PARIS — When French politician Marine Le Pen needed cash for her far-right party, an obscure Russian bank agreed to help.
Four years later, the bank has gone bust. The owner is facing a warrant for his arrest. Former Russian military officers are demanding money. And the party’s treasurer is sending off some $165,000 every few months to a woman in Moscow, unsure of where the payments ultimately will go.
by Paul Sonne for the Washington Post.
If you need some money there are Russian banks galore
that open up their coffers for your use -- and what is more,
they'll back you to the limit of your daydreams and your greed;
of course, the int'rest payments do start growing like a weed.
And Russian mafioso come a-callin' for their cut;
but while the money lasts just think how you can smugly strut.
I think I'll get a million from them, just to have the cash
to lobby in the Senate so I make a great big splash.
And when the jig is up and I am called to testify
before my Senate buddies -- I can plausibly deny!
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By some measures, consumers are stretching more to afford their debt payments. Americans are paying 5.6% of their disposable personal income to stay current on nonmortgage debt . . .
by AnnaMaria Andriotis for the WSJ
The people existing in debt
are never allowed to forget
that payment is due
each month, with a view
of keeping them in a tense sweat.
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The call was notable in that a United States ally, the Kurds, was calling on an enemy of the United States to protect it against another United States ally
by Ben Hubbard for the NYT
I think 'Great Satan' was the name
they used to call us in the game
of Middle Eastern politics
because of all our twists and tricks.
And now the Kurds do feel betrayed
because our promises do fade
and those who Uncle Sam do follow
find his promises are hollow.
Never trust a White House gent
who made his fortune from rack rent.
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The film’s director, Jon S. Baird, elaborated on this idea. “We didn’t want to do a story about Laurel & Hardy,” he said in a recent interview. “We wanted to do a story of friends who just happen to be Laurel and Hardy.”
by Susan King for the LATimes
The old clowns are the best clowns,
are the best clowns most of all.
They sit on stools of plastic
and have ceased the raw pratfall.
Their mellow reminiscence of
old slapstick jamborees
is redolent with relish
of the world's absurdities.
Yes, old clowns are the best clowns,
are the best clowns indeed.
Their balm of laughter once did spread
across our world in need.
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