Seems like quite a bit of money is missing. I wonder what the breakdown of what's going to the military, Republican Guard, graft and PLA/Hezzbolah.

Steve, the Mullah basically have lots and lots of unaccountable hired thugs. The problem with hired thugs is that they cost money, lots of money. When they screwed the economy so much, it isn't hard to find willing unemployable men to do your bidding.

The theocrats running Iran and their mullah friends are probably doing an Edwin Edwards with the treasury, except that while Edwards during his first term as Louisiana governor invested most of his embezzlins in unlucky gambling, these Iranian folks are salting the people's "former" money away in numbered offshore accounts, foreign investment and other venues promising comfortable retirements when their present golden goose bites the dust, as it surely will before too much longer.
It's real easy to set up paper companies that deal through other paper companies that own things under still other paper companies' names.
While these jamokes donate large amounts of money to terrorist organizations, those sums are drops in the proverbial bucket compared to the kind of money that can be pilfered from a large government. We're looking at billions of dollars, here, not the "paltry" few million they need to support terrorism, or to hire armies of enforcers.
Such self serving embezzlement practices are, as they say, meat and drink to third world strongmen and their ilk.
Even Saddam's probably got enough financial resources scattered around the globe for him to have relinquished control of Iraq peacefully while there was still time and slithered off to some remote bastion of luxury and security, except that for reasons known only to him, he preferred to do things the hard way.

Wow Seth,

Nice analogy, N'onc Edwin vs Mullahs R Us. You must have spent some time down on the bayou, or know someone from there. Good call. Like momma Gump used to say, "greed is as greed does."

Hound Dog

Yeah, I've spent some time out in the parishes, JTS. Had a lot of fun thereabouts, back in my young studmuffin days.
Yeh, boo, I known a lot o' dem Heberts, an' dem Thibodeaux's, one time I was by Pierre's for de crawfish berl...

:-)

Like your handle upgrade, reminds me of one of my favorite mystery series, both the books and the 60s TV show.

Inspector Teal has left Scotland Yard.

Seth,

This handle comes from an old Springsteen album, either Greetings from Asbury Park or The Wild, The Innocent & The E Street Shuffle, I forget which. The song Lost in the Flood is one of his best early works. Give it a listen, you might enjoy. Both of those albums are wall to wall worth a listen.

JimmyTheSaint

I have a friend who's got everything Bruce S. has ever recorded. I'll have to borrow them from her in the coming week.

Seth,

I just dug the CD out of the back of my car, and it is Greetings from Asbury Park, NJ. That was his first album, I think, and The Wild The Innnocent & The E Street Shuffle was his second. I prefer his vintage stuff to anything he put out after Nebraska.

Haven't seen Wolf's comments of late. He busy straightening out the district of criminals? Give him best regards.

He's actually due in tomorrow;
The freelance job he got me back east is turning into something a little longer than I'd expected. I only returned home when I did to take care of stuff I have to do on the home front, we're flying back east in three or four days.
Man, am I getting some good insights!

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