http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOP2V_np2c0
Related: Debunking Right LibertarianismTen myths about capitalism Capitalism in the neoliberal version has exhausted itself. Financial sharks do not want to lose profits, and shift the main burden of debt to the retirees and the poor. A ghost of the “European Spring” is haunting the Old World and the opponents of capitalism explain people how their lives are being destroyed. This is the topic of the article of a Portuguese economist Guilherme Alves Coelho. Will Harper's superiority complex contribute to the next financial crisis? The mantra of the Harper government is that the Canada's banking sector is a bright star in the banking heavens. No public opportunity is lost to take credit for the resilience of Canadian banks during the 2008 financial crisis: "Without wanting to appear arrogant or vain, which would be quite un-Canadian," claimed our finance minster, Jim Flaherty. "While our system is not perfect, it has worked during this difficult time." Sorry to break it to you, finance minister: there are some indications that this overconfidence may undermine the very qualities that helped the Canadian banking system to withstand the financial turbulence of 2008. Why did the Canadian banking system get in less trouble than others?
Crony Capitalism Crony capitalism is a term describing an economy in which success in business depends on close relationships between business people and government officials. It may be exhibited by favoritism in the distribution of legal permits, government grants, special tax breaks, or other forms of state interventionism.[1][2] Crony capitalism is believed to arise when business cronyism and related self-serving behavior by businesses or businesspeople spills over into politics and government,[3] or when self-serving friendships and family ties between businessmen and the government influence the economy and society to the extent that it corrupts public-serving economic and political ideals. The term "crony capitalism" made a significant impact in the public arena as an explanation of the Asian financial crisis.[4] It is also used world wide to describe virtually any governmental decisions favoring "cronies" of governmental officials.
2001: A Space Odyssey - Stanley Kubrick's Alchemical Magnum Opus "I'm sure you are aware of the extremely grave potential for social shock and disorientation caused by this information. We can't release it without proper conditioning." - Heywood Floyd The idea of this thread came from reading Alchemical Kubrick on the Alchemy Lab website, a love for Kubricks 'Work' and an interest in Alchemy. Let me disclaim now that I am no initiate or adept, so go easy huh. The credit must go to the author of the article Jay Weidner, as most of the work included here is his. Marty Sullivan figured out how the world’s biggest companies avoided billions in taxes. Here’s how he wants to stop them. Marty Sullivan in the Arlington garage where he parses filings to figure out how multi-national corporations avoid taxes. (Photo by Matt McClain/ The Washington Post) It was a humbling experience for the chief executive of the world’s most valuable company. Hauled before a Senate panel, Apple’s Tim Cook had to explain how an American company whose American engineers had created the iPhone and the iPad was able to avoid paying any taxes on billions of dollars in profits generated by those products — not to United States, not to any country. The only defense the Cook could conjure up for Apple “stateless” income was that it was all perfectly legal.
Beyond Capitalism - Looking To The Future What's wrong with capitalism? You will (or should!) already know what capitalism is, so I won't waste your time explaining it. In this part of the post I'm referring to the current corporate-capitalist system that prevails throughout most of the world. To give you a heads up, my criticisms of capitalism are split into three key sections - inequality and poverty perpetuated by capitalism, the instability and un-sustainability of capitalism, and finally what I see as the immorality of capitalism. More than 50% of US Government Spending Goes to the Military [This article was first published by Global Research in April 2010] Recently, Live Science published a chart showing that the US spends about one-fifth of its budget on the military. But this aggregate view hides how Congress prioritizes spending, when you consider what is discretionary and voted upon each year. A more salient view of these figures segregates ‘discretionary’ spending from ‘mandatory’ spending.
Plutocracy Plutocracy (from Greek πλοῦτος, ploutos, meaning "wealth", and κράτος, kratos, meaning "power, dominion, rule") or plutarchy, is a form of oligarchy and defines a society or a system ruled and dominated by the small minority of the wealthiest citizens. The first known use of the term was in 1652.[1] Unlike systems such as democracy, capitalism, socialism or anarchism, plutocracy is not rooted in an established political philosophy. The concept of plutocracy may be advocated by the wealthy classes of a society in an indirect or surreptitious fashion, though the term itself is almost always used in a pejorative sense.[2]