The movie “Margin Call,” which opened this past weekend, advertises that it was inspired by a true story. 

The fictional head of a Wall Street firm “John Tuld” (a composite character resembling Merrill Lynch’s John Thain and Lehman Brothers’ Dick Fuld and played by the wonderfully villainous Jeremy Irons) is told that the firm is drowning in toxic mortgage-backed securities. Tuld orders his traders to rid the firm’s balance sheet of the junk by dumping it on unsuspecting counterparties and customers. 

Tuld is told: “You’re selling something you know has no value.” He replies: “Be first, be smarter or cheat.” 

As the New York Times review of the movie noted: “There are no hissable villains here, no operatic speeches condemning or celebrating greed. Just a bunch of guys, and one woman, Demi Moore, in well tailored clothes and a state of quiet panic trying to save themselves from a global catastrophe of their own making.” 

The movie doesn’t inspire fury, as documentaries about the financial crisis do, but “rather a mix of dread, disgust, pity and confusion,” the Times said. 

Those powerful emotions inspire gut-churning questions for the audience: Is this how Lehman Brothers crumbled? Is this how Merrill was rescued from ruin by Bank of America? Are these just thinly veiled depictions of Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and JP Morgan, who have paid combined fines of over $1 billion for betting against their clients while selling them these same worthless securities? 

Unfortunately for investors, the answer is “yes” to all of the above. 

As the Times correctly noted, one of the running jokes in “Margin Call” is that the higher up an executive is on the corporate totem pole, the less likely he is to understand how the firm and its traders cook up the toxic brew of mortgage-backed securities. Their ignorance seems almost a point of pride for the executives. Various lords of Wall Street tell us, “I don’t get any of this stuff,” at key points throughout the film. 

That ignorance will be on view again if they make a horrifying sequel. Call it “Bailout,” where the plotline has taxpayers footing the bill to save risk-taking firms that were swirling the drain. And no one—not even Jeremy Irons—goes to jail. 

The movie hasn’t even been written, and already I’m filled with dread, disgust, pity and confusion. 

Interview




Mike Mayo on Volker Rule and Margin Call

30Min. Complete understanding Video. He is the author of Democracy: The God That Failed; The Economics and Ethics of Private Property, and A Theory of Socialism and Capitalism, and is the editor of The Myth of National Defense.

Part two of MYSTERIES OF AMERICA'S BEGINNINGS - Riddles in Stone
Embark upon this incredible journey as Riddles interviews experts on both sides of a heated debate. Watch as Freemason apologists defend some of the most direct and hard-hitting questions concerning the influence of Masonry in America, and its symbolism in Washington D.C. Alongside them are leading researchers who maintain that occult architecture permeates the city, and conceals a secret agenda.

Was D.C. laid out according to the pattern of the stars? Is there really a pentagram in the street layout north of the White House? Does a Masonic square and compass extend from the Capitol building to the Washington Monument? And why is the city filled with zodiac symbols, mysterious faces, and various god and goddess images? If America was founded as a Christian nation only, where are the images of Jesus Christ? Or does Washington, D.C. symbolize another Christ, the Masonic Christ? Find out, in this bold and sure-to-be controversial documentary.


http://www.archive.org/details/RiddlesInStone

MYSTERIES OF AMERICA'S BEGINNINGS - Riddles in Stone
Embark upon this incredible journey as Riddles interviews experts on both sides of a heated debate. Watch as Freemason apologists defend some of the most direct and hard-hitting questions concerning the influence of Masonry in America, and its symbolism in Washington D.C. Alongside them are leading researchers who maintain that occult architecture permeates the city, and conceals a secret agenda.

Was D.C. laid out according to the pattern of the stars? Is there really a pentagram in the street layout north of the White House? Does a Masonic square and compass extend from the Capitol building to the Washington Monument? And why is the city filled with zodiac symbols, mysterious faces, and various god and goddess images? If America was founded as a Christian nation only, where are the images of Jesus Christ? Or does Washington, D.C. symbolize another Christ, the Masonic Christ? Find out, in this bold and sure-to-be controversial documentary.


http://www.archive.org/details/RiddlesInStone

Bill Maher on tax cuts and US Government Shutdown 2011, with guests Bernie Sanders, Randy Cohen and Doug Heye.

More Information:
http://huffingtonpost.com/news/government-shutdown
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_shutdown

Money As Debt is a fast-paced and highly entertaining animated feature by artist & videographer, Paul Grignon. It explains today's magically perverse DEBT-MONEY SYSTEM in terms that are easy to understand.



Money As Debt is a fast-paced and highly entertaining animated feature by artist & videographer, Paul Grignon. It explains today's magically perverse DEBT-MONEY SYSTEM in terms that are easy to understand.

Check out his website: http://www.moneyasdebt.net/

Money is a new form of slavery, and distinguishable from the old simply by the fact that it is impersonal, there is no human relation between master and slave. Debt- government, corporate and household has reached astronomical proportions. Where does all this money come from? How could there BE that much money to lend? The answer is...there isn't. Today, MONEY IS DEBT. If there were NO DEBT there would be NO MONEY.
If this is puzzling to you, you are not alone. Very few people understand, even though all of us are affected.