Dear All,
I am sure many must have seen the live testimony of bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Chief Executive Richard Fuld.
To me it was a fascinating case of Hollywood style politics being played out by respected Congressmen, to give the world an aura of transparency, fairness and generosity of spirit that is supposed to have been one of the founding principles of the White settlers who bought over cheap land from Native Americans in the past few centuries and built up America as a model of tolerance and freedom for the world to adulate and squirm in its own filth, prejudice and intolerance.
Thomas Freidman, author of " Hot, Flat and Crowded "of immigrant forefathers from Russia / Eastern Europe, is a man who jokingly talks of an America with high walls but a very large door and now promotes the necessity of high oil and energy prices for America to return to its founding principles of land of innovation and freedom for all, regardless of colour, creed or background.
------
MarketWatch - http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/fuld-blames-lehmans-fall-lack/story.aspx?guid={A94914F8-4190-45B8-A850-2C41067F859B}&dist=msr_19
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Facing skeptical and angry members of Congress, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Richard Fuld blamed the bankruptcy of his firm on a "lack of confidence" Monday, saying in testimony he and other executives did everything they could to protect the investment bank before it imploded in September.
"Ultimately what happened to Lehman Brothers was caused by a lack of confidence," Fuld said. "This was not a lack of confidence in just Lehman Brothers, but part of what has been called a storm of fear enveloping the entire investment-banking field and our financial institutions generally," Fuld said in testimony at a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Read Fuld's testimony.
But lawmakers lashed out at Fuld even before he took his seat at the witness table, with one even asking how the executive could sleep at night.
"Mr. Fuld takes no responsibility for the collapse of Lehman," said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., the panel's chairman, before Fuld began his testimony. Waxman also said that Fuld will come out of the bankruptcy remaining wealthy while the economy is threatened.
"Mr. Fuld will do fine," Waxman added. "But taxpayers are left with a $700 billion bill to rescue Wall Street and an economy in crisis," referring to the $700 billion rescue plan for the financial markets signed into law Friday.
Waxman also said experts believe that Lehman's (LEHMQ fall triggered the credit crisis and made the rescue plan necessary.
Lehman filed for bankruptcy on Sept. 15, the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S. history. The committee is planning five hearings about the financial meltdown.
Testifying before the panel, Fuld said: "I take full responsibility for the decisions that I made and for the actions that I took."
'I wonder how [Fuld] sleeps at night.'
— Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md.
In his testimony, Fuld remarked that he believed the company was "well protected to withstand even the most difficult markets."
But he also said that the government could have taken steps to help the troubled bank. An earlier decision by the Federal Reserve to allow banks to pledge collateral to the central bank "would have been extraordinarily helpful to Lehman Brothers," he commented.
Similarly, help from the Fed for a merger between Lehman and another bank could have stemmed more problems in the market, according to Fuld.
Moreover, he said, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve closely observed the company's business in 2008. "They were privy to everything as it was happening," he asserted. "Quarter to quarter, month to month, regulators saw how we reduced our commercial real-estate holdings, how we increased our liquidity pool, how we decreased leverage and strengthened our capital levels."
But House lawmakers -- all of whom are up for re-election next month -- went on the attack against the embattled executive.
Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., said he's asking for a special counsel to investigate the fall of Lehman, and Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said members of his church were asking on Sunday why Fuld and other executives were paid so much money.
"I wonder how [Fuld] sleeps at night," Cummings added.
Lehman's board was asked to approve $20 million in special payments to three departing executives just four days before the company filed for bankruptcy, according to Waxman.
Fuld said the company's executives did all they could to prop up the bank but couldn't manage to save it. "In the end, despite all our efforts, we were overwhelmed, others were overwhelmed and still other institutions would have been overwhelmed had the government not stepped in to rescue them."
Meanwhile, House Republican Leader John Boehner said the hearings amount to little more than "political theater" as long as they don't probe the roles of Fannie Mae (FNM in the credit crisis.
"Chairman Waxman has flatly refused numerous requests by Republicans to hold even a single hearing on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's role in the financial crisis that is having an impact on families, seniors, small businesses and every single taxpayer in America," Boehner said in a statement.
----
There were also pointed questions put to Mr Fuld whether he felt he was double crossed by the Treasury Secretary H Paulson, and given to put faith in some wrong planted leads and insider information. To this Mr Fuld replied that he sincerely wished this were not the case.
The Guardian has reported on this Congressional hearing under oath, and - for public consumption, inept Congressman, vacuously kept reminding Mr Fuld , no doubt for public consumption, that he was under oath - - Nagarjuna
----
Guardian has reported : http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/06/creditcrunch.lehmanbrothers
It was a showdown to cherish for critics of Wall Street's culture of enrichment. The grim-faced boss of the bankrupt bank Lehman Brothers was left squirming with discomfort today as a veteran Democrat roasted him over his multi-million dollar pay.
With the startled look of a man unaccustomed to sharp examination, Lehman's chief executive, Richard Fuld, clashed bluntly with the chairman of the House oversight committee, Henry Waxman, on Capitol Hill.
Called upon to explain why Lehman collapsed last month, Fuld began with a note of humility, saying he felt "horrible" over the demise of the 158-year-old institution. "I want to be very clear," said Fuld. "I take full responsibility for the decisions I made and for the actions I took."
In a brief speech that was heard in silence, Fuld told lawmakers that if he could turn back the clock, he would do many things differently. As soon as he finished speaking, sparks began to fly. The chairman of the committee held up a chart suggesting that Fuld's personal remuneration totalled $480m over eight years – including payouts of $91m in 2001 and $89m in 2005.
"Your company is now bankrupt and out country is in a state of crisis," said Waxman, a liberal lawmaker from California. "You get to keep $480m. I have a very basic question – is that fair?" After a long pause, Fuld demurred, saying the figure was exaggerated: "The majority of my compensation, sir, came in stock. The vast majority of the stock I got I still owned at the point of our [bankruptcy] filing."
Waxman cut him off, saying that even if the figure was slightly lower, it was "unimaginable" to much of the public. "Is that fair, for a CEO of a company that's now bankrupt, to make that kind of money? It's just unimaginable to so many people." Waxman asked. "I would say to you the $500m number is not accurate," said Fuld. "I'd say to you, although it's still a large number, for the years you're talking about here, my cash compensation was close to $60m, which you've indicated here, and I took out closer to $250m [in shares]."
Interrupting again, Waxman listed Fuld's collection of property – including a $14m ocean-front villa in Florida and a home in the exclusive ski resort of Sun Valley, Idaho. "You and your wife have an art collection filled with million dollar paintings," said Waxman. "Your former president, Joe Gregory used to travel to work in a helicopter."
The pugnacious Waxman warmed to his theme: "You made all this money taking risks with other peoples' money."
Refusing to give ground, Fuld said his pay had been set by an independent compensation committee which spent "a tremendous amount of time" making sure executives' interests were aligned with those of shareholders.
"When the company did well, we did well," said Fuld. "When the company did not do well, we didn't do well." Waxman disagreed: "Mr Fuld, there seems to be a breakdown, because you did very well when the company was doing well and you did well when the company was not doing well. And now your shareholders who owned your company have nothing. They've been wiped out."
Fuld's evidence on Capitol Hill was his first public appearance since Lehman failed, sparking a chain of events that have sent shockwaves through the global financial system and has prompted the US government to begin a $700bn bail-out of the banking industry.
A lifelong Lehman employee who joined the firm as an intern in 1966, Fuld has been blamed for the debacle by many of the bank's 28,000 staff – including those in London who have accused senior management of filleting Lehman's British operation of money in the bank's final days.
Deadpan and emotionless, Fuld repeatedly frustrated congressmen by answering questions with lengthy, technical financial explanations. Frustrated by his demeanour, a Republican congressman, John Mica, tried humour. "If you haven't discovered your role, you're the villain today," said Mica. "You've got to act like a villain."
Fuld stared back wordlessly, without a shadow of a smile. Towards the end of his two hours of evidence, Fuld told Congress that until the final hours of the bank, he believed a takeover by Barclays would save Lehman Brothers from bankruptcy. In the event, Barclays waited until after Lehman had collapsed before buying the remnants of its US operations.
"Not that anyone on this committee cares about this but I wake up every single night wondering 'what could I have done differently?'" Fuld said. "In certain conversations, what should I have said? What could I have done? I have searched myself every single night." Raising his voice, Fuld continued: "This is a pain that will stay with me for the rest of my life."
===
It is amazing that while paid lobbying is perfectly LEGAL in Washington policy making, naked attempts were made to black wash a man as a VILLAIN - a man who was paying salaries to 28,000 of the smartest individuals in the financial world, a man who evolved a highly successful part salary, part bonuses and part stock options compensations system to ensure alignment of employee interests with those of shareholders in the most sophisticated of American financial institutions and was the epitome of a sophisticated art collector in a land where the rights of the wealthy are protected and kept above the rights of the masses -
One Congressman pointed out the amounts of money paid by Lehman Brothers to influence financial regulators and law makers in Capitol Hill, and if Lehman Brothers was actually manipulated and sabotaged from the very top echelons of the US financial / regulatory watchdogs.
But all this was glossed over in the ridiculous circus of arbitrary transparency that US of A tried to put before the world at large.
Now the nationalized banks are here to stay, greed and profit making is suddenly a dirty word, and attempts are being made to redefine globalization and capitalism for the world in a manner more palatable to American voters and Sovereign Funds from Gulf countries, Japan and Emerging Economies.
Long Live America.
How America has turned 180 degrees is clear before all, when one cuts out the postures, and posture making, and histrionics of American politicans and academics.
Regards,
Nagarjuna
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
21st Century American Foreign Policy, Indian Defense Purchases and the Export of Conflicts to Asia
21st Century - Indian Defense Purchases and American Foreign Policy Agenda of Exporting Conflicts to Asia ---
Dear Eddie and All,
Sorry to butt in, but before Mandeep has a go, my two cents for what they are worth in a 700 Billion dollars bailout / rescue package.
I am sure it is time for the kids who study America and Western industrialization story as the basis of colonialism and imperialism, to grow up and stop campaigning for falsehoods, as American foreign policy is fine tuned to 21st century. Exporting external and internal conflicts to Asia will be part and parcel of this fine tuning maybe even in the garb of improving Indian internal security and the technologies required for it.
Indian military strategists need to study the global presumptions and compulsions of neocon American foreign, diplomatic and military policy, before they look at regional conflicts and ambitions.
Not having studied 20th century globalization in sufficient detail, Indian policy analysts will now have their plates full trying to pull up their socks wrapping their heads around 21st century Post Globalization !!!
Dharampal is the only Indian historian to have studied Western concepts of globalization in sufficient detail in my opinion.
In my opinion, in the 21st century, US of A as a nation and an empire will only be able to survive by supplying arms and military hardware to unsuspecting countries and their army of bureaucrats and commission agents, right from dissatisfied serving defense officers to ex Navy admirals.
US of A, in a world where the dollar will cease to be the reserve currency of the world and when for One Dollar you might only get One Rupee, and for One Pound you will get only Two Rupees - will absolutely need to find new regions for exporting conflict away from the American island to Asian and African countries. In my opinion this is the need of the hour for American foreign policy and defense strategicians.
What better than to pit India against Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and China, apart of course from India;s own Muslims who feel marginalized, to serve the long term interests of US of A as a business entity that survives on muscular imperialism.
The current dispensation in India of Pranab Mukherjee and ManMohan Singh has seriously tinkered with and destroyed time tested non alignment principles of Nehruvean foreign policy.
The lame duck US Secretary of State, an ex academician who will soon be returning to a lucrative academic contract, as a representative of lame duck President in WHite House, struggling to find global markets and push up his image in the eyes of the common American, is desperately seeking new markets for global hardware and obsolete nuclear technology.
I find it amazing that when President Bush had last visited India, he had insisted on addressing the architects of post Bofors India from the ramparts of Lal Kila - or Red Fort despite security misgivings of Indian government.
This is symbolic of US foreign policy desire to intervene in South Asian regional insecurity and be the policeman that guarantees regional security in unchartered waters.
Ms Rice is in India and CNN reports on her visit and agenda as the arms exports led American economy and foreign policy rapidly loses steam domestically.
Regards,
Nagarjuna
-----
CNN Report - NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Saturday that a deal lifting a ban on nuclear trade with India would be signed shortly.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says nuclear deal will improve relationship with India.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says nuclear deal will improve relationship with India.
"The president will sign the agreement very soon," she said. The signing had earlier been postponed because of administrative matters.
"Let me be clear, the 123 agreement is done, it's just a matter of signing that agreement," Rice said, referring to the name of the deal, which removes a ban on U.S. nuclear trade with India.
At a luncheon, External Affairs Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee praised Rice and U.S. President Bush for their efforts.
"When I look to the future, I am confident that our relations will continue to improve," he said.
Hours earlier, en route to India, Rice told reporters that work remained to be done. "It's got to be worked out at the last minute, because there are so many administrative issues that we have to deal with," she said. "The important thing about this trip is to talk about the next steps in the U.S.-India relationship, not the last step.
Don't Miss
* Rice hails approval of India nuclear deal
* U.S. to sell $6.4 billion in weapons to Taiwan
"What the civil nuclear deal does is that it removes for India a barrier to full integration on a whole range of technologies," Rice said. "But more importantly, I think it is symbolic of a relationship with India that's now at a very, very different level. And at that different level, one would expect that economic relations, defense relations, a whole range of relationships, including business relationships, will flourish."
The Senate voted 86-13 Wednesday to overturn the 34-year-old ban on nuclear trade with India. The House of Representatives passed the bill without debate last Saturday.
Rice has called the deal "a historic agreement," saying it puts the United States and India on "a firm footing."
It means American businesses can sell nuclear fuel, technology and reactors to India. In turn, India will allow international inspections of its civilian -- but not military -- nuclear power plants. It also promised not to resume testing of nuclear weapons.
The United States banned nuclear trade with India after the country exploded a nuclear device in 1974 and refused to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
advertisement
Critics contend that it would hurt international efforts to keep nuclear weapons from spreading.
Rice is to travel from India to Kazakhstan.
------
Hi Mandeep,
I tried to access the Bharat Rakshak site you suggested but failed. I suspect it may be a restricted site.
Anyway, I'd like to ask you a question or two, not so much about military history but about India's on-going military build-up.. I think you will be well placed to answer.
I have raised this matter on certain Indian blogs but they just get annoyed and won't give a straight answer.
As I see it, India has not won a single war with an equal enemy like China.
When China invaded in 1962, Nehru was caught by surprise. And no wonder - India's army was no match for the Chinese which had seen combat agaisnt the Americans in the Korean conflict (1950-53). According to India Times (Feb07): "Premier Zhou Enlai said: "we sent three open telegrams to Jawaharlal Nehru asking him to make a public reply, but he refused. He was so discourteous; he wouldn't even do us the courtesy of replying, so we had no choice but to drive him out." The Chinese had no difficulty entering Indian territory, crossing upto 200 miles at one time. They then withdrew of their own accord. (Do you agree with this version of events?)
In the early 70s, India dismembered East Pakistan with ease (there was litle resistance) and created Bangladesh. The outcomes of 3 wars with Pakistan were apparently indecisive. When the Indians tried peace keeping in Sri Lanka in the late 90s, they suffered heavy losses and decided to return. (Is this correct?)
Doesn't all this speak poorly of the Indian military? So to return to my question:
Why does India keep wasting billions buying hardware from the US, Britain, France, Russia and Israel? They have been the world's top aggressors and trouble makers for a long time. So who is India's enemy? India can hardly win against China, so is the build-up to deter little Pakistan (with a quarter the area and one-sixth the population?)
Or do you think India will end up as a junior partner on call to serve US global interests against 'terrorists' , whenever required?
I would appreciate your views on this matter.
Eddie
------------ --------- --------- -----
Mandeep wrote:
Thanks Karam for that great introduction which rather flatters me !
Eddie, I welcome your interest in Indian military history. Count on me for any help you might need. I'm one of the two Editors on www.indianmilitaryh istory.org the site of the Centre for Indian Military History. You will find it useful particularly if you have any questions which we'll answer with alacrity.
Wikipedia has some great articles though I'd treat some of the information with caution since the site consists of inputs from individuals who are free to post whatever they like.
I'd recommend that you try Bharat Rakshak http://bharat-rakshak.com Very informative. You'll find me there too !
Warm Regards to everyone and thanks for welcoming me !
Mandeep Bajwa
Dear Eddie and All,
Sorry to butt in, but before Mandeep has a go, my two cents for what they are worth in a 700 Billion dollars bailout / rescue package.
I am sure it is time for the kids who study America and Western industrialization story as the basis of colonialism and imperialism, to grow up and stop campaigning for falsehoods, as American foreign policy is fine tuned to 21st century. Exporting external and internal conflicts to Asia will be part and parcel of this fine tuning maybe even in the garb of improving Indian internal security and the technologies required for it.
Indian military strategists need to study the global presumptions and compulsions of neocon American foreign, diplomatic and military policy, before they look at regional conflicts and ambitions.
Not having studied 20th century globalization in sufficient detail, Indian policy analysts will now have their plates full trying to pull up their socks wrapping their heads around 21st century Post Globalization !!!
Dharampal is the only Indian historian to have studied Western concepts of globalization in sufficient detail in my opinion.
In my opinion, in the 21st century, US of A as a nation and an empire will only be able to survive by supplying arms and military hardware to unsuspecting countries and their army of bureaucrats and commission agents, right from dissatisfied serving defense officers to ex Navy admirals.
US of A, in a world where the dollar will cease to be the reserve currency of the world and when for One Dollar you might only get One Rupee, and for One Pound you will get only Two Rupees - will absolutely need to find new regions for exporting conflict away from the American island to Asian and African countries. In my opinion this is the need of the hour for American foreign policy and defense strategicians.
What better than to pit India against Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and China, apart of course from India;s own Muslims who feel marginalized, to serve the long term interests of US of A as a business entity that survives on muscular imperialism.
The current dispensation in India of Pranab Mukherjee and ManMohan Singh has seriously tinkered with and destroyed time tested non alignment principles of Nehruvean foreign policy.
The lame duck US Secretary of State, an ex academician who will soon be returning to a lucrative academic contract, as a representative of lame duck President in WHite House, struggling to find global markets and push up his image in the eyes of the common American, is desperately seeking new markets for global hardware and obsolete nuclear technology.
I find it amazing that when President Bush had last visited India, he had insisted on addressing the architects of post Bofors India from the ramparts of Lal Kila - or Red Fort despite security misgivings of Indian government.
This is symbolic of US foreign policy desire to intervene in South Asian regional insecurity and be the policeman that guarantees regional security in unchartered waters.
Ms Rice is in India and CNN reports on her visit and agenda as the arms exports led American economy and foreign policy rapidly loses steam domestically.
Regards,
Nagarjuna
-----
CNN Report - NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Saturday that a deal lifting a ban on nuclear trade with India would be signed shortly.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says nuclear deal will improve relationship with India.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says nuclear deal will improve relationship with India.
"The president will sign the agreement very soon," she said. The signing had earlier been postponed because of administrative matters.
"Let me be clear, the 123 agreement is done, it's just a matter of signing that agreement," Rice said, referring to the name of the deal, which removes a ban on U.S. nuclear trade with India.
At a luncheon, External Affairs Minister Shri Pranab Mukherjee praised Rice and U.S. President Bush for their efforts.
"When I look to the future, I am confident that our relations will continue to improve," he said.
Hours earlier, en route to India, Rice told reporters that work remained to be done. "It's got to be worked out at the last minute, because there are so many administrative issues that we have to deal with," she said. "The important thing about this trip is to talk about the next steps in the U.S.-India relationship, not the last step.
Don't Miss
* Rice hails approval of India nuclear deal
* U.S. to sell $6.4 billion in weapons to Taiwan
"What the civil nuclear deal does is that it removes for India a barrier to full integration on a whole range of technologies," Rice said. "But more importantly, I think it is symbolic of a relationship with India that's now at a very, very different level. And at that different level, one would expect that economic relations, defense relations, a whole range of relationships, including business relationships, will flourish."
The Senate voted 86-13 Wednesday to overturn the 34-year-old ban on nuclear trade with India. The House of Representatives passed the bill without debate last Saturday.
Rice has called the deal "a historic agreement," saying it puts the United States and India on "a firm footing."
It means American businesses can sell nuclear fuel, technology and reactors to India. In turn, India will allow international inspections of its civilian -- but not military -- nuclear power plants. It also promised not to resume testing of nuclear weapons.
The United States banned nuclear trade with India after the country exploded a nuclear device in 1974 and refused to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
advertisement
Critics contend that it would hurt international efforts to keep nuclear weapons from spreading.
Rice is to travel from India to Kazakhstan.
------
Hi Mandeep,
I tried to access the Bharat Rakshak site you suggested but failed. I suspect it may be a restricted site.
Anyway, I'd like to ask you a question or two, not so much about military history but about India's on-going military build-up.. I think you will be well placed to answer.
I have raised this matter on certain Indian blogs but they just get annoyed and won't give a straight answer.
As I see it, India has not won a single war with an equal enemy like China.
When China invaded in 1962, Nehru was caught by surprise. And no wonder - India's army was no match for the Chinese which had seen combat agaisnt the Americans in the Korean conflict (1950-53). According to India Times (Feb07): "Premier Zhou Enlai said: "we sent three open telegrams to Jawaharlal Nehru asking him to make a public reply, but he refused. He was so discourteous; he wouldn't even do us the courtesy of replying, so we had no choice but to drive him out." The Chinese had no difficulty entering Indian territory, crossing upto 200 miles at one time. They then withdrew of their own accord. (Do you agree with this version of events?)
In the early 70s, India dismembered East Pakistan with ease (there was litle resistance) and created Bangladesh. The outcomes of 3 wars with Pakistan were apparently indecisive. When the Indians tried peace keeping in Sri Lanka in the late 90s, they suffered heavy losses and decided to return. (Is this correct?)
Doesn't all this speak poorly of the Indian military? So to return to my question:
Why does India keep wasting billions buying hardware from the US, Britain, France, Russia and Israel? They have been the world's top aggressors and trouble makers for a long time. So who is India's enemy? India can hardly win against China, so is the build-up to deter little Pakistan (with a quarter the area and one-sixth the population?)
Or do you think India will end up as a junior partner on call to serve US global interests against 'terrorists' , whenever required?
I would appreciate your views on this matter.
Eddie
------------ --------- --------- -----
Mandeep wrote:
Thanks Karam for that great introduction which rather flatters me !
Eddie, I welcome your interest in Indian military history. Count on me for any help you might need. I'm one of the two Editors on www.indianmilitaryh istory.org the site of the Centre for Indian Military History. You will find it useful particularly if you have any questions which we'll answer with alacrity.
Wikipedia has some great articles though I'd treat some of the information with caution since the site consists of inputs from individuals who are free to post whatever they like.
I'd recommend that you try Bharat Rakshak http://bharat-rakshak.com Very informative. You'll find me there too !
Warm Regards to everyone and thanks for welcoming me !
Mandeep Bajwa
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Pray, What might be some Post Globalization Predictions of an Iranian Jew ?
Dear All,
Pray, What might be some Post Globalization Predictions of an Iranian Jew ?
Taking some lessons from the global financial crisis - Time to get down from Air Force One
The Jewish people as a global phenomenon at the very heart of the rise of Zionism and the post Second World War economic and financial system as well as what we have come to know as the post Perestroika unipolar world order dominated by the United States would be very well known to all serious students of cultural history with a keen insight into the the role played by diaspora in shaping world orders.
The Diaspora in nation states of the previous 20 th century, especially the Jews who emigrated from the old Europe to countries like Israel and United States of America are I think a very fit topic for the study into the issue of the convergence of cultural, economic and political identities - the Jews are quintessentially, along with Islam and Christianity, playing out the historical roles assigned to them in their cultural traditions, just below the temporary veneer of twentieth century modernity and the dominance of the Western World over large parts of the non Western world.
I was intrigued to find that the ageing professional champion of ideological economic globalization and the central role of USA in imperialism and world affairs, (a person who worked his way as a quintessential hardworking Oxbridge educated Sikh / silent World Bank economist and bureaucrat, ( but was launched into a political vacuum created by the non acceptance of the Congress party desire for an Italian woman as Indian Prime Minister ), and well known for his domestic reticence and his policy of taking the Nehruvian ideals of non alignment into their deathbed ) - in mediating the affairs of world post 9/11 recently on his tour of USA and Europe - one board his swashy personal aeroplane Air India One, chose to clearly spoke out to the prickly issues of the role of emerging economies in the resolution of the global financial meltdown.
He of course said that the emerging economies cannot be immune from the problems that have catclysmically and shockingly emerged onto the radar of Western political and economic order in the last one month, past the so called regulatory framework, that is not fit for purpose in a laissez faire 21st century global capitalism - the financial earthquake going by the euphemism of " Credit and Liquidity Crunch in Money Markets ".
He said this while he quietly signed an agreement with France on Civil Nuclear cooperation to build more modern nuclear plants than the USA - the mecca of science and technology - is capable of providing to the world and negotiated some cosmetic social security arrangements for short term economic migrants to France from the Indian professional heartland. France incidentally and Monsieur Sarkozy in particular have often been speaking of the need to expand the G-8 group of countries, beyond its imperialistic old Europe and Bretton Woods lineage, to include India as a (responsible economy on the world stage )
In a recent edition of HardTalk on BBC by Stephen Sackur, the issue of the Dollar as the reserve currency for the world and the USA as the underpinner of the world security order, and the instigator of Middle East Asian conflicts came up for discussion.
Why should the whole world ( the Chinese, the Russians, the Japanese and the oil rich Saudis ) spend its cash on propping up the Dollar and what the dollar represents to the World as we know it ?
Economic historians of course know the centrality of Bretton Woods to the whole issue of the Dollar being effectively made the reserve currency of the world as opposed to the more old fashioned precious metal of Gold.
As long as the Dollar remains the effective reserve currency of the world, and as long as the Arab sheikhs keep the cheap oil flowing into guzzling American cars, America can keep up the pretense of being the security guarantor to the world. Effectively the whole world keeps the American Empire afloat, underwriting the trillions od dollars of American global debt, providing Americans with the trust to keep the world moving on its axis.
But this can continue only till the time, lame duck presidents like George Bush and and Neo Conservative twentieth century hawks like Cheney do not run out of their ability to do slightly more than whitewash White House in Washington and Capitol, a bit like Tom Sawyer whitewashing wooden fences for his Uncle to get some pocket money and the intellectual elite of the world keeps flocking to converge onto the American educational campuses.
So here is where an Iranian Jew comes in and begins to predict the demise of US of A as one of the shortest empires in the history of the human civilization.
Professor Nouriel Roubini is a quintessential Diasporean and his specialization happens to be Macro Economics, in a post globalization era in which nobody takes the dire pronouncements of President Bush of Washington any more seriously than the peace talk of the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala.
Prof Nouriel Roubini is now clearly talking of the demise of the American Empire - the uni polar post Bretton Woods and Russian perestroika of Gorbachev of the 20 th century. It is high time Indian brat pack economists like Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Chidambaram begin to take note and reading up more on the history of Iranian Jews.
In Electrical Engineering and in Financial Markets there is a concept like Signal and Noise. The issence of intellectualism lies in separating and muffling the noise from the signal.
Warm Regards,
Nagarjuna
*****
More on Prof Roubini on Wikipedia -
Nouriel Roubini (born on March 29, 1958 in Istanbul, Turkey[1]) is a professor of economics at New York University. He is also the chairman of RGE Monitor, an economic and financial analysis firm.
Contents
* 1 Early life and education
* 2 Career
* 3 Writings
* 4 Research
* 5 Current appointments
* 6 External links
* 7 References
Early life and education
The New York Times describes Roubini's early life as follows: "He was born in Istanbul, the child of Iranian Jews, and his family moved to Tehran when he was two, then to Tel Aviv and finally to Italy, where he grew up and attended college. He moved to the United States to pursue his doctorate in international economics at Harvard."[2] Roubini resided in Italy from 1962-1983, and is currently a U.S. citizen[1]. He speaks English, Italian, Hebrew, and Persian.[1]
Roubini spent one year at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem before receiving his B.A. summa cum laude in Economics from the Bocconi University (Milan, Italy) in 1982. He received his Ph.D. in international economics from Harvard University in 1988. According to his advisor, Jeffrey Sachs, he was unusual in his talent with both mathematics and intuitive understanding of economic institutions.[2]
Career
He served in various roles at the Treasury Department, including Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary for International Affairs and Director of the Office of Policy Development and Review (July 1999 - June 2000). Previously, he was a Senior Economist for International Affairs on the Staff of the President's Council of Economic Advisors (July 1998 - July 1999).
Currently, Professor Roubini is a Professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University. He has also held teaching positions at Yale University, but failed to get tenure.
Roubini is known for his predictions of financial crisis, notably at the IMF in 2006, where he was received skeptically, with one commentator noting his lack of mathematical models. As of 2008 many of his predictions have come to fruition. Formerly an obscure academic, he has received invitations to speak before influential organizations such as United States Congress and the Council on Foreign Relations. As of August 2008, he remains pessimistic on the future of the US economy.[2] He has said that "we have a subprime financial system, not a subprime mortgage market".[2] He does not believe that the United States is entering the next Great Depression, but has said that he believes it will be worst recession since then.[2] He has clarified that his pessimism is focused on the short-run rather than the medium or long-run.[3]
In the 1990s, Roubini studied the collapse of emerging economies. Consistent with the unusual talent noted by Sachs, he used an intuitive, historical approach backed up by an understanding of theoretical models to analyze these countries and came to the conclusion that a common denominator across examples was the large [current account] deficits financed by loans from abroad. Roubini theorized that the United States might be the next to suffer, and in 2004 began writing about a possible/future collapse.[2]
Writings
Professor Roubini is the author of several books, including: Bailouts or Bail-ins? Responding to Financial Crises in Emerging Economies, Political Cycles and the Macroeconomy, and International Financial Crises and the New International Financial Architecture.
Research
Professor Roubini's research interests include:
* international macroeconomics and international finance;
* macroeconomics and fiscal policy;
* political economy;
* growth theory;
* European monetary issues.
Current appointments
* Research Fellow, National Bureau of Economic Research
* Research Fellow, Centre for Economic Policy Research, London, UK
* Member, Bretton Woods Committee
* Member, Council on Foreign Relations Roundtable on the International Economy
* Member, Academic Advisory Committee, Fiscal Affairs Department, International Monetary Fund
External links
* Professor Roubini's NYU Stern Homepage
* Roubini Global Economics (RGE) Monitor
* New York Magazine article
* Professor Roubini's syndicated series, "Finance in the 21st Century", with Project Syndicate
* Talking to Nouriel Roubini
* Dr. Doom - Profile - Nouriel Roubini - Predicting Crisis in the United States Economy
References
1. http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~nroubini/referen.htm
2. Mihm, Steven. (2008). Dr. Doom. New York Times.
3. Roubini, Nouriel. (2008). New York Times Article on Nouriel Roubini as “Dr. Doom”. RGE Monitor.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nouriel_Roubini"
Categories: 1958 births | Living people | People from Istanbul | Persian Jews | Israeli Jews | Turkish Jews | Italian Jews | Jewish American writers | Turkish Americans | Italian-Americans | Iranian Americans | Israeli-Americans | Israelis of Iranian descent | Alumni of Bocconi University | Harvard University alumni | Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni | Iranian economists | American economics writers | International finance economists | Macroeconomists | New York University faculty | Yale University faculty | United States Department of the Treasury | United States Council of Economic Advisors | Clinton Administration personnel
Pray, What might be some Post Globalization Predictions of an Iranian Jew ?
Taking some lessons from the global financial crisis - Time to get down from Air Force One
The Jewish people as a global phenomenon at the very heart of the rise of Zionism and the post Second World War economic and financial system as well as what we have come to know as the post Perestroika unipolar world order dominated by the United States would be very well known to all serious students of cultural history with a keen insight into the the role played by diaspora in shaping world orders.
The Diaspora in nation states of the previous 20 th century, especially the Jews who emigrated from the old Europe to countries like Israel and United States of America are I think a very fit topic for the study into the issue of the convergence of cultural, economic and political identities - the Jews are quintessentially, along with Islam and Christianity, playing out the historical roles assigned to them in their cultural traditions, just below the temporary veneer of twentieth century modernity and the dominance of the Western World over large parts of the non Western world.
I was intrigued to find that the ageing professional champion of ideological economic globalization and the central role of USA in imperialism and world affairs, (a person who worked his way as a quintessential hardworking Oxbridge educated Sikh / silent World Bank economist and bureaucrat, ( but was launched into a political vacuum created by the non acceptance of the Congress party desire for an Italian woman as Indian Prime Minister ), and well known for his domestic reticence and his policy of taking the Nehruvian ideals of non alignment into their deathbed ) - in mediating the affairs of world post 9/11 recently on his tour of USA and Europe - one board his swashy personal aeroplane Air India One, chose to clearly spoke out to the prickly issues of the role of emerging economies in the resolution of the global financial meltdown.
He of course said that the emerging economies cannot be immune from the problems that have catclysmically and shockingly emerged onto the radar of Western political and economic order in the last one month, past the so called regulatory framework, that is not fit for purpose in a laissez faire 21st century global capitalism - the financial earthquake going by the euphemism of " Credit and Liquidity Crunch in Money Markets ".
He said this while he quietly signed an agreement with France on Civil Nuclear cooperation to build more modern nuclear plants than the USA - the mecca of science and technology - is capable of providing to the world and negotiated some cosmetic social security arrangements for short term economic migrants to France from the Indian professional heartland. France incidentally and Monsieur Sarkozy in particular have often been speaking of the need to expand the G-8 group of countries, beyond its imperialistic old Europe and Bretton Woods lineage, to include India as a (responsible economy on the world stage )
In a recent edition of HardTalk on BBC by Stephen Sackur, the issue of the Dollar as the reserve currency for the world and the USA as the underpinner of the world security order, and the instigator of Middle East Asian conflicts came up for discussion.
Why should the whole world ( the Chinese, the Russians, the Japanese and the oil rich Saudis ) spend its cash on propping up the Dollar and what the dollar represents to the World as we know it ?
Economic historians of course know the centrality of Bretton Woods to the whole issue of the Dollar being effectively made the reserve currency of the world as opposed to the more old fashioned precious metal of Gold.
As long as the Dollar remains the effective reserve currency of the world, and as long as the Arab sheikhs keep the cheap oil flowing into guzzling American cars, America can keep up the pretense of being the security guarantor to the world. Effectively the whole world keeps the American Empire afloat, underwriting the trillions od dollars of American global debt, providing Americans with the trust to keep the world moving on its axis.
But this can continue only till the time, lame duck presidents like George Bush and and Neo Conservative twentieth century hawks like Cheney do not run out of their ability to do slightly more than whitewash White House in Washington and Capitol, a bit like Tom Sawyer whitewashing wooden fences for his Uncle to get some pocket money and the intellectual elite of the world keeps flocking to converge onto the American educational campuses.
So here is where an Iranian Jew comes in and begins to predict the demise of US of A as one of the shortest empires in the history of the human civilization.
Professor Nouriel Roubini is a quintessential Diasporean and his specialization happens to be Macro Economics, in a post globalization era in which nobody takes the dire pronouncements of President Bush of Washington any more seriously than the peace talk of the Dalai Lama in Dharamshala.
Prof Nouriel Roubini is now clearly talking of the demise of the American Empire - the uni polar post Bretton Woods and Russian perestroika of Gorbachev of the 20 th century. It is high time Indian brat pack economists like Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Chidambaram begin to take note and reading up more on the history of Iranian Jews.
In Electrical Engineering and in Financial Markets there is a concept like Signal and Noise. The issence of intellectualism lies in separating and muffling the noise from the signal.
Warm Regards,
Nagarjuna
*****
More on Prof Roubini on Wikipedia -
Nouriel Roubini (born on March 29, 1958 in Istanbul, Turkey[1]) is a professor of economics at New York University. He is also the chairman of RGE Monitor, an economic and financial analysis firm.
Contents
* 1 Early life and education
* 2 Career
* 3 Writings
* 4 Research
* 5 Current appointments
* 6 External links
* 7 References
Early life and education
The New York Times describes Roubini's early life as follows: "He was born in Istanbul, the child of Iranian Jews, and his family moved to Tehran when he was two, then to Tel Aviv and finally to Italy, where he grew up and attended college. He moved to the United States to pursue his doctorate in international economics at Harvard."[2] Roubini resided in Italy from 1962-1983, and is currently a U.S. citizen[1]. He speaks English, Italian, Hebrew, and Persian.[1]
Roubini spent one year at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem before receiving his B.A. summa cum laude in Economics from the Bocconi University (Milan, Italy) in 1982. He received his Ph.D. in international economics from Harvard University in 1988. According to his advisor, Jeffrey Sachs, he was unusual in his talent with both mathematics and intuitive understanding of economic institutions.[2]
Career
He served in various roles at the Treasury Department, including Senior Advisor to the Under Secretary for International Affairs and Director of the Office of Policy Development and Review (July 1999 - June 2000). Previously, he was a Senior Economist for International Affairs on the Staff of the President's Council of Economic Advisors (July 1998 - July 1999).
Currently, Professor Roubini is a Professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University. He has also held teaching positions at Yale University, but failed to get tenure.
Roubini is known for his predictions of financial crisis, notably at the IMF in 2006, where he was received skeptically, with one commentator noting his lack of mathematical models. As of 2008 many of his predictions have come to fruition. Formerly an obscure academic, he has received invitations to speak before influential organizations such as United States Congress and the Council on Foreign Relations. As of August 2008, he remains pessimistic on the future of the US economy.[2] He has said that "we have a subprime financial system, not a subprime mortgage market".[2] He does not believe that the United States is entering the next Great Depression, but has said that he believes it will be worst recession since then.[2] He has clarified that his pessimism is focused on the short-run rather than the medium or long-run.[3]
In the 1990s, Roubini studied the collapse of emerging economies. Consistent with the unusual talent noted by Sachs, he used an intuitive, historical approach backed up by an understanding of theoretical models to analyze these countries and came to the conclusion that a common denominator across examples was the large [current account] deficits financed by loans from abroad. Roubini theorized that the United States might be the next to suffer, and in 2004 began writing about a possible/future collapse.[2]
Writings
Professor Roubini is the author of several books, including: Bailouts or Bail-ins? Responding to Financial Crises in Emerging Economies, Political Cycles and the Macroeconomy, and International Financial Crises and the New International Financial Architecture.
Research
Professor Roubini's research interests include:
* international macroeconomics and international finance;
* macroeconomics and fiscal policy;
* political economy;
* growth theory;
* European monetary issues.
Current appointments
* Research Fellow, National Bureau of Economic Research
* Research Fellow, Centre for Economic Policy Research, London, UK
* Member, Bretton Woods Committee
* Member, Council on Foreign Relations Roundtable on the International Economy
* Member, Academic Advisory Committee, Fiscal Affairs Department, International Monetary Fund
External links
* Professor Roubini's NYU Stern Homepage
* Roubini Global Economics (RGE) Monitor
* New York Magazine article
* Professor Roubini's syndicated series, "Finance in the 21st Century", with Project Syndicate
* Talking to Nouriel Roubini
* Dr. Doom - Profile - Nouriel Roubini - Predicting Crisis in the United States Economy
References
1. http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~nroubini/referen.htm
2. Mihm, Steven. (2008). Dr. Doom. New York Times.
3. Roubini, Nouriel. (2008). New York Times Article on Nouriel Roubini as “Dr. Doom”. RGE Monitor.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nouriel_Roubini"
Categories: 1958 births | Living people | People from Istanbul | Persian Jews | Israeli Jews | Turkish Jews | Italian Jews | Jewish American writers | Turkish Americans | Italian-Americans | Iranian Americans | Israeli-Americans | Israelis of Iranian descent | Alumni of Bocconi University | Harvard University alumni | Hebrew University of Jerusalem alumni | Iranian economists | American economics writers | International finance economists | Macroeconomists | New York University faculty | Yale University faculty | United States Department of the Treasury | United States Council of Economic Advisors | Clinton Administration personnel
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