Picasso Dreams

Crude Facts

"...The availability of liquid fuel is one of the fundamental assumptions at all levels of U.S. military activities. From the tactical level of fighting to the operational level of war, and from operations to the highest levels of strategic thinking, “burning gas” (whoops, I mean “mobility fuel”) is built into all U.S. doctrine. Energy, and in particular energy derived from liquid fuel, is at the heart and soul of the U.S. military power."  Source

A recent article in the Army Times caught my eye.

"In a revised request for supplemental war funding for fiscal 2009, submitted May 2, defense officials have asked Congress to appropriate $3.69 billion for all fuels, a $2.2 billion increase over their initial request.

That, of course, looks far ahead and could still prove to be inadequate. According to Pentagon budget documents, the request would support a crude oil price of $97.19 per barrel — and also assumes that the military’s overall fuel costs will drop by 4.8 percent.

The current world price, however, has climbed to and is hovering around $120 per barrel, and many analysts think rising global demand and other factors will keep prices high.

And 2009 isn’t the only concern; the Pentagon needs more money for fuel to cover the remaining five months of this fiscal year.

This would come by way of the $108 billion war supplemental appropriation request, which has yet to be approved. The Pentagon has asked for a total of $1.9 billion for fuel, an increase of $281.4 million over its original supplemental request.

All told, that’s an additional $2.48 billion on top of the amounts included in the Pentagon’s 2008 and 2009 base budgets — and defense officials already acknowledge that the 2009 supplemental request won’t cover that entire fiscal year."

There is no way to tell the true cost of the Iraq war, especially with all these supplemental spending bills.  I find it curious that those shouting the most about global warming and peak oil are mute when it comes to the use of resources to wage wars in dozens of countries throughout the world.  Leaving Depleted Uranium aside, how many CO2 emissions come from tanks and warplanes?  How damaging is a missile defense shield to the ozone layer?  How much oil is pumped out of the ground and transported to military bases around the world for use in more tanks, warplanes, and navy carriers?

Wouldn't the easiest way to "correct" the environmental destruction caused by greenhouse gases be to eliminate the military?

Each month in Iraq, the US military consumes approximately 1.2 million barrels of crude oil (more than 50 million gallons of fuel).  These numbers do not include fuel subsidies from Kuwait.  You will be happy to know that through inept management, the administrative costs of overseeing the Kuwait subsidy has exceeded the value of the subsidy.  Whether these numbers include fuel usage for Blackwater and Hallibutons' activities in Iraq is uncertain, but probably not.  We probably compensate Halliburton for fuel at $128 dollars a gallon. 

A lot of people think that the US military can tap into the Iraqi oil supply.  No, that would be Israel.

The U.S. military purchases fuel on the open market, paying from $1.99 a gallon to as much as $5.30 a gallon under contracts with private and government-owned oil companies. The center then sets a fixed rate for troops, currently $3.51 a gallon for diesel, $3.15 for gasoline, $3.04 for jet fuel and $13.61 for a high-octane fuel used mostly in unmanned aerial vehicles.

U.S. MILITARY FUEL CONSUMPTION

2003: 145.1 million barrels   (397,500 barrels per day)

2007: 132.5 million barrels  (363,000 barrels per day)

U.S. MILITARY FUEL SPENDING

2003: $ 5.21 billion

2007: $12.61 billion

Percentage increase: 142 percent

 CRUDE OIL PRICE CHANGE SINCE BEGINNING OF IRAQ WAR

March 19, 2003: $ 29.88*

March 19, 2008: $103.25*

Percentage increase: 245 percent

Sources

The Plunge Protection Team at Work...Again

This is an example of how the Plunge Protection Team works.

The headline screamed, "Citi Is Beyond Repair" and Citigroup closed up a penny, and then another 48 cents today.  Who is it that is investing in Citigroup?  Shills of the Federal Reserve and the Plunge Protection Team, who have been going nuts with the printing presses and flooding the market with bizarre trades that  contradict every economic indicator.

Banking analyst Meredith Whitney blasted Citigroup's turnaround plan yesterday, saying the financial giant is so deep in a black hole that even renown physicist Stephen Hawking could not help the ailing company.

 

"We wish [Citi's] management team all the best in their ambitious endeavors, but we fear [it] is past the point of fixing," quipped the Oppenheimer analyst known for her forecast that the company would slash its dividend.

The biting remarks, in the form of a research note to clients, came on the heels of Citi's long-awaited turnaround plan, unveiled by the bank's executive team on Friday.

In a nearly four-hour presentation with investors and analysts, CEO Vikram Pandit said the bank aims to get rid of $400 billion in noncore assets but otherwise rejected calls to boost the stock by spinning off units.

Hacking the Mind

From Dissent:

“We need a program of psychosurgery for political control of our society. The purpose is physical control of the mind. Everyone who deviates from the given norm can be surgically mutilated.

The individual may think that the most important reality is his own existence, but this is only his personal point of view. This lacks historical perspective. Man does not have the right to develop his own mind. This kind of liberal orientation has great appeal. We must electronically control the brain. Someday armies and generals will be controlled by electric stimulation of the brain." -- Dr José Delgado, Director of Neuropsychiatry, Yale University Medical School Congressional Record, No. 26, Vol. 118 February 24, 1974.

The Guardian newspaper, that defender of truth in the United Kingdom, published an article by the Science Correspondent, Ian Sample, on 9 February 2007 entitled:

‘The Brain Scan that can read people’s intentions’, with the sub-heading: ‘Call for ethical debate over possible use of new technology in interrogation”.

“Using the scanner, we could look around the brain for this information and read out something that from the outside there's no way you could possibly tell is in there. It's like shining a torch around, looking for writing on a wall”, the scientists were reported as saying.

Read the rest of "Hacking the Mind" here.

Haves and Have Nots

"Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.”  -- Epicurus

Counter Culture Covert Op?

What do Frank Zappa, David Crosby, Jackson Brown, Mama Cass, Jim Morrison, John Phillips, Stephen Stills, Mike Nesmith (Monkees), Cory Wells (Three Dog Night), America (Gerry Beckley, Dan Peek and Dewey Bunnell), and Warren Zevon, have in common?

All became leading members of the counter-culture within a few years time.  The majority came from military/intelligence families.

Excerpt:

http://www.davesweb.cnchost.com/nwsltr93.html

Given that Zappa was, by numerous accounts, a pro-war, rigidly authoritarian control-freak, it is perhaps not surprising that he would not feel a kinship with the youth movement that he helped nurture. And it is probably safe to say that Frank’s dad also had little regard for the youth culture of the 1960s, given that Francis Zappa was, in case you were wondering, a chemical warfare specialist assigned to – where else? – the Edgewood Arsenal. Edgewood is, of course, the longtime home of America’s chemical warfare program, as well as a facility frequently cited as being deeply enmeshed in MK-ULTRA operations. Curiously enough, Frank Zappa literally grew up at the Edgewood Arsenal, having lived the first seven years of his life in military housing on the grounds of the facility. The family later moved to Lancaster, California, near Edwards Air Force Base, where Francis Zappa continued to busy himself with doing classified work for the military/intelligence complex. His son, meanwhile, prepped himself to become an icon of the peace & love crowd. Again, nothing unusual about that, I suppose.

Zappa’s manager, by the way, is a shadowy character by the name of Herb Cohen, who had come out to L.A. from the Bronx with his brother Mutt just before the music and club scene began heating up. Cohen, a former U.S. Marine, had spent a few years traveling the world before his arrival on the Laurel Canyon scene. Those travels, curiously, had taken him to the Congo in 1961, at the very time that leftist Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba was being tortured and killed by our very own CIA. Not to worry though; according to one of Zappa’s biographers, Cohen wasn’t in the Congo on some kind of nefarious intelligence mission. No, he was there, believe it or not, to supply arms to Lumumba “in defiance of the CIA.” Because, you know, that is the kind of thing that globetrotting ex-Marines did in those days (as we’ll see soon enough when we take a look at another Laurel Canyon luminary).

Making up the other half of Laurel Canyon’s First Family is Frank’s wife, Gail Zappa, known formerly as Adelaide Sloatman. Gail hails from a long line of career Naval officers, including her father, who spent his life working on classified nuclear weapons research for the U.S. Navy. Gail herself had once worked as a secretary for the Office of Naval Research and Development (she also once told an interviewer that she had “heard voices all [her] life”). Many years before their nearly simultaneous arrival in Laurel Canyon, Gail had attended a Naval kindergarten with “Mr. Mojo Risin’” himself, Jim Morrison (it is claimed that, as children, Gail once hit Jim over the head with a hammer). The very same Jim Morrison had later attended the same Alexandria, Virginia high school as two other future Laurel Canyon luminaries – John Phillips and Cass Elliott.

Read the rest here.

Burma Cyclone #2

Burma Cyclone

This is an adaptation I made of an image from cyclone-torn Burma.  I put this in the Art of War category because of it's destructive nature.

The House of Cards and the Coming Economic Collapse

From Rumor Mill News:

EVERYONE WILL BE AFFECTED BY THE COMING ECONOMIC RECESSION-DEPRESSION-COLLAPSE

*1 May 08*

*I have seen numerous explanations in the media of "why the US is slipping into recession", "why the US Dollar is rapidly slipping in value against other currencies", "why the current economic situation may slip into a short and shallow recession this year, and then fully recover", etc. The truth lies elsewhere. I'll try to explain.*

*"MORTGAGE FORECLOSURES WILL ACCELERATE TO SUCH AN EXTENT THAT MORE THAN 90% OF **U.S.** HOMEOWNERS WILL LOSE THEIR PLACES OF ABODE. AT THAT LEVEL OF FAILURE, THE BIG COMMERCIAL BANKS WILL BE RENDERED OBSOLETE…."  (ALLEN GREENSPAN, FORMER CHAIRMAN FEDERAL RESERVE BANK, AS PUBLISHED IN "THE DEAL" IN OCTOBER 7, 2007)*

*That comment was published in "DEAL", a national magazine intended for high-level investors and merger/acquisition professionals in October of last year (2007).*

*This prediction is from the man who most recently was, for nineteen years, the man in charge of what is essentially the US "central bank". He was the Federal Reserve Chairman and it is doubtful that anyone alive knows more about our economy and our monetary system than him. He's made predictions before and they have generally been accurate. *

*Consequently, we believe his statement above (within a reasonable margin of error) is correct.*

*In light of the sub-prime mortgage loan debacle, and its continuing and expanding effect on major US, and now foreign, banks, the balance of the US lending, investment, and insurance industries, and the US Dollar foreign exchange rates, Greenspan's comment certainly commands our full attention. In fact, his prediction is probably well along in the process of "coming true." *

*If we are prepared to believe such events as the recent Bear-Stearns "bailout", the giant infusions of Federal Reserve capital into ailing banks, other large businesses which have recently reported very large losses, and the recent closure of thousands of retail outlets by large businesses, portend further "bad news". I firmly believe that is the correct conclusion.*

*I heard something similar last March when I received a report from an associate who had recently met with a high-ranking US Treasury officer. That information contained predictions of the dire circumstances we are now experiencing, as well as far-worse events which may lie in our future. *

*In fact, one of the reported research projects being conducted by the US Treasury (not the "US Department of Treasury"—that is a completely different organization) is "what will happen if the US financial system collapses?" Because of the source of that information, I took that report very seriously. Mr. Greenspan's predictions are even more compelling. A plethora of recent economic and monetary events, both US and worldwide, strongly indicate we should listen carefully.*

*There seems to be in the US, difficulty identifying the cause of our current financial malaise which many of the pundits are now calling a "recession." I believe I have put my finger on the core mechanism which is the cause and source of our deepening financial malaise and it is not what the pundits have published. In fact, I have found only one published economist who I believe has come close to understanding our national fiscal situation although I believe he is unaware of the core underlying cause. There are surely others of whom I am not aware, but I suspect not many.*

*There is a slim chance that the US can avoid total economic and financial collapse (more on that in a future document)—but in essence, we agree with Mr. Greenspan but perhaps from a different viewpoint.*

*Hint: The current high price of oil is a negative economic factor in the US economy, but it is more an "indicator" and is dwarfed by a much larger and more potent situation.*

*Below is my underlying logic.*

*The US derivative market open interest was published in early autumn, 2007, by the London Financial Times as having a value of approximately $780 Trillion. That's correct—Seven Hundred and Eighty Trillion Dollars. Most of us don't believe that much money exists. I didn't, but apparently it does.*

*Most recently the Bank for International Settlements announced the figure of $520 Trillion for current US derivative open interest, while another party set the figure at $430 Trillion. We believe the source of disagreement is the fact that a high percentage of derivative business is "silently done off balance-sheet" and therefore is not easily detected and accounted. I believe the most reliable figure is that of the London Financial Times.*

*By way of comparison, the entire annual World Gross National Product for last year is estimated at about $60 Trillion.*

*Essentially, derivatives are securities which derive their existence and value from some aspect of an underlying security or securitized instrument(s). Often the derivative has the right to receive cash flow but has no other legal or collateral right to any underlying asset.*

*For example, a bank could aggregate one thousand mortgage loans, "securitize" them, and then sell economic interests (derivatives) in the interest portion (or the equity portion, or both) of the payment stream.*

*Banks, investment, finance and insurance companies form and sell derivatives from several types of debt or financial instruments, while one type of derivative provides "debt insurance." Banks, investment, finance and insurance companies are also heavy purchasers of derivatives.*

*As mentioned above, a very significant problem with most cash-flow derivatives is that they usually have no collateral interest in the underlying asset(s). Their rights are only to the cash flow, and when the cash flow reduces or stops, the value of the derivative proportionally reduces or goes to zero accordingly. *

*The insurance derivative also becomes a liability if cash flow ceases, as the owner of that derivative has contracted to fully cover any shortfall which befalls the cash-flow derivative. *

*Adding to the problem is that many, if not most, derivatives are either bought on margin, or otherwise financed. When the value of the derivative declines, the lender issues a "margin call." I understand there have recently been many unmet margin calls, which in turn causes financial problems for the lender, usually the bank behind the investment banker.*

*And apparently that has been happening a lot lately. Many, if not most, large financial institutions both created and bought derivatives. That has been one of the greatest financial "secrets" of the past several decades.*

*Apparently most derivative sales have been accomplished through a little known and understood securities "loophole". The sale of unregistered securities by a "Qualified Institutional Investor" to another is allowed under the "Rule 144A exclusion." Under that regulation, a transaction between financially qualified participants is, by law, entirely private (not registered). The 144A regulation stipulates that the transaction is neither regulated nor reported by/to any part of the US government. *

*Participants in that market have made immense amounts of money over the past decades, but that part of the economic cycle is definitely over. *

*It has been difficult to detail the Dollar amount of derivatives which are in trouble, but I am told by parties who have some knowledge of the scale of the problem that as many as forty percent or more of the open interest derivatives are in "trouble". Further, many, if not most, derivatives were purchased "on margin", and now investment houses and banks have issued margin calls, many of which remain unsatisfied because the purchasing principals do not have the necessary liquidity to satisfy said demands.*

*The source of this nation's economic problem which has led to what at this time is a recession, lies in two facts: 1) The size of the open interest derivatives in trouble is immense, and 2) the income upon which many of said derivatives is not currently being realized. The only possible conclusion is that the derivative market in some major segments has collapsed or is currently in the process of doing so.*

*Since the bulk of the derivative market participants are "qualified institutional investors", that means that the parties in trouble are at the top of the economic "pecking order", in other words, the largest banks, investment bankers and insurance companies. And I doubt they collectively have the financial capacity to effectively deal with their financial shortfalls.*

*The Federal Reserve Bank has recently stepped in with some major cash contributions to the largest of banks; the Fed has changed its policy so that they will lend to banks against real estate mortgages as collateral, but on the other hand, they recently forced the "fire sale" of one of the largest investment banking houses, Bear-Stearns.*

*The Fed can maintain their "bail-out" policy indefinitely by just ordering more money to be "created." That strategy is at work as I write, and that is the principal reason the value of the Dollar is presently in such steep decline.*

*And therein is the core of the problem. The derivative market is collapsing. Even if only 40% of it becomes valueless, that means the Fed must create and issue another $320 Trillion to cover the problem. I'm not an economist so I can't offer a definitive answer to the question, "What will a US Dollar be worth when that happens?" My educated guess is "nearly nothing." I believe so because the immediate derivative value deficiency is at least six-plus times the World aggregate Gross National Product. And the problem is not bounded by the US border—related problems are appearing in Europe and Asia. *

*As my grandfather often said, "If you keep on doing what you're doing, you are going to get more of what you have been getting." Grandpa was not an educated person but he was wise. As a nation, we must immediately "change course".*

*Many derivatives are listed, and therefore publicly traded. A smaller percent of them are in trouble because the offering principals and the purchasers must adhere to SEC rules.*

*Now let us turn to a slightly different subject-the US stock markets, and the strength of the US Dollar.*

*While it is true that the stock market has experienced several precipitous falls since August, 07, and that fact has attracted major attention, a better measure of the US the economy's health is the US dollar value against other currencies, particularly the Euro. The Dollar has experienced major devaluations during the past year, and now continues to substantially fall in relative value each month.*

*The US economy was demonstrably not up to the shock it has received since July 07, and is probably even less able to absorb the economic and monetary buffets it is about to receive.*

*In essence, I believe everyone will be affected by the coming ECONOMIC RECESSION-DEPRESSION-COLLAPSE—now I've said it--and I believe it's very close. I wish it were otherwise, but the bible scripture which states, "My people perish for lack of vision" is absolutely true—and it is about to be proved again.*

*The best advice I can give is use your own instincts, knowledge and resources. Don't listen to, believe or act upon what you read or hear in the popular media. They are probably wrong. Get rid of all the US currency you have except what you will need for the next few weeks. *

*I exchanged my Dollars for Euros some time ago. When I need more dollars, I exchange Euros at my bank. Get entirely out of the US stock, bond and commodities markets unless you have a business reason to be there. *

*For example, if you are a farmer you can use options to guarantee the least price for your crop (as long as the bottom does not fall out of our economic system), but DON'T speculate on anything else.*

*I suggest you plant as big a garden as you are able. If the economy collapses, and that is not a minor probability, food at the grocery store will become very expensive, if indeed it is available at all. Stock up on preserved and staple foods, and fill your freezer. In as many ways as you can imagine, and as much as you are able, become as self-sufficient.*

*The greatest problem I can identify is that nearly everyone has little to protect other than a large debt load and a job. If that describes you, the reader, or friends and family, there are actions you/they should take beginning now. That will probably require some real effort and significant near-term sacrifice for most, but that you/they act immediately is absolutely necessary if you/they intend to financially survive.*

*In stark but realistic terms, that could mean that you and your family have a home instead of sleeping on the street, and that you eat food you prepare in your own kitchen rather than receiving food handouts.*

*On the other hand, there are a few who are financially able, and will prepare for whatever the coming financial situation delivers. They will probably survive with some degree of comfort and security, and in time, will probably financially prosper.*

*So the question is, "In which category will you land?" I suspect many really don't know the answer to that question. But equally, you all know where you want to be. I believe time is short for you to decide and act on your "survival strategy." *

*Of course, one of your alternatives is to "not act." Another name for that choice is "guaranteed failure."*

*All the information I receive, and believe is credible, indicates very strongly is that the time to act defensively is now and will endure for only a short time.*

*Sincerely,*

*Yoda*

Blissed Out

Maya the Howler Monkey gorges on cantaloupe!

Nicaraguan Transportation

This photo was taken from my backyard. The road is at least 1/2 a kilometer away, hence the fuzziness.

This image was taken from inside my car on the Pan American highway.  Yes, I feel grateful that I have transportation of my own.

Sunset on Anna Maria Island

Anna Maria Island at Sunset
Copyright Kelly Ann ThomasAll rights reserved.

See more photos of Anna Maria Island here.

Aldous Huxley Quote

'Only a large-scale popular movement toward decentralization and self-help can arrest the present tendency toward statism... A really efficient totalitarian state would be one in which the all-powerful executive of political bosses and their army of managers control a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced, because they love their servitude. To make them love it is the task assigned, in present-day totalitarian states, to ministries of propaganda, newspaper editors and schoolteachers.'
-- Aldous Huxley