Gary Rumor’s Anti-Entropic Continuum

Let us hope Obama takes heed to the new BBC/Harris poll that asked Americans if they wanted to increase American troop presence in Afghanistan to which only 33% agreed. The rest seem to be less than enthusiastic for any war.
Perhaps he can see his way to a withdrawal from Afghanistan as well as Iraq.
On the economic front there is question of the frozen credit market, due to a large extent by the $30 trillion dollars tied up in derivatives particularly Credit Default Swaps. They are a form of insurance on debt invented in the 1990’s that grew from nothing to this monster that has sucked up all the capital available in the private market. As buyers default on their mortgages, the purchasers of these papers are demanding payment and that is where most of the money has gone in the bailout. But a few hundred billion cannot deal with the $30 trillion tied up in credit default swaps. They need to be eliminated.
Sylvain Raynes math professor at Baruch College has a plan to undo the swaps by having the lenders pay back the buyers of the swaps their premiums and simply eliminate the swaps. Another plan of Robert Arvanitis from Risk Finance Advisers simply wants to treat it as a buyer beware situation where anyone who bought a bad plan simply is out of luck. The problem is that these investors are not just a few rich corporations, they are pension funds and retirees and charities to name a few. The tax payers could be stuck with this debt and that would be simply too much to bear if the government were to attempt to honor these swaps. They were sold cheaply with very little behind them and they were not regulated.
A plan is being talked of whereby all these Credit Default Swaps are going to be consolidated into one market and they would have to have at least a 50% capital backing, according to a January 24th article in the New York Times by Gretchen Morgenson.
Rayne’s plan to unwind the Swaps is not a bad idea, the buyers would not get much since their premiums were so low, but these insurance instruments were not particularly well thought out in the first place. Whatever the taxpayer should not be left holding the bag. What I believe is that there simply should be a strengthening of Social Security and the rest of this stuff should be allowed to collapse. The banks should be nationalised and then spun off as community banks and commercial banks should again not be allowed to be investment banks.
America needs to start producing again and stop simply buying on credit and using the military as our only credible institution. We need to rejoin the family of nations.
Obama has done a couple of good deeds. He had a memorandum put out that he would consider the California improved auto emission standards closing the door on the Bush era obstruction of stronger environmental standards.
Also he seems to have eliminated the restrictions on birth control policies by family planners around the world. A woman’s choice seems to have again triumphed over the Fetus fetish people in the religious right. Rationality seems to be triumphing all across the board. We may be entering a new age of enlightenment.

English Disaster Aid groups have appealed for help through the British media. For some strange reason the BBC has refused to broadcast the appeal. They claim it is in the interest of fairness. That is strange when they broadcast appeals for Dar fur, the Congo and others. How could they call that being impartial? Protesters in London have even been blockading the entrance to the BBC headquarters.
Less strange is the Murdoch owned Sky News refusal. But the BBC, for shame.
Here is the appeal if you are interested.

“22 Jan: Aid agencies launch joint appeal to relieve Gaza humanitarian crisis Leading UK aid agencies are today (Thursday, 22 January) appealing to the public for urgently needed funds to help ease the desperate plight of people affected by the conflict in Gaza.
Launching the Disasters Emergency Committee Gaza Crisis Appeal, chief executive Brendan Gormley said that the devastation wrought in the Gazan territory was so huge that British aid agencies were compelled to act.
Over 1,300 Palestinians have been killed in the conflict, and many thousands have been injured, overwhelming local hospitals. The destruction has left people without homes and many children without schooling; power, food and water supplies are insufficient to cover the population’s needs.
Mr Gormley said: “DEC agencies have a humanitarian mandate. We are not proposing to attempt to rebuild Gaza – that is not our role. But with the public’s support we can help relieve short-term needs. Agencies are already providing food, drugs and blankets as well as delivering clean water.
“But we will soon reach the limit of what we can do, without more money. For Gazans struggling to survive, receiving urgent humanitarian aid will help them take the first step to recovery.”
Mr Gormley stressed that DEC aid agencies were non-political. “We work on the basis of humanitarian need and there is an urgent need in Gaza today. Political solutions are for others to resolve, but what is of major concern to us all is that many innocent people have been affected by the situation – and it is them that we seek to help.”
- ENDS -
The DEC press office can be contacted on 0207 387 0200 or out-of-hours on 07930 999014.
Notes to editors:
1. The DEC consists of: Action Aid, British Red Cross, CAFOD, CARE International UK, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, Help the Aged, Islamic Relief, Merlin, Oxfam, Save the Children, Tearfund, World Vision.

2. The Palestinian Ministry of Heath (MOH) has reported 1,314 Palestinian fatalities since 27 December 2008. This is noted in the Situation Report on the Humanitarian Situation in the Gaza Strip – No.14, 19 January 2009 (Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs).

3. How to donate:
It’s easy to donate. Please visit our website on www.dec.org.uk or call the DEC on 0370 60 60 900. We know people are facing financially difficult times but even a small donation makes a difference. Even a small donation to the appeal will help get food, water, shelter, emergency and medical supplies to people who desperately need it.

4. The DEC criteria to launch an appeal are:
The disaster must be on such a scale and of such urgency as to call for swift International humanitarian assistance. The DEC agencies, or some of them, must be in a position to provide effective and swift humanitarian assistance at a scale to justify a national Appeal.There must be sufficient public awareness of, and sympathy for, the humanitarian situation so as to give reasonable grounds for concluding that a public Appeal would be successful.

5. For new footage, photographs, case studies and pre-recorded or live interviews with both aid agency staff on the ground and in the UK, please contact the DEC press office on 0207 387 0200 or out-of-hours on 07930 999014.”

It is also the 250th anniversary of Robert Burns, the national poet of Scotland and the writer of “Auld Lang Syne”
And here it is…
“Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

And surely ye’ll be your pint-stowp,
And surely I’ll be mine!
And we’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

We twa hae run about the braes,
And pu’d the gowans fine;
But we’ve wandered mony a weary fit
Sin’ auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

We twa hae paidled i’ the burn,
Frae morning sun till dine;
But seas between us braid hae roared
Sin’ auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

And there’s a hand, my trusty fiere,
And gie’s a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll tak a right guid-willie waught
For auld lang syne.

For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne,
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.

Historical Background:

The traditional Scottish hymn “Auld Lang Syne” is an extremely old song that was first written down in the 1700ties. The Scottish national poet Robert Burns (1759-1796, pseudonym “Rab Mossgiel”) is the person whose transcription got the most attention, so the song is associated with him. ”

Anyway is a good drinking song to get sloshed by and to slobber in your cups to the tune of “Auld Lang Syne”, well there could be worse things.
It is also Chinese lunar New year, the year of the Ox and since this is going to be a year of work, I would imagine the gods had a good laugh at that one.

Thats the Rumor report for today.