BLACK FRIDAY: WHY THIS ONE IS ESPECIALLY DARK, By Carolyn Baker
Wednesday, 21 November 2007


A few moments ago I posted on my site the MSNBC version of "The Coming Consumer Crunch" which forecasts severe and painful belt-tightening for American families in 2008. Then when I checked my inbox, a Truthout bulletin listing Kelpie Wilson's latest article "Give Thanks For Oil" appeared. One paragraph leapt out at me:



Why should we give thanks that the future holds no cheap oil? There are several reasons, but the first is that cheap oil has fueled a 50-year-long party in the industrialized West that has left us with an unsustainable economy that is wrecking the planet. The recent awareness of global warming is beginning to put a damper on our out-of-control binge, but not fast enough to slow the heating of the planet. Rising oil prices will force a cutback in consumption. Rising oil prices will also chill the fantasy of endless growth and force us to confront the reality of planetary limits.



I have no crystal ball, nor do I claim to have well-developed psychic powers, but I'd be willing to bet almost anything that next Thanksgiving season will be dramatically different from this one. A dark curtain of despair has descended, along with $100 oil, on Wall Street, and the amount of debt that the American working and middle classes are trying to juggle is, as Stan Goff so eloquently stated in his article on my site, "Middle Class Angst", nothing less than "pre-volcanic."



Cheap oil will allow us to travel "over the river and through the woods" to grandmother's or someone else's house, or we may prepare our food orgy at home using gas or electric ranges, savoring the turkey and trimmings made possible by low-cost hydrocarbon energy. While the feast will be more expensive than it was last year, its cost may pale by comparison with the price of next year's gastronomical adventure-if indeed we can afford one. The after-dinner experience is likely to consist of television or movie viewing at home or another car trek to the local cine-plex for a new Thanksgiving Day release or two. A walk or bike ride requiring no use of hydrocarbon energy would be ideal, but it will take much more energy depletion than we are now experiencing to make that option viable for most Americans.



On Friday, millions of shoppers will descend on malls and box stores where the bells and whistles of credit card transactions will reverberate every few seconds, non-stop for perhaps seventy-two hours. Those bills will come due for those shoppers in a post-holiday hangover of dollar plummeting hysteria, monumental levels of debt, foreclosure, bankruptcy, unemployment, energy depletion, skyrocketing gas and food prices, illnesses treated without health insurance coverage-or just not treated, unprecedented levels of homelessness, and by all indications, within a few months into 2008, America will be well on the road to a re-run of 1929-or something inconceivably worse.



None of this, of course, includes the likelihood of an attack on or invasion by the U.S. of yet another country in one of its serial oil-addiction binges, nor does it include another terrorist attack orchestrated by the U.S. government, nor does it include a natural disaster or two where Blackwater troops storm into the homes of innocent American citizens followed by another fraudulent election engineered by the Democratic Party or the cancellation of an election entirely.



As I continue to write and talk about collapse, the "tell-me-what-to-do" supplications escalate, and when I speak my truth in reply, my words are met with responses only slightly less hostile than eye-rolling. Americans not only refuse to accept the limits the earth is pounding them with, but demand that their response to those limits be effortless, cheery, hopeful, and above all not require them to change anything about their lives. Any suggestion that introspection, dramatically altering one's lifestyle, and pondering one's values, priorities, and life's work are as important, if not more important, than voting for Green Party candidates, consuming less energy, or purchasing environmentally-friendly products is met with blank stares or my favorite response, the accusation of "fear-mongering."



Two hundred species or more of life forms died today on planet earth, and two hundred will die tomorrow, but I'm not supposed to remind you because that wouldn't be "hopeful"?



Today, Gerald Celente, Director of Trends Research Institute stated that "We are going to see economic times the likes of which no living person has seen", as he forecasted a "Panic of 2008." Celente continued to say very non-hopeful things like:

"I would not be surprised if giants tumble to their deaths" and "The ‘Panic of 2008' will lead to a lower U.S. standard of living."

"A result will be a drop in holiday spending a year from now, followed by a permanent end of the ‘retail holiday frenzy' that has driven the U.S. economy since the 1940s," says Celente.



On this Thanksgiving Day I will shudder as I do every day for those clueless individuals and families who in a few years or even months may be daily visiting food banks which are already experiencing shortages. I will feel deep grief as I contemplate the teeming masses of innocent humans who will die because of Peak Oil, climate change, global pandemics, and species die-off and who because they didn't want to have their bubble of hope burst, called people like me a fear-monger while continuing their suicidal courses of action. I will be painfully aware that the food I eat for Thanksgiving dinner is on my plate because of cheap oil, and as I settle into a comfortable seat at the movie theater, I will be acutely aware that my two-and-a-half hour escape from reality is only possible because of the natural gas that powers the digital video and sound systems that dazzle me with what is unquestionably my favorite art form of all. What will I do in a post-collapse world when I don't have it? Make my own art perhaps?



Yet another part of me-a different part of my physiology experiences a bit of relief-perhaps a release and expansion in my cells as I realize that empire is reaching the end of the line, that the slogan my friend Matt Savinar has at the top of his website is not only true, but unfolding faster than I or anyone else could have imagined:



Deal with reality, or reality will deal with you.



So on this Thanksgiving week as stomachs are stuffed and the cacophony of credit card transactions deafens and defies the reality of global economic meltdown, I will celebrate that we are now closer to the total collapse of civilization than we have ever been, and that for all the rampant suffering it will evoke around the world, the soul-murdering, mind-numbing, body obliterating culture of empire is terminally ill and on life-support. I know not how many, if any of us, will survive its collapse, but I do know that until it has fallen fatally silent, no life form on earth will ever experience freedom or fullness of life.



These are the "good ole days" to be remembered when we have almost nothing that we now take for granted or feel entitled to. And at the same time, these are dark new days that begin and end amid the sea change occurring all around us. That darkness signals and end to holidays as we have known them. This year, like all those other years, we will lament that despite our best intentions, we ate too much. In what year will we remember Thanksgivings of the past and weep and salivate as we search for whatever morsels of food we can find? I am convinced that absolutely nothing will awaken Americans except starvation, but by the time they have arrived at that horrifying circumstance, it will be far too late.



In these dark new days when readers email me with questions or arguments about aliens or engage in nit-picking philosophical posturing, I refuse to respond with anything other than the following questions: What will you do when you have no food to eat and no water to drink? How will you obtain healthcare when it no longer exists? What have you done to liberate yourself from debt? Where are you living and how sustainable is it? If you need to relocate, why haven't you done so? I then refer them to the Survival Acres banner ad at the top of my site and the Preparedness Store at Matt Savinar's site. In other words, does it really matter what I or anyone else thinks about aliens or what method of intellectual masturbation we prefer when we have no food or water?



These are the good ole days, my friend, and these are also the dark new days. Happy Thanksgiving; savor every bite.

http://carolynbaker.net/site/index2....4&pop=1&page=0

Not a very cheery wake me up is it?



U.S. Dollar Could Plunge 90 Percent
http://www.hispanicbusiness.com/news/newsbyid.asp?id=82...

RHINEBECK, N.Y. -- A financial crisis will likely send the U.S. dollar into a free fall of as much as 90 percent and gold soaring to $2,000 an ounce, a trends researcher said.

"We are going to see economic times the likes of which no living person has seen," Trends Research Institute Director Gerald Celente said, forecasting a "Panic of 2008."

"The bigger they are, the harder they'll fall," he said in an interview with New York's Hudson Valley Business Journal.

Celente -- who forecast the subprime mortgage financial crisis and the dollar's decline a year ago and gold's current rise in May -- told the newspaper the subprime mortgage meltdown was just the first "small, high-risk segment of the market" to collapse.

Derivative dealers, hedge funds, buyout firms and other market players will also unravel, he said.

Massive corporate losses, such as those recently posted by Citigroup Inc. and General Motors Corp., will also be fairly common "for some time to come," he said.

He said he would not "be surprised if giants tumble to their deaths," Celente said.

The Panic of 2008 will lead to a lower U.S. standard of living, he said.

A result will be a drop in holiday spending a year from now, followed by a permanent end of the "retail holiday frenzy" that has driven the U.S. economy since the 1940s, he said.

Delinkage Oil Price From Dollar Under Assessment


By Sven Ridley-Wordich
17 Nov 2007 at 06:20 PM GMT-05:00



RIYADH (ResourceInvestor.com) -- The linkage between high crude oil prices and devaluation of the dollar on the global markets has become one of the issues discussed in the sidelines of the OPEC Summit. During the behind-closed-doors discussions of the OPEC Ministers, Iran and Venezuela have proposed to delink crude oil from dollar denominations. Ministers have been discussing openly, as sources present during the meeting stated, whether oil should continue to be valued in dollars. Iran and Venezuela have already been openly urging members to consider the option. However, as OPEC officials stated after the meeting, even the mentioning of a possibility would currently have a debilitating effect on the position of the dollar. Still, Iran and Venezuela seem to be heading towards an implementation of the idea. Already, most Asian traders are being asked by Iran to have contracts set up in either Euros or Yen. Some negative effects currently hurting the dollar value worldwide could be contributed to the proposal.


Discussions presently seem to be heading towards a possible study of the de-linkage, even that OPEC will not include the option in its statement on Sunday. During other meetings, Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prince Saud Al Faisal, has warned parties not even to discuss the latter as it is very sensitive. The possible consequences of a move toward the euro or other international currencies could undermine the already very weak position the dollar has. Some financial analysts have repeatedly claimed that the dollar could keep its global position only to the fact that it’s the main currency oil is traded in. Taking this basis away, the dollar could plunge even more.


Most Arab Gulf countries fear the possibility of a further devaluation of the dollar, which will put increased pressure on their overall oil and gas revenues, on which the majority of their international trade is still based. Some OPEC countries have refuted claims that they could have negative impact on the dollar, as the majority of crude oil is manufactured by non-OPEC producers. Al Feisal has stated to the press, showing his concerns, that if such a decision will have to be taken, this only will be possible if non-OPEC countries are involved.


Iranian officials are not complying, however, to the OPEC views, as they have still asked members to consider the option to counter the weak position of dollar. Nigeria, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, all three vastly connected to the American sphere of influence via trade or political-strategic considerations, have refused to take the idea on board.


The idea will not become one of the main issues discussed by OPEC it seems, but developments such as the de-linkage need to be kept in mind for the coming years. In a rational way, the Iranian Venezuelan proposal could be effective and maybe even worthwhile taking. Economically it could support the hard-needed economic diversification projects of the OPEC members, leaving more value in the hands of governments. But as analysts also indicated, it would not only hurt global economy, which is still based on dollar transactions, push down American economic growth, but also have a very negative effect on the developing world. A crude oil sector based on euros will crush most developing countries’ already struggling economic development. Most African countries are energy importers, paying crude oil imports in dollars, while exporting products to Europe extensively. The revenues gained from the latter are needed to improve their own economies. If all will need to be paid in euros, the positive effects of the latter are removed, while higher crude oil prices will hurt directly all sectors in the end.


The obvious other link between the Venezuelan-Iranian proposal is to hurt American policies. A slowdown of the American economy and a weaker dollar is obviously seen by Tehran and Caracas as a nice way of confronting American president George W Bush. Oil is politics, the latter is currently also making headlines in Riyadh.



http://www.resourceinvestor.com/pebble.asp?relid=37958

There ought to be a law against this stuff!

by Laura Rowley

Virginia grandmother Ruby Fauntleroy, 74, knew something was wrong when her rent payment bounced shortly after her Social Security check had been direct-deposited into her bank account.

Fauntleroy went to the bank, where a teller told her that the account was frozen following notice of a court judgment and garnishment order by Capital One. Fauntleroy had been trying to pay off this $4,000 credit card debt for years, but dropped her monthly payment to $100 after her husband died and her income declined. Capital One sued, and won a judgment.

"I was just numb, I couldn't believe this could happen," said Fauntleroy. "I told the bank, 'You know nobody is supposed to take a government check,' but they did. I couldn't sleep at night, I couldn't eat. I thought, why are they doing this to me when I was trying to pay [my debt]?"

When Exempt Isn't

Legal aid agencies across the country say they've been flooded with calls from seniors and disabled people whose accounts have been frozen by bill collectors. This is happening even though the federal government specifically prohibits the garnishment of exempt funds such as Social Security and veterans benefits.

In the worst cases, seniors go hungry or without medication because they have no access to funds -- in some cases, for months at a time. "People can really bumble around for months trying to get their accounts unfrozen because the procedures they have to follow are so Byzantine," says Claudia Wilner, attorney with the New York-based Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project (NEDAP), which handles about 200 such cases a year.

In August, three senators asked the inspector general of the Social Security Administration to investigate the extent of the problem, querying the nation's largest banks on how often the practice occurs. The Senate Finance Committee held hearings on the issue in September.

Slow to Respond

The problem comes amid enormous growth in consumer debt, and changes in technology that make it easier and cheaper for creditors to seize bank accounts. Although banks can tell whether an account contains exempt funds before they issue a freeze, they argue that ignoring a restraining order would leave them in contempt of state court.

But even when both the creditor and the bank agree a mistake has been made, bureaucracy can leave seniors in limbo for weeks. Laurie Doran, staff attorney for South Jersey Legal Services, had a client who discovered the levy on her account when she went to buy medication. "They zapped both her savings and checking, and she didn't have access to any funds," says Doran. "She came over from the pharmacy in an absolute panic."

Although attorneys for both the creditor and the bank immediately agreed to lift the freeze, it couldn't be done because the levy officer -- a liaison between the court and the bank -- was unresponsive. It took two weeks to unravel, during which the elderly woman's health deteriorated.

Death by a Thousand Fees

Moreover, some banks are making a profit off these account holders through exorbitant fees. Banks typically charge a non-refundable legal processing fee of $100 to $150 for the freeze itself. Then, when the consumer, unaware of the freeze, pays their bills, they can incur significant overdraft fees.

In one case, Chase Bank froze the checking account of a New York retiree -- whose only income was from Social Security -- following a $920 judgment for an unpaid dental bill. The woman had $929.54 in her account, but the dentist never got anything. "Chase Bank managed to grab the entire account," says her attorney, Jim Baker of the Northern Manhattan Improvement Project.

The 72-year-old wrote nine checks against the account without realizing it had been frozen; several of those checks were presented twice for payment. Chase charged $30 each time. In addition, the bank was debiting 45 cents a month from her account for credit insurance. "Every time the first of month rolled by and Chase couldn't debit its 45 cents, they charged her another $30," says Baker. In four months, the account was empty.

Even when a freeze is lifted and garnished funds are restored, banks often refuse to refund fees. "The banks say they have the right to charge fees because it's a deposit agreement," says Wilner. "They say they are not acting through the legal process, but through a contractual agreement, so the regulatory exemption doesn't apply to them."

Trolling for Delinquencies

The problems are becoming more frequent because of the burgeoning debt collection industry. In 2005, $110 billion in face-value debt was purchased by third-party debt buyers, 90 percent of it credit card receivables, according to the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals.

In New York City, the number of consumer debt cases filed in civil court has grown 300 percent in 5 years, to 320,000 cases in 2006, according to a new report from the Urban Justice Center. Ninety percent were brought by third-party debt buyers. Almost $1 billion in claims were made against New York City residents, and creditors obtained judgments of nearly $800 million, the center estimates.

Once a default judgment goes through, the creditor's attorney sends an electronic information subpoena and restraining notice, which has the same power as a court order. The cost is minimal. "The volume of collection activity is way up," says Baker. "Creditors used to have to have some reason for thinking someone had an account at a specific bank. Now they simply send out a blanket email to every bank in the tri-state area, and say, 'If so-and-so has an account, freeze it.'"

On the consumer side, the problem is compounded by direct deposit: This year, 85 percent of Social Security recipients received their payments electronically, up from 41.5 percent in 1985. Someone who encounters a freeze may have subsequent checks slip into the account before they're able to find their way through the legal maze.

Frozen and Refrozen

Meanwhile, creditors who are rebuffed often turn around and file a new claim for the same debt. New Yorker Waverly Taliaferro, 70, worked for decades as a photographer before retiring in 2001. He and his wife lived off of his Social Security payment and her income. In 2003, when she was laid off, they fell behind on a credit card bill. Their account was frozen in 2006, which Taliaferro discovered on his way to the grocery store. Over the next 23 days, he says, he and his wife survived on a 10-pound bag of brown rice.

After his lawyer was able to remove the freeze, Taliaferro began receiving his check by mail, and paying $23 to a check-cashing service to cash it. Six months later, his attorney told him that Chase Bank had issued a policy not to freeze exempt funds, so Taliaferro opened an account -- and received a $100 bonus from the bank for using direct deposit. The account was frozen 16 days later because it contained non-exempt funds -- what was left of the bonus money from Chase.

"Absolutely nothing will stop that debt buyer from trying to freeze it again," says Taliaferro's attorney, Johnson Tyler of South Brooklyn Legal Services. "When a credit card company sells off a debt, they don't sell it with a red flag that says, 'We tried to collect and she's on Social Security.' It's sold as part of a bundle of debt. We have cases where the debt buyer froze the account three times in a row on a client who is homeless and mentally impaired. A judge ordered them to stop and they still did it."

A Modern-Day Debtors' Prison?

Consumer advocates say Congress should adopt federal legislation modeled after a California law that prohibits a restraint on the first $2,500 of any account into which Social Security funds are directly deposited. "That would simplify things for the banks, and essentially effectuate the whole purpose of what Congress wanted to accomplish with exemption laws," says Tyler.

For her part, Fauntleroy says she's done with credit cards, although she still gets daily offers in the mail. "They keep trying, but I won't bite -- I even got one from Capital One," she says. "Either they're crazy or they think I am!"

Like Fauntleroy, many seniors try to make good on their debts, legal advocates say. "Many of our clients made payments for years until they couldn't do it anymore," says Patricia Duecy, a paralegal with Legal Services of Northern Virginia who worked on Fauntleroy's case. "Some of them did pay them off -- if you looked at what they actually charged, outside of late fees and interest.

"A long time ago the country made a decision that when a person is old or poor, they should have a subsistence income to pay for rent, food, and medicine," Duecy adds. "The money is supposed to be going to their basic needs and not going into the hands of debt collectors. If we can't protect the most vulnerable among us, what are we doing?"

http://finance.yahoo.com/expert/article/moneyhappy/53832;_ylt=Amrh1yvfAiIX5ABZEslCrLhO7sMF

The Fed Has Wrecked the Stock Market

by Mike Whitney

America is finished, washed up, kaput. Foreign investors and central banks around the world have lost confidence in US markets and are headed for the exits. The dollar is sinking, the country is insolvent, and its leaders are barking mad. Investors are voting with their feet. They've had enough. Capital is flowing to China and the Far East in a torrent. It's "sayonara" downtown Manhattan and "Hello" Tiananmen Square.

The dollar fell another 2 per cent last night, gold soared to $840 per ounce, oil topped $98 per barrel, General Motors reported a $39 billion loss after the market closed on Tuesday, the real estate market continued its downward slide, and the major investment banks are marching in lock-step towards bankruptcy.

The news is all bad. The nation's economic foundation is in shambles. US credibility is shot. Bush and Greenspan have put us on the road to ruin. Now their work is done. We're flat broke.

The catalogue of fiscal ailments now facing the country is too long to list. We'd need a ledger the size of a small encyclopedia. There's been a stampede away from the dollar even though it's already lost over 60 per cent of its value since Bush took office and even though central banks around the world will lose their shirts if it collapses. They don't care. They're getting out while they can.

Cheng Siwei, the vice chairman of China's National People's Congress, announced yesterday that China would continue to diversify its $1.4 trillion reserves away from the dollar to "stronger currencies" like the euro. "Strong currencies"; isn't that Paulson's line? Siwei's comments ignited a firestorm in the currency markets triggering a big blow-off of the greenback. The poor dollar has no place to go now but down, and it's on a greased pole to the bottom. With consumer spending paralyzed by the decline in home equity and frozen wages, and the banks "stuffed to the gills" with over a trillion dollars of mortgage-backed sludge; the prognosis for the hobbled dollar is looking grimmer by the day. The bulging trade deficits and dwindling foreign inflows haven't helped either. The greenback has suddenly become the global pariah; all it needs is a leper's rattle and a tin cup.

The news is no better in the real estate industry either, where the nation's biggest builders are reporting record losses and inventory is backed up 11 months. Sales are off 22 per cent in one year alone. Foreclosures are skyrocketing, jumbo loans (over $417,000) are impossible to get regardless of one's credit history, 40 per cent of all mortgages (subprime, Alt-A, piggyback, reverse amortization, interest-only) have been eliminated, and entire projects in Florida, Arizona, Las Vegas, and California's Central Valley have stopped building altogether. Tens of thousands of unoccupied homes across the Southwest have been reduced to ghost towns. Nothing is selling. The building boom, that began when Alan Greenspan ginned-up the Fed's printing presses in 2002, has turned into the biggest housing bust in American history.

On top of that, the banks are tightening lending standards and shunning potential buyers just when the economy needs a boost in demand. Loan originations are down and bankers are spooked by the gathering storm in the credit markets. That means that home sales will continue to be sluggish, prices will correct more quickly, and the anticipated "soft landing" will turn into a full-blown crash.

New home construction has accounted for 2 out of every 5 new jobs created in the last 5 years. Most of those workers are either delivering pizzas, cleaning bed pans or are lining up at the soup kitchen. The BLS's numbers on employment are bogus. It's just more government bunkum. They're predicated on a "birth-death" model that creates millions of fictitious jobs out of whole cloth. In truth, unemployment is soaring and the most vulnerable and impoverished among us are taking a beating from the housing debacle.

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association of Washington, the total of mortgage loans outstanding in 2006 was $10.9 trillion; $6 trillion of which were transformed into securities (CDOs, MBSs) About $1.5 trillion of those securities are subprime; another $1 trillion Alt-A (nearly as risky) and at least another $1.5 trillion in adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs). At least 20 per cent of these shaky liabilities/securities will default, and yet, no one really knows who is holding them on their books. All of the major financial institutions – the insurance companies, foreign banks, hedge funds, investment banks – have purchased these CDO "roadside bombs" and mixed them in with their other performing loans and hard assets. The projected explosions have already begun to take their toll on the financial giants – Citigroup and Merrill Lynch are just the latest victims; others will follow. The problem can't be fixed with Bernanke's low interest rates. The bad debts are everywhere and must accounted for and written down. That puts us on the threshold of a jarring market-downturn triggered by an unprecedented number of defaults that will rumble through the entire system. Bankruptcies will pop up everywhere at random. It is a blueprint for economic chaos. And it is unavoidable.

The global markets have never seen a financial typhoon of this magnitude before. Mortgage lenders, homeowners, banks, hedge funds, bond insurers, etc. will all either go under or feel the sting of a slumping market.

Many of the major investment banks are already broke; it's clear from their own reporting. Charles Hugh Smith sums it up like this in his recent article "Empire of Debt: The Great Unraveling":

"If their bad bets were marked to market, Citicorp and Merrill Lynch would be declared insolvent. Why? Because they are insolvent – right now. The meaning of insolvency is straightforward: their losses exceed their capital. Recall that these firms list assets of $100 billion (or whatever) but their actual net capital is on the order of 2.5 per cent to 5 per cent – a mere sliver of their stated assets. In other words: a 5 per cent loss of their stated assets wipes them out. The game is now over, and the players shuffling losses can only last a few more days or weeks."

Up to this point, the banks have been able to place a sizeable portion of their "hard-to-value" assets in a Level-3 grab bag, which allowed company accountants to assign a value to those assets according to their own judgment. No more. The new FASB 157 regulation will force the banks to use "market prices" to determine the true value of their holdings. Some analysts believe that these new disclosure rules may result in $200 billion write-downs on assets and require the over-leveraged banks to increase their capital reserves. That will slow down lending and put a wrinkle in the banks' bottom line. In any event, once the law is enacted; we'll see who's "faking" the value of their assets or as Warren Buffett says, "Who's swimming with their clothes off.

Professor Nouriel Roubini summed it up like this:

"The amount of losses that financial institutions have already recognized – $20 billion – is just the very tip of the iceberg of much larger losses that will end up in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Calling this crisis a sub-prime meltdown is ludicrous as by now the contagion has seriously spread to near prime and prime mortgages. And it is spreading to every corner of the securitized financial system that is either frozen or on the way to freeze. The reality is that most financial institutions have barely started to recognize the lower "fair value" of their impaired securities. The credit crunch is getting worse and its financial and real fallout will be severe." (Nouriel Roubini blog.)

The constant drumbeat of bad news is having a numbing affect on Wall Street. Traders' are tight-lipped and downcast. Spirits are sagging. No one likes losing money, and yet, the credit storm shows no signs of letting up anytime soon. Yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial's took another 360-point pounding before the bell rang. Another day, another bloodbath. The subprime virus has now infected the broader markets leaving the once-brawny financial giants bruised and reeling like Joe Frazier in the Thrilla in Manila. A few more down-days like yesterday and they'll be carrying out hedge funds feet first.

The stock market is looking more and more like a glass pitcher propped up on the edge of a bookshelf. One little bump, and down she goes.

November 10, 2007

http://www.lewrockwell.com/orig8/whitney2.html

O'Riley's was kickin last night with the sounds of Twenty 3 Fifty 9...

McKinney, Texas – November 7, 2007

Second Annual ”Los Dias de los Muertos” Celebration at
Carrie Garner’s Galleria d’Arte

Los Dias de los Muertos, the traditional Mexican holiday of remembering and honoring the dead, will once again be celebrated at Carrie Garner’s Galleria d’ Arte, located at 115 South Kentucky Street in downtown McKinney. You are invited to join the artists’ reception from 7pm to 10pm, this Saturday, November 10, 2007.

Gallery friend and artist extraordinaire, Kimm Lanus returns with her newest “Katrina Series” paintings along with her newest spiritual-inspired works of art. Ms. Lanus’ paintings are crafted on tin, wood, canvas, and paper in the old retablos and Italian style of painting. All pieces are sealed for longevity, and each piece is framed in the time-honored gothic European tradition. Lanus’ collectors include former ABC anchorman, Sam Donaldson and President George W. Bush.

Miss Katrina, Lanus’ subject of her Los Dias de los Muertos series, will delight and intrigue you with her antics and unbridled joy. A number of works inspired by
Frida Kahlo, another of Lanus’ favorite subjects, will also be debuted at the reception. Bold colors and captivating themes abound in each and every Lanus creation.

Galleria d’Arte is pleased to welcome photographer Donald Scharf. Photographs from his body of work, “Lugares y Encuentros” are the perfect complement to Lanus’ paintings. “Photo images are magic. They tell a story. If the viewer stops and examines…then ….. there is the beginning of a connection to the image, “ says Scharf.

Live Latin music on our patio will round out the evening’s celebration. Co-sponsors of the event are A Twist of Lime, BLING!, Cadillac Pizza Pub, MeSo Lounge, and Poppy’s Garden Café.

MeSo Lounge is now open on the first floor at Galleria d’Arte. Specializing in boutique wines and premium beers, MeSo is certain to become a favorite downtown destination. The lounge offers a daily selection of appetizers, cheeses, and antipastos. Sip some wine, nibble on appetizers, and stroll around the three art galleries of the Old Collin County Prison.

MeSo’s comfortable and hip atmosphere is the perfect complement to the three art galleries of the old Collin County prison. Carrie Garner’s Galleria d’Arte, Studio Duende, and Aristeia Gallery all feature works of art by local and regional artists.

FOUR ACCOMPLISHED ARTISTS FEATURED IN NOVEMBER

McKinney, TX – Aristeia Gallery is delighted to feature noted portrait artist, DeDe Barr and three of her very talented students for the November Second Saturday event. Patricia Hanszen, Tawni Hodge and Lois Nightingale are all accomplished artists in their own right, and share a commonality of being long-time art students of Ms. Barr.

DeDe Barr, a former McKinney resident, now living in Dallas, has distinguished herself as a much sought after portrait artist, among whose clients include former presidents,

U. S. senators, ambassadors and foreign dignitaries as well as noted sports figures. In addition to oil portraits, Ms. Barr creates portraits in graphite and has illustrated children’s books. Among Ms. Barr’s most recognized pieces are the official portraits of former president, Lyndon B. Johnson and that of Dallas’ own, Audie Murphy, America’s most decorated WWII hero.

On Saturday evening, Ms. Barr will have sample commission portraits and some of her current works on display at the gallery and she will be on-hand to greet guests and answer questions regarding her work.

Although Dallas native, Patricia Hanszen, pursued a career in business she always pursued her love of art through independent study and exposure to the influences of the country’s finest artists. While living in Boston and New York, Patricia’s love of realism developed and her subjects ranged from still life and florals to capturing the beauty of New England’s landscapes.

Patricia says that her strong influences in art have been Richard Schmid, impressionist, John Asaro and she remains a great admirer of John Singer Sargent. Patricia says that “beautiful art touches something much deeper within me” and she is now painting full-time while continuing to study under various well-known artists including DeDe Barr.

Growing up in Allen, TX, Tawni Hodge attended Baylor University, UNT and Texas Women’s University, where she received a degree in Fashion Design with a minor in Fine Art. It appears she was destined to be an artist, as she began her career in the fashion industry and her current career is in interior design, owning and operating a free-lance design business in Sherman. Tawni says that “through clothing and bare interiors”, she has been “painting for years with fabrics and furniture.” Several years ago she discovered a group of artists, taught by DeDe Barr and was inspired to pick up a brush and paint on canvas, Tawni says that “DeDe has given me the direction and skill and my fellow students have made the journey joyful.” Tawni photographs her own references for her paintings, including those for portrait commissions.

Prior to moving to the Dallas in 2001, Lois Nightingale enjoyed a successful career as an Art Director and Designer in the Washington, DC area. Lois says that she has “always been drawn to the decorative arts, fine art and portraiture”. With her husband’s transfer to Dallas in 2001, Lois was afforded her the opportunity to pursue her desire to paint.

Several years ago Ms. Nightingale began studying oil portraiture with DeDe Barr. A memorable part of this study included an extended visit to Italy in October of last year. She continues her study with DeDe and is accepting commissions for portraits. Lois and her husband have a successful manufacturing business in Ennis, TX.

2Nite! At the Cadillac...PUSHROD!

Be there or be square!

For those who made it to the "Prisoners of Love Monster Bash" last night I know you had a good time! For those who did not make it you missed out on a hell of an event and a good opportunity to support a worthy cause...

“Prisoners of Love Monster Bash”

Do you have the courage to spend Halloween evening in a haunted prison? Are you adventuresome enough to have lots of fun, and to celebrate Halloween with some characters and spirits?

The art galleries of The Old Collin County Prison are hosting the 2007 Halloween event of the year, benefiting the Love Life Foundation (www.lovelifefoundaton.com). Be sure to plan to spend the evening with us. There is no better place to hang out on Halloween than the Prisoner’s of Love Monster Bash at the old Collin County prison, 115 S. Kentucky Street in downtown McKinney .

Costumes are preferred, of course, but all are welcome. Come howl at the moon, celebrate community and have an impressively good time, while raising money for

at-risk children of Collin County.

The evening’s events will be highlighted with a live performance by The Maylee Thomas Band. Maylee is guaranteed to move your spirit and shake your soul as she entertains you in her high-energy style and her strong, “hauntingly” beautiful voice.

An auction featuring items by local merchants and regional artists will be the best trick-or-treat you’ll get all evening. One-of-a kind works of art and valuable gifts will fill up your goody bag before the night is over. Contests, games, and tequila tasting will keep your spirits high and the place jumping all night long.

Do you know the story of Ezel Stepp and some of the other infamous “guests” of the old Collin County prison? Learn about Mr. Stepp’s fateful walk into Collin County history. You may even met “Lovely Lily,” the resident ghost of 115 S. Kentucky Street , who makes her presence known on a daily basis.

Have a blast, raise money for charity and satisfy the thrill-seeker and fun-lover in you. Celebrate Halloween, 2007 at Prisoners of Love Monster Bash…if you dare.

Tickets are $25 at the door and $20 in advance. Please call to reserve your tickets today. For more information and to reserve your tickets in advance, please call Galleria d’Arte at 469-742-9509

How cool is this? Today I received the neatest email I have gotten in a long time! Kudos to Mary Beth!!!



Mary Beth Schad of EllieandOllie.com and her husband Jim


Martha Stewart's Dreamers into Doers

"We can finally talk about it! Back in June, Ellie&Ollie entered the Dreamers into Doers contest found in Martha Stewart's Living magazine. In August, the phone rang and it was someone notifying us that we had been chosen as one of the 11 finalists in the contest! Needless to say, my jaw dropped, yet I couldn't stop smiling and of course I wanted to tell EVERYONE! However, the rules requested that we keep this little secret to ourselves until the end of October. This was going to be a long two months...

In October, my husband and I were flown to New York City. We were treated like royalty from the moment we stepped off of the plane. Between Talbots outfitting the finalists, Bank of America matching our prize money, attending the TV show, being honored at a formal Gala, meeting Carole King, seeing her perform, and our amazing accommodations, we weren't sure life could get much better. Everyone was so gracious and congratulatory to all of us. We had to stop and thank THEM from time to time as they were the ones who had selected the winners, and they were the ones who were honoring all of us. New York is truly a great city. I have a new spot in my heart for it, it's culture, and it's people.

Speaking of people....up to the moment we arrived in NYC we were excited for ourselves and what we were experiencing. It dawned on us that we were going to meet 10-20 other people who had been chosen just like us, and we knew each of them would have a unique story as well. It is so easy to get caught up in your own self-importance and daily routine that it's easy to develop a myopic view of the world. But, when you are surrounded by the types of people we were with, it humbles and inspires you. We cried over some of the stories we heard, laughed at others, learned some things along the way, and made some new friends. I've told each of them I was coming to visit....so I hope they are ready! Each of these women was inspirational and passionate towards their businesses, causes and their lives in general. There are wonderful people in this world, and it was so nice to meet a whole group of them!

Finally, we would like to thank Martha Stewart and all of her staff who worked so hard to pull the entire week together. We would also like to thank Talbot's for the beautiful (and free!) clothes as well as Bank of America for their generous contributions. Without all of their combined efforts and support, none of this would have been possible.

Ellie&Ollie will do it's best to make you proud you chose us as a finalist."

Go support these folks! Cookies are great!
http://www.ellieandollie.com

From Bill Fleckenstein of Fleckenstein Capital this week!

Barf went the Merrill bull

It's a lesson that hit Merrill Lynch (MER, news, msgs) hard. Witness the subprime fallout behind the company's sobering third-quarter earnings report. Merrill wrote down about $5.8 billion of $14.2 billion in what's known as super-senior subprime assets -- the stuff that's supposedly above AAA and bulletproof.

When asked on the conference call if everything was marked where it could be sold, there was no answer, leaving folks with the idea that there was plenty of stuff still marked to model. And you can be sure that if Merrill Lynch has this problem of potentially mismarked paper, so do all of the brokers and probably some of the big banks. This is a huge deal. (Memo to nonbelievers: The problem is spreading, it has not been discounted and it has not been contained.)

I have just been reminded that Countrywide will report its 3rd Quarter earnings tomorrow AM...expected to be abysmal at best if they are truthful...so...we need a morale booster to get us thru the day!

This is Jackie...an all around fun person!

September Truck Tonnage Declines 2.3%, ATA Says

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September Truck Tonnage Declines 2.3%, ATA Says

American Trucking Associations’ seasonally adjusted for-hire truck tonnage index for September declined 2.3% from a year ago, ATA said late Thursday.

The downturn followed a 0.9% year-over-year gain in August, and the September index was up 1.5% measured from the previous month, ATA said.

The index’s reading was 111.6. Year to date, the truck tonnage index was 2.2% lower than the same time last year.

The not seasonally adjusted index fell 10.6% from August, to 107.4, ATA said.

ATA Chief Economist Bob Costello said the reading points to continued softness in the trucking industry, despite the month-to-month increase. Although the 1.5% gain was the biggest monthly increase since February, Costello noted that he expects tonnage to remain choppy in the foreseeable future, a trend that began several months ago.

“Nearly all economic indicators suggest continued sluggishness for the trucking industry in the near term,” Costello said. “September’s reading points to a lackluster 2007 fall freight season, which traditionally starts in mid- to late August and peaks in October. We are sticking with our economic forecasts that point to below trend growth for the overall economy and truck tonnage.”

ATA calculates the tonnage each month based on reports by its member trucking companies.

________________________________________________________

And on a related note:

The OPEC Sec General stated that OPEC members are free to sell oil in currency other than dollars; Iran and Venezuela already do.

Living paycheck to paycheck gets harder

By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO
AP Business Writer

AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews

NEW YORK (AP) -- The calculus of living paycheck to paycheck in America is getting harder. What used to last four days might last half that long now. Pay the gas bill, but skip breakfast. Eat less for lunch so the kids can have a healthy dinner.

Across the nation, Americans are increasingly unable to stretch their dollars to the next payday as they juggle higher rent, food and energy bills. It's starting to affect middle-income working families as well as the poor, and has reached the point of affecting day-to-day calculations of merchants like Wal-Mart Stores Inc., 7-Eleven Inc. and Family Dollar Stores Inc.

Food pantries, which distribute foodstuffs to the needy, are reporting severe shortages and reduced government funding at the very time that they are seeing a surge of new people seeking their help.

While economists debate whether the country is headed for a recession, some say the financial stress is already the worst since the last downturn at the start of this decade.

From Family Dollar to Wal-Mart, merchants have adjusted their product mix and pricing accordingly. Sales data show a marked and more prolonged drop in spending in the days before shoppers get their paychecks, when they buy only the barest essentials before splurging around payday.

"It's pretty pronounced," said Kiley Rawlins, a spokeswoman at Family Dollar. "It seems like to us, customers are running out of food products, paper towels sooner in the month."

Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, said the imbalance in spending before and after payday in July was the biggest it has ever seen, though the drop-off wasn't as steep in August.

This would seem to have some bearing on things...

IMF chief warns dollar may suffer 'abrupt fall'

The head of the International Monetary Fund, Rodrigo Rato, warned Monday there are risks of an "abrupt fall" in the dollar, linked to a loss of confidence in dollar assets.

"There are risks that an abrupt fall in the dollar could either be triggered by, or itself trigger, a loss of confidence in dollar assets," Rato told the IMF board of governors.

He also appeared to suggest that Europe could take steps to temper the strong appreciation of the euro.

"There is a risk that exchange rate appreciation in countries with flexible exchange rates -- including the euro area -- could hurt their growth prospects, and that in these circumstances protectionist pressures could worsen," he said on the final day of the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank.

The outgoing IMF managing director spoke as the European single currency hit a new high of 1.4347 dollars and global equity markets tumbled amid growing fears a US housing-related credit crunch could pitch the world's biggest economy into recession.

"The uncertainty ... comes from downside risks that are much higher than they were six months ago. The turbulence in the credit markets is a warning that we cannot take the benign economic environment of recent years for granted," he said.

"We still do not know the full effects of the decline in the housing market and the subprime problems of the US economy. Further disruption in financial markets and further falls in housing prices could lead to a global economic downturn."

A crisis in the risky US subprime mortgage sector, where loans are given to homebuyers with poor credit histories, erupted this year as borrowers defaulted on mortgages amid rising interest rates and a sharp slump in US housing prices.


The spillover of the US credit crunch into global financial markets roiled stock markets worldwide in August and although they have recovered somewhat, the uncertainties of the extent of the credit problems continues to weigh on investors.

Rato warned that a downturn would exacerbate other risks that already exist in the world economy, citing some emerging economies' reliance on capital inflows and the potential that central banks may not curb rising inflationary pressures.

"Some emerging economies that have relied on external financing to fund large current account deficits could be tipped into crisis by a combination of reduced demand for their exports and tighter financial market conditions," he said, adding that those developments would also worsen the prospects of low-income countries.

"And there is a risk that central banks may falter in fighting the inflation which has been spurred in some countries by higher oil and food prices."

Rato told the governors of the 185-nation financial institution aimed at fostering global financial stability that it was imperative to take action to avoid such a calamitous downturn from global imbalances.

"All of these risks make action on already agreed policies more urgent," he said.

"Major economies need ... to take supporting policy actions," said the former Spanish finance minister, who is stepping down nearly two years before the end of his five-year mandate.

His successor, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a former Socialist finance minister of France, takes office on November 1.

In an apparent reference to recent pressures from France and other members of the 13-nation eurozone on the European Central Bank to take action to curb the euro's sharp appreciation, which is weighing on eurozone exports, Rato said: "Policymakers need to respect the independence of central banks and support their vigilance on inflation."

http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=071022154152.yz1uni1....

ASIA WATCH 10/20-21...

This particular thread started on blog because IMF has openly said there is reason for another 15-20% fall in dollar, and G7 meeting failed to deal with falling dollar over the weekend...Turkish Parliament has also given permission for Turks to go after the Kurds in northern Iraq...rumor also has it that the UK tangled with Iranians in Iraq today (not confirmed that I know of)...

Headliner over on Drudge

NEW YORK - Oil prices surpassed $90 a barrel for the first time Thursday as the falling dollar drew new foreign investors and speculators to dollar-denominated energy futures.


Light, sweet crude for November delivery hit $90.02 in electronic trading Thursday evening before returning to around $89.60. Earlier, prices had risen $2.07 to settle at a record $89.47 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

What a day!

Bank of America down
Pfizer down
Jobless claims way up!
Japanese paying for Iranian oil in Yen ( RIP Petrodollar hegemony)
Double Hindenburg Omens
Housing starts way down

And then theres the dollar:





Someone was trying to convince me the "credit crunch" was contained...me thinks not!

Afternoon Update:

Oil - $89.66/bbl
Dollar - 77.52
Gold - $768.70

Grinchmas is right on track...as is $3/gal by Thanksgiving!...

Tonight at the old Collin County Prison:

Its Second Saturday here in McKinney and the show tonight at Galleria d'Arte is Fran Reisner's photographs of Tuscany alongside Carrie Garner's oil sculpture interpretation of the same...Quinten Hope Trio on the porch...




Upstairs at Aristeia Gallery see works by Eric Gioia, Kathy Kromer, Jeanene Stein, Mirtha Aertker, and Debbie Paulsen...

Later have some Sushi or a drink at the MeSo Lounge...good time gauranteed!

Yesterday:

Bank of Japan left interest rates unchanged at 0.5
Nordstrom warned
Petsmart warned
BeBe warned
J.C. Penny warned

If your watching stocks good is bad and bad is good!

Dollar





Gold

Saturday we had some great fun here at the Gulch shooting images that reflected a time long since past...the 50's...A series of images done with Jackie and Melissa remembering the good old days...A time of "Cold War", the days of Vargas pin-ups in Playboy magazine, hot rods, and the birth of Rock and Roll... Black and white photographs were "in"...Politically the country was divided over the need for a Korean conflict... Economically there was a feeling of promise in the air... Young men had wet dreams about Sophia Loren, and old men watched John Wayne on black and white TV's...Elvis was "the King"! This was a much simpler time...

Here's yer Tuesday blog add:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aR5NGOMkBJ9M&refer=home

EXIM Bank of Korea to Sell $1 Billion of U.S. Bonds, People Say

By Denise Kee

Oct. 10 (Bloomberg) -- Export-Import Bank of Korea, a state-run bank, plans to raise $1 billion in its biggest bond sale, according to three people familiar with the sale.

The five-year bonds are likely to be priced today to yield 1.2 percentage points more than U.S. Treasuries of a similar maturity, according to the people, who declined to be identified before an official announcement. The Seoul-based bank hired ABN Amro Holding NV, BNP Paribas SA, Merrill Lynch & Co and Morgan Stanley for the sale, according to an e-mail to investors today.

EXIM Bank of Korea is selling the bonds after ICICI Bank Ltd., India's second-biggest financial services company, raised $2 billion of notes on Sept. 26, a sign that investor risk appetite is returning to the Asian credit markets.

The EXIM Bank of Korea's bond sale ``should clear the path for the other policy banks there as well as for the lenders in India and Indonesia,'' Brett Williams, a director of Asian fixed-income research at BNP Paribas, who is based in Hong Kong, said in a note to investors today.

The U.S. Federal Reserve cut the benchmark rate for overnight borrowing by half a percentage point to 4.75 percent on Sept. 18, and brought stability to credit markets roiled by losses in securities linked to U.S. subprime mortgage loans.

EXIM Bank of Korea's biggest bond issue outstanding of $1.1 billion was raised in two portions, $700 million in November 2002 and $400 million in May 2003, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The bank is paying about 1.27 percentage points more than U.S. Treasuries for the bonds.

The bank last sold U.S. dollar bonds in August, raising $100 million, according to Bloomberg data. The zero-coupon bonds were priced at 98.38 percent, Bloomberg data show. The sale was arranged by BNP Paribas.

Moody's Investors Service rates the bank Aa3, the fourth- highest investment grade. Standard & Poor's ranks the bank A, the sixth-highest investment grade and two steps lower than Moody's.

Last Updated: October 9, 2007 21:29 EDT
____________________________________________________________

Today:

Alcoa missed, International Paper warned, Chevron warned, Toyota warned on domestic (Japanese) sales after already warning on US Sales. The bad news is starting..... and no, the market won't like it. Be careful if you intend to play what looks like a parbolic blow-off - we could fail here literally at any time and that failure is likely to come completely without warning in the form of a huge gap downward.

Vietnam and Qatar Tell the Dollar: SEE YA!

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Dollar's double blow from Vietnam and Qatar

By Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
Last Updated: 6:03pm BST 03/10/2007

Vietnam is planning to cut its purchases of US Treasuries and other dollar bonds, raising fears that Asian central banks with control over two thirds of the world's foreign reserves may soon join the flight from US assets.

The Saigon Times said this morning that the State Bank of Vietnam was abandoning the attempt to hold down the Vietnamese currency through heavy purchases of dollars. The policy is causing the economy to overheat, driving up inflation to 8.8pc.

Vietnam, which has mid-sized reserves of $40bn, is seen as weather vane for the bigger Asian powers.

Together they hold $3,575bn of foreign reserves, over 65pc of the world's total. China leads with $1,340bn, but South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, and even Thailand all built up massive holdings.

The concern is that once one or two members of the region jump ship, it could set off a broader scramble. None of them want to be the last one left holding a devalued asset. Vietnam's central bank said this week that it would move "gradually" to a floating currency.

Separately, the gas-rich Gulf state of Qatar announced that it had cut the dollar holdings of its $50bn sovereign wealth fund from 99pc to 40pc, switching into investments in China, Japan, and emerging Asia.

The move is intended to increase long-term returns for future generations, but it can easily be seen as a vote of no confidence in US economic management.

The drastic shift by the Qatar Investment Authority is a warning that petro-dollar powers with some $3,500bn under management may pull the plug on the heavily endebted US economy -- which needs to suck in the majority of the world's savings just to stay afloat.

"OPEC and Asia have been the two blocks funding the US current account deficit," said Hans Redeker, currency chief at BNP Paribas.

"Vietnam is a relatively small country but it is symptomatic of Asia. The entire region is seeing inflation move up as a result of mercantilist policies of holding down their currencies with 'dirty floats', which are designed to help their export sectors. They need to change monetary policy, " he said.

There have been reports that China is already pulling out of US bonds to fund its new sovereign wealth fund. Foreign central banks slashed holdings by $32bn in the last two weeks of August. We will not know which country was responsible the Treasury's TIC data is released in November.

Japan also has colossal reserves, now near $914bn, but it is does not face the same inflationary threat as the rest of Asia, and is in any case an intimate military ally of the United States.

It is likely to coordinate its dollar policy very closely with Washington for geo-strategic reasons.

Saudi Arabia set off jitters in the currency markets last month when it decided not to cut interest rates in lockstep with the US Federal Reserve, raising doubts about its commitment to the Saudi dollar peg. But it too has strong political reasons to stick with America.

Kuwait has already abandoned its peg, fearing that its economy would overheat if it continued to import America's loose monetary policies.

Separately, Iran said it would soon refuse to accept dollars for its oil exports, preferring to be paid in a "more credible currency".

It already receives 65pc of payments in euros and 20pc in yen, but insisted that the remaining 15pc in dollars entailed an excessive risk of devaluation.

The demarche is largely policitcal, since oil is a fungible commodity and the currency markets are highly liquid.

However, if a number of OPEC suppliers began demand long-term futures contracts in euros instead of dollars, this would have an impact over time.

McKinney, Texas – October 4, 2007
“From Camera to Canvas” - A Collaborative Art Exhibit Debuts at Carrie Garner’s Galleria d’Arte

Join us as we embark on a new endeavor at Galleria d’Arte. “From Camera to Canvas” is a collaborative exhibit that combines the talents of Carrie Cameron Garner and Fran Reisner. The exhibit debuts on Saturday, October 13, from 7pm to 10pm at Carrie Garner’s Galleria d’Arte located at 115 South Kentucky Street in downtown McKinney at the old Collin County Prison.

Fran Reisner, a Frisco resident, is a national award-winning master photographer and photographic craftsman, who lives by her philosophy of doing what you love, loving what you do, and doing it with passion. “From Camera to Canvas” will spotlight Reisner’s latest series of photographs taken from recent trips abroad. The perfection and preciseness that Reisner commands from her camera are evident in each of her exquisite photographs. Visit Reisner’s website (www.franreisner.com) to learn more about this consummate professional and her numerous honors and awards.

A believer in painting the beauty that surrounds her, Carrie has created oil painting interpretations of Reisner’s photographs. Carrie’s painting technique, known as oil sculpture or 3-D oil painting, lends itself to bold expressions and vividly colored paintings. The sculptural sections of the painting are created with a palette knife and are formed with pure archival quality oil paint. Once applied, the oil forms a thin “skin” to which a layer of glaze is applied, forming a special coating that protects the paint while giving the sculpted areas the appearance of mouth-blown glass.

The juxtaposition of Reisner’s crisp and sharp photographs to Carrie’s dimensional and textural paintings is both unusual and interesting. This exhibit is guaranteed to pique your interests in both oil painting and photography.

The Quinten Hope Band will provide the perfect accompaniment to the evening’s celebration of the arts and community. Co-sponsors or the event are A Twist of Lime, BLING!, Cadillac Pizza Pub, Market Square Antiques, MeSo Wine Lounge, and Poppy’s Garden Café. Be sure to join us for this new and exciting venture at Galleria d’Arte.

Iran slashes oil transactions in dollars
5 hours ago

TEHRAN (AFP) — Iran has slashed the use of the dollar in payment for its oil exports to 15 percent, an official said on Tuesday, amid growing pressure from arch-foe the United States on its financial system.

The vast majority of transactions for oil from OPEC's number two producer are now being carried out in euros, said Mohammad-Ali Khatibi, deputy head of the National Iranian Oil Company in charge of marketing.

"Iran is selling about 85 percent of its oil in the non-dollar currencies," Khatibi was quoted as saying by state television.

"Currently, about 65 percent of the oil sale income is in euros and 20 percent in yen," Khatibi added.

Japan, which purchases 20 percent of Iran's crude oil, has recently agreed to pay for the crude oil in yen, he said.

He also said that the remaining sums being paid in dollars, about 15 percent, are going to shift to "other creditworthy currencies".

Khatibi also cited the United Arab Emirates dirham as one other possible currency for use in oil transactions.

He said the main reason for the move was fluctuations of the dollar on the currency markets and the depreciation of its value since 2004.

Iran had previously announced that 60 percent of its oil transactions for export had been switched into euros.

Iran, the world's fourth largest oil exporter, has massively cut down its dependence on the dollar in the face of US pressures.

The United States has been seeking to make international banking transactions harder for Iran, as another tool to pressure Tehran into backing down over its controversial nuclear programme.

Several European banks have drastically cut business with Iran as a result of US pressure.

However despite problems with inflation and unemployment at home, Iran's economy is being helped by revenue windfalls from current high crude oil prices.

Iran's foreign currency reserves held in banks abroad have risen by 37 percent over the past year to the equivalent of 65 billion dollars as of the end of June 2007, the central bank said in September.


http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5...gW2bk5K0eM9G7Q

Boyd High School had their Homecoming Parade in downtown this afternoon...