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The Least Powerful People

This many be one way to approach the problem, but seems arbitrary and time-wasting.

http://247wallst.com/2010/02/16/the-100-least-powerful-people-under-100-2/

Angry Squid?

http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2009/11/28/mark-pittman-was-right/

Single Smartest Thing I've Read On The Internet

From one, if not the, most respected economist/blogger:

http://economistsview.typepad.com/economistsview/2009/10/russians-looked-only-for-the-agenda.html

I've been reading Mark Thoma for about 3 years and I've never, ever, detected dishonesty.

He could very well have an agenda.  Simply publishing accurate accounts of current events might be construed as an "agenda" if one considers that fear is being pushed out by the pundits every hour of every day.  But for an accurate accounting of what's important in the days' reading (his links) and for clear-headed analysis, Thoma is really hard to top.

Yves Smith is much too kind to Greenspan

This is a must read, and has a great link to a video demonstrating the dangers of playing with explosives.

http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2009/10/ms-watkins-why-does-charlie-have-lit-dynamite.html

Must quibble though:  Greenspan was most assuredly not the headmaster.  He was the headmaster's personal assistant.  So who really was/is the headmaster?

Two ex-SEC regulators fighting it out on Baseline Scenario

http://baselinescenario.com/2009/10/19/fox-henhouse/

(see comment thread)

Goldman Goldman Goldman

Much ado about Goldman Sachs. Just wanted to point to two articles that talk about the continuing facepalmable antics of what Matt Taibbi described in his Rolling Stone article as a "Giant Vampire Squid."

First, this from the Baseline Scenario: Fox, Henhouse, which discusses the questionable act of installing a 29 year old Goldman employee as the new COO of the SEC, Adam Storch. The comments are particularly illuminating, especially those of Jack Chase, a former regulator.

Also, this, from the ebullient limey Reuters blogger, Felix Salmon:  Click me
Mr. Salmon reviews a little of Andrew Ross Sorkin's new book, "Too Big To Fail" and talks a little about how things can be fairly legal, yet very very wrong.

Just a stray thought...  I haven't heard anyone deconstruct this "too big to fail" (TBTF) meme into its ultimate significance (huh?).  What I mean, is that if you think about it, and this may be plainly obvious to everyone, TBTF is just blackmail;  it's a trick that kids and immature adults use all the time.  Right?