S&P May Cut More Ratings

Standard & Poor's said it cut or may reduce ratings of $534 billion of subprime-mortgage securities and collateralized debt obligations as home loan defaults rise. The downgrades may extend losses at the world's banks to more than $265 billion, S&P said.

The securities represent $270.1 billion, or 47 percent, of subprime mortgage bonds rated from January 2006 to June 2007, S&P said. The ratings company also said it may cut 572 CDOs valued at $263.9 billion.

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The Real Reason For The Recent Rate Cut?

Financial Guaranty Insurance Co., the world's fourth-largest bond insurer, lost its AAA credit rating at Fitch Ratings after missing a deadline to raise capital.

The bond insurer was cut two levels, to AA, Fitch said. The company had been AAA since at least 1991. Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's are also reevaluating their ratings.

FGIC guaranteed $21 billion of home-equity securities, $8.8 billion of subprime mortgage debt, and $10.3 billion of collateralized debt obligations backed by subprime mortgages and other loans, the Web site shows.

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70 Billion More in Writedowns?

Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Citigroup Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co., UBS AG and other banks may post another $70 billion in writedowns should bond insurers lose their top credit ratings, according to Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Meredith Whitney.

Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and UBS together stand to lose 45 percent of the total were Moody's Investors Service and Standard & Poor's to cut the AAA credit ratings, Whitney said. The banks suffered $61 billion of the industry's $133 billion in losses from the collapse of the subprime mortgage market, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

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US Oil Companies Bribing Iraqi Representatives?

An Iraqi MP preferred to remain anonymous told the newspaper that highly confidential negotiations took place by representatives from American oil companies, offering $5 million to each MP who votes in favor of the Oil and Gas law.

The amount that could be paid to pass the votes do not exceed $150 million dollars in the case of $5 million to each MP, pointing out that the Oil law requires 138 votes to pass, which the Americans want to guarantee in many ways, including vote-buying, intimidation and threats!

Focusing on the heads of parliamentary blocs and influential figures in the parliament to ensure the votes, the Americans guaranteed the Kurdish votes in advance but they are seeking enough votes to pass and approve the law as soon as possible.

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How Far East Does the West Go?

MOSCOW (AP) - A senior Russian diplomat said Monday that Moscow has prepared an action plan that envisages close coordination with Serbia should the West recognize any Kosovo declaration of independence.
Alexander Botsan-Kharchenko, the Russian Foreign Ministry's special envoy to the Balkans, said Moscow is encouraging more talks between the Serbs and the province's
ethnic Albanian majority. He said, however, that chances for such talks are rapidly decreasing, with Kosovo's leaders expected to declare independence soon.
Botsan-Kharchenko said at a meeting with Russian lawmakers that the ministry had worked out a plan of action if Kosovo declares independence, and the United States and the European Union members recognize it. He wouldn't give details but said the plan «envisages a close coordination of action with Belgrade.
Kosovo's ethnic Albanian leaders had been expected to declare independence in February or March. Kosovo's independence is supported by the United States and most European Union members, including Britain and France. Serbia and its ally Russia strongly oppose independence for the province.
Kosovo, though legally part of Serbia, has been under U.N. and NATO control since a NATO bombing campaign in 1999 ended a Serb crackdown on separatist ethnic Albanians.

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Liberation Theology

The modern conception of Christianity involves the well-to-do reaching down to bring the less-fortunate up. Of course, the well-to-do expect to profit from this noble endeavor. Indeed, they expect to be propped up on the backs of the less-fortunate, in exchange for token exchanges of technology.

Liberation Theology envisions a bottom-up system, where the less-fortunate build themselves up, without the help of the well-to-do.

He (Pope John Paul II) criticized radical liberation theology, saying, "this conception of Christ as a political figure, a revolutionary, as the subversive of Nazareth, does not tally with the Church's catechisms." However, he also expressed concern over, "the ever increasing wealth of the rich at the expense of the ever increasing poverty of the poor". He also affirmed that the principle of private property "must lead to a more just and equitable distribution of goods, ... and if the common good demands it, there is no need to hesitate at expropriation itself, done in the right way." On balance, he offered neither unqualified praise nor universal condemnation.
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Perhaps John Paul II forgot that all-important story of Jesus' tirade against the money changers. Or perhaps Catholicism has minimized that account in its 'catechisms'.

Remember this, the next time Bush or his ilk mention 'our way of life'. It is a parasitic way of life, and the less-fortunate shouldn't be expected to prop up the living standards of the well-to-do.

Is the Bible the Literal Truth?

Fundamentalists are usually long on opinion, and short on historical understanding. The ancient Hebrews had two traditions -- the Oral Tradition, and the Written Tradition. And when one considers the changes that languages undergo over the course of thousands of years, it becomes quite clear why both traditions are necessary.

Oral Tradition is very contingent upon sound -- obviously. And what few Fundamentalists realize is that languages undergo shifts in sound. Indeed, the English language had a rather dramatic shift during The Great Vowel Shift. In addition to vowel shifts, you have the added confusion generated by homonyms -- words that sound exactly the same, yet have very different meaning.

Written Tradition might seem the perfect solution, until one realizes how few people actually knew how to read or write, or how words actually change in meaning throughout time. How many of us consider an 'imp' to be a 'young shoot of a plant'?

The word 'Literal' comes from the Late Latin word lit(t)eralis, which means 'of or belonging to letters or writing'.

So is the Bible the Literal truth? Of course it is. Does that mean that it isn't mythological in nature? Of course it doesn't.

Abdullah pwns Bush

Pakistani ISI/CIA

The Missing Link

The FBI confirmed in late September, in an interview with ABC News (which went virtually unnoticed) that the 9-11 ring leader, Mohammed Atta, had been financed from unnamed sources in Pakistan:

"As to September 11th, federal authorities have told ABC News they have now tracked more than $100,000 from banks in Pakistan, to two banks in Florida, to accounts held by suspected hijack ring leader, Mohammed Atta. As well . . . "Time Magazine" is reporting that some of that money came in the days just before the attack and can be traced directly to people connected to Osama bin Laden. It's all part of what has been a successful FBI effort so far to close in on the hijacker's high commander, the money men, the planners and the mastermind."9

The FBI had information on the money trail. They knew exactly who was financing the terrorists. Less than two weeks later, the findings of the FBI were confirmed by Agence France Presse (AFP) and the Times of India, quoting an official Indian intelligence report (which had been dispatched to Washington). According to these two reports, the money used to finance the 9-11 attacks had allegedly been "wired to WTC hijacker Mohammed Atta from Pakistan, by Ahmad Umar Sheikh, at the instance of [ISI Chief] General Mahmoud [Ahmad]." 10 According to the AFP (quoting the intelligence source):

"The evidence we have supplied to the U.S. is of a much wider range and depth than just one piece of paper linking a rogue general to some misplaced act of terrorism." 11

Pakistan's Chief Spy Visits Washington

Now, it just so happens that General Mahmoud Ahmad, the alleged "money man" behind 9-11, was in the U.S. when the attacks occurred. He arrived on the 4th of September, one week
before 9-11, on what was described as a routine visit of consultations with his U.S. counterparts. According to Pakistani journalist, Amir Mateen (in a prophetic article published on September
10):

"ISI Chief Lt-Gen. Mahmoud's week-long presence in Washington has triggered speculation about the agenda of his mysterious meetings at the Pentagon and National Security Council.

Officially, he is on a routine visit in return to CIA Director George Tenet's earlier visit to Islamabad. Official sources confirm that he met Tenet this week. He also held long parleys with unspecified officials at the White House and the Pentagon. But the most important meeting was with Marc Grossman, U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. One can safely guess that the discussions must have centred around Afghanistan . . . and Osama bin Laden. What added interest to his visit is the history of such visits. Last time Ziauddin Butt, Mahmoud's predecessor, was here, during Nawaz Sharif's government, the domestic politics turned topsy-turvy within days." 12

Nawaz Sharif was overthrown by General Pervez Musharaf. General Mahmoud Ahmad, who became the head of the ISI, played a key role in the military coup.

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Bush at a Glance

The Hidden History Of Zionism Part 2

The Hidden History Of Zionism Part 1

Who is wiping whom off the map?

Feds open subprime mortgage probe in 14 companies

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Federal investigators have opened criminal inquiries into 14 companies as part of a wide-ranging investigation of the subprime mortgage crisis, The Wall Street Journal reported on its Web site Tuesday. None of the 14 companies were named in the report.

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WASHINGTON – Federal investigators have opened criminal inquiries into 14 companies as part of a wide-ranging investigation of the subprime mortgage crisis, focusing on accounting fraud, securitization of loans and insider trading, among other areas, the Federal Bureau of Investigation said.

The FBI wouldn't identify the companies under investigation but said that generally the bureau is looking into allegations of fraud in various stages of mortgage securitization, from those who bundled the loans, to the banks that ended up holding them.

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Evangelical Corruption of Meaning

Ruwach (Hebrew) = Breath/spirit

Nephesh (Hebrew) = Living/Breathing Creature

Psuche/psucho (Greek) = Breath or animal sentient principle

Pneuma (Greek) = Rational element of the Soul


The Hebrews had no conception of an immortal soul. And as the quote from Einstein below indicates, Judaism is not a 'transcendental' religion. When you die, you are gone -- though you may be 'kept alive' in the memories of others.

The Greeks, however, believed that the 'Pneuma' was eternal. But that only makes sense when you understand what 'Pneuma' actually means. To the degree that your brain operates RATIONALLY (follows the rules of logic), you have 'Pneuma'. And, obviously, reason/logic doesn't cease to exist when you do.

The 'Psuchikoi' are physically living (breathing), yet intellectually dead. They operate on 'gut' or 'emotions' only.

The 'Pneumatikoi' are not only physically living, but capable of intellectual pursuits.

A Little From Einstein

Judaism is not a creed: the Jewish God is simply a negation of superstition, an imaginary result of its elimination. It is also an attempt to base the moral law on fear, a regrettable and discreditable attempt. Yet it seems to me that the strong moral tradition of the Jewish nation has to a large extent shaken itself free from this fear. It is also clear that "Serving God" was equated with "serving the living." The best of the Jewish people, especially the Prophets and Jesus, contended tirelessly for this.

Judaism is thus no transcendental religion; it is concerned with life as we live it and as we can, to a certain extent, grasp it, and nothing else. It seems to me, therefore, doubtful whether it can be called a religion in the accepted sense of the word, particularly as no 'faith' but the sanctification of life in a supra-personal sense is demanded of the Jew.

Mein Weltbild, Amsterdam: Querido Verlag, 1934
from "Ideas and Opinions", ISBN 0-517-55601-4, (c) 1982, 1954

US Recession the Result of Decline in middleclass wages

An Æon Returns To The Blogosphere

After a slight bit of gentle persuasion from a dear friend, I have decided to return to the blogosphere. My prior blog had its own domain name and was hosted. This had advantages, but after awhile, I spent literally hours per day removing the robot entries. That completely ruined the experience for me. Hopefully, blogger's security features will work better than the software I was using many months ago.