Gaius Octavius

The 144 million Euros is much, much less than it takes to keep the Italian politicos in splendor.

Be informed! Any American, i.e., one inhabiting the lands east of the Hudson River, can tell a hill billy from an American by his hair cut!

Would you please tell this barbarian Roman what this twaddle is all about?

I am not certain that the entire first sentence is true, but speculation and usury are high on the ladder. Isn't the second sentence obvious? Who is taking the hit on this sub-prime rip off? Who pays those unbelievable rates on their credit cards, save for the peasantry? Who has to go into bankruptcy under Chapter 7 rather than Chapter 13? As regards your comment, let me paraphrase our last elected president: 'Keep it simple, stupid'. (Not you.) Try this from my days as a logician: "The greater the extension, the less the comprehension." Well, you've got me started, and you know what I am sipping. Here goes: 'Hedge Funds'? Bull cackle! They are nothing more than 'Regulation T (Margin Requirements) Evasion Funds'! Their shareholders put a pittance up, and the banks supply the rest - with your money. Since the 'managers' get a grand slice of the alleged profits, they get taxed at long term capital gains rates - each year. But they do own a couple of shares. Now, let us assume that one owns stock in, and works for Citigroup, shouldn't his salary and dividends be taxed likewise, without going through a 69 page workout? Bank of America. Once the largest bank in the U.S. (And which could operate across two state lines.) When it was Giannini owned back in the 1970's, there was a 6% limit on what California municipalities could pay on their loans. Rates were substantially higher. But just as Giannini did during the Great Depression, making cheap loans to farmers and others (who never forgot), they underwrote 6% loans. Then some smaller hillbilly bank in north carolina took them over. They now have fees for their customers' having false teeth. One more. A hillbilly state in the upper mid-west (idaho?, iowa?) rid themselves of 'usury' rates. Merrill-Lynch soon opened a 'bank' there. ( After paying the politicos off.) Credit card companies soon followed. Sorry, one more. How many people in the world know what 'LIBOR' is? What does a rate now, have to do with a 'fixed' rate in the future? HIBOR is next!

How true! How true! Verity! Sir Basil

I doubt very much if the Federal Reserve and the Treasury would allow Citigroup to go belly up. The stocks of all these operations will take hair cuts though. So will their bonds, and bonds in general will take a hit. I believe that it will spread to other CDO's, such as car loans and credit cards. When you think about it, there are a handful of charlatans who might put the U.S., and perhaps the world, into a depression. Each one of those SOB's will come out smelling like roses. They put 'banks' into dire straits; get fired; and walk away billionaires. The dividends people are living on, will go to hell though. Not to forget the effect on the peasants' pensions. Mr. Greenspan says that he knew about it, but couldn't do anything about it. Why the blazes didn't he call the cops? (Brought most of this to the attention of the BBC.) Why should the Central Banks buck up the banks? It would seem wiser to buck up the peasants so that they could pay off their mortgages and keep the CMO's afloat. Why don't legislatures simply say that those mortgages are void and return them to their original rates? That would be an 'ex post facto' law. Can't do that; well except in the cases of the telephone companies that illegally gave up our telecommunications. This has never happened before! Bank deregulation? The S & L fiasco that the taxpayers had to bail out. Once upon a time investment and commercial banking were separated, because they did baddies prior to the mid 1930's. The dot com sham. The 'off balance sheet' scam. None of the 'boys' owned that crap. Now they own it. One little proviso: It's not their money! A couple of decades ago, when a security didn't have a market or a valid bid, it had to be marked to zero and the loss subtracted from your S.E.C. Net Capital. Now, with these CMO's, it seems that a 'matrix' can be set up to give them a non-existent value! Failing that, simply guess at a value! There is one more fraud that won't come to mind now. Had the former system existed, and the S.E.C. and bank examiners were doing their jobs, this might never come about. Well, it would have been, and will be something else. dubya's 'ownership society'! Yup! We own a slug of Citigroup. Can't afford to sell though.

* Man Utd 4-0 Dynamo Kiev * Man Utd qualify for the Champions League knockout phase with an easy win against Dynamo Kiev. Full story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/-/sport1/hi/fo...ope/7076590.stm The Augusta's ruffians were very cruel to those nice Ukranians!

A whole page! This, of course, means that I will be Knighted by The Queen! Sir Basil! Yeeeeeeeesss! Goes well; very well with my superior status.

Thank you. Actually, I've been to Utica. I wanted to rip my guts out. Oh!, what an opening I missed!

"2. Similar to #1 above. Anytime someone happens to search for a term that happens to be a well indexed page on UNRV, than they will probably find us. Does one relatively obscure search term mean alot of traffic? No, but again, if someone does search for it, they probably end up here at some point. As a sample, I don't know how many will search for Pater Arcanae, but if someone does... check this out http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=p...le+Search" Yeeeeeeeesssssss! I am #1 there! Crow will be served for dinner tonight - cold.

Congratulationis, magnus P! He speaks Greek.

1) It means we have been sabotaged by our Nebatean foes. Those micro-nation witches probably cast some black spell on us. You are no doubt a fifth column for our foes, and they are promoting you as the front man for an insidious insurrection against the UNRV Senate. [You Tyrants deserve no less!] 2) This is vile treachery, by the gods. It shall be crushed. I appoint MPC as prosecutor against Gaius Octavius, suspected Enemy of the State. Ha! Twaddle! Not even Cicero could convict the god-Consul! 3) Secret agents in service of their nefarious scheme ... as you well know! [so, its you who sabotages my posts!

I missed that particular comment. May the Imperial gods pay particular attention to it.

Listen, you reprobate: 'Y'all'; "tree", 'mon'... [...going to invade Eyeran.], etc. Are you saying that there are more funny pronunciations the further south and west you go? Why not say that there are more funny pronunciations the further north and east you go? It seems completely jingoistic to think that the dialect of one's own neighborhood sets the standard by which all other dialects are judged. I could hardly understand my beloved Texan aunt when she spoke with her brother. They understood me without a problem. As a salesman, I was taught to speak with that flat mid-western accent. Those yokels understood, but preferred my Brooklynese.

Paul, or any Roman citizen, would have had to carry quite a passport with himself. Nephele?

Listen, you reprobate: 'Y'all'; "tree", 'mon'... [...going to invade Eyeran.], etc.

Huh? Did I spell something wrong?

Is it not possible that the farther west and south that they go, the more sui generus they are?

Even after 30 years here, I haven't lost it. They call it 'mid-Atlantic' here! Good gods, what are you talking about? You are 25 years old at best! Stop lying! You're not me. Are you doing any thing this Saturday?

CENSORED

Thank you Klingon. We'll get to the denoument of this mystery bit by bit. Mayhaps, this time next year. If I am not .

I really don't see why you bother. The Pats are going to take the Big Prize - again.

It's always so very pleasant to hear from N. & P.P., however, they might just as well have told me about breakfast, or the size of their shoes. Did my questions come up in runes?

You're just jealous because I am World Famous! http://www.google.com/search?q=%22Diurnal+...lient=firefox-a