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Great Read - view from a Russian financial trader
Released on 2012-10-12 10:00 GMT
Email-ID | 2328747 |
Date | 2011-11-14 17:13:40 |
From | email@example.com |
To | email@example.com |
List-Name | firstname.lastname@example.com |
The chapter is meant to be crass and tongue-and-cheek.
Fun view of trading in Russia in the 90s, and in today
(19 pgs long... sorry about wonky formatting)
Through Western Eyes - Russia Misconstrued
As I queued in Paris clutching a one-way ticket to Moscow, Russia circa
1997 seemed to offer infinite promise - adventure, exoticism, even some
sex... cash too - and especially, an escape from the stultifying boredom
and bureaucracy of old Europe into the wildest frontier of global finance.
Only the blind or hopelessly retrograde could fail to see that this young
country was throwing off the shackles of Communism, striding boldly into a
brave new world. On the emerging markets debt desk in Paris, while
extending bounteous repo credit to the "best" Russian banks, and brokering
Soviet and Russian bonds to our more adventurous clients, we had made
sport of our obstructive but dim-witted compliance officers, filling our
personal accounts with Russian bonds and equities. But the real action was
on the ground in Moscow - and what did I have to lose?
Two weeks later, flagging down a gypsy cab on the Sadovoe Koltso for a
ride to the investment conference at the Mezhdunarodnaya, a Soviet-era
hearse pulled up, offering me a ride for a modest 30 roubles. While the
omen was initially lost upon me, that afternoon I was dragged out of yet
another stultifying Gazprom presentation by my friend Adam, calling from
London with the news that the Hong Kong market was melting down. "Adam", I
replied, "sorry to hear that - but why am I supposed to care? I'm at a
Russia conference..." By the end of that afternoon, I had realized why I
should care...
Great bubbles live in mortal terror of little termites - catalysts that
ultimately trigger their demise. The Asian crisis was the pebble that
triggered a Russian avalanche - a classical debt crisis terminating with
refinance rates spiralling out of control; Russian financial markets went
into a tailspin, ultimately crashing by more than 90%, as rates on
government debt went ballistic, repeatedly cresting at well over 100% per
annum. It seemed that I had bought myself a ring-side seat for the end of
the world - but alas, that seat was well inside the ring!
Shock Therapy
The decline of the Soviet system mirrored the failure of other great
historical empires - from Persia and Rome to the Hapsburgs and the
Ottomans: all were characterized by the inability of an all-powerful
centre to micro-manage an increasingly complex and diversified periphery
while containing the inevitable centrifugal forces. Gorbachev's misguided
attempt at stepwise reform of the socialist system - gradually loosening
political control while maintaining tight command over the economy - was
an objective lesson in how not to reform. Unlike China, which allowed the
gradual development of a parallel private economy under the ridged
political oversight of the Communist Party, the collapse of the Soviet
Union and the dismantling of its command structure amounted to simply
ripping out the control unit, allowing the decerebrated body to reorganize
itself as best it could in what was to become a grotesque parody of Adam
Smith liberalism.
The economic systems of our developed countries function not in some
stellar vacuum based on the abstract, mechanical workings of free-market
dynamics, but rather within a framework developed over decades if not
centuries: an extensive body of legislation,business practices, regulatory
bodies, and most vitally, a complex system of checks and balances against
the depredations of unconstrained capital - a robust civil society,
political parties representing competing economic interests, labour
unions, a relatively independent judiciary and in the best of cases, a
diverse (if not precisely "free") press.
Russia, of course, had none of these. Soviet legislation was grotesquely
unsuited for the workings of a liberal economy. The press was openly
controlled by a handful of oligarchs, with journalists bought and sold
like cattle. Government regulators were ineffective in the best of cases,
available for rental in the remainder. Political parties served the
economic interests of their owners. By the middle of the decade, a small
group of men had - by means fair or foul - succeeded in gaining control of
the only truly value-accretive sectors of the Soviet economy, the natural
resources exporters, while creating a banking system which lived by
parasitizing the State. In the absence of any substantial countervailing
powers, the oligarchs could buy, bribe, or upon occasion, shoot away any
attempts at constraint - only after the inevitable crisis, with the rise
of Vladimir Putin, was there to be a counterforce powerful enough to break
the political stranglehold of the oligarchy.
Cheering from the Cheap Seats
With the wisdom of hindsight, the system was bound to fail - yet all men
live in hope, and the late 1990s was a heady time. Supporting our naively
bullish views, the Western press could hardly have been more enthusiastic.
Anglo-Saxon audiences love tales of virtue triumphant - preferably with a
simple storyline. They are imbued with a profound conviction that their
own specific socioeconomic model is the only one conceivable; indeed, that
the success of any political transformation can be measured by how closely
it approximated the Chicago model1.
Thus, the FT and The Economist competed in their praise for the bold steps
taken by Yeltsin and his Young Reformers. Yes, there were lurid tales of
oligarchic excess, and some passing reference to the inconveniences
endured by the old and the sick, by disenfranchised factory workers and
unpaid teachers - but surely, these short-term inconveniences were a price
well worth paying for Russia's emergence as a fully-fledged member of the
modern world.
Perhaps not coincidentally, these were happy times in Brussels and
Washington - so much so that, in one (unintentionally) comical footnote to
the era, Francis Fukuyama echoed Hegel's elevation of Prussia to the
pinnacle of history with his "The End of History" thesis, only designating
the American model as the true "final synthesis." While history has not
been kind to his predictions, they fit well with the triumphalist mood of
the time (the secular rise of China was then still a couple of decades in
the future).
Seen from the Russian perspective, matters looked rather different. The
Soviet Union had not been defeated in war, nor had the Communist regime
been overthrown by violent revolution. The Soviet Union had voted itself
out of existence with barely a struggle, and the successor state - Russia
- saw itself not as a defeated power but, at worst, as a repentant one.
Poor trusting bears, first Gorbachev, then Yeltsin, accepted assurances of
lasting friendship from their erstwhile rivals of the West at face value.
While their naivete now seems remarkable, in the context of the times, it
was perhaps understandable: given that the Soviet Communism which they had
battled was clearly an evil, they could only assume that the opposing
force, Western Democracy, must by nature be equitable, beneficent and
They were to be bitterly disappointed - like every successful political
system, Western democracies are structures designed for the exercise of
power in the furtherance of the interests of their stakeholders. The
temptation to take advantage of the weakness of an old rival to gain
permanent ascendancy proved to be irresistible, within a few months
Yeltsin found himself staring across the border at former satellites now
occupied by a potentially hostile military alliance. There was precious
little he could do.
In public, Russia was welcomed as a full partner - even offered a chair at
the G-7; her interests were treated with respect, provided only that they
coincided with those of the Atlantic Alliance. When NATO began bombing
Serbia absent a UN mandate, Russian protests were met with ill-disguised
scorn. The public narrative was one of reconciliation - the subtext was a
tale of victory and neutralization. History is written by the victors -
with the pen wielded by their tame, compliant press.
Something Rotten in the Kingdom of Muscovy
Back in Moscow, the reality seemed somewhat less cheerful than I had been
led to expect. Alongside the bitter cold and the impossible language,
something else was seriously amiss: Moscow was poverty-stricken, yet
prices were higher than Tokyo or London; the stores were well-stocked, but
there was literally nothing Russian-made on the shelves - even the water
came from Finland. While the foreigners had dollar signs in their eyes,
the Russians were almost uniformly pessimistic - either their tragic
historical experience had blinded them to the wonderful things that were
now happening, or they knew something we didn't. Born and raised in Latin
America, I thought I recognized a pattern, and regretfully opted for the
latter option. My prediction that "this would all end in tears" was
disdainfully dismissed by my more experienced peers - I sincerely hoped
that they were right.
Yet, one sought in vain for the "green shoots" of economic revival: coffee
shops, popular restaurants, the sort of small-scale activity that was by
then endemic in Prague or Warsaw. There was a single coffeehouse, a couple
of oligarchic clubs, and a handful of Soviet-era food stores - well
stocked with shockingly overpriced Western goods, but nary a barber shop
nor a fast food joint in sight.
Most disturbingly, on my morning walk to the office I never encountered
fewer than four or five old ladies trudging through the snow, wrapped in
rags, picking through trash containers in search of glass bottles to
recycle for a few kopeks apiece. These were not the bag ladies familiar to
denizens of Paris or Los Angeles - they were neither marginal nor were
they obviously mad. They were decent folk who had believed in their Soviet
system precisely as their Western counterparts believed in their own - who
had gone to work each morning in the belief that, in return for their
loyalty, their modest needs would always be met: a small pension, a room
in a communal apartment, cheap utilities, transport, and medical care. In
the event, they had been left destitute - humiliated by one
and despite Clinton's assurances that NATO would not extend eastward to
fill the vacuum left by the departing Soviet forces,
My first domicile - Chistye Prudy - was a good quarter by Moscow
standards, the housing stock partly comprised the old kommunalkas -
squalid, communal pre-revolutionary apartments occupied by a half-dozen
families sharing a common kitchen and bathroom - in part by recently
privatized flats remodelled by the tiny emergent middle class. of
history's occasional accidents, reduced to picking through trashcans to
ensure physical survival.
The failure of the oft-predicted economic rebound six years after the end
of the USSR, indeed the very visible deterioration in Russia's social and
economic indicators, was met with a stubborn desire to believe in the
miracle. Press coverage was a singular admixture of starry-eyed optimism -
fulsome praise for that "disorderly but dynamic surge for freedom" of this
new country - and human interest, yellow in tooth and claw. Alongside the
enthusiastic praise for Russia's free-market experiment, there were lurid
stories of murderous oligarchs and street-corner killings.
Today, it is easy to forget the refreshing transparency of the period -
everyone knew who was growing fabulously rich appropriating State assets,
who was on the take in mega-size, who was most likely to use
"extraordinary means" to silence their opponents. The phrase "murderous
oligarchs" was familiar enough to the readers - lurid tales of sex and
guns sell papers, and while libel law and considerations of physical
safety precluded the naming of names, the picture was clear enough. Given
the total impunity of the most powerful of the tycoons, they made little
effort to cover their tracks; indeed, the climate of fear surrounding
several some of them proved quite convenient - it is both easier and far
more cost- effective to neutralize one's opponents by fear than by
contract killings.
Andrei Makine noted that "whilst French has 26 different verb tenses,
Russian has only three - a nostalgic past, an uncertain present, and a
very hypothetical future". In 1997, Moscow had a maniacal focus on the
present - the past was dead, discredited, and odious; the future was a
train wreck of unknown proportions; everyone jostled for position before
that great feeding trough of the present, and with that complete absence
of hypocrisy or political correctness which renders Russia so fatally
attractive to renegade Westerners fleeing their exsanguinated countries.
The party never stopped
Investing in Russia was fun - exciting - and, especially, conferred a
sense of belonging to a small, exclusive club of those in the know. As the
bubble grew ever greater during the summer of 1997, the early sceptics
were (briefly) proved wrong by ever-rising prices; as many capitulated and
bought in extremis, prices reached another peak and the sky seemed the
only limit. How unfortunate that the Russians had not been invited to
their own party...
What is unsustainable will ultimately not be sustained, and despite a
widespread refusal to believe that it could all go horribly wrong - Russia
seemed too big, too important, too Among the most feared and brutal of the
oligarchs was Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his Menatep Group - to be
resurrected some years later in the Western press as a most implausible
poster-child for "Russian reform".
- as brokers, we divided up our clients between the more
adventurous - who followed us into the notorious Hungry Duck, a nightclub
blending equal parts of Mad Max, Walt Disney and the Marquise de Sade,
while those craving the certainty of physical delivery were instead
dropped at the Night Flight,2 where at least we could be reasonably sure
that they would not awaken 16 hours later with a splitting headache,
barefoot and wallet-less, someplace in the outer suburbs of Moscow.
nuclear to fail, the laws of gravity ultimately proved compelling, and by
spring 1998, the outcome was becoming obvious.
The annual conference of our parent company, entitled "The Coming Russian
Boom" was scheduled for early May. With a touch of that graveyard humour
then quite fashionable in Moscow financial circles, I sent around an
internal e-mail remarking that "Loud noises in Russia are not necessarily
good news".
Management was not amused - indeed, my speaking slot was allocated to the
chief strategist of a competing broker, who gave a brilliant, poetic,
deeply moving speech, asserting that Russia would pay down her debts,
reform her fiscal policies, striding into her shining, liberal future.
Hard though my colleagues and I tried to believe him, to imagine that some
Higher Force could still save us, we failed, dejectedly awaiting the final
Through the Looking Glass
By late August, it was all over. Russia had taken the nearly-unprecedented
step of simultaneously devaluing and defaulting. On Tverskaya, it felt
like the end of the world. The rouble was collapsing, banks had closed,
costing millions their modest savings; the shops were emptying out as
people converted their rapidly-shrinking roubles into tangible goods
(German shampoo was a particular favourite.) Those few Russians who had
recently began to climb into the ranks of the middle-class suddenly found
themselves jobless and impoverished.
Colleagues were calling from abroad, waxing lyrical about the great
opportunities to be found in London, in Silicon Valley (where the NASDAQ
was inexorably surging from strength to strength), even in Argentina,
urging me to bail out of Russia which was finished, done-for, discredited
for the next twenty years at least - "Russian finance" would henceforth be
the equivalent of "military intelligence" or "Australian high-culture" -
simply a contradiction in terms.
I am nothing if not stubborn, and the doomsayers only hardened my resolve
- I had just arrived, and would not leave before I was damned well ready!
Fortunately, in late spring, sensing the approaching storm, I had managed
to land a job as Moscow Head of Fixed Income for a major German bank - a
safe-haven from which to observe the oncoming carnage, and hopefully, a
decent springboard for re-entering the forthcoming Russo- Russian phase.
Let the others bail out - I had stumbled into Moscow almost by accident,
but inexorably, I was going local.
My first week on the desk, I was invited to lunch by the Moscow
Correspondent for The Economist, a very senior and well-respected
journalist who had been on-site for ages. Surely, amidst all the sound and
fury, he would be able to put events into perspective, reassuring me about
the fate of my adopted land.
It proved not quite the reassurance I had hoped for. authoritatively
explained that the Russian rouble would collapse to 10,000/$, the economy
would contract by at least 25%, the Communist hordes would sweep through
Moscow taking the Kremlin, as the Russian Federation - held together with
string and sticky-tape - broke up into four nuclear-armed, mutually
antagonistic sovereign mini-states. My attempts at argument or mitigation
were rebuked with utter scorn; this was not a matter of opinion, it was a
matter of fact - and facts brook no argument.
I left the luncheon shaken, yet convinced that was wrong - or at least,
badly overstating his case. Not to say that I was not afraid. In
retrospect, those of us who lived through the Ed Lucas - Ed The Economist
was uniquely well connected within the military and had extensive contacts
in the government and regions; as we spoke, the Russian Federation was in
its death throes.
Ed crisis like to recollect that we always knew things would work out just
fine. Of course, we knew nothing of the sort... we hoped! Like all true
crises, the 1998 meltdown was unprecedented, a discontinuity - there were
no guidelines - no historical references.
Ten Days that Shook the Author
The great Communist demonstration aimed at clawing the Fatherland back
from the speculators - Western capitalists and their Russian puppets - was
scheduled for the next Friday, a splendid, crisp, sunny autumn day. To
avoid the danger of being lynched by the Communist mob, we dressed down,
then headed to the Kremlin for the next instalment of John Reed's great
chronicle of the Russian Revolution Ten Days that Shook the World.
Moscow - a city of some 19 million - had just been hit by the Mother of
all Economic Collapses, yet despite the glorious weather, the
demonstrators were outnumbered at least two-to-one by newly-unemployed
foreign bankers, journalists and assorted adventure- tourists - all hoping
to see history in the making.3
Were there 5,000 demonstrators? Perhaps. Mostly old and crotchety, these
were the true losers in "Russia's Historic Transformation": pensioners
who, after a lifetime toiling in a system they had been brought up to
believe in - as the good burghers of Paris believed in theirs - were
suddenly and inexplicably left destitute, with their six-dollar pensions
inadequate to purchase food, medicine, or warm clothes - disoriented in an
alien, hostile new world; coal miners unpaid for 18 months; teachers and
doctors who had watched their safe, orderly worlds crumble. They marched
around in angry circles for an hour or so, listening to rabid speeches by
old apparatchiks - full of resentful passion, but oddly devoid of any real
hope - men trying desperately to convince themselves of what they were
saying. After an hour or so we repaired to the Balchug to drink overpriced
coffee and enjoy the last of the autumn sunshine, wondering how we would
survive the coming months - who had coffee, who had tea, who had
detergent.... and could we organize a swap?
Best Enjoyed Cold (Revenge!)
A few years later and it was all history; with the Eurobonds trading well
above par, Russia boasted the world's best performing financial markets,
both debt and equity - and best of all, this time it seemed sustainable,
supported by substantial growth in the real economy. Thanks to a now-cheap
currency, import substitution worked its wonders - old Soviet plant was
reactivated with real things once again being produced. The popular stores
were stocked with Russian-made consumer goods, while the rouble had
stabilized as the budget swung further into surplus. The gradual rise in
oil prices had, of course, been a godsend - but vitally, unlike in the
late 90s when the proceeds simply accrued to oligarchs' foreign bank
accounts, at least some of the money was now remaining in Russia. The
monthly pension of Nastya's grandmother was a princely $85, but up from
just $6 in 1997. Russia's rebellious regions and rampaging oligarchs had
been reigned in by Vladimir Putin, the primacy of the State had been
reasserted, while foreign policy had ceased to be totally subservient to
the interests of the West; even the local mood was improving - Russians
have never been known for their starry-eyed optimism, but at least the
sense of national embarrassment was gone. One could like Putin or not, but
clearly he commanded respect.
I was at a journalist's cocktail party in Moscow when I heard a loud voice
proclaiming something scornful about "the Ra-Ra-Russia crowd". It
was and of course he was referring to me! Sensing an easy kill, I
whirled about and snarled back " , the last time we met, you told me
that Russia was dead in the water" - before reeling off his list of
imagined catastrophes. To Lucas' credit, he denied not one word of it,
instead acknowledging that he had said it all - and had been proved wrong
... "but now," intoned, "you are going to see the real disaster," reeling
off yet another doom-and-gloom scenario, even blacker than his previous
one...and of course, no less self-assured!
And this was a moment almost of enlightenment: most people believe what
they wish to believe, and ideology, like the sorceress Circe, can turn men
into swine. There is little use in arguing with someone who has seen The
Truth, be it religious or ideological; fortunately - in finance, we have
another option - to trade against misinformation, bias, and bigotry. Those
who have done so over the past decade in Russia have made out like
Babushki of the World, Unite!
(You've nothing to lose but your Eurobonds!)
The invitation to a bankers' luncheon organized by Finance Minister
Mikhail Kasyanov to explain why GKO holders were about to be hung out in
the wind was most welcome. Just days before, my good friend Adam
Elstein for having he told the FT that, were investors in the GKO notes to
be reamed as Kasyanov proposed, "foreign investors would rather eat
nuclear waste than invest in Russia again!" At the time, it seemed almost
a statement of the obvious.
Kasyanov launched into a speech explaining that Russia could not afford to
repay the GKOs without causing an catastrophic inflationary spiral
(indeed, it could not), but that they intended to honour their
dollar-denominated Eurobonds come hell or high water. Best of all, there
was a humanitarian motive behind this choice - quoth the finance minister
(who appeared stone sober): "Russia has a fiduciary duty to the European
babushki and dedushki (grandmas and grandpas) who own Russian Eurobonds!"
All around me was the sound of jaws dropping - the bankers looked at each
other blankly, as if to ask "is he mad... or on drugs?" - and then,
suddenly, a little light bulb came on, and as if I was reading the
subtitles, the message was clear as day: "Gentlemen," he was saying, "I
have finished buying up all the bonds I could for my own account - but
don't worry, there are plenty left for you, and still ridiculously cheap -
you can now safely bid up the prices...after all, you don't seriously
imagine that I am going to default on my own Eurobonds, do you?"
Uncharacteristically, I skipped the dessert - rushing back to the office,
my papers flying, babbling excitedly about how we could make back every
penny we'd lost in the crisis by just buying the same bonds that Misha
was... it really was that easy! All I needed was some credit line - say
$25m for starts. My boss looked at me pityingly (had it been
mathematically possible for Frankfurt to cut our dealing line below zero,
they would have Ed Lucas
Mr. Kasyanov had leaned on Banker's Trust to fire
Widely referred to as "Misha 2%" for his rumoured propensity to
participate in sovereign financial transactions for his personal benefit,
done so already), so I rang our London dealing desk, excitedly imparting
my newfound knowledge - and was left on hold...
Months later, on a marketing trip to Switzerland, a couple of old friends
on the buy-side were good enough to take a few Rf28s, just to keep me in a
job..."hell," they figured, "at 25 cents, how much could they lose?" In
fact, those who held them for a further five years made some 1500% on the
trade, disproving the old maxim that "no good deed goes unpunished" (many
of the others were busy buying up those new-fangled triple-A "super- safe"
American subprime CDOs... guess which ones still have jobs!)
Short Memories - When even the Past is Unpredictable
Nefteyugansk Mayor Vladimir Petukhov, was losing the battle to save his
city, the centre of Yukos' oil production; the oil major was paying 100
times less tax than what was paid to the City of Surgut by rival oil major
Surgutneftegas. With only a single source of revenue, Petukhov's office
was literally starved of cash, unable to pay salaries.
Desperate, Petukhov went on a hunger strike, appealing to Moscow for
assistance. In his own words:
I, the head of the city of Nefteyugansk, Petukhov V.A., protest against
the cynical actions and murderous policies carried out by the oligarchs
from OAO `RospromYUKOS' and bank `Menatep' in the Nefteyugansk region. In
protest against the inaction of the government of the RF and the policies
of suffocation of opposition to the team of Khodorkovsky M.B., which in my
opinion leave no other path, I announce an indefinite hunger strike and
make the following demands:
1. To initiate a criminal case based on the fact of largescale
underpayment of taxes by RospromYUKOS in the years 1996 - 1998; 2. To
remove from his post the head of the GNI [State Tax Inspectorate] in the
city of Nefteyugansk Naumov L.E., and the head of the GNI of the
KhantyMansiisk Autonomous Region Efimov A.V., and to unite the tax organs
of the city of Nefteyugansk and the Nefteyugansk region;
3. To activate an investigation of criminal activity surrounding the fact
of the swindling of the sum of 450 billion roubles in old prices by the
firms `RondoS' and ANK `YUKOS', and also the swindling by use of false
promissory notes of the firm `Eltem' in the sum of 100 billion roubles,
which were issued by Rosprom YUKOS;
4. To pay off the accumulated tax arrears, interest, and penalties of
RospromYUKOS in the amount of 1.2 trillion undenominated roubles to the
city of Nefteyugansk, using financial resources, crude oil, and oil
products; 5. To put an end to the interference by the oligarchs from
Rosprom YUKOS Menatep in the activities of the organs of local
6. To conduct the process by which will be annulled the unlawful auction
in the purchase of ANK `YUKOS' by RospromYUKOS, and the transfer of the
government's share holding in OAO `Yuganskneftegaz' in exchange for debts
to the city of Nefteyugansk, the city of Pyt'Ykhu, the Nefteyugasnk
region, and the KhantiiMansiisk Autonomous Region;
7. To restore the economic independence of OAO - production association
With hope! Head of the city of Nefteyugansk, Kandidat Texnicheskii Nauk
[PhD] V.A. Petukhov 15.06.98
Yukos executives had taken to flying in from Moscow with sacks of rouble
notes, directly paying whichever municipal workers they happened to like,
in effect privatizing the city. Eleven days later, Mr. Petukhov was shot
dead in broad daylight on his way to his office.
A few months later it was the turn of Yevgeny Rybin, who was suing his
former Yukos associate in Stockholm arbitration court for stealing Eastern
Oil. Back in Moscow, leaving an informal social gathering hosted by his
Yukos ex-partners, someone stepped out of the bushes and unloaded a Markov
automatic pistol in Rybin's general direction - but missed. Rybin
understandably declined further social invitations, however a few weeks
later his car was blown up, then sprayed with bullets, killing his driver
and bodyguard and wounding a militia officer - Rybin, the intended target,
had just stepped out to bring flowers to his sister; some people are just
born lucky! In a striking example of the sense of impunity with which the
perpetrators acted, bullets recovered from the scene had been fired by the
same weapon that had killed Petukhov4 - once again, there was very little
sense of mystery in Moscow as to who the perpetuators might have been.
In early July I dropped by a dinner party at the Moscow flat of a British
journalist. In attendance were reporters from most of the major Western
media (including the FT, the NY Times, the LA Times, the Moscow Times, and
the wires) along with the usual mix of equity sales people, bank
strategists, and assorted hangers-on. When the kitchen conversation turned
to the murder in Nefteyugansk there was a sense that poor Petukhov had
been insanely brave to challenge Yukos, but no one thought to express the
slightest doubt as to who had been responsible - indeed, anyone affirming
that Petukhov's untimely death had been a mere coincidence would have been
laughed at.
Needless to say, the fact that something was "common knowledge" in Moscow
does not constitute evidence in a court of law - the point here is not one
of innocence or guilt - the point is the veritable epidemic of very
selective amnesia that struck the journalistic community when the
political winds suddenly changed and Washington's favourite oligarch came
to grief.
Perhaps newcomers can be forgiven for not realizing that pre-Putin Moscow
was never the liberal paradise nostalgically portrayed, nor were the
oligarchs the benevolent capitalists some would now have us believe - on
Mikhail Khodorkovsky's birthday,- Yukos encountered no further opposition.
later, interviewed by the FTs' Chrystia Freeland, Khodorkovsky claims to
have been shocked when he learned the news, and to have promptly cancelled
his birthday celebrations... more interesting, of course, is what he did
not claim - to have immediately picked up the phone to find out who had
committed this foul crime, demanding their heads upon a platter.
Presumably, he already knew..Menatep briefly held a 10% stake in The
Moscow Times. Though they had entered as a purportedly financial investor,
soon afterwards, they began to exert pressure for more favourable coverage
- when the MT resisted, Nevzlin, Khodorkovsky's enforcer (now, convicted
of murder in absentia and a refugee in Israel) stopped by for a quick
visit. One person present at the meeting told this author that when
Nevzlin left, although no specific threats had been issued, there was no
doubt in anyone's mind that they could find themselves in physical danger
were they to ignore his warnings - oddly enough, no one felt inclined to
put it to the test. what is truly appalling is that several of the Moscow
veterans who are now parroting Yukos' attorney Robert Amsterdam's nauseous
attempt to equate the murderous Khodorkovsky with the saintly Sakharov
were present at that dinner party; having been there myself, I can affirm
that the representatives of the same British press which now lionized the
oligarch were no less bitingly critical of Khodorkovsky than were their
We of the West are inordinately proud of our civil liberties, our periodic
bouts of voting, our law-abiding, rule-based governments, and of course,
our free and fair press. We are less likely to dwell upon the Patriot Act,
the lack of real alternative political choices, nor of course on the
complicity of that press in the egregious campaign of disinformation that
opened the door to the illegal occupation of Iraq. Indeed, since the
advent of mass media in the late 19th century, every war in every country
- from the Opium Wars to the Spanish- American, from Vietnam to Kosovo,
Iraq and So. Ossetia - has been characterized by the systematic
manipulation and misinformation of public opinion by a press largely
subservient to whatever government is in place. This is unlikely to
Indeed, there was something refreshingly straightforward about press
manipulation in the USSR. The newspapers were told what to write - and
they wrote it; everyone over the age of 14 realized this, reading Pravda
with a jaundiced eye. The situation in the West is rather more complex.
Much of the mass media is owned by financial conglomerates with their own
political and economic agendas. Publishers sit down to dinner with senior
politicians, and are briefly made to feel important - part of the inner
circle. There is a thick network of think tanks - some strongly
ideological, others available to the highest bidder - feeding journalists
pre-packaged spin. There is huge peer pressure to conform - imagine the
fate of a junior reporter who failed to remind the reader that (like
George Bush Sr.) Putin had once headed the security services, or noted
that he remained overwhelmingly popular with the denizens of Russia's
provinces. Their readership remains absurdly credulous - given how often
they have been spun, misinformed or simply lied to.
In my second week on the desk as M.D./Head of Research, the call came from
Yukos. For whatever reason, their investor relations people insisted on
meeting me.
Trudging through the snow to the Yukos headquarters, I was met by their
Head of IR - who
. Instead, he laid out a list of promises: appointing independent
directors, settling with minority investors and creditors of both Yukos
and Menatep, publishing IAS accounts, paying dividends, etc. "Don't write
anything now," he admonished, "just watch to see if we keep our
promises...if we do, then you should write about it!"
Six weeks later they were doing all of the right things. On the principle
that if one does not believe that things ever change, one should simply
not live in Russia, I drew a deep breath then issued the first official
"buy" recommendation on Yukos (then trading, if at all, at about
My initial
response - that I lacked radiation protection garb - was met with the
sharp rejoinder that
"we are potentially Russia's largest oil company - and while nothing
obliges you to believeus, you have to at least listen to our story!" -
fair enough, I thought, swallowing hard.
refreshingly made neither any attempt to charm or to bribe me, nor
especially, to deny any of their past misdeeds, however egregious 50
cents, still suspended from its RTS listing due to conduct considered
egregious even by the dire standards of the day.) Soon enough it was to
prove a singularly felicitous call; as the company strategy to pushing
up its stock market valuation, the shares surged to a high of $16.00 - a
spectacular 3000% run.
Not only did the initial transformation of Yukos from oil-drenched
duckling to unlikely swan provide some excellent ammunition to one
struggling to sell the Russia story to foreign clients, but it proved
contagious! Vladimir Putin had told the oligarchs that their past misdeeds
would be conditionally forgiven, provided that they paid their taxes,
refrained from further pillage of the State, and especially, stayed out of
politics. Carnivores are rational beasts, and increasingly, they were
shifting their focus from plundering the State to consolidating their
newly-acquired fortunes by building up stock market valuations.
While the history of oil giant Sibneft was not much prettier than Yukos,
perhaps a wave of Damascene conversions had been visited upon us, and with
Yukos' share price bumping up against the $6 level, I issued a report on
Sibneft, referring to them as "former bandits" but who had seen the light.
While the b-word raised some hackles within my institution, I could argue
that there is no joy in heaven like for a sinner repentant. A few months
later it got better still: the company announced that it had bought 29% of
its stock into treasury; rather than the accustomed dilutions, the
fortunate investors in Sibneft were actually seeing a substantial
"concentration" of their equity holdings...would wonders never cease?
The Russian climate seems cruel almost by design - after a long, gruelling
winter there bursts an early spring - the birds singing in the branches,
pale ghosts emerging from overheated apartments into the wan sunshine, a
promise of summer in the air, for perhaps 48 hours when suddenly, the icy
hand of winter sweeps it all away: the poor stupid birds frozen to their
branches, the babushki breaking femurs on the treacherous sheet ice.
Likewise, the Russian investment case rarely - if ever - advances in a
straight line; within months, the Sibneft released audited accounts
revealing that the same 29% stake had been sold again - information about
to whom, at what price, and where the generous dividend just declared had
accrued was "not publicly available!"
The market reaction was brutal - a hastily-organized Sibneft
teleconference proved an exercise in the Theatre of the Absurd: the
hapless IR people were "not at liberty" to reveal to whom the shares had
been so sold, nor for that matter the price; ditto as regards the fate of
the dividends - in fact, they could tell us nothing other than what was
already in the published accounts. The call ended with the admission that
"this was not the greatest day in the history of their company" but
promising to "do better in the future."
As I headed for the door for a weekend of ballet in St. Petersburg, I had
just time enough to whip out a desk note acknowledging my former naivete,
stating that, whilst in a previous report I had controversially referred
to Sibneft as "former bandits," I would now have to withdraw the term
"former"! On the way to the airport, I got a call from a journalist at The
Moscow Times, enquiring as to whether she could quote from my report -
"sure," I replied, not quite thinking through the implications, "if I
wrote it, I stand by it". Then I switched off my phone.
The next day, as an ethereal Giselle was saving her lover from the Shades,
The Moscow Times quoted me in a two-page feature on the Sibneft scandal
under a banner headline: Bandits! - Sibneft slammed for sell-off". My life
was suddenly to become very interesting...
By Sunday, when I turned my phone back on, there were 57 missed calls,
some unprintable SMS messages, and an order to return to Moscow forthwith.
My employer had shifted from outright theft of cash flows
already issued an unconditional apology, surprisingly stating that my
"irresponsible remarks" had "compromised their reputation for objective,
unbiased research" - most entertainingly, the secretary who had forwarded
the press release had omitted to white-out the original letterhead - it
was sent out on Sibneft paper, with a Sibneft return address. The
journalists, of course, loved it!
The Dark Ages
The Yukos debacle unarguably marked a fundamental shift in foreign
perceptions regarding Russia5. Absent the spin, the story is simple enough
: theft of state assets, corruption on an industrial scale - in
particular, the outright ownership of a large stable of Duma deputies - as
well as enthusiastic participation in the wide-scale tax evasion by the
mineral extraction complex that ultimately bankrupted the Russian State.
At least until 1998,
The only conceivable defence is that "everyone else was doing it too".
True as far as it goes, but also somewhat irrelevant - the fact that
others also ran Ponzi schemes was not deemed exculpatory for Bernard
Madoff (now serving a barbaric 150-year prison sentence for ) nor
was Al Capone the only gangster of his day. It is also somewhat misleading
- while Russia was indeed a very tough place in the 1990s, the majority of
the oligarchs
The Yukos story is eminently "political", though not in the sense that it
has been portrayed. Khodorkovsky's politics was not a matter of sending a
cheque to the party of his choice - rather, it involved outright ownership
of a block of Duma deputies large enough so that, by allying themselves
with the Communists and other splinter parties, they could block any
legislation not to Khodorkovsky's liking - in particular the oil export
tax and the outlawing of offshore trading vehicles. When, having engaged
Vladimir Putin in single combat, Khodorkovsky tried to castle out of check
by appealing to the American power elite, seeking to raise support in
Houston and Washington while negotiating the sale of Yukos to Exxon -
Putin chose the nuclear option. The only truly innocent victims were the
foreign fund managers who suffered painful losses on Yukos shares bought
in good faith. While for several years, the theme song in Moscow was
"who's next?" in fact, no one was next - Khodorkovsky's severed head
impaled upon a stake at the Kremlin wall proved sufficiently dissuasive to
any oligarch6 seeking to resurrect the Yeltsin-era model.
Shortly thereafter, as I was making my graceful exit into a very uncertain
future, I could not resist the temptation of showing up to at our annual
Christmas party. Among the entertainment was an animal trainer leading a
muzzled bear on a leash. My boss, a hapless Irishman fresh off the plane
from New York, remarked upon the striking resemblance between me and the
bear. "Yes, Cormac" I retorted, "but unlike him, my muzzle comes off next
There can be no reasonable doubt that Khodorkovsky was guilty as charged
Khodorkovsky egregiously abused foreign investors, stripping assets and
cashflows, and accumulating enormous wealth in offshore jurisdictions via
shell trading vehicles. crimes far less egregious stopped well short of
murdering their opponents.
Perhaps most fascinating about the Yukos story is its human dimension -
how a man endowed with a powerful intellect, maniacal focus and legendary
powers of concentration stumbled into a fight he obviously could not win.
From Napoleon to Hitler, foreigners have repeatedly made the mistake of
imagining that one could inflict enough pain on the Russians to make them
capitulate; they have been systematically proved wrong - there is simply
not enough pain in the universe for that; but Khodorkovsky was Russian,
and he certainly should have known. Perhaps, having grown up in a grimy
communal apartment and now worth untold billions - feted as Russia's real
President in Washington and Houston - he thought he had heard The Call,
that he was the Anointed One, forgetting the rules of the game which he
himself had so masterfully played.
He was, of course, not the only loser. With the enormous financial
resources at its disposal, Menatep has been able to corrupt political,
social and journalistic institutions throughout the Western world,
damaging the image of Russia, and perhaps creating a permanent rift with
the Atlantic elites. Journalists who knew or should have known exactly
what Yukos had been and had done continued to praise as a hero for
Russian liberalism and transparency; the
. Given that the arrest of Khodorkovsky had revealed the limits of US
influence in Russia, as well as depriving Exxon of the opportunity to grab
Russia's top oil company, a succession of US congressmen have hailed
Khodorkovsky as hero and martyr. The results of their lobbying have not
been quite those they had expected.
The Dogs Bark - the Caravan Passes
There is a widespread bias among fixed income jockeys that bond markets
are "smarter" than equity markets - Russian debt now trades well "inside"
(i.e. safer than) that of numerous European countries, American states, or
international corporates. Early in the last decade, the author would
provocatively inform his hedge fund and long-only clients that their
subscriptions to the Financial Times and The Economist were costing them
millions of dollars a year, i.e. the cost of their having shied away from
Russian financial assets at a time when they were absurdly cheap relative
to the actual risk. Fixed income investors soon enough came to realize
that believing the disinformation retailed by the Western press was an
unaffordable luxury.
The equity market - still relatively cheap, but suffering from some very
uneven corporate governance - has been a bit slower to wake up and smell
the coffee, though perhaps the greatest gap between perception and reality
has been as regards FDI (foreign direct investment) which, despite some
high-profile accidents, has generally proved wildly profitable - far more
so than Western investments into the other BRIC countries. The major
German, French and Italian companies are now increasingly focused on the
Russian market.
As regards the politics, matters have been a bit less felicitous. The
rigid, triumphalist rhetoric of the American Neocons admits no compromise,
nor is it amenable to any ecumenical vision of competing socioeconomic
models. Profoundly ideological, a series of foreign policy disasters has
done little to instil a sense of the limitations of American power. By
2008, stung by the defeat of their Georgian clients, the Bush
administration was upping the ante with the threat of a new Cold War - the
onset of the US financial crisis proved a fortunate distraction. While
under Obama there has been a welcome normalization of
relations, the best that can be hoped for is a cold peace; with limited
trade between the US and Russia, neither country is the primary focus of
the other.
On the other hand, given that politics ultimately conforms to the economic
reality, relations with Europe, Germany in particular, are growing
stronger. The German model of mixed state-private capitalism fits well
with the Russian system, and although there were fears that the election
of Merkel would derail the warm relationship built up by Schro:der,
quickly enough (and like Sarkozy) she was confronted with the vital
importance of Russia, both as a trading partner and as a neighbour.
Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory
Future historians will doubtlessly wonder at the spectacular incompetence
of Western diplomacy towards Russia at a time when her future orientation
was very much in play; a tactical alliance between Russia and China should
have been their worst nightmare. Extreme resource-dependency is the
Achilles Heel of the Chinese economy; although China is rapidly building
up mineral and agricultural sources across the globe, the distances are
daunting and maritime transportation represents a significant strategic
vulnerability. Russia, on the other hand, can supply virtually everything
China needs - grain, energy, minerals, timber and metals, even water - to
her doorstep.
The narrative in the West has been breathtakingly self-serving - early in
the last decade, one highly-placed American academic asserted to this
author that "the Russians are so afraid of China they will be forced to
beg a place under the American umbrella - whatever the price that
Washington demands!" It is an illustration of the profoundly amateurish
diplomacy of the Obama administration that the man in question has now
attained great prominence in US Russian policy-making.
From the coverage of the Khodorkovsky affair, to the tendentious and
dishonest misreporting of the Georgian shelling of South Ossetian
civilians and
failure to express any scepticism as regards Litvinenko's deeply moving
death-bed letter accusing Putin of his poisoning
(purportedly drafted in flawless, flowing English by a desperately ill man
who spoke barely enough English to order a cup of tea) the foreign press
has done much to discredit Western institutions in Russia, creating a rift
which will most likely never be fully bridged. Ironically, they have
advanced the interests not just of the most anti-Western Russian factions,
but also of the sole great power able to seriously threaten the
socioeconomic dominance of the Atlantic Alliance - China.
It is perhaps insufficiently appreciated that since the 18th Century -
despite occasional periods of hyperactivity - Russia has been a profoundly
conservative power. Even the Cold-War occupation of Eastern Europe and the
imposition of Soviet rule following the catastrophe of WWII was
essentially a defensive reaction to Russia's utter devastation by European
armies, three times in a little more than a century. In any event, by the
late 1960s, any expansionist impulse there may have been had been
irretrievably lost; Russia has not posed any credible threat to the West
for the past fifty years.
Russia is not a "dissatisfied power" but rather, one seeking to enhance
her influence within the framework of the existing global power
structure.7 On the other hand, a rapidly deeply corrupt
ascendant China - still recovering from the humiliations of the 19th
Century and the catastrophes of the 20th, and which now accounts for some
25% of mankind as well as the lion's share of global GDP growth - is
seeking to carve out what it sees as its proportionate share of power and
wealth, largely at the expense of the sunset powers of America and Europe.
Aiming for a profound reordering of the global power structure - economic,
military, and political - China increasingly poses a clear and significant
threat to North Atlantic hegemony. Whether Chinese demands can be
peacefully accommodated will be one of the key questions for our century.
Dragons and Bears
Russia and China have a long history of fraught relations and mutual
distrust, beginning with the annexation of large swaths of Chinese
Siberian territory across the Amur river (one of the hated 19th century
"Unequal Treaties" with the Western Powers) and culminating in several
instances of military conflict late in the Mao/Khrushchev period. That
said, the Chinese are nothing if not pragmatic and it is significant that
of these imposed treaties, only the Russian treaty was subsequently
sanctioned by Beijing - tacit any questions of "sacred national
territory," all outstanding border disputes were quickly laid to rest
early in the last decade.
The Russian side remains wary of China, fearful for the great expanses of
empty Siberian tundra (it seems unlikely that the Chinese are going to try
to farm the perma-frost, and in any event, in a world of nuclear
armaments, 19th century wars of territorial aggrandizement seem quaintly
obsolete) and is still exercised about the "yellow-peril". Vladimir
Putin's reply to my question at the recent VTB conference confirmed that,
perhaps due to a historical sense of inferiority to the West, the Russian
leadership continues to look to Europe for its model, and has yet to
become fully cognizant of the profound shift in the global centre of
gravity. Ultimately, economic reality should prevail - the West is the
past, Asia is the future. Russia would be well advised to keep one foot in
each camp.
I am sometimes asked whether Russia can compete with China - the answer
should be obvious: if the most advanced Western countries cannot, how can
a still-restructuring Russia? Fortunately, it is also irrelevant - Russia
has no need to compete; the two economies are largely complementary
(reminiscent of the relationship between China and mineral-rich Australia)
and given the absence of any significant Russian production of consumer
durables (ex- the tightly-protected automotive sector) in the local
market, Chinese imports compete not against domestic Russian manufacturers
but against other European or Asian exporters.
Despite continued disagreement on gas pricing, the first phase of the
Eastern oil export pipeline to China is now up and running; trade between
the two giants is surging - less than $20bn in 2003, it reached $55bn in
2010, a 40% increase over the previous year. Exports are increasingly
settled in Yuan/Roubles, bypassing the US dollar.
While the stagnating G7 economies are threatened with stagnation at best
due to spiralling sovereign debt loads, American pundits have recently
taken to dismissing a fast-growing China as a paper dragon; they may soon
enough feel its hot breath. Lasting political alignments are ultimately
determined not by sentiment but by economic realities - for Russia, the
West has proved not just a meddlesome and unreliable partner, but one
which systematically overplays its hand. Despite the ongoing competition
for influence in the "Stans", Russo-Chinese diplomatic alignment in the
Shanghai Cooperation Organization
and the UN Security Council have been a vital counterweight against the
domination of the Western powers. China's pragmatic policy of
non-interference plays well in Moscow - far better than the hectoring and
often-hypocritical tone of the Western powers.
Epilogue - The Curse of Normality
The Yeltsin years were a magnificent time for us foreigners - perhaps
rather less so for the locals - at least, the overwhelming majority.
Though the memory of the Great Party at the Edge of the Apocalypse shall
accompany me for as long as I draw breath, times have changed; we
Westerners have become bit players; our passports and jeans no longer
evoke much envy, not even instant admission to the top clubs. This is as
it should be.
Beware of what you want. Our greatest hope - we, that first,
ideologically-motivated generation of expats - was that Russia was to
evolve into a "normal country"; this is now becoming a reality. People
have mortgages, start families, acquire middle-class habits and
aspirations. The future seems more tangible - the time horizon has
extended from weeks to decades. After a turbulent adolescence, our adopted
country is progressing into early middle-age: a middle-income,
middle-European country increasingly embracing the European
Social-Democratic model. Neither the world's best performing - nor, by
far, its worst.
Indeed - and tacit the mindless din in the press - the challenge for
Russia may be not the lack of democracy, but rather, its excess. In the
1990s, no Russian asked anything more of the State than to be left alone;
this has changed, as a newly empowered middle-class takes root, and the
fearful turbulence of decades past fades from memories, the government has
become mindful of its popularity ratings and exquisitely sensitive to the
popular mood. A welfare state is rapidly taking shape, and though Russia
is famously unpredictable, a European destiny seems most likely; at a time
when the European social model seems threatened with imminent implosion,
this may seem a counter-intuitive choice.
All of this is still for the future, and as of this writing, Moscow is the
only European city in which one can still feel free. Thus, in closing, a
word to my many Russian friends who constantly threaten to decamp to that
Europe which I fled in despair - at the bureaucracy and immobility,
suicidal political correctness and crushing fiscal inquisition - 15 years
ago: the West has a great future - behind it. Go ahead, give it your best
shot and good luck to you - but here's betting that you'll be coming back
a lot sooner than you had imagined...
Link: themeData


text:
My very first 2 rolls in my Tori Amos edition Diana...so pleased with these!
This photo was shot on film. Taken by strangelilgirl with a Diana F+ Tori Amos Edition loaded with Fuji Velvia film (available in our Online Shop) in Jacksonville, OR, United States. These tags describe this photo: jacksonville, xpro, cross, process, diana, velvia, tori, and amos. Date: 2011-03-22. Time: Afternoon. This photo can also be found in the album Diana "Tori Amos" edition: 1st 2 rolls.Please login to get more out of this site
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
GREENVILLE, Ky. (3/27/14) — A Christian County woman was injured in collision with a coal truck Wednesday, March 26 on the Western Kentucky Parkway in Muhlenberg County.
According to a Kentucky State Police report, Rachel E. McCready, 25, of Oak Grove was driving a 2009 Ford Fusion east on the WKP at about 8 a.m. behind a 2010 Mack tractor-trailer driven by Robert N. Sigers, 43, of Greenville.
The report stated that McCready swerved into the left lane to avoid rear-ending Sigers' truck. When she did, she lost control of her vehicle. It traveled into the median, then back onto the road, where it entered the path of Siger's truck.
The two vehicles collided on the road and then came to rest on the road.
McCready was transported by Muhlenberg County EMS to Muhlenberg Community Hospital for treatment.
Sigers was not injured.
Both drivers were wearing seat belts.
Trooper Jerrod Hearld investigated the collision.SurfKY News
Information provided by Trooper Stu Recke
© Copyright 2015 SurfKY News Group, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, or rewritten without permission. SurfKY News encourages you to share this story by using one of the social media links below.
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Forecasting, Futurecasting and Measuring–it's Your Business
Woot! It's here. Did you check your email? The May/June edition of the Saponifier is ready for download.
With its emphasis on futurecasting, you'll find this issue very informative as you learn to negotiate business. Tamara Dourney jumps right in with her article, An Introduction to Predictive Analytics: What is Futurecasting? She describes Predictive Analysis and all of the concepts and terminology involved. Embrace it and you'll find yourself able to see where you are now, identify what your customer base wants, and how to provide it at lowest cost and in the least amount of time possible.
Marla Bosworth and Jennifer Kirkwood expand on the theme with their article, How to use Forecasting to Spot Trends and to Develop Products. Being small means being nimble, or the ability to watch for trends and to jump on products that meet those needs and wants. This is something that is extremely difficult for large companies to do, but not small ones. Stay ahead of the pack!
How do we find out just how well we're doing? Well, besides the obvious measure of money in the bank account, each business should follow the advice that Alexander Sherman doles out in, Measuring Returns. Teaching us how to calculate ROE (Return One Equity) and ROA (Return on Investments), Alexander shows us that we can judge how efficiently our businesses are using the capital that we pour into them.
If one of the trends you spot is candlemaking, check out Beth Byrne's, Book review: Candlemaking for Profit. This no-nonsense treatise written by famed candlemaker, Robert Aley, is a gem when it comes to starting a candlemaking business. You'll want to find out why and how to get your copy. Actually, if you're planning to start any handcrafted business, you'll find value in this book.
Are you a technology maven? You'll be sure to enjoy, Web 3.0, by Cindy Noble. Even if you aren't among the tech savvy, you'll enjoy learning about the new version of the internet–yes, there are versions!
Until next time, happy reading.
Beth Byrne


text:
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*Estimated monthly payments below include current BMW sales incentives, assumes $750 down and a 48 month 3asy Ride Financing Option. 3asy subject to credit approval. Freight, Set-up, Doc, Taxes, Title & Tag fees, and accessories are additional. Offer based on non-promotional rate-rates subject to change.


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text:
Foolish to think this is not going to happen.
Two keys reasons:
1. HD cameras are now dirt cheap, can be hand held and produce stunning HD/Movie quality video. This is going to be the un-doing of Hollywood's control and they know it. Anyone can now produce a movie or tv show on the cheap and distribute it without Hollywood's blessing. Content is dirt cheap and getting cheaper.
2. Pure economics. TV is an elastic product. This means if the price of coke increases to a certain level people will buy a substitute. If no substitute exists they will stop drinking soda. Don't be fooled, at a certain price people will stop watching tv and find an alternative which includes torrents. To think otherwise means you don't understand economics or read history.
Look at google fiber, this is the first shot across the bow of the content providers but they had no choice but to work with google. Why? Google could produce 10 tv shows without anyone ever noticing a blip on their balance sheet. Netflix is already going down this path.
Hollywood is losing control due to these cameras and that is the key here. Sat racer et al, you guys are kool aid drinkers. History is filled with markets being decimated. Half the dow companies from the 1980's are gone. Just a few years ago it was sears then walmart now amazon is killing them all. Some comedy writer is now sticking it to the shaving industry to the point they lowered prices and are now fighting back via commercials. I can go and on and on and on. Content providers are no longer immune from market disruption due to these cameras.
Kid, you're on a roll. Enjoy it while it lasts, 'cause it never does.
Lou Mannheim:
That's not how the Walmart and Amazon P&L sheets tell the story. Your comment about Sears might be accurate, but not Walmart. Amazon.com in no way is killing Walmart. Walmart posted a $27 Billion profit in 2012. Capital B. Amazon on the other hand lost 60 cents a share in Q3. Amazon isn't even in the same league as Walmart. They are Northern Illinois to Walmart's Alabama.
Hollywood is not losing control. The companies that own the networks report record profits. How is that losing control?
I think you under estimate the cost to produce programming. How much does something like Game of Thrones cost to produce? Google says $60M dollars for the first season. Even for Google, that's a lot of cash to risk on something that might fail.
Tech history is also not on your side re your comment about HD cameras being cheap... Just because a camera is cheap doesn't mean that people who know how film, direct, edit, write and act are. This is the same argument that anti-luddites made when YouTube came out, and when Amazon started selling independently authored books, and when Apple made it easy for any garage band in America to "professionally" record their own music and release it through iTunes. And to this day - truly professionally produced content from the major publishers and record lables still dominates. And YouTube is nothing more than a gathering place for people to watch the latest oddity - i.e Gangnum Style. History is not on your side.
Edited by tulanejosh, 03 January 2013 - 06:53 PM.


text:
Upcoming events in Campus MinistrySacrament of ConfirmationRegistration is now available for current students who are baptized, have celebrated their 1st Communion and who wish to celebrate the Sacrament of Confirmation. Senior RetreatThis will be a dynamic weekend focused on vocation, community, faith, and relationships. Led by a team of student leaders, Resident Ministers and Campus Ministers, Senior Retreat will include various nourishing talks, engaging workshops, delicious home-cooked meals, small group conversations, and one on one opportunities that will nurture your body, mind and spirit. CLC Line DancingGet your dancing shoes ready, everyone! Come join CLC for a night of fun with Adam the Dancing Cowboy. There will be cotton candy, snow cones, snacks, a photo booth and much more. SCU Mass ScheduleWe invite you to join our community in prayer at our regular Catholic liturgies at 10 am, 6 pm, and 9 pm most Sundays during the academic year. For up-to-date schedules, follow the link. Sacraments of InitiationCampus Ministry offers current SCU students the opportunity to prepare for and celebrate the sacraments of Baptism, 1st Eucharist, and/or Confirmation in the Catholic Church. For more information, please contact John Michael Reyes. Acolyte MinistryCampus Ministry is looking for students to serve as acolytes at the Sunday evening liturgies at 6 and 9 p.m. The acolytes are the students who hold the book, light candles, carry the cross/candles, and assist at the altar. For more information, please contact Nick at email@example.com. Ecumenical Bible StudyTuesdays, 5:30-6:30 p.m., Campus Ministry Wednesday Evening Mindfulness MeditationEvery Wednesday from 5:15 to 6:15 during the ten weeks of each academic quarter RelaxAre you feeling stressed or stretched thin? We've compiled some resources to help you relax. Also refer to the Wellness Center and Counseling and Psychological Services, as they have wonderful resources in this area. Easter Triduum ScheduleHoly Week is March 29 to April 4, 2015 |
Open weekdays from 9 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Benson Center 105, 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara, CA 95053 (408) 554-4372 (main line) (408) 554-4373 (fax) |


text:
This white paper describes:
- The unique challenges of ensuring application performance in cloud and virtual infrastructures
- Why enterprise monitoring and management are essential to successful deployments of production applications in private clouds
- The challenges of managing agents in large-scale infrastructures
- Why the SDDC requires a more intelligent operational model that eliminates the complexity and performance overhead of installing physical agents on all VMs
Author: Bernd Harzog is the CEO of APM Experts™, a consulting and analysis firm focusing on virtualization infrastructure and application performance. He is also a well-known analyst at The Virtualization Practice with a focus on Performance and Capacity Management, and IT as a Service (Private Cloud). Bernd was formerly a Gartner Group Research Director focusing on the Windows Server® operating system, CEO of RTO Software, and VP of Products at Netuitive.


text:
Ghost: Elisa Cameron
You wake up in a cold, desolate bathroom without any memory of your whereabouts, as a surveillance camera tracks your every move. Can you piece together the mystery and find your way to safety? As Elisa Cameron, you must work to save your sister, your future, and possibly the world. From the best-selling Dark Horse graphic novel, "Ghost", comes a story of supernatural proportions!
- Over 50 gorgeous locations
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- Hours of gameplay
Game System Requirements:
- OS: Windows XP/Windows Vista/Windows 7/Windows 8
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- DirectX: 9.0
- Hard Drive: 581 MB
Game Manager System Requirements:
- Browser: Internet Explorer 7 or later
The Big Fish Guarantee:
- Quality tested and virus free.
- No ads, no adware, no spyware.


text:
Pot for One Flower:
Material: Rubber
Brand: Normann Copenhagen
Origin: Imported
Humor, color, and function combine in this Danish company's kitchen essentials and home accessories. Here, you'll find practical beauties like Marcel Wanders' stainless-steel Rock bowl and Ole Jensen's innovative Familia mug. And don't miss the ergonomically designed Butterfly can opener, which is available in a rainbow of hues.


text:
luke wrap sweater
by STEVEN ALAN
Having spent the past 20 years creating a mini fashion world grounded in classic American roots - fashioned with a twist - Steven Alan has quietly emerged an uncommon fashion pioneer. Upon opening his first retail store in 1994, Steven sold pieces from an eclectic group of emerging designers, becoming known for his keen eye. In 1999, Steven launched his first men's collection, including his now signature Reverse Seam Shirt, followed by a women's collection soon after. The collections build upon the same curatorial point of view using authentic fabrics and precise tailoring along with thoughtful details- resulting in easily wearable, refined casual looks.
Back To Product View All From This DesignerMen's Size Chart
Product Details
Long, warm shawl collar wrap cardigan in a chunky textured knit with cable detail down the sleeves. Self tie belt at waist with belt loops. Single pocket at chest and raglan pockets at sides.
• unisex style: women order 1 size down
• 65% wool, 13% acrylic, 11% polyamide, 10% mohair
• dry clean only
• imported


text:
Last edited by createdbyjill; 01-01-2013 at 09:58 AM.
Oh.... a new fun day to shop!!! Thanks, Jill...
I'll one up you here!
If there is a kit you have been eyeballing (not a bundle or collab)...holler and I'll add it to the category!
These offers make me very greedy!
I do have 3 kits on my wishlist... "Beneath the WinterMoon" - "Essence of Summer" and "Indian Summer" ...
If you could add (one of) these?
Thanks anyway for the lovely $2,= offers!
All 3 have been added....now go shopping! LOL
On my way! Thanks!!!!


text:
Funeral services will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday, May 5, 2013, at M.J. Edwards Funeral Home Chapel in Memphis. Burial will follow at Delta Heights Cemetery in Cleveland.
Visitation will be one hour before the service.
She is survived by her sons, Larry Howard of Memphis and Melvin Townsend of Elkart, Ind.; daughters, Rosie Lee Townsend, Gloria Jean Townsend, Betty Henderson, Margaree Townsend and Shirley Townsend, all of Memphis; Pearlie Howard of California and Vickie Mason of Elkart, Ind.; brother, James Morris of Loraine, Ohio; sister, Josie Myles of Chicago, Ill.; 18 grandchildren; and 47 great-grandchildren.


text:
wednesday, january 28, 2015 11:11 am zst
eimai megalos loukoumas
on mon 1/26 at 8:17 pm
RIP Demis Roussos
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Syriza Wins Decisive Victory In Greece
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The forgotten history of how automakers invented the crime of "jaywalking"
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The Wrath of the Killdozer
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Joe Hutto accepted by wild Mule Deer
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Boehner's Bartender Turns On Him
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Snowsky Does Zorkie
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Patients do better when cardiologists are away at academic meetings
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More Guns, More Mass Shootings—Coincidence?
Sorry, Honey Boo Boo. :(
"Chicks With Pasty Butts" Doesn't Mean What You Think It Does
Posted by
franco cbi
on Dec 19, 2012 3:48 pm
no comments yet
recent comments
franco cbi
[ Tsipiras to Archbishop of Athens: Your Services Are Not Needed. ]/
franco cbi
[ #12 ]/ , [ #13 ]/ zorkmidden: Praying for Greece. :( [img]
Roussos, in an interview on Greek tv, he said that for the Kremlin concert, Putin had ordered the use of
[ Ave Maria ]/ From the Kremlin concert.
He sang with Luciano Pavarotti in a concert in Kremlin.
When I first met kianb he told me how much he loved Demis. Kian was the first person I knew
Needless to say my dad had all his albums and I grew up listening to his music.
On Saturday [ Demis Roussos ]/ died (kianb loved him as did all of Iran, Greece, and France) but his
Another thing that's hilarious is they plan to demand that Germany pays reparations to Greece for Wolrd War II which
The unrealistic promises that Syriza has made (debt relief, minimum wage €751, restoration of the "thirteenth salary" for Christmas, end
franco cbi
Correction - 164 seats and 54.67%.
franco cbi
Latest results (Wikipedia has more up-to-date results than the Washington Post - that's just embarrassing.) Total seats - 300.
franco cbi
[ #6 ]/ zorkmidden [ #3 ]/ franco cbi: what amazes me is that Golden
franco cbi
Syriza announced that they will form a coalition with the smaller Independent Greeks Party.
The good news is that the euro is at its lowest in 11 years which helps me for the rest
[ #3 ]/ franco cbi: what amazes me is that Golden Dawn, the fucking little Nazis, came in third
[ #4 ]/ franco cbi: you are not wrong. And Tsipras is also the youngest prime minister we've had
franco cbi
(Correct me if I'm wrong, please, Zorkie.)
franco cbi
This could be the first time since 1974 that both PASOK and New Democracy are shut out of the government.
franco cbi
Update - With 70% of the votes counted, Syriza has 49.67%. Looks like they have a chance at an absolute
franco cbi
' ...With 60 percent of the vote counted, Syriza had 36 percent, almost eight points ahead of the governing
I am only22 years i am having 3 week pregnancey i dont want baby now plz suggest me what i
' 100 years ago, if you were a pedestrian, crossing the street was simple: you walked across it.
[ #4 ]/ franco cbi: since [ here. ]/
franco cbi
Hey, how long has Bloggie been on Skyros time?
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text:
David's care for the ark. (1-3) God's covenant with David. (4-17) His prayer and thanksgiving. (18-29)
Verses 1-3 David being at rest in his palace, considered how he might best employ his leisure and prosperity in the service of God. He formed a design to build a temple for the ark. Nathan here did not speak as a prophet, but as a godly man, encouraging David by his private judgment. We ought to do all we can to encourage and promote the good purposes and designs of others, and, as we have opportunity, to forward a good work.
Verses 4-17 Blessings are promised to the family and posterity of David. These promises relate to Solomon, David's immediate successor, and the royal line of Judah. But they also relate to Christ, who is often called David and the Son of David. To him God gave all power in heaven and earth, with authority to execute judgment. He was to build the gospel temple, a house for God's name; the spiritual temple of true believers, to be a habitation of God through the Spirit. The establishing of his house, his throne, and his kingdom for ever, can be applied to no other than to Christ and his kingdom: David's house and kingdom long since came to an end. The committing iniquity cannot be applied to the Messiah himself, but to his spiritual seed; true believers have infirmities, for which they must expect to be corrected, though they are not cast off.
Verses 18-29 David's prayer is full of the breathings of devout affection toward God. He had low thoughts of his own merits. All we have, must be looked upon as Divine gifts. He speaks very highly and honourably of the Lord's favours to him. Considering what the character and condition of man is, we may be amazed that God should deal with him as he does. The promise of Christ includes all; if the Lord God be ours, what more can we ask, or think of? ( Ephesians 3:20 ) . He knows us better than we know ourselves; therefore let us be satisfied with what he has done for us. What can we say more for ourselves in our prayers, than God has said for us in his promises? David ascribes all to the free grace of God. Both the great things He had done for him, and the great things He had made known to him. All was for his word's sake, that is, for the sake of Christ the eternal Word. Many, when they go to pray, have their hearts to seek, but David's heart was found, that is, it was fixed; gathered in from its wanderings, entirely engaged to the duty, and employed in it. That prayer which is from the tongue only, will not please God; it must be found in the heart; that must be lifted up and poured out before God. He builds his faith, and hopes to speed, upon the sureness of God's promise. David prays for the performance of the promise. With God, saying and doing are not two things, as they often are with men; God will do as he hath said. The promises of God are not made to us by name, as to David, but they belong to all who believe in Jesus Christ, and plead them in his name.
2 Samuel 7:1-3 . NATHAN APPROVES THE PURPOSE OF DAVID TO BUILD GOD A HOUSE.
2. the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar--The palace which Hiram had sent men and materials to build in Jerusalem had been finished. It was magnificent for that age, though made wholly of wood: houses in warm countries not being required to possess the solidity and thickness of walls which are requisite for dwellings in regions exposed to rain and cold. Cedar was the rarest and most valuable timber. The elegance and splendor of his own royal mansion, contrasted with the mean and temporary tabernacle in which the ark of God was placed, distressed the pious mind of David.
3. Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart--The piety of the design commended it to the prophet's mind, and he gave his hasty approval and encouragement to the royal plans. The prophets, when following the impulse of their own feelings, or forming conjectural opinions, fell into frequent mistakes.
2 Samuel 7:4-17 . GOD APPOINTS HIS SUCCESSOR TO BUILD IT.
4-17. it came to pass that night, that the word of the Lord came unto Nathan--The command was given to the prophet on the night immediately following; that is, before David could either take any measures or incur any expenses.
11. Also the Lord telleth thee that he will make thee an house--As a reward for his pious purpose, God would increase and maintain the family of David and secure the succession of the throne to his dynasty.
12. I will set up thy seed after thee, &c.--It is customary for the oldest son born after the father's succession to the throne to succeed him in his dignity as king. David had several sons by Bath-sheba born after his removal to Jerusalem ( 2 Samuel 5:14-16 ; compare 1 Chronicles 3:5 ). But by a special ordinance and promise of God, his successor was to be a son born after this time; and the departure from the established usage of the East in fixing the succession, can be accounted for on no other known ground, except the fulfilment of the divine promise.
13. He shall build an house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever--This declaration referred, in its primary application, to Solomon, and to the temporal kingdom of David's family. But in a larger and sublimer sense, it was meant of David's Son of another nature ( Hebrews 1:8 ).
2 Samuel 7:18-29 . DAVID'S PRAYER AND THANKSGIVING.
18. Then went king David in, and sat before the Lord--Sitting was anciently an attitude for worship ( Exodus 17:12 , 1 Samuel 4:13 , 1 Kings 19:4 ). As to the particular attitude David sat, most probably, upon his heels. It was the posture of the ancient Egyptians before the shrines; it is the posture of deepest respect before a superior in the East. Persons of highest dignity sit thus when they do sit in the presence of kings and it is the only sitting attitude assumed by the modern Mohammedans in their places and rites of devotion.
19. is this the manner of man, O Lord God?--that is, is it customary for men to show such condescension to persons so humble as I am? [See 1 Chronicles 17:17 .]
20. what can David say more unto thee?--that is, my obligations are greater than I can express.


text:
Introducing Oakley Airbrake™, a performance snow goggle with an interchangeable lens design that helps you adapt to the environment and enjoy the best vision possible. Oakley Switchlock™ Technology makes lens changing fast and easy, and two lens colors are included with each goggle so you'll be ready for a range of conditions right from the get-go. Additional lens options are available, so no matter what the mountain has in mind, you&r;ll be able to keep up with changing light conditions and maximize both performance and safety.
A mountain can throw down more weather conditions than any other environment. From sunlight glaring off glacial ice to socked-in blizzards and mud-thick fog, the variance is extreme, and no single lens tint can provide optimal performance for every environment. The Oakley Airbrake snow goggle has an interchangeable lens design that lets you adapt to any light condition and match your vision to the environment, and it utilizes Switchlock Technology to make lens changing quick and easy.
Interchangeable lens designs are nothing new for goggles but conventional technology puts you at a disadvantage. Impact protection can be compromised. Uneven pressure can distort the lens shape, altering the optical properties and corrupting your vision. Changing the lens can be a real pain. Oakley solved all these problems with Switchlock Technology.
Switchlock Technology offers the most elegant and simple solution, and it does so while maximizing impact protection, eliminating visual distortion and giving you a fast and easy way to swap out the lens. Just rotate the lever of the locking mechanism. The mounted lens is released and the goggle is ready for whatever alternate lens you need. Your vision will be razor sharp and accurate, and you'll have protection that meets the gold standard: ANSI Z87.1 rated impact resistance.
Airbrake is optimized to fit medium to large faces, and the architecture offers all-day comfort. We crafted the durable yet lightweight frame with a rigid front and a flexible chassis, so the front eliminates pressure in the nasal area and maximizes airflow while the O Matter® chassis adapts for a perfect fit. Strap outriggers ensure pressure is distributed evenly, and we engineered them to work with or without a helmet. Along the facial contact area, this goggle has a triple layer of polar fleece foam that balances pressure and wicks away moisture.
Our pure Plutonite® lens material filters out 100% of all UV. To fight fog, we matched F3 anti-fog technology with a dual lens design: one lens on top of another with a thermal barrier between them. Two lens colors are included with the goggle so you'll be ready for a full spectrum of conditions. We created a full array of optional lenses so you can arm yourself with innovation and be ready for whatever the hill throws down.
Also available in: Asian Fit | Shaun White
Your satisfaction is guaranteed. If you are not satisfied with your purchase, please call Customer Care for a Return Authorization (RA) number within 45 days of receipt of product (15 days for wearable electronics). Customized product or product that has been abused may not be returned under any circumstances. For all other products, if the item is returned in the original packaging, we will exchange it or provide you a refund based on your original method of payment. The product must be returned to us within 30 calendar days of the issuance of the Return Authorization Number. All products must be packed in the original, unmarked packaging including any accessories, manuals, documentation and registration that was included with the product. Returns that do not meet these conditions may be subject to a restocking fee.
Follow these simple steps for a prompt refund:
Locked Bag 3002
Padstow, NSW 2211
Customized products are not returnable or refundable.
All products being returned must have a Return Authorization number in order for a prompt refund. Product must be returned within 30 days of issuance of Return Authorization number. Original freight charges are not refundable.
You must request a Return Authorization number for electronic products within 15 days of the date of original purchase. Securely package items as we are not responsible for any items lost or damaged in transit.
You must request a Return Authorization number for all other products within 45 days of the date of original purchase. Securely package items as we are not responsible for any items lost or damaged in transit.
Unless prohibited by law, a 10% restocking fee will be charged for all wearable electronics when the factory seal has been broken.
Additional fees will be charged for any product missing the original box, packaging material, contents, accessories, and/or manuals (i.e. any product not in "sellable" condition).
Note: We only accept returns on items purchased from Oakley.com.au. Items purchased from an Authorized Oakley retailer must be returned to the place of purchase.


text:
Welcome to
Sellinger School of Business and Management
Karyl B. Leggio, Ph.D., dean of the Sellinger School, is quoted in a special education section of the Baltimore Sun highlighting Baltimore business schools. Leggio discusses an agreement within a network of AACSB accredited business schools that allows Sellinger graduate students to complete their degrees overseas: "Our student population is mobile and may need to move during the course of their degree. An MBA is a big investment and we want them to graduate even if they move to another city. We utilize the network to provide flexibility to our students."
Read more about the Globalized Articulation Agreement that includes 22 U.S.-based Jesuit universities and five international schools.
For more information or questions regarding this story, contact Media Relations Manager Nick Alexopulos at email@example.com or 410-617-5025.


text:
The Mike and Ike Picnic Area features a pregame all-you-can-eat picnic. Field Level seats in Sections 133-134 are included in this group ticket package.
Menu includes: Ice cream, Brooklyn beef sliders, Nathan's hot dogs, chicken fajitas, baked beans, garden salad, watermelon and Pepsi products.
For more information on Mike and Ike Picnic Area Packages call (212) YANKEES or email email@example.com.
For groups interested in an alcohol beverage package, Legends Hospitality, LLC, the exclusive provider of concessions, catering, fine dining and merchandising at Yankee Stadium, offers an opportunity to purchase, at an additional per-person charge, an all-inclusive Mike and Ike Picnic Area Beverage Package. If you are interested, please speak with your Yankees representative. For Sunday day games, alcohol sales begin at 12 p.m.


text:
Roasting cauliflower brings out it's nuttiness flavor and caramelizes the edges. Combining it with garlic, lemon and olive oil and topping it with freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano makes this dish irresistible even to people who don't like cauliflower!
Oven Roasted Cauliflower
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Calories: 126 • Fat: 10.5 g • Carbs: 5.9 g • Fiber: 2.5 g • Sugar: 0 • Protein: 2.8 g
- 6 cups uncooked cauliflower florets (about 1 large) cut small
- 3 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- kosher salt and fresh pepper
- juice of 1/4 lemon
- 1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, freshly grated
Preheat oven to 450°F.
Combine cauliflower, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper well so all the florets are coated and seasoned. Place in a large shallow roasting pan and place in the center of the oven.
Roast for about 25-35 minutes, turning florets occasionally so they are evenly cooked. Remove from oven and top with Parmigiano Reggiano and additional salt and pepper if needed.


text:
Built for Skiers. The Atomic Skiwear Lookbook 14/15.
Richard Permin is an absolute beast of a freeskier. He makes massively daunting Alaskan lines look like child's play, after charging past avalanche slabs and sending 60 foot cliffs to perfect transition.
Richie looks at terrain differently to anyone else, finding hits to spin off and transitions to land on in areas others avoid. He spends his seasons filming with Matchstick Productions, spending months in Alaska scoping new zones to shred. His film segments are truly inspiring and show his passionate, no compromise attitude; he simply wants to push the limits of skiing in his own way.


text:
The Global Intelligence Files,
files released so far...
Index pages
by Date of Document
Our Partners
Al Akhbar - Lebanon
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Bivol - Bulgaria
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Russian Reporter - Russia
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Community resources
courage is contagious
The Global Intelligence Files
On Monday February 27th, 2012, WikiLeaks began publishing The Global Intelligence Files, over five million e-mails from the Texas headquartered "global intelligence" company Stratfor. The e-mails date between July 2004 and late December 2011. They reveal the inner workings of a company that fronts as an intelligence publisher, but provides confidential intelligence services to large corporations, such as Bhopal's Dow Chemical Co., Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon and government agencies, including the US Department of Homeland Security, the US Marines and the US Defence Intelligence Agency. The emails show Stratfor's web of informers, pay-off structure, payment laundering techniques and psychological methods.
Re: S3/G3* - UGANDA/US - More details on US deployment, use of War Powers Resolution
Released on 2012-10-12 10:00 GMT
Email-ID | 4073308 |
Date | 2011-10-18 22:30:07 |
From | email@example.com |
To | email@example.com |
List-Name | email@example.com |
crew-served weapons are normal, whats the point of highlighting them?
political motive to say "these guys are not school teachers"??
On 10/18/11 3:26 PM, Marko Primorac wrote:
Crew-served weapons are used in regular training, and, when you deploy
you take them.
Green Berets (who are special operators) are meant to go in and train
people -- that is their role / mission when not dropping scumbags on the
battlefield themselves.
From: "Colby Martin" <firstname.lastname@example.com>
To: "Analyst List" <firstname.lastname@example.com>, "paul.floyd"
Sent: Tuesday, October 18, 2011 3:01:38 PM
Subject: Re: S3/G3* - UGANDA/US - More details on US deployment, use of
War Powers Resolution
so it was a special forces unit and they are armed to the teeth. it is
ok folks, nothing to see here, its only africa. what the hell is going
paul, thoughts on who what when and why?
The official confirmed that Uganda had asked for the troops several
months ago, but no Special Forces unit was available until now.
On 10/18/11 2:58 PM, Marc Lanthemann wrote:
October 18th, 2011
Comments (Add comment)
Troops to Africa: not your typical advise and assist mission
By Pentagon Correspondent Barbara Starr
President Obama's decision to send 100 troops, mainly U.S. Special
Forces, to Uganda to help hunt down leaders of the violent Lord's
Resistance Army is not meant to be a combat mission. But the troops
will be well equipped if the need to fight arises, them CNN has
learned. The troops will have so-called "crew-served" weapons in the
field. These weapons, unlike a rifle or machine gun, requires more
than one person to operate them, such as one person loading ammunition
while the other person aims and fires.
The deployment of these particular combat weapons triggered the need
for the Obama administration to publicly notify Congress of the
operation under the War Powers Resolution, according to a Department
of defense official. That requirement demands that any time troops
are put into a country "equipped for combat" Congress must be told to
avoid any prospect of a secret war, the official explained.
Also, in this case, the US trainers were given a specific mission of
helping target Joseph Kony, the head of the Lords Resistance Army,
rather than just generalized counterterrorism and field training.
The official confirmed that Uganda had asked for the troops several
months ago, but no Special Forces unit was available until now.
The US military has had a longstanding relationship in helping train
Ugandan forces and attempting to help target Kony. In December 2008,
a 17-man team of military advisors and intelligence advisors from the
U.S. Africa Command helped plan and provide intelligence to go after
Kony, according to a US military official. That mission failed after
two weeks.
Colby Martin
Tactical Analyst
Colby Martin
Tactical Analyst


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