Why Do Intellectuals Oppose Capitalism?

[Meem]

I don't know if anyone has heard (or read) of the link I posted. I listened to it on NPR, in the car, on a drive, not too far. Just kidding, well maybe not I actually wrote that. Yes, and no. It was in my car talking with the wife on lunch. I kind of fell in-trouble for saying, "I'm sorry I wasn't paying any attention ... what did you say?" From what I picked from the program, which I was of course paying attention to, there were C.D.O. managers. Now, I don't know a whole lot about banking or C.D.O. managers, but I am pretty certain if the public were able to see names and salaries of ... those fat-cat Wall-Street bankers .... There would be a name in their next to C.D.O. manager with a bonus of 10 million or more. This is all on top off, the anywhere from what 2-3 million dollar salary? You've got to be kidding me right? I would almost bet most of these guys are doing ok. Like this class act.

http://www.hedgefundlounge.com/

The article went on to say that financials accounted for 6.6 percent of Soros Fund Management LLC’s stock holdings during the fourth quarter, according to a regulatory filing. Citigroup Inc., one of the large banks likely to be affected if the Volcker rule is passed, was the hedge fund’s fifth-largest stake as of Dec. 31, with 94.7 million shares. Currently, Soros Fund Management has about $25 billion in assets.

This guy is just a jester though, nice target for the heat, Madoff (with all my money) too. The real questions seriously need to be going on about about Magnatar, and those involved approving packages and insurance. This is a "just" cause, so says Socrates.

When a man comes in to the insurance agency, who lives on the "wrong side of the tracks," in town, asking for a 20 million dollar insurance policy on his wife. ... would you think they notify the police? Would they question and investigate before they gave the ok? This is basically what the c.d.o "highly intelligent worth-while skilled individuals ... we don't want to walk out of the door do. It appears the guy, was the "salesman-Sargent" at the police station? If you didn't read, a C.D.O. is basically a "bank official" whom is responsible for assembling portfolios of mortgages. And much like Dan Aykroyd once said, "Must Consume Mass Quantities, eeeeee!" There were billions of dollars involved over 28 separate packages. Enough billions to be a huge moving factor, 1/3 of the housing market. They were pressuring ... for any crap portfolios, the riskiest they could get their hands on.

At this point I am still thinking: nobody blew the whistle, raised a flag, or at least screamed pirate? You know, you see these "reality shows" where you think, "look at this crime." Nobody was screaming at this one? They were buying insurance on these things.

The comparison or example I heard was something like, 5-10 million dollars down ... and if it fails ...
Yahtzee! You've got hundreds of millions dollars, even billions when you add 28 bundles of mortgages together. I wonder if the senate and house got any campaign support from any cdo investors or insurers? It's more important to jerk the jocks over at the pentagon with this cyber-warfare stuff. It seems like a swift kick to "the jimmy," if one might ask me.

Who were the companies insuring the mortgages? Well, isn't that why what happened with ... the federally insured mortgage giants? I'm not sure, I didn't make it that far yet ... to follow up.

How many lives does the drunk on cops effect? How many lives do these failed packages effect? How many people fell into the very behavior portrayed on cops, from this "trickle-down (alright!!)" crime? If you can't say for the greater good, how about the lesser of two evils? (ha!) The justice available for such rabid beasts -as I would imagine it to be- in the time of Plato's writing of The Republic (for which does it stand?), a sharp sword or spear, and spit-fire wouldn't be too far off. Of course, that's just my over-inflated opining. I honestly though, really, truly, don't know what to think anymore.

Capitalism is dirty laundry? Clean and fold? Who doesn't hate having to do that? Toss it in the closet, burn? I suppose there are people out there, who are thinking so you want more government? Same problem, people are dirty. Large scale failure of integrity like this in places that shake the world, makes it easy to lose faith in mankind's ability to grow.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100416/..._sachs_charged

The agency alleges Goldman failed to disclose that one of its clients helped create — and then bet against — subprime mortgage securities that Goldman sold to investors.


Investors in the mortgage securities are alleged to have lost more than $1 billion, the SEC noted. The agency is seeking to recoup profits reaped on the deal.
The Goldman client implicated in the fraud is one of the world's largest hedge funds, Paulson & Co., which paid Goldman roughly $15 million for structuring the deals in 2007.

Rampant, widespread, insurance fraud ... it was happening everywhere.

This is why Magnetar chose their name, black-hole like cosmic object. "The best and brightess (they forgot to mention crooks at the end) They got the black-hole part down.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetar_Capital

[labelwench]

The following post relates to one of the products of our market economy, and the operative advice is 'Buyer Beware.'

One aspect of my job includes the lining in of labels for new products and monitoring when they arrive in the store. Therefore, I also read up on each new product in order to be aware of these when customers may be seeking such, as each new launch usually has considerable attendant promotion.

A recent new product on the market is a MULTI-GRAIN POTATO CHIP. This is a new line up to the classic that comes in a tube, enough said.

These chips are touted as being healthier for you, as 16 chips contain a mere 12% of fat, and 8% of sodium by the Recommended Daily Intake Guidelines.

The ingredient list:

MULTI-GRAIN CHEDDAR POTATO CHIPS

Rice Flour, Vegetable Oil, Potatoes, Corn Flour, Maltodextrin, Seasoning, (Modified Milk Ingredients, Cheddar Cheese, Coconut Oil, Mono-sodium Glutamate, Onion Powder, Lactic Acid, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Autolysed Yeast Extract, Garlic Powder, Color, Di-sodium Iosinate, Di-sodium Guanylate, Soybean Oil) Wheat Starch, Modified Rice Starch, Sugar, Mono and Di-glycerides, Water, Malted Barley Flour, Wheat Bran, Salt, Dried Black Beans, Citric Acid.

I am nauseous just from typing the above. Eat That? You must be joking?

That such a product can lay claim to being a food, albeit a snack food, and a healthier one at that, boggles my mind.

If one must indulge, may I suggest the non-brand, which contains, Potatoes, Canola Oil and Salt.

[Meem]

Goldman Sachs Fraud Charges Could Be Just The Beginning, Say Analysts
http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/201...uffpost/540934

Securities fraud charges against Goldman Sachs are just the beginning as federal regulators and investigators comb through the wreckage of a fraud-induced recession, caused by a pervasive and systemic culture of deceit at Wall Street's biggest firms, say Wall Street analysts.

The firm, infamously dubbed the "great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity,"

You know, I'm not quite sure if he is serious or kidding, but I have decided he is serious. And some smal part or me is able to laugh.

[Lloyd Gillespie]

Watch Clinton Video On Goldman Boys, Summers and Rubin...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/bill-clinton

Summers gotta go...!!!

[labelwench]

It shall be very interesting to observe the intervention of Mother Nature into the free market economy.

An event beyond our ability to control or predict the duration of the event, and the many directions of the ripple effect.

As with all such things, there are negatives and positives, in that the airlines' loss shall shift to other sectors of the transportation industry.

Will such an event, if long-lived, have a positive or negative impact on the price of oil? If the airlines were out of play for any length of time, there should be reserves and a lower price, to my way of thinking, yet the industry, in seeking to make up for lost revenues, may do exactly the opposite.

Fear and greed. Two reliable performers in the current capitalist system.

The speculations begin......

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2...19/2876226.htm

Cloud remains, Europe remains shut down


If the cloud remains stubbornly over Europe for a sustained period of time, perhaps weeks or longer, the travel sector would take a serious hit.

Wider industries would also be affected from high-tech manufacturing to supermarkets and event organisers.

This would be devastating news for the airline sector, possibly driving some of the weakest operators to the wall.

Overall European growth might be affected, slowing the recovery from recession. Already heavily indebted governments would struggle to find the funds for support programs. Europe might lag further behind the rest of the world in the global recovery.

Teleconference, shipping, rail and road transport operators would benefit. So would airports just outside the cloud, suddenly in great demand from airlines and shipping firms as new hubs. That could benefit countries along the edge of the cloud including Ukraine, Turkey, as well as Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain - the euro zone fringe economies worst hit by the financial crisis. Britain's Royal Mail is already shipping and trucking airmail to the United States to Spain for onward flights.

Western military resupply flights to Afghanistan would be heavily affected. Western European troop contributors would become entirely dependent on the United States for supplies and medical evacuation flights. US forces would also be heavily affected if they could no longer use their logistics and medical centre in Ramstein, Germany. This comes days after an uprising in Kyrgyzstan ushered in a pro-Russian government that may want the US to vacate its Manas air base there, another key hub.

Major international meetings may have to be cancelled, rescheduled or simply go ahead without senior European policy makers. That might further weaken Europe's geopolitical relevance at a time when it is already threatened by the rise of emerging economies and internal differences over dealing with the Greek debt crisis.

-Reuters

[G_burnett]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-T35W...eature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzW1L...eature=related
We would not appreciate art for art for one reason ..any other way sort of .. IMHO graham

[labelwench]

Today's Dilbert cartoon struck me as rather entertaining, and as there is a tie-in with corporate logic and capitalism, I thought it a better fit on this thread than on the Daily Laughter thread, as unless one has some experience of these matters, the humor of the situation would be elusive.

Enjoy...

http://dilbert.com/2010-06-13/

[Mikal]

This is a Canadian Press drop. I suggest it would be the PEAK of what we might call NEGATIVE CAPITALISM...

One of the comments under this news story was "If this is true, then we should be raising mimimum wage to $100 an hour for everybody else"...


Last Updated: Sunday, June 13, 2010 | 1:51 PM ET Comments175Recommend55The Canadian Press
Eleanor Clitheroe, who made millions at the helm of Hydro One Inc. before being fired, is arguing it is "pure vindictiveness" for the government to limit her pension.

Clitheroe, who was dismissed in July 2002 after weeks of controversy over executive salaries at the province's publicly owned transmission utility, is suing Hydro One.

Clitheroe is arguing she is entitled to $33,644.21 a month — slightly more than the average Hydro One pensioner gets annually.

Her pension is capped at $25,637.08 a month — or $307,644.96 a year — due to legislation passed by the government limiting executive salaries at the utility, but Clitheroe is arguing she should receive $464,133.84 per year.

The lawsuit was originally dismissed, but in appealing it Clitheroe notes she worked 16-hour days and earned bonuses for her performance and is the only income earner for a family of four.

The Court of Appeal of Ontario is set to hear arguments on Tuesday.

Clitheroe earned $741,000 in 1999, $1.4 million in 2000, $1.7 million in 2001 and $1.5 million in 2002.

In 2001, her last full year of work at Hydro One, she took home more than $2.2 million, including $174,000 for a car and $172,000 for vacations.

She has since become an Anglican priest.

Her lawyers suggest Clitheroe's move to the public sector from CIBC was largely because of an attractive pension package, saying, except for pensions, compensation in the private sector far outstrips that of the public sector.

Ignoring this fact deprives Clitheroe of her charter right to "life, liberty and security of the person," her lawyers argue in court documents filed in advance of the hearing.

"Over the course of 13 years she committed herself, through hard work, to her choice and had every expectation that the deferred income represented by the pension would be honoured," they write in court documents.

In June 2002 the Ontario legislature passed the Hydro One Directors and Officers Act, which contained a section imposing a maximum on amounts that senior officers could claim as a supplementary pension.

Clitheroe's lawyers argue that section of the act should be struck down, calling it "pure vindictiveness."

"There is no justification for the government to abrogate vested pension rights, retroactively, of a single person," they write.

But the trial judge correctly held restricting Clitheroe and others' pension entitlements is not an infringement of charter rights, Hydro One lawyers say.

Even with the restriction on Clitheroe's pension it is still "well in excess of the pension income of the average Canadian [$14,800 a year] or even the average Hydro One employee [$33,122 a year]," they write.

Clitheroe's lawyers argue the act doesn't contain "clear and specific words" that mean she isn't entitled to two years of credited service for each year worked and to an unreduced pension starting at age 55.

But Hydro One lawyers argue it is within the legislature's "unquestioned power" to interfere with vested rights as long as the language is clear and unambiguous, which in this case they say it is.

"The power of the legislature to do so has repeatedly been affirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada, and cannot be questioned," they write.



Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/sto...#ixzz0qld4mo00



Regards Mikal