Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Hank Paulson, AIG and the Line in the Sand

As a Followup to "Fed to Give A.I.G. $85 Billion Loan and Take 80% Stake"

Remember these headlines?

Forbes-
Paulson's Line In The Sand


Seattle Post-Intelligencer-
National Economy: Drawing the line


Financial Times-
Paulson sticks to firm line


Huffington Post-
Paulson Drew the Line...

Time-
Paulson, Bernanke Drew the Line...

In the 1970's Muammar Gaddafi claimed the Gulf of Sidra as territorial waters and declared the vector from Benghazi to Misratah his fearsome "Line of Death" and anyone foolish enough to cross said Line of Death would be met by the full wrath of the Libyan air force. On Aug. 19, 1981 the U.S. Sixth Fleet was in the Gulf, the Libyans sent up their Air Force, two F-14's from the Nimitz shot them both down and Robin Williams got a bit out of it:
...Here's a man who had the audacity to go:
"This is the line of death. You cross it, you die." {Pause}
"Okay, you cross this line, you die." {Pause}
"Okay, you cross this line, you die."
"This line, you die."
"Okay, you're knocking on my door,
I'm not coming out. Naaaaah"
Here's the 1986 performance, Live at the Met:
(the bit is 1:05 in)