Marisacat

effluvia 31 July 2010

Seashells coated with oil on the shore in Dalian, China, nine days after a pipeline blast leaked 1,500 tonnes of heavy crude into the sea    [Greenpeace/Reuters]

Beyond the horror in the Gulf, which is essentially a huge, ugly experiment we have been forced into, the struggle of the local people, on their own in Dalian to clean up the masses of heavy crude by hand, unprotected hands moving oil to barrels and buckets, navigating the thick oil in the small wood fishing boats, their legs, arms and faces bare, is a terrible thing to watch.

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While we are eye balls deep in oil, lambert at corrente led to this… a story of BP, Blackrock, Larry Fink [ Here is the Vanity Fair profile on Larry Fink: Larry Fink’s $12 Trillion Shadow ], Obbie’s ever present minders and bookends (as I see it), Geithner and Summers and recent events in the US Gulf.  AND Kaufman, the EPA whistleblower, who has been on Democracy NOW! and cable as well…

The close of her post:

[N]ow let’s connect the dots. The Obama administration owes Larry Fink bigtime for his central role in keeping the U.S. economy from completely crashing. The corporation owned by Larry Fink, Blackrock has been the recipient of millions (billions?) in government contracts. BlackRock also owns a majority–one billion shares–of BP Therefore Larry Fink has a powerful economic motivation to keep the full horror of what BP has done to the Gulf of Mexico hidden from the American public.

Now I have no idea if President Obama is aware of all this or not. I think this situation strongly suggests that Tim Geither has even more influence in the administration than anyone has previously thought. Kaufman mentioned in the Democracy Now interview that Larry Summers is also close to Larry Fink. Apparently the two became friends when Summers was working in hedge funds. (Oh, and BTW, 49% of BlackRock is owned by Bank of America, according to that link.)

I hope I’ve made my point clear. I believe that the reason President Obama has failed to act forcefully to deal with the worst ecological crisis in U.S. history because he or someone who has great influence over him doesn’t want to cross Larry Fink.

Now it could be that President Obama is simply a figurehead who follows orders from his underlings. Or it could be that Obama has made the decision to go alone with all this. But whatever role the president has played, the result is that BP has been permitted to dump around 2 billion gallons of Corexit into the Gulf of Mexico, and that will result in horrendous consequences for both wildlife and human beings.

I will have another post on the toxic effects of Corexit mixed with oil soon–perhaps later today or tomorrow.

I’d never give Obbie credit for being an independent operator.  Nor credit that he commands some crew of ”underlings”, who do as they please as he stares into space….  I do think he feels he is USDA grade “prime” fixer to the oligarchy and his pay-off, post pretzelness, will be inclusion.  Yeah right.  Whistle Dixie honey.

The thread to the post is rather interesting, in particular for what I think are very mistaken, blinkered takes on both Hillary and Reagan.  Hillary, as seen by several commenters, is some savior we were denied. 

Oh gah.  Save me from the pre-digested Democratic party baby bird food.

And Reagan is over and over described as a “true believer”.  Who later was senile.  He seems to be seen as less cynical than Obby.

Oh puh-leeze.  I realise much of the nation did not catch the Reagan of the early, middle, or late sixties, nor even the RR of the early seventies… Both his venality and his political sleekness were much in evidence…. but he was what he was, a GE mouthpiece and, tho adept for the medium, a B movie actor, who Buckley and others of the conservative movement latched onto and very successfully used.

Even when semi- or pre-senile (and shot up in what could be argued was an attempted take over from within his own party), he was well represented by his alter ego who served as his AG here in California, Edwin Meese  III.  (It is rarely mentioned, but he served on the 9/11 Commission.)

And his ”kitchen cabinet” of a dozen or so very wealthy California businessmen.

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I am getting a kick out of  ‘new fixer man’ calling out ‘old time fixer man’.  And calling him over and done with…

President Obama to Harry Smith, on the “CBS Evening News with Katie Couric”:

“I think Charlie Rangel served a very long time and served his constituents very well. But these allegations are very troubling, and, you know, he’s somebody who is at the end of his career, 80 years old. I’m sure that what he wants is to be able to end his career with dignity, and my hope is that that happens.”

Charlie is to be escorted to the side of the bus!!  Some white-gloved lackey, playing Master of Ceremonies, indicates he is to get under the bus, thus becoming, as lambert calls it, unterbussen.

Politico:

–Glenn Thrush and Jonathan Allen:

“[A] person close to Rangel tells POLITICO the embattled Democrat ‘doesn’t give a damn about what the president thinks about this’ and won’t step down. Yet, Obama’s statement changes the dynamics and makes it much harder for the tenacious Rangel to hold on … One member of the Congressional Black Caucus … expressed bitterness that the president would turn publicly on Rangel, a decorated Korean War combat veteran. ‘Charlie Rangel has served our nation with honor and distinction for more than four decades – before I was born and the president was a twinkle in his parents’ eye,’ the CBC member said.”

Twinkle twinkle… All things come to an end.  Rangel, meet Ob’s white grannie while you’re under the bus.  She conveniently died (shed a tear, he did) on the eve of the election that would deliver him as a transcendant hero figure, her death showing he is subject to the ordinary tragedies of mortals.

Quite the political story-making.

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