Friday, April 16, 2010

Someone is Trying To Tell Us Something.

Are you listening to the multitude of transmissions? The very high number of earthquakes and related activity in recent months, among other earthly events, says something is afoot. The volcanic ash spewing from Iceland has serious implications, and none of them are good, especially if the noxious and hot plumes of volcanic ash continue for any length of time. Imagine the depressing effect on business activity. I, for one, am supposed to be traveling to the UK on Tuesday, which now looks decidedly iffy. Word has it that already more flights have been grounded than on that infinitely more storied day of massive ash dispersion, 9/11.

One wonders what, if any, the effects may be on the jet stream, weather patterns, and, shudder, crops. How about a little global cooling, scarecrow! We know from our chaos theory studies what can happen when one lone butterfly flaps its wings. Well, there are many butterflies flapping of late, and one would do well to hope that they cancel each other's ever widening ripple effects out.

In the meantime, the SEC, in a civil case, has charged vampire squid extraordinaire, Goldman Sachs, with fraud. On one level, I make very little of this indictment as it is a civil charge not a criminal one. The idea that this capo da capo tutti of corrupt financial firms could not be charged criminally is, well, criminal. It also seems reasonably obvious that this move by the SEC is being timed by The Obama Administration to nudge recalcitrant Republicans into supporting the Democratic party's very tepid financial reform now before Congress. However, despite this bit of Kabuki theatrics, the execrable powers that be may be, despite their best efforts, unwittingly giving an opening to real change.

That, of course, remains to be seen, but in the meantime, the idea behind my own bit of wishful thinking is that, however mild this charge of wrongdoing is likely to be in its full, practical, effect, it has the potential to be, at least symbolically, important. The cat, as it were, is now out of the bag. The powers that be are almost certainly engaged in concocting yet more sham justice, but, in so doing, they have, in essence, admitted that which they have heretofore assiduously avoided admitting, namely that the system is rotten. Think Catholic Church. Great debacles start slowly. For now we can only hope, pray, and, of course, blog.

P.S.

The bearish reaction in the share market today gives the lie to the idea that the state of the stock market is healthy. After all, if just the merest hint that disinfectant is about to be applied to this festering casino can cause a few percentage points to get instantly shaved, what would happen if they changed the accounting rules so they reflected reality and not a sick fantasy? And why is this important?

Beyond the implications of a compromised capital market, the waves of selling that immediately manifested when the news broke that the SEC was charging Goldman Sachs with fraud demonstrated, like nothing else can, just how bogus our economic recovery is, based, as it is, in large part, on the share market moving ever higher. The stock market, for those who don't know, is TPTB's marquee performer in their high production values feature length propaganda film entitled, "Economic Recovery's Here"

12 comments:

Debra said...

I thought that once upon a time, the stock market got ABOLISHED in cases of bad behavior ?
Nobody has ever responded to my comments about this in the jungle. They don't believe me ??
Mother Nature is flexing her muscles.
It's good for us (but not for your travel plans...).
We NEED to be reminded that we're not running the show just cause we manage to hypnotize ourselves with all those... uh WORDS that we are continuously spewing out all over the planet.
I posted my next installment on structural linguistics for you, babes. Hope you like it...
The Catholic Church will still be around when you and I are down under. (That is a modification of what my grandmama said about her local, small town bank upon receiving a snide comment from someone a long time ago.)

Edwardo said...

Perhaps, but The Catholic Church, as you and I don't know it, is going to be "down under", and I don't mean in Australia.

Debra said...

Hey, Edwardo, one of my friends sent me this site.
It's... nice to improve one's vocabulary and do GOOD at the same time. AND have fun, too, while you're at it...
Enjoy...

http://www.freerice.com/index.php

Debra said...

For the Catholic Church..
you wish, Edwardo, you wish... ;-)

Edwardo said...

I get the distinct feeling you wish too, albeit for a different outcome. One of us is on the wrong side of history, and it doesn't look like me.

Debra said...

Ah Edwardo....
Something tells me that my predictive powers are superior to yours in this case ... ;-)
Did you check out the rice site ?
Did you have a good time ?

DED said...

I haven't read anything to indicate that we're experiencing an increase in the number of volcanic eruptions or earthquakes. Typically, both of these occur in areas where the Western news media doesn't bother to cover them. Volcanic eruptions have been occurring in Alaska, the Philippines, and other parts of the Pacific with regularity but they haven't had the impact on the Western world that Iceland does.

As for the earthquakes, they're just hitting highly populated areas for once. Scratch that, they've been happening in Japan with regularity. But since they're used to them, they design their buildings to be more resistant to earthquakes, something that impoverished Haitians can not afford to do.

There might be a slight cooling from the ash. It depends on how high the cloud goes and how long it persists in the atmosphere. No need to panic just yet about crop failure. This winter's freeze in Florida did more damage than what Iceland's volcano is currently doing. Time will tell.

But now that the sun's solar cycle is finally showing some signs of life you can put those warning cries of an impending ice age on hold.

Edwardo said...

Yes, I visited the rice site. I wasn't bowled over. Sorry, I couldn't resist. Actually I've bookmarked the site. Mark my words, you will be wrong about the fate of The Pope's franchise operation.

Well, Ded, the year is young yet. We'll see how 2010 stacks up.

Debra said...

Mark your words, Edwardo ?
Maybe we can continue to slug this one out in a future reincarnation.
As two Boltzmann brains side by side in space ?
But will we recognize each other, that is the question...

Edwardo said...

Yes, mark my words. In the meantime, the Catholic Church better get rid of The Rat and replace him with one of those cardinals from South America if they know what's good for them. I'll recognize you Deb, you'll be the one hanging out with the women with bad "habits."

Debra said...

Aw..... Edwardo, you sound so... DISAPPOINTED in the Catholic Church... no comment.
On another note... do you live on the East Coast or the West in the mother country ? (or in the boondoggles ?docks ?)
Every two years there is a writer's conference (for expats...) in Geneva which enables you to make contacts, and get instruction.
It is very well done. A good way to meet VERY interesting people and MAYBE... get discovered.
Check out the link for Geneva Writer's Conference.

Edwardo said...

I'm not remotely disappointed. I've never had an affiliation with the CC. And have no expectations of them, though they do seem persistently inclined to do very little to meaningfully reform themselves. I live on the East Coast in a city of some size and repute. A Geneva Convention eh? Sounds interesting. As Batman said at the end of "Batman Begins", I'll look into it.