Anil Selarka asked: Like a potential good stock that could yield profit and dividend, Americans trusted Barack Obama and elected him as President on his promise of “Change”. In stock market, the investors usually buy on rumor and sell on fact. That rule still applies to the President elect. Barack Obama is beginning to recede on his promise to change.
He is no longer a dashing flawless speaker. He is intermittent, evasive, confused and disenchanted. Instead of adopting change that he had promised, he is following the same beaten path as his predecessors, courting on old guards in Clinton Administration for his new cabinet. It looks like that Bill Clinton is having paramount influence on Barack Obama. Will he be the proxy of Bill Clinton the way George W. Bush was for his mentor father, former President George Henry Bush?
Change? What Change? Obama is beginning to ask himself while facing hard reality. Mr Obama, you had a safe journey in the space so far. Now face the hostile home for a change. Welcome back to this planet.
From whatever we hear and see from his utterances in print and media, he seems to be making startling beginning. It seems that he was during campaign guided on economic front by Rupert Rubin, former Treasury Secretary, now with Citygroup, who is the most dangerous man around in the United States.
Rubin was wholesale destructive. He destabilized and eventually destroyed the Glass Steagall Act , 1933 during Clinton Administration. The 1930 era bill separated the business of Banking, Insurance and Securities for common good. When Citigroup took over Travelers Group, he legalized it by removing the old act.
Had that act survived, you would not have seen today’s crisis in banking, investment banking and insurance world. Almost all these troubled banks are engaged in concurrent banking, insurance and securities business. No one knows who should control whom. SEC would consider banking as FED job, FED will consider derivatives as SEC job and SEC will consider banking default as FDIC job. It finally turns out to be no one’s job.
Rubin created the web of non accountability, a specialization of his parent firm – Goldman Sachs. Paulson, also from same firm, recently followed it up while seeking $700 billions from the Senate on one condition – he would not be accountable nor obliged to make any disclosure. Non-accountability has gained momentum – from a few billions to $ 700 billions and Bernanke perfected it with massive $ 2000 billions or 2 trillions. When Bloomberg asked for the details, the Fed did not bother even to reply. Now Bloomberg is filing a suit under Freedom of Information Act.
Even the husky voiced Senator Barney Frank expressed dis-satisfaction at the use (or misuse or abuse) of $ 350 billions that evaporated in just under 30 days. California fire, Barney, California wild fire!
President Bush was non-plussed. In 8 years, he knew only three things – Iraq (Saddam Hussein), 911 (Twin Towers) and Afghanistan (Osama Bin Laden). In his quest for Middle East and Afghanistan, he forgot the map of United States. While he terrorized Middle East with Patriot missiles, his financial team or gang, Paulson and Bernanke, terrorized the nation, Senators, Senate, the President and American people.
LTCM (that lost $1 trillions in derivatives, officially $ 4 billions as its own capital) was covertly promoted by Rubin with remote control. He organized its rescue when so many inevitable were to come out in open. In same fashion, he created Enron to manipulate the oil prices in the world market through paper trading. When he saw the oil bets going against him, he quietly resigned without attracting any notice. No one asked him why did he resign. Not even ardent admirer, Bill Clinton, then President, who chastised it as greatest Treasury Secretary since Alexander Hamilton.
Salomon Brothers collapsed during LTCM debacle. John Meriwether destroyed the firm in a flash. Rubin therefore hated the Russians who brought about LTCM debacle. Warren Buffet took over Salomon Brothers as great financial bargain and finally got rid of it as soon as possible when the heat became unbearable.
Citibank (now Citigroup) and JP Morgan Chase (JPMC), who financed Enron, sold everywhere its spurious bonds ,similar to sub prime bonds and CDO/CDS derivatives today and got into hot trouble losing billions. Rubin then eased himself into $100 Millions a year job at Citigroup to cover his tracts relating to Enron.
In less than 5 years of Rubin’s non Executive Chairmanship, Citigroup lost $ 70 billions in cash ($50 billions before + $17 billions in the from of taking over liabilities of its subsidiaries in the form Structured Investment Vehicles). He also forced the Fed to guarantee its lousy and worthless portfolio of $ 360 billions. In short, he spent in cash and kind of about $ 430 billions of known figures. How much of $ 2 trillions was given away by bearded Bernanke is not counted.
And what did the Citigroup do with $430 Billions? It fired 75,000 employees. In short, the Fed and Treasury gave $5.74 million to Citigroup to fire each employee.
Rubin followed the strong dollar policy to manipulate the world market, and in fact was instrumental for causing Asian Crisis when Euro was about to be borne. He did not want Asian nations to shift the reserve to Euro, so he destroyed Asian currencies with the help of two renowned Hedge Fund managers – George Soros and Julian Robertson (now dead). What you see today of strong dollar in spite of all troubles are the “ditto” measures adopted by him during Clinton Administration. This time, his other colleague from Goldman Sachs, Hank Paulson is doing that dirty job.
Rubin was clever enough to remain always in the background, allowing pawn players to do the dirty jobs on the foreground. In the event of troubles breaking out, he was always there on crime scene like a forensic expert searching for clues with intent to search and destroying whatever remaining hints floating around that might point fingers at him.
Obama was looking at the same old Rubin during campaign for economic guidance which was the first disastrous mistake he was making in the dressing room before going to play his first game at the White House on January 20, 2009.
Obama appointed his formidable opponent Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State. She is a hawk whereas Obama is a dow. There is no matching chemistry. She will wage war with anybody – a female replica of George Bush – totally opposite character of her spouse Bill Clinton.
The internationally acclaimed and a rational person could have been former Secretary of State – Gen Colin Powell who is highly respected by almost all leaders, friends and foes, around the world. Obama missed him in his great baseball shot. He sacrificed Gen Powell in an act of balancing colors to avoid pointed fingers. His first grave mistake on international front even before he took over the office.
Just as President Bush inherited the caucus team of Chenny (Vice President), Don Rumsfeld (former Defense Secretary), Greenspan and other dumb heads from his father Sr. George H Bush, President elect Obama is following the same pattern by inheriting the legacy of Bill Clinton. Change? What Change? There is no change. Same dud and dirty politics.
And here comes another firm. Goldman Sachs. Entire Fed and Treasury buildings are infested with the mammals from Goldman Sachs. Rupert Rubin belonged to that clan. Hank Paulson also belongs to same clan. The newly appointed Treasury Secretary, Timothy ….…., too had a stint at Goldman Sachs. It is Goldman who is calling the shots for over 12 years of America’s mismanagement of economy. Many of the Anchors of business channels like CNBC have GS stamp on their *****. The entire policy is conceptualized in Goldman HQ, policyzied at the Treasury, monetized at Fed, and finally sold like Sub Prime assets through massive publicity in perfect harmony and orchestration via business channels manned by trusted friends who were once upon a time were with Goldman Sachs. Were they deliberately planted? Ask your self. What do you think? I also think the same way.
Obama is now trying to pump another $ 1 trillion into infrastructure spending, after massive $ 2 trillions infusion into the system by the gang of Bernanke and Paulson. He is also hell bent on reducing taxes on individuals. Never did he answer nor did anyone ask, how was he going to bring in income while spending on all fronts and destroying America at the speed of Katrina. The whole nation has become a typified New Orlean where stupefied corpses are found every where in immediate aftermath.
Obama has given first glimpses of his carefully nurtured personality. When the “red blood” is oozing through the main street and wall street, he is talking nonsense about “green air” and exhorting 3 Auto manufacturers to invent green cars. It will be years before those Auto makers would turn their cars green, provided they exist. The immediate priority is to take them out of deep trouble and do everytthing to rejuvenate demand for their products by any means. His currently reflected priorities are not of the becoming of a great leader about to sit on the coveted throne at White House. He has demonstrated so far that he is neither a leader seeking “Change” nor a “Santa Clause” on the eve of Christmas.
The only thing that changed during last 30 days of post election process – His name. He has decided to use his middle name while taking oath at the White House. He is now Barack Hussein Obama about to stride into White House. What is he trying to do by changing his well known name by including “Hussein” in the middle? Pacify Arabs and Islamic nations? If he had used “Hussein” as his middle name during campaign, he would have certainly lost the election in most disastrous fashion. He does not have the mandate from the people to use his “Hussein” brand . Thank God,. he is not changing his first name from “Obama” to “Osama”!
If name change were to usher in the dramatic change in economy, George Bush would be left wondering why did not he think of it while facing disaster after disaster at home and overseas during 8 years of his ignominious presidency.
Obama is therefore showing the sure sign of just another “mediocre” at the White House.The crisis is so acute that there were reports that “US military was preparing for domestic disturbance” Click here for Newsmaxx Report. With guns being freely licensed through out United States, the nation is sitting on a huge volcano about to be burst. After years of practice of firing billions of bullets in other countries during last 60 years, US Military Commanders will have uphill battle back home for the first time firing for a change at their own people.
Will Barack Hussein Obama be the last ruling President of the nation once upon a time called “United States of America”? Don’t be surprised. It happened to USSR in recent past. It could happen again, this time in America for a change. Is this the CHANGE he was talking about?
Let us prepare ourselves for the “Great Royal Circus” in Washington. The curtain will be drawn on 20th January, 2009. It will be a battle royal in the far flung Afghanistan and Iraq – Obama vs.Osama. And the distraught investor, Warren Buffet, after investing $ 8 billions in Goldman Sachs and General Electric at the instance of Hank Paulson, who will no longer be there after 20th January, 2009, will be awaiting the final verdict from his city – Omaha. Obama, Osama and Omaha – what a rhyme in the American politics!
Poor Lady Liberty must have been tired holding the torch for so long in the middle of the sea. It is time to find new home, she must be murmuring. Where, she does not know.
Kalidas, Hong Kong
Ref: 0812-020 of 2008/12/26
http://www.anilselarka.com
Copyrights © 2008 by Anil Selarka (Kalidas)
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