Of Howdy-Doody and WAMU

Now children of all ages can join Howdy, Buffalo Bob, Clarabelle and the lovable Doodyville characters in a good family atmosphere, the way it used to be. You will agree ... GREAT CHILDREN'S PROGRAMMING IS ETERNAL. You and your family will love that old fashioned feeling of fun and love that Howdy Doody will bring into your home. Image Credit: Doodyville

Of Howdy-Doody and WAMU

Just WHO does late night television entertainer and talkshow host David Letterman think he is … after all, he is just the Howdy Doody of the evening television airwaves who helps most people promote books, movies, and events as we all try to get some sleep at the end of a long day.

This week, Senator John McCain, the Republican Party nominee running to be the next President of the United States and leader of the free world decided to suspend his activities campaigning so that he could direct his attention on his duties as a senior Senator and presumptive head of the Republican Party on the pending liquidity crisis looming over the housing mortgage industry.

This excerpted and edited from the Associated Press –

Letterman unloads on McCain for not showing up
NEW YORK (AP) - September 25, 2008

"Late Show" host David Letterman treated John McCain's decision to cancel an appearance on his talk show more like a stupid human trick than the act of a statesman.
----
"This doesn't smell right," Letterman said. "This is not the way a tested hero behaves. Somebody's putting something in his Metamucil."

McCain spokeswoman Nicole Wallace said Thursday that the campaign "felt this wasn't a night for comedy."

"We deeply regret offending Mr. Letterman, but our candidate's priority at this moment is to focus on this crisis," Wallace said on NBC's "Today" show.
----
Letterman later asked: "Are we suspending it because there's an economic crisis or because the poll numbers are sliding?"
----
McCain told the CBS show that he was immediately flying back to Washington, Letterman told his audience. Then Letterman showed a TV feed of McCain being made-up for an appearance on news anchor Katie Couric's "CBS Evening News."

"Doesn't seem to be racing to the airport, does he?" Letterman said. "This just gets uglier and uglier."

As McCain spoke to Couric, Letterman shouted at the feed: "Hey, John, I've got a question. Do you need a ride to the airport?"

Letterman later said: "We're told now that the senator has concluded his interview with Katie Couric and he's now on Rachael Ray's show making veal piccata. ... What are you going to do?"
Reference Here>>

Last night, we were greeted with the news that Washington Mutual (WAMU), one of the largest banks that participated in the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac social engineering concept which got its start in 1995 during the Clinton administration, FAILED.

President Bill Clinton wanted to try and achieve a potential 70% home ownership by the citizens of our country. He felt that in order to allow people who could not come up with the standard 20% down payment - which was the custom - the federal government could stand behind a looser, eaiser set of qualifying rules with its money (taxpayer money … read that OUR money) and help more people into home ownership.

WAMU commercial where a potential customer shouts "Whoo hoo!" as she imagines herself blistering along in a dragster on the Bonneville saltflats in an illustration as to how fast one could set up an account. Presumably, this also what happened when people applied for a home loan ... the real parachute to slow the dragster down came from JP Morgan. (Ctrl-Click to see video) Image Credit: AdFreakyFan

This Excerpted and edited from the Guardian (UK) –

America's largest banking failure sees JP Morgan pick up Washington Mutual
Julia Kollewe, guardian.co.uk, Friday September 26 2008 11:23 BST

The escalating crisis in the global financial system has claimed its biggest victim yet with the collapse last night of the US savings and loan group, Washington Mutual.

In America's largest-ever banking failure, Federal regulators seized the group's assets in the early hours of this morning and sold them to JP Morgan Chase for $1.9bn (£1.03bn).

Founded in Seattle in 1889 and known as WaMu, the group is the nation's biggest savings and loans company - the US equivalent to a British building society. The deal will make JP Morgan the largest bank in the US, ahead of Bank of America.
----
The face of the global financial industry has changed dramatically in the past fortnight. The US government has taken over mortgage finance giants Fannie Mac and Freddie Mac and bailed out the insurer American International Group for $85bn. Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, and Merrill Lynch has been sold to Bank of America. In Britain, Lloyds TSB has agreed the takeover of the troubled mortgage lender HBOS.
----
The move came as the Bush administration's $700bn bailout plan for the financial sector ran into trouble. The package could have helped WaMu, but regulators decided that waiting any longer "was not a responsible decision to make," Bair said.
----
WaMu has seen its share price virtually wiped out after it made thousands of mortgage loans that its borrowers cannot repay, saddling it with billions of dollars in bad debts. The company has posted losses for the last three quarters, including a loss of $3.3bn for the most recent quarter, ending in June. It put itself up for sale last week but could not attract any bidders.
----
JP Morgan's chief executive Jamie Dimon said he was undeterred by WaMu's financial problems. "We're getting franchises of this company for a long period of time," he said. The bank will gain long-desired presence on the west Coast as WaMu's branches are concentrated in California.

In March, WaMu rejected an offer of $8 a share from JP Morgan. The company's then-chief executive was subsequently fired.
Reference Here>>

To make a long story short … WAMU, as many other banks had done, granted loans on houses with little or no collateral by people who had no ability or intention to pay and were now left being responsible for assets that were worth at least 40% less value than they had used to secure additional operating capital. Hence, the liquidity (money) dried up and the operations had to be sold to another organization … the bank FAILED to continue operations.

What John McCain did was to stop the endless promotion of his run for the highest office in the land so that he could do his job as Senator to help negotiate and focus on the interest of taxpayers.

What Howdy Doody-David Letterman did was to whine and throw a hissy fit because John McCain canceled a campaign stop-over to appear on Mr. Doody’s neighborhood due to the fact he really had better, more important things to do.

With his efforts to forge an agreement between both political parties … and to protect taxpayer interests, maybe a few less banks will succumb to the lack of cash in the housing and mortgage banking system which has its additional ripple effects on business in general.

Maybe Howdy Doody should just go to his corner of the peanut gallery and shut his pie hole on the subject … Barack (present!) Obama may not be ready for primetime but John McCain, in this time of our country’s leadership activity, does not need to be taking any “Howdy Doody Time.”

We, at MAXINE, graduated from watching “Howdy Doody Time” a long time ago – Whoo hoo!

The Real Survivor Fiji – If It Walks Like A Duck …

STRIKING members of the Fiji Nursing Association will report to work from 6am tomorrow. Kuini Lutua talks to the media at a press conference at the FNA headquarters in Suva. "I think one of the main reasons we've decided to go this way (withdraw strike) is due to the non-negotiation done by the interim government from the beginning; meaning when they wanted to reduce the pay by 5 per cent we were not called in to be consulted. Image Credit: Fiji Times

The Real Survivor Fiji – If It Walks Like A Duck …

The biggest problem that confronts Fiji at this time is the lack of intervention by law abiding, democratic countries that know this coup is wrong and should be put down as soon as possible.

A recent article in the Fiji Times shows how this wait and see approach will only empower Commodore Frank and his position as he slowly, very slowly drags Fiji into extreme economic despair.

This from Fiji Times –

Fiji: Like a duck treading water
BRIJ V LAL - Saturday, August 11, 2007

Fiji today is like a duck treading water, a Fijian political operative told me the other day.

'All calm on the surface, but unknown currents churning beneath.' As a description of the current state of affairs in Fiji, the imagery is pretty apt.

From various government quarters, the talk of change and improvement is optimistic. The so-called 'clean up campaign' is proceeding apace, we are told, the economy is on the mend, the country is at peace, and the people are 'moving on.' That is the official line: nonchalance in some circles, assertive self-confidence, arrogance even, in others.

It is true that the country has not descended into the kind of civil strife some feared when the coup took place and people in all walks of life are muddling along, coping as best they can with what they have. But there is a palpable sense of fragility in the air, the sense that things could go wrong at any time.

Mr Taniela Tabu's experience is a case in point. With the Public Emergency Regulations suspended, Mr Tabu thought he was entitled to his freedom of speech guaranteed under the constitution.

He believed the interim administration was in charge of the country. But arrested and taken to the barracks, he was, he has told the country and the international community, physically humiliated and his life threatened if he continued to speak up. The military council was apparently still in place and in control, very much so. There were the predictable denials from the QEB, but Mr Tabu's account was credible, his injured outrage believable.

The extreme touchiness of the interim administration and the military to any criticism of its action is evident. It instills fear and fosters self-censorship in the populace. To be issued death threats for calling for the resignation of a minister from government says a great deal about the state of affairs in Fiji today.
----
The interim administration's optimistic claims about the economy go against the assessments of virtually all the leading businessmen with whom I have spoken.

Contraction is the order of the day, they tell me, in some sectors by as much as 30-40 percent. There is no new investment, and many projects with huge investment and employment potential have been frozen.
----
What, I ask, will it take to kick-start the economy?

Firm commitment to returning the country to parliamentary democracy, the businessmen tell me. They place much hope on the interim administration's undertaking given to the European Union that the next general election will be held by March 2009. Without that, the country is looking down at the barrel of the gun, so to speak.

The question is: will general election be held within the time frame stipulated by the EU?

There are those who are optimistic, but I have deep doubts. The Fiji Labour Party has stated that holding general election should not be the country's priority; getting the essential electoral infrastructure right should be: conducting a census, drawing up electoral boundaries, educating the voters. Accomplishing these before 2009 may not be feasible.

The interim Prime Minister has said on various occasions that the timing of the next general election is a matter for Fiji to decide, not for the international community to dictate.
----
If the Fijian community continues to feel marginalised and excluded from power, its cherished institutions symbolically humiliated and sidelined, there will be Qarases galore in the future. And they could well be less mindful of multi-ethnic sensitivities and the need for multi-ethnic accommodation than Mr Qarase and other politicians of his vintage.

Talking to Fijians on the streets in Suva, admittedly a small sample, I get the definite sense of frustrated silence in the Fijian community. They feel helpless, hobbled and humiliated. 'What can we do,' a man says to me. 'The guns are there.' There is a silent but definite hardening of race relations. The signs are everywhere.

Every issue, every challenge, is viewed through the prism of race. Predominantly Indian trade unions struck an early deal with the interim administration while predominantly Fijian ones struck, I am told. It is not as simple as that, for support for or against the interim administration is divided across the communities. Not all Indians support the coup, nor all Fijians oppose it. But perceptions, right or wrong, do matter. And the omens do not look good.
The government's handling of the strike has left a bitter taste in many mouths. Its rigid and even vindictive approach to industrial relations, its unwillingness to go to arbitration, its determination to frustrate and break up the trade union movement not willing to succumb to its pressure, all done ironically with the support of some compliant trade union leaders, leaves a sad legacy. The government says its coffers are empty, but then spends funds on purchasing vehicles and paying private attorneys to fight its cases. Somewhere, the priorities have gone wrong.
----
Preoccupied with its own survival amidst unrelenting international pressure unlikely to end any time soon, it has adopted an ad-hoc, fire-containing, approach to the challenges facing it: an enquiry here, a raid there, a plea for aid and assistance and skilled personnel from this country or that.

All this points to one inescapable truth: Fiji is a part of the international community; it is an island, yes, but an island in the physical sense alone. We cannot afford to thumb our noses at the international community and then expect to escape retribution. Sooner rather than later, the larger challenges of the proper way to build a multi-ethnic nation will return to haunt the nation.
Read All>>

Commodore Frank Bainimarama will continue to waddle his way into perpetual power through military rule while the former democratic nation of Fiji suffers.

This "Coup Culture" is Quakers!

The Real Survivor Fiji - Legitimate Corruption vs. Illegal Government

Interim talk...Mahendra Patel, Kamlesh Arya & Interim Prime Minister Frank Bainimarama after the budget. Image Credit: Fiji Times

The Real Survivor Fiji - Legitimate Corruption vs. Illegal Government

As time carries on, questions about the legitimacy of a "takeover" Government to rule, as cream rises to the top of a container of milk, begin to come into focus.

A news item about reports that there have been over 400 complaints registered with a newly formed operating unit of the interim Government has one asking the obvious question, once the alleged corruption case has been investigated by a takeover government, which is more corrupt ... the reported corruption or the methods and legitimacy used by the investigating entity?

Two news items - first report from the Fiji Times -

400 corruption cases alleged
REIJELI KIKAU - Tuesday, March 27, 2007

THE interim government's new anti-corruption unit has been receiving complaints at the rate of more than 130 a month.

So far the unit, formed in early January, has 400 cases on its books.

Unit head, Senior Superintendent of Police Nasir Ali, said it was overwhelming to see common people coming up with reports of all sorts and all forms of corruption, some backed with documentation.

SP Ali said cases alleging corrupt practises of past governments were also included.

"These are complaints of corruption of all sorts, from the government to whatever you can name and imagine," he said.

SP Ali said the team of investigators, including police and military personnel and the Attorney-General's office, would work out a priority list of cases to be investigated.

"We have started on complaints that have been supported with documents because it was easier for us but the rest we have to investigate and substantiate the allegations," he said.
----
People making complaints had to make a statement or provide investigators with a letter or documents outlining the alleged corruption. "It becomes easier if evidence is provided,'' he said.

Yesterday 25 officers from the unit, including police, military officers and Attorney-General's office staff, completed a two-day training course on how to investigate corruption cases.

SP Ali said the officers started the training on Friday and for the first time this had involved staff from the Attorney-General's office.

He said there would be a series of similar seminars for other officers involved in the probes.
Reference Here>>

And this obvious reaction reported from Radio New Zealand International -

Fiji NGO says government anti-corruption unit has no legitimacy
Posted at 07:01 on 27 March, 2007 UTC

Fiji’s anti-corruption unit says it is working out priorities in dealing with the 400 complaints it already has on its books.

The interim Attorney General, Aiyaz Sayed-Khayum, says the response has been overwhelming.

But the whole basis of the unit is being questioned.

A spokesperson for the Fiji Women’s Rights Centre, Virisila Buadromo, says her organisation still believes the interim regime is illegal, therefore any body set up under this government also lacks legitimacy:

“The mechanisims created to set it up were illegal and the people don’t fully understand that and it seem like should the current regime be taken to court and then it found to be illegal or the coup that they put in place is illegal then all the institutions and decisions that they made then become null and void.”
Reference Here>>

In the meantime, SENIOR officials of the interim Government met with executives of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat yesterday to discuss the setting-up of a joint working committee to help Fiji back to democratic rule.

How well does one think this will go? What is the motivation of the current interim Government of Fiji to go back to democratic rule when there are so many cases of corruption to investigate?