Oh buggery and bollocks

[blamebrampton]

This was not the weekend I was hoping for. I cut back and weeded the garden out the front with minimal damage to self, but did not make any impact on the side garden, which must be revived before we can build the cat run we plan. None of my invoices had been paid, so I am completely out of ready cash. Which is all bad enough, but when I sat down to do my Italian homework, I found that the Cookie cat had chewed through the cord of my much-loved BOSE iPod headphones, rendering them useless.

On top of that, I am still coughing. And Lehman transferred £4.4bn from their London office to New York just hours before they collapsed, with the result that the American staff have assets for salaries and pensions, while the London staff can't even afford to pay secretaries. It's just outrageously poor behaviour. Worse, the cockheads in New York who cause all this disaster are in line for big bonuses and ludicrous salaries with the Barclays buyout. I despair.

I know that a lot of people are more bored with finance than they are with politics, but at the moment I think you need to work through your boredom and read the financial pages. Do you know what shortselling is? A hedge fund? Can you tell with certainty who owns your mortgage? Do you know exactly who owns the company that you may one day wish to sue? More importantly, does anyone know exactly who owns it, or is it part of the elaborate shell-game that has been high-end finance over the last 15 years? Like the environment, these are not questions that laypeople should leave for 'the experts' to worry about.

Anyway, in happier news,
HAPPY BIRTHDAY to jamie2109 , mabonwitch  and mistful 
If the three of you had been running Lehman or HBOS, I think we'd probably still be heading for a global recession, but it all would have been done ethically, and with wit, and people wouldn't mind half so much!

Comments

[shiv5468.livejournal.com]

Ah. I shall look. Though that all sounds a bit complicated and needing advanced linguistic skillz.

Yeah.

And I was having an interesting conversation with someone who seemed to think it was wrong to make rich people pay more tax, because they'd worked hard for their money. Erm.... well you shouldn't tax poor people more because not only have they worked hard for their money, they don't have any to spare to pay tax.

~shakes head~

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

I can send you a list of essential phrases. It's all quite easy, really ;-)

Oh lord, head shaking doesn't even begin ...

[shiv5468.livejournal.com]

It's not easy. I am English, and descended from a long line of ancestors who all thought that shouting at foreigners was as good as speaking Foreign.


Mind you, all the Believing in Obama is only going to end in tears. No one can carry that amount of hope. Best to regard politicians with distrust and hostility and blame.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Yes, I was once the same as you, but then discovered that linguistic skill comes with added shagging opportunities, and never looked back.

I'm not sure I believe in Obama, but I do believe he's smart enough to be a good legislator even if he is smug enough to be annoying about it. Would make a pleasant change from the last 8 years of smug, stupid Americans.

[shiv5468.livejournal.com]

I'd have to learn Swedish really... Italians don't tend to come in blond, so even that incentive will not work.

He reminds me of Blair.... ~shudders~ OTOH McCain / Palin remind me.. well there are no parallels. They're even further to the right than the BNP. I don't think it matters which lot get in. Obama can't do anything sensible for fear of being elitist, and pro European and anti american.

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

It boggles my mind that elite is meant to be an insult. Why would you want to be governed by mediocre? *more head shaking*

You do get some blond Italians, but not as many as to make it worthwhile. What you DO find re Swedes and Norwegians wintering in Italy ...

[shiv5468.livejournal.com]

I can remember being told not to go to a particular university when I was at school because it was elitist.

Indeed, and that was the reason for my choice.

Ooooooh

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

Well done!

And I'll try and corral a few for you in advance.