Good Financial Videos

[bmf]

as has this well-observed spoof on Curtis' triumph of style over content

Thanks will watch this. I like much of what Curtis has to say so why have the images designed to enhance emotional reaction? It weakens his position.

[Nuggets Mahoney]

Thanks will watch this. I like much of what Curtis has to say so why have the images designed to enhance emotional reaction? It weakens his position.

Curtis became a darling of the conspiranaut circuit, largely off the back of his Power of Nightmares series. Which is kind of peculiar as Curtis is the ultimate anti-conspiraloon. In Curtisworld the elite only ever plot for the greater good, never for personal gain, and their schemes never work out as they intend in spite of all their good intentions

[Frizzers]

And the sequel

[bmf]

Curtis became a darling of the conspiranaut circuit, largely off the back of his Power of Nightmares series. Which is kind of peculiar as Curtis is the ultimate anti-conspiraloon. In Curtisworld the elite only ever plot for the greater good, never for personal gain, and their schemes never work out as they intend in spite of all their good intentions

Hmm. Not sure that's what I took from Power of Nightmares. I thought it was mainly about the US need for an enemy and Nu Labour's use of scare tactics to usher in lots of horrible policies instead of constructing a valid argument for them.

edit: plus the media's willingness to follow both factions because it was easy copy instead of doing actual reporting

Edited April 15, 2012 by bmf

[Nuggets Mahoney]

Hmm. Not sure that's what I took from Power of Nightmares. I thought it was mainly about the US need for an enemy and Nu Labour's use of scare tactics to usher in lots of horrible policies instead of constructing a valid argument for them.

edit: plus the media's willingness to follow both factions because it was easy copy instead of doing actual reporting

Fair play to Curtis for increasing awareness of the influence characters like Edward Bernays and Leo Strauss have had on political thought. Curtis is a lot less strong on the motivations of these characters and their followers and their intended outcomes

The Power of Nightmares is quite subtle wrt the criticisms I have of Curtis' work. The Trap, especially the last episode, is a lot less subtle

[bmf]

Fair play to Curtis for increasing awareness of the influence characters like Edward Bernays and Leo Strauss have had on political thought. Curtis is a lot less strong on the motivations of these characters and their followers and their intended outcomes

The Power of Nightmares is quite subtle wrt the criticisms I have of Curtis' work. The Trap, especially the last episode, is a lot less subtle

Ok - I'll watch that before I watch the spoof as not to colour my judgement. If I remember I'll post back here my impression!

[PalmerEldritch]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1645089/

Not a free youtube video but....The Inside Job is the best documentary I have seen regarding the financial crisis.

Good interviews with Roubini, Lagarde, Rajan etc.

[bmf]

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1645089/

Not a free youtube video but....The Inside Job is the best documentary I have seen regarding the financial crisis.

Good interviews with Roubini, Lagarde, Rajan etc.

It's fiction but the recently released "Margin Call" is well worth a watch.

[Nuggets Mahoney]

Ok - I'll watch that before I watch the spoof as not to colour my judgement. If I remember I'll post back here my impression!

I'll give you one example of what I'm talking about from The Trap

Curtis talks about the privitisation of state industries in the former Soviet Union. As I recall, Curtis asserts that ordinary people were given shares because their well-intentioned leaders wanted them to enjoy western freedoms. The buffoon plebs, according to Curtis' narrative, then went and sold the shares for a song because they didn't understand their true value and that's how the oligarchs came to power

The possibility that the entire privitisation was intentional, deliberate theft from start to finish doesn't get a look in

Edited April 15, 2012 by Nuggets Mahoney

[bmf]

Hi - watched the first half of this - will watch the rest hopefully tonight (children willing!).

One thought I have when watching this is that the author asserts gold backed money was a problem because bankers could manipulate it easily when control of the money supply ought to lie with the state.

To me the main appeal of gold is that it's scarce so the government cannot back out on promises that it will be a store of value. When I think of Labour - if they had controlled the money supply I'm sure I'd be buying bread with a van of money now.

Any state issued money supply would have to be limited by very careful legislation, but this author does not yet seem concerned by this issue.

What are your thoughts on this?