Robert Hare: What a Psychopathic Corporation Might Be Like

Dr. Robert Hare is describing what a psychopathic corporate culture might be like, not what all corporations are.

Corporations can have personalities if you will, based on the character of their leadership, and the traits and tendencies which they tend to seek out and reward.

Is there a difference in culture between Costco and Walmart? Why might that be the case? How about the difference in treating the customer between St. Jude's Children's Hospital and Goldman Sachs, both putatively doing "God's work?" Do they seek certain personality types, and tend to cultivate and reward different behaviours? Not all hospitals are altruistic and caring, and not all financial firms are the same. Does Goldman Sachs have the same character as Charles Schwab? How about Bank of America and Edward Jones? Or BP and Whole Foods? Why might they be different? Or is it all just marketing and image?

Governments may have also have character traits, whether they choose to call it culture, or tone, or philosophy. Certain behaviours are rewarded, and others are suppressed and discouraged.  Quite often a few like-minded and powerful personalities may set the character of the organization, and choose subordinates who are either servile or of a simple mind. Is there a difference between a government run by Franklin Roosevelt and Adolf Hitler? Do their differences affect the people whom they attract and the behaviours that they reward?

Corporations are not people, and do not deserve the rights of people because it grants to the corporation mangers, those that actually give life to a company, a power that makes most other individuals unequal under the law.  It is an extension of power and rights by proxy, greatly leveraged.

If an individual has a voice, the individual managers of a major corporation can obtain a much greater voice, one applied by the power and money of a large organization.  These are the modern übermenschen that we are unwittingly raising like titans over the world of real people.

And when they are singularly amoral, or focused for anti-social purposes, or criminal activities, the resultant damage of which they are capable can be devastating, not only to individuals, but even to towns, cities, and small nations.

Iron Grip of the Credibility Trap: The Ongoing War On Whistleblowers and Transparency

Sam Seder interviews documentary film maker Robert Greenwald on his 2013 film, War On Whistleblowers.

A reader informs me that this documentary is currently available on Netflix streaming.

“Often the best source of information about waste, fraud, and abuse in government is an existing government employee committed to public integrity and willing to speak out. Such acts of courage and patriotism, which can sometimes save lives and often save taxpayer dollars, should be encouraged rather than stifled. We need to empower federal employees as watchdogs of wrongdoing and partners in performance.”

Office of the President-elect Barack Obama, 2008 Transition Project

Gold Daily and Silver Weekly Charts - JPM Throws Down 229,400 Ounces of Gold To Meet Deliveries

Today was the end of quarter. The positions can be marked to market.

There was intraday commentary on a widely reported story concerning market rigging here.

On Friday JPM moved 229,400 ounces of gold from the eligible to deliverable category in their Comex warehouse, in preparation for the April delivery period which starts about now. 

It looks like that gold that was moved over to the registered category by JPM is to fill the delivery requests that the Comex received on Friday, according to this report.    I have included a screen shot of the relevant page below.

JPM filled 2,640 April futures contracts for 264,000 ounces.  So they needed to issue at least some of those additional warrants, since they only had 214,097 going in.  And most of that came out of their 'house account.'

I thought that it was interesting that a good chunk of that gold is being stopped by Nova Scotia, for their own house account.   Special thanks for the link to the famed Samoan gold analyst from Investment Research Dynamics, Salelologa Dave.

And the band played on.

Have a pleasant evening.

 

SP 500 and NDX Futures Daily Charts - Slouching Into the End of Quarter

"How many do I have to kill before I get my name in the paper, or some national attention?"

Dennis Rader, the BTK Killer in a letter to KAKE-TV

The Chicago PMI missed by a country mile this morning, but that is so real economy that it hardly mattered.

Last night on one of America's most watched evening news programs, 60 Minutes, they said 'the stock market is rigged,'  with enough examples and details that even an average American might understand it.  But that hardly mattered because everyone knows, and doesn't care.

The VIX fell back to more comfortable level, as the latest adventure in foreign nation building does not seem to have triggered a major regional conflict.   Meanwhile the infrastructure at home continues to crumble and rust.

Old Yellen came out today and said that the labor market is struggling, and that more stimulus will be required, despite all the meretricious talk about the great American recovery. But that hardly mattered because things are important, but people aren't.

The know-nothings continued their crusade against the weak, the different, the elderly, and the victims in a society gone mad, who they liken to vermin and parasites. 

And the plutocracy continued to rob the public blind, while they are admired for their stature, strength, and daring, and held up as role models by a fawning corporate media.  And the intellectuals and thought leaders are silent. 

And so the quarter ended, with an air of pride in the exceptionalism of the Pax Americana.

Have a pleasant evening.