Food for the Soul and Pocketbook!!

[RobWin]

I want you guys to keep an open mind now when you read what I have written here as I'm sure a lot of you if not all will simply just think this is conspiracy theory but what I'm about to tell you can and has been proven if you only dig deep enough...remember this rabbit hole runs real deep as this plan was initiated back in 1913 and in 1913 America was a free country and Woodrow Wilson was President....

Then a band of powerful bankers achieved their fathers and their great grandfathers goal and since then, America has never been the same, soon the world will not be the same as these three powerful bankers J.P Morgan, Paul Warburg and John D. Rockefeller finally achieved their long term goal to start a silent COUP D'ETAT by secretly taking control of the American Government thru the Federal Reserve System that they were instrumental in getting started...(This is proven Fact)...and the rabbit hole deepens....Who's heard of ARAMCO Oil before....and don't forget the name that I just mentioned above J.P. Morgan who just this week played a huge role in the buy out of the the huge U.S. Investment bank known as Bear Stearns, that was started back in 1923, that failed and went bankrupt and The Federal Reserve gave it more money through J.P. Morgan....starting to see any connections here folks....

Here's an excerpt from the older article that is the primer for the more recent article that I am going to give you a link to in my next post and you can read for yourself how deep this rabbit hole really starts to go with names you all will be real familiar with...enjoy !!!

"According to an April 29, 2002 report in Britain's Guardian, ARAMCO constitutes 12% of the world's total oil production; a figure which has certainly increased as other countries have progressed deeper into irreversible decline.

ARAMCO is the largest oil group in the world, a state-owned Saudi company in partnership with four major US oil companies. Another one of Aramco’s partners is Chevron-Texaco which gave up one of its board members, Condoleezza Rice, when she became the National Security Advisor to George Bush. All of ARAMCO’s key decisions are made by the Saudi royal family while US oil expertise, personnel and technology keeps the cash coming in and the oil going out. ARAMCO operates, manages, and maintains virtually all Saudi oil fields – 25% of all the oil on the planet."

Oh It gets better....read the rest HERE

[NASHVEGAS]

I will check it out t-row. That said my op post was based on present macro-economic issues and concerns as I prefer to avoid the political issues although I acknowledge that both issues certainly may not be mutually exclusive!!!...I think Barney Frank is going to be occupied for awhile so not even going to waste my time reading about BF and online gambling issues as it is so far down the chain at present (kinda like the still active 17 year old lawsuit I am involved in as a shareholder of a Portland,Oregon Savings and Loan against the DOJ...the DOJ can delay I guess forever....we won the lawsuit at the Supreme Court level in 1996 and then 12 more years of litigation still on going to determine damages...no end in sight...the DOJ thought they would wear us out financially and they miscalculated...)!!

[RobWin]

[quote]

Originally Posted by NASHVEGAS

I will check it out t-row. That said my op post was based on present macro-economic issues and concerns as I prefer to avoid the political issues although I acknowledge that both issues certainly may not be mutually exclusive!!!

Exactly Nash, and in no way meant to de-rail the point of your original post, but that is the point of my post too which may actually take a few more posts over the next week or so to totally link it all up for the audience...LOL,,, bout forgot, (audience...not in the DJ booth right now...LOL)

...I think Barney Frank is going to be occupied for awhile so not even going to waste my time reading about BF and online gambling issues as it is so far down the chain at present (kinda like the still active 17 year old lawsuit I am involved in as a shareholder of a Portland,Oregon Savings and Loan against the DOJ...the DOJ can delay I guess forever....we won the lawsuit at the Supreme Court level in 1996 and then 12 more years of litigation still on going to determine damages...no end in sight...the DOJ thought they would wear us out financially and they miscalculated...)!!

That does have intrigue written all over it...maybe you can share some more details sometime when you feel comfortable about it...maybe in a PM or email...

[NASHVEGAS]

Here ya go Rob: This intial background is below since the website was not commenced until about 7 years ago and already 10 years into the case at the start of the website. The site is http://www.benfranklinoregon.org then picks up going back 7 or more years ago til present. Note there is a typo on the initial page that says March 15,2007. 2007 should read 2008....You really have to surf the site with the Past Updates section which commences on the site in the year 2001 and gives you updates for every year since til present on the case including the actions of the DOJ!

The Plaintiffs In The Case Of Benj. Franklin Federal Savings and Loan (BENJ) Shareholders vs. the United States
1.. What was Benj. Franklin Federal Savings and Loan Association?Founded in 1925 in Portland, Oregon, Benj. Franklin was a large, successful and widely respected thrift when it was seized by the federal government in 1990.

2. Who brought the case?
Shareholders of Benj. Franklin brought this suit on September 14, 1990, in the United States Court of Federal Claims with the help of Don S. Willner, a prominent and well respected Portland, Oregon, attorney, on behalf of an estimated 6,500 shareholders.

3. What was the condition of the thrift industry in 1982?
Interest rates were over 15% at a time when the thrift industry was invested in long-term mortgages charging about 8%. The entire industry was on the verge of bankruptcy, as was the FDIC, the government agency that insured the thrifts to protect the depositors.

4. What was the government’s response to this crisis?
It encouraged healthy thrifts to acquire failing thrifts with various government incentives, including treating the minus net worth of the failing thrift as the capital asset of goodwill and writing it off over a long period of time. This program was known as Supervisory Goodwill Agreements.

5. What is this suit?
As part of this government program, Benj. Franklin in 1982, by agreement with the government, acquired a failing thrift, Equitable Savings and Loan in return for a 40-year amortization of the supervisory goodwill. Benj. and the government made a similar agreement in 1985 concerning the acquisition of Western Heritage Savings and Loan. These agreements had the full approval of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board.

6. Was this 40-year agreement necessary?
Neither Benj. Franklin nor the federal government would have entered into this agreement if not for the 40-year amortization. The lengthy time period was necessary for Benj. to recover the Equitable losses through economies resulting from the merger and from use of Equitable’s unusual franchise to do business in Washington and other states.

7. What happened to Benj. Franklin between 1982 and 1989?
It prospered, expanded, made a profit in 16 consecutive calendar quarters and became the number one mortgage lender in the Portland metropolitan area and had strong lending positions in other major areas of the northwest.

8. What happened to the thrift industry in 1989?
Some thrifts, especially in the southwestern United States, defrauded investors and depositors. Congress responded by passing a law in 1989 called FIRREA, which among other provisions, retroactively revoked agreements for the long-term amortization of goodwill. With the goodwill removed, Benj. Franklin was instantaneously declared insolvent and was seized by the government on February 21, 1990.

9. How does the lawsuit stand?
Suing the government is expensive and lengthy. Over 4,000 shareholders have contributed to the funding of the suit, most at a fair share of 25 cents per share. In 1995, Chief Judge Smith ruled that these shareholders had the right to bring this suit (“shareholder standing”). In 1996, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a companion case that the government had breached its contract for long term amortization of goodwill. In 1997, the Judge decided that the government breached its contract with Benj. (granting “summary judgment on liability”). Trial on the issue of how much damages should be awarded started on January 11, 1999, and with frequent intervals, finished on September 17, 1999. Our experts testified that the value of Benj. at the time of trial if it had not been seized would have been $944,000,000. Government experts testified that the damages to Benj. due to the seizure was zero! We do not know when the case will be decided, but hope it will be soon.

10. How have we been keeping the shareholders informed?
Over the ten-year period, we have written eleven up-dating reports to those shareholders whose names we have in our records. Benj. has not had a transfer agent for many years. We believe our extensive but incomplete list of shareholders is the only accurate one in existence. The accuracy of our list, in our opinion, is assured by way of funding contributions of $.25 per share, by many who agree and support our cause.

Of the 7,705,000 that were issued, well over 2,000,000 shares are missing. Could this be you? We invite you to join with us to expand and further insure the accuracy of ownership list, as well as promptness in locating you, if we win. Send all checks in the amount of $.25 per share to:

Don S. Willner, Trustee

BFSLF (Benj. Franklin Shareholders Litigation Fund)

1415 The American Bank Building

621 SW Morrison Street

Portland, OR 97205

Include name, address, phone number, and exact amount of shares.

11. Why did we establish this website?
We want to do an even better job of communicating with the shareholder family. If you have additional questions, please click “on contact”. We will periodically update the website with answers to your question. We will also provide you with information on the progress of our litigation.

[NASHVEGAS]

@RW...I did see a partial damages payment check in 2006 believe it or not but BENJ's attorney felt this case could have been over in the early 1990's....no interest is paid as the DOJ drags this on going on 18 years now....also this case has been thru both the donkeys and elephants in control of the executive and legislative branches of government....also the Judge (especially Smith) has admonished the DOJ for not settling these cases in the late 1990's and 30 billion dollars was set aside in the budget maybe 10 years ago or more to settle a 100 plus iirc Supervisory Goodwill cases...Is it not the DOJ that keeps saying all online gambling is illegal and why? Read this case a little closer and maybe people will understand it is not about whether it is illegal or not or what the lawyers who know nothing assure you, it is about the DOJ doing whatever it wants (even ignoring Judges and basically the Supreme Court) and how many could fight the DOJ going on 18 years....I still think some US affiliates are in for a little surprise before all is said and done. Doubt players at least criminally (pay your taxes) will be the target of the DOJ...I called the Bank bailouts a week ago Thursday (in the CM May get together thread) and Bear Stearns was a $6 billion company then with Schwartz the CEO just having assured all a day or two before how well Bear Stearns was doing and "it was biz as usual". I got lucky on the prediction as the news broke the following morning!! Ironic??, yes!!

[lauriejim]

Originally Posted by RobWin

You know now that I actually think about it, I think this country would be in much better shape in the future if the school systems made it mandatory for kids starting out in Jr High School were required to take a course in Economics and then two more courses of it in High School...it definitely would not hurt....unless it was actually taught by the government...LOL

we had a course in economics when i was in the 9th grade and no it wasnt home ec either lol. i feel the same way, it should be taught in jr. high and high school ........laurie

[NASHVEGAS]

An excerpt from the well respected "THE MOTLEY FOOL"....a good read and imo will have a trickle down to all forms of the gaming industry:

A Nation of Enrons
By Seth Jayson March 20, 2008


An understatement: We are living through a time of considerable market and economic turmoil. Since we stand to see trillions of dollars' worth of assets vaporize in the ensuing mess, we ought to take a look at history to see how we got into it, and how investors can get out.

Half a decade ago, the entire nation was shocked when award-winning "innovator" Enron turned out to be little more than a cash-shredding pyramid scheme. The crucial failing for investors was Enron's use of opaque, "mark-to-market" accounting. The problem comes when the market is batty (or doesn't exist), so you instead mark your assets to a model, especially one that's wrong, either because you made an error or because you based it on exceedingly generous assumptions.

In the end, we learned that Enron's accounting was pretty much mark-to-fairy-tale, with the company booking enormous gains from assumed future profits on schemes (like bandwidth trading) that sounded great, but had little chance of producing anything besides headlines.

Andy Fastow, meet Fred and Ethel
You might think we'd learned our lessons about fantasy accounting after Enron, but you would be wrong. Things actually got worse. The infection moved to the comfy-sounding "homeownership" market. Against a star-spangled, feel-good backdrop touting the "American Dream," our recent mark-to-model mania tripped up a lot more than one big company. In fact, it swept through the entire banking world. (Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) is not the first to choke on lousy, poorly modeled mortgage-backed securities "income," and I'll eat a Miami condo if it's the last.)

But more dangerous yet was the way this mania also infected millions of aspiring real-estate moguls. The most widespread mark-to-model fantasies were actually committed not by some easy-to-blame Wall Street suit, but by Fred and Ethel down the street.

It was flawed models (and the habit of booking earnings on these models) that enabled financial companies to concoct the elaborate securities that funded the bubble. And yes, the bank CEOs who paid themselves handsome bonuses ahead of the hurricane deserve a public flogging. But they weren't the only ones making out like bandits. While Wall Street was booking fantasy profits on bad assumptions about real estate, Fred and Ethel down the street were operating under their own mark-to-model dreams.

Really ...
In their model, house prices always go up. In their model, you can pay any price for a home, so long as you can make the monthlies with a teaser-rate ARM, never mind the upcoming adjustment to 9%. In their model, you avoid that via a refinance down the line with an equity cash-out to boot. In their model, it's OK to buy on a less-than-forthcoming, Alt-A "liar's loan," because there's no real punishment for lying on a mortgage application -- particularly if everyone's doing it. With this model, it makes sense to buy three other homes, in order to flip them later. And it makes sense to extract HELOC cash from the home, based on fantasies about continually increasing "equity."

This is not so different from what Enron was doing. Fred and Ethel were marking up the value of their assets (the home) to a model (their belief that real estate prices always go up) and then spending the "income" immediately, on iPods, Hummers, $250 jeans, and fancy vacations. This happened all over the country, and millions of people behaved the same way. In fact, the American Fantasy of owning a home (for no money down) that would provide leveraged, 10% annual returns for a decade, is precisely what enabled those Wall Street suits to do what they did. It takes two to tango, folks. And this was the biggest dance party in economic history.

Last year's model got ugly
Alas, this dream's "income" wasn't actually matched by real cash flows, just bank loans -- precisely the problem at Enron. The "income" was all hot air. And now that the "income" from home appreciation has turned negative, it must be supported by cash mortgage payments. But many people can't pay those bills, the mortgages are defaulting in huge numbers, and now, we are all paying a price, even those of us who didn't throw our money into a flimsy, overpriced McMansion.

Stocks have been creamed. The losses at those companies most directly victimized by their own housing-bubble ineptitude -- Bear Stearns, Citigroup (NYSE: C), and Wachovia (NYSE: WB) -- are easy to understand. But, of course, the losses have extended much further than that. Even mighty Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) has dropped like a rock, as investors wonder how many iPods can be sold in Foreclosureville, U.S.A. And if they can't afford their beloved iPods, what will they buy? That's the thinking that has crushed everything from trendy togs-sellers like Zumiez (Nasdaq: ZUMZ) to carmakers like GM (NYSE: GM). Consumers are spending less, and we appear to be headed directly into a recession. So ugly it's cute?
By now, it ought to be clear that I have been, and remain, one of the most vocal econo-bears you will find on these pages. I am certain that systemic failure has steered us into a terrifying run at the ditch, to be followed by a painful, protracted rough patch. It was all spawned by greed gone amok on Wall Street and Main Street..................

[RobWin]

[quote]

Originally Posted by NASHVEGAS

The crucial failing for Enron's Investors was a crooked ass corrupt CEO and short stint Chairman named Kenneth Lay...no reason that the buck should stop anywhere else but I guess they can always give everything a fancy name like "mark-to-market" accounting....

And yes, the bank CEOs who paid themselves handsome bonuses ahead of the hurricane deserve a public flogging

A little time with Bubba over at ADX Florence Facility {(ADX) in Florence, CO.} would be more like it...

Consumers are spending less, and we appear to be headed directly into a recession

Where the hell has this guy been for the past eight months..."We Appear To Be Heading Into A Recession"...jeezeus krist...he's obviously been listening to too many White House Press conferences...

I am certain that systemic failure has steered us into a terrifying run at the ditch, to be followed by a painful, protracted rough patch.

No shite Sherloc !!!


Thanks for the article Nash, got my day off to a fun start...and it reminded me that there are still folks living around and among us that spend most of their time in Keebler Cookie Land...

[NASHVEGAS]

[quote=RobWin;227509]

The crucial failing for Enron's Investors was a crooked ass corrupt CEO and short stint Chairman named Kenneth Lay...no reason that the buck should stop anywhere else but I guess they can always give everything a fancy name like "mark-to-market" accounting....


A little time with Bubba over at ADX Florence Facility {(ADX) in Florence, CO.} would be more like it...



Where the hell has this guy been for the past eight months..."We Appear To Be Heading Into A Recession"...jeezeus krist...he's obviously been listening to too many White House Press conferences...



No shite Sherloc !!!


Thanks for the article Nash, got my day off to a fun start...and it reminded me that there are still folks living around and among us that spend most of their time in Keebler Cookie Land...

You are welcome, did not mean to raise your BP, sheet works out...as for Lay (not that I wished it but I bet many did), payback was HELL,huh!!!

[RobWin]

[quote=NASHVEGAS;227511]

Originally Posted by RobWin

You welcome, did not mean to raise your BP, sheet works out...as for Lay (not that I wished it but I bet many did), payback was HELL,huh!!!

...........
That's alright, remember...I'm going to be checking into those Meds today from the Med Pharm Spams I'm getting...