Fed Seat Slated for Ex-Carlyle Hedge Funder Powell, Naked Fox in Henhouse?

By Matthew R. Lee

SOUTH BRONX, December 28, updated -- For an open seat on the Federal Reserve Board, a hedge fund insider from the Carlyle Group, Jay Powell, is reportedly being nominated by President Barack Obama.

Beyond the obvious overtones of a fox guarding the chicken house, what in fact was learned from the global financial meltdown?

The Federal Reserve Board governors, beyond setting interest rates, regulate banks and bank holding companies.

Putting on the Board a person like Powell, who has worked for Bankers Trust / Deutsche Bank (one of the most notorious foreclosers on subprime mortgage loans in the US) and the Carlyle Group (known for brutal investments in Myanmar / Burma (reportedly drilling in Shwe-3 through FDR-Holdings) and the Congo, in tantalum via H.C. Starck in 2007, to say nothing about subprime) is more than a little telling. [See below]

While there is a loud fight about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, quietly a fox is proposed to enter the hen house of bank regulation.

Given the activities of Deutsche Bank and the Carlyle Group, which only today was reported to be planning a new vulture fund targeting banks weakened by the financial turmoil of which the Fed is front-man conductor, what conflict of interest safeguards would be in place?

What will Occupy Wall Street do? Who can still say that the Emperor has no clothes? Watch this site.

Update of Dec. 29, 1 am -- the Director of Global Communications of The Carlyle Group has written to say Carlyle "has never invested capital in Burma / Myanmar or the Congo." To unpack the links above, from Amnesty International's Business & Human Rights site:

Drilling for the Burmese Junta

Norwatch 07 Jul 2006

The rig “Frontier Duchess” is believed to have carried out the work in the Shwe field in block 1-A and Shwe-3. But Frontier Drilling’s management will not supply details about either the Daewoo assignment or the exact time the operations took place. “The only thing I can say about the case is that the assignment is completed,” Roar Bye, Finance Director in Frontier Drilling, told Norwatch...“We had a drilling assignment for the Korean company Daewoo and have not entered into an agreement with the military regime in Burma..."...Frontier Drilling...is today a wholly owned subsidiary of FDR-Holdings...FDR-Holdings is consequently controlled by private American funds. These funds include Carlyle/Riverstone – that is, The Carlyle Group of Washington, D.C. (Carlyle), and Riverstone Holdings LLC of New York, N.Y. – and the New York-based finance and investment bank Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB)..

And

"Tantalum is extracted from an ore called coltan, which is primarily found in Central Africa, particularly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The company H.C. Starck which was sold to Advent International and the Carlyle Group in February 2007 by Bayer was involved in this trade significantly."

Watch this site.

On Haiti, UN Passes Buck on Probe of Abuse to Brazil, Stalls on Cholera Claim

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 28 -- The UN can be shameless, particularly but not only in Haiti. While the UN refuses to respond to a formal claim about introducing cholera to Haiti, and slowly studies without comment the recent beating of three Haitians by UN peacekeepers, it loudly presents itself as the defender of human rights in Port au Prince.

What of the adage, Doctor Heal Thyself?

On December 28, Inner City Press asked the Office of the Spokesperson for Secretary General Ban Ki-moon three sets of questions including this one:

"On Haiti, as the year ends, please state the status of the UN's "study" of the filed cholera compensation claim, and of any standing claims body which the claim says is required by the SOFA.

Also, on deadline, what is the status of MINUSTAH's promised review, or confirm or deny this account... 'On December 13, 2011 in the afternoon, Joseph and Abel JOSEPH GILBERT, aged respectively twenty-nine (29) and twenty (20) years boarded a water delivery truck registered ZA 08937... Agents of Brazilian contingent of MINUSTAH arrested them without any explanation... Gilbert Joseph, Abel and Joseph Armos BAZILE were tortured in the courtyard of the Joint Educational Institution of La Saline, etc.'"

When Inner City Press first asked about this incident, the UN replied the next day that it was being investigated. But since then, nothing, as with the question of the cholera claim.

On December 28, Ban Ki-moon's spokesman's office replied as follows:

From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] un.org
Date: Wed, Dec 28, 2011 at 4:08 PM
Subject: Questions
To: Matthew.Lee [at] InnerCityPress.com

On cholera in Haiti: We've said the claim has been received and is being studied. We don't have any further comment at this stage.

On the MINUSTAH review: DPKO advises that the UN Stabilisation Mission in Haiti, MINUSTAH, and the Conduct and Discipline Unit in the Department of Field Support at New York Headquarters are aware of the reports of alleged misconduct by members of the Brazilian battalion of the Mission. As with all cases of alleged misconduct, the responsibility to investigate and take any action, as appropriate, lies with the Troop Contributing Country. The case has therefore been referred to the Permanent Mission of Brazil.

So the UN claims a "zero tolerance" policy, but in fact takes no action itself, leaving the entire "responsibility to investigate and take any action... with the Troop Contributing Country." Shameless? Negligent? There are other words. Watch this site.

In Sudan, UN Sees No Reaction to Khalil Ibrahim's Death, No Answer on His Pleas

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 28 -- The UN confirmed the death of South Sudan rebel George Athor, and on Wednesday belatedly and indirectly did the same with the widely reportedly killing of Darfur rebel Khalil Ibrahim of the Justice & Equality Movement.

The UN declined, however, to answer a question about the UN's (non) response to Khalil Ibrahim's requests earlier this year to be extricated from Tripoli.

Inner City Press asked the Office of the Spokesperson for Secretary General Ban Ki-moon:

"On Sudan, while it seems well established, please state if the UN can and will confirm the death of JEM leader Khalil Ibrahim, if the UN has any comment on the death, and if the UN ever did provide any assistance in getting Khalil Ibrahim out of Tripoli. The UN has responded on the death of George Athor - can it now comment who killed Athor, where and how?"

Four hours later, Ban's spokesman's office replied to Inner City Press:

"JEM has confirmed that its leader, Dr. Khalil Ibrahim, was killed. UNAMID is monitoring the situation in Darfur closely and has not seen any reaction on the ground at this point. We do not have further information on General Athor, except to say that the South Sudanese Government said he was killed in a clash."

Why no answer on whether the UN ever responded to Khalil Ibrahim's requests?

And what of the observation that following the divorce of Khartoum and South Sudan, each has managed to kill its highest profile rebel? Are these killings the real "peace dividend," or the win-win solution of sub-dividing the state?

When Khalil Ibrahim was trapped in Tripoli and asked UN help to get out, no help was provided. Some say the UN, on behalf of Khartoum, wanted Khalil Ibrahim dead.

By contrast, the UN at least twice flew Ahmed Haroun, indicted for war crimes in Darfur by the International Criminal Court, by UN helicopter to and from Abyei.

So an alleged war criminal who is part of a state can be given free flights in a UN air craft; a rebel against the state can be left to die in Tripoli, or uncommented on in North Kordofan. Now the UN says that following this death, it "has not seen any reaction on the ground at this point." We'll see.

At UN, Ban Has Belatedly Watched "Killing Fields of Sri Lanka," Response UNclear

By Matthew Russell Lee, Exclusive

UNITED NATIONS, December 28 -- "Killing Fields of Sri Lanka" has finally been watched by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, according to a one-word response provided to Inner City Press on December 28 by Ban's Office of the Spokesperson.

The documentary depicts UN culpability in the abandonment and killing of civilians in Northern Sri Lanka in 2009, when Ban was, as now, Secretary General; it reports on the so-called White Flag killings of Tamil Tiger leaders in whose surrender Ban's chief of staff Vijay Nambiar played a role.

For months, Ban's spokespeople said he hadn't watched the documentary. During a visit by Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa, Inner City Press filmed Sri Lankan Permanent Representative Palitha Kohona telling Rajapaksa that Ban had already seen the government produced rebuttal to "Killing Fields" -- but not yet the film itself.

On December 28, Inner City Press put questions in writing to Ban's spokesperson Martin Nesirky, including

"Yes or no, has [Ban Ki-moon] ever watched "Killing Fields of Sri Lanka," given that Sri Lanka says he watched the gov't-produced rebuttal?"

Four hours later, the following arrived:

From: UN Spokesperson - Do Not Reply [at] @un.org
Date: Wed, Dec 28, 2011 at 4:08 PM
Subject: Questions
To: Matthew.Lee [at] InnerCityPress.com

On the "Killing Fields of Sri Lanka": Yes.

So Ban HAS belatedly watched "Killing Fields of Sri Lanka." When? What is his response to it, given its criticism of the UN under his tenure? We will continue to pursue this.

Ban still has no comment on the government's Lessons Learnt & Reconciliation Commission report. On December 28 Inner City Press asked

"The summary of the LLRC report that the Executive Office of S-G Ban Ki-moon has asked the Department of Political Affairs to prepare, when is it due?"

To this, the answer was

"On the LLRC report: As we have said before, it is being studied. If we have more, we'll let you know."

Watch this site.

UN Has No Comment on Ethiopia Jailings, Congo Crackdown, Sheltered Bissau Putschist

By Matthew Russell Lee

UNITED NATIONS, December 27 -- With the UN's need and one would think desire for information from war zones, when a country arrests and imprisons journalists trying to shine light on otherwise under-reported conflicts, one would expect the UN to say something.

But in the case of the two Swedish journalists charged, convicted and now sentenced to 11 years in Ethiopia for covering the Ogaden conflict, Johan Persson and Martin Schibbye, the UN's Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has had nothing to say.

On December 21, Inner City Press asked Ban's spokesman Martin Nesirky about the case, but was told that it "is not necessarily something that the Secretary-General himself would comment on. But, it may be that there is a comment from somewhere else within the UN system. Let me find out."

Six days later, having gotten back no comment or response, Inner City Press raised the case again, along with two other questions submitted at noon on December 27:

"In Ethiopia, now the EU has joined others in denouncing the 11 year sentences for two journalists who were covering the war in Ogaden. Now does the UN have any comment, despite or more appropriately because the Secretary General put Ethiopia's leader atop one of his Sustainable Development panels? When did the S-G last speak with Meles Zenawi? Did the S-G raise this issue?"

At 5:15 pm on December 27, Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson's office told Inner City Press, "On the Swedish journalists, we don't have any comment at the moment but if that changes we'll let you know."

A nearly identical response was given to Inner City Press' question on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the looting of the headquarters of opposition figure Etienne Tshisekedi: "we've asked and should we receive an update we'll let you know."

Silence by the UN about the dubious election in the DRC has been a pattern. Inner City Press also asked about it on December 21:

Inner City Press: MONUSCO had said that there should be some, you know, inquiry into the way the elections were held. At least my understanding is that they said that there were things that should be looked at. Now, the Supreme Court has, without any changes, upheld the results and Joseph Kabila has been re-inaugurated, and I wonder if MONUSCO thinks that things were sufficiently looked at before those two events took place.

Spokesperson Nesirky: Well, as we have said on a number of occasions, it is important that election disputes should be settled through peaceful means, and through established institutions. And in addition, the Mission has also strongly urged the independent national electoral commission to undertake a really rigorous review of those issues that were identified by observer missions. And that review should be with the full participation of witnesses and observers, including foreign observer groups. So, I think that’s where we are with that. As you well know, I have already said — and the Mission has said — that it noted with deep concern the findings of these various observer missions relating to the irregularities in the management of the results process. So, if I have anything further, then I would let you know. And in the meantime — just to reiterate that it is really important for those parties, or all parties and political actors, to desist from incitement to violence and confrontation and to essentially exercise restraint in what is obviously a complex situation at the moment.

Inner City Press: it’s kind of an obvious follow-up, but I just mean, even if the electoral commission looks into it, he has already been inaugurated and the Supreme Court already signed off on it. So, I mean, I understand the UN can’t really stop either of the two things, but did these seem inconsistent with the call to look into these things, or is it just to look into them after those two events have…? Do you see what I mean?

Spokesperson: Yeah, I understand what you are saying Matthew, and the Mission is obviously following what is going on in the country. And if I have anything further, I will let you know. The bottom line here, at the moment, is that it is still incumbent on the authorities to ensure — and by the authorities here I mean the electoral commission — to look into and review the findings of the observer missions from different quarters. And that is important not just for the here and now, but for the future.

So in the face of an election widely reported as polluted by fraud, the UN says that an investigation of it can be "for the future." Some note that they did not say that in Cote d'Ivoire....

The only one of Inner City Press' three December 27 questions that the UN did answer, at least indirectly, concerned Guinea-Bissau. Inner City Press asked:

"On Guinea-Bissau and the coup d'etat attempt there, please provide not only Mr. Mutaboba's but also the Secretariat's comments on events, including the actions and arrest of navy chief Rear Adm Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto - particularly because the UN Mission there sheltered him, a declared drug kingpin."

Three hours after this question was submitted, Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson's office issued a statement on Guinea-Bissau, stating in part that

"The Secretary-General condemns the use of force to settle differences in Guinea-Bissau. The primacy of the lawful civilian authorities according to the constitution must be respected. The Secretary-General also encourages the authorities of Guinea-Bissau to respect due process in the investigation of the reported events. The Secretary-General is following the situation in Guinea-Bissau and reaffirms the support of the United Nations to the peacebuilding process in the country."

This of course does not address the UN's special role with regard to Rear Adm Jose Americo Bubo Na Tchuto, a declared drug kingpin sheltered by the UN Mission there. At 5:15 pm on December 27, Ban Ki-moon's spokesperson's office told Inner City Press, "On Guinea-Bissau, you will have seen the statement we issued. We don't have anything further." And so it goes at this UN. Watch this site.