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Study: Stock Traders More Reckless, Manipulative Than Psychopaths

Justin Rohrlich
Minyanville
Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:26 UTC
Psychopaths
© Minyanville

A report in Der Spiegel asks why "rogue trading" situations "keep arising in the financial world."

The answer?

Take it away, jungen:
According to a new study at the University of St. Gallen seen by SPIEGEL, one contributing factor may be that stockbrokers' behavior is more reckless and manipulative than that of psychopaths. Researchers at the Swiss research university measured the readiness to cooperate and the egotism of 28 professional traders who took part in computer simulations and intelligence tests. The results, compared with the behavior of psychopaths, exceeded the expectations of the study's co-authors, forensic expert Pascal Scherrer, and Thomas Noll, a lead administrator at the Pöschwies prison north of Zürich.
"Naturally one can't characterize the traders as deranged," Noll says. "But for example, they behaved more egotistically and were more willing to take risks than a group of psychopaths who took the same test."

Oddly enough, the findings virtually mirror the outcome of a 2005 study by a team of researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, Stanford Graduate School of Business, and the University of Iowa.
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Bizarro Earth

Saudi women given right to vote (in 2015)... but can still be lashed for driving a car


Huffington Post
Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:02 UTC
Image
© Getty images
Saudi women wait for their drivers outside a shopping mall in Riyadh on September 26, 2011.
Cairo - A Saudi woman was sentenced Tuesday to be lashed 10 times with a whip for defying the kingdom's prohibition on female drivers, the first time a legal punishment has been handed down for a violation of the longtime ban in the ultraconservative Muslim nation.

Normally, police just stop female drivers, question them and let them go after they sign a pledge not to drive again. But dozens of women have continued to take to the roads since June in a campaign to break the taboo.

Making Tuesday's sentence all the more upsetting to activists is that it came just two days after King Abdullah promised to protect women's rights and decreed that women would be allowed to participate in municipal elections in 2015. Abdullah also promised to appoint women to a currently all-male advisory body known as the Shura Council.

Comment: Backwards! Medieval! Ghastly! we hear you say. And indeed, it is all those things. But please do bear in mind that it is against the law to even think about anything the state does not approve of in Western, 'civilised' France.

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Bizarro Earth

How to Manipulate the Public so You Can Rule the World

Ted Musk
Associated Content
Sun, 25 Sep 2011 20:11 UTC
Image
© Google
Earth
For some, life is a game of who can gain the most power in order to acquire wealth. To do this, they must gain followers to support their ideas and policies that benefit them. So for those of you who are pondering how to rule the world, this is a proven strategy that is guaranteed to be successful if you are willing to put in the work.

First, it is important to understand what people value most. Once you understand this you can begin to control people for your benefit through manipulation. You will want to threaten the thing you have decided is most valuable to them and it is encouraged to threaten the quality of their life since it is what the majority values most. However, do not do this with violence; instead you must appear to be doing it for their benefit so people will want to follow you. (plus, violence is illegal and your attempt at ruling the world will not last long) Instilling fear will get their attention and they will be more likely to listen. Tell them something terrible will happen to them if they do not listen to your message. It will make people feel you care about their well-being and will be thankful you are trying to help them.

The best way to do this is come up with a belief system that will dictate how people are to act and think, included a simple list of dos and don'ts. The key to getting people to believing your story is again by using fear. Fear is an extremely powerful emotion, and by getting people to be fearful you can manipulate their lives for your benefit. When creating this belief, make sure it includes as many true statements and good lessons as possible, this will give your belief system some credibility.
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Arrow Down

US: Goldman Sachs may make deeper cuts


Bottom Line / MSNBC
Tue, 27 Sep 2011 11:29 UTC
Image
© Unknown
Goldman Sachs Tower
The turmoil that has hit financial markets, dragging $104 billion out of equity funds from June through August, may also strike a blow at Goldman Sachs' profits, The New York Times reported Tuesday.

The investment bank -- once described as a "vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity" -- is expected to make deeper cost cuts than the $1.2 billion it initially predicted it would need to take by the middle of next year, the newspaper's "Dealbook" blog reported. It cited people briefed on the situation who were not allowed to speak publicly about it. They told the newspaper that the cuts could rise by $250 million, to a total $1.45 billion.

The cost cutting would be hitting the ranks of its investment bankers harder than initially expected, too: Goldman was already contemplating shedding 1,000 jobs. Besides layoffs, the bank could be slashing pay too, the Times reported, saying that Goldman may have one of its worst quarters since going public 12 years ago.
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Eye 1

US: Air Force employee resigns over alleged spy ring

Kimberly Dozier
National Public Radio / Associated Press
Tue, 27 Sep 2011 11:20 UTC
Image
© Jacquelyn Martin / AP
Michael Furlong resigned in July 2011 after Air Force investigators told Furlong and his boss they'd face official censure for how they ran an information gathering network in Afghanistan, according to Furlong's resignation letter obtained by the Associated Press.
Civilian man denies criminal activity in running information-gathering network in Afghanistan

A man accused of running an illegal contractor spy ring in Afghanistan has resigned from the Air Force, still maintaining his innocence, and still facing possible criminal charges.

Two investigations continue in a case that has tested the definition of what contractors are allowed to do in war zones.

Air Force civilian employee Michael Furlong, together with his boss, Mark Johnson, resigned in July after the Air Force inspector general told the men they'd face official censure for how they ran an information-gathering network in Afghanistan.

"After 17 months of DOD investigations and an FBI investigation, it was determined that no criminal laws were broken," Furlong wrote in his August 12 resignation letter, obtained by the Associated Press.

But inquiries continue by the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations and the Pentagon's Defense Criminal Investigative Service, a senior defense official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss matters still under legal review.
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Gear

UN Chief slams Ahmadinejad's 'unacceptable misuse' of UN platform to proclaim 9-11 Truth!


Harretz
Sun, 25 Sep 2011 03:13 UTC
Ban Ki-moon
© The Associated Press
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
In his speech Thursday to annual summit of world leaders, Ahmadinejad raised the possibility that 'some segments within the U.S. government' orchestrated 9/11 attacks.

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon joined growing criticism against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's UN address earlier this week in which he accused "segments" in the United States government of orchestrating the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center.

"I strongly condemn the comments made yesterday by a leader of a delegation that called into question the cause of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on U.S. soil," he said. "It is unacceptable for the platform of the General Assembly of the United Nations to be misused in this way."

In his speech Thursday to the annual summit of world leaders, Ahmadinejad raised the possibility that "some segments within the U.S. government" had orchestrated the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York - a statement that prompted members of the American delegation to walk out in protest from the UN General Assembly.
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Mr. Potato

Israeli PM rejects charge of killing hundreds of thousands


Raw Story
Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:13 UTC
Image

Benjamin Netanyahu

Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday described as "outrageous" remarks by Turkish premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan in which he claimed Israel had killed "hundreds of thousands" of Palestinians.

In an interview with the English-language Jerusalem Post, excerpts of which were published on Monday, the Israeli prime minister expressed anger over comments made by Erdogan in an weekend interview with US cable network CNN.

In the interview, footage of which is available on CNN's website, Erdogan said there were no accurate statistics about the number of Israelis killed in the conflict, suggesting up to "200" while he said "hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were killed."
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Hourglass

China backs Palestinian U.N. bid


Raw Story
Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:49 UTC
girl,flag,palestine

China on Monday highlighted its support for the Palestinian bid for full membership of the United Nations but called for "prudent" international action on Syria.

China's Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said his country would back Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas in any Security Council vote on membership, which the United States has vowed to veto.

"China consistently supports the just cause of establishing an independent Palestinian state and supports Palestine's membership in the United Nations," Yang told the UN General Assembly in a speech.
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Bell

IMF Bailout?: Head warns IMF may need billions in extra funding

Louise Armitstead and Jonathan Russell
The Telegraph
Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:41 UTC
Christine Lagarde
© AP
Christine Lagarde has warned the IMF may need more funding from its members.
Christine Lagarde has signalled that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) may have to tap its members - including Britain - for billions of pounds of extra funding to stem the European debt crisis.

The head of the IMF has warned that its $384bn (£248bn) war chest designed as an emergency bail-out fund is inadequate to deliver the scale of the support required by troubled states.

In a document distributed to the IMF steering committee at the weekend, Ms Lagarde said: "The fund's credibility, and hence effectiveness, rests on its perceived capacity to cope with worst-casescenarios. Our lending capacity of almost $400bn looks comfortable today, but pales in comparison with the potential financing needs of vulnerable countries and crisis bystanders."
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Dollar

Tightening the Noose: France Bans Cash Sales of Gold/Silver over $600

Mac Slavo
Real News Reporter
Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:43 UTC
Image

A couple of weeks ago our report that some Austrian banks had begun restricting the sale of gold and silver to 15,000 Euro (~$20,000 USD) reportedly because of money laundering issues was met with disbelief by many readers of financial news and information web sites. As we mentioned in that commentary, it is our view that governments, namely in Western nations, are making it more difficult for individuals to make gold purchases, as well as to do so anonymously.

It looks like this trend of restricting the peoples' ability to acquire assets of real monetary value is expanding. If a recent report from France is accurate, and based on the French governments official web site it looks like it is, then as of September 1, 2011, anyone attempting to sell or purchase ferrous or non-ferrous metals, which includes gold and silver, will be required to pay for their purchase via a credit card or bank wire transfer if it exceeds 450€ (~ $600 USD):
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