Sunday, October 24, 2004
Not the right time to post!


Dear all,
I want to thank all of those who gave ideas and suggestions about what normal citizens can do. I have made a lot of notes preparing for a post summarizing what is practical and what is not in Iraq.
Unfortunately for the past two weeks, and due to the constantly flowing stream of bad news, I have been feeling very depressed and discouraged. And since I like my blog to be filled with optimism, I will waiting for my moral to get a little better to be able to do a positive post. If I do it now, it will be very negative as for the time being I am only seeing the glass as 75% empty.
Please be patient and hope for an optimistic post later on.

I just want to tell ‘Submandave’ that I am impressed and surprised by how well he has analyzed the situation in Iraq.
And to tell Steve in Boston as lynette said “That was beautifully written. You just said it all.”Thanks again for all your contributions.

89 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ahmed,

We all hope you feel better.

Every decade nations emerge from the long struggle against chaos. The average time it takes to change peoples' minds (not at the point of a gun) is one generation.

No matter what the situation the street, or from where you broadcast, your message is needed.

Kenjiro

Anonymous said...

Ahmed,

Yes, the news is terribly discouraging, but it won't stay that way. This journey will have many ups and downs. Remember where you started.

Anonymous said...

At some point even the killers will have to realize that the only thing killing does is leave people killed. I just hope they realize it sooner than later so so many innocent Iraqis who are trying to help their country are spared.
AC Blue Eage

Fayrouz said...

Ahmed,

please, don't lose hope. It's the exact thing those criminals are trying to achieve. The only way to win is to stay positive.

Keep up the faith.

Anonymous said...

Hang in there, only wish there was more we could do.
Hey do us all a fovour and don't wait so long to post.
Great to hear from you.

Bren
Ontario

Anonymous said...

Since good news in this context consists of no news,
let's count the good news....

(intended both in irony, and in seriousness)

1. No oil pipelines blown up for several weeks. (Woohoo!!)
2. Samarra still not re-taken by insurgents.
3. No attacks by Sadr's militia since disarmament deal.
4. Muslim Scholars Association actually considering NOT boycotting the election.

Okay, that's all I can think of right now...

Anonymous said...

Ahmed, I understand things getting you down in Iraq at this time. I'm in Hollywood CA, and the news from Iraq has depressed (but not defeated) me too.

We definitely have to put the fear into the hearts of the terrorist as soon as possible. It's time for Allawi to instruct the civilian population who doesn't support the so called insurgents (terrorist) to get out of the way so the coalition forces can annihilate those SOB's and then began the cleanup and reconstruction of your country. At this time I don't see how any sympathizers of those who are murdering Iraqi civilians and coalition forces can be allowed to avoid either being killed or placed in jail until the security is brought under control of the Iraqi government.

Please take care and stay safe.

Anonymous said...

Another suggestion for Iraq comes from Anne Applebaum....

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A704-2004Oct26.html

Bring Saddam to a public trial could really do wonders for straightening out Iraqi public opinion.

Anonymous said...

Ahmed,

Is everything all right with Najma and her family?

Lynnette in Minnesota

Ahmed said...

Najma and her family are all fine. I think they are too busy with their study and if I am not mistaken, they have reduced their internet subscription to weekends only.

Anonymous said...

I have nothing to say about your latest question because I just began reading your blog. I just wanted to thank you for your wonderful blog and say that your parents must be extremely proud :)

Anonymous said...

Ahmed,

I pray things get better for you, your family, friends and your country. Just know that there are many if not millions of people around the world that care about Iraq and their people.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings with the rest of us. It gives us that haven't lived through something like what you are living a better understanding...something our news doesn't really touch on that we read and watch.

Stay safe..

DesertFox
Dallas, TX

M.E. said...

Dear Ahmed,

I'm glad to see you've posted a couple times lately. I am still praying and hoping that things will soon improve. A thought: Talk to people, because that makes a difference! It's possible to change people's minds by talking to them gently, persuading them of why they should thing about things in a different way. I know, because I talked two people into voting in our Presidential election! Ideas matter. So please continue to share yours with the people in your life! Don't give up; hopelessness is contagious, as is optimism.

Also, I will try to help with reconstruction as an individual citizen by donating to Spirit of America again. Or, do you have other suggestions, for what we Americans can do?

God bless you and your family, and your country.

Unknown said...

Please dont lose hope. Things WILL get better for you and your family. Be patient, believe that your God is always in control.
God Bless you and everyone who wants peace around you.

Anonymous said...

Ahmed,

I am greatly impressed by both your niece's blog and your own. The way she speaks of you, you must be an excellent uncle to her and very wise as well. I hope that your optimism returns in time, as it is people like yourself who see a brighter future for your country that will lead the country out of the current situation.

I am an American and don't have any easy answers for you. What I will say is that the problems in Iraq will not be solved by outside forces, American or otherwise. The one thing Americans all did after the 9/11 attacks was vow to keep going on about our lives regardless of what the terrorists did, because to do otherwise meant they had won. In the same way, the goal of the insurgent forces in Iraq seems to be to force the Iraqi people to give up hope of having a government of their choosing, and the peace that should accompany it. By not giving up hope that the future will bring brighter more peaceful days, and not giving up hope of having a government that you will freely elect, you deny them the victory they seek. Others have provided ideas for more active steps you can take, but I think the most important thing that all Iraqis can do to ensure a better tomorrow is keep hoping for it and refusing to give up on it. As long as you have hope and optimism, you will keep looking for ways to make it a reality.

Good luck Ahmed and thank you for this blog. Your writings give all of us an insight that no journalist can capture and present in the traditional media.

Bill
Houston, Texas

Anonymous said...

I found your blog through Nabil today, and was excited to find you are the uncle of Najma, who I found just yesterday through Nabil also.

I am very sorry that you are having hard times. When I have hard times (perhaps never so hard as these times of yours) I always find a point in the future to plan for things to be better. Election day in Iraq, for example. Things will be better for you in the future.

Take care of yourself, and keep your chin up as best you can.

Regards,
Tom Penn

Anonymous said...

I just wanted to let you know that I am proud of the Iraqi people. From the safety of my home here in america I can not begin to imagine the uncertainty that you live with.

I believe that democracy and the people's right to vote is a god given right and that noone should try to take that away from them by forms of intimidations.

The Iraqis are showing the world that they are people who have a great deal of strength but also people who love peace not violence.

My God look down and bless Iraqi. My thoughts and prays are with you and all Iraqis.

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Debt Consolidation
In the United States, federal student loans are consolidated somewhat differently, as federal student loans are guaranteed by the U.S. government. In a federal student loan consolidation, existing loans are purchased and closed by a loan consolidation company or by the Department of Education (depending on what type of federal student loan the borrower holds). Interest rates for the consolidation are based on that year's student loan rate, which is in turn based on the 91-day Treasury bill rate at the last auction in May of each calendar year.

Student loan rates can fluctuate from the current low of 4.70% to a maximum of 8.25% for federal Stafford loans, 9% for PLUS loans. The current consolidation program allows students to consolidate once with a private lender, and reconsolidate again only with the Department of Education. Upon consolidation, a fixed interest rate is set based on the then-current interest rate. Reconsolidating does not change that rate. If the student combines loans of different types and rates into one new consolidation loan, a weighted average calculation will establish the appropriate rate based on the then-current interest rates of the different loans being consolidated together.

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Student Loan Consolidation

In the United States, federal student loans are consolidated somewhat differently, as federal student loans are guaranteed by the U.S. government. In a federal student loan consolidation, existing loans are purchased and closed by a loan consolidation company or by the Department of Education (depending on what type of federal student loan the borrower holds). Interest rates for the consolidation are based on that year's student loan rate, which is in turn based on the 91-day Treasury bill rate at the last auction in May of each calendar year.

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Student loan consolidation can be beneficial to students' credit rating, but it's important to note that not all federal student loan consolidation companies report their loans to all credit bureaus; Experian or Transunion, which means that students will have differing credit scores at Equifax Transunion, and Experian.



Mortgage Loan Types
There are many types of mortgage loans. The two basic types of amortized loans are the fixed rate mortgage (FRM) and adjustable rate mortgage.

US-mortgage-rates-30yrFix.U.S. Historical mortgage rates for a 30-year FRM.

In a FRM, the interest rate, and hence monthly payment, remains fixed for the life (or term) of the loan. In the U.S., the term is usually for 10, 15, 20, or 30 years. The only increase a consumer might see in their monthly payments would result from an increase in their property taxes or insurance rates (paid using an escrow account, if they've opted to use an escrow). But payments for principal and interest will be consistent throughout the life of the loan using an FRM.

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Adjustable rates transfer part of the interest rate risk from the lender to the borrower, and thus are widely used where unpredictable interest rates make fixed rate loans difficult to obtain. Since the risk is transferred, lenders will usually make the initial interest rate of the ARM's note anywhere from 0.5% to 2% lower than the average 30-year fixed rate.

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A partial amortization or balloon loan is one where the amount of monthly payments due are calculated (amortized) over a certain term, but the outstanding principal balance is due at some point short of that term. This payment is sometimes referred to as a "balloon payment". A balloon loan can be either a Fixed or Adjustable in terms of the Interest Rate. Many Second Trust mortgages use this feature. The most common way of describing a ''balloon loan'' uses the terminology X due in Y, where X is the number of years over which the loan is amortized, and Y is the year in which the principal balance is due. A contract could be written up so there would be more than one "balloon payment" required to be paid during the life of the loan.

Other loan types
Assumed mortgage
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Bridge loan
Budget loan
Commercial Loan
Deed of trust
Equity loan
Hard money loan
Jumbo mortgages
Package loan
Participation mortgage
Reverse mortgage
Repayment mortgage
Seasoned mortgage
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Negative amortization loan
Non-Conforming Mortgage


Debt Consolidation
In the United States, federal student loans are consolidated somewhat differently, as federal student loans are guaranteed by the U.S. government. In a federal student loan consolidation, existing loans are purchased and closed by a loan consolidation company or by the Department of Education (depending on what type of federal student loan the borrower holds). Interest rates for the consolidation are based on that year's student loan rate, which is in turn based on the 91-day Treasury bill rate at the last auction in May of each calendar year.

Student loan rates can fluctuate from the current low of 4.70% to a maximum of 8.25% for federal Stafford loans, 9% for PLUS loans. The current consolidation program allows students to consolidate once with a private lender, and reconsolidate again only with the Department of Education. Upon consolidation, a fixed interest rate is set based on the then-current interest rate. Reconsolidating does not change that rate. If the student combines loans of different types and rates into one new consolidation loan, a weighted average calculation will establish the appropriate rate based on the then-current interest rates of the different loans being consolidated together.

Federal student loan consolidation is often referred to as refinancing, which is incorrect because the loan rates are not changed, merely locked in. Unlike private sector debt consolidation, student loan consolidation does not incur any fees for the borrower; private companies make money on student loan consolidation by reaping subsidies from the federal government.

Student loan consolidation can be beneficial to students' credit rating, but it's important to note that not all federal student loan consolidation companies report their loans to all credit bureaus.
Debt Consolidation entails taking out one loan to pay off many others. This is often done to secure a lower interest rate, secure a fixed interest rate or for the convenience of servicing only one loan.

Debt consolidation can simply be from a number of unsecured loans into another unsecured loan, but more often it involves a secured loan against an asset that serves as collateral, which is most commonly a house (in this case a mortgage is secured against the house.) The collateralization of the loan allows a lower interest rate than without it, because by collateralizing, the asset owner agrees to allow the forced sale (foreclosure) of the asset in order to pay back the loan. The risk to the lender is reduced so the interest rate offered is lower.

Sometimes, debt consolidation companies can discount the amount of the loan. When the debtor is in danger of bankruptcy, the debt consolidator will buy the loan at a discount. A prudent debtor can shop around for consolidators who will pass along some of the savings. Consolidation can affect the ability of the debtor to discharge debts in bankruptcy, so the decision to consolidate must be weighed carefully.

Debt consolidation is often advisable in theory when someone is paying credit card debt. Credit cards can carry a much larger interest rate than even an unsecured loan from a bank. Debtors with property such as a home or car may get a lower rate through a secured loan using their property as collateral. Then the total interest and the total cash flow paid towards the debt is lower allowing the debt to be paid off sooner, incurring less interest. In practice, many people are in credit card debt because they spend more than their income. If that habit continues, the consolidation will not benefit them much because they will simply increase their credit card balances again.

Because of the theoretical advantage that debt consolidation offers a consumer that has high interest debt balances, companies can take advantage of that benefit of refinancing to charge very high fees in the debt consolidation loan. Sometimes these fees are near the state maximum for mortgage fees. In addition, some unscrupulous companies will knowingly wait until a client has backed themselves into a corner and must refinance in order to consolidate and pay off bills that they are behind on the payments. If the client does not refinance they may lose their house, so they are willing to pay any allowable fee to complete the debt consolidation. In some cases the situation is that the client does not have enough time to shop for another lender with lower fees and may not even be fully aware of them. This practice is known as predatory lending. Certainly many, if not most, debt consolidation transactions do not involve predatory lending.



Student Loan Consolidation

In the United States, federal student loans are consolidated somewhat differently, as federal student loans are guaranteed by the U.S. government. In a federal student loan consolidation, existing loans are purchased and closed by a loan consolidation company or by the Department of Education (depending on what type of federal student loan the borrower holds). Interest rates for the consolidation are based on that year's student loan rate, which is in turn based on the 91-day Treasury bill rate at the last auction in May of each calendar year.

Student loan rates can fluctuate from the current low of 4.70% to a maximum of 8.25% for federal Stafford loans, 9% for PLUS loans. The current consolidation program allows students to consolidate once with a private lender, and reconsolidate again only with the Department of Education. Upon consolidation, a fixed interest rate is set based on the then-current interest rate. Reconsolidating does not change that rate. If the student combines loans of different types and rates into one new consolidation loan, a weighted average calculation will establish the appropriate rate based on the then-current interest rates of the different loans being consolidated together.

Federal student loan consolidation is often referred to as refinancing, which is incorrect because the loan rates are not changed, merely locked in. Unlike private sector debt consolidation, student loan consolidation does not incur any fees for the borrower; private companies make money on student loan consolidation by reaping subsidies from the federal government.

Student loan consolidation can be beneficial to students' credit rating, but it's important to note that not all federal student loan consolidation companies report their loans to all credit bureaus; Experian or Transunion, which means that students will have differing credit scores at Equifax Transunion, and Experian.



Mortgage Loan Types
There are many types of mortgage loans. The two basic types of amortized loans are the fixed rate mortgage (FRM) and adjustable rate mortgage.

US-mortgage-rates-30yrFix.U.S. Historical mortgage rates for a 30-year FRM.

In a FRM, the interest rate, and hence monthly payment, remains fixed for the life (or term) of the loan. In the U.S., the term is usually for 10, 15, 20, or 30 years. The only increase a consumer might see in their monthly payments would result from an increase in their property taxes or insurance rates (paid using an escrow account, if they've opted to use an escrow). But payments for principal and interest will be consistent throughout the life of the loan using an FRM.

In an ARM, the interest rate is fixed for a period of time, after which it will periodically (annually or monthly) adjust up or down to some market index. Common indices in the U.S. include the Prime Rate, the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR), and the Treasury Index ("T-Bill"). Other indexes like 11th District Cost of Funds Index, COSI, and MTA, are also available but are less popular.

Adjustable rates transfer part of the interest rate risk from the lender to the borrower, and thus are widely used where unpredictable interest rates make fixed rate loans difficult to obtain. Since the risk is transferred, lenders will usually make the initial interest rate of the ARM's note anywhere from 0.5% to 2% lower than the average 30-year fixed rate.

In most scenarios, the savings from an ARM outweigh its risks, making them an attractive option for people who are planning to keep a mortgage for ten years or less.

Additionally, lenders rely on credit reports and credit scores derived from them. The higher the score, the more creditworthy the borrower is assumed to be. Favorable interest rates are offered to buyers with high scores. Lower scores indicate higher risk to the lender, and lenders require higher interest rates in such scenarios to compensate for increased risk.

A partial amortization or balloon loan is one where the amount of monthly payments due are calculated (amortized) over a certain term, but the outstanding principal balance is due at some point short of that term. This payment is sometimes referred to as a "balloon payment". A balloon loan can be either a Fixed or Adjustable in terms of the Interest Rate. Many Second Trust mortgages use this feature. The most common way of describing a ''balloon loan'' uses the terminology X due in Y, where X is the number of years over which the loan is amortized, and Y is the year in which the principal balance is due. A contract could be written up so there would be more than one "balloon payment" required to be paid during the life of the loan.

Other loan types
Assumed mortgage
Blanket loan
Bridge loan
Budget loan
Commercial Loan
Deed of trust
Equity loan
Hard money loan
Jumbo mortgages
Package loan
Participation mortgage
Reverse mortgage
Repayment mortgage
Seasoned mortgage
Term loan or Interest-only loan
Wraparound mortgage
Negative amortization loan
Non-Conforming Mortgage


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