The Official G7/8 Message from Rome: Please, Please Appease the Chinese
Kumba Yo: Rockin' Guano Apes Darker Version Replaces Joan Baez
If the mere thought of a meeting that ends up with government officials in the midst of a crisis singing Kumbaya makes you want to vomit here a quick refresher video of the traditional rendition:
But wait! There's a new version that is secretly being sent around to G7/8 officials as inspiration (see video below)
Perhaps it wasn't clear to Secretary of Treasury Geitner from lame-duck George Bush's overture last December to the G Whatever when he sent out a very thoughtful and well prepared invitation: "hey guys why don't you pop over to the White House for beer while you're all in town and see if we can stabilize the financial markets and then have a group photo opp we can put out on the wire so it looks like we are all working together?" BIG success. Worked like a charm. So off to Rome goes Geitner to sell, sell, sell.
I always get a little confused among the G7, G8, G20 and BRIC. Doesn't really matter because nothing ever happens other than lofty statements of good intentions. When you need the bloodied car cleaned after a rub out who you gonna call? Harvey Keitel, not Tim Geitner. So after trashing the Chinese for currency manipulation just weeks into the job, someone from the Fed probably sent over a maturity schedule of Chinese holdings of short term treasuries. Turbo-tax Tim shows up in Rome to sell his stimulus and bank recap proposals (a bit light on the details). However, he's very chummy chummy to the Chinese. But rumor has it after singing the anthemic campfire song like Joan Baez during the the civil rights movement someone forwarded Geitner the latest sensational (and soon to be controversial ) youtube version by the Guano Apes. Maybe Geitner's tougher than we think. Check it out.