Proud To Be American? You Should Be Ashamed by Karl Denninger
Posted at 12:13 Monday, June 15. 2009
We have seen the largest looting operation in history perpetrated against The American People.
Over $5 trillion dollars in junk securities were marketed and sold. They had a real value of about $2 trillion dollars; the other $3 trillion, roughly, was pure fiction.
The banks created and sold these throughout the world, with the full knowledge and support of Congress, The Fed, and the banks themselves.
It was pure fraud.
Granting someone a "mortgage" based only on whether they can fog a mirror is proof positive of malfeasance, unless you disclose this fact to the buyers of these securities - a fact that was not disclosed until after the securities blew up.
Lenders, builders and others pressured appraisers to "hit the numbers" to support these fraudulent deals. Proof of that is found in the nearly-10-year-old Appraisers Petition bearing thousands of appraiser signatures.
That ratings were a "mistake", either real or intentional, is a matter of now-known historical fact.
Americans have sat on their butts through all of this, allowed their 401ks and IRAs to be trashed, their supposed "home values" to be pumped and then destroyed, and their hopes, dreams, employment and house have all vanished into the ether of fraud.
When this came to light the banks went to Congress, and supported by The Fed's intentional draining of liquidity to create an immediate "crisis", they got a $700 billion bailout bill passed - one that you, your children and grandchildren, will have to pay for.
The government then passed another near-trillion-dollar "stimulus" bill claimed to hold unemployment to 8%. It did not, because it was yet another "papering over" of the fraud, but that bill your children and grandchildren, along with you, will also pay.
Your savings accounts and CDs now yield an effective zero.
Your credit card interest rates have gone from 11% to 29%, all so that the banks can keep granting ill-advised credit to people who can't pay. Those who can pay - the rest of you - are being jacked for 30% a year in interest.
We have seen a few "tea parties" in which a few people showed up and which were immediately panned by "those in power" as "astroturf."
Contrast with this.
A few days ago, Iran held an election. It is alleged that there was massive fraud. The current President claimed victory under less-than-clear circumstances.
The people said "hell no!" in this sort of demonstration:
That's about 2 million people, out of 70 million population (roughly), or one in thirty-five Iranians in the entire nation who took to the streets to demand justice in a simple vote.
More strikingly, Tehran has a population of roughly 12 million; this means that one in six citizens of the city are standing in that crowd.
This, despite the fact that the government there has been shooting people, has arrested the opposition party and issued an order to burn the ballots so there can be no recount.
This, despite the fact that the Iranian population does not enjoy a Second Amendment, and thus is forced to fight a rogue government with makeshift molotov cocktails, rocks and clubs, should that rogue government choose to shoot.
And this was about an election. A President. One man.
In our nation we have literally had 1/3rd of our GDP - that is, 1/3rd of everything you worked for last year - stolen by a bunch of fraudsters with the explicit cooperation and assistance of the government.
We should be seeing 10 million Americans literally closing Washington DC with peaceful protest in the streets - making the entirety of the downtown inaccessible to vehicles and the normal conduct of business impossible, were Americans to display the same sort of anger over an insult vastly more serious than that served upon the Iranian people.
If one in six Americans had enough in America's big cities, there would be one million people in the Streets of Chicago - enough to fill Chicago's Loop from Lake Michigan to I-90/94 and from The Chicago River to beyond Soldier Field, rendering the city core impassable. (Roughly double the crowd that shows up for the 4th of July Fireworks, to put it in perspective. "Greater Chicagoland" has a population of ~7 million)
The same in NY City would result in a crowd of 3.3 million people.
Where are you America?
In America, if the government turns into a goon squad, you have the constitutionally-protected ability to shoot back. In Iran you have no such ability as the Iranian government has never recognized the unalienable rights as set forth in our Declaration.
So in Iran the population risks mass death to protest.
In America the population risks loss of some income since you'd have to cut work.
The Iranians take to the streets; we take to our couches and have another beer.
Grow a pair of balls America.
The people of Iran are putting us to shame.
PS: Those threats appear not to have been idle either:
BREAKING NEWS: AP photographer sees pro-government militia fire at protesters, killing at least 1
The days .. the moment .. the pictures!!! .. so emotional so memorable .. truly historic .. and .. oh yes! .. the messages of support from so many places all over the world, brought very warm feelings .. yes too a feeling something was missing .. for now ..
the occasion brought memories of another fight for freedom .. 20 years ago ..
For two decades, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has remained a shadowy presence at the pinnacle of power in Iran, sparing in his public appearances and comments. Through his control of the military, the judiciary and all public broadcasts, the supreme leader controlled the levers he needed to maintain an iron if discreet grip on the Islamic republic.
But in a rare break from a long history of cautious moves, he rushed to bless President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for winning the election, calling on Iranians to line up behind the incumbent even before the standard three days required to certify the results had passed.
Then angry crowds swelled in cities around Iran, and he backpedaled, announcing Monday that the 12-member Council of Guardians, which vets elections and new laws, would investigate the vote.
“After congratulating the nation for having a sacred victory, to say now that there is a possibility that it was rigged is a big step backward for him,” said Abbas Milani, the director of Stanford University’s Iranian studies program.
Few suggest yet that Ayatollah Khamenei’s hold on power is at risk. But, analysts say, he has opened a serious fissure in the face of Islamic rule and one that may prove impossible to patch over, particularly given the fierce dispute over the election that has erupted amid the elite veterans of the 1979 revolution. Even his strong links to the powerful Revolutionary Guards — long his insurance policy — may not be decisive as the confrontation in Iran unfolds.
“Khamenei would always come and say, ‘Shut up; what I say goes,’ ” said Azar Nafisi, the author of two memoirs about Iran, including “Reading Lolita in Tehran.” “Everyone would say, ‘O.K., it is the word of the leader.’ Now the myth that there is a leader up there whose power is unquestionable is broken.”
Those sensing that important change may be afoot are quick to caution that Ayatollah Khamenei, as a student of the revolution that swept the shah from power, could still resort to overwhelming force to crush the demonstrations.
In calling for the Guardian Council to investigate the vote, he has bought himself a 10-day grace period for the anger to subside, experts note. The outcome is not likely to be a surprise. Ayatollah Ahmed Jannati, the council’s chairman, is one of Ayatollah Khamenei’s few staunch allies among powerful clerics. In addition, Ayatollah Khamenei appoints half the members, while the other half are nominated by the head of the judiciary, another appointee of the supreme leader.
“It is simply a faux investigation to quell the protests,” said Karim Sadjadpour, an Iran specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
Insert: WAS HOPING THAT NONE OF THEM WOULD SAY THAT .. even though most of us would have been thinking it.
Ayatollah Khamenei was an unlikely successor to the patriarch of the revolution, the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, and his elevation to the post of supreme leader in 1989 might have sown the seeds for the political crisis the country is facing today.
The son of a cleric from the holy city of Mashhad, Ayatollah Khamenei was known as something of an open-minded mullah, if not exactly liberal. He had a good singing voice; played the tar, a traditional Iranian stringed instrument; and wrote poetry. His circle of friends included some of the country’s most accomplished poets.
In the violence right after the overthrow of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, a bomb hidden in a tape recorder permanently crippled his right arm, and he was elevated to president in 1981 after another bomb killed the incumbent. He managed to attract the ire of Ayatollah Khomeini himself once, ironically, by publicly questioning some aspects of having a vilayat-e-faqih, or supreme leader system.
He also clashed repeatedly with Mir Hussein Moussavi, the powerful prime minister at the time. After being trounced in the official election results by Mr. Ahmadinejad, Mr. Moussavi, the reformist presidential candidate, challenged Ayatollah Khamenei in the one area where he has always been vulnerable: his religious credentials.
Mr. Moussavi wrote an open letter to the clergy in the holy city of Qom about the election results. By appealing to the grand clerics, he was effectively saying Ayatollah Khamenei’s word as supreme leader lacked sufficient weight.
Ayatollah Khamenei was elevated from the middle clerical rank, hojatolislam, to ayatollah overnight in what was essentially a political rather than a religious decision. He earned undying scorn from many keepers of Shiite tradition, even though Iran’s myth-making machinery cranked up, with a witness professing he saw a light pass from Ayatollah Khomeini to Ayatollah Khamenei much the way the imams of centuries past were anointed.
LOLOLOLOL .. amazing what the mind can create .. a passing light .. ROTFLMAO!
Still, lacking a political base of his own, he set about creating one in the military. It was the end of the Iran-Iraq war, and many senior officers returning from the front demanded a role in politics or the economy for their sacrifices. Ayatollah Khamenei became a source of patronage for them, giving them important posts in broadcasting or as leaders of the vast foundations that had confiscated much of the pre-revolution private sector.
“By empowering them, he got power,” said Mehdi Khalaji of the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
In the wake of the election debacle, questions are being raised about who controls whom. But over the years, Ayatollah Khamenei gradually surmounted expectations that he would be eclipsed.
“He is a weak leader, who is extremely smart in allying himself, or in maneuvering between centers of power,” said one expert at New York University, declining to use his name because he travels to Iran frequently. “Because of the factionalism of the state, he seems to be the most powerful person.”
But many analysts say the differences between factions have never been quite so pronounced nor public as in the past few days. Former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, once a close Khamenei ally who helped him become supreme leader, sent an open letter to him in the days before the election warning that any fraud would backfire, Mr. Milani noted. If he allowed the military to ignore the public will and to destroy senior revolutionary veterans, the decision would haunt him, Mr. Rafsanjani warned: “Tomorrow it is going to be you.”
Everyone speaking of Ayatollah Khamenei tends to use the word “cautious,” a man who never gambles. But he now faces a nearly impossible choice. If he lets the demonstrations swell, it could well change the system of clerical rule. If he uses violence to stamp them out, the myth of a popular mandate for the Islamic revolution will die.
“The Iranian leadership is caught in a paradox,” said Ms. Nafisi, the author of memoirs about Iran.
Ahmadinejad challenger calls off Tehran rally to avert further bloodshed Times Online .. June 16, 2009
Mir Hossein Mousavi salutes yesterday's mass rally in Tehran. He urged supporters to stay away today Philippe Naughton, and Tony Halpin in Yekaterinburg
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's main political rival today attempted to call off a mass protest in central Tehran in the face of government threats and a counter-demonstration that looked set to produce another day of violence.
At least seven people were killed yesterday in Iran's biggest street protests since the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and the prospect of two conflicting protests in Vali Asr Square prompted Mir Hossein Mousavi, the defeated challenger, to warn his supporters off.
Four days after Mr Ahmadinejad claimed a huge re-election win, the powerful Guardian Council offered a partial recount of disputed ballot boxes in response to complaints of massive electoral fraud.
The move by the country's highest legislative body appeared to be the first concession to the opposition after hundreds of thousands joined anti-government protests.
But many saw it as a ploy by the mullahs to buy time before their formal endorsement of Mr Ahmadinejad's victory. Mr Mousavi had asked the council of clerics to annul the election and re-run it, but they rejected that demand as impossible.
At least seven civilians were killed when members of the Basiji militia, a force of young Islamic hardliners, started shooting when their post came under attack during yesterday's mass rally.
State radio said that the building came under attack at the end of what it called an "illegal" demonstration.
"Some thugs in an organised and coordinated action, attacked and vandalised a number of public and government buildings," it reported. "A military post was attacked with the intention of looting its weapons. Unfortunately, seven of our citizens were killed and a number of them injured."
The death toll may actually have been higher. A nurse at western Tehran’s Rasoul Akram hospital said that 28 people with "bullet wounds" had been brought in last night, of whom eight had died.
Mr Ahmadinejad showed his contempt for the protests by visiting the Russian city of Yekaterinburg for a regional summit where his re-election was effectively endorsed not just by his hosts but other nations attending including China, India and Pakistan.
"It’s quite symbolic that the Iranian president arrived in Russia on his first foreign visit since re-election," Sergei Ryabkov, the Deputy Foreign Minister, told reporters in a briefing at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit, at which Iran has observer status.
"We welcome the fact that the elections have taken place, and we welcome the newly re-elected Iranian president on the Russian soil." Page 1 of 2 ////////////////////////////////////////
Mr Ahmadinejad had originally been scheduled to arrive at the conference yesterday and was forced to call off bilateral talks with his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev. Taking the floor at one of the summit meetings, Mr Ahmadinejad made no reference to the crisis at home, instead baiting the United States for its economic woes.
Yesterday's demonstrations saw hundreds of thousands on the streets and the pro-Mousavi protest on Vali Asr Square had been due to start at 5pm (1230 GMT).
The Islamic Propagation Council, one of the regime’s organs, issued a statement calling for a pre-emptive demonstration at the same square just an hour earlier.
"The ill-wishers of the Islamic revolution who cannot see a developed Iran are misusing the gatherings of some candidates, vandalising public property and attacking military centres, the police and the Basij with weapons," it said. Expert View Martin Fletcher Opening quote Mousavi has become the great hope for those who yearn for freedom. He is, however, an unlikely vessel for that ambition Closing quote Martin Fletcher
* More
* Post a comment
Times Archive
* Death toll in Iranian unrest increases as new riots break out, 1978
* Protesters shot down as Iran imposes martial law
* Iran MPs walk out on speech by Premier
Related Links
* PROFILE: Mousavi, the accidental reformer
* Khamenei poll fraud inquiry comes as a surprise
Multimedia
* LIVE: Iran in turmoil - updates
* Tech Central: 5 sites from inside Iran
* PICTURES: rivals clash
* BLOG: Twitter delays upgrade to help coverage
"It is time for the alert Iranian people to separate from the path of those who belong to deviant and violent currents and to foil their plots."
Faced with the possible violence, Mr Mousavi urged his supporters to avoid the square. "The moderates’ rally has been cancelled," his spokesman said.
According to the official figures, Mr Ahmadinejad won a massive 24.5 million votes in Friday's election against 13.2 million for Mr Mousavi. Mohsen Rezai, the former head of the elite Revolutionary Guards, came third with 678,240 votes or 1.73 per cent, while the reformist Mehbi Karroubi, a former parliamentary speaker, trailed with 333,635 votes or 0.85 percent.
It is not just Mr Ahmadinejad's margin of victory that has cast doubt on the result, however, but the speed with which 39.1 million votes were counted – and the fact that the incumbent enjoyed a consistent two-to-one lead even in his opponents' political strongholds.
In his first public comments on the election, President Obama said last night that he was "deeply troubled" by the violence in Iran, but said that it was up to the Iranians to "make a decision about who Iran's leaders will be".
"I think that the democratic process, free speech, the ability for folks to peacefully dissent, all those are universal values and need to be respected," Mr Obama said.
"Whenever I see violence perpetrated on people who are peacefully dissenting, and whenever the American people see that, I think they’re rightfully troubled."
Market Data 
Markets 
AI
