As we countdown to Season 3 of HBO's Game of Thrones I thought it might be fun each week to share some quick reminders/background info on which ruling Houses are involved in war, what power they have or had and how they relate to one another. Obviously I intend to do this without spoiler information for Season 3 and hope that any reader who's familiar with the books will honor that as well. Otherwise I'll just have to cut off their heads. Personally. Because the man that passes the sentence should swing the sword. =) Hopefully, if you watch the show once the new season starts and all the names start to fly back and forth, this might help you recall who's who.
House Tully
House Tully rules over the Riverlands from their ancestral seat of Riverrun. The Riverlands used to be ruled from by people from The Iron Isles but that ended a few centuries ago when the cruel King Harren the Black of The Iron Isles thought it was a good idea to fight against the Targaryen invaders and their dragons. After King Harren was roasted to a crispy crisp at his castle, the Targaryens raised the Greyjoys to rule the Iron Isles, and granted overlordship over the Riverlands to the Tullys, who had been prudent enough to support the Targaryens and revolt against the late and unlamented Harren. The Riverlands are a nice place to visit and live but unfortunately they are not easily defensible. They are centrally located. Besides the aforementioned rivers, there aren't any natural barriers to prevent invasion. Many warring armies have always considered the Riverlands a great place to settle their differences. So House Tully, currently presided over by Lord Hoster Tully, has always been keen to ally itself with other Houses. Lord Tully wed his older daughter Catelyn to Ned Stark and his younger daughter Lysa to Jon Arryn, each heads of their Great Houses. Lord Tully hasn't yet arranged a wedding for his son and heir Edmure, while his younger brother Brynden has steadfastly refused all of Hoster's suggestions, leading to a rift between the two men.
Brynden, more than anyone else, is the military leader of House Tully. House Tully supported Robert's Rebellion as Catelyn Stark was originally betrothed to Ned's older brother Brandon, who was murdered by the Mad King. Catelyn and Ned's marriage was unusual among arranged pairings in that they actually grew to love each other. Like most Houses in the South the Tullys adhere to the faith of the Seven. After Catelyn Stark arrested Tyrion Lannister on her father's lands and did so in part in her father's name, Tywin Lannister sent raiding parties to kill, rape and pillage in the Riverlands. After Ned Stark's death Robb Stark came to his maternal relatives' defense and since then it's been a major slugfest between the Tullys and Starks on one side and the Lannisters on the other. Robb Stark has made a few attacks into the Lannister Westerlands and soundly trashed every Lannister army he's come up against. But he doesn't yet have the strength to evict the Lannisters from his mother's homeland or properly besiege the Lannisters on their home turf. So as usual, it's the so-called smallfolk of the Riverlands who are suffering the most. As House Tully supports House Stark's secession from the Seven Kingdoms, as far as the Iron Throne is concerned they are also rebels who should be hanged, drawn and quartered. The House Tully words are "Family, Duty, Honor", which unsurprisingly is pretty much how Catelyn views her responsibilities and the world in general.
House Greyjoy
You might call this House the (insert class based slur for slow-witted unhygienic rural inhabitants) of Westeros. They rule over a relatively inhospitable area of Westeros, The Iron Isles. They worship The Drowned God (something alien to everyone else in Westeros). Their ways and cultures are quite different. The biggest sticking point between the peoples of the Iron Isles and the mainland is that the folks of the Iron Isles consider violence not only to be normative but also something of a religious requirement. A man who routinely obtains goods or wealth thru trade or business or purchase is considered, at best unmanly and at worse something of a heretic. The proper way of obtaining goods goes something like this. If you want something, you stab its current owner in the neck and take it. This is called paying the Iron Price. It is also why nobody in Westeros who's in their right mind likes or trusts the Greyjoys or anyone from the Iron Isles. It is why Catelyn Stark was so vociferous in telling her son Robb not to let Theon Greyjoy go or trust Balon Greyjoy. If you remember once she heard of the Greyjoy attack on the North she could not prevent herself from telling Robb "I told you so!!". This House is currently led by the bitterly resentful Balon Greyjoy, who appears to have disinherited his last remaining son, Theon in favor of his daughter (Asha in the books, Yara in the HBO show). Balon also has some equally vile younger brothers. Theon's alarm over his sister's rise in their father's affection is part of what led him to join in on the attack on the North and specifically to try to outdo Yara by taking Winterfell.
The one thing that House Greyjoy is known for, besides being a sniveling bunch of psychotic backstabbers, is that they have perhaps the continent's best fleet and are considered to be Westeros' finest sailors. If Balon Greyjoy had accepted Robb Stark's offer and attacked the Lannister Westerlands or King's Landing, events in Season Two may have proceeded quite differently. But woulda, shoulda, coulda. It is impossible both culturally and psychologically for Balon Greyjoy to accept "gifts" or friendly behavior from other people. As we saw in Season 2 , Theon Greyjoy has good reason to dislike his father, as if it weren't for his father's failed revolt more than a decade earlier Theon would never have been taken as a hostage ward by Ned Stark. The Greyjoys see an opportunity in the War of the Five Kings to be independent of the Iron Throne and stick it to the Starks, whom they hate for suppressing their last rebellion. Their House words are "We Do Not Sow" which is a reference to their utter disdain for doing any work other than killing people and taking their stuff. They rule from their seat of Pyke.
Flight might have been a great movie. I'm not sure that it was. It was very very good though. It reunites Washington and Cheadle. Though they've put on a little weight and picked up some age lines since Devil in a Blue Dress, they've gained even more in acting gravitas. Each of them have a lot of intensity here. This movie has an ensemble cast where everyone gets a chance to shine, even in very small parts, though obviously Washington's performance is what drives the film. To a certain extent, Cheadle is playing a more relaxed, confident and competent version of his character in Things Behind the Sun. I don't know if you've ever known anyone who's had a substance abuse problem. I have. It's not pleasant. It's even less pleasant if you're unable or unwilling to cut them out of your life. Such people can occasionally be charming and fun individuals who are quite skilled at putting out a line of bovine excretions, even though deep down inside they know they're full of it. And if you're unfortunate enough to have to listen to them, you know they're full of it too, even as they entertain you and maybe even make you laugh from time to time. The problem arises when you or life events make such people confront their own lies. It's one thing to lie to other people, even loved ones. It's something different to lie to yourself. Whip Whitaker (Denzel Washington) is a high functioning alcoholic and junkie. Alcohol and occasionally cocaine consumption are daily requirements, just like brushing his teeth. He doesn't go an hour without having a drink or a snort of something. Actually it's not necessarily guaranteed that he will brush his teeth in a 24 hour period but it is a certainty that he will have something to drink. I say he's high functioning because of his looks (it's Denzel after all) and job. He doesn't have bloodshot eyes, missing or grimy teeth and the shakes like some alcoholics I've known. He's not doing anything so prosaic as trying to slowly kill himself or working as a mechanic. He's not like the alcoholics depicted in Trees Lounge or Leaving Las Vegas. No. Whip is a senior airline pilot who, in the opening scene is shown to have a real good thing going on with one of his young attractive stewardesses, Katerina (Nadine Velazquez). Having spent all night drinking, snorting cocaine and playing land the 747 on the landing strip, the dynamic duo is running late for their flight. After an appreciative look at a wholly nude Katerina, Whip takes some more cocaine to get energized and they're off to the races.
Whip's flight crew seems to be somewhat aware of his proclivities. He gets knowing looks from a religious and married stewardess, Margaret Thomason (Tamarie Tunie) who wants Whip to attend church with her and her family some day. Whip's first time co-pilot Ken Evans (Brian Geraghty) balances respect for Whip's experience and skills with an unspoken suspicion of his demeanor and decision making.
In Atlanta a young heroin addicted woman named Nicole (Kelly Reilly), tries to get more drugs for herself and avoid paying her rent. She travels to an adult movie shoot to literally trade some a$$ for cash but decides against it. Nevertheless her (platonic?) male friend offers her some free drugs and warns her not to inject the drugs, just to smoke them. Maybe he felt sorry for her? Reilly is a British actress. I don't think her attempted southern drawl would convince a southerner she was from the South but you wouldn't necessarily know she was British either. Whip guides his aircraft through some really rough turbulence before handing off control to Ken and settling in for an alcohol induced nap. But before he can really get his nod going he's awakened. Various controls on the aircraft have broken. The plane is starting to go into an uncontrolled dive. Using every ounce of his skill as a pilot (this is probably the movie's most exciting point) Whip slows the dive, flies upside down, glides after he loses engine power and is able to deliberately crash land the plane outside of downtown Atlanta with minimal loss of life. He's a hero!
Or maybe not. As his ex-Navy buddy and union rep Charlie Anderson (Bruce Greenwood) and the NTSB inform him after he awakens in the hospital, there were six fatalities, including Katerina. The lawyer hired by the union to represent Whip both admires him and seems to have a certain disdain for him. This lawyer, Hugh Lang (Don Cheadle) points out that no one could have done what Whip did in saving so many people. He also lets Whip know that the toxicology report shows that Whip was high as a kite on various legal and illegal substances. Lang intends to get that report legally suppressed but both he and Charlie would greatly appreciate it if Whip would refrain from alcohol and drugs, even attend AA if needed. Lang, lawyer or not, doesn't like liars. He will be quite frustrated with Whip. The NTSB investigates everything anytime there's a plane malfunction, let alone a crash and deaths. There are a lot of jobs and livelihoods that are depending on what the NTSB determines the cause of the crash to be. So Lang, and especially Charlie have an interest in ensuring the NTSB reaches the "right" decision. Charlie is too old to find another job and doesn't want the airline liquidated to pay off settlements and fines.
And that gets into the meat of the movie as there is a struggle between Whip's (non-existent?) better half and the fact that he's an alcoholic junkie. Since he's in the same hospital as Nicole (who's recovering from an overdose) they meet and fall in, well it's not quite love but it's something that's a little more than co-dependence. She's no princess while he's not a knight in shining armor. But they both have tender feelings for each other. However Nicole is further along the path to recovery than Whip is. She wants to stop using. Nicole and Whip each must decide if their relationship is more important than the substance abuse. Whip doesn't think he has a problem and can be cruelly dismissive to anyone who points out the appallingly obvious. Imagine gently telling a significant other or relative with some sort of weight related condition that they probably don't need that third slice of deep dish pizza. Then let's say they respond by snidely pointing out your lack of career success or claim you smell bad.
One thing that I thought was a bit lacking in this movie was that we never learn exactly how Whip's substance abuse problem got started or why it's so fierce. That might have made the character a bit more sympathetic or even understandable. He has a supposedly unpleasant ex-wife (Garcelle Beauvais) and a distant teenage son (Justin Martin) but it's pretty clear that we're seeing things through resentful and alcoholic eyes so these people might not be as bad as Whip thinks. There's a hint that Whip's highly successful father and grandfather were demanding but that's about it. There are times that you might be yelling at the screen for a character not to do something. It doesn't work. But even though I would have liked some sort of origin tale about his alcoholism, Washington is such an imposing and convincing actor that ultimately this doesn't matter. Dude likes to drink. End of story.
I wrote that this was an ensemble cast. And it certainly is. Look for big names like John Goodman as a relentlessly positive and cheerfully dangerous drug dealer, Melissa Leo as a resolute NTSB investigator, as well as other actors like Peter Gerety (who I just remembered is a Homicide:LOTS vet along with Leo) as the profit driven airline company owner, Michael Beasley, James Badge Dale, Ravi Kapoor. You may or may not know all the names but you'll certainly recognize the faces. A woman I know was interested in this movie because there are 1 or 2 scenes in which Denzel Washington (or a stunt bottom) is bottomless. I could have done without seeing that but whatever. So if your life to date somehow just hasn't been complete without seeing Denzel Washington's backside well there you are.
Bloody Sunday is an inarguably great film. You should see it. I really don't have a whole lot more to write than that but I suppose I ought to at least try. Bloody Sunday is an incredibly powerful film that shows in detail the events leading up to and encompassing the doomed civil rights protest march by Northern Irish citizens in Derry, Northern Ireland on January 30th, 1972. Just as an aside you may be interested after watching this film in understanding more about the struggles in Northern Ireland and the resulting violence. No single version of history is 100% correct, but the bottom line is that Great Britain invaded and colonized Ireland. After a long period of time Ireland became a unified independent nation. But independent Ireland did not include the northern portion, which was disproportionately the home of British loyalists, many of whom were of Scottish and English descent as much as Irish and were often Protestant. They saw no reason to leave their ancestral land or give up political power to the pro-independence partisans, most of whom tended to be Catholic. They were of course Catholic Crown loyalists and Protestant independence supporters, just to complicate matters, as well as relatively apolitical people on both sides who hated the other side because that's just what they had always done.
By the 1960s and 1970s the British government was taking increasingly repressive measures against Northern Irish Catholics, who were already the oppressed and marginalized group within the land. One tactic that infuriated people was the practice of government (Army) arrest and confinement without trial. Sound familiar? This was called "internment" and was of course primarily aimed at Catholic "terrorist" organizations like the IRA and of course anyone who looked like they supported the IRA. How do you look like you support the IRA? Be Catholic. How did people tell the difference between Catholic and Protestant? Heck I ask myself that about Tutsi and Hutu, Serbs and Croats, Greeks and Turks, and any other number of people that appear superficially similar to an outsider. In America we can sometimes get too caught up in our own struggles around oppression and violence. Things were tough all over. In 2013 America anyone who wants to seize the moral high ground will oft cynically invoke Martin Luther King or the civil rights movement, whether or not they know anything about MLK. But in fact MLK and the civil rights movement was extremely influential on people around the world, including one Ivan Cooper (James Nesbitt). Cooper was a Protestant politician who upon seeing MLK's work became committed to non-violence and equality between Protestant and Catholic. He had long been very active in the Irish civil rights movement, though he was disdained as naive by some Catholics and hated as a sellout by some Protestants.
Cooper decides to lead a non-violent march through Derry protesting the internment and other British criminal or army abuses. He is a very optimistic man who is, despite the mutterings of radicals, able to bring together Catholic and Protestant Irish, to sing songs and walk for peace. It's Cooper's hope and goal that he can show the IRA that violence is not the answer and prove to Protestants that they have nothing to fear from equality. But British Army officers, Brigadier MacIllen (Nicholas Farrell), General Ford (Tom Piggott-Smith) and especially Colonel Wilford (Simon Mann) have different ideas. Marching is illegal and they mean to stop it. They and their men have fought all across the dwindling British Empire and they'll be dammed if they take any cheek from some s****y Irish. Some of their men have died or been wounded in other engagements with Irish "terrorists". Most soldiers have no love for the Irish or "bog-trotters" as they call them. The film's name is the name given to that day's events. Given the film's name, which also inspired the U2 song of the same title, which is used to somber effect in the ending frames of the movie, you can probably guess what happens. Like any other film in which bullies run amok you may wish you could jump through the screen and shoot back. This film does a masterful job in showing not only the death of innocence but how evil is often rewarded in this world. Much (all?) of the work is done via handheld camera which really gives a "you are there" feeling to the work. I can't overemphasize how real this all feels. Words really fail. We also get to see the random nature of events and how seemingly small decisions can have big impacts on your life. Maybe you didn't even want to go to the march but tagged along because your girlfriend/boyfriend was passionate about it. Maybe you got caught in diverted traffic. Either way, if you were there on that Sunday you were going to pass into history.
In a decision that should surprise absolutely no one Michigan Republican governor Rick Snyder today announced that the City of Detroit would have to have an emergency manager. It doesn't give me any pleasure to see this announcement but it's one of those things that's probably long overdue. Detroit simply can't continue to go on as it is. One thing that really bothers me about all this is that now that a white Republican is calling attention to the dysfunction that is Detroit, Detroiters near and far are coming out of the woodwork to say that an emergency manager is not needed and this is plantation politics and so on. Well maybe. I don't automatically believe that Snyder or anyone he appoints will necessarily have the best interest of the citizens of Detroit at heart. There was a similar state takeover of the Detroit School Board that actually made things worse financially.
However there does come a time when you have to put everything else aside and just look at simple math. As much as I might like to purchase The Biltmore, or the Wurzburg Residenz I have neither the income nor capital to arrange such purchases or handle the expenses of such estates. So I have to make do with something a little less extravagant. Similarly Detroit, in which virtually half of property owners refuse to pay their lawful taxes , just can't afford to spend the money or do the things it used to do. Snyder did not cause this. I don't politically agree with Snyder. I don't particularly like Snyder. I did not vote for Snyder. But we must be real. It may make some people feel good to call Snyder everything but a child of God over the next few weeks. But that won't change the math. As the more expansive emergency manager law was recently repealed by Michigan voters, the new emergency manager would not quite have the almost dictatorial powers which would have been available under the old law. But he or she would still be the person ultimately responsible for financially saving the city of Detroit or, more likely shepherding it through bankruptcy. And I do think that bankruptcy remains the most probable and reasonable outcome. An emergency manager will be able to do some things that mayor and council can't do.
Q: If an EFM is appointed, will Detroit elections for mayor and City Council still go forward?
A: Yes. Detroiters will have a primary election in August and a general in November. What powers those elected officials will have will be up to the EFM.
Q: Who pays the salary of an emergency financial manager?
A: Under state law, the local government pays the EFM. The salary is set by the Emergency Financial Assistance Loan Board, which also approves any necessary expenses that the EFM incurs. But under Public Act 436, which goes into effect March 28, the state, rather than the financially distressed local government, will pay the emergency manager's salary and other costs.
Q: Does an EFM have the authority to change existing labor contracts without negotiation?
A: No. While EFMs are authorized to renegotiate labor contracts, they are not authorized to do away with such contracts or obligations under Public Act 72. Under Public Act 436, an emergency manager may impose new labor terms if negotiations with unions fail and the state approves doing so.
Q: Does an EFM have the authority to eliminate a department or transfer functions of one department to another, or eliminate positions?
A: Yes. Notwithstanding the provisions of any charter to the contrary, an emergency financial manager may consolidate departments of a unit of local government, or transfer functions from one department to another department, and may appoint, supervise, and, at his or her discretion, remove heads of departments other than elected officials, the clerk of the unit of local government, or any ombudsman position in the unit of local government.
But the emergency manager can't MAKE people pay their taxes. Under Michigan law he can't stop pension payments. And he can't tell creditors that he's not going to pay them. Given the virulence of racism in SE Michigan and the hypersensitivity of Detroiters at being dictated to by whites suburbanites/non-Detroiters and the rage of whites suburbanites/non-Detroiters at being forced to pony up money for Detroit (there are truths to both perceptions although each is limited) I still say the smartest move politically would have been for Governor Snyder to stay out of it entirely. If I were him I would have said "I believe that Detroiters can solve their own problems" and shrugged off all questions and most importantly, any requests for state financial assistance. It's unfortunately human nature but by putting an emergency manager in charge that emergency manager will become the focus of Detroiter vitriol instead of bad decisions and bad management by past and current Detroit leaders. Detroit's problems were not all caused by Detroiters. But I strongly believe that letting people stand on their own two feet and make their own decisions is preferable in most cases than trying to do for them. Of course, in dire emergencies this "each man is the captain of his own ship" attitude doesn't work. And Detroit is in such an emergency. We'll see how it goes. I worry that no one really cares if Detroit survives. One group of people will just be angered by what they see as another instance of white paternalism and fight everything on that basis. Another group will be made ecstatic by what they see as another instance of black malfeasance that confirms their racist baseline ideas. And like monkeys in the zoo they will be throwing their s*** at each other. So it goes.
How do you see it? Is this the death of democracy? What would you do as governor?
When you think of a "loan shark" you might stereotypically think of a hard nosed man who will advance you some cash when you're in a bind but is rumored to hurt or even murder people who don't pay him back on time. He might be affiliated with the regional office of a national organization of similar businessmen. He probably employs people the size of small refrigerators who collect for him. He may tool around town in a late model Cadillac or older Town Car with an expansive albeit suspiciously stained trunk. If you are late on your payments or if he suspects you might be thinking about being late on your payments, he might suddenly appear at your home and politely ask for his money. Or he may follow you to your anniversary celebration and throw you a beating in front of your spouse and kids. It all depends on his mood and how late you are. Hey, all he wants is his money. Since he can't rely on the courts to enforce a technically valid but completely illegal contract, you can understand why he would need to have some, well, unorthodox methods of securing his capital. Since many of his clients are themselves violent lowlifes, criminals and other trash, stern dunning letters and threats to report late payers to credit bureaus won't have the desired effect. Generally speaking baseball bats and tire irons are more effective than plaintive phone calls at getting people's undivided attention.
But if you're a loan shark all this can be hectic and dangerous. Your clientele is often armed themselves. If you kill a debtor you lose that payment stream. Harassing or beating up debtors, while occasionally satisfying, can bring in the police or worse, scare the deadbeat so much that he scurries down to the local FBI office. And then you'd probably be convicted of several racketeering, conspiracy, usury and assault charges and spend the next 40 years in a federal penitentiary. No good. So what's an ambitious hoodlum to do?
Well if he was smart he'd realize that the risks of dealing with criminals and degenerate gamblers, ordering or carrying out beatings and murders, sharing profits with bosses who are even more paranoid and brutal than he is, and spending time worrying that a customer or associate might be an undercover FBI agent or informant don't really justify his shylock profits. I mean you can't spend your money if you're dead or in jail right? And really, who needs all the stress? What if you could make similar profits in a related venture that not only was completely legal (more or less) but also put banks and lawyers on your side for a change? I mean how cool would that be? Wouldn't a loan shark like to have a regular nine to five gig with above board profits, vacation and sick days, 401K opportunities and incentive bonuses without all the messy illegality and violence that used to go along with his business? Classic loan sharks aren't as common as they used to be. They got smart. A loan shark should enter the payday loan/online lending business. Now, in payday loan lending you might not attain the 1040% annualized nominal interest rate on a typical 6-for-5 mob loan but then again you don't have to pay hoodlums who will beat up, intimidate or kill delinquent clients either. You can start your car without wondering if a co-worker put a bomb under the seat. You can attend last minute meetings with the franchise president without being frightened because the conference room is empty. Your overhead shrinks. You can pay taxes and bank your profits. And banks will help you with your business instead of informing the IRS. And if you like, you can even keep your two-tone pinstripe suits for old time's sake. What a country, eh??
Major banks have quickly become behind-the-scenes allies of Internet-based payday lenders that offer short-term loans with interest rates sometimes exceeding 500 percent. With 15 states banning payday loans, a growing number of the lenders have set up online operations in more hospitable states or far-flung locales like Belize, Malta and the West Indies to more easily evade statewide caps on interest rates.
While the banks, which include giants like JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, do not make the loans, they are a critical link for the lenders, enabling the lenders to withdraw payments automatically from borrowers’ bank accounts, even in states where the loans are banned entirely. In some cases, the banks allow lenders to tap checking accounts even after the customers have begged them to stop the withdrawals. “Without the assistance of the banks in processing and sending electronic funds, these lenders simply couldn’t operate,” said Josh Zinner, co-director of the Neighborhood Economic Development Advocacy Project, which works with community groups in New York.
For the banks, it can be a lucrative partnership. At first blush, processing automatic withdrawals hardly seems like a source of profit. But many customers are already on shaky financial footing. The withdrawals often set off a cascade of fees from problems like overdrafts. Roughly 27 percent of payday loan borrowers say that the loans caused them to overdraw their accounts, according to a report released this month by the Pew Charitable Trusts. That fee income is coveted, given that financial regulations limiting fees on debit and credit cards have cost banks billions of dollars.
Ivy Brodsky, 37, thought she had figured out a way to stop six payday lenders from taking money from her account when she visited her Chase branch in Brighton Beach in Brooklyn in March to close it. But Chase kept the account open and between April and May, the six Internet lenders tried to withdraw money from Ms. Brodsky’s account 55 times, according to bank records reviewed by The New York Times. Chase charged her $1,523 in fees — a combination of 44 insufficient fund fees, extended overdraft fees and service fees.
For Subrina Baptiste, 33, an educational assistant in Brooklyn, the overdraft fees levied by Chase cannibalized her child support income. She said she applied for a $400 loan from Loanshoponline.com and a $700 loan from Advancemetoday.com in 2011. The loans, with annual interest rates of 730 percent and 584 percent respectively, skirt New York law. Ms. Baptiste said she asked Chase to revoke the automatic withdrawals in October 2011, but was told that she had to ask the lenders instead. In one month, her bank records show, the lenders tried to take money from her account at least six times. Chase charged her $812 in fees and deducted over $600 from her child-support payments to cover them.“I don’t understand why my own bank just wouldn’t listen to me,” Ms. Baptiste said, adding that Chase ultimately closed her account last January, three months after she asked.
Now stupid people will often do stupid things. Now why does this even matter you might ask? Well it matters because instead of helping people start businesses and get out of poverty payday/online lenders are largely in the business of helping poor people to stay poor. And wouldn't you know it, black people, who already have lower incomes and wealth than most Americans, are disproportionate customers of payday/online lenders. Black people are about 12% of the US population but make up 23% of payday borrowers. Renters and people of lower income are also more likely to use payday loans than homeowners and higher income Americans. Most people are using payday loans for daily expenses. This means it is more difficult for people who are already behind the 8 ball economically to get over the hump. They are diverting a sizable portion of their already meager resources to interest payments for things that if they really thought about it, they may not have needed.
Or viewed another way if they really did need them then this is another good reason we need to raise the minimum wage here and work to increase income in this country for our citizens as opposed to helping people in China, India or elsewhere. If people are taking loans just to make ends meet then something has gone drastically wrong with our job generating machine. I view payday/online lending not just as a symptom of poor personal financial management or temporary desperation but as a wholly predictable outcome of a deunionized workforce with stagnant income growth. JP Morgan Chase, not content with aiding legal loan sharks to rip off low income citizens, also allegedly ripped off other banks by selling them crap mortgages. HSBC escaped criminal charges after willingly assisting drug cartels in laundering their profits. Apparently something has gone drastically wrong with the financial superstructure in this country and world. We need to fix this ASAP because otherwise not only will we continue to have record levels of income inequality as well as financial corruption but growth will also stay anemic. You can't grow when you're spending so much of your income servicing debt.
What we ought to be worried about is not the mob shark but all of the other debttrappers that have proliferated since our credit markets were deregulated. There are more of them now than ever before and most of them have been issued licenses. That is the loan-shark problem regulators should confront.
‘I’d do it legal. I learned too late that you need just as good a brain to make a crooked million, as an honest million. These days, you apply for a license to steal from the public. If I had my time again, I’d make sure I got that license first!’ Charles "Lucky" Luciano QUESTIONS
1) Should Payday loan/online lending be outlawed completely?
2) Does the government have a role to protect people from themselves?
3) Is there any difference between a bank and an unregulated lender?
4) Do you know anyone who has used payday loans? Have you used them?
Well it looks like some people (and some dragons) have grown up a bit. As far as the Game is concerned some people are still in it and they are in it to win it.
Usually I don't like reading the later books in a series without reading the first. In the case of The Dresden Files series I made an exception. I had read one of the books before but had not read the first. I liked what I read so when I saw Changes on deep discount I picked it up without worrying about where it was in sequence. It's closer to the end, maybe firmly so, judging by some events. But like many such books in long running series if you are interested in the themes, you can buy this book and enjoy it without having read all of the other books-though that probably helps. Ok, what's it about? It's similar to the Mike Carey book I reviewed earlier though I think that Butcher was published first. It's a mystery book with supernatural elements. Or maybe it's a supernatural book with mystery elements. Basically not only is magic real but also everything you ever worried about that goes bump in the night, every crazy myth, every religion, is all real as well. Vampires, ghosts, goblins, elves, demons, angels, gods, everything. They're all out there. Smack dab in the middle of this is one Harry Dresden, who is a Chicago based practicing wizard and private detective. Dresden is more public than most of his magic using brethren prefer. Dresden is something of a maverick who is known to stretch if not outright break rules if he thinks he has a good reason. Wizards are not allowed to kill humans using magic and Dresden does his best to follow that rule. It's a pretty serious rule and breaking it can get a wizard killed himself. But Dresden also carries a few sidearms. Although Dresden is not the most powerful wizard, he may have the most natural talent and is part of the White Council, an organization tasked to protect normal humans from abuses of magic.
In this book, Harry is literally minding his own business when out of the blue an ex-girlfriend named Susan calls him up to tell him that vampires have stolen their daughter. This is a double shock to Harry as not only had he not had any contact with Susan for ages but he didn't even know that he had a daughter. And oh by the way he doesn't know if he can even trust Susan as Susan herself is now a half-vampire which is part of the reason they had a rough break-up. The vampire Arianna Ortega intends to sacrifice Harry's daughter in revenge for actions Harry took previously. And she's supported not only by all the Red Court Vampires but by the evil gods they serve. There are different types of vampires. Arguably Red Court is the most organized, the most dangerous and almost certainly the most vicious. Harry's tangled with them before and it's not something he looks forward to doing again by any means. And the story takes off from there. In short order Harry's office is bombed, his apartment building is burned down and he is wanted by the police. Harry tries to get support from the White Council but unbelievably the Council is in the middle of trying to arrange a truce with the vampires and can't be bothered to get involved in Harry's personal problems. Some rivals murmur that Harry brought it on himself. No, Harry will have to try to get his daughter back with the assistance of a few very special associates. These people include:
Sanya, a Black Russian man who, despite being a committed agnostic, wields a holy sword built from the nails used in the crucifixion and given to him by an angel. So Sanya is a paladin. He is the last remaining Knight of the Cross. Despite this honor Sanya still insists the angel may be an alien or a hallucination.
Donar Vaderrung aka Mr. Wednesday aka The Allfather aka Odin. He's not what he used to be but even a diminished god is exponentially more powerful than Harry.
Karin Murphy a no nonsense Chicago Police Officer. She and Harry may or may not have a thang going on.
Molly, Harry's girl Friday and young apprentice who, according to the other women in Harry's life, does have a thang for Harry.
John Marcone-the head of the Chicago Outfit who intends to kill Harry someday, just not yet. Harry's feeling towards Marcone is mutual. Despite being completely evil, Marcone doesn't harm children and enjoys hurting those who do.
Lea aka Leanansidhe, an elvish sorceress who is literally Harry's faerie godmother. Thing is, elves aren't nice and have little use for or understanding of human morals. They do however take oaths and promises (implied or explicit) very seriously so it's extremely dangerous to even speak with them though they certainly enjoy wordplay.
Mouse-Harry's dog and bodyguard, a Tibetan Temple Mastiff who has powers, intelligence and abilities of which even Harry is unaware.
Susan and her associate Martin, both half-vampires, who lead an underground terrorist organization that kills Red Court vampires.
Thomas Raith, Harry's half-brother and a White Court vampire. Vampires of the White Court are basically incubi/succubi and feed off human emotions-primarily lust.
The book is told in first person which is pretty par for the course for this sort of noir fiction. Harry is a bit of a smarta$$ to everyone he meets, especially if they have more power than he has. He explains this by saying that to many of the predators he must deal with in his line of work, like Marcone, everyone else looks like prey. It's best for his business relationships and his continuing existence on the planet that dangerous people think that he doesn't care how dangerous they are.
This book was a little long at just over 400 pages hardcover. There's quite a bit of ironic humor within. Although I liked it I probably would have been a bit more emotionally invested in it had I read about Harry's abortive relationship with Susan earlier. There is a lot of explanation of the limits and rules of magic. But the story feels very real and logical. You shouldn't be put off by the magic elements. It's really just a good old fashioned detective/adventure/mystery story overlaid with a roaring rampage of revenge theme. Harry gets tired, makes mistakes and gets seriously hurt. He also has to decide if he's willing to break laws of morality and magic in order to rescue his child. It's a rollicking good time and with the exception of one or two missteps I enjoyed the story. The Mafia's Greatest Hits by David H. Jacobs
This book is just what it sounds like. It lists ten of the most public or infamous murders of various mob/Mafia figures in the 20th century. The introduction is by now deceased former mob associate Henry Hill (inspiration for the movie Goodfellas) who gives a quick overview of exactly the sort of mafia protocol violations that can see an up and coming mobster appear in a car trunk or end up at the bottom of Sheepshead Bay tied to a jukebox. These include serious offenses like sharing information with law enforcement officials, holding back money that you were supposed to kick up, sleeping with someone's wife, being so violent or erratic that fellow mobsters decide they can do without you, relatively minor mistakes like making a crack about how someone of lower status used to shine shoes for a living, or even just being in the way of an advancing co-worker who is more ruthless and ambitious than you are. The criteria used for including the ten hits discussed are how well the murder plan went off, if the conspirators and actual executioners got away clean, if the strategy made sense, and how well the short term and long term results of the murder dovetailed with organizational goals. It's no good getting rid of a greedy boss if he's replaced with someone just as grasping. Similarly, killing someone who may be under indictment could have the unintended consequence of enraging prosecutors and bringing even more heat to the organization. As the fictional Sollozzo said in The Godfather film, "Blood is a big expense". The book doesn't just discuss the actual murder plans or participants. In more cases than you might think, the men who gave the order or carried it out are still unknown to history. The book also explains who the murder victims were, their history, business relations and standing in the mob, why people may have wanted them dead, and what the aftermath of each murder meant to that particular mob organization, or in many of these cases, what the effects were on the mob as a whole. For example, the murder of Paul Castellano,as ordered by John Gotti put Gotti at the top of the Gambino Crime Family. But Gotti's rule proved disastrous for the Family and the NY Mafia as a whole and for him, personally. In some cases the book discusses if there is anything differently the men listed could have done to avoid being put on someone's termination list. Hits discussed include Big Jim Colosimo, The St. Valentine's Day Massacre, Joe Masseria and Salvatore Maranzano (both masterminded by Lucky Luciano), Dutch Schultz, Abe Reles, Bugsy Siegel, Albert Anastasia, Sam Giancana, Carmine Galante (that's him on the book cover) and Paul Castellano. This story is therefore a pretty fair oversight of top level 20th century organized crime. It's a good pick up for any crime history buff or a novice who has interest. It's quick reading. The Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland
As a child I enjoyed reading about many different mythologies. But some I liked better than others. The Roman myths seemed to just be dimmed down retelling of Greek or Sumerian myths. The Greek myths were occasionally sexually disturbing while the Greek gods didn't seem to struggle against anything. IIRC there's a point in the Illiad where Zeus boasts to the other gods that they could all stand on earth and pull on one end of a rope but he could stand in Olympus and pull on the other end and pull them up to heaven. Greek mythology seemed to be one big pan-sexual party. I only got exposed to a little of African mythology growing up. Arabian mythology and stories were exciting but also full of some very ugly racism. But Norse mythology was my favorite. Winter is coming indeed. The Norse Gods didn't always win. In fact at the world's final battle, or Ragnarok, they knew that they were doomed to lose everything. However they persevered anyway. And they certainly expected humans to do the same. It's grim. These are the gods the Vikings worshipped. It's these sorts of myths that inspired the 8th and 9th century Christian prayers "Oh lord deliver us from the fury of the Northmen!". It says something about the Norse culture that their idea of heaven was a place where you got to fight to the death all day every day before being reborn and feasting. Norse myths fit very well with my enjoyment of blues music. They were both similar in being realistic and even cynical about human motivations and needs while taking a slightly pessimistic view of life and a "me against the world" attitude. They also shared a strong sense of fatalism. "Fearlessness is better than a faint heart for any man who puts his nose out of doors. The length of my life and the day of my death were fated long ago" For Scirnis This book is a translation and slight retelling of 32 of the most important Norse myths from the creation of the world, the beginnings of life, the start of evil, the final destruction of the universe and its rebirth. There are some intriguing links to other religious myths both near and far. Indian myths have world trees and the destruction of the universe by fire. Loki, a trickster archetype, is found in many Indo-European myths. But Loki is also (at least initially) reminiscent of the West African trickster god Legba while the blustering Norse thunder god Thor shares some characteristics and domains with the Yoruba god Chango. Even Odin, who sacrifices himself to himself, is pierced with a spear and hangs dead from the world tree for nine nights before resurrecting himself, has some obvious parallels to Christ. Humans are more alike than different and every human personality type or heroic figure seems to be represented in every religion or myth if you look for them. "The Marriage of Njord and Skadi" in which a god and goddess(giantess) decide that they cannot live together may be an early endorsement of feminist thought. These are the founding myths which not only still resonate in some of our day names (Tuesday = Tyr's Day, Thursday = Thor's Day, Friday = Frigg's Day, Wednesday = Woden's Day) but also served as the basis and inspiration for such works as the Nibelungenlied and Wagner's Ring Cycle, creations by literary giants such as Tolkien, Michael Moorcock, and Poul Anderson, and a fair amount of Led Zeppelin lyrics.
The stories have a fair amount of humor and wordplay which is apparent when Loki having lost a bet to a dwarf and forfeited his head tells the dwarf that although having lost his head, he said nothing about his neck. The powers of the gods, though far greater than those of men and most giants are not without limit. As guests of giants Thor, Loki and a companion are challenged to contests to show off the supposed abilities of the gods. Loki loses an eating competition. Their speedy human companion loses a race against a young giant. Finally Thor, disappointed in his friends' performance, steps up to prove his strength. The giants claim to not want to test Thor too much as they are skeptical of his abilities, given the poor results so far. They give Thor a horn of mead to drink from and tell him that even a weak giant can finish it in 2 swigs. Thor drinks and drinks but can make only a slight difference in the horn's level. The giants then ask Thor to pick up a cat from the floor. He tries and tries but the best he can do is to get one paw off the ground. Sadly the giants say they've seen enough and tell Thor they would ask him to wrestle against one of their champions but to do so would be an insult. So they place him in a wrestling match against an old crone. Thor is angered and calls upon all his might as strongest of the gods. But the old woman is unmoved. They wrestle interminably but finally the woman forces Thor down on one knee though she can't beat him. The giant king calls an end to the games and feasts begin.
The next morning the giant king abruptly awakens Thor, Loki and their human friend and explains that all of them are far too dangerous to remain among the giants. The human raced against thought so there was no way he could win. Loki was trying to out eat fire so that was impossible. The horn of mead Thor drank from was actually connected to the sea. The cat that Thor tried to pick up from the floor was really Jormungandr, the serpent that encircles the world and which is fated to kill and be killed by Thor at Ragnarok. And the old woman who just barely forced Thor down to one knee was old age, which eventually beats everything. Though they pretended contempt the giants were actually greatly shocked by and extremely fearful of Thor's strength. Ultimately there are natural forces which neither man nor god can surpass. This is one of my favorite stories and is typical of the entire mythos. We're all going to die someday and there is nothing you can do about it. So you might as well go down swinging with a smile on your face and a song on your lips. Humans can get immortality via their deeds, which will live on long after their deaths.
