"'A lot of white-collar criminals are psychopaths,' says Bob Hare. 'But they flourish because the characteristics that define the disorder are actually valued. When they get caught, what happens? A slap on the wrist, a six-month ban from trading, and don't give us the $100 million back. I've always looked at white-collar crime as being as bad or worse than some of the physically violent crimes that are committed.'
Some can be particularly good at bending the rules to fulfill their need to feed on whatever their diet demands. They are naturally drawn to positions of power, frequently faking their credentials and results, and are often verbally acute, willing to say and do almost anything to get their way. They may be able to buy their way into positions of power and manage their environments very effectively, except their family relationships and children would rarely be described as normal. Psychopathy breeds a multitude of other disorders. And they seem to be gaining traction, getting better, and finding kindred spirits in the growing partnership between corporations and the government."
Jesse, Psychopaths Among Us and the Necessity of Law, 9 September 2011
"In principle the war effort is always planned to keep society on the brink of starvation. The war is waged by the ruling group against its own subjects and its object is not the victory over either Eurasia or East Asia, but to keep the very structure of society intact...
If leisure and security were enjoyed by all alike, the great mass of human beings who are normally stupified by poverty would become literate and would learn to think for themselves; and when once they had done this, they would sooner or later realise that the privileged minority had no function, and they would sweep it away. In the long run, a hierarchical society was only possible on a basis of poverty and ignorance."
George Orwell, 1984
"If there are damned souls in Hell, it is because men blind themselves."
E.A. Bucchianeri, Faust: My Soul Be Damned for the World
"It is hard to say whether he was overwhelmed by the mere idea of such an immense and wicked enterprise, or whether he feared that the rot went deeper and that resistance on his part might spell death. In any case, he gave many people the impression that he was in the plot. The other tribunes and the centurions also preferred the advantages of the moment to the incalculable risk of being honourable. Their mood may be summed up thus: a shocking crime was committed on the unscrupulous initiative of few individuals, with the blessing of more, and amid the passive acquiescence of all."
Tacitus, The Murder of Galba
The markets were understandably edgy today, putting their portfolios in order for a weekend fraught with exogenous risk.
The major stock index futures declined, and actually went out at the bottom, declining further after the bell.
Gold and silver initially rallied strongly, but were whittled back as the day wore on.
The metals shorts may be giving way, but they are drawing a line in the sand at gold $2000.
If that resistance is broken, gold may run.
VIX maintained its elevated level.
The Dollar chopped sideways finishing essentially unchanged, but at an elevated level relative to recent history.
Obviously the disorder in the Congress amongst the bickering and stiff-necked Republican tribesmen is adding to the unease domestically, but make no mistake that the growing war clouds in the Mideast are raising the fear levels, even among the congenitally greedy.
And then there is the ongoing war in the Ukraine, which our ADHD news media has temporarily misplaced.
"Everywhere and always demonic powers lurk in the dark, waiting for the moment when man is weak; when of his own volition he leaves his place in Creation, as founded for him by God in freedom; when he yields to the force of evil, he separates himself from the powers of a higher order; and after voluntarily taking the first step, he is driven on to the next and the next at a furiously accelerating rate."
White Rose, Munich 1942
Have a pleasant weekend.
