Join 📚 Roger's Highlights
A batch of the best highlights from what roger's read, .
Before I went on a negotiating trip, I wrote Nixon an exhaustive memo of the background, of the options, of what I proposed to do. And he invariably read it and made marginal comments. Once I was launched, I wrote him a report every night. I recall very few instances where he ever second-guessed, no instance where he countermanded what we were doing. I can give you an important example. After the secret trip to China in July 1971, we settled on a trip for Nixon at the end of February. But we thought it was too dangerous to have Mao and Nixon meet without preparation, because the risk of disagreement might be too great. So I went to China in October, four months before the Nixon visit, to determine whether we could agree on the outline of a communiqué. I submitted a draft in the traditional form, stressing agreements. But Mao, through [Premier] Zhou [Enlai], had a different concept. He proposed listing disagreements because it was more credible, and then emphasizing the agreements we did reach. We were sitting there without communications. I could have gone home. But I felt absolutely confident that Nixon would agree with me. So we reversed what we had come to do, accepted the Mao scheme, and brought it back to Nixon. And he said, “This is terrific. We needed to do it this way.” He never questioned one line of it. So that was a totally different relationship than now with videoconferences.
Kissinger on Kissinger
Winston Lord, Henry Kissinger
Similarly, Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan’s CEO, almost stated the fraud recipe correctly in his March 30, 2012 letter to shareholders: “Low-quality revenue is easy to produce, particularly in financial services. Poorly underwritten loans represent income today and losses tomorrow.” (http://www.scribd.com/doc/88143909/Annual-Report-Letter) The correct statement is that “poorly underwritten loans represent fictional income today because lenders engage in accounting fraud to avoid establishing the necessary ALLL provision that would demonstrate that the loan was actually made at a loss. Loss recognition can be (improperly) delayed for years. To complete the logic loop, the unlawful recognition of “income today” leads to a “sure thing” that will promptly make the controlling officers far wealthier. Again, for the fraud scheme to work it is essential that enough financial participants pretend that the terrible assets are wonderful assets. The effective means to do this is modern executive compensation. The Business Roundtable (lobbyist for the hundred largest U.S. corporations) had to appoint a spokesperson to explain the Enron-era frauds to the media. They chose Franklin Raines, Fannie Mae’s CEO, and Business Week asked him to explain why there were so many elite securities frauds. Raines responded: Don’t just say: “If you hit this revenue number, your bonus is going to be this.” It sets up an incentive that’s overwhelming. You wave enough money in front of people, and good people will do bad things. (http://msnbci.businessweek.com/magazine/content/03_20/b3833125_mz020.htm) The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a civil complaint against Raines alleging that he had engaged in accounting abuses in order to inflate Fannie Mae’s reported earnings—which would allow him to receive a far larger bonus.
The Best Way to Rob a Bank Is to Own One
William K. Black
I’ve been conducting an informal study of alternate nostril breathing for the past several minutes. It’s the second day of the nasal breathing “Recovery” phase, and I’m sitting in my living room, my elbows on the cluttered dining room table, softly sucking air through my right nostril, pausing for five seconds, and then blowing it out. There are dozens of alternate nostril breathing techniques. I’ve started with the most basic. It involves placing an index finger over the left nostril and then inhaling and exhaling only through the right. I did this two dozen times after each meal today, to heat up my body and aid my digestion. Before meals, and any other time I wanted to relax, I’d switch sides, repeating the same exercise with my left nostril open. To gain focus and balance the body and mind, I followed a technique called surya bheda pranayama, which involves taking one breath into the right nostril, then exhaling through the left for several rounds. These exercises felt great. Sitting here after a few rounds, I sense an immediate and potent clarity and relaxation, even a floatiness. As advertised, I’ve been entirely free of any gastroesophageal reflux. I haven’t registered the slightest stomach ache. Alternate nostril breathing appeared to have delivered these benefits, but these techniques, I’d found, were usually fleeting, lasting only 30 minutes or so. The real transformation in my body over the last 24 hours came from another practice: letting my nasal erectile tissues flex of their own accord, naturally adjusting the flow of air to suit the needs of my body and brain. It happened because of simply breathing through my nose.
...catch up on these, and many more highlights
Readwise