Danger Zone & My Biggest Fan

Do Not,

under any circumstances,

make these cupcakes.

Salted Caramel Cupcakes

They're evil.

Every few weeks I make a batch of cupcakes and take them to my husband's office for everyone to share.  Everyone there is on a diet so they all hate me.

I'm okay with that.

I found the recipe on one of my favorite blogs.

Lemonade Makin' Mama

Holy Smokes and shoot me dead if these aren't delicious.

I ate one.

Just one.

Really.

On another note, apparently, my father is bored with my blog.  You remember my Dad don't you?  I did an interview with him here.

He's ever so helpful.

Oh yes he is.

Here is an email that he sent me today:

Hi Kid: 

Read your bog for the last few days.  Actually, I'm impressed that your life is rather mundane.  Nothing about drugs, probation, drive bys or Toby Kieth.  To add some excitement you need to interact with your neighbors in an unexpected way.

Bake a 3 layer cake and knock on the door of the lady down the street that waters her flowers in a mu-mu.  "Just been thinking about you and admiring your front yard, enjoy the cake."   Her response would give you blog material for a week. 

Consider exchanging your trash container with the folks across the street just before the truck comes. It may take a week or two before they notice but their reaction would certainly merit an entire blog-maybe two.   In the meantime I will continue to read your blog even if it is about Melba toast. 

love ya   

dad

I do have to wonder how exciting his life is if he's sitting around coming up with ways for me to boost my blog material. 

Holly

xxx-ooo

Gary and Minefinders (MFN)

What i like about Gary BiiWii is that he's nobody's fool, stands his corner and follows no track but his own. Your humble scribe and the BiiWii dude often bicker about differences (after all, he is a freakin' charty) but on the odd occasion when he and I agree on a subject, or more importantly a stock, it's a signal I take very seriously indeed.

We came to a view on Minefinders (MFN) (MFL.to) a while back at almost the same time, he coming from his starting point and this humble corner of cyberspace from its own murky world of spreadsheets and mumbojumbo. But we called it the same. And so far......well, go see Gary's chart and his words for yourself.

Moral: Do like me and associate yourself with way smart people, because it makes you look far more intelligent than you actually are. DYODD.

Marin Katusa front-runs and screws his Casey Research sheep...again

Hey dudettes and dudes, remember East West Petroleum (EW.v), the Marin Katusa pumped scam that zoomed higher late last year on his incessant pumping? Well IKN does and so we thought it was a good time to see how Marin's bigshot hot tip was getting on since it ran its $30m dollar financing in December. So here's the chart:

Oh looky, the thing has dropped like a stone and is back to the pre-pump price levels. Now there's a shocker. Y'know, I think we should name this kind of chart action after Marin, as I know he'd be pleased to have a moniker out there in TA. So as Bollinger has his bands and Mac has his Dee, what about the Katusa Krush?

Let us remember at this point that East West Petroleum (EW.v) is the very same company that 1) is being pumped by Casey Research and 2) gave fat finder's fees to KBH Capital, the entity comprised of Casey Research's Marin Katusa, Casey Research's Marc Bustin and Casey Research's Joe Hung and also let's note how 3) Marc Bustin was put in as a director of EW.v last year. More details on the sordid connections to Duggie's self-serving empire right here (along with reminders of how Katusa's similar foray with TCF.v ended very very badly).

And the cherry on the cake is that the company chairman is a guy named David Sidoo, a Vancouver restauranteur and buddy buddy of....roll on the drums....yes...you've guessed already havent you?...Marin Katusa! Sidoo dude, you shudda stuck to waiting on tables.

Miami Ultras in New York. Fans visit MLS and watch USA vs Argentina.

ALERT: Be sure to listen to Jorge Ramos y su Banda on ESPN Radio 1450 AM in Miami or go HERE to listen online as Jorge Ramos will have a chat with MLS Commissioner Don Garber. Jorge will be asking Don about a future MLS team in South Florida among other MLS related subjects. Be sure to check it out starting at 4PM and call in to 1 800 Deportes You can also follow and send questions on twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/ESPN_JorgeRamos
Radio address if anyone wants to go is: ESPNDeportesRadio
 Alhambra plaza - 9 floor Coral Gables, FL 33134
Ultras in New York
Miami Ultras were spotted this past weekend in New York City. A group of Ultras, led by Mitchell Rivera visited the Big Apple to watch the USA vs Argentina match that took place this past Saturday.



But before the USA game Mitch decided to visit MLS digital where he was greeted by David Agrell. The Ultras were given a quick tour and were told that we are the first supporters group to visit MLS Digital. David did tell us that FutbolMLS (The Spanish version of the MLS website) will soon get its own front page link. Mitch asked where does MLSsoccer.com, get the most hits outside the US. David replied that it was from Europe and the Middle East only because gambling is legal and they find that MLS is unpredictable and there is parity in the league.

As you will see in the pictures below there is a collection of scarves there. We found that the Miami Ultras scarf was already amongst the MLS supporters scarves. We don't know how they got it, perhaps from Garber's last visit and meeting with the Ultras in January, but either way it's a good sign of things to come. (Click picture to enlarge)

Below you can see more pictures at MLS, the USA game and around New York.

You want to help bring MLS to South Florida?
Visit our website www.mlsmiamibid.com
You can also follow us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MLSMiamiBid
and Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/mlsmiami
Have suggestions and want to be part of the group send us an email to: info@mlsmiamibid.com

My Latest Obsession

Trying to eat healthy has taken it's toll on me.

Oh, how I miss those days of snacking on potato chips and Skittles.

I have found something, however, that I wanted to share with you.

It's been a lifesaver at 10:00 am, when I'm hungry and it's too early for lunch.

Roasted Garlic Melba Snacks

4 pieces =

1.5 g fat

10 g carbs

60 Calories

and

Trader Joes Fresh Bruschetta Sauce

2 TBSP =

2 g fat

1 g carbs

20 Calories

Total-

3.5 g fat

11 carbs

80 Calories

Worth every bite!

Sidenote:  I ate 4 Starbursts yesterday and they were worth it too.

Kinross (K.to) (KGC) in LatAm and that old deja vu all over again feeling

 Oh, that's impressive. Bugger all PPS growth in a major gold miner over five 

years during the biggest baddest bull run for gold....like...ever

Last night we had news out of Kinross:

QUITO, March 30 (Reuters) - Canada's Kinross Gold (K.TO: Quote) will invest $1.1 billion in Ecuador's Fruta del Norte gold project until 2016 and could begin digging an underground mine next year, a company executive said on Wednesday.
Dominic Channer, a vice president of the Toronto-based firm, said gold production could begin at the site in 2014.
Kinross says Fruta del Norte has proven and probable mineral reserves estimated at 6.8 million ounces of gold and 9.1 million ounces of silver, and that it should produce 410,000 gold equivalent ounces on average each year during yada yada continues here

All glorious thrusting stuff from Kinross and it immediately reminded your author of another Reuters news story he'd read....back in April 2007.

Kinross Gold expects Cerro Casale development- CEO

(Reuters) - Kinross Gold Corp. (K.TO) expects to develop the big Cerro Casale gold and copper deposit in Chile, with remaining questions centering on when and how, not if, the company's chief executive said on Wednesday.
The Canadian miner acquired a 49 percent stake in the property when it acquired Bema Gold earlier this year. It is one of the world's largest undeveloped gold and copper deposits, with estimated reserves of 23 million ounces of gold and 6 billion pounds of copper.
"I think realistically if it takes a year to get sorted out on the plan, then it takes two years in construction, so you start thinking about it in production terms 3-4 years out," CEO Tye Burt told Reuters in yada yada continues here.

Golly gosh, Cerro Casale must be producing gold and selling it at $1400+/oz now, right? We're almost exactly four years on from that "3 to 4 years out" prediction from Kinross CEO Tye Burt, after all.

What's that you say? Surely not! They sold a chunk to Barrick and only own 25% now, you say? And still no build decision made on Cerro Casale? That's strange, because it's hardly likely that the CEO of a world class gold miner would SPOUT UTTER BULLSHIT TO FOOL HIS AUDIENCE,  is it? 

But this time at Fruta del Norte it's different. Of course. Oh yes yes yes yes.

Chart of the day is....

...Bolivia's Natgas exports in dollar value per month, January 2006 to date.

I was sitting in the warmth of the office a little later than normal last night, letting Mrs. Rock get on with watching The Black Swan (sorry, tried and couldn't hack it), when it suddenly occurred to me that we hadn't heard much from the "OhMyGodBoliviaGoingDownTheDrainEvoBad" brigade recently. I wondered why that might be so off I trotted to the Bolivian INE Stats people's website and went to the dynamic econ stats charting page (go see for yourself, it's tricky at first but once you've cracked the system it's lots of fun...for nerds that is) to check on Bolivia's top export (41.4% so far this year and beats out metals by about $50m a month).

And sure enough, on checking the figures (then putting that above chart together) I quickly saw why we were hearing nothing from the Evohaters about the state of Bolivia's economy. Bolivian natgas is back, kicking tush, taking names and has just put in the best single month of sales (U$266.2m in Feb'11) since the heady days of that fuel price bubble just before everything went down the crapper in late'08 (seems so long ago now, doesn't it?).

So Bolivia was paid U$310 per capita for natgas by Brazil (mainly) and Argentina (its other client) in 2010. That'll pay for the free school breakfasts, I think.

The new Ft. Lauderdale Strikers Jersey and more.

Last night the Fort Lauderdale Strikers revealed their new jerseys! I have to admit they look good. FMB contributor Mitch Rivera supplied us with these photos.

 

 

Check out more pictures and video at:
Miami Soccer fan
www.strikers.com

I also need to comment on the new updated websites. The Strikers website is great and the NASL's (www.nasl.com ) is even better. That, along with the new logos have been proof, for now, that Traffic has done their homework and improved from years past.
Still, though we have some new talent on the team, there is a question mark referering to the talent on the field. But last night they mentioned there are still 4 players to be signed. Today they mentioned 2 in Midfielder Patrick Otte and Goalkeeper Phillip Lamarre. Read more about them HERE 
Let's wait and see what coach Daryl Shore can muster up. We need a Championship team!

Check out this video of the Strikers glory years that the team released. The old meets the new!
Go Strikers!


UPDATE: 7PM
Just saw the Strikers on Univision. See the picture below:

Annals of opinion poll predictions, Luis Castañeda edition

Part one: In this report dated today and timed 07:40am, one-time frontrunner for the Peru Presidential election assures the world that he will not drop any further in the polls than his current 15.0% rating.

Part two: In this report dated today and timed 08:36am, Castañeda polls 13.8%.

 

For what it's worth, today's IMA poll (margin of error +/- 4%) has Alejandro Toledo in the lead at 23.9%, Ollanta Humala in second spot at 21.9% and Keiko Fujimori in third at 17.6%. Then comes PPK with 16.9% and bottom of the five Castañeda with the aforementioned 13.8%. But be careful from now on, as the polls coming between now and Sunday 3rd are likely to be....errrr......how to put this diplomatically?...errr....to the taste of the owners or commissioners of the surveys.

Spring was Great!

I really enjoyed that whole week of spring we had here in Phoenix.  Yes, one whole week.  We went from a cold, rainy winter, and one week of spring time weather straight into summer.  The temps here are going to be in the 90's.  Awww, glorious summer.

Doesn't spring make you feel like dancing?

Or flying?  Or acting like an Egyptian?

Or maybe that's just me.

I spent so much time last week enjoying the weather that I completely forgot to do any spring cleaning.

Does that mean I get to wait until next year to do it?

Holly

xxx-ooo

Mining PRs and the Ottotrans™, Part 37

Today's example of Ottotrans™, bravely taking mining NR gobbledygook and valiantly returning it to a version of the English language that normal, well-adjusted people can finally grasp, comes from the keyboard of the IR department over at Torex Gold Resources (TXG.to). 

This is what they wrote:

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - 03/30/11) - Torex Gold Resources Inc. (the "Company" or "Torex") (TSX:TXG - News) reports that it is working very closely with Mexican authorities and security measures are being discussed that will permit the Company to resume its exploration and drilling activities at its Morelos Gold Project in Mexico.
Fred Stanford, President and CEO of Torex stated, "I can confirm we have been in close discussions with the Economy Ministry of Mexico, who are spearheading efforts to ensure a timely and authoritative response to the temporary suspension of drilling activities at our Morelos Gold Project announced in our press release dated March 24, 2011. We are truly appreciative of the concern, interest and timely response shown by Minister Ferrari and his office as well as other Federal, State and Municipal officials."
"Action is underway and we are confident that Federal and State authorities will help facilitate the appropriate safeguards and security measures to allow us to recommence our exploration programs as soon as possible. We believe that this, along with new Company security measures, will result in a security presence that will provide long term stability for the Morelos Gold Project", he added "We could not have asked for better cooperation from government officials and plans are being developed for a timely return to the site."

And this is what it means:

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - 03/30/11) - Torex Gold Resources Inc. (the "Company" or "Torex") (TSX:TXG - News) reports that it still isn't drilling, its staff are scared crapless after being robbed of their 4X4 vehicles at gunpoint last week and that the salary bill for security going forward is going to cost an arm and a leg, what with the Morelos property being in the middle of freakin' nowhere and a sitting duck for further violent criminal attacks. I mean, it's not like Mexico has a problem with organizaed crime at the moment is it?

The price of silver is so high right now that....

...even Minera Andes (MAI.to) can put together a decent profit. Just goes to show how many cracks a good market price can paper over, doesn't it?

Qtr	EPS
4q08	-5
1q09	-2
2q09	0
3q09	2
4q09	1
1q10	1
2q10	2
3q10	2
4q10	7

Here's the MAI NR, brought to you by a humble scribe looking forward greatly to seeing quarterlies from one certain US based junior silver producer.

Chart of the day is....

...the Gold/Silver ratio and i'll try to put it up later, but right now we have a Internal Server Error code 500 and that nice Mr Google doesn't want to post images on the interwebnetpipes. So click through here for the chart.

Today's reading as this post is written stands at 37.81X, a few clicks lower than yesterday's close shown on the chart. Deflationary event? I see no deflationary event.

UPDATE: Ah, that's better.

Blogs don't matter, Pacific Rubiales (PRE.to) edition

Here's a five chart of Pacific Rubiales (PRE.to) that shows the end of last week's action and the two days of this week.

And just so things are clear, this one shows PRE.to matched up against ^XOI, the Amex Oil Index, to show how the stock has done compared to the industry benchmark.

A 10% gap between the industry benchmark and PRE? Wowsers, so what's changed? Well, there was this superlative post about PRE.to by Setty that hit the wires on Sunday March 27th which pointed out the recent issues over at the company and especially how management has been playing the mushroom politics card...as well as making significant insider sales on info of bad production numbers that it held back from the world. And if you haven't worked it out already, Setty is a dude read by anyone who needs to keep in touch with the LatAm O&G scene .....due mainly to his brilliance.

The thing is, as Setty pointed out in his post last weekend it would have been much easier for the PRE.to IR department to have answered his mails and calls for replies to his queries and presented its side of the case that (knowing the fair-handed Setty as I do) would have made it into print to balance things up, but that never happened. We can only assume that the mighty and rich PRE.to Public Relations people were too busy lunching and couldn't be bothered to talk to a pissant little blogger. But hey never mind that, PRE.to IR department, you've only lost over $510m in market cap since Monday. What's half a billion between friends these days?

Bolivia's deterioration: A first-hand account

This arrived in your humble scribe's mailbox this morning, in its original French version and in the English translation you see before you. The author of the letter has given specific instructions to publish the words as widely as possible and so your author is pleased to do just that.

That crimes are committed in any country is a sad but clear reality. But if crimes are left uninvestigated by the country's police forces and, even worse, the victims are treated with total disrespect, the result is something far more dangerous for the future. IKN leaves you with the words of long-resident academic in Bolivia, Mme Demélas.

Dear friends and colleagues,

Last Tuesday at 9 o'clock in the evening, my eldest daughter Bertille was attacked by three men, raped and beaten up. The police thereupon kept her in their station from 10 o'clock  till 4 in the morning, without giving her the slightest attention nor informing her family or the consular services.

Like any mother whose children have been treated like this in a town where delinquency is constantly growing, such behaviour raises doubts as to whether any investigation will be carried out, or the guilty men ever be punished.

Therefore, since strikes and protest marches are not part of my culture, and considering that I have worked for 38 years to provide Bolivia with the results of my research in the service of her past, I have resolved not to write a line, not to give another course nor a single lecture in the service of this country until this crime has been punished.

I trust to those among you who manage Spanish as well as French the care of translating this announcement, and I thank them in advance.

Marie-Danielle Demélas

Honorary Member of the Bolivian Academy History
Chevalier e la légion d'honneur
 

Chers amis et collègues,

Mardi dernier à 9h du soir, ma fille aînée, Bertille, a été attaquée par trois hommes, violée et passée à tabac. La police l'a ensuite gardée dans ses locaux de 10h à 4h du matin, sans lui donner le moindre soin ni aviser sa famille et les services consulaires. 

Comme toutes les mères dont les enfants sont ainsi traités dans une ville où la délinquance ne cesse de croître, un tel comportement peut faire douter qu'une enquête soit menée, et que les coupables soient un jour châtiés.

Aussi, comme la grève de la faim ni la "marcha" ne font partie de ma culture, et rappelant que depuis 38 ans j'ai travaillé à offrir à la Bolivie le résultat de mes recherches au service de son passé, j'ai résolu de ne plus écrire une ligne, ne plus donner un cours ni une conférence au service de ce pays tant que n'aura pas pris fin l'impunité du crime.

Je confie à ceux d'entre vous qui manient aussi bien l'espagnol que le français le soin de traduire cette annonce et les en remercie par avance.

Marie-Danielle Demélas
Membre honoraire de l'académia de la historia de Bolivia

Chevalier de la légion d'honneur

CIBC on Fortuna Silver (FVI.to) this morning

This link takes you to the note published by CIBC's Brian Quast this morning on Fortuna Silver (FVI.to). It looks like Quast is keeping things conservative and has only raised his target to $6.25 (from $5.50), but if you check what he says about the stock it's pretty clear how much he likes FVI going forward.

Anyway, less of my incoherent burbling, click here and read the words of somebody worth reading for a change.

Mercer Gold (MRGP.ob) does what all scams do in the end

The typical junior mining scam such as Mercer Gold (MRGP.ob) that's pumped by paid newsletter tripe suddenly swandives and dumps out on no apparent newsflow. This is because the scum behind it, in this case previously convicted securities fraudster Gordon Brent Pierce, decide to pull the plug and get out with whatever's left over. Meanwhile the poor bagholder innocent are left wondering WTF is going on.

and don't say we didn't warn you about this stupid, obvious junior mining BS play headed up  on paper at least by the unspeakable Rahim Jivraj. Because we did. Over and over and over again.

Chart of the day is....

..the Peru IGBVL 'general' index from the Lima Stock Market:

Strikers to unveil new Jersey and sign Eduardo Coudet , plus NASL news and more.

The Strikers continue to make noise. This weekend they released their new logo. Miami Ultras President Pieter Brown made some great observations on the design. Read about it HERE.
Following the logo, yesterday the Strikers announced the signing of experienced midfielder Eduardo "Chacho" Coudet.

"Players like Coudet are very hard to find, his professional experience will be a great addition to our team. We will look to his leadership this season," said Head Coach Daryl Shore.
Coudet, 36, is a native of Buenos Aires, Argentina where he began his professional career in 1993 with Platense. In 1999, Coudet signed with one of the Argentine giants, River Plate, and would go on to win three league titles. Coudet has played professionally in Argentina, Spain, and most recently the U.S. He signed with the Philadelphia Union of Major League in the summer of 2010.

Read more at www.strikers.com

If you think it ends there you are wrong. Tonight, the Strikers will unveil their official team jerseys. The event will take place at The Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood at 7 pm. For more information please see the flyer below.

NASL
The NASL re-launched their website and introduced their new NASL logo. The league also announced their new Commissioner David Downs.

The North American Soccer League (NASL) is pleased to announce the appointment of David Downs as the league's first Commissioner. Downs will assume his new role with the NASL on April 4th.
Downs joins the NASL after serving as Executive Director of the USA Bid Committee, the organization created by the U.S. Soccer Federation to participate in the bidding process to host the FIFA World Cup™ in 2018 and 2022. Prior to that, he spent more than 30 years in the broadcast industry as an executive with both ABC Sports and Univision Communications. During his broadcast career, Downs was instrumental in the successful negotiations to secure the U.S. television rights to every World Cup from USA '94, through Brazil '14.

Read more at www.nasl.com

Beige Chinos

Last summer I really liked them. But now everyone is wearing beige chinos and I'm sick of them already before the summer even started. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing really trashy about them - they're just so omnipresent and I'm boooooooooooored! Every redneck girl is wearing a beige chino now from boring verticals like Esprit, H&M or Zara. It's gone from class to mass and now the trend is over already but the mainstream people don't get that. Too bad...

So what does the whacky world of markets think about Ollanta Humala leading the polls in Peru this weekend?

Well, the Lima IGBVL is currently down 4.4% 4.7% 5.1%, the Nuevo Sol (PEN) currency has lost over 1% to the dollar and stands at U$1 = S/2.815 right now, BMO has decided to dump FVI at any cost and that's just one stock of many Peru exposed miners feeling the pinch today (check RIO.v, BVN, DNT.to, SCCO, plenty of others).

I love it when you gringos panic about things you pretend to understand, so I'd just like to say thank you, once again, for giving me your money. Good of you.

Today's retail mining shareholder quiz question

First, the background.

1) On Jan 1st 2011 the Executive Chairman of Great Panther Silver (GPR.to) (GPL), Kaare Foy, owned 117,400 shares of GPR along with 75,000 options priced at 70c.

2) On Feb 22nd he exercised those options, leaving him with 192,400 fully paid up shares.

3) Then he did this:

Date filed	operation type	no.of shares traded	price	shares held
24/02/2011	10 - Acquisition or disposition in the public market	-29,300	$3.20	163,100
24/02/2011	10 - Acquisition or disposition in the public market	-45,700	$3.21	117,400
24/02/2011	10 - Acquisition or disposition in the public market	+1,000	$3.22	118,400
23/03/2011	10 - Acquisition or disposition in the public market	-44,200	$4.12	100,000
23/03/2011	10 - Acquisition or disposition in the public market	-5,000	$4.19	95,000
23/03/2011	10 - Acquisition or disposition in the public market	-5,000	$4.19	90,000
23/03/2011	10 - Acquisition or disposition in the public market	-5,000	$4.20	85,000
23/03/2011	10 - Acquisition or disposition in the public market	-15,000	$4.22	70,000
23/03/2011	10 - Acquisition or disposition in the public market	-10,000	$4.23	60,000
23/03/2011	10 - Acquisition or disposition in the public market	-10,000	$4.24	50,000
23/03/2011	10 - Acquisition or disposition in the public market	-10,000	$4.25	40,000
27/03/2011	10 - Acquisition or disposition in the public market	-10,000	$4.23	30,000
27/03/2011	10 - Acquisition or disposition in the public market	-5,000	$4.35	25,000
27/03/2011	10 - Acquisition or disposition in the public market	-10,000	$4.40	15,000
27/03/2011	10 - Acquisition or disposition in the public market	-5,000	$4.42	10,000
27/03/2011	10 - Acquisition or disposition in the public market	-5,000	$4.45	5,000
27/03/2011	10 - Acquisition or disposition in the public market	-5,000	$4.50	0

Yup, in a touch over one month he sold the lot of them (and this is the exec chair we're talking about here, not some IR guy who got lucky and wants to buy his first 4X4 or something) and the dude now owns zero shares of GPR and zero options (according to SEDI at least).

And now, the promised question for all you out there in retail investorlandia:
x

CAN YOU TAKE A HINT?

dyodd, dudettes and dudes.

Just another day in the TSX Venture exchange

Argentex Mining (ATX.v) is today's example of just another grubby day in the world's sleaziest mining market. 

So maybe when those lazy donothings over at the BCSC have finished their second latte of the morning, they might want to take a bracing morning stroll down to 1100 Melville suite 835 and ask the brass at ATX.v if they know anything about the sheer coincidences mapped out in the above chart. 

Or probably not. We're bored asking you wastes of regulatory space, really.

How Richard Fifer of Petaquilla Minerals (PTQ.to) treats his business partners

This month we've already seen the conviction papers that explain in clear detail how Richard Glenn Fifer Carles of Panama (and not some homonym in Miami) was convicted of narcotrafficking back in the 1970s, with half a dozen or so examples of  cocaine and marijuana pushing brought before the court, his conviction, his time locked away and his probation. So yes, despite his denials on the matter (he's now trying to play with his own name, call himself "Richard Carles Fifer" and confuse people into believing it's not him, FWIW) we know he's a convicted felon. But as a few mailers have pointed out, it was a long time ago, he did his probation and kept out of trouble afterwards and perhaps there's good reason to give him the benefit of the doubt and not to assume that leopards never change their spots.

Fair enough, so let's move on and see how Richard Fifer of Petaquilla (PTQ.to) treats people he goes into business with, shall we? This link will take you to a court decision in Panama dated May 4th 2000 regarding the case brought against Richard Fifer (via his company Minamerica Corporation) by Julio Benedetti (via his company Inversiones Geologicas SA). The court decision is in Spanish, but it's pretty clear stuff for those versed in the language and the main judgement is that Fifer (via his company) was ordered to pay back U$475,000 to Benedetti (via his company).OK, so Fifer lost his case, but the details of the action show Fifer in his true light. By way of a brief summary of the case, here are a few bullet points:

• In 1994, Inversiones Geologicas (the Benedetti company) lent Minamerica (the Fifer company) U$400,000 at a rate of interest of 9.25% annual. This interest was calculated to 1998 and explians the $475,000 total judgement against Fifer. 

• Fifer then got his company to lend him the money. In other words, he cleaned out Minamerica of all cash assets and we assume lived his own style of highlife on the $400k. And hey, that kind of wedge buys more than a single round of mojitos.

• When Benedetti (via his company) asked for his money back (we assume he went through the normal protocolar channels to do so), Fifer said something to the effect of "Minamerica is bankrupt, it has no money left, it's not my problem, sorry dude, you lose".

• So Benedetti then somehow finds out that Fifer asset stripped the company, pulled a fast one and was living on the money borrowed out of a company that he himself bankrupted.

• Then to the courts. Benedetti won.

Listen, those bullet points above are a mix of the facts of the case and a tad of interpretation of what probably went on, so I highly recommend you download your own copy and get the full info yourself. But even if the interpretation is a bit loose, we're really not going to be far away from the substance of Richard Fifer's idea of doing business. This very same dude now runs a gold mine in Panama! FerCryinOutLoud, you must be mad to put your cash to work under the auspices of a scumbag drug dealing fraudster like this. DYODD.

Watching Grass Grow!!

That’s what we are doing around here. Can it get more exciting than that? Yes, it can because I’m bringing to you a chance to star in a reality series I am calling, “WATCHING THE GRASS GROW.” You’re on pins and needles aren’t you?

Here’s the deal. My Arizona winter grass is dying off and it’s time to get ready for the summer grass. I’ve taken the liberty of mowing the old stuff all the way down as far as my mower will allow. I’ve de-thatched and fertilized. Now it’s your turn to join in the excitement.

If you leave a comment on this post, you will be automatically entered into a weekly drawing where you could be chosen to come to my house! Each randomly selected participant will win a whirlwind weekend filled with mowing the lawn, pulling weeds, trimming bushes, and spraying for ants.

Wait, it gets better!

Included in this package will be all the bologna sandwiches you can eat and all the grape Kool-Aid you can drink. Just imagine yourself nestled up at night on our slightly dog-haired couch with your choice of either a firm or soft pillow and an afghan crocheted by my grandmother.

This weekend package also includes Band-Aids and Mercurochrome for those nasty blisters you will probably encounter, but hey, adventures like this come but once in a lifetime.
So hurry and comment! Don’t miss this opportunity! Be sure to read the fine print for contest rules and regulations.
Contestants have to:
• agree that the environment means subjecting oneself to risks including “severe mental stress and heat stroke.”
• agree to “be considered ‘ free labor for the Blevins household’” “for the purposes of workers’ compensation only (which will not be paid).”
• agree to “not defame, disparage or cast in an unfavorable light this blogger, her husband or any entity of this series.”
• “not advertise my winning of any prize (because there isn’t one).”
• be available at all times to do press interviews.
• agree to psychological exams and lie detector tests, the results of which can be broadcast on this blog.
• agree that they may be injured, and won’t hold this Blogger responsible for the lack of health care facilities ( I don’t like hospital waiting rooms), and may contract fleas, rabies, tetanus or other diseases from contaminated areas.
• agree to pay all expenses for travel to and from the reality series location (in Arizona) and to stop at a Sonic on their way to said location to pick up a Diet Coke for the producer.

Leave a comment at your own risk to be entered into the weekly drawing.

Holly

xxx-ooo