Harpers: A Special Relationship

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beginning of article is all historical (and a waste of my time), but the ending catches up to today…

A Special Relationship

Asked what could be done to help Iraq following the [ISIS] group’s lightning assaults in the summer of 2014, an Iraqi diplomat replied: “Bomb Saudi Arabia.”

 

The Turks and Qataris, however, adamantly refused to sign on. As one of the participants told me later, “All the countries in the room [understood] that Turkey’s opposition to listing Ahrar al-Sham was because they were providing support to them.”

American Casino (2009)

DVD: American Casino

Andrew and Leslie Cockburn have produced an investigation into the housing / financial crisis, and in particular the mortgage company “product” called “subprime mortgages.”

“We meet the players. A banker explains that the complex securities he designed were “fourth dimensional” and sold to “idiots.” A senior Wall Street ratings agency executive describes being ordered to “guess” the worth of billion dollar securities. A mortgage loan salesman explains how borrowers’ incomes were inflated to justify a loan. A billionaire describes how he made a massive bet that people would lose their homes and has won $500 million, so far.”