Comments on: Ireland was Germany’s Off-shore Tart – PART 2 – The US connection

By: Unclear

Unclear — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 13:03:52 +0000

I'm really struck by how upbeat people are about the economy here in Germany at the moment.

Getting lower and lower here.

By: JamieGriffiths

JamieGriffiths — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 12:38:37 +0000

These two posts on Ireland have been outstanding. Excellent work.

When AIG and Goldman are discussed now it feels like references to the Olympian Gods. The actions of the little people are subject to the whim and fancy of these amoral beings whom we never see. Sometimes we hear their demands filtered through the mouths of the oracles but mostly they live their lives as distantly from us as the stars in the night sky.

By: Bastiat1

Bastiat1 — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 21:50:07 +0000

Margaret – Direct action can take many forms and the things you are talking about doing in your daily life are really important. I think the more people who read this blog and David's book the better. But how can we as readers get this out into a wider forum? Some people here are talking about contacting journalists to get Golem on TV; personally I'm looking at getting Parliamentarians in Brussels interested. You might have another angle.

Come back on the comments if you have any ideas – direct action is the way forward for sure!

By: Margaret

Margaret — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 18:56:58 +0000

I am really dumbstruck by Golem's blogs, especially about the Irish situation, and the comments. I live in Greece, which is suffering very badly right now. I just heard Papandreou in Davos say "We have done everything by the book" and that is true. So, real hardship here already as in Ireland.
I also do a small amount of EU business in Ireland, with the Bank of Ireland. Need I say more? I really do not know to do. I am not going to remove my pitifully small savings from Greek banks. Nor am I going to remove my money from the Bank of Ireland. I prefer to spend as much as I can on items which I think that I need, using only Greek or Irish companies or individuals so that the money remains within the countries. But ion a different level, I really do not know what I as an individual can do. Can anyone suggest a course of action?

By: Uncle

Uncle — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 14:19:27 +0000

An observation. I'm in Germany at the moment and my friends tell me that the snow that they had before Christmas was worse than the snow that we had in the UK. Now, the GDP figures for Germany were great for the last quarter of 2010 compared to the UK. What does this mean exactly?

I'm really struck by how upbeat people are about the economy here in Germany at the moment.

By: Uncle

Uncle — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 14:14:54 +0000

This is a little off-topic and apologies if you have already seen it, but it deserves to be widely read and will probably be appreciated by the audience of this blog.

Philip Pullman, Save Oxfordshire Libraries Speech

A couple of quotes I really liked (Philip Pullman's words not mine):

“What I personally hate about this bidding culture is that it sets one community, one group, one school, against another. If one wins, the other loses.”

"To find the true origin (of the bidding culture) you’d have to go on a long journey back in time, and you might do worse than to make your first stop in Chicago, the home of the famous Chicago School of Economics, which argued for the unfettered freedom of the market and as little government as possible."

By: Golem XIV - Thoughts

Golem XIV - Thoughts — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 13:33:51 +0000

Is it me or does Lloyd Blankfein look like a well fed version of Gollum from Lord of the Rings?

"We wants its profitses, Prescious! Yes we does!"

By: dave from france

dave from france — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 12:37:39 +0000

Lloyd C Blankfein, 2 mins. frog2

By: Golem XIV - Thoughts

Golem XIV - Thoughts — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 10:29:37 +0000

Ken,

I hope so! Nice to hear from you.

JIM M,

"A sharp intelligence feverishly engaged in the single-minded pursuit of the bonus by which they calculate both self-esteem and their standing amongst their peers. "

THAT is the best description of the banker mentality I have ever read.

By: Ken

Ken — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 09:53:51 +0000

The politicians have started knocking on doors. Taking on the banks debt is seen as a done deal and only the rate is seen as being possibly negotiable. Sinn Fein are the only party with any balls when it comes to this and they will pick up a lot of votes on that ticket. What is stunning is how stupid the politicians think the Irish electorate are. They may yet get a rude awakening.