Re: OT - Beer



Peter Cole wrote:
> Tom Sherman wrote:
>
>> The system does not exist to serve the little guy - Alan Greenspan
>> even admitted as much.

>
> "WASHINGTON — In pointed exchanges with Congressional lawmakers Friday,
> three prominent financial executives defended the multimillion-dollar
> pay packages they received even as their companies were brought to their
> knees by the spreading credit crisis."
>
> "The questioning mainly fell along party lines, with Republicans
> ****apologizing for bringing distinguished corporate officials****
> before the panel, and Democrats questioning everything from the income
> gap in America to the particular bonuses, stock sales and compensation
> the executives were awarded."
>
> "Mr. Mozilo’s (Countrywide, the nation’s largest mortgage lender
> )* pay drew the most scrutiny from the House committee. He has taken
> home more than $410 million since becoming chief executive in 1999"
>
> "Mr. O’Neal retained more than $161 million after he was ousted in
> October on top of the $70 million he took home during his four-year
> tenure. Merrill Lynch, meanwhile, has announced write-offs totaling more
> than $10.3 billion, and its stock price has fallen sharply."
>
> "Mr. Prince collected $110 million while presiding over the evaporation
> of roughly $64 billion in market value. He left Citigroup in November
> with an exit package worth $68 million"
>
>
> From August 1997:
> "*Last year, Countrywide had revenue of $11.4 billion and pretax income
> of $4.3 billion. Mortgage banking contributed mightily in 2006,
> generating $2.06 billion before taxes. In the last 12 months,
> Countrywide financed almost $500 billion in loans, or around $41 billion
> a month. It financed 177,000 to 240,000 loans a month during the last 12
> months."
>
> "As of June 30, almost one in four subprime loans that Countrywide
> services was delinquent, up from 15 percent in the same period last
> year, according to company filings. Almost 10 percent were delinquent by
> 90 days or more,"
>
> "When borrowers tried to reduce their mortgage debt, Countrywide cashed
> in: prepayment penalties generated significant revenue for the company —
> $268 million last year, up from $212 million in 2005. When borrowers had
> difficulty making payments, Countrywide cashed in again: late charges
> produced even more in 2006 — some $285 million."
>
> This is laissez-faire, deregulated capitalism at work. Banking is just
> one sector where the crooks are pilfering the country, energy markets
> are even worse (Exxon made $40B profit, still won't cough it up for the
> Valdez). When are people going to wake up and throw these bums
> (conservatives) out for good?


Maybe when the mass media stops glorifying corporate parasites as some
sort of overachieving heroes? Oh wait, guess who owns the mass media?

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful
 
Peter Cole wrote:
> Tom Sherman wrote:
>
>> The Federal Reserve and other similar banks were created to take
>> control of the economy from the elected representatives of the people
>> (or other political leadership) and put in the hands of a few hundred
>> fantastically wealthy people.

>
> Actually, The Federal Reserve* was created to solve the problem of bank
> runs ("panics"). Hence, Friedman's expressed bewilderment over why they
> didn't act to do so in the Great Depression.
>

That may be the official explanation.

Some of the elites made out very well during the Great Depression,
buying assets for pennies on the dollar.

This pattern has been repeated with IMF/World Bank engineered financial
crises, when the assets in a country are devalued, bought by foreign
investors, and THEN the imposed "austerity" measures that led to the
economic depression are lifted.
>
> *"Progressive Democrats instead favored a reserve system owned and
> operated by the government and out of control of the "money trust",
> ending Wall Street's control of American currency supply. Conservative
> Democrats fought for a privately owned, yet decentralized, reserve
> system, which would still be free of Wall Street's control. The Federal
> Reserve Act passed Congress in late 1913 on a mostly partisan basis,
> with most Democrats in support and most Republicans against it."
>
> http://www.cooperativeindividualism.org/aier_on_conspiracy_04.html


There is no contradiction between what is reported there and what the
real agenda of those lobbying Congress behind the scenes was.

--
Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
The weather is here, wish you were beautiful
 
On Mar 4, 8:37 pm, Tom Sherman <[email protected]>
wrote:
> [email protected] wrote:
> > A while back I read about a barley wine on this group.  It inspired me
> > to try a couple, and I was hooked.  New favorite fireside beverage.
> > So, I only thought it fair/fitting that I mention my newest discovery
> > here.  Weyerbacher Blithering Idiot.  I enjoyed it on tap over the
> > weekend at the Pepperland Cafe in Berwick, ME.  Great place, if you're
> > even in the area go there.  Seriously.  Anyway, they had 2 barley
> > wines on tap, Blithering Idiot and Sierra Nevada Bigfoot.  I've had
> > the bigfoot, and I like it, but I decided to try something new.  I'm
> > so glad I did.  Not as malty/hoppy as the Bigfoot, but oh so good.
> > Anyway, figured I'd throw it out there in case one of you comes across
> > it and wonders.  It's got a firm recommendation from my camp.  Oh, and
> > at 11% go easy, lest you become a blithering idiot.

>
> Does barley wine qualify as beer?
>
> I will have to give the recommended beverages a try.
>
> --
> Tom Sherman - Holstein-Friesland Bovinia
> The weather is here, wish you were beautiful


Its in the beer section around here.
 
On Sat, 8 Mar 2008 16:18:47 -0600, "Edward Dolan" <[email protected]>
trolled yet again:

>


Even you must be bored with your lame trolling by now.

Perhaps you can make up another personality that's more interesting.
 
> Nice try, but even your trolling has become lame.

=x= "Has become?" When has it ever not been?
<_Jym_>

---------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==--------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
 
> The envy of one's inferiors is ever a wonder to behold!

=x= How would you know? Nobody envies you, and you have
no inferiors.
HTH, HAND,
<_Jym_>