The MF Global scandal will eventually take its place beside Lehman, Enron, Merrill-Lynch, GM, Goldman-Sachs and the rest. Its tentacles reach far beyond Wall Street and City of London. It is landing, like an enormous cow-pie, into the lives of farmers on the American prairie.
There are legitimate participants in the commodities markets, doing legitimate business for good reasons. One reason is to stabilize feed costs for livestock producers.
From the Minnesota Star-Tribune:
Dennis Magnuson is a farmer, not a gambler. He trades in the commodity futures markets hoping to stabilize the cost of feed for the pigs he sells. The Austin, Minn., resident said he would never put his money into bonds issued by European countries flirting with economic collapse.
But the now-collapsed MF Global Holdings Ltd. may have done that for him.
Magnuson is among more than 100 Minnesota farmers estimated to have assets frozen as a result of MF Global's bankruptcy filing and an estimated $1.2 billion in missing customer funds. Most of the farmers didn't choose to do business with the huge brokerage house that has become one of the biggest financial failures in U.S. history. They invested through brokers or financial advisers who eventually used MF Global to clear trades.
On Thursday, members of the Senate agriculture committee, including Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar, grilled the heads of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over apparent loopholes in rules that allowed farmers' commodity trades to end up in risky European bonds.
What??!!!???
The article is horrifying to read, but OS hopes you read it. The final paragraph is out quote of the day:
"I don't have a scandal meter," she said. "I just think it's another example of why we just can't let these financial firms run roughshod over people on Main Street or people who are doing nothing but growing crops or raising pigs. They should not have to know every in and out of the regulatory system to protect their money."
Ya'll--if Corzine and company don't go to jail for the rest of their lives, then Bernie Madoff is owed an apology. This is just the front end of the woes to befall this country from MF Global.
Remember who Corzine is, and who his HomeBoy in the White House is. Less than a year to go until we get to register our opinions at the ballot. OS just hopes someone can staunch the financial blood loss sufficiently until then.
Before this is over, Corzine will have loaded up the Gulfstream and high-tailed it to somewhere like Paraguay. He still has his passport, and access to all sorts of cash and assets everywhere.
Heaven help us.
Showing posts with label GulfStream moment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label GulfStream moment. Show all posts
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Tripoli Is Hotting Up: France 24
This from France 24, which tends to have a good handle on Middle East news:
Explosions and gunfire rocked Tripoli on Saturday night, after days of battlefield defeats left Muammar Gaddafi’s government and troops penned ever more tightly in the besieged capital.
The scale of the unrest was unclear, but speculation was rife that Gaddafi’s 41-year rule was close to collapse.
Tripoli residents told Reuters they could hear shooting from several locations and there were anti-Gaddafi protesters in the streets. Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim told state television however: “All of Tripoli is safe and stable.”
This week’s rebel advances on Tripoli—Muammar Gaddafi’s last major stronghold—have transformed the war by cutting the capital off from its main road link to the outside world and putting unprecedented pressure on Gaddafi.
Two twitter feeds from appear to be reputable sources are here:
http://twitter.com/#!/JomanaCNN
http://twitter.com/#!/jessradio
Gates of Vienna has been keeping up with the refugee flood making its way from Northern Africa to Southern Europe, which has been generally overlooked in all the tizzy about Europe being, well, broke.
Chinstraps on, ya'll. If you're in the markets, the waters will be choppy. If you're in Tripoli, though, you're likely to get caught in the crossfire. Gadafi and his ilk tend to create as much chaos, and as many refugees and casualties as possible, in order to retain power and/or cover their escape to the airport with the country's gold reserves to keep them warm. Gas up that Gulfstream, Mohamar! don't fergit the bullion. Hugo Chavez may be yer home-boy, but nothing sez 'thank-yew' like about a ton of gold.
BTW, if the rebels capture the Lockerbie Bomber again (who did not, after all, die of cancer) will they ship him back to the Scots for safekeeping? Or will they quietly turn him over to the CIA? Just sayin...
Explosions and gunfire rocked Tripoli on Saturday night, after days of battlefield defeats left Muammar Gaddafi’s government and troops penned ever more tightly in the besieged capital.
The scale of the unrest was unclear, but speculation was rife that Gaddafi’s 41-year rule was close to collapse.
Tripoli residents told Reuters they could hear shooting from several locations and there were anti-Gaddafi protesters in the streets. Government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim told state television however: “All of Tripoli is safe and stable.”
This week’s rebel advances on Tripoli—Muammar Gaddafi’s last major stronghold—have transformed the war by cutting the capital off from its main road link to the outside world and putting unprecedented pressure on Gaddafi.
Two twitter feeds from appear to be reputable sources are here:
http://twitter.com/#!/JomanaCNN
http://twitter.com/#!/jessradio
Gates of Vienna has been keeping up with the refugee flood making its way from Northern Africa to Southern Europe, which has been generally overlooked in all the tizzy about Europe being, well, broke.
Chinstraps on, ya'll. If you're in the markets, the waters will be choppy. If you're in Tripoli, though, you're likely to get caught in the crossfire. Gadafi and his ilk tend to create as much chaos, and as many refugees and casualties as possible, in order to retain power and/or cover their escape to the airport with the country's gold reserves to keep them warm. Gas up that Gulfstream, Mohamar! don't fergit the bullion. Hugo Chavez may be yer home-boy, but nothing sez 'thank-yew' like about a ton of gold.
BTW, if the rebels capture the Lockerbie Bomber again (who did not, after all, die of cancer) will they ship him back to the Scots for safekeeping? Or will they quietly turn him over to the CIA? Just sayin...
Monday, February 21, 2011
Gadafi's Gulfstream Moment Approaches: Phone Up Hugo Chavez!
Having fled Tripoli for parts unknown, that golden moment now arrives for Colonel Gadafi: Where does one fly the Gulfstream, or in his case, the fleet of Gulfstreams.
There's the harem, and the gold reserves, and the family to load up.
And it's not just any harem, ya'll...
Charismatic and wildly unpredictable – almost to the point of madness – this is a man who clearly loves the company of beautiful young women (as illustrated by the 40 beauties of the notorious Amazonian Guard who act as his personal bodyguards) and yet leads one of the most conservative Islamic states in the Arab world.
That contradiction could prove to be a leading cause of his downfall.
The members of the Amazonian Guard have to be virgins. These brutal beauties are reportedly trained in martial arts and the use of firearms at a special academy, where they are turned into lethal and blindly loyal killers.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1358972/Libya-protests-Gaddafi-flees-Tripoli-parliament-building-set-alight.html#ixzz1EcHjbGax
It's not like he can book it to London--Gordon Brown's not there to welcome him anymore, and the families of all those people his agents murdered over Lockerbie are still, well, really unhappy about that day in 1988, and the subsequent release of his agent by the Scots. So, Edinburgh's out, too. Hmm....
Bahrain! Let's head to Bahrain! Well, no...looks like they're loading the Gulfstreams there themselves, and Riyadh ain't looking too friendly either.
There's always Indonesia--buy a small island and hole up with the harem/bodyguard corps. And it's a Muslim country. They can be bought off. But it's so...Indonesia.
Singapore? Just show 'em the money, honey! But, they do have that thing about being respectable...extradition laws, courts, British-style justice system....hmmm....
Malaysia? Any friends in Malaysia? But, you can't drink...
Burma? They understand what it means to be a murderous pariah dictatorship--it can be lonely, you know. Unlimited cash and a harem do help though. But, they could take all the money and the girls, and what's a poor despot to do then?
What to do? What to do? Gotta call on an old friend when the rain begins to fall...
Chavez!!! Hugo-baby!!! Que pasa?
After all, the Colonel awarded Hugo the Gadafi Prize for Human Rights in 2004.
Really...can't make it up. The Gadafi Prize for Human Rights, awarded to Hugo Chavez...
So, looks like he'll have to ditch the Gulfstreams, grab the private 747, load the bullion and the harem, and arrange for a refuel in the Canaries. Betcha Hugo has a nice private island off the coast for his homeboy.
Of course, the question arises: When the Gulfstream moment arrives for Hugo, where does he go? Can he take Mohamar with him?
Now, OS has one thing to say in the wake of all these surreal events.
For a long long long time, a lot of sober people have been saying, repeatedly:
We need to supply our own needs for oil, coal, gas and electricity domestically, here in the US. If we are dependent upon places like Venezuela, Libya, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Indonesia, Angola--need we go on?--we are going to be in a world of hurt one day.
We need to supply our own needs for oil, coal, gas and electricity domestically, here in the US. If we are dependent upon places like Venezuela, Libya, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Indonesia, Angola--need we go on?--we are going to be in a world of hurt one day.
We need to supply our own needs for oil, coal, gas and electricity domestically, here in the US. If we are dependent upon places like Venezuela, Libya, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Indonesia, Angola--need we go on?--we are going to be in a world of hurt one day.
That day may be upon us. We have allowed people, in both parties, but especially amongst the Dems, who are willfully blind and negligent, to set policy, and to endanger our lives by refusing to make obvious choices.
Chin-straps on, ya'll...we may be approaching a moment when a bunch of Gulfstreams will be aloft, looking for places to land.
There's the harem, and the gold reserves, and the family to load up.
And it's not just any harem, ya'll...
Charismatic and wildly unpredictable – almost to the point of madness – this is a man who clearly loves the company of beautiful young women (as illustrated by the 40 beauties of the notorious Amazonian Guard who act as his personal bodyguards) and yet leads one of the most conservative Islamic states in the Arab world.
That contradiction could prove to be a leading cause of his downfall.
The members of the Amazonian Guard have to be virgins. These brutal beauties are reportedly trained in martial arts and the use of firearms at a special academy, where they are turned into lethal and blindly loyal killers.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1358972/Libya-protests-Gaddafi-flees-Tripoli-parliament-building-set-alight.html#ixzz1EcHjbGax
It's not like he can book it to London--Gordon Brown's not there to welcome him anymore, and the families of all those people his agents murdered over Lockerbie are still, well, really unhappy about that day in 1988, and the subsequent release of his agent by the Scots. So, Edinburgh's out, too. Hmm....
Bahrain! Let's head to Bahrain! Well, no...looks like they're loading the Gulfstreams there themselves, and Riyadh ain't looking too friendly either.
There's always Indonesia--buy a small island and hole up with the harem/bodyguard corps. And it's a Muslim country. They can be bought off. But it's so...Indonesia.
Singapore? Just show 'em the money, honey! But, they do have that thing about being respectable...extradition laws, courts, British-style justice system....hmmm....
Malaysia? Any friends in Malaysia? But, you can't drink...
Burma? They understand what it means to be a murderous pariah dictatorship--it can be lonely, you know. Unlimited cash and a harem do help though. But, they could take all the money and the girls, and what's a poor despot to do then?
What to do? What to do? Gotta call on an old friend when the rain begins to fall...
Chavez!!! Hugo-baby!!! Que pasa?
After all, the Colonel awarded Hugo the Gadafi Prize for Human Rights in 2004.
Really...can't make it up. The Gadafi Prize for Human Rights, awarded to Hugo Chavez...
So, looks like he'll have to ditch the Gulfstreams, grab the private 747, load the bullion and the harem, and arrange for a refuel in the Canaries. Betcha Hugo has a nice private island off the coast for his homeboy.
Of course, the question arises: When the Gulfstream moment arrives for Hugo, where does he go? Can he take Mohamar with him?
Now, OS has one thing to say in the wake of all these surreal events.
For a long long long time, a lot of sober people have been saying, repeatedly:
We need to supply our own needs for oil, coal, gas and electricity domestically, here in the US. If we are dependent upon places like Venezuela, Libya, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Indonesia, Angola--need we go on?--we are going to be in a world of hurt one day.
We need to supply our own needs for oil, coal, gas and electricity domestically, here in the US. If we are dependent upon places like Venezuela, Libya, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Indonesia, Angola--need we go on?--we are going to be in a world of hurt one day.
We need to supply our own needs for oil, coal, gas and electricity domestically, here in the US. If we are dependent upon places like Venezuela, Libya, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Indonesia, Angola--need we go on?--we are going to be in a world of hurt one day.
That day may be upon us. We have allowed people, in both parties, but especially amongst the Dems, who are willfully blind and negligent, to set policy, and to endanger our lives by refusing to make obvious choices.
Chin-straps on, ya'll...we may be approaching a moment when a bunch of Gulfstreams will be aloft, looking for places to land.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Mubarak And Barack O'Reagan Obama Prepare For The GulfStreamMoment
Robert Gibbs, after another testy press briefing, in which he imparts no real information: Uh, Mr. President, The Press, who helped elect you 'cuz you kept preaching about 'transparency', they're, well-uh...pretty pissed that you won't talk to them yourself. You still need them, sir, if you want to keep this gig for another four years. Remember, I'm outta here soon, and can't fend them off for you.
Barry, impatiently: Screw 'em. I'm all they've got. Remember, I'm channeling Reagan now, Time Magazine sez so, 'cuz that's what we told them to say. That was a great shot with the football, wasn't it? Staged to mirror image The Gipper and everything. Damn, I'm good!
Gibbs: Mr. President, the embassy's on the phone from Cairo. They've worn out all the paper shredders, and those incinerators they ordered never arrived. Is it ok to let the local contractor haul all those cables and docs away? They promise to burn them, honest. It's a reputable firm the State Department has used a lot lately, Assange and Associates. Besides the crowd's growing out there, and they're really pissed. The ambassador wants to know where the helicopters are, and can the Marines load their weapons, please. Things went really sour in Tehran when they weren't allowed to shoot back, Mr. President. That's how Carter lost his reelection to Reagan. That and the general ineptitude...
Barry: No, the Marines can't load their weapons, 'cuz they might hurt somebody if they defend the embassy, and how would that make me look? Borrow some shredders from the Brits and the French, and rent a herd of goats to eat the papers. Do I have to think of everything? Tell the ambassador to cool his jets, that Hilary lent the choppers to Bill for one of his weekend socials with Berlusconi, and once they get them cleaned out and the pilots sobered up, they'll be around to fetch him. What's the hurry? Our boy Hosni's in firm control of the situation. Man, didjou see them camels charging the crowd? That'll make the highlight reels fer sure. Our homeboyz even gotta sense of humor! We gotta remember that one for the next time Glenn Beck and his teabaggers show up. Damn!
Gibbs: Uh, Mr. President, Hosni's on the phone. He sez he needs three GulfStreams now: One for him and the fam, one for the harem, and one for the gold reserves and antiquities he's had his boyz loot from the banks and museums during the camel attack. Sez he'll turn truckloads of really interesting docs over to that Assange guy if you don't get him what he wants.
Barry: Call Hilary, tell her to work it out. Hell, call Jimmy Carter! He put Hosni in power--it's his fault, and he keeps bugging me, wanting a 'do-over'.
I'm the next Reagan, and he never got his hands dirty on little stuff! Hell, after Jimmy Carter, all he needed to do was exchange oxygen to look like a hero. Breathe in, breathe out, tilt your head, smile and say 'Well...?'--how come he gets all the love?
Gibbs: Mr. President, HomeboyHosni has another question. Where's his plane gonna land, and Tel-Aviv is not an option. The French don't want him. You can't pay off anybody in the Emirates, they're all rich. Jordan, Yemen, Syria and Tunisia got their own sets of problems, and Riyadh's getting crowded--they've already taken their quota of disgraced Muslim dictators, they said.
Barry: Call Scotland. They like Arab mass-murderers. Yes, it's cold, but they're broke. Hell, call Iceland! They're even broker and colder. That's what a harem is for. He can even learn to like haggis and haddock. Beats being lynched in public. Tell him to stop whining. Anything else, Gibbs?
Gibbs: No, nothing comes to mind. You've got it all under control. The world sure is lucky to have you at the helm, Mr. President.
Barry: Well...?
Barry, impatiently: Screw 'em. I'm all they've got. Remember, I'm channeling Reagan now, Time Magazine sez so, 'cuz that's what we told them to say. That was a great shot with the football, wasn't it? Staged to mirror image The Gipper and everything. Damn, I'm good!
Gibbs: Mr. President, the embassy's on the phone from Cairo. They've worn out all the paper shredders, and those incinerators they ordered never arrived. Is it ok to let the local contractor haul all those cables and docs away? They promise to burn them, honest. It's a reputable firm the State Department has used a lot lately, Assange and Associates. Besides the crowd's growing out there, and they're really pissed. The ambassador wants to know where the helicopters are, and can the Marines load their weapons, please. Things went really sour in Tehran when they weren't allowed to shoot back, Mr. President. That's how Carter lost his reelection to Reagan. That and the general ineptitude...
Barry: No, the Marines can't load their weapons, 'cuz they might hurt somebody if they defend the embassy, and how would that make me look? Borrow some shredders from the Brits and the French, and rent a herd of goats to eat the papers. Do I have to think of everything? Tell the ambassador to cool his jets, that Hilary lent the choppers to Bill for one of his weekend socials with Berlusconi, and once they get them cleaned out and the pilots sobered up, they'll be around to fetch him. What's the hurry? Our boy Hosni's in firm control of the situation. Man, didjou see them camels charging the crowd? That'll make the highlight reels fer sure. Our homeboyz even gotta sense of humor! We gotta remember that one for the next time Glenn Beck and his teabaggers show up. Damn!
Gibbs: Uh, Mr. President, Hosni's on the phone. He sez he needs three GulfStreams now: One for him and the fam, one for the harem, and one for the gold reserves and antiquities he's had his boyz loot from the banks and museums during the camel attack. Sez he'll turn truckloads of really interesting docs over to that Assange guy if you don't get him what he wants.
Barry: Call Hilary, tell her to work it out. Hell, call Jimmy Carter! He put Hosni in power--it's his fault, and he keeps bugging me, wanting a 'do-over'.
I'm the next Reagan, and he never got his hands dirty on little stuff! Hell, after Jimmy Carter, all he needed to do was exchange oxygen to look like a hero. Breathe in, breathe out, tilt your head, smile and say 'Well...?'--how come he gets all the love?
Gibbs: Mr. President, HomeboyHosni has another question. Where's his plane gonna land, and Tel-Aviv is not an option. The French don't want him. You can't pay off anybody in the Emirates, they're all rich. Jordan, Yemen, Syria and Tunisia got their own sets of problems, and Riyadh's getting crowded--they've already taken their quota of disgraced Muslim dictators, they said.
Barry: Call Scotland. They like Arab mass-murderers. Yes, it's cold, but they're broke. Hell, call Iceland! They're even broker and colder. That's what a harem is for. He can even learn to like haggis and haddock. Beats being lynched in public. Tell him to stop whining. Anything else, Gibbs?
Gibbs: No, nothing comes to mind. You've got it all under control. The world sure is lucky to have you at the helm, Mr. President.
Barry: Well...?
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