What? Nobody watched 60 minutes about Wall Street speculation in Oil futures which almost tripled the price of oil last year at a time when demand actually fell? Enron rears it's ugly head again:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/01/08/60minutes/main4707770.shtml

""You'd have to say Enron," he replied. "This was something they desperately wanted, and they got."

Greenberger, who wanted more regulation while he was at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, not less, says it all happened when Enron was the seventh largest corporation in the United States. "This was when Enron was riding high. And what Enron wanted, Enron got."

Asked why they wanted a deregulated market in oil futures, Greenberger said, "Because they wanted to establish their own little energy futures exchange through computerized trading. They knew that if they could get this trading engine established without the controls that had been placed on speculators, they would have the ability to drive the price of energy products in any way they wanted to take it."

"When Enron failed, we learned that Enron, and its conspirators who used their trading engine, were able to drive the price of electricity up, some say, by as much as 300 percent on the West Coast," he added.

"Is the same thing going on right now in the oil business?" Kroft asked.

"Every Enron trader, who knew how to do these manipulations, became the most valuable employee on Wall Street," Greenberger said. "

Yeah, I saw that. Deregulation at its finest, ya' know, the free market being the best alternative for all Americans and such. Commodity speculation needs no regulation? Now if this Dem. Congress has a hair on its ass, they'll be closing that loophole this year.

Sg

You wouldn't need regulation if you'd allow some swift and Draconian vigilante justice to rain down on the asses of these piece of sh!t traders.

You think if six of them turned up disemboweled and burned in Times Square, that any of the rest of them would have the sack to try it again?

I doubt it.

I like Dan's idea.

Vigilante justice has a place in society.

Dan S. is a softy compared to me. I would take all their assetts, yes including swiss/offshore, and force them to work at minimum wage jobs the rest of their lives. Hell, maybe we could conscript them into service in Iraq as well. Oh yeah, and weekends cleaning port-a-potties!

How about Port-a-Potties filled with deadly snakes?

Or a minimum-wage job of setting each other on fire?

I'd be OK with that.

Good idea, Dan.

You bring the torches and pitch forks, I'll bring the tar & feathers.

Now that's some funny sh!t!

Dan-

I'm thinking long term misery - I don't want those phukkers to get out of it quickly. I do like the minimum wage fire setting though!

OK.........half of them get paid minumum wage to set themselves on fire, the other half get paid minumum wage to put them out.

Then tomorrow, they switch jobs.

I wouldn't piss on them if they were on fire.

There won't be any need for you to do that anyway, JG. We have a crew lined up to do that very thing for a very reasonable wage.

The story where someone stole $20 million of diesel actually warmed my heart.

I'm thinking mine sweeping chain gangs.

And sell tickets.

All joking aside I do not see how either side can justify letting these crooks off.I t would also be a hard sale to tell me that congress just uncovered this loop hole and what was really going on with oil prices.Some in congress new exactly what was going on.Members on both sides.If this was not true then the new administration would be a little more exited for justice.There not even talking about it at this point.Tells me a whole lot.

I do believe that if the president elect was left to act on his own, these crooks would not get away with destroying our economy like they have.Politics at its best.One can only hope.It would go along ways to support the campaign on change.

I was all for Dan's idea of criminal justice, and then Mike came along and enhanced the idea. Great teamwork guys! I vote to put you two in charge of the criminal justice system, vigilante and otherwise.

Sg

Salmo-

Remember where I said I'd take their funds away from them? That money would be used to pay for the "program" - you know, the lighter fluid, snakes, etc. I haven't really put too much thought into this, can't you tell?

And for Dan's quicker, painful death scenarios, I say use a couple of the first cheatin' bastards as an example of what the rest of them will get for good behavior - a quicker death.

This is starting to remind me of that scene in History of the World....



Roman Officer: Do you know the penalty for a slave who strikes a Roman citizen?
[people in the crowd raise hands enthusiastically]
Roman Officer: Ok, you... you had your hand up first.
Man in crowd: Death by torture!
Roman Officer: No... You?
Man in crowd: Crucifixion!
Roman Officer: Wrong! You?
Man in crowd: They shove a living snake up your ass!
Roman Officer: Ah, no... but that's very creative!

Chuck,

Actually I have no fear whatsoever of other people setting themselves on fire, so you can't really call it a phobia. A disturbing obsession, maybe.