S&P President Mr. Deven Sharma ….
Completely unconnected to the downgrade of USA by S&P, Mr. Deven Sharma stepped down as President of the rating company…
Of course, USA is a meritocracy so it is not possible that White House would have made that fatal call..for the end of the tenure of Mr. Sharma…
USA is not India…it is a free and fair democracy…
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/sp-president-sharma-stepping-down-report/177759-7.html
Diwakar
You said it all, Subra. USA – Master in Hypocrisy.
pravin
the US govt is on its road to authoritarianism. i wait for the day when its 800 military bases around the world shrink and reduce to zero -because they WILL go bankrupt.
about the ONLY thing the indian govt has done right IMO,is get out of sri lanka after IPFK got kicked in its balls.keep away from other countries internal affairs -good lesson to learn and practice.we dont want our young men dying overseas trying to help so called friendly foreign govts.
Raja
May be now we can expect a upgrade in the credit rating to correct the past mistake!
anon
Very well said, Subrabhai.
When this man had the guts to call a spade a spade.
The Emperor has not only no clothes, but little sense.
Dr Mohammed Ali Khan
US ratings should not be AAA or AA+ .. It should actually be XXX.. because their economy is F****D
Suresh
Here is a comment by some one on the Daily Telegraph, London.
“kenheart
Today 11:26 AM
Recommended by
10 people
I would stay out of New york Hotels if I were him!.”
I think this sums up everything about the US.
Surio
@Subra,
Have to love the irony/sarcasm that came dripping out of those lines.
@Khan,
LOL!
Having said all that, I find it hard to believe that the S&P had suddenly grown a heart since 2008, and then happened to fill it up with conscience and then decided to do this for the common good of all. I don’t think it was good faith and conscience, but something else….
Hmm… Perhaps the Plutocracy is issuing a veiled threat? Any takers for this conspiracy theory?
Dr Mohammed Ali Khan
@Surio
I don’t think its a conspiracy theory. There may be an element of truth in what you are saying.
pravin
but why have pity for sharma. the S&P is not a free market enterprise.it exists purely because the govt has given it a semi official status.Basel and other sarkari institutions have explicit capital adequacy requirements for credit risk based on the ratings of S&P and Moodys & Fitch. This business model would have failed in a true market.not much different than a fannie mae.
Surio
@Khan,
Thanks for the acknowledgement. Glad to know it is not just wild thoughts gone astray. 🙂
P.S: About our earlier discussion, I had wanted to embed a video by the famous French writer and philosopher “Jacques Ellul” who wrote the book “Propaganda”, but it skipped my mind at that point.
In the video he discusses on an aspect of division of labour (specialisation) that seldom gets any mention namely: “disavowment of personal responsibility” within otherwise smart individuals due to this.
I do not intend to continue the discussion, really. Let’s just say, I wished to tie up a loose end from my end, that’s all. 🙂 Just enjoy the video FWIW, that’s all. 🙂
Best,
Surio.
—
Sreekant
As Buffet says, US will be quadruple A as long as there are takers for the US dollar. But pity China, which is left holding all those dollars like a fool. And the clever Americans seem to have had a free lunch at China’s cost. As Ramalinga Raju described his plight, China seems to be riding a tiger not knowing when or how to get off!
Dr Mohammed Ali Khan
@ Surio
I saw the video.. About who is responsible when a dam bursts?
Does this guy not give an interview in an air-conditioned luxurious looking house. Who is responsible if the house crashes down? I bet he did not plan, finance and build the house all by himself. There must have been architects involved, workmen involved and maybe bankers, maybe he took an bank loan. If we follow this man’s advice, we will all have to retreat to the stone age, (paralyzed into doing nothing because we cant fix responsibility into one man in a complex project like a building project), with BILLIONS dying in the process. Is this what this guy wants!!
You can’t build a house, you cant far’m, you cant conduct a delivery or a surgery, I can think of countless things that make civilization possible.
These people have to be challenged intellectually, because unchallenged, they become a powerful DE-CIVILIZING influence. Want to enter a new dark age? Don’t challenge the ideas of people like this and you will have it in 2 – 3 generations.
Dr Khan
@Surio
I suggest that you go through this article
http://www.commonsenseeconomics.com/Readings/I.Pencil2006.FEE.pdf?nid=316
Surio
@Khan,
Please don’t construe this as defence of my standpoint.
Actually, I have no intention to carry this discussion forward any more. Anyone who thinks they have scored points against “THE Jacques Ellul”(*) by writing a few (pedestrian) remarks around his ‘perceived’ lifestyle/choices obviously need to go a very long way in their understanding yet.
(*) who is regarded as one of the most seminal, profound thinkers of the 21st Century, and it is not an easy sobriquet to obtain, BTW.
Regarding the link you supplied:
—————————————————–
The “I, Pencil” is one of the first pamphlets that people usually go through when introduced to libertarianism. Rest assured, I have read it a loooong time ago. 🙂
The famous “Russians used the pencil instead” story (made famous again by 3 idiots) applies as a perfect antidote to this supposedly rocket-science pencil analogy:
Picture this: Compacted Carbon black (obtained as a by-product in many edible oil industries), with a piece of cloth wound around it serves a perfect alternative to the kind of arm-twisting, seemingly mind-bending means to making a pencil….. Just my usual counterpoint, but it doesn’t mean I am taking a stand here…… Have you heard of appropriate technology? That’s what we must be looking — the sooner we do, the better it is for all of us.
Best Wishes,
Surio.
—
P.P.S:
@Subra/@Khan,
I am extremely sorry for (seemingly) hijacking this post thread. What was meant to be a throwaway final thought is turning to become another long discussion.
Just feel free to ignore me on this topic from now.