A belated but sincere Happy 2012 to you all.
Just saw this article about Mitt Romney on the site i read far too often (why, The Detroit Free Press' RSS feed). It seems to confirm a lot of suspicions not just about Romney but the whole shrinking middle class/1%/economic crisis polemic we all are dealing with. And somebody actually had the nerve to ask me last year, did a poor man ever give you a job? Maybe not, but apparently not all rich men create jobs either. Or even help the economic landscape.
Meanwhile (via NYT, grazie Slashdot), there's an article on how Apple's manufacturing operations are almost entirely overseas. Prize winning quote: We don't have an obligation to solve America's problems. Our only obligation is making the best product possible. Heartless. Bragging how their chinese slave labor camps are more resiliant than the american work force.
Happy New Year, everybody. And Happy Birthday, Edie!
Showing posts with label greed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label greed. Show all posts
22 January 2012
18 November 2011
We're all water
Benetton, scoppia caso internazionale - Vaticano minaccia azioni legali, Obama irritato
(Benetton creates international scandal - Vatican threatens legal action, Obama not amused)
Warning: the Repubblica article contains a pop-up window.
In other news, violent clash between student protesters and police in Milan yesterday. The demonstration subject: We don't want a new government ruled by the banks. And i think i pretty much side with this sentiment, being how these are the same organizations that put the entire world in the position it finds itself in recent years.
After being forcibly expunged from Zuccotti Park (formerly Liberty Plaza Park -- that's why i couldn't place it mentally) in lower Manhattan, Occupy Wall Street protesters are now occupying the Brookyln Bridge.
(Benetton creates international scandal - Vatican threatens legal action, Obama not amused)
Warning: the Repubblica article contains a pop-up window.
© respective owner. Upload believed to be fair usage.
In other news, violent clash between student protesters and police in Milan yesterday. The demonstration subject: We don't want a new government ruled by the banks. And i think i pretty much side with this sentiment, being how these are the same organizations that put the entire world in the position it finds itself in recent years.
After being forcibly expunged from Zuccotti Park (formerly Liberty Plaza Park -- that's why i couldn't place it mentally) in lower Manhattan, Occupy Wall Street protesters are now occupying the Brookyln Bridge.
12 November 2011
Gang of four
Vivendi buys EMI for $1,900,000,000.00. Now all recorded music is owned, for the most part, by one of four companies (Vivendi, Sony, Warner and BMG). Almost every recording label is a subsidiary of these four conglomerates.
01 August 2011
DuPont Imprelis
Simple Google search for the single word "Imprelis", DuPont's chemical herbicide.
As of 1 August 2011, eight of the ten displayed hyperlinks are not marketing/product pages.
From Michigan State University: What to do with Imprelis-affected trees
Also from Michigan State: Imprelis herbicide may injure evergreens
From Mother Earth News: Imprelis, another deadly herbicide, this time from DuPont
If DuPont's EPA-approved Imprelis (aminocyclopyrachlor) is causing said alleged ecological damage (it has yet to be legally proven), what could be expected as far as clean-up goes? What could you possibly do in a contamination situation, if such a situation were to exist?
Drink bottled water and don't eat your garden's vegetables.
As of 1 August 2011, eight of the ten displayed hyperlinks are not marketing/product pages.
From Michigan State University: What to do with Imprelis-affected trees
Also from Michigan State: Imprelis herbicide may injure evergreens
From Mother Earth News: Imprelis, another deadly herbicide, this time from DuPont
If DuPont's EPA-approved Imprelis (aminocyclopyrachlor) is causing said alleged ecological damage (it has yet to be legally proven), what could be expected as far as clean-up goes? What could you possibly do in a contamination situation, if such a situation were to exist?
Drink bottled water and don't eat your garden's vegetables.
29 January 2011
Waitaminutesomethingswrong
Goldman Sachs has tripled the base salary of chief executive Lloyd Blankfein to $2m (courtesy BBC).
I especially like the article's last paragraph.
26 January 2011
Modern-day Pharoahs, Part III
From my various RSS subscriptions comes this interesting tidbit/rant about our modern-day Pharoahs from, surprisingly enough of all places, the animation-news site, Cartoon Brew, entitled...
The Obscene Pay of Viacom Execs
Here's a teaser: three men alone earned a total last year of $164,200,000 (Philippe Dauman, chief executive: $84.5 million, Tom Dooley, chief operating officer: $64.7 million, Sumner Redstone, chairman/controlling shareholder: $15 million). Earned...what exactly does one do in a similar position to earn that kind of money?
Equally interesting are some of the comments on the article.
In other unrelated news, i discovered using Back In Time backup software for GNU/Linux takes roughly two-and-a-half hours to back up the netbook's 64GB HD to an external 320GB USB2 HD. That's a long time, doncha think? No, it's not the first snapshot. And it's only 16GB backup, the rest of the disc being free. I can only compare against my Core2 Duo iMac and Time Machine: a 350-odd-GB backup doesn't take half that long...but i will document the time next backup.
EDIT: reflecting on that slow backup situation...could it be that the drive is formatted NTFS is slowing things down?
The Obscene Pay of Viacom Execs
Here's a teaser: three men alone earned a total last year of $164,200,000 (Philippe Dauman, chief executive: $84.5 million, Tom Dooley, chief operating officer: $64.7 million, Sumner Redstone, chairman/controlling shareholder: $15 million). Earned...what exactly does one do in a similar position to earn that kind of money?
Equally interesting are some of the comments on the article.
In other unrelated news, i discovered using Back In Time backup software for GNU/Linux takes roughly two-and-a-half hours to back up the netbook's 64GB HD to an external 320GB USB2 HD. That's a long time, doncha think? No, it's not the first snapshot. And it's only 16GB backup, the rest of the disc being free. I can only compare against my Core2 Duo iMac and Time Machine: a 350-odd-GB backup doesn't take half that long...but i will document the time next backup.
EDIT: reflecting on that slow backup situation...could it be that the drive is formatted NTFS is slowing things down?
25 September 2010
More on our modern-day Pharoahs
If you are earning more than a million dollars a year and are complaining about a 3.6% tax increase, then you are by definition a greedy asshole. (Courtesy The Huffington Post, via Boing Boing)
I have to say while i don't necessarily agree with how Bill Maher put his point across (yes, i realize first and foremost he's a comedian with a TV show, and that his show caters to a certain demographic), his point is valid and rock solid.
Boing Boing commenters #4 and #19 stuck out in my mind.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos have contributed $100,000 each to an effort to defeat an income tax on individuals in Washington state making more than $200,000. (via Slashdot)
In other news, TV Mania. I can say no more.
I have to say while i don't necessarily agree with how Bill Maher put his point across (yes, i realize first and foremost he's a comedian with a TV show, and that his show caters to a certain demographic), his point is valid and rock solid.
Boing Boing commenters #4 and #19 stuck out in my mind.
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos have contributed $100,000 each to an effort to defeat an income tax on individuals in Washington state making more than $200,000. (via Slashdot)
In other news, TV Mania. I can say no more.
16 July 2010
15 July 2009
Still here
After missing opportunities these past weeks on various polemics on The Beatles' Rock Band game, how the late Farrah Fawcett is the Groucho Marx of her time, and others topics, i'm finally back. Didja miss me? Let's go with a Reuters link today...
Ex-GM CEO Wagoner retires with only US$8.6 million.
See previous post on the subject here.
That's all...for today. Feex minus 13 days.
Ex-GM CEO Wagoner retires with only US$8.6 million.
See previous post on the subject here.
That's all...for today. Feex minus 13 days.
02 April 2009
(Some of) The Men Who Sold (Out) The World, Post Scriptum
Now that i think about it, isn't a broker's fee around 20%, possibly more. Then Mr Cassano's $300,000,000 seems awfully low, somewhere around 5%...?
31 March 2009
(Some of) The Men Who Sold (Out) The World
Ex General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner goes home with a $20,000,000 pension package. High Five! But if GM does go under, he may only see $1,000,000. Tough break, Rick.
From the same ABC website, AIG executive Joseph Cassano "made more than $300,000,000 at the insurance firm he virtually bankrupted." Way to go, Joe!
Just wanted to remember these names.
From the same ABC website, AIG executive Joseph Cassano "made more than $300,000,000 at the insurance firm he virtually bankrupted." Way to go, Joe!
Just wanted to remember these names.
18 March 2009
Peanuts
$165,000,000 in contractual bonuses is to be subtracted from the $30,000,000,000 of a total $180,000,000,000 to be loaned to AIG by the U.S. Federal Government.
Let's lose some zeroes, shall we?
In the big picture, that's chump change. Peanuts, really. It's more about the perception of rewarding the people who put, not only the United States, but the entire world in the economic climate we're in now.
You can add the zeroes back now, for that added sting. Owwch...
Let's lose some zeroes, shall we?
$300.00
- $1.65
_________
$298.35
In the big picture, that's chump change. Peanuts, really. It's more about the perception of rewarding the people who put, not only the United States, but the entire world in the economic climate we're in now.
You can add the zeroes back now, for that added sting. Owwch...
30 April 2008
$832 million
That's a lot of cash. That's a lot of net cash. That's taking one hundred thousand people and giving them each US$8,320 (as of today, €5,263.32; UK£4,227.54; CHƒ8,619.52; CAN$8,427.74; etc.).
That's net profit. That's after bills and expenses. That's an enormous chunk of change that goes in the figurative pocket of just one multinational corporation. Just one.
That's pharoah money. That's emperor money. Is that unfathomable or do i just not think big enough?
That's taking eight hundred and thirty-two of yr closest friends and family and giving them each one million dollars.
I remember when i was little, Mr Joseph Arco, god rest his soul, telling me that you could bank $1,000,000 and live off the interest for the rest of your life. I wonder if that's still true. I'm pretty sure it hasn't changed much even if we are talking 35 years later.
How much does one person need to live comfortably? Every one has a different comfort level, you say. Well, i'm against the “lowest common denominator.” I'm for the highest common denominator.
I say per person annually three million US dollars -- last i looked, still the monetary yardstick. They're still pricing petroleum in US$. I say an annual three million dollars of net income in yr pocket after all expenses, taxes, investments and whatnot have been paid is “enough.” “Enough” to feed yr family, enough to pay all yr bills annually, “enough” to keep the Ferrari running smoothly, “enough” to burn yr fucking brains out with all the cocaine and heroin you could do...basically “enough” for anything. A personal jet? A 100-room estate in Seychelles? Well, hell, with an annual net income of $3,000,000, who'd ever decline your loan?
That's (as of today) €1,924,743.00, UK£1,524,353.92, ¥311,610,008.24, HK$23,382,599.83...you get the picture.
Is there still someone out there who doesn't agree? Is there someone who actually thinks that this “communist” line of thinking would stifle competition and research and development? After all, there's no incentive to do anything if you can't net more than three million dollars annually!
Would there actually be somebody who says that three million dollars net annually isn't enough? Would there actually be someone who would want US$3,000,001?
Bigger question: let's pretend that the $3 million ceiling is alright. What to do with the surplus money? Or more specifically, where does it go and how is it managed while it's waiting to end world hunger forever, fund teletransportation research, etc.? I'm still working on that one.
That's net profit. That's after bills and expenses. That's an enormous chunk of change that goes in the figurative pocket of just one multinational corporation. Just one.
That's pharoah money. That's emperor money. Is that unfathomable or do i just not think big enough?
That's taking eight hundred and thirty-two of yr closest friends and family and giving them each one million dollars.
I remember when i was little, Mr Joseph Arco, god rest his soul, telling me that you could bank $1,000,000 and live off the interest for the rest of your life. I wonder if that's still true. I'm pretty sure it hasn't changed much even if we are talking 35 years later.
How much does one person need to live comfortably? Every one has a different comfort level, you say. Well, i'm against the “lowest common denominator.” I'm for the highest common denominator.
I say per person annually three million US dollars -- last i looked, still the monetary yardstick. They're still pricing petroleum in US$. I say an annual three million dollars of net income in yr pocket after all expenses, taxes, investments and whatnot have been paid is “enough.” “Enough” to feed yr family, enough to pay all yr bills annually, “enough” to keep the Ferrari running smoothly, “enough” to burn yr fucking brains out with all the cocaine and heroin you could do...basically “enough” for anything. A personal jet? A 100-room estate in Seychelles? Well, hell, with an annual net income of $3,000,000, who'd ever decline your loan?
That's (as of today) €1,924,743.00, UK£1,524,353.92, ¥311,610,008.24, HK$23,382,599.83...you get the picture.
Is there still someone out there who doesn't agree? Is there someone who actually thinks that this “communist” line of thinking would stifle competition and research and development? After all, there's no incentive to do anything if you can't net more than three million dollars annually!
Would there actually be somebody who says that three million dollars net annually isn't enough? Would there actually be someone who would want US$3,000,001?
Bigger question: let's pretend that the $3 million ceiling is alright. What to do with the surplus money? Or more specifically, where does it go and how is it managed while it's waiting to end world hunger forever, fund teletransportation research, etc.? I'm still working on that one.
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