justify shooting on the basis that it suports a wide rural industry to support the slaughter.

See also for more details - Friday, May 16, 2008 Pheasant Shooting - getting ready for the annual slaughter

Another UK soldier dies after vehicle is hit by bomb in Helmand province

The 2nd Ghurka (2nd Battalion the Royal Ghurkha Rifles )and 125th UK soldier to die in Afghanistan was killed in an explosion yesterday when his patrol in the Musa Qala District of Helmand Province was struck by a bomb, according to the International Security Assistance Force.

The MoD said he was taking part in a routine road move when the vehicle he was travelling in struck an explosive device. No details have been released about the type of vehicle he was travelling in.

An MOD post from 18th September 2008 quotes ..."Jackal is a beast, an awesome piece of kit," said Royal Marines Captain Orlando Rogers on the eve of his first deployment to Helmand province."

Other units, including Gurkhas, (see pic) have been familiarising themselves with new kit during the five-month preparation:

"We have had an intense training period and we feel ready in all aspects," said Capt Rogers. "There's a lot of quality to the kit and we can have a personal choice. It's spot on. A few years ago kit was good. Now we have the best."

See - Saturday, November 15, 2008 The Jackal with the soft underbelly

UPDATE : D Telegraph Monday reports that it was an IED that caused the explosion.

The Daily Mail Monday reports that the Ghurka was travelling in a 25 ton Warrior tropp carrier - they explain that Warrior vehicles first entered service in 1988, but they have been overhauled and had their armour upgraded to meet the threat from Taliban and al-Qaeda bombs.

Together with the British Army Mastiffs, a company of Warriors are based outside Musa Qala, in Forward Operating Base Edinburgh, to ferry soldiers to and from the outposts, ringing the town.

Until recently they were largely considered "mine proof" says the Mail article, but they have learnt that, " at least three Warrior's have been damaged "beyond repair" in the last eight months as the Taliban bomb makers set ever bigger charges in British soldiers' paths." See Guradian report as well

See video as Warriors arrive in Afghanistan mid 2007 and also here

UPDATE Monday 17th Nov. Just discovered - Days of the Jackal: Supacat’s HMT Vehicles
02-Nov-2008 http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/british-uor-to-field-130-supacat-mwmik-patrol-vehicles-03404/

Further Update Monday the MOD have named the dead soldier as Colour Sergeant Krishnabahadur Dura

The rarest flower in the world Brighamia insignis

Brighamia insignis also known as alula to the Hawaiian islanders where it is an endemic plant of scrublands on the islands of Kaua'i and Niihau is also called Cabbage on a Stick or the Hawaiian Pine. In the wild there are said to be 65 plants and natural reproduction has finished due to the disappearance of their sole pollinator which is an unknown sphingid moth with an extraordinarily long tongue (probably itself extinct) which can reach the base of the lengthy calyx. All but one population, consisting of a single plant, is currently known in the wild on Kaua`i (Ken Wood, pers. comm. June 2007).

Dutch horticulturalists have produced clones from root meristems and dispersed them worldwide hoping that someone can produce seeds. The above flowers , wich have rarely been reported on these plants were photographed last week on a single plant in Cyprus.

It is highly unlikely that the plants are self fertile - we will report the success of the human replacement of the essential moth , by a lady armed with a scalpel and a paint brush.

See -Gemmill,C. E. C., T. A. Ranker, D. Ragone, S. P. Perlman, K. R.Wood. 1998. Conservation genetics of the endangered endemic Hawaiian genus Brighamia. American Journal of Botany 85(4): 528-539.)

Gordon Brown is mad. Official.

“This is not about the abstract language of communiques, but real issues that affect people’s daily lives. By the actions we take, savings are safe, people will be able to keep their jobs, they will not lose their homes in all or (sic) our countries.”

The Dear Leader at a Press Conference at the British Embassy in Washington, hailing .." the “historic” agreement at the G20 summit to push ahead with reforms aimed at reversing the current global economic downturn."

Fresh from admiring Hank the Bank's chutzpah we must turn our attention to Gordon. Whose beliefs are so self evidently untrue ;

1. Savings are safe
2. People will keep their jobs
3. People will not lose their homes

Perhaps these points could be printed on a handy little card adorned with a red rose to remind us all of the perpetual economic miracles that Gordon has wrought.

It first became evident that Mrs Margaret Thatcher was clinically insane when she was seen stabbing litter in St. James's Park for the assembled press in March 1988 .... it is clear that Gordon has also turned the corner.

The Jackal with the soft underbelly

The taxonomy of UK Military vehicles is a fascinating field for study but which requires some considerable care and caution as the military mind, whilst given to an obsession with detail and order can suprise any sleepy sub-editor.

Therefore when Royal Marines , Robert McKibben and Neil Dunstan who were part of Task Force Helmand's Information Exploitation Group were reported to have died in their new in a new £600,000 Jackal mine-resistant armoured car (Daily Mail) after a hit from a roadside bomb in Garmsir district of Southern Helmand, Afghanistan, on Wednesday afternoon , the normally well informed technical section of our military staff were non-plussed. (MOD report)

This follows the death of 21 year old Trooper James "Magpie" Munday, of 1 Troop, D Squadron, the Household Cavalry Regiment, on Wednesday 15 October 2008 who was serving as a Jackal driver on Operation HERRICK 8 when he was killed in action in Helmand province. His Troop was conducting a routine patrol approximately 23km north of Forward Operating Base Delhi when he was killed by a contact explosion. (MOD report)

The "Jackal" first saw life as a military vehicle when on Monday 25th June the MOD announced that under an Urgent Operational Requirement for troops in Iraq and Afghanistan , (which as Lord patel's old batman pointed out they don't hand out with the rations.Sir.) 130 new new MWMIK 's , (Mobility Weapon Mounted Installation Kit) will begin deploying out to operational theatres "early in 2008", Lord Drayson, Minister of State for explaining shortages, overunning costs, and delays in Defence Equipment and Support, said:

"These vehicles are well armed, swift, and agile and will boost our capability with some serious firepower. MOD and the Treasury have worked hard to get these powerful vehicles to our troops in quick time, and they will start going out to theatre early next year." see Saturday, June 30, 2007 WMIK - Patrolling Afghanistan in a convertible

Then in September they announced the purchase again ..Wednesday, September 05, 2007 MOD announce ordering 130 MWMIK air cooled 6 x 6 Supercats at £250,000 each for Afghanistan next year - AGAIN

Sharp eyed readers may note the absence of protection of the crew - all handily placed immediately over the axles, where if contact is made with a mine they can expect the maximum explosive force.

The vehicle was based on 6x6 wheel drive design from Supacat Ltd from Honiton in Devon, with a claimed top speed of 80 mph. Universal Engineering Ltd manufacture the steel framed chassis, Cummings the engine, and Allison the transmission.

Sharp eyed observers might also notice that any mine protection is - if present, fairly minimal.

Quite when the name Jackal was applied to this hybrid vehicle - when the Mail on Sunday introduced it in September 2007 it was "80mph "Mad Max" monster targeting the Taliban"

Looks like it is becoming a soft target for Taliban ... as we said at the time ... Patrolling Afghanistan in a convertible .. not forgetting Friday, January 27, 2006 Reid sends ill equipped troops to certain deaths in S Afghanistan

Forget TARP .. just spread a little money around...

You have to admire the remarkable combination of chutzpah and financial legerdermain of US Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. AKA Hank the Bank, on the remarks he made during his press conference reviewing ...his er.... "Financial Rescue Package "

First he sends a 3 page bill for US$700 very, very, very , very big ones to Congress without any detail of how he was going to spend it.... but we were assured that this was a Troubled Asset Relief Program which became abbreviated to TARP.

As credit markets froze in mid-September, the Administration asked Congress for broad tools and flexibility to rescue the financial system. We asked for $700 billion to purchase troubled assets from financial institutions. At the time, we believed that would be the most effective means of getting credit flowing again.

From this clear mandate to buy up the so called toxic debts .. it is / was but a small Paulsenian step to ....

It was clear to me by the time the bill was signed on October 3rd that we needed to act quickly and forcefully, and that purchasing troubled assets – our initial focus – would take time to implement and would not be sufficient given the severity of the problem. In consultation with the Federal Reserve, I determined that the most timely, effective step to improve credit market conditions was to strengthen bank balance sheets quickly through direct purchases of equity in banks.

Nor was he slow to show how fast he had been in distributing this tax payer largess to the failed banks on Wall Street - many his old friends and cronies, when he was the world's highest paid banker..

We announced a plan on October 14th to purchase up to $250 billion in preferred stock in federally regulated banks and thrifts. By October 26th we had $115 billion out the door to eight large institutions. In Washington that is a land-speed record from announcing a program to getting funds out the door

Fear not anxious tax payer, your Secretary has not forgotten his other friends...

Since announcing the Capital Purchase Program, we have been examining a wide range of ideas that can further strengthen the financial system .... we must continue to stand ready to prevent systemic failures. That is the basis for Monday's action to purchase preferred shares in AIG

Which is a simple way of explaining how AIG have somehow managed to hoover up, burn their way through US$ 155 Bn .. and it seems will soon be back for more ...."Too big to fail "

But there is more ..

First, we are designing further strategies for building capital in financial institutions. Stronger capital positions will enable financial institutions to better manage the illiquid assets on their books and better ensure that they remain healthy.

Second, we are examining strategies to support consumer access to credit outside the banking system.

..and we haven't even got round to shelling out billions to keep the Detroit rust bucket belt in the luxuries which we can afford.

The result of all this ? Well Reuters reports today ..."Short-term interbank lending rates have risen over the past two days because "there has been a change of sentiment since the latest rewrite of the Treasury's asset rescue program," said Lou Crandall, chief economist at Wrightson ICAP, in Jersey City, New Jersey."

Three-month dollar London interbank offered rates rose more than 8 basis points to 2.23625 % , the biggest rise since Oct. 10. Thursday's increase broke a streak of 23 consecutive declines.

The gap between 3 month dollar Libor over T-bill yields, the so-called TED spread, widened slightly to over 200 basis points.

The ECB said on Friday that overnight deposits rose, as banks continued to hoard rather than lend cash. Banks deposited 127.566 billion euros at the ECB, up from 103.318 billion the previous day.

Just to round off a week of exciting news US Retail sales fell by 2.8pc in October – the biggest drop since records began – and the fourth consecutive monthly fall.

Mr Paulsen is 63.

Bibi snaffles 'bama's best ideas

Blue State Digital had a big role to play in designing the Obama website and have now produced the transition website change.gov . Already on the website you can share your “American Moment,” a story from the campaign trail about what this election means to you.

However if you are Benjamin Netanyahu, you can share Obama's Web site design for his campaign for your forthcoming Israeli presidency.

“Imitation is the greatest form of flattery,” says Ron Dermer, a campaign adviser to 'Bibi' Netanyahu. “We’re all in the same business, so we took a close look at a guy who has been the most successful and tried to learn from him. And while we will not use the word ‘change’ in the same way in our campaign, we believe Netanyahu is the real candidate of change for Israel.” (gulp)


Sani Sanilevich, is Bibi's manager of his Internet campaign and is quoted ...“The main advantage of the Internet is the ability to communicate with citizens and people directly,” he said. “You can actually hear them and get them involved in this campaign. The whole idea is, together we can succeed.”


Hmmmm .... “Together we can succeed” .. which is Bibi's campaign slogan sounds a lot like “Yes we can.”

There is an excellent analysis of the Obama web campaign , which developed from Howard Dean's pitch for the Democratic nomination in 2004 in the FT, Hot-button election: How the internet drives the US campaign By Kevin Allison and Richard Waters Thursday September 11 th 2008

Tina Fey is not a Bond girl but she has a very special agent

The New York Post reported on October 1st that a publisher had offered US$5 Mn. to Sarah Palin's doppleganger , comedy star, Tina Fey, to write a book of non-fiction humour and other bidders drove the alleged advance up to US$6.Tina is married to Jeff Richmond, a Second City director

Her agents are the Endeavor Talent Agency formed when a group of four agents left International Creative Mangement (ICM) in 1995: Ari Emanuel, David Greenblatt, Rick Rosen and Tom Strickler

The person who handles her literary work is the much reviled Richard Abate, who left ICM to head up the East Coast operations of Endeavor (152 W 57th St., 25th Floor, New York, NY 10019) - which resulted in a law suit from ICM (which they lost) - revealing that on January 30th 2007 Abate flew out to Los Angeles to met the president of Endeavor, Ari Emanuel whilst still their employee.

Subsequently a U.S. District Court judge refused to grant ICM's request for a temporary restraining order that would have prevented Richard Abate from leaving the agency to start a literary division at rival Endeavor (along with 48 of his 50 clients) until his contract expired at end 2007. His evasiveness and porous memeory however failed to impress Judge Leisure ; "Your lack of memory on things transpiring only 30 to 60 days ago surprises me," Leisure said, "and you're not making a good impression on the court."

Richard Abate has also negotiated one of a promised slew of post election navel gazing books. He acted for Anne Kornblut, who covered the presidential election for The Washington Post and will soon be reporting for the paper on the Obama White House, her book will have the positive title - Rejection: Why America Isn't Ready for A Woman President for the Crown imprint of Random House - for an advance said to be in mid 6 figures US$'s.

Chairman of Endeavor is Ari Emanuel, bro of Obama's puppet meister Rahm Emanuel , and another son of Irgun.

Is Shrillary going to get that 3. am call ?

The question that everyone wants an answer to - is the Democrat Party / President / AIPAC ready to give Shrillary a job ? - NYT Obama’s Talk With Clinton Starts Buzz ... Mrs. Clinton, as a former first lady, has Secret Service protection and travels in a government S.U.V...... by early evening a small motorcade of black sport utility vehicles emerged from the garage of the downtown Chicago building where Mr. Obama has his transition office, just minutes before Mr. Obama’s own motorcade left it. "

"One potential downside for Mrs. Clinton taking a top job in the cabinet: she would presumably have to disclose much more about Mr. Clinton’s earnings, especially from foreign sources, and donors to his presidential library than they have been willing to disclose so far."

Lawyers start to sue Baxter over tainted heparin supplies

Regular readers will be aware of regular posts on the effect of deliberate substitution of oversulfated chondroitin sulfate, or OSCS--that is derived from animal cartilage -- in supplies of heparin -- derived from pig intestines -- in China which first showed up in deaths and illness in users of Baxters heparin in the US during twice weekly kidney dialyisis sessions earlier this year. (see Wednesday, February 13, 2008 Baxter Healthcare Heparin crisis grows - active ingredient traced to Chinese production plant that was not inspected by the FDA )

This week's Time magazine has helpful update detailing some of the personal tragedies this has caused - Heparin's Deadly Side Effects By Bill Powell/Shanghai Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008

The article claims that (as many have suspected) that OSCS's key benfit is -- as a Baxter spokeswoman is quoted by Time, a "virtual mimic of heparin" in most tests and, according to a congressional investigator, costs only $20 per kg, vs. $2,000 for crude heparin. The suppliers, investigators believe, colluded to substitute OSCS in the crude heparin they passed along for the standard price and pocketed the $1,980 difference for each kilogram they sold.

Naturally in the land of the lawyers , plaintiff attorneys have filed 60 suits to date against Baxter and their Chinese based heparin suppliers, Scientific Protein Laboratories LLC (SPL), in federal courts. (Pic of Changzou SPL factory outside Shanghai)

SPL CEO Strunce can claim his company's heparin met Chinese standards, but that's probably a meaningless defense in a U.S. trial. For American drug companies using sources in China, quality control is not just China's problem--it's also their problem.

It is of interest that Waunakee, Wis., based SPL was started in 1976 by Oscar Meyer (now part of Kraft Foods) , top hot dog merchants throughout the USA. SPL have no connection now and are an independent company - " As a truly independent company, SPL is extremely nimble, entrepreneurial and customer-focused .... While we retain the levels of quality and compliance from our “Big-Pharma” roots.." (website)

Time points out that the gruesome connection is that half the world's pigs are to be found in China and Oscar Meyer handles a lot of them and so set up the company to manufacture and trade the many proteins used in the world wide pharmaceutical industry.

Thos interested in the further story of how Baxter's competitors in the USA , APP was taken over by dailysis speciaists Fresenius (FREG_p.DE: Quote) and the fascinating career of their fascinating Chinese born founder Patrick Soon Shong - Wednesday, July 09, 2008 who is till busy counting the US$3 Bn. he collected on selling out. Heparin -another chapter in the tale APP taken over by Fresenius - Patrick Soon Shong trousers US$3 Billion