It appears there is not a lot of difference between ...

[Octafish]

151. Heh heh heh.

Here's another one on-topic:

Visit UBS and see with your own eyes:

http://financialservicesinc.ubs.com/revitalizingamerica/SenatorPhilGramm.html

Or, read and think:

Clinton and Gramm: Crony Capitalism’s Power Couple

Former senator Phil Gramm helped pass laws that let the banks go wild, yet he’s stayed silent on UBS’s crimes.

By Robert Scheer
The Nation, Dec. 21, 2012

EXCERPT...

As The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday: “US, U.K. and Swiss authorities alleged a vast conspiracy led by UBS AG to rig interest rates tied to trillions of dollars in loans and other financial products, indicating the practice was far more pervasive than previously known.” But what did Gramm know about this criminal behavior at a bank he helped govern, and when did he know it?

In a deal brokered with the criminal division of the US Justice Department, UBS was also fined $1.5 billion in the massive Libor interest-rate-fixing scam that evidenced a pattern of deep corruption across a score of top banks. But Gramm, the man most responsible for the repeal in 1999 of sixty years of sensible banking regulation that enabled the financial industry to run wild, has not responded to a single question from the mainstream media concerning UBS’ criminal behavior. I assume he has been queried, given his important prior contribution to the sorry state of banking.

When Gramm was still at the bank, his bio page on the UBS website paid tribute to his prior achievements in government: “As chairman of the Banking Committee, Senator Gramm steered through legislation modernizing the nation’s banking, insurance and securities laws.”

That “modernization” in 2000 made legal the mergers that created the too-big-to-fail banks that had to be bailed out by taxpayers, as well as insuring that the burgeoning markets in toxic derivatives and credit default swaps were summarily freed from all government regulation. Bill Clinton signed off on the new laws, and his successor, George W. Bush, enthusiastically enforced them.

How fitting then to find the two presidents united again on several occasions documented on the UBS website participating in bank-sponsored panels on “Revitalizing America.” Clinton’s foundation has partnered with UBS in mentoring small businesses in poorer communities, the very communities hit hardest by the banking shenanigans of the past decade. Ever the optimist, Clinton promised that “Our partnership with UBS Wealth Management Americas will give these businesses essential new opportunities to expand and to make a positive difference in underserved communities.” With friends like these…

CONTINUED...

http://www.thenation.com/article/clinton-and-gramm-crony-capitalisms-power-couple/

DUers! Do what real journalists do when it comes to news and information: Don't avert your eyes -- plagiarize.

PS: What's in your wallet? If it's like mine, dust and moths.

PPS: You are a real pal, MinM!