Middle East Focus-Arabia Deserta

The Bin Laden Brood: Release the Tehran Thirty, or Twenty, or Eighteen……….

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com (Mohammed Haider Ghuloum PhD) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 00:30:00 GMT

“Khalid bin Laden's statement accused Iranian authorities of mistreating about 30 siblings, saying they had been "beaten and repressed." The letter, which was dated early January, appeared to have been written shortly after news reports surfaced about of one his sisters who escaped from her Iranian guards and reportedly is taking refuge in the Saudi Embassy in Tehran. It has long been believed that Iran has in custody a number of bin Laden's children who fled Afghanistan in 2001 following the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the U.S., most notably his sons, Saad and Hamza, who were thought to have held positions in al-Qaida. But Iran never confirmed it, and claimed to have been surprised to discover 17-year-old Eman was at the Saudi Embassy. Little is known about Khalid bin Laden, who is said to be in his 20s and believed to have been with his father in Afghanistan until 2001. The letter identified him as Sheik Khalid, a reference to a holder of an esteemed religious position. Iranian officials have said they knew bin Laden's daughter was at the Saudi Embassy but denied knowledge of how she got to Iran or when. Tehran also has never confirmed it was holding other members of the bin Laden family……...”

I don’t know how many of Bin Laden’s vast family is in Iran, but there are some. The Iranians should just release them. After all, they must have been teenagers, mere children, when they fled the Salafi Wahhabi paradise that was Afghanistan under the Taliban.
It is unbecoming, un-Republican, and perhaps un-Islamic to keep holding them.
Just release the whole brood: you can’t use them to bargain anything.
Cheers
mhg

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Queen of England Sued, for Insulting her Little Counterparts………..

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com (Mohammed Haider Ghuloum PhD) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 21:32:00 GMT

Bahrain media report that a Bahraini citizen (a male, the women have more sense) is suing Queen Elizabeth II (the real Queen not the ship) for insulting the symbols of the “Kingdom of Bahrain”. He is suing the queen for 120 million Bahrain Dinars to be equally distributed among himself, the royal family (of tiny Bahrain not Great Britain), the Kingdom of Bahrain (again it is mostly the ruling family), and the people of Bahrain (did not specify if the money is for all the people).
I did not know it was possible to insult the royal family. I also thought they had acquired most of the wealth of Bahrain among themselves and their supporting plutocrats and do not need any more.

It turns out the citizen is pissed off that the British ambassador has met with the al-Wifaq opposition bloc in parliament. Al-Wifaq is the largest Shi’a bloc in the half-elected Bahrain legislature. Al-Wifaq has been guilty of calling for a constitutional monarchy, of the sort Britain and most countries that are not kleptocracies have.
Cheers
mhg

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Egypt Bourse Down on Mubarak, the Throne that Nasser Overthrew……

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com (Mohammed Haider Ghuloum PhD) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 17:41:00 GMT

“Egypt bourse falls on Mubarak health worries. Share prices fell in Egypt on Monday over what analysts said were concerns about the health of President Hosni Mubarak who has not appeared in public since surgery in Germany on March 6. Egypt's benchmark EGX 30 index fell 3.84 percent by the close, after a fall of 2.40 percent on Sunday. "There is uncertainty in the stock exchange, particularly among Egyptian investors, due to worries about the health of President Mubarak," an expert at a large financial house in Cairo said on condition of anonymity. "This will carry on until he makes an appearance," a financial analyst said, echoing the view of many in the sector…….”

So, it will continue until he "makes an appearance”? Now Mubarak is the awaited Messiah and the vanished Mahdi both rolled in one mummy?
That is for the investor class, but very few Egyptians are part of any investing class in a hand-to-mouth economy. What do the rest of them think of all this, of the “laughing” genius who may die without leaving a system for transfer of power. Just to get one of his lousy sons to inherit the throne that Naguib and Nasser overthrew in 1952, the throne they wrested away from feudalism.
The people of Egypt think and muse out of earshot of the secret police, and the oligarchy “basij” we don’t hear much about in the media?
Cheers
mhg

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Where Free Speech Can Make You Go Blind………..

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com (Mohammed Haider Ghuloum PhD) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:15:00 GMT

“Israel closes villages of Bilin and Nilin to protests . The Israeli Defence Force has barred Israelis and foreigners from two West Bank villages, the scene of protests against Israel's "separation wall". Soldiers have posted flyers declaring areas around the villages of Bilin and Nilin are "closed military zones". The restriction applies to the areas every Friday, the day that protests are held, for the next six months. Activists have been protesting against the barrier for five years in what they say are mostly peaceful demonstrations. But the Israeli Defence Force says it considers the riots to be "violent and illegal"…….”

Every year the Likud seems to get more Arab, more Middle Eastern in its policies. They even more Salafi: the current Israeli government is the most Salafi in its history. Maybe they are trying to appeal to the oligarchs ruling all around them.
Cheers
mhg

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Lebanese March 14: Deader than a Dead Skunk?.........

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com (Mohammed Haider Ghuloum PhD) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:51:00 GMT

“A seven-point measure proposed by March 14 during a weekend conference in Beirut called on the Arab League to support enforcement of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701. Resolution 1701 brokered a cease-fire to a 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel. The measure reminds Israel of its obligation to respect Lebanese sovereignty while calling on Hezbollah to disarm. Beirut is wrestling with the issue of Hezbollah's weapons. A 2009 measure allows Hezbollah to maintain an armed resistance to deter an Israeli threat, though opponents argue Israel would have no need to threaten Lebanon if Hezbollah disarmed……. Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri didn't attend the March 14 talks because of an official visit to Germany during the weekend…….”

When Jumblatt moved closer to Hezbollah and Syria, you knew that March 14 is in deep trouble.
When even Saad Hariri avoids attending their meeting and anniversary, you know that March 14 is deader than a dead skunk.
Cheers
mhg

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Les cyberféministes iraniennes

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com (Mohammed Haider Ghuloum PhD) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:01:00 GMT

“Journaliste, féministe et blogueuse chevronnée, l'iranienne Parvin Ardalan (lauréate, en 2007, du Olof Palme Prize) vient de recevoir le premier Prix du « net-citoyen » au nom des cyberféministes iraniennes. Ce nouveau trophée, conçu par Reporters sans Frontières et Google, a voulu récompenser le site www.we-change.org que cette femme engagée anime depuis trois ans et demi.Créé, en septembre 2006, par une vingtaine d'Iraniennes- et censuré une vingtaine de fois -, ce site œuvre en faveur d'une amélioration du statut des femmes et d'une réforme des lois discriminatoires à leur égard. Il est l'un des nombreux exemples de la cyber-résistance à l'Iranienne…….”
Cheers
mhg

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Phony Outrage Cancels Egypt Synagogue Ceremony, About Tut-Ankh-Amon, A Convalescing Mummy ……………

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com (Mohammed Haider Ghuloum PhD) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:49:00 GMT

“Egypt cancelled the formal opening on Sunday of a renovated 19th-century synagogue in Cairo in protest at what antiquities chief Zahi Hawass called "provocative" Jewish and Israeli actions. Both Hawass and Culture Minister Faruq Hosni had been due to attend the event a week to the day after 150 people, including rabbis and the US and Israeli ambassadors, attended the rededication of the Maimonides synagogue. Citing press reports, Hawass said in a statement that the cancellation comes after "provocative" acts during the March 7 ceremony in Cairo's ancient Jewish quarter. He referred to "dancing and drinking alcohol in the synagogue, as reported by several newspapers," and said such acts "were seen to provoke the feelings of millions of Muslims in Egypt and across the world."………”

You would think that drinking alcohol is illegal in Egypt. Alcohol is sold in Egyptian hotels and clubs, and it is one reason Saudis and other Persian Gulf people crowd Cairo and Alexandria every holiday. This cancellation was a political move, and I will figure out what is behind it.
Speaking of Zahi Hawass: what were the results of the tests on the mummy of King Tut-Ankh-Amon? I speculated once that if he were found to have been Jewish, they may not announce it.
I shall not mention the other living mummy of Egypt, not when he is convalescing. Hint: think of a famous French spread cheese and a laughing bovine.
Cheers
mhg

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A Fire Next Time in Iran? a Call for Festival Protests……..

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com (Mohammed Haider Ghuloum PhD) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:32:00 GMT

“IRAN: Opposition leader's wife Zahra Rahnavard implicitly calls for peaceful protests during fire festival. The wife of Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi called on country's green-themed protest movement to come out in full force during an upcoming annual fire festival but to refrain from using violence. "Chaharshanbeh Souri is a national and ancient tradition for Iranians," Zahra Rahnavard said of Tuesday night's upcoming celebration in an interview with Kaleme.com (Persian). "It is an occasion for festivity. The Green Movement will certainly be joyful and prosperous on that occasion. But the Green Movement is a movement of kindness, resistance and calm. We will commemorate [the movement's martyrs] without showing any violence or virulence."……..”

I hope they go through with it. It is part of their traditions, and one way for young people to have fun under the mullahs (the festival, not the protests. Come to think of it, the protests may not be a bad idea either).
Cheers
mhg

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Iranians Offer Technical Help to Arabsat………………

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com (Mohammed Haider Ghuloum PhD) — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:25:00 GMT

“Al-Alam has announced that it is ready to provide the Saudi-based Arabsat satellite operator with technical assistance, as the company blames technical problems for dropping the Arab-language network. Al-Alam management has so far sent several letters to the satellite operator's officials, urging them to give a clear response for their illegal decision, however, it has received no reply yet. The network is hopeful the Saudi-based company's measure is not political. Last week, one of the Arabsat's regional managers told Saudi paper al-Watan that the decision to suspend Al-Alam was due to some technical disruption and static caused by the Arab-language network's broadcasting. He said that the Saudi-based company has asked Al-Alam to change its broadcasting zone, but Al-Alam has provided no answer yet. Arabsat along with Egypt-based Nilesat, first, took Al-Alam off air in November last year without prior notification. The two satellite providers claimed at the time that the Iranian news network has abandoned impartiality in covering US-Saudi raids on civilians in northern Yemen. But after a few weeks, giving up to regional and international pressure, the two satellite operators scrapped the ban and resumed the network. Arabsat took Al-Alam off air again in January and has so far refused to annul its decision, citing technical problems as the reason for suspension. The move has drawn a barrage of criticisms over the satellite operators' gag on freedom of speech…………”

Alalam knows exactly why it was taken off the air, but they are trying to smoke pout the management of Arabsat, who are lying of course. Alalam is the competition.
Cheers
mhg

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Borderlands: South of the Border, Down Yemeni Way….…………

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com (Mohammed Haider Ghuloum PhD) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 20:14:00 GMT

Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince,
First Deputy Prime Minister,

Minister of Defense, Inspector General (damn, this last one cracks me up, brings back memories of Danny Kaye again), inspecting the country’s southern border with Yemen. Making sure the Huthis across in Yemen are under control, and no illegals are crossing the Sonora Desert to threaten the homeland.
The Yemen war has vanished as suddenly as it erupted. All withing one month or so. There were battles, bombings, refugees, regional noises, international conferences, media coverage 24/7. Now all has vanished, except for the poor refugees.
WTF was all that about? Sais pas.

Cheers

mhg

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Human Rights vs. Rulers Rights…………

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com (Mohammed Haider Ghuloum PhD) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 19:49:00 GMT

“Egypt rejected on Saturday a report issued by the U.S. Department of State which criticized human rights condition in the country, state-run Middle East News Agency (MENA) reported. "The report released by the U.S. State Department on human rights conditions in Egypt is not new, and it is something usual and released every year on the same pattern," Mohamed Faeq, head of the complaints office in the National Council of Human rights ( NCHR), said Saturday. "We should not pay much attention to such report, as local reports from the NCHR, civil societies and international, Arab and African mechanisms concerned outweigh such report," said Faeq……..”

The Egyptian government, like all Middle Eastern government has decided to reserve the right to determine what are human rights and what are rulers rights.
Cheers
mhg

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Saudi Court Upholds Beheading of Lebanese for Sorcery, Demons and Jinn Implicated………

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com (Mohammed Haider Ghuloum PhD) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:52:00 GMT

“

“Saudi General Court in Madinah (Medina) has upheld the death sentence against a Lebanese magician Ali Hussein Sbat (also known as the Sheherezad Sorcerer)…. Court said that all evidence points to his apostasy, heresy, and practice of witchcraft and sorcery. The three judges ruled that he has been practicing sorcery for years, and is famous for it on (Lebanese) television…. The prosecutors had said that he practiced sorcery with the help of demons, jinns and magical amulets. and that he has also confessed that he undid magic through the use of counter-magic……”

This Lebanese man practiced magic on a Lebanese television station (Shehrezad), in Lebanon, but he gets arrested on a visit to Saudi Arabia. He will have his head chopped off in a public square for dealing with demons and jinns in researching sorcery. Don’t they have a curriculum major as King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz University for Science and Technology?
Oddly, I linked to this item on the Iraqi State of Law (Nuri al-Maliki) website. Which tells me that the affection shown by the Saudis toward the Iraqi government is almost fully reciprocated.
Cheers
mhg

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Wages of a Kiss on the Gulf: White European, Brown European………….

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com (Mohammed Haider Ghuloum PhD) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 18:43:00 GMT

“

“The pair, a British man living in Dubai and a female friend, were arrested in November on accusations of kissing and touching each other intimately in public and consuming alcohol, their lawyer said. They were ordered jailed for a month. The case is the third time in under two years in which Britons have hit the headlines by falling foul of decency laws in Dubai, a flashy Muslim emirate popular with sun-seeking Western tourists and expatriates. A lawyer for the pair, who launched an appeal on Sunday, said there had been no inappropriate kissing and the two were just friends. A verdict in the appeal is expected on April 4. "There was no lip kissing. It was just a normal greeting that is not considered offensive," lawyer Khalaf al-Hosani told the court, adding the complainant's testimony was contradictory. The British man's mother in London said her son, Ayman Najafi, had vowed to clear his name…….”

He is British, but clearly of Arab or Eastern descent. If he were of “European” descent, English or Welsh or Scottish, he would probably be let alone. Even the complaining Emirati mother would probably decline to complain, if he were white. In Egypt, couples with Muslims names or looks, whatever their nationality, are sometimes asked of proof of marriage at hotels before they are allowed to share a room.
Interesting profiling of the self, no?
Cheers
mhg

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Neither Revolutionary nor Revolting, Lebanese Cedar “Movement” Officially Dead…………….

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com (Mohammed Haider Ghuloum PhD) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 16:11:00 GMT

“

“Walid Jumblatt, a Lebanese MP and leader of the Progressive Socialist Party, has made a public apology for "indecent comments" he made in the past against Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president. Jumblatt, who was part of the anti-Syria March 14 movement, had described al-Assad in 2007 as "Damascus' dictator", "a savage" and "an Israeli product". Participating in Hiwar Maftouh (Open Dialogue), an Al Jazeera Arabic talk show, Jumblatt said his comments were made out of anger, amid stressful atmosphere and at a time the sectarian and ethnic split in Lebanon was at its peak. He said: “My remarks were indecent, out of context and go beyond the political manners."…..…”

It was not a revolution; just more maneuverings by various factions to adjust the local (and regional) balance of power. It has failed.
The Lebanese are not revolting types, I mean revolutionary types. Some of them are probably revolting types, some probably are revolutionary types. Most are neither, like all other nations.
Alles klar?
Cheers
mhg

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Islamic Fundamentalism and American Women?……………….

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com (Mohammed Haider Ghuloum PhD) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 16:05:00 GMT

“Obyrne said Paulin-Ramirez has not been charged and that she is not out on bail. He did not provide further details of Paulin-Ramirez's detainment. The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, on Saturday reported the 31-year-old Leadville, Colorado, mother had been arrested in connection with the investigation into an alleged plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist who poked fun at the Muslim prophet, Mohammed. CNN could not immediately verify the report. A Pennsylvania woman was indicted March 4 for allegedly conspiring to support terrorists and kill a person in a foreign country. Last year, Colleen LaRose, who authorities say called herself "Jihad Jane," agreed to kill a resident of Sweden, the indictment says, and a U.S. government official familiar with the case identified the target to CNN as Lars Vilks, a cartoonist who outraged some with a drawing of Mohammed…………”
Cheers
mhg

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Allawi Ally Injects Sectarianism into Iraq Race………………

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com (Mohammed Haider Ghuloum PhD) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:59:00 GMT

“But the most strident claims have come from Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, who is a Sunni Arab, and the current president, Jalal Talabani, the Kurdish candidate, whose avuncular nature made him a compromise pick for a post even he, with a self-deprecating smile, called honorary. Mr. Hashimi’s very public ambitions for the job have already ignited a dispute with Kurdish officials, who are eager to retain a pivotal say in politics in Baghdad. Fuad Hussein, the chief of staff to Massoud Barzani, the president of the semiautonomous Kurdish region, called the notion “insulting for the Kurdish people, as if the Kurds cannot produce a president in this country or cannot be president in this country.” A statement from Mr. Barzani’s office last week went further, saying the idea that the next president must be a Sunni Arab rekindled beliefs of “chauvinism and ethnic superiority” that were redolent of the days of President Saddam Hussein…….”

Oddly, there are more Kurds in Iraq than Sunni Arabs. It is this sense of entitlement that comes to a small minority from being handed the country by the British some ninety years ago. It takes time for the new reality in Iraq to sink in.
Cheers
mhg

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How Iraq and Bush Taught America the Ways of Middle East Oligarchies…………

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com (Mohammed Haider Ghuloum PhD) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:53:00 GMT

“Chaos, weak oversight and wide use of cash payments in the Iraq reconstruction program allowed Americans who took bribes to get off scot-free. Investigators looking into corruption involving reconstruction in Iraq say they have opened more than 50 new cases in six months by scrutinizing large cash transactions — involving banks, land deals, loan payments, casinos and even plastic surgery — made by some of the Americans involved in the nearly $150 billion program. Some of the cases involve people who are suspected of having mailed tens of thousands of dollars to themselves from Iraq, or of having stuffed the money into duffel bags and suitcases when leaving the country, the federal investigators said. In other cases, millions of dollars were moved through wire transfers. Suspects then used cash to buy BMWs, Humvees and expensive jewelry, or to pay off enormous casino debts. Some suspects also tried to conceal foreign bank accounts in Ghana, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Britain, the investigators said, while in other cases, cash was simply found stacked in home safes……..”

The Iraq War, all the dealings with Arab plutocrat businesses, and a few years of Bush-Cheney have nearly turned the USA a little bit closer to a Middle East oligarchy in some ways. This is not to say that there has not been major local business corruption: the crimes that led to the financial collapse and deep economic recession were homegrown.
After all, Bernard Kerik, former head of NYPD, the Bush and Giuliani nominee for Homeland Security Secretary, is going to prison.
Cheers
mhg

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Friedman Nearly Awake, Netanyahu as Obama…………………

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com (Mohammed Haider Ghuloum PhD) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:32:00 GMT

“I think that — rather than fuming and making up — would have sent a very useful message for two reasons. First, what the Israelis did played right into a question a lot of people are asking about the Obama team: how tough are these guys? The last thing the president needs, at a time when he is facing down Iran and China — not to mention Congress — is to look like America’s most dependent ally can push him around. And second, Israel needs a wake-up call. Continuing to build settlements in the West Bank, and even housing in disputed East Jerusalem, is sheer madness. Yasir Arafat accepted that Jewish suburbs there would be under Israeli sovereignty in any peace deal that would also make Arab parts of East Jerusalem the Palestinian capital. Israel’s planned housing expansion now raises questions about whether Israel will ever be willing to concede a Palestinian capital in Arab neighborhoods of East Jerusalem — a big problem…….”

And NO the Obama administration will not get tough with Israel. Not with an ongoing tough campaign in process for both houses of Congress. However, it will probably get tough with everybody else, including Iran, precisely because there is a tough campaign for Congress this year.
But Friedman reads Netanyahu completely wrong: he is another “Obama Administration”, and will not make tough decisions.
Cheers
mhg

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Hamas Leader Captured by Joint Israeli-Fatah Operation ……………

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com (Mohammed Haider Ghuloum PhD) — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:26:00 GMT

“A leading member of the Palestinian militant group Hamas has been arrested in the West Bank, Israel's army says. It says Mahar Uda, 47, was seized overnight in the Ramallah region. He is said to be one of the founders of Hamas' armed wing in the West Bank. Hamas said Palestinian security forces helped Israel arrest Mr Uda…… A statement from Hamas said Mr Uda had been seized in a village under the control of the Palestinian Authority, which is headed by Mahmoud Abbas, and that Palestinian forces had assisted in the arrest. So far there have been no public comments by the Palestinian Authority........ ” BBC

Of course they helped. Like Don Corleone, I don’t believe in such coincidences.
Cheers
mhg

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Sign of the Times: Aston Martin Gulf Owners in Trouble………..

m.h.ghuloum@gmail.com (Mohammed Haider Ghuloum PhD) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 20:19:00 GMT

“Investment Dar, the troubled Kuwaiti firm that owns half of luxury British carmaker Aston Martin, said on Saturday it has filed for legal protection under Kuwait's financial stability law."Investment Dar announces today that it has started a process of legal protection under the terms of Kuwait’s Financial Stability Law," a company statement said. The company, which has debts of over three billion dollars, said the move aims at pushing through a debt restructuring plan that is backed by more than 80 percent of creditors but is opposed by a minority. Dar will be the first company to resort to the financial stability law since it was enacted about a year ago with the aim of helping Kuwaiti banks and investment firms against the fallouts of the global financial crisis. ….. In the same month, Kuwait's central bank appointed a temporary administrator to oversee business at Investment Dar, which has already defaulted on its debt. The company's shares have been suspended from trading on the Kuwait Stock Exchange since last April 1 for failure to report 2008 financial results……….. In December, Kuwait's top investment firm, Global Investment House, struck a a deal with creditors to restructure loans worth over 1.7 billion dollars……… “

WTF drives Aston Martin these days? Beautiful car, we used to have dry dreams about it. But the times they are achanging.
Cheers
mhg

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