2013年7月28日星期日

Banknado!

The Bible says that God spoke to Job from a whirlwind, asking him rhetorically if he could catch the giant sea creature Leviathan with only a fishing hook. "Can you make a pet of him like a bird," Job was asked, "or put him on a leash for your children?"The United States faces a task of roughly the same magnitude, that of taming this country's mega-banks. They're the sea monsters of the economy, waiting to lure entire nations into the depths, and regulators don't have much more to work with than a fishing hook.

Dodd/Frank's moderate prescriptions are being eviscerated by hack Republicans who've been bought off lock, stock, and barrel by the bankers. Other urgently-needed reforms are dismissed by leaders in both parties as "politically impossible": A restoration of Glass/Steagall. A financial transaction tax. Breaking up the too-big-to-fail banks.Politically impossible? They're popular with voters across the political spectrum. Why aren't they already the law of the land?

Here's why: Republicans are in Wall Street's hip pocket. As for the White House, this is from Ezra Klein's coverage of Lawrence Summers' candidacy for Federal Reserve chair: "the White House ... (is) getting feedback from fans of Summers, who are ... very present in the ranks of economic and Wall Street heavyweights who've worked or fundraised at high levels in Democratic administrations."The "banknado" metaphor may seem too flippant, too informal, given the gravity of the problem. But banker fraud's been described in dispassionate detail again and again. There have been countless expressions of fully-justified outrage at the amorality and immorality of Wall Street CEOs and their Washington enablers.

Nothing's changed. The evidence is overwhelming, the case is clear, but business goes on as usual.How many times can Wall Street's fraud be clinically described, its effects on the economy laid out on the table like an autopsy? How many times can practical solutions be proposed, only to be dismissed by bought-off politicians? How many times can bankers like Jamie Dimon be called out for crimes committed under their leadership, only to see them lionized once again in Washington and the mainstream media?

What is there to say that hasn't been said? Outrage marginalizes the outraged, giving policymakers one more excuse to dismiss their warnings and prescriptions.Online shopping for Business Work Card holder from a great selection of Office Products. It can also trigger a level of reader rage toward bankers that is sometimes disturbing.The goal is to change a broken system, not to trigger vengeful emotions toward individuals. Miscreant bank executives are simply responding to the incentives society has given them. Yes, they're behaving venally -- but as the fable of the scorpion and the frog says: It's their nature. Perhaps they would be better citizens and better human beings if we didn't reward them so handsomely for being so much less than that.with Wholesale Cheap Custom Keychain and promotional key tags.

And so Wall Street moves on, a whirlwind of razor teeth and predatory instinct. Bankers commit fraud, settle for billions paid with other people's money, then commit the very same crimes again. Why not? Their financial incentives encourage it.And who's stopping them? The writers and activists who catalog their crimes are marginalized as radicals, scolds, and bores. The ones who strike a "moderate" tone help perpetuate a climate in which their behavior continues unchecked.

If Wall Street's not reined in, it's only a matter of time before there's another crisis. What the government describes as a "recovery" is fragile at best, and includes ongoing depression for millions of people. There could be another banker-driven financial crisis at any moment.Our leaders stand motionless, one hand covering their eyes and the other outstretched for cash. Too many financial journalists are hypnotized by the charismatic glow of great wealth and power. Meanwhile the sky's growing darker -- and the forecast calls for sharks.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Americas largest and most powerful Muslim advocacy group, called Saturday for the Obama administration to condemn military attacks against the Freedom and Justice Party, the controversial religious party removed from power in a recent coup that the Obama administration is insisting was not a coup.

The administration reportedly fears that declaring a coup detat in Egypt would force the U.S. to suspend all of its assistance programs in the country,Soft Winbo Key Cover decorates your key in fashionable ways. which also help block weapons smuggling to Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

Despite the Obama administrations inaction, Egyptian military forces have instituted a shoot-to-kill policy to suppress protesters urging the return of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohammed Morsi to power. Morsi, who fled Cairo during the military non-coup earlier this month, has been defiant in exile and Egypt hangs in the balance. 65 or 66 pro-Morsi protesters were killed Saturday by military forces near a sit-in at a Cairo mosque.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nations largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, today called on the Obama administration to forcefully condemn the killing of dozens of pro-democracy demonstrators by Egyptian security forces, according to a statement released by the group Saturday.

We join with those in Egypt and in the international community who are condemning the violence, including Sheikh of Al-Azhar Ahmed al-Tayyeb, who said he deplores and condemns the deaths of a number of martyrs who were victims of todays events, CAIR stated.

Condemnations came from across the political spectrum, including from Mohamed ElBaradei, who strongly condemned the excessive use of force. British Foreign Secretary William Hague said: I call on the Egyptian authorities to respect the right of peaceful protest, to cease the use of violence against protesters, including live fire, and to hold to account those responsible, CAIR stated.

Without a clear condemnation of the killings, we send the message that even more repressive measures may be taken against the demonstrators. The clearest indicator of our nations revulsion at the killings would be to suspend all American military aid until the violence stops and democratic freedoms are restored, CAIR stated.
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