Jim Sinclair’s Commentary

Oh yes, the meeting today between US and Chinese financial representatives went swimmingly.

http://jsmineset.com/

Believe that and you are stupid.

http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-BarackObama/idUSTRE56R3MH20090728

China’s Wang: U.S. must manage dollar supply
Tue Jul 28, 2009 10:34am EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Chinese Vice Premier Wang Qishan on Tuesday urged the United States to carefully manage the impact of the massive fiscal and monetary policy stimulus it has issued to counter a devastating financial crisis and deep economic recession.

"As a major reserve currency-issuing country in the world, the United States should properly balance and properly handle the impact of the dollar supply on the domestic economy and the world economy as a whole," Wang said at a U.S.-China summit.

What was the consensus among the high and mighty about Joe Biden's comments on Russia last week? I was at first inclined to think that this was just another case of Biden being Biden. But now I'm wondering if it is part of a coordinated campaign to roll out a new US-China relationship and change the balance of the four-sided game played by Europe, Russia, China and the US; while at the same time trying to deal a blow to the China-Russia anti-US power balancing act that took shape during the Bush years.

Steve,

I`ve said this before, when some commentators criticized you
for attending the Washington coctail parties, but let me repeat
myself: I still wish you would try to do something akin to what
Louis de Rouvroy, Duc de Saint-Simon, the French diplomatist
and writer of memoirs, did in the court of Versailles during the
reign of Louis XIV (and Arthur Schlesinger in recent times in
America): make your notes and later write your memoirs from
the life inside the beltway and the power circles abroad, during
the reign of George W. Bush, Barack H. Obama and further on.

Saint Simon is still read, and your descriptions of what was
going on in Washington DC during these crucial years would be
very interesting for further generations.

Steve -- you're doing a splendid job on the Diane Rehm show right now. Much appreciated.

"Steve -- you're doing a splendid job on the Diane Rehm show right now. Much appreciated."

I hope so. I am so pissed about the low level of the discussion of the health care debate that I heard yesterday on that show. It was more of the typical Washington and media obsession with the politics of the debate coupled with the promotion of ignorance and confusion about the substance of the debate.

Dan . . . my wife says that Diane needs to come back and straighten everybody out. . . especially on health care.

We are in Canada for the summer and more and more appreciate the relative peace of mind that the Canadian health care system gives (it's citizens, not us).

It seems citizens of the US don't count; just the special interests and politicians. If there were any shame in congresscritters, and administration, things might be different. It is hard to exaggerate the disgrace of historical proportions that the US brings on itself via the 'capitalist' exigencies that define the health care 'debate'.

"It seems citizens of the US don't count; just the special interests..." Drop It seems and change the spelling to $pecial intere$t$ and you're spot on, DonS.

On the other hand, pay attention to the fact that Dick Durbin is the Senate majority whip. Max Baucus and Co. could find themselves trumped when the smoke clears. I am beginning to wonder if the public option might become the insurance industry's fall back compromise if the single payer option were given its due in Congress. Or maybe in their pigheadedness, the insurance industry will finally set the stage for the health care revolution that is the only real answer, namely single payer.

Normally I would expect the powerful in$urance indu$try special intere$t$ to be able to do what they've always done, but apparently when the general public actually finds out what both the public option and single payer are actually all about, they become viable. So can the insurance industry continue to prevent any possibility of sound public policy? At this point I don't know.