BABYLON ON THE CHEAP
Part XXI
Rise or Fall of American Empire?
by
Doug Krieger
Part 2
“The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, for no one buys their merchandise anymore…the merchants of these things, who became rich by her…will stand at a distance…weeping and wailing…for in one hour such great riches came to nothing…and cried out when they saw the smoke of her burning…WHAT IS LIKE THIS GREAT CITY?…all who had ships on the sea became rich by her wealth!...for in one hour she is made desolate.”
GLOBAL FASCISM AND TWO DRUNKS: WALL STREET AND THE CENTRAL BANKS
Notice – we’re being globalized – the dollars are somehow pouring back into our coffers! “Pouring” is not the operative word for it—it’s more like GUSHING, thanks to all the CENTRAL BANKS who, with our FED, have embraced GLOBAL FASCISM (you heard it first from The Tribulation Network): Yes, Nations who trade together, stay together! Simply put: DOES ANYONE OUT THERE REALIZE AMERICA IS THE SUPREME ENGINE GALVANIZING THE ENTIRE EARTH – TRADING UP EVER HIGHER AND HIGHER? International globalism has become the new fascism – “national interests” are hereby incorporated into the global maelstrom of economic integration – what’s good for the globe is good for whatever nation – the bankers know this and the bankers demand this!
“With
an estimated $2.9 trillion available to invest, oil-rich and highly-secretive
sovereign wealth funds (aka CENTRAL BANKS) have become increasingly active in
discreetly buying Western assets in the past year. Unknown to most in the US,
the funds, literally investment vehicles owned by national governments,
have bought everything American from Citigroup to the Chrysler Building, often
at incredible discounts.” (Buying
America on the Cheap, A Close Look at Sovereign Wealth Funds,
Businessmemo.org, July 18, 2008)
Let’s get real here – these SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUNDS are about to total some $8 Trillion Dollars (2/3rds of America’s entire GNP, 2008) somewhere between 2010 to 2011! THEY’LL NEVER LET BABYLON COLLAPSE!!! To sink this colossus, the entire world economy would collapse! Why can’t the Evangelical pundits come to terms with these economic realities?
Look at this—then tell me why the merchants of the earth will weep when they see her smoke from afar – WHY ISN’T ANYONE TALKING ABOUT THIS – WHY? WHY? WHY? Because they’ve got their heads in the sands of the pre-tribulational rapture and have no desire to stand and deliver in the street of the Great City herself? Oh, for every false prophet out there, there’s five to ten SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUND managers ready to drink of the cup of her putridity, to “commit fornication” and to be “made drunk with the wine of her fornication.” She’s arrayed, according to Revelation 17, in purple (POLITICAL POWER) and scarlet (WEALTH-COMMERCE)—is it that difficult to discern that these CENTRAL BANKS are the political-commercial nexus of the very essence of her being? She’s adored with “gold and precious stones and pearls, having in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the filthiness of her fornication” (Revelation 17:4) and NO ONE dares to tell you THE QUEEN HAS NO CLOTHES! No one dares to acclaim her the DAUGHTER OF TARSHISH – the offspring of the King of Tyre – no one dares to describe her as the MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH lest they loose their pulpit and have their prattling condemned as compromised with her wealth!
Now, behold her drunkenness – and by the way, first listen to our esteem President’s remarks, off mike—so he thought:
“There
is no question about it. Wall Street got drunk; that’s one reason I asked you
to turn off your TV cameras. The question is, ‘How long will it (take to)
sober up and not try to do all these fancy financial instruments?’” (Bush’s
off-the-cuff remark about a ‘drunk’ Wall Street winds up on TV, AP,
Insidebayarea.com, July 22, 2008)
So let’s see the inebriated of the earth drink of her cup:
“Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
Assets: $875 Billion
Recent Investments: Citigroup, Toll Brothers,
Chrysler Building
“With 9 percent of the world’s oil and 0.02 percent of its population, Abu Dhabi has profited handsomely from recent sky high oil prices. Its sovereign wealth fund, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, the world’s largest, has put to use the petrodollars the country has counted as “surplus” since the 1970s.
“With a fund estimated to break $1 trillion in the next few years thanks to high oil prices, the Abu Dhabi fund boasts the double whammy of outpacing (or, perhaps, outwitting) Americans at the gas pump and on Wall Street.” (Editor’s Note: Pure unadulterated balderdash on the part of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority!) (Buying America on the Cheap, A Close Look at Sovereign Wealth Funds, Businessmemo.org, July 18, 2008)
The quest to purchase the heart of Babylon on the Hudson is overwhelming—truly is. Everyone’s in on the take and the Americans are thrilled that the world wishes to drink of our vintage with such gusto, especially how. Drunkenness is not the exclusive right of American moguls – we’ve taught others to imbibe and to drink deeply – and, after all, nothing like trying to out drink a fellow drunk!
Next,
we have the Kuwait Investment Authority with assets of some $265bn – their
recent acquisitions include Citigroup, Merrill Lynch, Visa (portions thereof)
– to the tune of, well, billions—they’re so secretive, we can’t figure out the
total value – but with American real estate at 5 to 10 year lows, what better
time to buy Babylon on the cheap. (Ibid.)
Next, we have the crowning jewel of American cheap labor, the China Investment Corporation with assets over $200bn – their recent acquisitions include Blackstone Group, Morgan Stanley, Visa (as well). You might say the Chinese are binge drinkers, after all, check out these memorable comments:
“With over $1.6 trillion in foreign reserves, China has been flush with cash by providing much of the world with cheap goods and services. It comes as no surprise then that the natural resource hungry country has used its financial weight as of late to take strategic stakes in oil behemoths BP (British Petroleum) and French oil monopoly Total (its $18.5 billion attempt to acquire American oil giant Unocal was buried by Congress). (Ibid.)
Now, let’s add some insult to injury – the only thing is this: AMERICA IS NOT BEING INJURED – BABYLON LIVES!
“Because of the subprime crisis,” declared Li Ruogu, President of China’s Export-Import Bank, ‘the value of financial assets in the United States has fallen to a more reasonable range, which creates a fairly good opportunity for China to invest.’ And Mr. Ruogu has not been far from wrong. In December the Chinese investment fund took a $5 billion or 10% stake in one of America’s most important financial institution, Morgan Stanley. With Morgan Stanley’s balance sheet aching from subprime exposure, CIC bought into the company for nearly half of what it was worth just 6 months earlier. More recently in March the Chinese fund gained rare access to VISA’s Initial Public Offering, a stake that appreciated a handsome 60% in less than two months thanks to the healthy discount China received. In an irony worthy of ‘Communist China,’ the country remains the world’s producer of cheap goods and services while a great consumer of America’s most important financial institutions bought…what else…on the cheap.” (Ibid.)
Next,
we have the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation with assets of
$330bn.
Citigroup and Merrill Lynch are the recipients of Singapore’s largess.
This sovereign wealth fund made huge headlines recently by these acquisitions
– just how much they have already invested and want to invest staggers the
financial headlines – but when you’re drunk you do all kinds of crazy things
you later regret; but who cares, we’re having a blast. (Ibid.)
Finally, and there are many more such sovereign wealth funds at work—we can only review a portion of the drunken brawl—there is the tiny sheikdom of Qatar, where the headquarters of America’s CENTCOM (you know, something about wealth and power going together) moved prior to the Iraqi invasion. Here we have the Qatar Investment Authority hard at work on its $60bn sovereign wealth fund buying up the 51st State of the Union (cheery ‘ole England). Go figure, what do the Beatles and Qatar have in common? Guessed it: Our beloved Beatles are being swallowed up by the Qatarians – it sounds like a line from Star Wars, but it’s for real. Now you know why the American Michael Jackson and his Beatles were down there—he was cutting deals with the Qatarians. Can’t you just see a bunch of drunken Moslems rockin’ and rollin’? (Ibid.) (No offense – simply meant as a metaphor.)
Ah, behold these final comments of Babylon’s purchase:
“Through
Fortress (a leading American hedge fund), Qatar has gained ownership in
everything from Michael Jackson’s Beatles catalogue to casinos (gambling is
banned in Qatar as all other Muslim countries). Through its holding in
Fortress, Qatar seems to be able to even buy American politicians on the cheap
(for a foreign nation), paying Presidential candidate John Edwards
$479,512 for his consulting services, a part-time job. (Editor’s
Note: Yes, John Edwards, your knight in shining amour who just cares for the
poor!) Qatar was also the prime candidate for the American NASDAQ stock
exchange when it wanted to off-load its 15% stake in the London Stock Exchange
after a failed takeover. While spokespeople for the Qatar fund have
suggested they would like to diversify away from America, their actions have
certainly spoken louder than words.” (Ibid.)
Ask them all – as Psalm 116:11 once said: “I said in my haste: ALL MEN ARE LIARS!” Even so, the Qatarians and their compatriots amongst the sovereign wealth fund managers would like us all to believe they need to diversify—BUT THEY’RE ADDICTED TO HER CUP…hooked…drugged. And, it’s so logical, so convenient, so trustworthy to do this; after all, we’ll just have one more drink for the road.