Underground Stories 03-19-14

Beaten Obama turns his back on the world

The words came out of my mouth before I could stop them. “I feel sorry for Obama,” I said. As my wife looked at me in disbelief, I quickly added a correction. “Well, almost.”
Beset by failures at home and abroad, the president cuts a lonely and sad figure these days. His aura of grief reflects his profound loss.
His worldview crashed headlong into reality, and reality won. Obamaism is dead, may it rest in peace.
That’s sad for him, but hold the tears — his loss is mankind’s hope. If Obama wakes from his utopian visions and faces the truth, there is a fighting chance to reverse America’s slide and keep the peace.
But first, he must come to grips with the historic dimensions of what has happened, and I’m not sure he’s capable of it. The signs aren’t encouraging.
In many ways, Vladimir Putin’s grab of Crimea is as significant as the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan 35 years ago.
Then-President Jimmy Carter quickly understood he had been wrong to trust the Soviets, and shifted to offense. His January 1980, speech was defiant and bold. Compared to Obama’s timid rebukes of Putin, Carter sounded like Churchill rousing Great Britain against Hitler.
Obama is still stuck in the belief that Putin is either crazy, or secretly looking for a way to save face and end the confrontation. He hasn’t accepted Putin for what he is because to do so would mean acknowledging that Obama’s whole approach to international relations has been a mistake.


Joe Biden Told Eastern Europe Something That’s Simply Not True

Vice President Joe Biden said Tuesday that he led the charge to include Poland in NATO when he was the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, a claim that is simply not true.
The problem with the vice president’s NATO remarks — which some news organizations have characterized as a “gaffe” — is that he served as chairman from 2001 to 2003.
Poland joined NATO in 1999.
“Fifteen years ago, I was honored, as the chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, to lead the fight for Poland’s admission into NATO,” Biden said in Warsaw, Poland, during a tour in Eastern Europe aimed at calming fears over Russia’s recent actions in Ukraine.
Bloomberg was the first outlet to report Biden’s apparent memory lapse.
Former Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) was actually chairman of the Senate committee when Poland was added to NATO, The Hill noted: It was Helms who started floor debate over whether Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary should be added to the group.
-
Fanatic First Lady Forces White House Chef To Resign

From cafeteria lunchrooms to basketball scoreboards, there seem to be few areas safe from Michelle Obama’s tyrannical nutritional mandates. The latest apparent victim of her intrusion, however, hits much closer to home for the first lady.
Bill Yosses, a White House pastry chef initially hired by Laura Bush, recently announced his intention to resign from his current position in three months. While he was free to create decadent desserts under the previous administration, he stated that Michelle Obama’s dietary demands are “partly to blame” for his decision to leave the prominent post.

The chef describes the first lady’s instruction, beginning in 2009, to replace standard items like butter and sugar with healthier alternatives. Though he tried to abide by the new restrictions, Yosses indicated the strain they have caused on his craft has grown too great.
“I don’t want to demonize cream, butter, sugar, and eggs,” he explained. While he called his resignation a “bittersweet decision,” Yosses already has future projects lined up for his post-White House career.
As for the catalyst behind his self-imposed ouster, Michelle Obama declared she is “incredibly sad” that the chef will be leaving the White House.
In a clueless farewell to the man she effectively pushed out, she heralded Yosses’ dedication to “building a healthier future for our next generation.”

Crack Smoking Mayor Has Higher Approval Rating Than Obama

Embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford may have been caught on tape smoking crack, acting embarrassingly drunk, and being ruthlessly mocked on late night television, but he still has a higher approval rating than President Barack Obama.

A poll released by Forum Research Inc. Friday found 42 percent of Toronto voters approve of Ford compared to 58 percent who do not. Meanwhile, the most recent survey of Obama’s approval rating conducted by Gallup last week found 40 percent of voters approve of the president and 54 percent do not. Obama can at least take consolation in the fact his disapproval rating is slightly better than Ford’s.

These numbers do not reflect the impact of a new video that reportedly shows Ford slurring his speech outside of Toronto City Hall Saturday night. Ford deflected questions about that clip while participating in a St. Patrick’s Day parade in the city Sunday.

“Guys, it’s St. Patrick’s Day alright?” Ford said when a reporter asked him about the footage. “It’s about St. Patrick’s Day.”

Ford’s numbers were down slightly from Forum Research’s February poll, which indicated 44 percent of Toronto’s voters approve of him. Ford has averaged an approximately 44 percent approval rating in Forum Research’s polls since the news about his crack video broke last May.

Al Qaeda calls for car-bomb attacks on U.S. cities

In the newest edition of its online magazine, Inspire, al Qaeda is calling on its followers within the United States to attack American cities with car bombs.
The publication, known as "the Vanity Fair of terrorism," lists major events and specific neighborhoods it wants targeted. Former CBS News senior correspondent John Miller, now New York City's deputy police commissioner for intelligence, said the edition is the "one-stop shopping issue for an amateur terrorist."
"What it talks about is targeting New York, Washington, Los Angeles, Chicago, specific places, specific targets, specific events, but it goes beyond that call, and it says, 'and by the way, here is a simple set of instructions for a car bomb that you can make with essentially, you know, a trip to a big box hardware store and a couple of chemicals,'" he said.
"It talks about well-known figures in terrorism," Miller continued. "It has some kind of hero worship for people who have either been captured or killed, but it also has these practical instructions ... and the most famous article was How to Build a Bomb in the Kitchen of Your Mom. This became the recipe used by Jose Pimentel, who targeted military locations in New York City who pled guilty to those charges based on an Intelligence Bureau investigation a couple of weeks ago. It is also, notably, the place where they got the recipe for the pressure cooker bombs used in the Boston Marathon."

Report: IDF Preparing for Armed Conflict with Iran

Top-ranking government officials allotted ten billion shekel ($2.89 billion) to the IDF's budget in preparation for an armed conflict with Iran, Ha'aretz reported Wednesday. 
The report cites "senior military officials" and three unnamed Knesset MKs as stating that the huge sum - the same as in 2013 - has been relegated within the IDF treasury for preparations for an attack on the Islamic Republic in 2014.
The report also interprets statements from IDF representatives and "government officials from the political echelon" as the IDF receiving direct orders from Netanyahu and Ya'alon over the issue. 
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and IDF Spokesperson's Office both declined to comment. 
While Ya'alon was adamant about the US taking the lead in attacks against Iran in the previous Knesset term, and took up the issue with then-Defense Minister Ehud Barak, he recently criticized the US and the West for remaining complacent about the outcome of ongoing talks. 
"Everyone knows Iran is lying," Ya'alon noted. "But the pampered West is satisfied with postponing conflict [with Iran over the nuclear program]." He added that it may be possible to stall Iran "until next year - or even after this term - but eventually, it will explode." 

Iran Deal: Stalling for More Time?
Under a six-month interim deal which was reached in November and went into effect in January, Iran agreed to freeze its uranium enrichment program in return for sanctions relief worth some $6-7 billion, including the transfer of some $4.2 billion in frozen overseas funds.
That interim agreement is meant to lead to a final accord that minimizes any potential Iranian nuclear weapons threat in return for a full lifting of sanctions.
Ya'alon's skepticism has continued as world powers, including the United States, gathered in Vienna to try and hammer out the details of a final agreement with Iran this week. Iran recently downplayed its acceptance of such a deal, however, leaving US congressmen scrambling to enact more sanctions against the regime.
Some US officials are warming to the possibility of a military conflict, despite talks. Lieutenant General (ret.) William G. "Jerry" Boykin, former U.S. Deputy Under Secretary of Defense, warned earlier this month that the interim agreement is a "farce" and encouraged the US to take military action. 
​In the meantime, however, talks continue - and EU and Iranian officials both claimed the Vienna meetings have seen some successes.

O-Care premiums to skyrocket 

Health industry officials say ObamaCare-related premiums will double in some parts of the country, countering claims recently made by the administration.
The expected rate hikes will be announced in the coming months amid an intense election year, when control of the Senate is up for grabs. The sticker shock would likely bolster the GOP’s prospects in November and hamper ObamaCare insurance enrollment efforts in 2015.

The industry complaints come less than a week after Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius sought to downplay concerns about rising premiums in the healthcare sector. She told lawmakers rates would increase in 2015 but grow more slowly than in the past. “The increases are far less significant than what they were prior to the Affordable Care Act,” the secretary said in testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee.
Her comment baffled insurance officials, who said it runs counter to the industry’s consensus about next year. 
“It’s pretty shortsighted because I think everybody knows that the way the exchange has rolled out … is going to lead to higher costs,” said one senior insurance executive who requested anonymity.
The insurance official, who hails from a populous swing state, said his company expects to triple its rates next year on the ObamaCare exchange. 
The hikes are expected to vary substantially by region, state and carrier.

28-Year Old Former JPMorgan Banker Jumps To His Death, Latest In Series Of Recent Suicides

Not a week seems to pass without some banker or trader committing suicide. Today we get news of the latest such tragic event with news that 28-year old Kenneth Bellando, a former JPMorgan banker, current employee of Levy Capital, and brother of a top chief investment officer of JPM, jumped to his death from his 6th floor East Side apartment on March 12.

From the NY Post [7]:

Bellando, a former investment bank analyst at JPMorgan, is the son of John Bellando, chief operating officer and chief financial officer at Condé Nast. His brother, John, a top chief investment officer with JPMorgan, works on risk exposure valuations.

Several John Bellando emails were cited during testimony at the Senate Finance Committee’s inquiry into the bank’s losses during the infamous London Whale trade fiasco.

Kenneth Bellando — who grew up in Rockville Center, LI, and was a Georgetown graduate — worked as a summer analyst at JPMorgan while in school. Upon graduation in 2007, he was hired as an investment bank analyst and worked there for one year before moving on, according to his LinkedIn page.

The investment banker then went to Paragon Capital Partners, according to his LinkedIn page, until leaving at the end of 2013.

And so another young life is tragically taken before his time, the 11th financial professional to commit suicide in 2014, and the third in as many weeks. How many more to come?
In summary, here are all the recent untimely financial professional deaths we have witnessed in recent months:
1 - William Broeksmit, 58-year-old former senior executive at Deutsche Bank AG, was found dead in his home after an apparent suicide in South Kensington in central London, on January 26th.
2 - Karl Slym, 51 year old Tata Motors managing director Karl Slym, was found dead on the fourth floor of the Shangri-La hotel in Bangkok on January 27th.
3 - Gabriel Magee, a 39-year-old JP Morgan employee, died after falling from the roof of the JP Morgan European headquarters in London on January 27th.
4 - Mike Dueker, 50-year-old chief economist of a US investment bank was found dead close to the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in Washington State.
5 - Richard Talley, the 57 year old founder of American Title Services in Centennial, Colorado, was found dead earlier this month after apparently shooting himself with a nail gun.
6 - Tim Dickenson, a U.K.-based communications director at Swiss Re AG, also died last month, however the circumstances surrounding his death are still unknown.
7 - Ryan Henry Crane, a 37 year old executive at JP Morgan died in an alleged suicide just a few weeks ago.  No details have been released about his death aside from this small obituary announcement at the Stamford Daily Voice.
8 - Li Junjie, 33-year-old banker in Hong Kong jumped from the JP Morgan HQ in Hong Kong this week.
9 - James Stuart Jr, Former National Bank of Commerce CEO, found dead in Scottsdale, Ariz., the morning of Feb. 19. A family spokesman did not say whatcaused the death
10 - Edmund (Eddie) Reilly, 47, a trader at Midtown’s Vertical Group, commited suicide by jumping in front of LIRR train
11 - Kenneth Bellando, 28, a trader at Levy Capital, formerly investment banking analyst at JPMorgan, jumped to his death from his 6th floor East Side apartment.

Michelle Obama plans pricey trip to China as the First Family is criticized for spending hundreds of millions of dollars traveling on the taxpayer's dime

Michelle Obama, her daughters and her mother plan a week-long solo visit to China this month that includes meetings with China's first lady and high school and university students - and that will likely cost U.S. taxpayers millions of dollars.
President Obama and his family have come under heavy scrutiny for the unprecedented high travel costs during his time in office - and a week-long trip to China for four members of the First Family, members of the Secret Service and other members of the White House staff will likely cost several millions of dollars.
The president's pricey travels have become so controversial that Judicial Watch was forced to sue the Secret Service and Defense Department to get them to turn over records on the amount of taxpayer money used to fly the First Family all over the world - in many cases for vacations or fundraisers - over the last two years of his administration. 
What the records show was startling. 
According to Judicial Watch, it cost more than $11 million for the president and his wife to travel to Africa to attend Nelson Mandela's funeral in December of last year. According to the New York Daily News, the Obamas were only in Africa for 'less than 13 hours.'
But that trip was nothing compared to a 2013 visit the Obamas made to the Dark Continent, which reportedly cost tax payer more than $100 million.
On the 2013 trip, some of the reported expenditures include the stationing of a Navy aircraft carrier off the coast of Africa equipped with a fully staffed medical trauma center, military cargo planes to fly a fleet of 56 support vehicles to transport the Obamas - complete with 14 limousines and three trucks carrying bulletproof glass to cover the windows of the hotels where the Obamas were to stay - and fighter jets that flew in shifts to provide coverage over the president's airspace for the entire trip.
In June, the first lady went to Ireland for a two-day trip. The cost to taxpayers: $5 million.
Michelle Obama reportedly stayed at a $3,300-per-night hotel in Dublin, and needed to book 30 rooms at the posh Shelbourne Hotel for her staff and security detail.

Insiders: Jay Carney preparing to leave White House

Insiders very close to House White House Press Secretary Jay Carney indicate that he’s on his way out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, The Mirror has learned. Carney has told people he’s leaving the White House soon.
In 2008, Carney became Director of Communications for Vice President Joe Biden. In 2011, he became the nation’s 29th press secretary, President Obama’s second, replacing Robert Gibbs.
Before that, Carney was a journalist for The Miami Herald and later TIME and CNN. In the last 48 hours, Carney has been getting press attention from outlets like The Weekly Standard and the New York Daily News for plugging his wife, ABC’s Claire Shipman‘s, book —”Womenomics: Write Your Own Rules for Success” — during a press briefing. She has a new book on women and confidence co-written with BBC’s Katty Kay rolling out in mid-April.
In March of last year, Mediaite reported that Carney was “stressed and burnt out.” They wondered in a headline, “Time for Carney to go?” At the time, writer Joe Concha reported that Carney had grown more “testy” and “combative” with the press and ticked off a number of examples with the likes of NPR’s Mara Liasson, CBS’ Bill Plante and WaPo‘s George Will. Concha hinted then that Carney could easily be picked up by MSNBC or CNN and reel in a huge salary boost.
The Mirror sought comment from White House Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest, the man who could very well replace Carney when he makes the jump. He gave the old non-denial denial: “We routinely decline to comment on speculation about personnel matters,” Earnest told The Mirror.

-