tagged w/ Wall Street
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The 1922 novelty song endures as a relevant absurdist metaphor, most prominently featured during the Great Depression but soon to be outdone by our Greatest Depression, proof of our ongoing commitment to American Exceptionalism. Originally penned to address the banana shortage perhaps caused by blight and not the United Fruit Company, a pioneer in the corporate coup d’état biz; we are now globally inflicted with no shortage of top bananas or Banana Republics.
Hilarious hi-jinks and practical jokes abound! Slipping on the banana peel of our discarded Democracy we land with a resounding skull-cracking thud prone to a power play best suited to participate in while supine and semi-conscious. Fronted by the sorriest sack of sock-puppets ever to s**t between two shoes, this El-Auction serves non-stop positioning on proprietary propaganda guaranteed to please, perplex and provoke the populace!
All the attendant evils associated with a Banana Republic are obvious and too numerous to mention. However the populace refuses to acknowledge the sham and will insist in bit player role-playing in the electoral sham to pick the top banana. For them I compose, with apologies to Frank Silver, Irving Cohn and Louis Prima the updated lyrics to one of the most popular tunes of the 20th century.
There's a looter on Wall Street.
Whose name is, Mr. Greed.
And he keeps things out of reach,
But denies you of free speech!
When he asks for anything,
He’s never told “Hell No."
He gets yes-es to the death.
And then he takes all of your dough.
Yes we do have bananas,
We’re a Banana Republic today.
We've got bean counters, and onions,
And derivative lemons,
And all kinds of fruit, and say,
A hot-house hooker tomato.
And a worthless foreclosed condo,
(Oh, yes), we do have bananas,
We’re a Banana Republic today.
Business got so good with him,
He wrote home to say,
"Send Paulson, Lloyd and Tim,
I need help right away."
When he got them in the store,
There was fun, you bet.
Someone asked for bananas."
And we got the whole quartet!
Just try those coconuts,
Wall-street nuts and dough crazed-nuts,
There ain't many nuts like they.
We'll sell you two kinds of red herring,
Debt and Shadow Banking.
But yes, we do have bananas,
We’re a Banana Republic today."The 1922 novelty song endures as a relevant absurdist metaphor, most prominently... more
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Ethos, a powerful new documentary hosted by Woody Harrelson, is an investigation into the flaws in our systems, and the mechanisms that work against democracy, our environment and the the common good.
With a stunning depth of research and breadth of analysis, this film delves deep into the inter-connected worlds of Politics, Multi-National Corporations and the Media.
Most of us have wondered at some point how we have arrived at a situation where democracy is touted as having created an equal society when all we see is injustice and corruption.
Politicians openly deceive the public with the support of major corporations and the mainstream media. Wars are waged, the environment is destroyed and inequality is on the rise.
But what is the source of these institutional mechanisms which – when we scratch the surface – are so clearly anti-democratic, so contradictory to the values we hold in common and yet so firmly embedded that they seem beyond discussion?
Ethos opens a Pandora’s box that has it’s roots in the cross-roads where capitalism-meets-democracy, implicates every power-elite puts profit before people and finally offers a solution whereby you – the viewer – can regain control using the one thing they do care about – your cash.
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/ethos/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umcukJzssj8#Ethos, a powerful new documentary hosted by Woody Harrelson, is an investigation into... more
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One of those recipients was Robert Benmosche, the CEO of AIG, you know, the firm that insured all of the toxic mortgage assets that the Wall Street thug banksters played supreme air hockey with, which caused the housing bubble and the ensuing economic collapse of 2008; the firm that received $180 billion in bailout money and is still 70% owned by the taxpayers.
http://veracitystew.com/2012/01/28/tarp-bailout-recipients-receive-huge-bonuses-video/One of those recipients was Robert Benmosche, the CEO of AIG, you know, the firm that... more
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By David Edwards
Friday, January 27, 2012 10:41 EST
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul wants to abolish all income taxes — but he says he’ll have to completely destroy the “welfare system” to do it.
During CNN’s Republican debate in Florida on Thursday, moderator Wolf Blitzer asked Paul if he agreed with the tax policies that former President Ronald Reagan put in place.
“He taxed too much,” Paul replied. “My goal is to get rid of the 16th Amendment and the only way you can do that is not run a welfare system and a warfare system.”
“I do want to address the subject about taxing the rich. That is not a solution. But I understand and really empathize with the people who talk about the 99 and the 1 because there is a characteristic about what happens when you destroy a currency. There is a transfer of wealth from the middle class to the wealthy, and this has been going on for 40 years.”
The Texas congressman added: “So the middle class is shrinking and their losing their jobs and their losing their houses, but Wall Street isn’t getting poorer. And they are the ones who are getting the bailout. So we have to address the bailout and the system that favors a certain group over another group. If you don’t have sound money and you have a welfare state, no matter whether the welfare state is designed to help the poor, you know, the welfare system helps the wealthy.”
Speaking to conservative Wisconsin radio host Jan Mickelson last August about pro-union protests in that state, Paul explained that “[e]ntitlements are not rights.”
“And this is where I’m very encouraged, because I think a lot of young people are recognizing this and they can’t depend on the government,” he said. “And some of the people on the left are actually realizing this, some get very angry, but a lot of them now are looking at our views more closely, especially when we can prove that the welfare system bail out the rich and stick it to the poor. And you look at the housing, I use that example, they bailed out the rich and the bankers and Wall Street, and at the same time the people lost their jobs and lost their homes.”
“So the welfare system doesn’t work and in truth, pure democracy is very dangerous.”
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/01/27/ron-paul-the-welfare-system-helps-the-wealthy/
Watch this video from CNN, broadcast Jan. 26, 2012.
“So the welfare system doesn’t work and in truth, pure democracy is very dangerous.”
"Hmmm, What an Odd thing to say!!!"By David Edwards
Friday, January 27, 2012 10:41 EST
Republican presidential... more
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KB723
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I am pretty sure I posted this last year, but it is well worth watching again. My friend who turned me on to this Video is an Agnostic. I was like Dude you would be the LAST person I would expect a Rod Parsley forward from.
He then went on to explain how Reverend Parsley breaks down the Federal Reserve in easy numbers and facts. Forget the guy is a Preacher and listen to the first 5 minutes. I guaranteed you will forward the Video to everyone you know!
The Powers that be KNOW as long as they can keep us arguing about BS like food stamps they can keep robbing us blind.I am pretty sure I posted this last year, but it is well worth watching again. My... more
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by BAR managing editor Bruce A. Dixon
Next week will mark the third anniversary of Barack Obama's inauguration, and the unveiling of his fourth budget. Already White House spokespeople admit that it will be bad news for black and poor Americans. In three years this president has investigated and prosecuted not a single Wall Street banker or institution, not held up the wave of foreclosures a single week, not addressed the issues of black unemployment or black mass incarceration. But black America has silenced itself to protect the career of the First Black President.
Three years later, it's clear that this is indeed a new day, a new era. But for most of black America, it's not the one they hoped for. Nobody expected urban poverty would begin to vanish overnight, or that millions of acres of lost black farmland would be restored. But promises were made, and expectations were justifiably high, not because Barack Obama had promised to investigate Wall Street, prosecute banksters, or stop the imperial wars and illegal foreclosures, but because humans do have the right to expect justice at home and peace abroad, whether their leaders deliver these things or not.by BAR managing editor Bruce A. Dixon
Next week will mark the third anniversary of... more
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Yeah right like Obama decides who is going to head the World Bank. This World Bank/IMF Wall Street cabal runs Obama just like they ran Bill Clinton.
*******
President Barack Obama is considering nominating Lawrence Summers, his former National Economic Council director, to lead the World Bank when Robert Zoellick’s term expires later this year, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Summers has expressed his interest in the job to White House officials and has backers inside the administration, including Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and the current NEC Director, Gene Sperling, said one of the people. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is also being considered, along with other candidates, said the other person. Both spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal White House deliberations.
Lael Brainard, the under secretary of Treasury for international affairs, is compiling a list of potential candidates to replace Zoellick, who was nominated to a five-year term that began in July of 2007 by then-President George W. Bush. By tradition, the U.S. president chooses the leader of the World Bank while the head of the International Monetary Fund is selected by European leaders. The nomination is subject to approval by the World Bank’s executive board.Yeah right like Obama decides who is going to head the World Bank. This World Bank/IMF... more
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Romney, Santorum and the other right-wingers who try to define the intended American economy as unfettered free enterprise also try to define government interventions they support as “not interventions” – actions such as the creation of artificial entities called corporations and creation of the concept of corporate personhood. This allows them to advocate strong governmental actions that promote corporate power, while advocating against government actions limiting it.
http://veracitystew.com/2012/01/16/the-truth-about-american-capitalism/Romney, Santorum and the other right-wingers who try to define the intended American... more
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If you missed a Cenk Uygur program or need a transcript, please visit the Barefoot Accountant's blog for some full videos of certain segments of the show: http://www.cpa-connecticut.com/blog/. The Barefoot Accountant's blog deals largely with US tax policies and how they benefit the 1% in our country at the expense of the 99%.
Although a Certified Public Accountant, William Brighenti, under the penname of the Barefoot Accountant, is an aggressive progressive advocating dramatic reforms in the United States in order to restore equal opportunity and justice.If you missed a Cenk Uygur program or need a transcript, please visit the Barefoot... more
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Former Citi Group Investment Banker Is Obama's New Chief of Staff
It has been less than a month since Jacob (Jack) Lew kindled the National Menorah in front of the White House. When he did so, Lew was director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (a position he had also held under the Clinton administration). Now, President Barack Obama is appointing Lew as White House’s new Chief of Staff.
Seeing as how sentiment against the unmitigated profits of Wall Street reached fever pitch over the last year, one would think President Obama would be wise to consider resumes from other corridors of power to choose from when deciding upon a new chief of staff. And maybe he did!
In the end, however, he decided upon Jacob Lew. Here are some fun facts about Jacob Lew:
•Prior to his appointment as a deputy secretary at the Department of State, Mr. Lew was Chief Operating Officer of CitiGroup’s Alternative Investments group.
•Do you know what Alternative Investments are? They’re things like hedge funds, who buy things like credit default swaps! Credit default swaps are essentially the ability to buy insurance on someone else’s house in one hand as you hold anything else—the adjustable-rate mortgage you know they can’t pay off, or the capacity to sell that mortgage and therefore generate more mortgages like it, or a gasoline can—in the other hand. This is what Jacob Lew invested in!
•In 2008 and the beginning of 2009, Mr. Lew took in $1.1M from CitiGroup.
•This included a $900,000 bonus.
•Mr. Lew doesn’t think financial deregulation was one of the problems adding up to the financial crisis that has persisted since 2008.Former Citi Group Investment Banker Is Obama's New Chief of Staff
It has been... more
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By Stephen C. Webster
Monday, January 9, 2012
A pro-Gingrich Super PAC released a trailer late last night for a project former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney cannot be pleased about: a half-hour documentary about Romney’s time running Bain Capital, a venture company that bankrupted nearly a quarter of the businesses it bought-up.
Produced by a former top Romney strategist, the film “When Mitt Romney Came to Town” focuses on people turned out of their jobs at four of the many companies Bain Capital essentially looted, tapping into the popular discontentment with Wall Street to label Romney a “corporate raider.”
The pro-Gingrich PAC Winning Our Future placed a top-dollar bid on the 27-minute film after pro-Romney PACs essentially destroyed Gingrich’s chances in Iowa with a flood of negative advertising that blanketed the airwaves.
The companies — laundry equipment maker UniMac, electronics maker DDI, toy store chain KayBee Toys and office supplier AmPad — were all purchased by Bain and liquidated, “killing jobs for big financial rewards,” the film explains.
“It’s puzzling to see Speaker Gingrich and his supporters continue their attacks on free enterprise,” the Romney campaign responded on Sunday. “This is the type of criticism we’ve come to expect from President Obama and his left-wing allies at Moveon.org. Unlike President Obama and Speaker Gingrich, Mitt Romney spent his career in business and knows what it will take to turn around our nation’s bad economy.”
Winning Our Future PAC told Bloomberg News that it plans to run the film on South Carolina airwaves, but a date and time has not yet been announced.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/01/09/gingrich-group-marshals-hatred-of-wall-street-for-new-anti-romney-film/
The video is from the pro-Gingrich Winning Our Future PAC, published Sunday, Jan. 8, 2012.
"Holy Makerel, is an Elephant fight, like a Cat fight??? This Movie, I must see!!!!"By Stephen C. Webster
Monday, January 9, 2012
A pro-Gingrich Super PAC released a... more
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KB723
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New York -- The global economic crisis has finally caught up with the Wall Street insiders who triggered it. They are discovering that their traditional year-end compensation is lowering the balance on their bank accounts, rather than raising it.
“The same team that invented mortgage derivatives has come up with what they call Reverse Bonus Checks,” said an inside source who wished to remain anonymous.
“They look like regular bonus checks, real pretty with lots of zeros. But when deposited into a bank account they work like a withdrawal ticket, emptying the account and depositing its funds into the United States Treasury.”
Not surprisingly, the financial community is up in arms over an instrument that destroys the personal wealth of the greediest of the greedy.
“We deserve every penny of the hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonuses we receive every year for doing our jobs,” the insider said. “We not only have to know how to add and subtract, but occasionally we multiply and divide as well.”
At issue is the logic behind Reverse Bonus Checks. “A bonus supposed to be a good thing,” said the Wall Street veteran. “It’s a reward for spending 3 or 4 hours a day punching your calculator and contacting your buddies. It doesn’t make any sense for it to destroy your savings.”
But the team that developed mortgage derivatives and reverse bonus checks points out that both are similar in intent and impact.
“People who invested in mortgage derivatives saw their fortunes wiped out,” a spokesperson for the development team said. “Now the people who sold them those derivatives are going to go broke as well. I guess that’s why they call them brokers.”New York -- The global economic crisis has finally caught up with the Wall Street... more
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By Muriel Kane
Friday, January 6
Filmed in glorious black and white, this Twilight Zone-style parody turns out in the end to be a pitch for passing a financial transaction tax on Wall Street trading.
But the sight of an angry mob of little old ladies and bankrupt small business owners pursuing a guilt-stricken banker with calls to “tax the 1% who ruined our economy” is more than worth the price of admission.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/01/06/a-nightmare-on-wall-street/
This video was uploaded to YouTube by ProtestInTheUSA on January 3, 2012.
"I hate to be the one to say it, but Folks need to quit crying about what they want and start taking it back!!! They don't care about you, they have no fear of you, take a look around and see that this passing of the NDAA is proof positive they will indeed Get Rid of You!!!!"By Muriel Kane
Friday, January 6
Filmed in glorious black and white, this Twilight... more
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KB723
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Debate is currently going on regarding instituting a financial transaction tax on certain trades of 0.25% that could raise billions to basically slow the short term investment volatility that has made Wall Street now little more than a crap table at a casino. This is an interesting report that gives answers regarding what it is, Europe's response, the U.S.'s response ( hint: Geithner tried to talk others out of it to the cheering of Corporate America) and the all out effort by Wall Street to stop it.
Personally I think it needs to be considered as a viable way to curb the high-frequency stock trades that drive short-term financial thinking and provide a way for us to tax the rich in a way that will not end the world but enrich it for the whole. There are a myriad of ways such income could be used but of course that is assuming it is handled in a diligent and prudent manner.
Also, it is not just about the money but the moral investment along with the financial that ensures growth and sustainability not only of the investment but the environment. You simply cannot have true growth in a short term market timeframe. As we have seen it only leads to collapse and environmental devastation.
There was a time when people who were entrepreneurs with big ideas sought out longterm investing in the hopes of those ideals not only making profits over the longterm, but also in bringing about an atmosphere that was not exclusive, predatory, or tipped to only favor one specific entity at the expense of all others.
However, this is a symptom of a bigger societal problem where quick fixes and getting everything fast has infected every part of society. Fast food, instant messaging, fast internet connections at lightning speed and quick fix democracy (case in point the 2000 USSC decision that picked the wrong man as president) are just a small sampling of the society we have made where fast transactions for quick profit and gratification without considering the longterm consequences in comparison to sustainability have now also led us to a climate tipping point as well. And yes, that is insane and needs to change if we are to save our markets and ourselves.Debate is currently going on regarding instituting a financial transaction tax on... more
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As it turns out, that version of the rumor isn’t quite correct. But Wall Street finance firms have funnelled millions of dollars into the police department, in an arrangement that critics say compromises the NYPD.
Here’s what we know:
JPMorgan gave a massive gift of $4.6 million to the New York City Police Foundation in the form of money, patrol car laptops, “security monitoring software,” and other tech resources. But the donation was given starting late last year and was completed by spring 2011, so it was obviously not made in response to the Occupy Wall Street protests. At the time, Commissioner Ray Kelly sent JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon a note expressing his “profound gratitude” for the donation, and a company-written news item about the gift described it as “unprecedented” in size.
“This gift is especially disturbing to us because it creates the appearance that there is an entrenched dynamic of the police protecting corporate interests rather than protecting the First Amendment rights of the people,” says Heidi Boghosian of the National Lawyers Guild, which has had legal observers posted at the major Occupy Wall Street marches. “They’ve essentially turned the financial district into a militarized zone.”
http://tinyurl.com/3nfb8u5As it turns out, that version of the rumor isn’t quite correct. But Wall Street... more
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LOrion
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As we’ve learned the hard way, the core of our modern capitalist economy is finance, and finance is run entirely by a few large Wall Street firms. But here’s the ultimate irony: while modern capitalism depends on Wall Street, Wall Street no longer depends on capitalist principles. In finance a new system has emerged that makes a mockery of the idea that entrepreneurs should be rewarded for their successes and suffer losses when they fail.
Capitalist Values Vanish from Wall Street
I am reluctant to say where this is all leading us without sounding like a total nut case. (being only a partial nut case at this point) With the announcement this morning by the President and the Pentagon on the reduction-non-reduction of our military budget ie; corporations will still rake it in......how easy will it be to have a military coup in your face rather than defacto?As we’ve learned the hard way, the core of our modern capitalist economy is... more
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Uploaded by TheDadgadman on Nov 1, 2011
An Irishman abroad's view of the Wall Street Shenanigans. Wall Street Wankers, the sequel to Irish Wanking Bankers.
My Hero!!!!
Uploaded by TheDadgadman on Nov 1, 2011
An Irishman abroad's view of the... more
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Grassroots-Made Video: Ron Paul’s 2002 Predictions All Come True http://ronpaulflix.com/?p=4048
What, are you afraid of real change?Grassroots-Made Video: Ron Paul’s 2002 Predictions All Come True... more
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On September 17, 2011, Occupy Wall Street (OWS), a diffuse group of mostly white middle class young people began a loosely organized protest in New York’s financial district. The group planned to camp out for some extended period in Zuccotti Park, a privately owned park in Lower Manhattan open to the public. This protest against corporate greed and social inequality and other disparities between rich and poor in the United States and around the world was fueled by their own anger and frustration at living in a country in the throes of a capitalist economic crisis where their own personal futures looked grim while the government was propping up and bailing out the super rich, the very people responsible for the crisis! http://www.makeahistory.com/index.php/recent-news/43044-occupy-wall-street-why-this-rebellion-deserves-our-support-On September 17, 2011, Occupy Wall Street (OWS), a diffuse group of mostly white... more
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worrg
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Before beginning a campaign event in a packed lecture hall at the University of Iowa, Newt Gingrich was interrupted by Occupy Wall Street protesters.Before beginning a campaign event in a packed lecture hall at the University of Iowa,... more
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