← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · Walter Yannis
Thread ID: 10922 | Posts: 8 | Started: 2003-11-04
2003-11-04 19:07 | User Profile
Today's issue of the Moscow Times (Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2003) was extraordinarily interesting. I'll paste a few of them below.
First is this op-ed piece that I think even our own dear Franco would approve for its "naming you-know-who." He even ties Khodorkovsky and his money to our own close, personal friends Wolfowitz, Perle and Kissinger.
The author is out of his mind for publishing this - I predict that he'll come to a bad end.
[url]http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2003/11/04/006.html[/url]
Putin the New Saddam?
By Eric Kraus
Emboldened by their historic propaganda success -- the creation ex nihilo of a justification for the U.S. invasion of Iraq completely unsanctioned by international law -- members of the dangerous Washington faction with deep links to the security services and the military-industrial complex, the dread Bushoviki, have identified a new "terrorist threat": President Vladimir Putin.
The means they are now deploying are strikingly similar: planted "intelligence," manipulation of public opinion by tame journalists and "nonprofit foundations," as well as the insidious repetition of evident lies on the assumption that at least something will stick.
In a recent op-ed piece in the increasingly reactionary Washington Post, Bruce Jackson, president of the innocuous sounding Project on Transitional Democracies, accuses Putin not just of re-establishing a tsarist state, but of the supreme crime of opposing U.S. political and economic interests in Russia's historic sphere of influence: the CIS. [B]After long service in the weapons trade (Lockheed, Martin), Jackson is now a hatchet-man for the Bush administration. A member of the far-right Project of the New American Century, he serves with the likes of Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle [/B] and Donald Rumsfeld. Jackson was instrumental in rounding up support for the Iraq war with a stealth attack, corralling East European presidents into signing the notorious letter of the "Vilnius 10."
All is fair in love and (propaganda) war. In a crass insult to the world's Jews, Jackson deploys one of the most cynical foreign policy ploys of the Bushoviki: [B]the callous exploitation of anti-Semitism, demeaning the sufferings of the Jewish people by reducing the term "anti-Semitism" to an epithet for any regime inimical to U.S. interests. [/B]
[B]Jackson notes that three of the business magnates who came to a sticky end are Jewish, but neglects to mention that so were six of the original seven oligarchs, as well as 90 percent of those who currently qualify for the oligarch title. Given the ratios, the real surprise would have been if the fallen angels had been, say, Orthodox Hindus. [/B]
[B]Nowhere, of course, does Jackson mention the dozens of Russian Jewish businessmen currently building their businesses, attracting foreign partners, and enjoying all the good things that Russia's resurrection has brought. It is ironic that of the spinmeisters warning of the anti-Semitic threat coming from Russia not one, to my knowledge, is a Jew. [/B]
Mikhail Khodorkovsky has managed to shake off a profoundly unenviable reputation in a very short time. In fairness, Yukos, acquired for some $300 million in the notorious loans-for-shares auctions and still largely controlled through a cascade of offshore vehicles, has proved to be an absolute star in recent years. [B]But it is Khodorkovsky's generous funding of various U.S. neo-conservative causes, in part through his Open Russia foundation (one of the board members of which is Henry Kissinger, responsible inter alia for the Pinochet coup and the illegal, secret war that devastated Cambodia), that has given him with access to the most reactionary elements of the Bush administration -- Perle, Dick Cheney et al. -- all of whom are now lobbying furiously for the oligarch's interests. [/B]
What is less clear is why Khodorkovsky was naive enough to share their characteristic misconception that U.S. writ runs across the entire planet, and that support from Washington would solve his increasingly grave problems at home. Certainly, if his U.S. backers convinced him of this, they have done him a major disservice.
Yukos was the first Russian company to understand the profound changes brought about by the Putin government: with safety of ownership regardless of past misdeeds and a stable political and economic backdrop, far greater wealth could be built by increasing company valuations than by stripping assets. Emulation of their examples has fueled a historic boom in equity prices.
Most of Khodorkovsky's peers thought the concessions demanded in return (payment of taxes and an end to the meddling in politics) were a small price to pay. It is deeply unfortunate that Yukos increasingly sought to build its influence, not just in the oil fields and capital markets, but by buying control of the State Duma.
On Thursday, Putin met with the heads of the major investment banks, reassuring them about the future direction of reform. With arch-reformer German Gref smiling at his side, he was uncompromising in his message that he would attack corruption wherever it was found -- be it in the bureaucracy, private sector or Duma -- but that minority Yukos shareholders' interests would be zealously protected. He was forceful, lucid and remarkably well-briefed on market issues. Vitally, Putin reiterated that there was no question of a generalized attack upon the other oligarchs nor a revision of the results of privatization -- historically, those who have ignored his words have done so at their own cost.
[B]The president also announced the dismantling of the Gazprom ring-fence "in a matter of months." The impact of this move may well outweigh the unarguably negative effects of the Yukos saga. Opening Gazprom to foreign investment would overnight almost double Russia's weighting in the main benchmark, the MSCI Index, mechanically driving a huge wave of buying by foreign funds. [/B] [[I]if this is so we may be looking at a major buying opportunity for Russian securities - Walter[/I]]
Looking beyond the current turbulence, the vital issue affecting Russia's progress over the next four years is not the fate of one oligarch, but the upcoming Duma elections. Polls show a sharp rise in the popularity of Putin's party, which is set to win a sizeable majority in the next parliament. A clear victory would renew the bold reform drive which characterized the start of his presidency, before the Duma succumbed to oligarchic lobbying.
Russia has historically done best when it relied on its own internal strengths -- Jackson's coalition-of-the-available may huff and puff, but Putin's house is made of stone.
Eric Kraus is chief strategist for Sovlink Securities. His full views can be found at [url]www.sovlink.ru[/url]
2003-11-04 19:20 | User Profile
A Russian court is challenging Potanin's squeeze-out of some foregin stockholders out of Norilsk Nickel.
I don't know what to make of this. Maybe Putin is firing a shot across Potanin's bow?
Madrussian, what sayest thou?
[url]http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2003/11/04/046.html[/url]
Walter
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2003. Page 7
Court to Reopen Norilsk Restructuring Case
By Alla Startseva Staff Writer The Moscow Region branch of the federal arbitration court on Monday said it had approved a request by the nation's stock market watchdog to re-examine the restructuring of Norilsk Nickel.
The move is the latest attempt by the Federal Securities Commission to have the consolidation of Vladimir Potanin's metals giant declared illegal.
The city branch of the same federal court system rejected the same request by the FSC in June.
The FSC says the purchase three years ago by Norilsk Nickel, the world's top producer of nickel and palladium, of Norimet, a London-based trading company, should be annulled because Norilsk shareholders never got a chance to vote on the deal.
Norilsk has claimed that it did not need shareholder approval for the deal to be legal.
The FSC is asking the Moscow Region court to cancel the purchase of Norimet and for both sides to return what they received in the deal.
Norimet was acquired in exchange for shares in Norilsk's core unit, Mining and Metals Company Norilsk Nickel, which is now one of Russia's most popular blue chip stocks.
[B]Analysts said that although the timing seemed odd, they did not see any connection between the legal move against Norilsk and the ongoing assault on Yukos' Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who like Potanin built his fortune on the back of rigged privatizations in the mid-1990s. [/B]
"It is too dangerous to make any conclusions now. This can mean nothing at all or it can be some kind of a signal," said Fyodor Tregubenko of Brunswick UBS.
Nikolai Ivanov, an analyst at the Prospekt brokerage, said Potanin, unlike Khodorkovsky, seems to have made peace with the Kremlin.
"In all his trips abroad, [President Vladimir] Putin has lobbied the interests of Norilsk Nickel, which is a sign that he doesn't have any serious problems with [the company]," Ivanov said.
2003-11-04 19:23 | User Profile
Meanwhile, back at the Kremlin, Putin is swapping spit with Ariel Sharon.
[url]http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2003/11/04/015.html[/url]
Walter
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2003. Page 3
[B]Sharon: Putin a True Friend of Israel[/B][U]Sharon: Putin a True Friend of Israel[/U]
The Associated Press
Misha Japaridze / AP
Vladimir Putin welcoming Ariel Sharon to the Kremlin for a meeting on Monday.
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Monday praised friendly ties with Russia and called President Vladimir Putin a "true friend of Israel."
Welcoming Sharon to the Kremlin, Putin said Russia would continue trying to help the Middle East peace settlement and added that recent violence in Israel had caused much concern in Russia for former citizens who have emigrated to Israel.
"We know Israel is striving for peace," Putin said. "The Jewish people have suffered a lot over the last decades."
Sharon, who arrived in Moscow on Sunday on his third visit as prime minister, answered in kind. He said Israel highly values friendly ties with Moscow.
"President Putin is a true friend of Israel," he said at the start of talks. "We highly appreciate Putin's attitude, and his repeated personal safety guarantees for the state of Israel."
Sharon said Israel was ready to compromise for the sake of peace.
"I have repeatedly said during our meetings with President Putin that Israel was ready to make concessions in exchange for a real peace," Sharon said. "Israel is probably the only state in the world that is ready to make concessions even though it hasn't lost a single war."
Russian and Israeli officials said the two leaders would focus on a Russian-backed UN resolution on a Middle East peace plan and Israel's concern about Iran's nuclear program.
Israeli officials traveling with Sharon said the talks would also touch on proposals for improved intelligence-sharing in the international fight against terrorism.
[B]In addition to Putin, Sharon was to meet Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov and Russian Jewish leaders before returning to Tel Aviv on Tuesday evening.[/B]
2003-11-04 19:26 | User Profile
And finally, this editorial whine.
[url]http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2003/11/04/005.html[/url]
Walter
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2003. Page 10
Putin's Word Not Always His Bond
Editorial To Our Readers Has something you've read here startled you? Are you angry, excited, puzzled or pleased? Do you have ideas to improve our coverage? Then please write to us. All we ask is that you include your full name, the name of the city from which you are writing and a contact telephone number in case we need to get in touch. We look forward to hearing from you.
Email the Opinion Page Editor
President Vladimir Putin's exercise in damage control last week, by meeting with top executives of major Western and Russian investment banks, would seem to have been an unmitigated success -- judging by the upbeat comments and the positive reaction of the market in the past few days.
Putin is, of course, a slick act and adept at tailoring his message to suit his audience.
At the meeting, he struck all the right notes by underscoring the importance of protecting minority shareholder rights and tossing bankers a tasty morsel in the form of a promise that the infamous ring fence on Gazprom shares would be dismantled in "months, not years." Perhaps, most importantly, marshalling all his powers of persuasion, he reassured the assembled execs that the attack on Yukos would not spread to other companies, and that there would be no general revision of privatization results.
However, beyond the president's way with words and undeniable ability to charm, what about Putin's record of making good on his word?
Take the Gazprom ring fence issue, for example. Back in April 2001, Putin made a rousing speech to the government in which he said that it was high time to abolish Gazprom's two-tier share system. The market reacted positively with Gazprom's share price shooting up. Several months later, the relevant draft decrees were ready. And then nothing. Moreover, no one has offered any cogent arguments for why there has been no headway made in the past two years.
Or, another example in a completely different sphere: Take Putin's meeting with NTV journalists in early 2001 where he pledged his support for independent media and, in particular, for NTV remaining a non-government channel free to criticize the Kremlin. This was not exactly borne out by the later actions of the Putin administration.
And as regards Putin's assertion that the Yukos affair is an isolated incident, this is not entirely credible for at least two reasons.
[B]In 2000, when Boris Berezovsky and Vladimir Gusinsky fell foul of Putin, few would have guessed that some three years later Mikhail Khodorkovsky would be going the same way. How can one say with any degree of certainty that the whole process will not be repeated against another oligarch half a year or a year from now? All the more so, as we still do not know exactly what Khodorkovsky is being punished for.[/B] And second, it is based on the assumption that Putin is in full control of things, which is far from clear. [B]As he relies on the hardline elements in his entourage to do the dirty work in taking out Khodorkovsky, he runs up debts. What's to say that he will be able to rein in those elements when the time comes?[/B] [[I]the word "hardline" element is codespeak for "anti-Semite" IMO - Walter[/I]]
2003-11-04 19:34 | User Profile
I almost forgot this one.
I love the quote "Byzantium is over!"
[url]http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2003/11/04/002.html[/url]
Walter
Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2003. Page 1
[B]Kudrin Trumpets Demise of Oligarchy[/B]
By Alex Nicholson
Staff Writer If there were any doubts that President Vladimir Putin had the government's cashiers under control, Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin emphatically put them to rest on Monday with a clarion call to the nation to back the Kremlin in the new, oligarch-free Russia.
"Byzantium is over!" Kudrin told Kommersant. "With all due respect to Alexander Voloshin, I want to stress that his departure coincides with the end of the Yeltsin epoch.
"I've heard personally from [Putin] and clearly understand myself that this is not a redistribution of property and not a campaign against oligarchs," Kudrin said.
Kudrin, who is also a deputy prime minister, appeared to applaud the legal attack on Yukos that has led to the imprisonment of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev and the resignation of Voloshin, Putin's former chief of staff.
"Will it be better or worse? It will be different, as is always the way when epochs change. I know that for the Russian economy it will be better.
"[B]If the economy continues to depend on oligarchs, high oil prices, artificially flush banks and false bankruptcies this will have a destructive influence. [The oligarchs] have been returned to a business environment, in which you can only be successful if you play fair."[/B]
In an interview with Kompaniya magazine also published Monday, Kudrin said that the Finance Ministry was considering the re-introduction of a so-called "added income tax" to raise more revenues from the oil sector, at a time when world oil prices are high.
Economists said Monday that time would tell if a sea change in the Kremlin would be good or bad for the economy, while political analysts said Kudrin had made the remarks to distance himself from those who have challenged the Yukos clampdown.
Others said that if a new era had dawned, it was not as bright as the one Kudrin was hoping for.
It would, in fact, be downright "bureaucratic."
"We are living in a different country, a new epoch," said Liliya Shevtsova of the Carnegie Moscow Center. "That does not mean we are now living under dictatorship. We are no longer in an oligarchic regime, but in a bureaucratic regime."
Independent political analyst Andrei Piontkovsky said that whatever the new era would be, it was clear its new masters were the siloviki, and by giving the interview Kudrin had showed where his loyalties lay.
[B]Piontkovsky suggested that Kudrin had timed his comments to distance himself from United Energy Systems chief Anatoly Chubais, who is firmly out of favor after his harsh weekend rhetoric against the attack on Yukos[/B].
[B]In an interview on RenTV on Saturday, Chubais said the country was being led in "a dangerous new direction. I am not interested in who is going to be next," he said. "What really interests me is what I should do to make sure that there is no next one." [/B] [[I]I agree - Chubais is next. Well, maybe after Potanin. But he's definitely in the crosshairs after that little tantrum he threw on the Svanidze show last week. - Walter[/I]]
Piontkovsky said Kudrin's comments indicated he was afraid he might lose his job along with Chubais. "He wants to say, 'I'm not Chubais' man, I'm yours,'" he said.
[I]Chubais is considered the unofficial leader of the so-called St. Petersburg liberals, the group that includes Kudrin and Economic Trade and Development Minister German Gref, and makes up the third Kremlin faction, after the siloviki and the Family.[/I]
Kudrin's reassurances appeared to be exactly what financial markets wanted to hear Monday, but contrasted sharply with comments by Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov, who on Friday called the arrest of shares in Yukos, a publicly traded company, a "new phenomenon" and said its consequences would be "hard to define."
But Kudrin defended the arrest of Yukos shares, saying the move was "a court decision, which -- thank God -- was governed not by economic expediency, but by the law."
But financial and political analysts found Kudrin's "rule of law" line hard to swallow. "If this were only about imposing the law, then the jails should be overflowing," said Stephen O'Sullivan, co-head of research at UFG. "Certainly there are negative indications that we are heading onto a path that can lead dramatically to a more statist intervention in the economy."
"Business confidence has been shaken for the next six months, almost irrespective of what the Kremlin does now," said Roland Nash, chief strategist at Renaissance Capital, adding that recent events had sent a strong signal to investors that those "in control were are not willing to share influence." While he agreed that the country was moving into a new stage of development, he said it was "not clear if that is going to be positive or negative."
While O'Sullivan saw a suggestion that Putin was reining in prosecutors after televised comments on Sunday delivered by his chief of staff Dmitry Medvedev, Piontkovsky said this was more likely a sign that Putin was trying to mollify an offended Kasyanov.
"I interpret the interview with Medvedev as a performance by Putin, who is afraid of directly contradicting Kasyanov," he said.
"For the first time in his career, Putin has stepped back. ... There are a lot of people in the elite who are unhappy with Putin at the moment, and all that is needed is a point of crystallization, a figure around which the disaffected can unite as a real opposition."
Yury Korgonyuk of the Indem think tank said it was premature to call the end of infighting between Kremlin clans.
"[B]Byzantium is far from over. This attack on Yukos is like a behind-the-scenes fight that suddenly bursts out into the open? That's as Byzantine as it gets."
"It certainly is true that Voloshin was one of the columns of our modern-day Byzantium. But his place will be filled quickly." [/B]
Staff Writer Catherine Belton contributed to this report.
2003-11-05 03:14 | User Profile
Trash! :dung: :dung:
Nothing Right-Wing about Neo-Marxist Globalism!!!!! :wallbash:
[QUOTE] In a recent op-ed piece in the increasingly reactionary Washington Post, Bruce Jackson, president of the innocuous sounding Project on Transitional Democracies, accuses Putin not just of re-establishing a tsarist state, but of the supreme crime of opposing U.S. political and economic interests in Russia's historic sphere of influence: the CIS. After long service in the weapons trade (Lockheed, Martin), Jackson is now a hatchet-man for the Bush administration. A member of the far-right Project of the New American Century, he serves with the likes of Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle and Donald Rumsfeld. Jackson was instrumental in rounding up support for the Iraq war with a stealth attack, corralling East European presidents into signing the notorious letter of the "Vilnius 10." [/QUOTE]
I just want to shoot any Morons that calls the Neocons "Right-Wing!" :tank: :gunsmilie
2003-11-05 03:25 | User Profile
Re: "Byzantium"
Walter Yannis,
I say Byzantium was a good thing! It is long past time to bring it back!
Hail Constantinople. :cheers:
Byzantium: The Byzantine Studies Page [url]http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/byzantium/[/url]
2003-11-05 13:33 | User Profile
[QUOTE=Faust]Trash! :dung: :dung:
Nothing Right-Wing about Neo-Marxist Globalism!!!!! :wallbash:
I just want to shoot any Morons that calls the Neocons "Right-Wing!" :tank: :gunsmilie[/QUOTE]
The old paradigm, right Vs left wing is obsolete (and really has always been obsolete). The only paradigm that invariably holds true is jew against the world.