Middle East Financial Markets: Jumping Off a High Rise Tent- Male Bonding with a Jordanian Goat- Iran's Mullahs May Deserve John Bolton- Back to Another Hell
Financial markets in the Middle East have been battered over the past few months. This has been exacerbated by the fact that many share prices were lifted by speculative bubbles of the type that would make the US or European bubbles look like the Mr. Bubble variety. Arab media have been reporting on social and marital consequences to the market collapse and lost fortunes. One interesting case that may be a lesson to Wall Street types involves a Jordanian man, a relatively prosperous sheep trader, who lost his long shirt on one day in the stock market. This bankrupted man went over to his sheep, in public, and calmly took off his head-cover (the Arab kaffiya and agal, what some Westerners and rednecks would call Arab rags) and placed them on the head of his favorite male goat, apparently one to which he had male-bonded, and repeated loudly "I swear to God almighty that you are smarter than I am", which to me seems like a no-brainer since, since I imagine some goats in Jordan are smarter than some of the men over there. But that's o.k, I'm talking about male goats.
There have been reports (e.g. alQuds alArabi from London) of scams whereby civil servants were promised fortunes by glib men who had appeared on morning state television shows (a la GMA) and touted as experts. Whole Jordanian villages and neighborhoods have lost their life savings, and they await on King Abdul de Jourdanie to do a Paulson- except that Paulson hasn't done anything yet for the average person since he has been too busy bailing out his buddies in the investment and other banks.
The media also report several suicide 'attempts' in some Jordan refugee camps related to stock market losses. They have no sky-scrapers or even high-rise tents in those places, so nobody though of jumping off his tent. That would only cause some broken bones and presumably add to the misery. That is why there have been only 'attempts', or maybe it is the usual Middle East ineptness at war carried over to suicide. There have been some heart attacks that were attributed to the financial crisis and a spike in divorces.
In other Arab countries the media have anecdotal reports of financial problems causing social tensions that have been fraying the fabric of family life, especially the institution of marriage itself, and to be more specific the conjugal bed itself, or the conjugal beds depending on how many wives are involved per man. From the dire media reports, you'd think that come next, say, summer, there will be a sharp drop in new births all over the moderate New Middle East as conceived by Bush and Rice (the Republican Rice not the other Rice who is Democratic). Even the mostly tribal and heavily polygamous Middle East may not escape that statistical 'aberration' that will come in about nine months time.
"Iran has successfully tested a missile that ranges up to 2,000 kilometers. It can definitely reach Israel."
Are these idiots trying to goad Bush or Olmert into some action before they leave office? Or are they trying to influence Obama and gain friends? If this trend continues Obama may appoint neocon nut-case John Bolton as ambassador to Tehran if relations are ever resumed. I think that old Dale Carnegie book should be a must read for all Mullahs.
"The secretariat of Iraq's council of ministers has nominated PM Nouri al-Maliki for the Nobel Peace Prize." alArabiya
Next we will read about the councils of ministers of other potentates nominating their 'favorite' polygamous potentates for Nobel prizes in various categories. Dommage, there is no Nobel Prize for the most polygamous oligarch- an Arab leader would surely win that one with flying....colors.
"Algeria's 'parliament' has approved a constitutional amendment allowing the president to seek new terms. The measure was approved by 500 votes against 21." Viva the moderate New Middle East and North Africa.
R.I.H: "William Doyle, a tough-talking Vietnam War veteran who helped lead a decorated platoon that killed hundreds of unarmed civilians in a case concealed by the Pentagon for decades, diedThursday in Springfield, Mo. He was 75. Mr. Doyle was a team leader on the Army's famous Tiger Force in 1967 when some members began executing women and children in a bloody rampage that lasted seven months. Mr. Doyle bragged that he shot so many civilians that he lost count.'We killed anything that moved,' he told The Toledo Blade for a 2004 series. 'My only regret is that I didn't kill more.'Though Army investigators recommended he and 17 others be charged withwar crimes, including murder and assault, no action was taken." Seattle Times, Nov 12, 2008.
Cheers, if you can.
mhg
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