People That You Admire

[mariab]

I thought the world had forgotten Che.

Unfortunately, not. If you travel a bit in Southern Europe, he's still very popular on Tshirts.

Quote CD:
Two completely contradictory statements within the space of 10 minutes?
Big deal. People do that on the boards all the time.
Well observed, and completely correct, C.D..

I thought some people have even considered the Elephant Man as a Ripper suspect.

[Scorpio]

Unfortunately, not. If you travel a bit in Southern Europe, he's still very popular on Tshirts.

Quote CD:
Two completely contradictory statements within the space of 10 minutes?
Big deal. People do that on the boards all the time.
Well observed, and completely correct, C.D..

I thought some people have even considered the Elephant Man as a Ripper suspect.

Are Southern Europeans poorer than Northern Europeans?. Che's image may have genuine meaning, or they just be fashion victims.

[c.d.]

If admiration includes a sense of head scratching amazement, then Charlie Manson tops my list. How does a runty non-entity become a modern icon?. This mans ability to obssess others and the media is impressive.

In the same vein, I just watched a program on the St. Valentine's Day Massacre which took place in Chicago in 1929. Al Capone ran Chicago's mobs at a very young age.

One particularly interesting (and somewhat amusing) note in the program was the incredibly lavish funerals that took place for the mobsters. Everybody was trying to outdo everybody else.

c.d.

[Sister Hyde]

If admiration includes a sense of head scratching amazement, then Charlie Manson tops my list. How does a runty non-entity become a modern icon?. This mans ability to obssess others and the media is impressive.

yeah it is impressive, if you havn't seen Charlie talk the past yearsn this guy is walking next to his shoes, nowadays he's more like a simple-minded attention seeking little old man, when i watched Charles Manson Superstar, i found him rather pathetic.

[Sister Hyde]

I thought the world had forgotten Che.

unfortunately not....

[Scorpio]

yeah it is impressive, if you havn't seen Charlie talk the past yearsn this guy is walking next to his shoes, nowadays he's more like a simple-minded attention seeking little old man, when i watched Charles Manson Superstar, i found him rather pathetic.

After viewing the Charles Manson dance on you-tube, i presume his groupies were very impressionable.

[Sister Hyde]

After viewing the Charles Manson dance on you-tube, i presume his groupies were very impressionable.

ahahahahah and that's nothing compared to his music!!! have you ever heard his own songs? like the one where he just keeps singing "garbage dump garbage dump, why are you called a garbage dump?"

[mariab]

Are Southern Europeans poorer than Northern Europeans?. Che's image may have genuine meaning, or they just be fashion victims.

Most people I've seen spotting the Che T-shirt were yuppie fashion victims, although you can actually still spot a true Che fan in Naples or Lissabon. Some parts of Southern Europe are currently in a pretty bad state financially (notoriously the South of Italy, Greece, Portugal), but no worse than, say, Ireland. Parts of France and Germany (particularly the industrial Northwest of Germany) are doing very bad currently too. The recession is global, anyway.

[c.d.]

Just as an aside here since the global recession has been mentioned -- I read "The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine" by Michael Lewis. It is a Wall Street insider's explanation of what actually happened with regard to the meltdown in subprime mortgages which driggered the global recession. I found it fascinating that this stuff was being done by supposedly the best and the brightest. Highly recommended.

Just one anecdote from the book -- The guy who made the absolute worst trade in Wall Street history was approached by the risk management team who were concerned about the magnitude of the potential loss this trade could bring. They told him they ran numbers for a worst case scenario and said (if I remember correctly) that a 6% default rate could be devastating to the company. He just laughed and said something like the chance of a 6% default rate would be like the end of the world happening this week. Just no way that it could happen. The default rate on the deal ended up something like 40% and literally cost the firm billions.

c.d.

[Scorpio]

Keeping it local;The Kray twins seem to be generally admired in the East-End.

[mariab]

Not surprised by your story, C.D..

[mariab]

In the same vein, I just watched a program on the St. Valentine's Day Massacre which took place in Chicago in 1929.

St. Valentine's Day Massacre? What on earth is that? People overwhelmed by chocolate, roses, and Hallmark cards puking their guts out? And in Chicago, of all places? I live there part of the year. Why have I never heard of that?

[c.d.]

Not surprised by your story, C.D

Hi Maria,

There was another anecdote in the book where a migrant worker who did not speak English and had an income of only $14,000 a year was loaned all the money he needed to buy a $750,000 dollar house.

c.d.

[mariab]

With a 90% interest on the loan, C.D.? ;-)

[Fleetwood Mac]

Not surprised by your story, C.D

Hi Maria,

There was another anecdote in the book where a migrant worker who did not speak English and had an income of only $14,000 a year was loaned all the money he needed to buy a $750,000 dollar house.

c.d.

Should also say all of those Americans who formed a nation more concerned with individual liberty than anything that had gone before. Good effort!