Gaius Octavius

I just discovered your blog. You do good work. Thanks for the compliment. See you in the trenches, Bro.

Sorry, I hit the button twice.

It is good to know something personal about ones friends. It helps to keep possibly hurtful comments from any dialogue.

The important thing is, did you get paid?

Treason! High Treason!!! I see it all now. Kudlow & Krew put Moon in irons. The Supremes say that it is OK to whack Moon in the florida chair. Rusty florida screws, screw up the work. Moon's head is set alight! Do you think that it is a good idea to notify the Romans that their U.S. lira are now being backed by unknown CDO's? Why does St. Bennie the Beard want to keep their content and quality a secret? Are they using Moody's and S&P as a guide to quality? Whose guesses are they using to price the stuff? Do the Primary Dealers have to buy Fed stock? Once again, G.O. to the rescue. congress should set up the Federal Investment Bank Reserve (FIBR). Dr. Greenspun could head it up. Carly Fiorina can run the Closed Market Committee. You can be treasurer - so long as I get my pagan share of the loot. Pray let us cogitate together now. Is it not these self same investment banks that are kind enough to want to invest our meager coin and make billionaires of us? So, then, why oh why, did not Bear Siht go to Sihtigroup for advice? Or for that matter, their own investment advisers? Do any of you know that once upon a time there was a Pope Gaius?

Actually, it surprises me that you got that far.

DoLl, get a grip and an A/C.

Sorry to go Weren't Romans supposed to die before being captured? If they escaped from captivity, weren't they supposed to wear some sort of cap to indicate their shame?

Greetings & Salutations: In re the new $5 bill - good for one gallon of petrol: Soon, it will be a Ten Spot! Follow me: It costs a little less than 10 bucks to get oil out of the ground. The 'Spot' market is ~ +$110/barrel. But, I lied saying that oil comes out of the ground - it is produced by the 'Spot' market. Get it so far? It is well known that such as Exxon have no $10 oil. (As a matter of fact, they have no oil at all!) No depletion allowances, (aka nanny government tax subsidy), for that which they did not produce, but found in the ground. Still with me? Ergo, one must conclude that the problem is in the 'Spot' market. Yes? Now, if the 'players' in the 'Spot' market had to take/make delivery of oil futures, the price would tumble to ?. Or just as good, raise the margin requirements to 100%! Still here? Good. Let us amble together unto the Sub Prime Fraud: In days of old, when community banks existed by the gaggles, a president would have a cup of joe in the local diner with the early wandering farmers and business men. Yea!, I say unto you, he might even take toast with a member of the Great Unwashed! When called upon to make loans or mortgages, the prez could read and understand financial statements! He never packaged his loans and palmed them off to others. Putting exceptionally little trust in sleazy schiesters or lying CPA's, he corroborated the info. He required a decent down payment for mortgages and collateral for most business loans. Now let us charge into the more recent past. Some while back, a couple of most intelligent and all knowing statistician/economists wrote up a paper in a Federal Reserve Bank (of somewhere) Review. They proved beyond any doubt whatsoever, with enough statistics and formulas to build a neutron bomb, that now that 'derivatives' had been discovered, the Circle of Risk had been closed! The No-Risk; No Profit Theory was now consigned to Hades! Humungus profits were now guaranteed. Since all the stops were pulled on regulation, and the regulators and bond raters were safely in the thrall and pockets of investment, merchant and commercial bankers, Collateralized Debt (of all sorts) Obligations could be conjured up by the most worthy investment bankers and their lackey liars (Sorry! Sorry!, I meant lawyers.). These little beauties were to be laid off on those seeking yield. Such honest men went about convincing real estate types of all greedy stripes (Yes!, even their own hungry frauds.), to convince anyone who asked for a mortgage, that he could afford one. Why that's why we have Adjustable Rate Mortgages. (In effect, borrow short; buy long.) Why LIBOR is your best friend. One day we will introduce you to HIBOR. And the masses were over joyed and completely shafted. Why some even announced that they would name their last born Libor. The prices for used toilet paper constructed shacks climbed upwards to Uranus. I am as rich as Croesus cried the polloi. Bring me credit cards!!! Now we all know that lawyers can only say 'yes' in nothing less than a thousand pages. Thus, the I.B's and L's concocted these CDO's. Neither they, nor the good folk they were to palm them off on, knew what these CDO's were/are. So the banks said unto themselves, we must take advantage of these instruments that we know nothing of. After all, why should we worry? It's really only depositor/creditor money we are playing with. But, it came to pass that something was amiss (or was/is it?). All sorts of 'banks' claim that they are losing bundles. We must go to Sovereign Funds and leeches to get us out of this Serbonian mess. Why should we worry about watering our stock said the gangs at the tops of the corporate ladders. It's not our money. We used back dated options for ours. We're 'in the money' by a long shot. Anyone know what any IBOR is? Never mind. Thence it came to ground that Bear, Siht was in a mound of poo. J.P. Morgan-Chase Malignancy in for the kill (I meant rescue.). Frankly, I am still not sure if JPM has aggregated Ursus Siht unto itself or not. Now enters the Bearded Liberarian, St. Bernanke, who, along with Mr. Greenspun knew all, but didn't call the gendarmes. Quoth St. B. to JPM: You may deposit any worthless or troubling CDO's at the RE-Discount Window. And any Primary Dealers may follow suit. Anyone know what a P.D. is? It ain't Laybach & Whachit, your friendly broker. At last the god-Consul enters - stage right! Hold up there St. Bernanke! Why the blazes didn't you allow Bear Siht to go to the Window in the first place? Might there be much more to this? Let us investigate. Compared to the trillions of CMO's outstanding, only a paltry amount have actually gone the way of all flesh. Aha!, said Gaius. Could it be that Lord Effingham is paying a visit? One may 'buy' a tax loss, e.g., the one that exists at B/S. Or one may be created by marking down ones un-marketable inventory. One may use 'models', 'guesses', or whatever comes to mind in the case of CDO's. Now, assume that some honest folk are telling mere fibs, OK? A write down that does not come to fruition, means that the Treasury is being pilfered out of current tax revenue. Who knows, there may be another King Georgie-poo in the future. Then again, the whole Congress can be bought off to make life easier - for guess who? Some very short while back, Gaius said to Claudia, in one of his tender moments: Why don't the CENSORED children simply return the sub-prime mortgages to their teaser rates? Like the squirrel, She shrugged. Guess what? That is exactly what the Brits are now doing for a two year period! Did I forget to mention that Bulls and Bears make markets; pigs make a mess! ____________________________________________ Gaius would like to find something out. If he mis-spells a word here, a little red line appears under it. Right? No suggestions appear for repair of the blunder. Now, if Gaius knew how to spell the Shame on you G.O.! word in the first instance, he would not have erred! Your turn Moon - in easy language for my ancient wits. Done This Twenty-Fifth Day of April, In the Year of Grace, The Two Thousand and Eighth, At Dusthaven C. Octavius, Cos.

rw, where do the 'military tribunes' fit into your scheme?

Emigrate! - to alaska.

I couldn't agree more. Back in the 1950's, where did government get the verve to tell the rabble that M's hotdogs were made out of kangaroo, but told that the stuff was all beef and so priced? Didn't bother my Mother, she wouldn't let me eat offal. When the cat population of NYC became alarmingly low, the reason was found in the freezers of Chinese restaurants. Didn't bother me, I don't eat slops. Now dead chickens are being collected over in China, Laos, Viet-Nam, Thailand, etc., and being shipped over to America for the delectation of gourmands. Doesn't bother me in the slightest. By Imperial Edict, I have prohibited chicken in the Consular Household lo these many years. Look, the proper concern of government is war, and the repatriation of wealth to the proper citizens. It is wrong for the government to alert the polloi to the fact that cattle are loaded with penicillin. How will university researchers earn an honest living? How would the excess population be controlled?

Out of order, but this is especially for you: When you have a ' I Hate My Job' day, [even if retired you have those sometimes] try this: On your way home from work, stop at your pharmacy and go to the thermometer section and purchase a rectal thermometer made by Johnson & Johnson. Be very sure you get this brand. When you get home, lock your doors, draw the curtains and disconnect the phone so you will not be disturbed. Change into very comfortable clothing and sit in your favorite chair. Open the package and remove the thermometer. Now, carefully place it on a table or a surface so that it will not become chipped or broken. Now the fun part begins. Take out the literature from the box and read it carefully. You will notice that in small print there is a statement: 'Every Rectal Thermometer made by Johnson & Johnson is personally tested and then sanitized. ' Now, close your eyes and repeat out loud five times,'I am so glad I do not work in the thermometer quality control department at Johnson & Johnson.' HAVE A NICE DAY AND REMEMBER, THERE IS ALWAYS SOMEONE ELSE WITH A JOB THAT IS MORE OF A PAIN IN THE ASS THAN YOURS!

G-Man, glad that you are off of your necessary lithium. Rome is never so good as when you record her history.

God, please don't let me do it! Edit: Don't any of you wise guys on my 'Dirty Jokes' list get any ideas! So that's where you got the pictures then Cecil!!!! Nah, those were portraits of.... (God is good!) I mean the first one. The one Mal(icious)adict saw whilst eating something. (The poor The Augusta will go bananas when she gets to this. She gets only the 'Ladies Jokes'.) ----------------------------------------------------------------- A Muddy Tini on the Rocks with the olives in it suits me just fine, Nephele.

God, please don't let me do it! Edit: Don't any of you wise guys on my 'Dirty Jokes' list get any ideas!

I think that there are many more nuances to this subject, depending on when, where, what kind of unit, and the rank of the soldier, according to: "The Roman Soldier"; G.R. Watson; Cornell Univ. Press, 1993; starting on page 133. Too much for me to type. Maybe someone can get it on the web. I've lost all of my bookmarks. I don't think that the book is very expensive.

It shows that the pagans had the proper way of dealing with the gods: If you do this for me; I'll do this for you. With Christians (and others?), it's the opposite.

C., you are infamous! I have flown many an atomic bomber and commanded the Missouri - in my dreams, and in my cups! So, there! Tell me truly, do you get the points that I was trying to make?

I have every intention of being very severe with the G-Man, the Savage, and DoLl! And then there is Nephele, who started this prodigious infamy.

Were not the new non-aristocratic administrators of provinces and dioceses more rapacious than the aristocrats? Did not the over taxation and rapine of the eastern peasant farmers not reduce, and eventually destroy their loyalty to Rome, leaving them in the position of not caring who their overlord was? Insofar as conquering other countries is concerned, I think that the Romans conquered more for defensive reasons (broadly speaking), rather than for commercial or egotistical reasons. When countries trade, it is not in their interests to be at war. Both become enriched by trading. Personally, I do not believe that the Romans were such economic Neanderthals as to not recognize this. Had they conquered and retained Scotland, how many more legions would they have had to station there along with the four already stationed south and north of Hadrian's Wall, (which were there until the pay wagons stopped coming from Roma, and the number the most in any province)? Ditto for most of the other conquests suggested. As has been mentioned earlier, and elsewhere, legions are expensive. How much did Diocletion's depreciation (Help!, Moon. or MPC, my brain refuses to come up with the correct word!), of the currency have to do with all we are speaking of? Did any ethnic Greeks ever rule the Empire?

The point that I apparently did not make clearly, is, could manumitted slaves or Gaulish senators be adopted by the by patricians or anyone else?

C., when the legions were grouped together under a 'common' commander, did not each groups' commander command on alternate days? For example, Varro and Paullus at Cannae. "The Making of the Roman Army - From Republic to Empire"; Lawrence Keppie. This book might be helpful.

Maty, it is a mortal sin to call my alleged handwriting, 'handwriting'.

Sad that he never was in a World Series game.