The first currency war with an unpredictable outcome. Dollar versus yuan.

In September Congressmen from House of Representatives adopted the bill on measures of counteraction to the low yuan exhange rate. In particular, this bill allows American companies to file the claims for imposition of import duties for the Chinese goods in order to compenste the effect of low exchange yuan-dollare rate.

In fact the wealthiest country in the world owes great amounts of money to China, which owns 20% of all American state securities.

Chinese are holding the detonator, capable of exploding an entire American financial system in their hands. U.S. Department of Finance bonds are just the loan securities, which American government is obliged to pay up with an interest — that’s actually what governments of other countries and various financial institutions are buying them for. Why then — despite the U.S.-born financial crisis — investors from all over the world are still buying up these securities?

Kaczyński' casus

Part V

Poland: yesterday, today, tomorrow.

      

Secret of today’s face-off among the Polish elite lies in the whole of yesterday.

Things that happen in today’s Poland were seemingly impossible to imagine merely a years or two ago. How could have cozy, comfortable and quiet country turned into a battlefield and become an arena for the cold civil war, gradually mutating into a real one? In order to answer these questions we would have to go few decades back in the past.

Kaczyński' casus

Part IV

 

Who are you, pan Kaczyński?

 

                                 

           That’s how brothers looked like in 1962 (scene from the “The Two Who Stole The Moon[1]” motion picture) and 

how they look 45 years after that

 

 

Jarosław Kaczyński, having stepped over the borders of not only Polish but the European political culture as well, created a new model of political behavior, based not on the politically correct depersonalized attitude to the political struggle — as it is common for the countries with firm democratic traditions — but rather on a passionate, deeply personal attitude to the politics (frankly speaking, a lot more characteristic of the Latin America[2] rather than Europe). In order to understand the incentives and algorithms — according to which Kaczyński acts — we have to have a closer look at his person. That is the only way to understand the transformation of a Democrat, fighting against totalitarian communist regime, into the furious populist, fiercely defying the very same democratic values he once used to fight for.

Kaczyński' casus

Kaczyński' casus

Part III

Christian Knights

      

Fuss around Palikot’s party and the first “piping hot” public opinion polls have indicated 2-3 percents of public support for the rowdy politician right on the day of constituent convention. He became personal enemy of Kaczyński (mind that he seized these modest percents from PiS electorate, gradually depriving Catholic fundamentalists of the moderate voters’ support) and made PiS chairman to strike back.

Can START turn into FINISH?

Keith Payne, Ph.D. from the Heritage Foundation believes that signing of new START treaty with Russia will put an end to the U.S. security and the entire Western civilization. We’d try to analyze this opinion. But even without any further analysis we may confidently state that failure to sign the START treaty would obviously turn the reset of Russo-American relationship into FINISH — and we may have every reason to throw out the red button, which Hillary Clinton was hilariously swinging in front of her Russian colleague, Sergey Lavrov. One needn’t be a Philosophy Doctor to make such a conclusion.

      

Kaczyński' casus

Is Kaczyński able to get back to power? Part II

“Crusade” of devoted PiS adherents against the Presidential palace not just disunited Poles — it actually torn the Polish society into two unequal parts. “Kaczyński’s special forces” (the much-talked-about mohair berets) having started with demands to immortalize late Lech Kaczyński’s memory — reminded Civic Platform all the offences, mostly connected to the kościół[1] role in Poland. Rightist liberal CP, which deals that issue with great delicacy, did its best to avoid any abrupt moves. Bills regarding state support of artificial fertilization, elimination of kościół pension fund, review of Commission on kościół property results are lying in the Seim for years. For now deputies don’t even examine them, although CP has the coalition majority in the parliament. To a considerable degree Donald Tusk turned out to be a hostage of the situation created by the insane Kaczyński’s actions.

Continuation

Part I

---

Sic fatur Palikot

Having obtained seemingly absolute fullness of power, Civic Platform, however, is showing unprecedented cautiousness — being taught by the bitter PiS example from the period when President and Prime Minister had the same last name. Under the confident leadership of Donald Tusk, CP for the first time in contemporary Polish political history applied political technologies, much more characteristic of the former USSR republics. Impressed by the sudden SLD success, Tusk decided to create CP subsidiary party — the one capable of pulling certain part of anti-clerical SLD electorate off for itself. For that sake, Janusz Palikot — one of the most scandalous CP Seim deputies — was used.

Kaczyński' casus

Is Kaczyński able to get back to power? Part I

We tend to think that troubles unite us, while the troubles that touched entire nations, reconcile people as well. Russian history has numerous examples of that, too. Poles have proved once again: how great are the differences between us. National tragedy that befell our Western neighbors has estranged rather than united the Polish society.

Death of President Lech Kaczyński — along with other outstanding representatives of the Polish elite — in the plane crush near Smolensk has shocked not only Poland itself. Despite the chilly intergovernmental relations, Polish tragedy caused a wave of sincere empathy not only among the common Russians but among the top authorities as well. Embrace of Vladimir Putin and Donald Tusk in Smolensk — so unexpected in its sincerity — have melted the ice in the Polish hearts and met a deep emotional response among Polish people.

Rather paradoxical from the standpoint of formal logic and quite symbolical from the emotional one, Russo-Polish reconciliation seemed to be inevitable and filled both leaders and citizens of our countries with optimism. Even the Polish pre-election presidential campaign went in an utmost correct way. Brother of late President, Jarosław Kaczyński, who had the claims for the top state post in the country, behaved himself in an irreproachable manner — despite all the expectations — and never mentioned the subject of Lech Kaczyński death during the election rhetoric (which extremely surprised every last analyst).

AMERICAN TARTUFFE

PART 4: IRAQI BILLIONS ARE NOT ENOUGH – WE NEED A TRILLION

Whom did Dick Cheney please, frying out money for a knowingly useless ABM project?

CHENEY'S PRIVY MOTTO: START A WAR, AND MAKE BIG MONEY

In this part of our research, we'll try to analyze the correlation between the spheres of Dick Cheney's business interests and US foreign policy initiatives. In fact, the famous phrase "What is good for General Motors is good for America" has converted into a practical motto of Dick Cheney: "What is good for Halliburton, is good for the globe".

The copyright for the original pronouncement belongs to GM's former president Charles Wilson. In January 1953, Dwight Eisenhower nominated him for Defense Secretary. The Senate Committee on Military Affairs asked the renowned company boss to tell which interests – national or corporate – he regards as a priority. "I've got used to believe that what is good for GM is good for the nation, and vice versa. In my view, it's the same", Wilson confessed. Being impressed with his sincerity, the Committee authorized his nomination, and he continued to serve as Defense Secretary until 1957. During his tenure, he was never exposed of lobbying his firm by promoting exclusive contracts for GM or using his business connections in another way. Dick Cheney's behavior has been strikingly different.

Definitely, Mr. Cheney can explain that the coincidence of Halliburton's business activity with the State Dept's foreign policy initiatives was just accidental. The public does not possess hard evidence of deliberate spawning crisis spots in various regions of the globe for particular corporate needs. Nobody has managed to record his talk with Condy Rice in which the VP would say, "Let's start a war in Iraq and make a lot of money".

Part 3: GREED UNLIMITED

Why does the US justice so fear to touch VP Cheney's pocket firm?


ON FBI'S HOOK


Since 2004, the Federal bureau of Investigations had been receiving signals on financial swindle, committed by Halliburton's top managers. Bunnatine Greenhouse, a former employee of the corporation – where she was responsible for distribution of the Corps of Engineers' orders – underwent several interrogations. In late October 2008, Ms. Greenhouse confessed that the corporation had received multi-billion contracts for reconstruction of Iraqi oil industry under non-bid conditions, i.e. contrary to the US legislation, and agreed to cooperate with the investigation. "The Bureau's officers interrogated the witness on all major contracts of the company and involvement of top state officials", said Ms. Greenhouse's lawyer Michael Cohn.


According to Ms. Greenhouse's testimony, she repeatedly addressed the company's leadership, asking why Halliburton enjoys privileges in distribution of Pentagon's orders. She received no clear answer, but her boss isolated her from the decision room.

AMERICAN TARTUFFE

Part 2: HALLIBURTON'S APPETITES

The "great and terrible" VP appears to be a mere corruptionist

DICK CHENEY'S PRIVATE JAILS

Privatization of the security apparatus, involved in military campaigns, was obviously not enough for Dick Cheney in his effort to establish his private "state in the state". He has reportedly multiplied his wealth and influence also by means of privatization of penitentiary institutions.

On November 18, 2008 in Houston, the Federal Grand Jury recognized criminal intent in the activities of VP Dick Cheney and ex-General Attorney Alberto Gonzalez. This conclusion was made from analysis of the materials, provided by the attorney of Willacy County in Rio Grande Valley, adjacent to the US-Mexican border. According to the verdict, published by Reuters, the jury admitted that Dick Cheney "derived profit from infringement on human rights and liberties of convicts".

The "money trace", leading to Dick Cheney, surfaced in his ownership of stakes in Vanguard Group and Geo, the two private companies managing major private penitentiaries of Texas. Ex-Attorney General Gonzalez was accused of "impeding investigation of abuse of power" in the jails, particularly of physical mistreatment of convicts. VP's office was reluctant to comment. Megan Mitchell, Cheney's spokesperson, claimed she was not ready to comment on "unknown facts".

AMERICAN TARTUFFE

Part 1: privatization of war

Blackwater's bloody guards: Dick Cheney's private army

BUSH AND CHENEY: ORGON AND TARTUFFE

You all probably remember the boot, hurled at George W. Bush by an Iraqi journalist, symbolically summarizing the net result of his eight-year rule. US mass media didn't spare black paint in their coverage of Bush administration activity. They’ve accused it of economic errors, ideological obscurantism and military inefficiency that have deprived America of moral leadership in international policy and made Washington a subject of hate and contempt in the view of the majority of the world's population.

These accusations are understandable but often largely simplistic. Since George W. Bush's first election campaign when he amused the globe with utter illiteracy not only in politics but even in geography, it has been obvious that this person was incapable for qualified decision-making.

Oscar Wilde, a master of paradox, wrote that only a superficial observer does not judge upon an individual's inner world by his appearance. Looking at Mr. Bush's face, one could hardly believe that this personality could be overwhelmed with some kind of idea. Concentration on ideas is a prerogative of a hero – a role for which Mr. Bush is an improper contender. In a Russian XIX-century provincial theater, such a person would rather be granted the role of a village ninny.

However, simplistic mind is typical not only for villagers. The type of a "parlor booby" is common for classical realistic literature, and sometimes contrasted to a witty peasant.