Lunch Guest

Guess who's coming to dinner (lunch)? Arnold Schwarzenegger will be introduced to the world's most brilliant and workable bicycle scheme (I'm a proud holder of an annual pass, naturally) by our phenomenal Mayor. Stay clear of City Hall between 11:30 and 11:45, while the core Mayoral team takes a spin on two wheels. Press photographers are not welcome and attend the event at their own risk...
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Events

Where to find me:

1) ~ 5pm: 27 Victoria St, SW1
For a "handcraft beverage" and a free bag of Kenya beans

2) 7:30pm: Heaven, 9 The Arches, WC2N
Concert of The Kills

3) April 1, 7pm: Academy Brixton, London SW9
Concert: The Duke Spirit

RR and the shot

One for the Memory Lane, 30 years ago today:
Shots fired at President Ronald Reagan



I had just moved from California to New York City a fortnight before, to start work at the (German) Commerzbank, when on this day 30 years ago a deranged John Hinckley fired five shots at President Reagan on his 69th day in office. The president was hit once, a bullet piercing his lungs which caused massive internal bleeding. Also severely wounded was White House press spokesman Brady and another WH staff member.

It was a miserable, rainy wind-swept day, and the commute home after work treacherous and gridlock. It was surreal to hear the News Flash bell of the Dow Jones news ticker at my desk, and the electrifying words, "REAGAN SHOT, CONDITION UNKNOWN". The impact immediately reverberated throughout the financial markets: stocks plunging, stock exchange swiftly shut down and the dollar being sold against other major currencies - part of MY job at the time too...

As we know, Reagan (barely) survived, his jovial attitude and larger-than-life composure never waning despite a life-threatening wound. The four presidents previously shot all died, but not Ronnie. And by many accounts, including mine, Ronald Reagan went on to become the greatest president since FDR.

Chaos outside the Washington Hilton Hotel after the assassination attempt on President Reagan. Brady and Thomas Delahanty lie wounded on the ground, Reagan already in the limousine.

Press Secretary James Brady was hit in the forehead and after emergency surgery was left paralysed, with loss of memory and slurred speech. It took several more operations and years of therapy until Mr Brady can walk again and regained speech and memory.

President Reagan retained the gravely wounded Brady as Press Spokesman throughout the 8 year presidency, and appointed Larry Speakes and Marlin Fitzwater respectively as "acting press spokesman." 

"Most Annoying Politician in the Country"

http://playpolitical.typepad.com/uk_conservative/2011/03/david-cameron-brands-ed-balls-the-most-annoying-person-in-modern-politics-.html

Event

The Economic Outlook and Financial Industry Challenges

Time: 6.30-8pm
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Theatre, New Academic Building
Speaker: Thomas M Hoenig (Federal Reserve Board, Kansas)

Puppy Name

So far, Kat received 39 suggestions, and the name will be picked in a week.

National Puppy Day

Here are the reviberations of National Puppy Day, which was observed at selective US households on March 24th: Katrina's new addition to her home...

Comical Ali to Libya?

There are persistant rumours that media star and Desinformation Minister under Saddam Hussein, Muhammad Saeed al-Sahhaf - better known as Comical Ali - is about to give up his self picked exile in Abu Dhabi for the more exciting Tripolis, capital of Libya.

The regime of Muammar Gaddafi can hopes that lies spewed by Comical Ali would give them at least an amusing twist, albeit no enhanced credibility.

Remember Japan Day

Today is "Wear something red and white" Day, to show solidarity with the Japanese people in the wake of unprecedented calamities.

I wear a red tie with white shirt, to reflect on the misery of the victims of the tsunami and earthquake(s), and as a sign of sympathy for the somber yet dignantly mourning  people who lost a loved one.

Libya: Children In A Sandbox

A few hundred Libyans rally behind and in front of some bizarre chieftain with Bottox-gone-wrong lips, as human sacrifice to shield their scared leader: cowardice pure, and madness galore. As I watch fake funerals in which empty coffins are being buried, wailing "mourners" who lament the cyber-killing of civilians while their regime in fact slaughters hundreds of people seeking salvation from the murderous clique throughout the country. Strange times indeed...

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Germany Grinds Smoother with Libyan Oil

Yet another war for oil, and the same villains abstain from taking responsibility and defend the status quo, the preservation of a dictatorship:

Russia, where civil rights have yet to be discovered, let alone to be guaranteed, and Germany take front row seats in the phalanx of defenders of Muammar Gaddafi, just as they did with Saddam Hussein.

Russia is interested to keep the oil price soaring to maximize profit for the state coffers, while Germany tries to protect and shelter oil imports that mainly flow from Libya.

Germany, and the EU for that matter, are lightyears away from deserving a permanent seat at the UN Security Council, and all needs to be done to prevent that for generations to come.

The greed and selfishness of Germany are only topped by its arrogance on international stage.

Ceasefire?

Hilariously funny how some obscure characters each evening (ahead of imminent bombardment) go to the media - summoned at gunpoint - to hastily announce a ceasefire, while Gaddafi & his cronies with great hysteria and panic continue to spew promises of a "long war" against Allies and the Libyan people, and threaten attacks on civilian aircraft.
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Hitlerism?

The whole scope of irrationality of the comical regime in Libya can be seen when they try to hurl insults at us and call the introduction of the No-Fly zone as a form of "Hitlerism" - given the open adoration and admiration which Arabs feel for Hitler Germany and the Holocaust.

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Oil War? Grease Spot

Some simpletons argue that the punitive strikes at Libya are - again - all about oil. That is only true in the case of the immoral opposing parties Germany and Russia: the first receives most of its oil imports from Libya, and Russia stands to profit from rising oil prices, and is therefore interested to prolong the conflict for as long as possible.
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Tale of Two Monkeys

Monkey See,

Monkey Do.

Same Fate?

Ragtime

Stoned, Blitzed, Hit, Dazed... for now

Blind Spot, Screen Shot

A Badge of Green

March 17, the day you are supposed to wear something green.

Instead of caving in to the dress code propagated by Europe's vilest tribe, second only to the Scots, I will rather be seen at a Starbucks outlet to enjoy their free Cocoa Cappuccino today.


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Warning to Gaddafi Clan

Two of Gaddafi's sons use Western media to taunt and ridicule Britain, France and the US these days. One calls Sarkozy a clown and threatens to reveal "grave secrets" of Libyan contributions to Sarkozy's presidential election campaign in 2007.

I beg to send a warning to the imbecile offsprings and point to the fate of two sons of another Arab hoodlum leader: Uday and Qusay Hussein, who ended up as poster boys for a local Iraqi morgue:

Events

THIS WEEK
Where you can find me after work (us, on Saturday)

TUESDAY
LSE, 6pm - 7:30pm
"Organized Crime and Terrorism"
Lecture by (Italian!) EU commissioner Roberto Maroni
[Event cancelled at last moment]

WEDNESDAY
LSE, Old Theatre, 6:30pm - 8pm
"Grasshoppers, Ants and Locusts: the Future Of the World Economy"
(Speaker: Martin Wolf, columnist at the FT)

THURSDAY
LSE, 5:30pm - 6:30pm
"The Globalisation Paradox - Why Global Markets, States
and Democracy Cannot Coexist"
(Speaker: Prof Dani Rodrik)

FRIDAY
Newcastle, Hilton Hotel Gateshead, 11:30am - 1pm
Interview - "Convergys, a US company gone berserk:
can class action suit bring down the UK subsidiary?"
(Myself, interviewed by Northeast media outlets)

2) St Pancras Station, London, 7pm
The three E's: Euro, Emily and Eurostar

SATURDAY
Southbank Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hall, 7pm - 9pm

Lola Perrin, Roland Perrin and Natacha Atlas

[German] Green Party: Body Snatchers

I'm about to leave Rue Pierre et Marie Curie for the train station. One cannot help but feel utter sadness over the lamentable situation in Japan. Unspeakable misery and despair, utter devastation and so many victims. The annihilation of parts of Sendai will have to be added one day to the catastrophic list that started with Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

One has to look to Germany to find anyone who would trivialize the sweeping calamity, and people who would use the misery for their own agenda:

BODY SNATCHERS: The German Green Party did not hesitate to exploit the death of some 10,000 Japanese victims of earthquakes and tsunami to propagate its ignorant opposition to nuclear power. The morality of the Green comrades is repulsive and appalling, and their credibility in meltdown.

Humans & Sub-Humans

Islamist slaughters Israeli family of 5

A break from an otherwise jolly weekend in Paris. The out-of-control misery in Japan, with such a high human toll, casts long shadows over Japan's energy supply and economic situation. Already it is expected that the natural disaster will cost the Japanese economy 3% of its GDP.

And then there are these muslims, who seem to have eluded evolution.

A Palestinian has killed five Israelis in a night attack on a Jewish settlement in the West Bank. The five were members of the same family, a couple and three children. The attack occurred in the Itamar settlement, near Nablus in the northern West Bank. The Israeli army is now searching the area for the suspect.

The family - including a baby and children aged 11 and three - were stabbed to death, in what appears to be a trademark muslim modus operandi to wage war against civilians. The Itamar settlement was the target of a previous attacks, like one in 2002, in which five Israeli settlers were killed and several injured in an attack by a Palestinian gunman.

Anti-semitic UK news network BBC describes the massacre as a somewhat logical consequence of what it calls "stalled Middle East peace process". (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12721170 )

(Paris) Weekend; Spitting Camel

Of humans and sub-humans:
Sarkozy fires his Islamist "diversity adviser"
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has sacked his 'diversity adviser' after he called on Muslims not to support the governing UMP party.

Abderrahmane Dahmane, a Muslim and former UMP official appointed to his post only in January, was protesting against a planned debate on Islam. Imagine that! A debate, in a democracy - how novel, Mr Muslim! He also challenged Muslim members of the UMP not renew their party membership unless the debate was cancelled. He slated UMP leader Jean-Francois Cope as a "plague for Muslims".

But the self-flagellating Algerian immigrant did't stop there. Spewing on Thursday, Abderrahmane compared the situation of French muslims to that of Jews during World War II and said the debate had been planned by a "handful of neo-Nazis"! What a fucked up troll...

The UMP (Union for a Popular Movement) is planning to hold a public debate on 5 April on "Islam and secularism". The debate will explore firstly how "the practice of religions may be compatible with the rules of the secular republic", and secondly "the question of Islam in France". France has the largest Muslim minority of any EU country and controversy has arisen over the state's attempt to stress secular values in public institutions such as schools. A public ban on face-covering veils comes into force on 11 April.

Back Boris

To hell with Libya

I oppose vehemently a No-Fly zone in Libya, unless the Chinese and Russians enforce it. When Arabs kill Arabs, I choose to stay on the sideline and place my bets.

The enemies of my enemy (Muammar Gaddafi) are not automatically my friends.

Obama's promise

Obama occupies the White House thanks to his hardly original message of "Time For Change" three years ago. The one-term prez will now be remembered for the "reversal of change of change for a change," rather than for an unwavering policy of principles he was elected for in the first place. Shame, really...
Obama, 2008: "Guantanamo will be closed within months." Obama 2011: "Military tribunals will deal with inmates at Guantanamo."

When Realpolitik bites you in the ass...

Hilarious LSE

Hilarious

Italian Interior Minister Roberto Maroni to speak at LSE on 15 March about "Organised Crime: how a united Europe must respond to these challenges." Maybe he has helped in the past to channel illicit Libyan funds to the LSE to be invited now to lecture us on a topic identified largely with Italian society anyway.

Back, BTW, after a splendid weekend in Paris.

(Paris) Weekend

Live from 30 Millbank: Yesterday's by-election in Barnsley Central has to be seen with a grain of salt: by-elections usually go against the governing party. But it was an embarrassing night as the Tories were pushed into third place by Ukip, who polled 2,953 votes to the Conservatives' 1,999. That the LibDems were nowhere to be seen, after finishing 2nd in the previous poll, is hardly worth more than a shrug.

Off to Paris after noon, back on Monday. Have a great weekend all!
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LSE rocked by dubious Libya links

Right again: I was one of the few hundred who stopped by at Houghton St during the past 10 days to demonstrate against the sickening connection of the LSE and its director Sir Howard Davies with 'donations' the university solicited from the Gaddafi family over the years. More than £600,000 have been collected that way, on top of a one-time bribe by Saif Gaddafi of £1.5 million to have his PhD thesis accepted despite the fact that it was plagiarised and written by a ghostwriter. This evening Sir Howard Davies resigned, disgraced and shunned.

Mon Dieu!

CULTURE CLASH

Serge Gainsbourg vs. Whitney Houston
It gets really interesting after around 40 seconds...

Bless!
Unlike her, he is greatly missed. 20th anniversary of the death of a great artist.

Of Mouse and Man

No-Go for No-Fly

I find it bizarre when David Cameron, a prime minister of Little Britain, muses aloudly over imposing a no-fly zone in Libya without having the sufficient hard- and software at his disposal. For Britain faces the deepest cuts of the military strength in 30 years, thanks to 13 years of Labour mismanagement and corrupt boiler room dealings. Less planes, less ships, and up to 16,000 men facing the axe - Britain is as equipped to enforce a no-fly zone in Libya as the Vatican is with its Swiss Guard to conquer China.

Consequently the US Defense Secretary Gates yesterday lectured the grey mouse in London about a few things what a no-fly zone entails: attack Libya, wipe out all its air defense installations in a country 7 times the size of Britain, position 2 or 3 aircraft carriers off the coast (with up to 22,000 men) and use around 100 fighter jets to enforce the restrictions on the Gaddafi regime.

In short, it would take the US to enforce the British will. Just laughable!

Anti-Semitic BBC

Anti-Semitic spew: the BBC just don't get it (again). Not the firing of grotesquely ugly Brit fashion designer John Galliano from DIOR "shocked the world" - as today's BBC headline suggests - but the relentless, sustained and vitriolic racist diatribes from the clownish buffoon shocked the world.

A media outlet dedicated to the trashy slum show Eastenders, which frequently indulges in rampant excesses of racism and xenophobia directed at various minorities in today's proletarian (white) Britain, is hardly fit to provide a moral compass in the public domain, or to lecture us what the world ought to be shocked about.

It's time to withdraw the right to collect TV licence fees from the mediocre BBC.

'Irate' Iran

The 2012 Olympic Games without Iran? One can only hope: the mullahs mull a boycot of the Games over what they consider a resemblence of the insanely ugly logo of London 2012 with the word "ZION" (as if that was a bad thing?) and accuse the IOC of racism! The illiterate buffoons represent a country that finished 51st at the 2008 Olympics, barely a loss for global sports in case they wish to stay away from London.

More to the point, to interpret the 2012 logo as "ZION" shows the full scope of hysterical and relentless racism of the Iranian leadership, on top of a preponderance of pathological insanity.

The logo's design is quintessential British: ugly, illogical and fractured. And that's not nearly all, according to a mass circulation broadsheet:

HQ