Comments on: India Has 36 Billionaires http://www.dailyreckoning.com.au/billionaires-2/2008/05/26/ An independent perspective on the Australian and global investment markets Sun, 08 Nov 2009 03:43:55 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 hourly 1 By: Coffee Addict http://www.dailyreckoning.com.au/billionaires-2/2008/05/26/comment-page-1/#comment-24365 Coffee Addict Tue, 27 May 2008 01:19:13 +0000 http://www.dailyreckoning.com.au/?p=2746#comment-24365 I understand that 31 million died at Stalin's hand. Actual "communism" as defined by Marx and politically manipulated by Lenin is light years from Stalin/Pol Pot/Ceauşescu/Mao great terrors that Bill refers to. The hippy movement adopted and refined many of the principles outlined by Marx but without a dictatorial iron fist, the movement simply melded into everyday society. Markets can be efficient or inefficient with or without a brutal dictatorship. I think that one of Bill's key points (which I agree with) is that the US (and many other western countries) now floats against the tide of market efficiencies. Wall Street's private losses are now cleanly "socialised". (In the same circumstances, Stalin would have allowed the peasants to starve and sent the responsible bankers and other lenders to gulags.) Of course we now have our own great terrors starting with about a million dead as a direct or indirect consequence of the Iraq invasion. While I don’t believe the US is stupid enough to have a go at Iran in present circumstances, Jimmy Carter’s latest protestations clearly tell me that Bush is (again) quietly lobbying to have his way on this. All we can do is wait and see. By the way, the platypus is a survivor and a very agile one at that. I understand that 31 million died at Stalin's hand. Actual "communism" as defined by Marx and politically manipulated by Lenin is light years from Stalin/Pol Pot/Ceauşescu/Mao great terrors that Bill refers to. The hippy movement adopted and refined many of the principles outlined by Marx but without a dictatorial iron fist, the movement simply melded into everyday society.

Markets can be efficient or inefficient with or without a brutal dictatorship. I think that one of Bill's key points (which I agree with) is that the US (and many other western countries) now floats against the tide of market efficiencies.
Wall Street's private losses are now cleanly "socialised". (In the same circumstances, Stalin would have allowed the peasants to starve and sent the responsible bankers and other lenders to gulags.)
Of course we now have our own great terrors starting with about a million dead as a direct or indirect consequence of the Iraq invasion. While I don’t believe the US is stupid enough to have a go at Iran in present circumstances, Jimmy Carter’s latest protestations clearly tell me that Bush is (again) quietly lobbying to have his way on this. All we can do is wait and see.

By the way, the platypus is a survivor and a very agile one at that.

]]> By: GaryB http://www.dailyreckoning.com.au/billionaires-2/2008/05/26/comment-page-1/#comment-24360 GaryB Mon, 26 May 2008 23:37:57 +0000 http://www.dailyreckoning.com.au/?p=2746#comment-24360 Steady on mate! Don't call the Ornithorhynchus - our unique Aussie mammal, "awkward and ugly". The latin name might be ugly but the animal itself is not. It's just purpose-built, like a swiss army knife. Steady on mate! Don't call the Ornithorhynchus - our unique Aussie mammal, "awkward and ugly". The latin name might be ugly but the animal itself is not. It's just purpose-built, like a swiss army knife.

]]>