Reply #22: You might find this interesting - There are webs to this - Will we be wearing Dubai flag pins soon??

[1776Forever]

Clinton, demanding transparency, fails to disclose chief campaign strategist's ties to UAE wealth funds

http://www.jedreport.com/2008/01/hillary-clinton.html

During Tuesday night's Democratic presidential debate, Hillary Clinton renewed her call for "aggressive" measures to reign in sovereign wealth funds, the investment funds owned by oil-producing states like the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. She said she was "very concerned" about the multi-trillion dollar funds which are now buying substantial shares of American enterprises such as Citigroup and Merill Lynch.

Clinton, who first raised this issue six weeks ago, said the funds "need to be more transparent," adding "we need to have a lot more control over what they do and how they do it."

Despite Clinton's tough talk about transparency, she failed to disclose that her chief campaign strategist has close business connections with sovereign wealth funds owned by Abu Dhabi and Dubai, two small -- but oil-rich -- emirates located on the Persian Gulf coast.

The Clinton strategist, Mark Penn, is worldwide CEO of Burson-Marsteller, one of the most powerful lobbying and public relations firms in the world.

Burson-Marsteller represents sovereign wealth funds in at least two emirates

Last August, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund, hired Burson-Marsteller to represent its global interests.

Three months later the fund invested $7.5 billion in Citigroup, giving it a 4.9% stake in Citigroup and making it the firm's largest shareholder.

Before Abu Dhabi's investment, Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal was Citigroup's largest shareholder, a title he will likely reclaim after Tuesday's announcement that he will expand his 4.4% stake in the company.

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Which goes along with this:

Bill Clinton Severs Ties With Burkle, May Reap $20 Million

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/01/22/bill-clinton-s...

Wall Street Journal | John Emshwiller | January 22, 2008

Former President Clinton stands to reap around $20 million -- and will sever a politically sensitive partnership tie to Dubai -- by ending his high-profile business relationship with the investment firm of billionaire friend Ron Burkle.

Mr. Clinton is negotiating to end his relationship with Mr. Burkle's Yucaipa Cos. as part of a broader effort to protect the presidential campaign of his wife, Sen. Hillary Clinton, from potential conflicts of interest. Details of Mr. Clinton's involvement in Yucaipa and his efforts to unwind it come from documents and interviews with people familiar with the matter.

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Nothing here??? We may never know but it does connect the dots.


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