Monday, April 18, 2011
PLEASE BE AN ANGEL, ADOPT A SHELTER ANIMAL
Please be an angel and adopt a shelter pet when the time comes for you to consider adoption? They will fill your life with unconditional love. You will save a life. It's a win/win/deal! So many are being euthanized these days that it is a heartbreak.
Over the years, I graduated from being a professional cat breeder to helping animals longing for a safe, permanent, loving home. It is so gratifying to save these animals. Living in a cage is no fun. Many have been abused.
A very special thank you to PAW PLACEMENT AND NOAH'S ARK for trusting me with your furries. They are so happy and loved.
Dr. RubyNorma Yanez, Ch.t *o*
COMMENTS: = We have both pedigreed and shelter pets. It is a blessing to save a life. Thank you so much for this posting to remind us all that these animals have no voice.
Anon and Family in Texas
Friday, April 15, 2011
Darlene Arden, Author, Certified Animal Behaviorist
Darlene Arden is a fabulously gifted friend and writer. Her most recent book is helping people and animals have better lives. I am indebted to her for the expertise and simple language it is written. There are wonderful photos to enjoy as well as well-researched ideas for helping your animals. Thank you, Darlene.
Sincerely,
Dr. RubyNorma Yanez, Ch.t
Here's the link to her book on Amazon:
http://tinyurl.com/3dkgvm9
Here's her website:
www.darlenearden.com
Her Red Room blog:
http://www.redroom.com/author/darlene-arden
Her Pets Blog:
http://perpetuallyspeaking.blogspot.com/
COMMENTS:
Anonymous said...
We have been reading Darlene Arden's great blogs and books. They help us raise our dogs and cats with a more refined attidude. Thanks Dr. Yanez..
anon in CT
9:18 AM
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Animal Planet Showing-Jackson Galaxy
Dear Readers and Animal Lovers,
I received this post today about a showing of Animal Planet.
We saw this video and it really moved me b/c the animals were truly vicious before this gentle man came to the rescue. RubyNorma *o*
http://animal.discovery.com/videos/my-cat-from-hell-supertease.html
ANIMAL PLANET RESCUES RELATIONSHIPS AND FIXES UNRULY FELINES IN NEW SERIES MY CAT FROM HELL
- Cat Behaviorist Jackson Galaxy Stars in Three-Part Series Debuting May 7-
April 12, 2011 - Silver Spring, MD — For the first time on Animal Planet, the network will utilize a man who “speaks the language of cats” to tackle feisty felines and the human bonds they have threatened to break in the new series MY CAT FROM HELL. In this three-part mini-series premiering on Saturday, May 7 at 9 PM. (ET/PT), cat behaviorist Jackson Galaxy brings his unique understanding of kitty nature to relationships on the verge of collapse due to aggressive and sometimes violent felines.
At first glance, Galaxy appears tough – with a shaved head, stylish goatee and multiple cat-themed tattoos – but his looks can be deceiving. When he forms a personal connection with problem cats and mentors couples in crisis and desperate to hold onto their furry companions, his softer side emerges. Armed with his trademark guitar case filled with cat toys and training aides, he investigates the reasons why these cats have evolved from cute kittens into unruly felines. Then, utilizing his 15 years of experience and proven training techniques perfected at countless animal shelters and in private consultations, Jackson works with both the cats and their owners in hopes of curbing their habits and rescuing them from these nightmare situations.
In each episode, viewers witness first-hand, in-home accounts of cat guardians struggling to reign in their feisty felines and once again find domestic harmony, including one woman’s emotional dilemma after moving cross country to live with her boyfriend only to discover that his cat does not want her there. In another story, Jackson attempts to save a fiancé who realizes he hates his bride-to-be’s cat and its dangerous habit of going from calm to vicious at a moment’s notice. With limited time and tons of work to do, it’s a race against the clock to save these relationships and the cats before it’s too late.
“I truly believe that I can walk into anyone’s home and use my special skills to resolve their cat issues, whether caused by the owner, the feline or both,” says Jackson. “If it keeps one cat out of a shelter or off the street, I know I have done my job.”
The video tease for the show is at http://animal.discovery.com/videos/my-cat-from-hell-supertease.html
and the press kit is at http://press.discovery.com/us/apl/programs/my-cat-hell/
There is also tons of info on Jackson at his site www.jacksongalaxy.com
Jackson Galaxy is available for media in New York City from April 18 – 22. He is available for media in Southern California this week and from April 25 to May 6. He is generally available via phone or email.
MY CAT FROM HELL is produced for Animal Planet by 3 Ball Productions. Melinda Toporoff is the executive producer for Animal Planet. JD Roth, Todd Nelson and Adam Greener are executive producers, and Mark Herwick is coexecutive producer for 3 Ball.
Animal Planet Media
Animal Planet Media (APM), a multi-media business unit of Discovery Communications, is the world's only entertainment brand that immerses viewers in the full range of life in the animal kingdom with rich, deep content via multiple platforms and offers animal lovers and pet owners access to a centralized online, television and mobile community for immersive, engaging, high-quality entertainment, information and enrichment. APM consists of the Animal Planet television network, available in more than 97 million homes in the US; online assets www.animalplanet.com, the ultimate online destination for all things animal; the 24/7 broadband channel, Animal Planet Beyond; Petfinder.com, the #1 pet-related Web property globally that facilitates pet adoption; and other media platforms including a robust Video-on-Demand (VOD) service; mobile content; and merchandising extensions.
CONTACTS: Matthew Windsor, 240.662.6781, Matthew_Windsor@Discovery.com, Susan von Seggern, 213.840.0077, susan@susanvonseggern.com
or Jennifer Price, 323.965.1990, jprice@lippingroup.com
Susan von Seggern
Public Relations Consultant
susan@susanvonseggern.com
213-840-0077
Follow me on http://twitter.com/SusanvonSeggern
www.susanvonseggern.com
www.angelcityjazz.com
www.jacksongalaxy.com
www.libertyhill.org
www.revigor.us
www.womenofthegreengeneration.com
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Possible Gay Caveman in Czech Republic?
Archaeologists discover first-ever 'gay caveman' in Czech Republic; man buried with pots, not tools
BY Philip Caulfield
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Thursday, April 7th 2011, 9:14 AM Daily News Illustration Archaeologists in the Czech Republic believe they have found the world's first known gay cave man. Take our PollQueer eye for the cave guy? Do you think there could have been a gay caveman? Yes. The archaeologists' arguments sound legitimate. No. Gay caveman? That sounds ridiculous. I'm not sure. Related NewsFor Russia, some love? America reaches arms deal with Russia: Kremlin sourceDoctors find foot-long surgical tool inside woman's abdomen five months after her surgeryPope Benedict taunted by elusive spiderObama scrapping missile shield for Czech Republic, PolandPresident Bush watches U.S. rout Czech RepublicU.S., Czech Republic sign defense agreementArchaeologists in the Czech Republic have dug up the 5,000-year-old skeleton of what they think may be the world's first known gay caveman. Scientists who found the body, which dates back to between 2900 and 2500 BC, said they suspect the caveman may have been a homosexual because he was buried in a way normally reserved for women of the era. The cave-dweller was placed in his grave with his head pointing eastward, along with several domestic pots and jugs, scientists said. Men of this era were typically buried pointing westward, surrounded by weapons such as battle axes and knives, and other tools. The suspected gay caveman did not have any weapons or tools in his grave. "From history and ethnology, we know that people from this period took funeral rites very seriously so it is highly unlikely that this positioning was a mistake," archaeologist Kamila Remisova Vesinova told The Telegraph newspaper. The man lived during the Copper Age in what is known as the Corded Ware culture, which flourished throughout most of Europe during the Stone, Copper and Bronze Ages. The culture received its name because its craftsmen often adorned pottery with chorded decorations. Archeologists Katerina Semradova said in a press conference Tuesday that scientists had discovered similar cases before, including one in which a female warrior was buried as a man and others where prehistoric witch doctors were buried in a style typically reserved for women. "But this later discovery was neither of those, leading us to believe the man was probably homosexual or transsexual," Semradova said.
COMMENTS: = similar burial rites for the Anazasi/Hohokam
anon in Arizona
Thursday, April 07, 2011
The Donald ~ aka Donald Trump
TRENDING: Trump sends investigators to Hawaii to look into Obama
By: CNN Political Producer Alexander Mooney
Washington (CNN) – Self-proclaimed birther Donald Trump is now so doubtful of President Obama's birthplace that he's sent a team of his own investigators to Hawaii in hopes of getting to the bottom of the issue.
That's according to Trump himself, who, in an interview with NBC, warned his investigators just might uncover "one of the greatest cons in the history of politics and beyond."
"I have people that have been studying it and they cannot believe what they're finding," Trump said an interview that aired Thursday Morning.
Asked if he has assigned people specifically to search in Hawaii, Trump said, "Absolutely."
The business mogul, who in a new NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll is tied for second place among potential presidential candidates, also suggested the president is involved in an ongoing cover-up over the matter.
"He spent $2 million in legal fees trying on to get away from this issue, and if it weren't an issue, why wouldn't he just solve it?" he said. "I wish he would because if he doesn't, it's one of the greatest scams in the history of politics and in the history, period. You are not allowed to be a president if you're not born in this country. Right now, I have real doubts."
According to a recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation national poll, 72 percent of Americans say that the president was definitely or probably born in the U.S., with one four saying that he was definitely or probably born outside the country. But the survey indicates a partisan divide, with 43 percent of Republicans but only 11 percent of Democrats saying that Obama was definitely or probably born outside the U.S.
In 2008, the Obama campaign produced a certification of live birth that reports his birthplace as Honolulu, Hawaii – a document the Hawaii government says is official evidence of his birth in the state. Among other evidence of Obama's birth there is the fact the hospital where he was born took out ads in two Hawaiian newspapers in 1961 announcing the birth, while current Gov. Neil Abercrombie says he knew Obama's family and remembers his birth.
In the broad interview, Trump also insisted he's more serious than ever about mounting a presidential bid, but said he can't make a final decision until this season of "Celebrity Apprentice" wraps up.
"I hate to say it. I have the No. 1 show on NBC. Is that the correct statement? The "Celebrity Apprentice" is doing great," said Trump. "You're not allowed to have a show on and be a candidate. It's a great show and it's got phenomenal ratings, and until that show is over I can't declare, otherwise NBC would have to take the show off the air and that would be very unfair."
The show is set to wrap up in mid-May.
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
Cinderella Snow ~ Feline Health Intuitive
This article and all photos are the property of Dr. Yanez. It was published in OUR CATS OUR DOGS MAGAZINE IN ENGLAND.
Feline Health Intuitive ~ Cinderella Snow
By Dr. InaNorma Yanez, Ch.t
Entering the world of professional breeding was a very exciting time in our indoor home cattery. We chose to work with exquisite Bengal Leopard Cats and haven’t ever regretted the decision. In one of our last articles we wrote how our feline genius, Sir Magick, trains the furrrr~babies to do therapy work. But, Cinderella Snow was unique from birth. She was the very first kitten born to us, and.... our first snow leopard.... all in one precious bundle. From the beginning, Cindy was super friendly, gregarious and mischievous to the point of having a fulltime personal comedy show going on in our own home. This cat literally has a sense of humor, an enormous ego, and is blessed with enough love for an army of felines. Once she was observing me cleaning the blades of a ceiling fan. I left the ladder in place to do something and when I returned, there was Cinderella Snowball on top of the ladder, using her paws to clean the fan blades. I had to give her a good washing after that and remove the ladder for her to re-access. hahaha ;) There are people who aren't as intelligent as some of my cats.
Cinderella was the first to leave the birthing box of her litter of five big fat healthy siblings. She was also the first to bravely go exploring. She’d push the others away from her mom’s teats whenever a meal was on her sweet mind. Nothing was sacred with this little precious one. She ate like a gorilla, jumped higher than all her siblings, (Bengals are phenomenal athletes) and got into tons of trouble by opening every door, drawer, closet, and cabinet she could find. With this amount of enthusiasm for life, we did not dream that Cindy would be inclined towards doing therapy work, let alone that she would be sensitive enough to sniff out illnesses and diseases. But that talent was soon to manifest itself in an unusual manner.
One day I went to the local gym and did my usual workout. By the time I came home my left shoulder felt like a heated, razor-sharp knife had been slicing through it. I lay down in bed to rest when Cindy pranced over and began her biscuit dough kneading on me. This snow leopard always purrrrrrs loudly when she massages while looking deeply and directly into my eyes. Normally Cinderella begins by massaging up and down the sternum and then goes directly to the right shoulder. But that day, she sniffed my “left” shoulder, did nothing to the sternum or right shoulder, and pointed with her nose and front paws directly to the area in my "left" shoulder that was in such severe knifing pain. I was absolutely amazed.
Another example of her sensitivity is when a patient came for counseling and Cindy decided to join us. She went directly over to the man’s right ear and sniffed it, just like she did with my shoulder, then pointed with her nose and paws and gently began massaging it. I asked the man if he had any discomfort there and he said, "It was just fine." Well, the next day he called saying that he had to cancel his business trip because he had a raging ear infection in his “right” ear. How did the cat know if he didn’t? Good question, glad you asked. ;)
One explanation is that we are all made up of electro-magnetic energies and impulses which are scientifically measurable by using sensitive medical machinery. Cinderella’s intuitive skills are such that she can somehow feel the imbalance in a patient’s energy-field, which we humans refer to as “dis~ease.” Needless to say, if Cinderella Snow decides to sniff out an area of my body and points, I take immediate notice, even if it feels well at that time.
Cindy was on the competitive show cat circuit for a number of years. Her Royal Highness retired after earning the highest possible title of Platinum Grand Champion. Our precocious girl asked to be retired because it got boring and she needed to move on with her interesting life. Here are Cinderella’s early baby and adult photos to enjoy. Some Seal Lynx Point Bengals’ eyes will turn from ice blue to iridescent shocking cherry red. The red in her adult photo’s eyes is not from the camera flash or red-eye. Sometimes the red covers part of the eyeball. Other times it is the complete eyeball that turns into a fire globe.
Feline Health Intuitive ~ Cinderella Snow
By Dr. InaNorma Yanez, Ch.t
Entering the world of professional breeding was a very exciting time in our indoor home cattery. We chose to work with exquisite Bengal Leopard Cats and haven’t ever regretted the decision. In one of our last articles we wrote how our feline genius, Sir Magick, trains the furrrr~babies to do therapy work. But, Cinderella Snow was unique from birth. She was the very first kitten born to us, and.... our first snow leopard.... all in one precious bundle. From the beginning, Cindy was super friendly, gregarious and mischievous to the point of having a fulltime personal comedy show going on in our own home. This cat literally has a sense of humor, an enormous ego, and is blessed with enough love for an army of felines. Once she was observing me cleaning the blades of a ceiling fan. I left the ladder in place to do something and when I returned, there was Cinderella Snowball on top of the ladder, using her paws to clean the fan blades. I had to give her a good washing after that and remove the ladder for her to re-access. hahaha ;) There are people who aren't as intelligent as some of my cats.
Cinderella was the first to leave the birthing box of her litter of five big fat healthy siblings. She was also the first to bravely go exploring. She’d push the others away from her mom’s teats whenever a meal was on her sweet mind. Nothing was sacred with this little precious one. She ate like a gorilla, jumped higher than all her siblings, (Bengals are phenomenal athletes) and got into tons of trouble by opening every door, drawer, closet, and cabinet she could find. With this amount of enthusiasm for life, we did not dream that Cindy would be inclined towards doing therapy work, let alone that she would be sensitive enough to sniff out illnesses and diseases. But that talent was soon to manifest itself in an unusual manner.
One day I went to the local gym and did my usual workout. By the time I came home my left shoulder felt like a heated, razor-sharp knife had been slicing through it. I lay down in bed to rest when Cindy pranced over and began her biscuit dough kneading on me. This snow leopard always purrrrrrs loudly when she massages while looking deeply and directly into my eyes. Normally Cinderella begins by massaging up and down the sternum and then goes directly to the right shoulder. But that day, she sniffed my “left” shoulder, did nothing to the sternum or right shoulder, and pointed with her nose and front paws directly to the area in my "left" shoulder that was in such severe knifing pain. I was absolutely amazed.
Another example of her sensitivity is when a patient came for counseling and Cindy decided to join us. She went directly over to the man’s right ear and sniffed it, just like she did with my shoulder, then pointed with her nose and paws and gently began massaging it. I asked the man if he had any discomfort there and he said, "It was just fine." Well, the next day he called saying that he had to cancel his business trip because he had a raging ear infection in his “right” ear. How did the cat know if he didn’t? Good question, glad you asked. ;)
One explanation is that we are all made up of electro-magnetic energies and impulses which are scientifically measurable by using sensitive medical machinery. Cinderella’s intuitive skills are such that she can somehow feel the imbalance in a patient’s energy-field, which we humans refer to as “dis~ease.” Needless to say, if Cinderella Snow decides to sniff out an area of my body and points, I take immediate notice, even if it feels well at that time.
Cindy was on the competitive show cat circuit for a number of years. Her Royal Highness retired after earning the highest possible title of Platinum Grand Champion. Our precocious girl asked to be retired because it got boring and she needed to move on with her interesting life. Here are Cinderella’s early baby and adult photos to enjoy. Some Seal Lynx Point Bengals’ eyes will turn from ice blue to iridescent shocking cherry red. The red in her adult photo’s eyes is not from the camera flash or red-eye. Sometimes the red covers part of the eyeball. Other times it is the complete eyeball that turns into a fire globe.
Friday, April 01, 2011
Is There Corruption In The FED?
So many comments have come in that I have put a small sampling atop of the article. Ruby*o*
Anonymous said...
AMERICA IS DYING FROM INTERNAL CORRUPTION! All the futile wars are to cover up how corrupted the ever-growing-government and big businesses really are. They sleep in bed together. The American tax-payers are the biggest fools in the world for allowing it.
How tragic for a once great and independent nation! Just ask yourself the following question???
When was the last time The USA won a war after World War Two?
anon
"I do not care if the president is polka-dotted Chartreuse, just get us back to a balanced budget and out of these moronic wars so people can work and earn a living here in this land. Shipping out all our jobs is only one part of the corrupted thinking. I recall back in the early-to-mid-80's being told by many high ranking bankers that they were already shipping out 35% of all their jobs. The real numbers of lost American paid jobs today, would probably cause us all to have coronaries."
anon
The American public has been in the process of getting "dumbed down" since the thirties. History is no longer taught and we are doomed to become (or are we already) mediocre. Those who fail to study history are doomed to repeat it. Just look at the local politics. After the last election, someone wrote that Sarah Palin was just one of us and that was not what we needed and that she should go on home. We needed the brilliance that we have now in the current administration. Well that brilliance has continued the trend toward bankruptcy. I do not care which party a person claims, the corruption runs so deep now that we may never be able to cleanse our country. We are supposed to be a government "of the people, by the people, for the people". Perhaps we should be looking at the "Of the people" part carefully in the future. I am not necessarily advocating Ms Palin, but I would shy clear of anyone who has a silver tongue.
A currently unemployed US citizen who has had enough!! anon
Islamic Sharia Law Muslims in America. Our Muslim President. Ignorant Liberals. Dumbed Down Americans. Mexican and other Illegals. The Federal Reserve Bank. The One world Government Organizations. General Electric. Free Trade Laws.
Uninvolved Americans (those who do not care) Greed and All Other Sins, The Godless Masses and Iran. anon
Libya-Owned Arab Banking Corp. Drew at Least $5 Billion From Fed in Crisis
By Donal Griffin and Bob Ivry - Apr 1, 2011 9:46 AM MT
Could it possibly be that American governmental, and big business rulers, are some of America's own worst enemies? What is your take, given this vital info about The FED? Is internal corruption at least as dangerous as Radical Terrorism for our very survival as a nation?
Please comment knowing that anger is permitted but no foul language is accepted? Thank you. Ruby *o*
Arab Banking Corp ., then part-owned by the Libyan state, used a New York branch to borrow at least $5 billion from the U.S. Federal Reserve in 2008 and 2009. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg News
Chart: Federal Reserve's Discount Window
Arab Banking Corp., the lender part- owned by the Central Bank of Libya, used a New York branch to get 73 loans from the U.S. Federal Reserve in the 18 months after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. collapsed.
The bank, then 29 percent-owned by the Libyan state, had aggregate borrowings in that period of $35 billion -- while the largest single loan amount outstanding was $1.2 billion in July 2009, according to Fed data released yesterday. In October 2008, when lending to financial institutions by the central bank’s so- called discount window peaked at $111 billion, Arab Banking took repeated loans totaling more than $2 billion.
Fed officials say all the discount window loans made during the worst financial crisis since the 1930s have been repaid with interest.
The U.S. government has frozen assets linked to the regime of Libyan ruler Muammar Qaddafi and engaged in air strikes against his military forces, which are battling a rebel uprising in the North African country. Arab Banking got an exemption that allows the firm to continue operating while barring it from engaging in any transactions with the Libyan government, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
Sanders Reacts
“It is incomprehensible to me that while creditworthy small businesses in Vermont and throughout the country could not receive affordable loans, the Federal Reserve was providing tens of billions of dollars in credit to a bank that is substantially owned by the Central Bank of Libya,” Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, wrote in a letter to Fed and U.S. officials.
The letter was addressed to Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and John Walsh, acting comptroller of the currency. The figure refers to the aggregate amount of loans the bank received under U.S. lending programs. Arab Banking, known as ABC, owed about $4 billion to the Fed under other bailout programs in the fall of 2009, data released in December show.
“ABC has a robust balance sheet, is amply capitalized and currently maintains a comfortable liquidity position,” the company said in an e-mailed statement. “ABC currently has no outstanding loans under any Federal Reserve, or other, emergency lending program.”
Libya’s Stake
Jack Gutt, a spokesman for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, declined to comment. Arab Banking said Dec. 2 that Libya’s stake in the Manama, Bahrain-based lender had increased to 59 percent.
“There was an uneasy detente between the United States and Libya” when the loans were made, said William Poole, senior economic adviser to Merk Investments LLC and a former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. “It would not happen in the morning.”
The New York branch, on Park Avenue in midtown Manhattan, deals mainly in trade finance, according to its website. David Siegel is the branch’s treasurer. The bank’s chairman is Mohammed Husain Layas, chief executive officer of the Libyan Investment Authority. The CEO is Bahrain-based Hassan Ali Juma.
“ABC’s New York branch conducts wholesale business and plays an important role in helping U.S. companies conduct business in the Middle East,” the company said in the statement. “The New York branch of ABC also participates in enhancing the liquidity of U.S. markets and virtually all of its employees are U.S. citizens.”
Company’s Loss
Arab Banking reported a loss of $880 million in 2008 as it took a $1.1 billion charge tied to structured investment vehicles and derivative products known as collateralized debt obligations. Arab Banking recovered during the next two years, posting profits totaling $265 million.
Libya previously shared the bank with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and the Kuwait Investment Authority, both sovereign investment funds. The Libyan Central Bank bought out the Abu Dhabi stake in 2010 and took majority control, which prompted Fitch Ratings in December to downgrade Arab Banking’s credit rating.
In March, after the U.S. froze Libya’s assets, Fitch downgraded the bank’s credit rating again, this time to “junk” status. Contracts to protect Arab Banking’s debt, which typically rise as investor confidence deteriorates, increased by 186 basis points to 500 during March. A basis point equals $1,000 annually on a contract protecting $10 million of debt.
Uncertain Outcome
“Nobody knows how the situation in Libya is going to work out finally and who will ultimately be in charge and obviously who will be running institutions like the central bank,” Philip Smith, a London-based Fitch analyst, said in a phone interview.
Under the asset freeze, the bank has been prevented from conducting transactions with the Qaddafi regime and can thus continue trading with other customers as usual, Smith said.
Arab Banking “has a policy of complying with all applicable sanctions regimes and has conducted, and will continue to conduct, its dealings in strict and total compliance with all relevant laws and regulations,” the company said in the statement.
The bank listed deposits of $17.5 billion at the end of 2010. According to a report from the Fitch Ratings firm, the Libyan Central Bank places “sizeable deposits” with the lender. Marti Adams, a spokeswoman for the Department of Treasury, declined to comment on whether Arab Banking is holding any frozen Libyan assets.
“It is today escaping the economic sanctions imposed to hobble Muammar Qaddafi’s brutal regime,” Sanders said in his letter. “Why would the U.S. government exempt the Arab Banking Corporation from economic sanctions when it is primarily owned by the Central Bank of Libya?”
Bloomberg News has posted the Fed documents for Bloomberg Professional Service subscribers, as well as online at www.bloomberg.com.
To contact the reporters on this story: Donal Griffin in New York at Dgriffin10@bloomberg.net; Bob Ivry in New York at bivry@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Scheer at dscheer@bloomberg.net
Anonymous said...
AMERICA IS DYING FROM INTERNAL CORRUPTION! All the futile wars are to cover up how corrupted the ever-growing-government and big businesses really are. They sleep in bed together. The American tax-payers are the biggest fools in the world for allowing it.
How tragic for a once great and independent nation! Just ask yourself the following question???
When was the last time The USA won a war after World War Two?
anon
"I do not care if the president is polka-dotted Chartreuse, just get us back to a balanced budget and out of these moronic wars so people can work and earn a living here in this land. Shipping out all our jobs is only one part of the corrupted thinking. I recall back in the early-to-mid-80's being told by many high ranking bankers that they were already shipping out 35% of all their jobs. The real numbers of lost American paid jobs today, would probably cause us all to have coronaries."
anon
The American public has been in the process of getting "dumbed down" since the thirties. History is no longer taught and we are doomed to become (or are we already) mediocre. Those who fail to study history are doomed to repeat it. Just look at the local politics. After the last election, someone wrote that Sarah Palin was just one of us and that was not what we needed and that she should go on home. We needed the brilliance that we have now in the current administration. Well that brilliance has continued the trend toward bankruptcy. I do not care which party a person claims, the corruption runs so deep now that we may never be able to cleanse our country. We are supposed to be a government "of the people, by the people, for the people". Perhaps we should be looking at the "Of the people" part carefully in the future. I am not necessarily advocating Ms Palin, but I would shy clear of anyone who has a silver tongue.
A currently unemployed US citizen who has had enough!! anon
Islamic Sharia Law Muslims in America. Our Muslim President. Ignorant Liberals. Dumbed Down Americans. Mexican and other Illegals. The Federal Reserve Bank. The One world Government Organizations. General Electric. Free Trade Laws.
Uninvolved Americans (those who do not care) Greed and All Other Sins, The Godless Masses and Iran. anon
Libya-Owned Arab Banking Corp. Drew at Least $5 Billion From Fed in Crisis
By Donal Griffin and Bob Ivry - Apr 1, 2011 9:46 AM MT
Could it possibly be that American governmental, and big business rulers, are some of America's own worst enemies? What is your take, given this vital info about The FED? Is internal corruption at least as dangerous as Radical Terrorism for our very survival as a nation?
Please comment knowing that anger is permitted but no foul language is accepted? Thank you. Ruby *o*
Arab Banking Corp ., then part-owned by the Libyan state, used a New York branch to borrow at least $5 billion from the U.S. Federal Reserve in 2008 and 2009. Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg News
Chart: Federal Reserve's Discount Window
Arab Banking Corp., the lender part- owned by the Central Bank of Libya, used a New York branch to get 73 loans from the U.S. Federal Reserve in the 18 months after Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. collapsed.
The bank, then 29 percent-owned by the Libyan state, had aggregate borrowings in that period of $35 billion -- while the largest single loan amount outstanding was $1.2 billion in July 2009, according to Fed data released yesterday. In October 2008, when lending to financial institutions by the central bank’s so- called discount window peaked at $111 billion, Arab Banking took repeated loans totaling more than $2 billion.
Fed officials say all the discount window loans made during the worst financial crisis since the 1930s have been repaid with interest.
The U.S. government has frozen assets linked to the regime of Libyan ruler Muammar Qaddafi and engaged in air strikes against his military forces, which are battling a rebel uprising in the North African country. Arab Banking got an exemption that allows the firm to continue operating while barring it from engaging in any transactions with the Libyan government, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
Sanders Reacts
“It is incomprehensible to me that while creditworthy small businesses in Vermont and throughout the country could not receive affordable loans, the Federal Reserve was providing tens of billions of dollars in credit to a bank that is substantially owned by the Central Bank of Libya,” Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, wrote in a letter to Fed and U.S. officials.
The letter was addressed to Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and John Walsh, acting comptroller of the currency. The figure refers to the aggregate amount of loans the bank received under U.S. lending programs. Arab Banking, known as ABC, owed about $4 billion to the Fed under other bailout programs in the fall of 2009, data released in December show.
“ABC has a robust balance sheet, is amply capitalized and currently maintains a comfortable liquidity position,” the company said in an e-mailed statement. “ABC currently has no outstanding loans under any Federal Reserve, or other, emergency lending program.”
Libya’s Stake
Jack Gutt, a spokesman for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, declined to comment. Arab Banking said Dec. 2 that Libya’s stake in the Manama, Bahrain-based lender had increased to 59 percent.
“There was an uneasy detente between the United States and Libya” when the loans were made, said William Poole, senior economic adviser to Merk Investments LLC and a former president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. “It would not happen in the morning.”
The New York branch, on Park Avenue in midtown Manhattan, deals mainly in trade finance, according to its website. David Siegel is the branch’s treasurer. The bank’s chairman is Mohammed Husain Layas, chief executive officer of the Libyan Investment Authority. The CEO is Bahrain-based Hassan Ali Juma.
“ABC’s New York branch conducts wholesale business and plays an important role in helping U.S. companies conduct business in the Middle East,” the company said in the statement. “The New York branch of ABC also participates in enhancing the liquidity of U.S. markets and virtually all of its employees are U.S. citizens.”
Company’s Loss
Arab Banking reported a loss of $880 million in 2008 as it took a $1.1 billion charge tied to structured investment vehicles and derivative products known as collateralized debt obligations. Arab Banking recovered during the next two years, posting profits totaling $265 million.
Libya previously shared the bank with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and the Kuwait Investment Authority, both sovereign investment funds. The Libyan Central Bank bought out the Abu Dhabi stake in 2010 and took majority control, which prompted Fitch Ratings in December to downgrade Arab Banking’s credit rating.
In March, after the U.S. froze Libya’s assets, Fitch downgraded the bank’s credit rating again, this time to “junk” status. Contracts to protect Arab Banking’s debt, which typically rise as investor confidence deteriorates, increased by 186 basis points to 500 during March. A basis point equals $1,000 annually on a contract protecting $10 million of debt.
Uncertain Outcome
“Nobody knows how the situation in Libya is going to work out finally and who will ultimately be in charge and obviously who will be running institutions like the central bank,” Philip Smith, a London-based Fitch analyst, said in a phone interview.
Under the asset freeze, the bank has been prevented from conducting transactions with the Qaddafi regime and can thus continue trading with other customers as usual, Smith said.
Arab Banking “has a policy of complying with all applicable sanctions regimes and has conducted, and will continue to conduct, its dealings in strict and total compliance with all relevant laws and regulations,” the company said in the statement.
The bank listed deposits of $17.5 billion at the end of 2010. According to a report from the Fitch Ratings firm, the Libyan Central Bank places “sizeable deposits” with the lender. Marti Adams, a spokeswoman for the Department of Treasury, declined to comment on whether Arab Banking is holding any frozen Libyan assets.
“It is today escaping the economic sanctions imposed to hobble Muammar Qaddafi’s brutal regime,” Sanders said in his letter. “Why would the U.S. government exempt the Arab Banking Corporation from economic sanctions when it is primarily owned by the Central Bank of Libya?”
Bloomberg News has posted the Fed documents for Bloomberg Professional Service subscribers, as well as online at www.bloomberg.com.
To contact the reporters on this story: Donal Griffin in New York at Dgriffin10@bloomberg.net; Bob Ivry in New York at bivry@bloomberg.net.
To contact the editor responsible for this story: David Scheer at dscheer@bloomberg.net
