The Owl of Minerva Flies at Dusk

On 3rd November, 1997, as the Asian Financial Crisis raged, the Malysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad stated that, “This DELIBERATE DEVALUATION of the currency of a country by currency traders purely for profit is a serious DENIAL of the rights of independent nations.” We summarily, note that, Mahathir, by giving the IMF and the West one way ticket to hell, he managed to save Malaysia as all other Asian Tigers succumbed. Our Vice President, Wiper Kalonzo was in Malaysia a few weeks ago. We hope, he is armed with what Mahathir did. After all, didn’t he go to learn?

Anyway, for today, our message is that, it seems like our 1997 has come. However, let first us recap. Very worried, and without big budget, stuff, bodyguards, cooks, drivers, big names, big offices and beautiful escorts, on 21st April, 2010, we gave a stern warning in these words:

“Let us visit Latvia so as to appreciate what is coming... After the end of Cold War, Latvia and other former Soviet Union republics which HAD NO DEBTS, were “freed” from the “evil Empire.” They were then advised by the West (led by Sachs, he of MDGs in Africa) on how to get rich. One of the ideas they were sold is the financial policy of borrowing in foreign currency for real estate development (speculation) although the income to pay these debts was in domestic currency.Their central banks, just as ours is doing now, would then take these foreign currencies and use to import consumer goods like used women under wears … When this land speculation bubble burst, as it will in Kenya (it need not happen because an attack on our currency will be sufficient), [with such an attack] the only way to support the currency [will be] is by borrowing from foreign official agencies like IMF and the EU. In other words, [we shall] incur external public debts to allow land speculators pay their loans. However, the terms are [will be] extremely destructive to say the least for they will shrink Latvian [Kenyan] economy further because they call for more taxes, sacking of nurses etc. All this is meant to free money to pay foreign creditors. More so, this involves more shift of power from elected leaders to bankers, i.e. modern aristocracy.” This you may read here: http://is.gd/2x1lk0.

We are told that, Prophet Jeremiah wore a yoke around his city so to dramatize to his nation the coming Babylonian yoke. His efforts were in vain. As such, having sounded the prophet’s trumpet in vain, now, with a heavy heart for those who must bear the cross, we can only say that, the owl of Minerva flies at dusk for we are now hearing the FIRE FIGHTERS scrambling to tell us that: “Save the shilling by flooding market with dollars so speculators can lose.” Among other stuff, this FIRE FIGHTER tells us that:

“The shilling is badly undervalued. I do not want to shout fire in a crowded theatre... For most dealers it is still a one-way bet... they have made tonnes of money since the shilling started feeling the pressure several months ago. I am not against speculators. This is what capitalism is all about. But if we allow the currency to fall further, the pressures on the macro economy will soon be overwhelming. … If the International Monetary Fund is serious about helping us out, this is the time to give us the dollars. Speculators engaged in amassing dollars must be made to feel some serious pain. That is the language they understand.... the current negative sentiment on the shilling will not change until some of these punters are made to suffer losses.”

and

“But in markets that are driven by sentiment, it matters much more than assurances by Central Bank.
The Central Bank of Kenya and the Treasury must realise that if the shilling persists in the present trajectory, the situation may cause a huge political problem for the government. This thing could brew political agitation for the return to exchange controls. That IMF programme they are slavishly applying will not help when the political class starts a loud campaign for the restoration of “the sovereignty of the shilling”. Source: http://is.gd/T7acsu. For other fire fighting stories see here, http://is.gd/0clCke and, here, http://is.gd/Jqzsfq.

Regarding the IMF programme the Central Bank of Kenya is SLAVISHLY APPLYING and its consequences, please, refer to our last easy here: Sinai Tragedy and The Real Tragedy @ http://is.gd/dvloqR. Here, we simply ask, what is going on with our currency and why?

First, a word on what Jaidi Kisero writes. When Kisero says he has nothing against speculators, i.e. the Gnomes of Zurich, we struggle to find out why. Perhaps, such a view emanates from his fundamentally flawed understanding of capitalism. Capitalism emanates from word capital. Capital, in economics, we mean real economics, and not this of Jaidi’s, means nothing, but, labour reduced into some permanent form. In other words, when you have a wheel barrow it is capital for it is an embodiment of previous labour. As such, capitalism, ought to be understood as old labour (such as your wheel barrow) combining with current labour (you) to produce more wealth whereby, some of this wealth will be consumed and some turned into more productive capital. As such, these Gnomes of Zurich have nothing to do with capitalism. Thus, for Jaidi to say this is capitalism amounts to enthroning robbery in the prostituted name of capitalism.

What we are seeing is not a financial crisis as such. It is the anaconda of New Rome, i.e. the American led globalization snake slowly tightening its coils of speculation and plunder around the body of the struggling humanity. Simply stated, it is Economic and Financial WARFARE against the humanity by the OLIGARCHY. This time, there is no need for boots on the ground for they can deploy financial means. In other words, you may have all the army, but, it is useless to defend you in this war which even our army is not aware of. To make matters worse, the role of taxpayers funded army will be reduced to defending the robber’s wealth from their victims. As such, this is part of the global scramble to appropriate wealth/resources such as land, ports etc, as they are artificially cheapened by the Gnomes which allows the oligarchy to snap the same at distress prices. But, how is this game played?

When Jaidi calls for IMF to our rescue, either, he is very naive, he is part of the bloody oligarchy, or, he is just plain cheeky. For instance, he ought to be aware that, in trying to defend their economies, Korea, Indonesia and Thailand were forced to empty their vaults and threw more than $ 100 billion reserves in to the so called market to try and stabilise their currencies. It was in vain. All that happened was that, within months, all this money had been confiscated and transferred into private financial hands. As such, this first step (intensive speculative attacks) is meant to increase the volume of dollar denominated debts. This has already happened in Kenya as we are reading that: “Weakening shilling wreck havoc on Kenya’s debt levels,” @ http://is.gd/Y3jy5H.

This way then, this speculative anaconda has two heads. The first head is the so called private banks, investors, hedge fund hyenas and jackals (Gnomes) which lead the charge by launching speculative attacks. As the nation’s teeters on the brink of economic, social and political chaos, i.e. after successful speculative attacks, the other head, i.e. the IMF comes along with its strong economic voodoo. In other words, as the author of the Art of War would tell us, IMF is engaged in making noise in the east while attacking from the west. As such, these speculative attacks are a means of creating preconditions for subsequent plunder of the productive assets. Let us see what happened in South Korea in 1997.

For purposes of the phony Cold War, South Korea was allowed to industrialise under military dictatorship. However, with the end of phony Cold War, just like the the successor War on Terror, South Korea/Asian Tiger’s time had come to be cut into size. It is under these circumstances, South Korea found itself under the massive anaconda attack, such that, by early December, 1997, it found itself having difficulties servicing its $ 170 billion of foreign debt. To “avert” the crisis brought by the Gnomes, the 2nd head of the anaconda, i.e. the IMF, gave out the largest bailout package of $ 55 billion.

But, what were the conditions attached to this sugar coated poison? It was this. South Korea had to abandon the economic policies which had made it an Asian Tiger after the Korean war such as ability to create credit for its industry. To this, the OLIGARCHIC Financial Times (they say, we live in financial times) celebrated these conditions by telling us that: “the rescue plan was finally agreed when the Korean government GAVE UP A DOGGED STRUGGLE to preserve the MAIN ELEMENTS of of its dirigist economic structures.” Hence forth, as the FT sees it, Korea would be subjected to “yield to investor discipline” (predators) and not “state directives.” In other words, South Korea was bailed out on the condition it impoverishes its people. Here is the clue. South Korea was not industrialised by so called markets as they tell the Africans.

The Koreans did not give up easily. They mightily struggled to resist these satanic demands. However, they found themselves with only $ 6 billion cash in hand against $ 150 billion in international obligations which were coming due within a five days. This meant that, Korea was close to default despite the fact that its industrial plants were the most modern and its labour was the most skilled in the entire world. In other words, in the world of this anaconda, fundamentals do not count. The problem was that, if Korea defaulted, it would have been unable to import oil which it relies on to fire its oil fired plants for 90% of its electricity. As such, Korea was just weeks away from social, economic and political chaos of unprecedented scale. Thus, the Korean people had to chose between economic, social and political chaos in darkness, or, submit to the anaconda. In other words, your wallet or the bullet style. And, so, they did and it became the first developed nation to receive the 3rd world bitter medicine.

Essentially, South Korea was forced by the Gnomes and the IMF to derogate its economic sovereignty and thereby, establishing what Africa has always had, a de facto colonial administration under a DEMOCRATICALLY elected president. Under this de facto colonial administration,real wages were depressed, there was massive unemployment, standards of living went south. AT the same time, the IMF money never reached Korea for it went to service the Western and Japanese financial institutions which had earlier speculated against the Korean currency, i.e. the won. More so, the Korean central bank was massively reorganised and brought under the supervision of the Wall Street and the IMF. At least for us Kenyans,, this is not an issue for our central bank is already owned by these jackals.

You see, under such attacks, the stocks melted, there were chains of bankruptcies affecting both financial and industrial sector. It also, led to sharp rise in prices of necessities. Under these distress conditions, some Korean banks be made attractive to the same Gnomes by transferring non - performing to the public, the automotive group KIA went burst. Also, Halla Group involved in ship building, engineering and auto parts also went down. Also, the IMF, acting on behalf of the Gnomes, demanded dismantling of the Daewoo Group. All this, brought the Korean motor industry into crisis which ended in mass layoffs and bankruptcies. And, they were not done. The creditors of Korea’s largest business empire, Hyundai demanded its break up with the Gnomes taking the profitable parts in car and shipping unit.

In other words, the IMF mission was nothing, but, bankruptcy of the Korean economy. Having taken over the central bank, it could not rescue troubled enterprises or banks. This, also, crippled the building and the service economy for how do you give loans when the central bank is draining money from the economy? This is exactly what Prof. Njuguna is doing right now. However, amidst all this social and economic turmoil, the Wall Street was on a shopping spree. For instance, the Hanwha Group was selling its oil refineries to Royal Dutch/Shell, having sold the other half to BASF of Germany. Also, for just $ 454 million, which was never delivered, the Korea First Bank sold 51% to a California based entity and thereby, gaining control of the oldest Korean bank with 5000 workers for nothing. In fact, the Korean people were forced to pump 35 times more more money than these jackals had promised under the contracts forced by the IMF.

Now, the details of this broad day light robbery are complicated and long. As such, we cannot detail much of what really happened and what happens. What we hope we have done is to show exactly what is the objective of these speculations and what will be the deal when the other head of the anaconda appears.

In conclusion, we only warn thee of this. From ancient times to today, the logic of any empire is to promote growth and well being in the center and not the periphery, i.e. the whole empire. In this way then, one cannot but, fail to sympathise with a sharp minded Roman Historian who described the Roman Empire’s policy as solitudinem faciunt pacem appellant, i,e. “They have made a wilderness and call it peace.” By adopting the RENTIER economy, the Roman OLIGARCHY forced tax burdens on the productive class which led to debt foreclosures, depopulation, deepening dependency which settled into serfdom. Today, they call this AUSTERITY measures. Verily, verily we say, if these American policies go on like this, we foresee a very dark future ahead for humanity.