Bankers are Turkeys

I read this book over on the plane ride from Denmark to NZ last year and found it a fascinating read; certainly an entertaining one. If you are a after serious yet entertaining read, check out The Black Swan, by Nassim Taleb.

I stumbled across this interview by Charlie Rose today, and decided to post it on my blog...my highlight "...Bankers are turkeys...." The entire turkey discussing starts 1 minute into the video.

http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/9713#

Why New Zealand is better.....

There's many things I like to deride New Zealand about, and much of it is valid. However, in its treatment and respect of foreigners and immigrants, New Zealand, while there's much to improve, is SO far ahead of European countries and most other nations that I imagine this post will surprise my international friends. In my experience in The Netherlands and in Denmark, all letters and correspondence from officials and ministries sent out to me was all in either Dutch or Danish (respectively). Of course, the oft trolled out excuse was, 'well we are in Holland/Danmark'.
I have just received my election enrolment pack, where I get my election card to take with me to the polling booth on saturday to vote in the NZ general election. In the pack is an explanation of voting procedures and locations. These are translated into the following languages - English, Maori, Cook Island Maori, Samoan, Tongan, Korean, Chinese traditional, Chinese simplified, Tokelau, Somali, Farsi, Arabic, Vietnamese, Thai, Gujarati, Hindi, Japanese, Khmer, Punjabi and Niuean.
...as standard. You might think NZ has an abundance of multilingual persons. No. Some of these immigrants only number in the thousands. I look forward to the time when other countries let go of their blind and deaf nationalism and do the logical and intelligent thing.

Ayn Rand shrugged

Former USA Fed chairman Alan Greenspan repents after following the financial market turmoil....

"I made a mistake in presuming that the self-interest of organizations, specifically banks and others, was such as they were best capable of protecting their own shareholders"


Can we all just finally move on from unfettered free market economics???

Bankers and market morals...(comedy?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-oIMJMGd1Q&eurl

Why shit happens...

Why we are idiots.....

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/14-reasons-main-street-loses/story.aspx?guid={F63EC448-D9C1-4138-AC18-97BF0FE68EE3}&print=true&dist=printMidSection

The end of Friedman?

Does the financial crisis finally spell the end of Milton Friedman's economics ?


http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article21029.htm

Mad men

Unusual frankness and honesty from a member of the corporate class.....the truth in his words should resonate.....


http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/oct/18/banking-useconomy

Still a long way to go....

"Indian freed after 35 years' jail" Said a recent BBC headline.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/7275351.stm

"The minister said that Mr Singh had not received a single visitor or seen the open sky and like other condemned prisoners, was locked in an overcrowded death cell for more than 23 hours a day in conditions which the minister described as "hell on earth." "

The prisoner is said to be suffering from mental illness. His wife, and children, will meet him at the border when he is released.

When I was younger, I used to read - of the middle ages, of the Spanish Inquisition, of slavery, of the cruelty and disregard for human life of such eras and I used to exclaim with much relief to myself 'thank God I don't live in that sort of world in that sort of time'. This article churns my insides and makes me sick with sadness and exposes the naivety of my youthful 'awareness'.

As a world, we still have a long long way to go.

Death of William F. Buckley, Jr

Recently, one of the leading conservative voices in America died. Or at least so said many of the world's press. Which got me searching for more information on this guy as I did not know much about him. In doing so, I stumbled across this video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYlMEVTa-PI

..in which he debates with Noam Chomsky. Though the debate is in 1969, it's amazing how relevant the discussion is in 2008.