Breeding For Fun And Profit

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

It was only a matter of time before something like this happened.
In our celebrity obsessed culture where everyone is seeking their 15 minutes of fame, this woman knew that if she pulled off her adventures in breeding, she would get paid for interviews and photographs. No doubt she will also get free clothing, food, baby supplies, toys etc. from corporate America that wants product placement. Eventually there might even be a reality show!

I'm not buying any of her story about her motivation coming from being a lonely only child.

If she had truly wanted a big family she could have raised foster children instead of having 14 by in vitro.

Sorry....but I think that she is a totally calculating media whore.

Every Day Is A Great Day Now - The 4 Lessons

So here you have it

A first hand account of flight #1549

SERIOUSLY...TAKE TIME TO READ THIS

"Every day is a great day now."

As many of you now know, Gerry McNamara (New York/Charlotte) was on US> Airways Flight 1549 last week. We caught up with him to discuss the> harrowing incident and - in a departure from our usual format - present> his stirring account as told to us:

Thursday was a difficult day for all of us at the firm and I left the> Park Avenue office early afternoon to catch a cab bound for LaGuardia> Airport. > > I was scheduled for a 5pm departure, but able to secure a seat on the> earlier flight scheduled to leave at 3PM. As many of us who fly> frequently often do, I recall wondering if I'd just placed myself on a> flight I shouldn't be on!

Just prior to boarding I finished up a conference call with my> associate, Jenn Sparks (New York), and our placement, the CIO of United> Airlines. When I told him that I was about to board a US Airways flight,> we all had a little fun with it. > > I remember walking on the plane and seeing a fellow with grey hair in> the cockpit and thinking "that's a good thing... I like to see grey hair> in the cockpit!"

I was seated in 8F, on the starboard side window and next to a young> business man. The New York to Charlotte flight is one I've taken what> seems like hundreds of times over the years. We take off north over the> Bronx and as we climb, turn west over the Hudson River to New Jersey and> tack south. I love to fly, always have, and this flight plan gives a> great view of several NY landmarks including Yankee Stadium and the> George Washington Bridge.

I had started to point out items of interest to the gentleman next to me> when we heard a terrible crash - a sound no one ever wants to hear while> flying - and then the engines wound down to a screeching halt. 10> seconds later, there was a strong smell of jet fuel. I knew we would be> landing and thought the pilot would take us down no doubt to Newark> Airport. As we began to turn south I noticed the pilot lining up on the> river still - I thought - en route for Newark. >

Next thing we heard was "Brace for impact!" - a phrase I had heard many> years before as an active duty Marine Officer but never before on a> commercial air flight. Click for more...

Everyone looked at each other in shock. It all happened so fast we were> astonished! > > We began to descend rapidly and it started to sink in. This is the last> flight. I'm going to die today. This is it. I recited my favorite bible> verse, the Lord's Prayer, and asked God to take care of my wife,> children, family and friends.

When I raised my head I noticed people texting their friends and> family....getting off a last message. My blackberry was turned off and> in my trouser pocket...no time to get at it. Our descent continued and I> prayed for courage to control my fear and help if able. > > I quickly realized that one of two things was going to happen, neither> of them good. We could hit by the nose, flip and break up, leaving few> if any survivors, bodies, cold water, fuel. Or we could hit one of the> wings and roll and flip with the same result. I tightened my seat belt> as tight as I could possibly get it so I would remain intact.

As we came in for the landing, I looked out the windows and remember> seeing the buildings in New Jersey, the cliffs in Weehawken, and then> the piers. The water was dark green and sure to be freezing cold. The> stewardesses were yelling in unison "Brace! Brace! Brace!"

It was a violent hit - the water flew up over my window - but we bobbed> up and were all amazed that we remained intact.

There was some panic - people jumping over seats and running towards the> doors, but we soon got everyone straightened out and calmed down. There> were a lot of people that took leadership roles in little ways. Those> sitting at the doors over the wing did a fantastic job...they were> opened in a New York second! Everyone worked together - teamed up and in> groups to figure out how to help each other.> > I exited on the starboard side of the plane, 3 or 4 rows behind my seat> through a door over the wing and was, I believe, the 10th or 12th person> out. I took my seat cushion as a flotation device and once outside saw I> was the only one who did....none of us remembered to take the yellow> inflatable life vests from under the seat.

We were standing in 6-8 inches of water and it was freezing. There were> two women on the wing, one of whom slipped off into the water. Another> passenger and I pulled her back on and had her kneel down to keep from> falling off again. By that point we were totally soaked and absolutely> frozen from the icy wind.

The ferries were the first to arrive, and although they're not made for> rescue, they did an incredible job. I know this river, having swum in it> as a boy. The Hudson is an estuary - part salt and part fresh water -> and moves with the tide. I could tell the tide was moving out because we> were tacking slowly south towards Ellis Island, The Statue of Liberty,> and The Battery.

The first ferry boat pulled its bow up to the tip of the wing, and the> first mate lowered the Jacobs ladder down to us. We got a couple people> up the ladder to safety, but the current was strong pushing the stern of> the boat into the inflatable slide and we were afraid it would puncture> it...there must have been 25 passengers in it by now. Only two or three> were able to board the first ferry before it moved away.

Another ferry came up, and we were able to get the woman that had fallen> into the water on the ladder, but she just couldn't move her legs and> fell off. Back onto the ladder she went; however, the ferry had to back> away because of the swift current. A helicopter arrived on station> (nearly blowing us all off the wing) and followed the ferry with the> woman on the ladder. We lost view of the situation but I believe the> helicopter lowered its basket to rescue her.

As more ferries arrived, we were able to get people up on the boats a> few at a time. The fellow in front of me fell off the ladder and into> the water. When we got him back on the ladder he could not move his legs> to climb. I couldn't help him from my position so I climbed up the> ladder to the ferry deck where the first mate and I hoisted the Jacobs> ladder with him on it...when he got close enough we grabbed his trouser> belt and hauled him on deck. We were all safely off the wing.

We could not stop shaking. Uncontrollable shaking. The only thing I had> with me was my blackberry, which had gotten wet and was not working. (It> started working again a few hours later).

The ferry took us to the Weehawken Terminal in NJ where I borrowed a> phone and called my wife to let her know I was okay. The second call I> made was to Jenn. I knew she would be worried about me and could> communicate to the rest of the firm that I was fine. At the terminal,> first responders assessed everyone's condition and sent people to the> hospital as needed. As we pulled out of Weehawken my history kicked in> and I recall it was the site of the famous duel between Alexander> Hamilton and Aaron Burr in 1804. Thankfully I left town in better> condition than Mr. Hamilton who died of a mortal wound the next day! I> stayed with my sister on Long Island that evening, then flew home the> next day.

I am struck by what was truly a miracle. Had this happened a few hours> later, it would have been pitch dark and much harder to land. Ferries> would no longer have been running after rush hour and it would not have> been the same uplifting story. Surely there would have been fatalities,> hypothermia, an absolute disaster!

I witnessed the best of humanity that day. I and everyone on that plane> survived and have been given a second chance. It struck me that in our> work we continuously seek excellence to solve our client's leadership> problems. We talk to clients all the time about the importance of> experience and the ability to execute. Experience showed up big time on> Flight 1549 as our pilot was a dedicated, trained, experienced> professional who executed flawlessly when he had to.

I have received scores of emails from across the firm and I am so> grateful for the outpouring of interest and concern. We all fly a great> deal or work with someone who does and so I wanted to share this story -> the story of a miracle. I am thankful to be here to tell the tale.

There is a great deal to be learned including: Why has this happened to> me? Why have I survived and what am I supposed to do with this gift? For> me, the answers to these questions and more will come over time, but> already I find myself being more patient and forgiving, less critical> and judgmental. > >

For now I have 4 lessons I would like to share:

1. Cherish your families as never before and go to great lengths to> keep your promises.>

2. Be thankful and grateful for everything you have and don't worry> about the things you don't have.>

3. Keep in shape. You never know when you'll be called upon to save> your own life, or help someone else save theirs.>

4. When you fly, wear practical clothing. You never know when> you'll end up in an emergency or on an icy wing in flip flops and> pajamas and of absolutely no use to yourself or anyone else.

Dreaming About Davos

Davos...oh Davos...why am I never invited?
How I've longed for an invitation to the annual World Economic Forum at Davos.

Let's start with the fact that I LOVE the Swiss Alps...in all seasons...but particularly in winter.
And no...don't ask why a California born woman (Saint John's Hospital in Santa Monica) has a thing for the Alps...it's a Magic Mountain thing...it's too zauberberg to explain.

Next, everybody who is anybody gets invited to Davos.

But apparently, this year the guest list is thin...so there finally was space for me!


From the International Herald Tribune
At Davos, crisis thins the guest list

GENEVA: The Masters of the Universe no longer sit atop the magic mountain.

Let's face it...in years past we've had economic gurus Bono, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt
so I want to know who's at Davos this year....


Not long ago, at the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Richard Fuld Jr. of Lehman Brothers held forth on the state of the global economy before mesmerized journalists and cowering subordinates while other Wall Street stars mingled after-hours with the likes of Claudia Schiffer, the German supermodel.

Let's face it things are different

"The pendulum has swung and power has moved back to governments," said Klaus Schwab, the German-born economics professor who founded the World Economic Forum in 1971 and has been its impresario ever since. "This is the biggest economic crisis since Davos began."
The crisis, to be sure, is hurting some more than others. While Davos will draw about 2,500 participants - roughly the same as last year - it looks like there will be many fewer members of the tasseled-loafer-set strutting down the resort's snowy streets.

Yes but where is everybody?

Lloyd Blankfein, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs, is sending his deputy. It looks like Schiffer and Angelina Jolie, accompanied by Brad Pitt during the boom's glamour years, will also be absent.
Even Bono, the rock star and social activist who has attended for the past three years, has other commitments: He and his band, U2, are promoting a new album.

Well...maybe it is more than timing.

Lehman, once a top-tier corporate "strategic partner" to the tune of 500,000 Swiss francs, or $432,000, a year, is bankrupt, and Fuld's invitation has disappeared with it. Even if he had wanted to come, Schwab said, there is no room for has-beens at Davos.

"It's like a guillotine," Schwab said, relishing his role as guardian of the velvet rope for the mover-and-shaker and position-paper crowd. "So many former CEOs and former politicians want to come. We say no. Once you lose, or you're not in an active decision-making role, you don't have the right to an invitation."

Some invitees do not want to test Schwab's hospitality. John Thain, the former chief executive of Merrill Lynch, abruptly canceled after being pushed out on Thursday from a top job at Bank of America, which acquired Merrill last year. Thain, a Davos regular who once ran the New York Stock Exchange,was to have participated in a panel on Saturday called "The Bank of the Future."

OK, there has been some scaling back but my friends at Citibank were still in attendance.
Which is good to know after they received the BAILOUT $$$.


Citigroup, which recently received a $45 billion bailout from Washington.
Citigroup, now scaling back to a smaller Citicorp, still plans to send five formal participants to the conference like others in the strategic partners circle. But the company has sharply reduced the army of other executives and support staff who accompany them.

Seriously guys...invite me to Davos
Ski all day, discuss world economic issues all night...
Sounds like my kind of fun!

When The World Is Not Enough - The End of an Era at Citigroup

Well...it finally happened. The Braintrust at Citigroup, the world's biggest financial firm and one stop shopping mall for all of your financial needs from private equity to insurance, has been broken up.
Now with Smith Barney being merged with Morgan Stanley, Jane Wells of CNBC in her article Vote Now To Rename Morgan Stanley Smith Barney has asked what the new name should be.
Here are some suggestions

To my Smith Barney buddies....don't worry, I'm sure that you'll get along fine with your new Morgan Stanley masters....

Miracle In Manhattan - Made Possible by The Man with The Right Stuff

While I was stuck in traffic today experiencing copious amounts of road rage I was texted with the news about the US Airways flight 1549. (yeah I know I shouldn't have been texting but traffic was at a complete standstill)

This is an incredible story.

From wcbstv.com
Mayor Lauds Pilot, Urges Caution On Crash Cause
Governor Calls Incident 'Potential Tragedy That Turned Into Most Spectacular Day For NYC's Agencies'
All 155 Onboard Accounted For, Only Minor Injuries Reported

The pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 was being lauded as a hero Thursday night after he somehow managed to land a plane with two blown engines safely in the middle of the Hudson River. All 155 passengers and crew have been accounted for, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.

Captain Chelsey Sullenberger - The Hero

The Man with The Right Stuff

And from the Wall Street Journal

Pilot Is Hailed for Pulling Off Feat Few Others Have Ever Done

Although commercial jetliners are equipped with life vests and inflatable slides for an emergency landing on water, it is a seldom-attempted feat. Indeed, even though pilots go through the motions of learning to ditch a plane in water, the generally held belief is that such landings would almost certainly result in fatalities.
The US Airways pilot accomplished that feat while simultaneously coping with numerous other challenges. In the minutes after takeoff, the pilot managed to maneuver past the skyscrapers of Manhattan and into the crowded Hudson River, even though the engines were disabled after apparently hitting a flock of geese.
Passengers said the plane was vibrating violently and the cabin began to fill with smoke. To reach its splashdown spot, witnesses said the jet glided over the George Washington Bridge before plopping into the water.

"The fact that passengers were able to walk off that airplane and wait on the wing for rescuers to arrive is remarkable. It's amazing," said aviation consultant Tommy McFall, a former airline pilot and retired accident investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board.

For more on this pilot and safety consultant, the Smoking Gun has his resume.

I could only hope that I would have a pilot with this level of professionalism every time I fly.

Savvy Shopping - Going Green For The Getty

So what do you do when the Santa Ana winds have left Los Angeles so clear that you can see from the mountains to Catalina?

You go to the Getty Center of course to appreciate the view while catching up with some culture.

Captured Emotions: Baroque Painting in Bologna, 1575-1725

This exhibition tells the extraordinary story of a small group of artists who changed the course of art history. In the decades after the deaths of the great Renaissance masters, such as Raphael and Michelangelo, the art of painting was thought to have gone into steep decline. But then, in the late 16th century, the Carracci family of painters from Bologna burst onto the scene with tremendous energy and vitality, raising art to new heights. Their heroic achievement set standards that were to remain authoritative for more than 200 years. Here a selection of key works by the Carracci and several generations of their pupils and followers brings this artistic triumph to life. For them, the visible world became their principal source of inspiration, and nature was their teacher. Painting was about to enter a new era of creativity and lavish patronage, resulting in the glories of the Baroque age.

J0seph and Potiphar's Wife by Simone Cantorini at the Getty

Beladora.com vintage emerald and diamond dangle earrings $1650


Armani Collezioni at Neiman Marcus on Sale with additional 20% off

Beladora2.com vintage emerald and diamond ring $1295

I like the baroque-ish look of this vintage jewelry with the satin texture of the Armani jacket...

clearly very painterly

Massive Meltdown? Ooops - Never Mind....

No massive meltdown of Greenland?
So now they tell me!

From Yahoo News
Massive Greenland meltdown? Not so fast, say scientists


PARIS (AFP) – The recent acceleration of glacier melt-off in Greenland, which some scientists fear could dramatically raise sea levels, may only be a temporary phenomenon, according to a study published Sunday.

And if you like all things snowy...like I do when it is 80 degrees outside

You need to read

Smilla's Sense of Snow

You will learn more about ice from this book than you ever did from An Inconvenient Truth.

My New Year's Resolution - Raising The Tone

Whenever any year comes to an end I spend a little time pondering the past. And this year was no different. So, as I did with my life in general, I took a close look at this blog.

What I found was a growing meanness of tone as the year progressed which is hardly surprising given the depressing daily news about the domestic economy and the endemic corruption of our government officials and Wall Street scions. Add to this all the bad international news: pirates off the Somali coast, terrorists in Mumbai, slavery in the Sudan, butchery in the Congo, and the usual insanity in Gaza.
Current events were so compelling I found it difficult not to post about them and when I did I couldn't keep the snarkiness under wraps.

But in spite of all that's wrong in the world I realized that things are pretty good chez moi.
Mes enfants, the future quant and the future professor of an esoteric subject, are doing just fine. Everyone in my family is healthy and happy. My friends are all gainfully employed. I have the best job in the world and business is booming.

Basically, it has been a great year.
And the tone of this blog should reflect that.
So I'm making a conscious effort in the upcoming year to stay on topic with fashion both vintage and new, luxury lifestyle and travel, culture and of course the world's best estate jewelry.
(and a little music here and there)

In other words making this blog all unicorns and butterflies and rainbows
and fluffy bunnies.




Full Disclosure: I've been known to break a few, well actually all, of my New Year's resolutions in the past, so we'll see how long this one will last!

Second City Slapdown

What's not to love about Chicago.

For the more historically minded, it’s a time for nostalgia. The past comes alive as Chicago’s grand tradition of corruption is sustained for another generation. As the Chicago Tribune once wrote, “corruption has been as much a part of the landscape as corn, soybeans and skyscrapers.” According to the Chicago Sun-Times, as of 2006 — when Blago’s predecessor, George Ryan, was sent to prison for racketeering — 79 elected officials had been convicted of corruption in the past 30 years. Among the perps: 27 aldermen, 19 judges, 15 state legislators, three governors, two congressmen, one mayor, two turtledoves, and a partridge in a stolen pear tree. Especially in this holiday season, it’s so very important to keep traditions alive for the kids. In a sense, Blago did it for the children.

And you can’t leave out the supporting cast. Mrs. Blago curses like the inmate working the cafeteria at a women’s prison who replies with an f-bomb to anyone objecting to a leaden ladle-thwack of unidentifiable green mush on their lunch tray.

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. — himself the son of a shakedown artist — is alleged to have offered (through a minion) a half-million bucks for Barack Obama’s vacant U.S. Senate seat. Jackson replaced former Rep. Mel Reynolds, who went to jail for getting jiggy with a 16-year-old campaign staffer and stayed in jail because of various fraud convictions. Reynolds, in turn, was the “reformer” who had replaced Rep. Gus Savage, the thug-congressman who groped a Peace Corps volunteer in Zaire while on a “fact-finding” trip. Savage held off Reynolds’ attempts to replace him for several years by claiming Reynolds was financed by “racist Jews.”

Hatip Instapundit

How I Found Security In An Unsecure World

Who says it's all gloom and doom this Christmas?
Taking our minds off of the economy for a nanosecond let's look at the good news on the geopolitical level.

I know that you think that I'm all about sparkle and bling but I do on occasion step out of my glitter ghetto and attend Bennett Ramberg's seminars on Global Security.

Tonight we had a presentation by Rand senior advisor and specialist on Terrorism, Counterinsurgency and Homeland Security, Brian Jenkins. Brian's presentation was on his latest book "Will Terrorists Go Nuclear?"

The gist of the presentation is too long to go into detail about here but the basic premise is that we are dealing with two unique situations, Global Terrorism or the effect of what Terrorism can do to us and Global Terror or our actual reaction to our expectation of Global Terrorism. Included in this is the distinction between Weapons of Mass Destruction and Weapons of Mass Effect.

Brian's basic analysis comes down to the fact that while we live in a time of nuclear proliferation, especially with Pyongyang and Tehran entering into the nuclear club, the actual threat of a nuclear attack by Al Qaeda is much lower than what the media portrays. It's all about intention and capability.

Al Qaeda has run one of the most efficient media campaigns in history and just because they say they can or will do something, they might not actually, at this point or even in the near future, be able to do so. And with a 24 hour news cycle...the more outrageous the acts that Al Qaeda threatens, the more face time they get in the international media.

This isn't to say that terrorism isn't a continuing threat, as the attack in Mumbai has shown us just last week or so ago. But the havoc created by 10 men with AK-47's and some well placed explosions shows how little it takes, in actual manpower backed by a well orchestrated strategy, to have a tremendous result.

Are there still risks? Of course. But the bottom line is this...don't sit around worrying about another Hiroshima.

OK...now we can get back to the real threats to our way of life: corrupt politicians, over taxation, government waste, inflation, deflation or stagnation whatever your flavor and executive compensation coupled with mass layoffs.

And to shopping!

Around Town - Feeling Frisky At Fekkai

Had dinner tonight with my fellow LA bloggettes, une femme and Kristopher Dukes, aka the Dukes of Hazard, who both happen to be (unlike moi) professional writers. Une femme is going to be writing book reviews for Harpers Collins and the Dukes just got a nice write up, not to mention a totally hot photo, in Angelino Magazine.

Before dinner at Prego we stopped by Dr. David Sayah's event at Frederick Fekkai on Rodeo Drive to sip champagne and check out his Centre Épiderme where I've heard that miracles really can come true with a little laser and a few injections.

Here's Dr. McDreamy's..I mean Dr. Sayah's blog
and the all important CV

Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr.
Sayah has a distinguished academic career. He completed a Bachelor of Science
degree in biochemistry at UCLA with numerous honors. Remaining at the UCLA
School of Medicine, he graduated among the top of his class with an honors
thesis in surgery. He was asked to deliver the prestigious "Hippocratic Speech"
at graduation. Dr. Sayah then specialized in General Surgery at the NYU Medical
Center with extensive experience in trauma and critical care. He completed his
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery training at the UCLA Medical Center, the
premier plastic surgery training program in the US. Endoscopic plastic surgery
became his forte after a fellowship in this highly specialized field.
Dr.
Sayah is a staff member of UCLA, Saint John's, and Cedars Sinai Hospitals. He is
a Diplomat of the American Board of Plastic Surgery.

Senate Seat For Sale

Someone emailed me today and commented that my BHB postings had taken on particularly snarky tone. And he was right.
But I just can't help myself when I click onto Drudge everyday and read the news.

With so much government corruption and waste, coupled with wall street nonsense and outrageous executive compensation, it's just a target rich environment.

And that brings us to this man.
Governor Blagojevich of Illinois who's just been caught in a huge scandal involving serious fraud and attempted bribery.

Gov. "I want to make f**king money" Blagojevich

According to the Chicago Sun Times
A 76-page FBI affidavit alleges that Blagojevich was intercepted on court-authorized wiretaps during the last month conspiring to sell or trade Illinois’ U.S. Senate seat vacated by Obama for financial and other personal benefits for himself and his wife.
At various times, in exchange for the Senate appointment, Blagojevich allegedly discussed obtaining:
• A substantial salary for himself at a either a non-profit foundation or an organization affiliated with labor unions.
• Placing his wife on paid corporate boards where he speculated she might garner as much as $150,000 a year.
• Promises of campaign funds — including cash up front.
• A cabinet post or ambassadorship for himself.

And this is just the beginning.

“The breadth of corruption laid out in these charges is staggering,” U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald said. “They allege that Blagojevich put a ‘for sale’ sign on the naming of a United States Senator; involved himself personally in pay-to-play schemes with the urgency of a salesman meeting his annual sales target; and corruptly used his office in an effort to trample editorial voices of criticism. The citizens of Illinois deserve public officials who act solely in the public’s interest, without putting a price tag on government appointments, contracts and decisions,” he added.

The Smoking Gun has all the details.

It was one thing when Governor Spitzer was caught in the hooker scandal.....after all that was just sex and hypocrisy. This is something altogether different.

And...you would have to be entirely naive to think that any politician could come through the Illinois machine and not get his hands really dirty.

The Need To Breed

Look, I can understand the maternal mechanism or hormonal surge that tells us at a certain time in our life that we need to breed.

But if I had found out that I was unable to have children in a country as populous as India, with its countless unwanted and abandoned children, I would have opted for ADOPTION.

But nooooo...that's not what this woman did.
After 55 years of a childless marriage, this elderly lady had fertility treatments and gave birth at the age of 72.
70-freakin- 2!

From the Telegraph

New mother Rajo Devi, "We longed for a child all these years and now we are very happy to have one in the twilight years of our life."
Husband Ram said he wasn't worrying over who would look after the child if they died.
"The upbringing of the child is not a problem. We have a joint family as is common in rural Haryana," he said.
The couple said they were facing social stigma for being childless for the last 55 years.

I'm so culturally ignorant that I didn't realize that social stigma played a big part in the lives of people who are over the age of 70. I sort of thought that by the age or 60 or maybe 70 you've matured to the point of not really giving a damn about what others think of you. Apparently that is not the case in rural India.

Mazel Tov on the baby and all, but I think that this is just wrong.

Heard On The Street

December 2, 2008 – 5:57 pmNovember, 2008 (Bloomberg) — The Somali pirates, renegade Somalis known for hijacking ships for ransom in the Gulf of Aden, are negotiating a purchase of Citigroup.

The pirates would buy Citigroup with new debt and their existing cash stockpiles, earned from hijacking numerous ships, including most recently a $100 million Saudi Arabian oil tanker. The Somali pirates are offering up to $0.10 per share for Citigroup, pirate spokesman Sugule Ali said earlier today. The negotiations have entered the final stage, Ali said. ”You may not like our price, but we are not in the business of paying for things. Be happy we are in the mood to offer the shareholders anything,” said Ali.

The pirates will finance part of the purchase by selling new Pirate Ransom Backed Securities. The PRBS’s are backed by the cash flows from future ransom payments from hijackings in the Gulf of Aden. Moody’s and S&P have already issued a AAA investment grade rating for the PRBS’s.Head pirate, Ubu Kalid Shandu, said “We need a bank so that we have a place to keep all of our ransom money. Thankfully, the dislocations in the capital markets have allowed us to purchase Citigroup at an attractive valuation and to take advantage of TARP capital to grow the business even faster.”Shandu added, “We don’t call ourselves pirates. We are coast guards and this will just allow us to guard our coasts better.”

You heard it here first!

(Oh and no, I didn't write this...I got it from a friend at Citigroup)

Savvy Shopping - Cruise Control

Admit it...now that the temperatures are dropping you are starting to think about that little get-away in the sun. Maybe something like a romantic trip à deux to some exotic far flung locale?
A cruise perhaps through the Gulf of Aden en route to Singapore.

So what to bring on your fantasy vacation?

Tracy Reese Dress on Sale at Neiman Marcus Online $149 in Cassis Pink

Laura Munder Earrings at Beladora.com

And don't forget the de rigeur accessory du jour

From the Telegraph

Pirates attack cruise ship off Somali coast
Shots were fired after the luxury cruise ship Oceania Nautica was chased by pirates in the Gulf of Aden.

Diamonds Are For Disappearing

From the Times Online

Huang Guangyu, China's richest man, disappears amid corruption investigation

How does the richest man in China....or anywhere for that matter disappear?

A better question....how does bazillionaire disappear and continue to live in the style that he has grown accustomed to?

It's all about the assets.

Cash in suitcases? How much luggage can you travel with and still remain incognito?

Bearer Bonds? Do they still even exist?

Gold? How do you store it?

Diamonds? Bingo!

Something small and indestructible, easy to carry and conceal, that keeps its value and is easy to liquidate.
The ultimate asset if you want to change your world

As they say, diamonds are forever.

So Many Predictions of So Few Outcomes

From Drudge today
RUSSIAN ANALYST PREDICTS DECLINE AND BREAKUP OF USA

A leading Russian political analyst has said the economic turmoil in the United States has confirmed his long-held view that the country is heading for collapse, and will divide into separate parts. Professor Igor Panarin said in an interview with the respected daily IZVESTIA published on Monday: "The dollar is not secured by anything. The country's foreign debt has grown like an avalanche, even though in the early 1980s there was no debt. By 1998, when I first made my prediction, it had exceeded $2 trillion. Now it is more than 11 trillion. This is a pyramid that can only collapse."

Gratuitous Photo Of Vlad

(I know he's no longer president, but he is more photogenic than Dmitry Medvedev)

When asked when the U.S. economy would collapse, Panarin said: "It is already collapsing. Due to the financial crisis, three of the largest and oldest five banks on Wall Street have already ceased to exist, and two are barely surviving. Their losses are the biggest in history. Now what we will see is a change in the regulatory system on a global financial scale: America will no longer be the world's financial regulator." When asked who would replace the U.S. in regulating world markets, he said: "Two countries could assume this role: China, with its vast reserves, and Russia, which could play the role of a regulator in Eurasia."

Well yeah, maybe it's time for a country that is currently best known for corrupt oligarchs and hot models should take over the role of regulator in Eurasia.

Gratuitous Picture of Russian Models

Meanwhile, we've got California in a crisis

From Victor Davis Hanson

California is now a valuable touchstone to the country, a warning of what not to do. Rarely has a single generation inherited so much natural wealth and bounty from the investment and hard work of those more noble now resting in our cemeteries—and squandered that gift within a generation. Compare the vast gulf from old Governor Pat Brown to Gray Davis or Arnold Schwarzenegger. We did not invest in many dams, canals, rails, and airports (though we use them all to excess); we sued each other rather than planned; wrote impact statements rather than left behind infrastructure; we redistributed, indulged, blamed, and so managed all at once to create a state with about the highest income and sales taxes and the worst schools, roads, hospitals, and airports. A walk through downtown San Francisco, a stroll up the Fresno downtown mall, a drive along highway 101 (yes, in many places it is still a four-lane, pot-holed highway), an afternoon at LAX, a glance at the catalogue of Cal State Monterey, a visit to the park in Parlier—all that would make our forefathers weep. We can’t build a new nuclear plant; can’t drill a new offshore oil well; can’t build an all-weather road across the Sierra; can’t build a few tracts of new affordable houses in the Bay Area; can’t build a dam for a water-short state; and can’t create even a mediocre passenger rail system. Everything else—well, we do that well.

Yeah, things are ugly. But I wouldn't short the American economy for the long run.

Citigroup - Banking on a Bailout

Citigroup 1977-2008

Citigroup has the farthest international reach of any U.S. bank, with operations in more than 100 countries. The bank was widely felt to be too big to be allowed to fail.

The plan calls for Citigroup, America's second-biggest bank, to issue $27 billion in preferred shares to the U.S. Treasury and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

The Fed, Treasury and FDIC in return will shoulder most of the potential losses on Citigroup's $306 billion portfolio of debt assets, beyond an initial $29 billion in losses which Citigroup would be responsible for.

Even after everything that has happened in the last few months this blows me away.

Long ago when I worked for Citigroup which was headed at the time by Sandy Weill, it was like working at GE under Jack Welch, demanding but rewarding. There was something truly special about working for a firm where everyone around me had the patina of the best and the brightest.

I wonder how many Citigroup employees will lose their jobs because of the mismanagement at the executive level.

Rocking It Saudi Style

Times, they are a changing
Check out this music by an all Saudi female rock band.


Change happens...even in the KSA
(Hat tip Instapundit)

SAG Seeking Strike - Are They High?

So let's see
We've got genocide in action in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Somali pirates taking over cargo ships and demanding ransom
Millions of jobs in danger next year
Citigroup...CITIGROUP!! in need of a bailout
and
The IMF chief economist warning that the worst is yet to come


Meanwhile.....

Those overpaid, underworked members of the screen actors guild are going on strike.

Good timing guys

We feel your pain