Friday, February 09, 2007

Anna Nicole Smith: RIP


The mainstream media is awash with stories of the untimely death of a model whose sole claim to fame was her claim to fame.

Less easily understood is why the mainstream media persists in taking up valuable news “real estate” with photos by photographers of photographers taking pictures of news conferences after her death.

Our culture is obsessed with fame, that much is true. But there is something more to the reaction of the mainstream media than simply following our obsession: a literal aversion to reporting the kind of news that would reveal the mirage behind the obsession.


Today, the New York Times business section sheds a little light on the nature of the mirage: the $26 trillion credit derivatives market. Local newspapers have studiously avoided the subject.

The credit derivatives market is an unregulated financial market that separates debt from its underlying asset. Much of the real estate boom that touched Miami has been enabled through the parallel creation of debt instruments traded between large institutional investors, banks, and insurance companies.

To call the credit derivatives market a Ponzi scheme is not farfetched. The Times article briefly mentions how hedge funds have turned into the “borrower of last resort” for credit derivatives.

Hedge funds, of course, are scarcely required to report to the SEC and represent the ultimate “illiquid” investment for gullible investors who may, at some point, need the cash.

It should comfort no one that the market in question is “twice the size of the United States economy—the fastest growing financial market there is”.

The mainstream media is lagging so far behind this story, we can scarcely see or hear it. When Warrren Buffett, America’s most famous investor—(who prudently built a fortune on buying underappreciated assets) first called credit derivatives “financial weapons of mass destruction" the media scarcely blinked.

Instead, the mainstream media is reporting verbatim from bankers that cracks in the foundation of the US economy are contained to damage in subprime mortgage markets. There is gathering evidence of severe, and much more severe, consequences that lead back to credit derivatives and the real estate industry.

Never has so little reality stood for so much appearance--in the media or elsewhere--, not even in the first decade of the 20th century when binder boys stood on Miami street corners, platted but unbuilt, trading land titles for twice in the afternoon what they sold for, in the morning.

There is no end to the questions we would like the mainstream media to address, but in the coming days we expect to learn instead everything it is possible to know—true or not—about Anna Nicole Smith.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Geniusofdespair said...

Your column isn't about Anna-Nicole either!! You missed the boat with the picture Gimleteye! I bet I get more comments.

Geniusofdespair said...

I removed the links to the PORN site, here is the comment without them:


Anonymous said...

I'm torn between feeling sad for Anna Nicole Smith and feeling angry at her.

Sad because she appeared to live a pretty troubled life (of her own doing) and angry because she left a little baby girl behind.

Can you believe the media frenzy over this already? Hours after her death there were reports of news agencies bidding for the rights to the last know film of her (being worked on by the paramedics).

She sure knew how to use her beauty and boobs to become famous. The Internet is loaded with pictures of Anna Nicole Smith nude.
LINKS TO VIDEOS REMOVED BY GENIUS OF DESPAIR

Seems like they may be doing some type of "video tribute" or something.

By the news coverage last night you'd have thought some head-of-state had died! Such is the world we live in today.

9:32 AM, February 09, 2007

Anonymous said...

Anna Nicole Smith probably never came to Virginia Key. Yet the media obsession with her life and death raises serious questions about the news business in furthering the work of democracy. Instead of considering the causes of her death, perhaps we can wonder whether Virginia Key Become Another Watson Island? Why isn't there more attention to Bicentennial park and Virginia Key issues in this blog?

On February 6, more than 150 people gathered at UM’s Rosenstiel School on
Virginia Key to listen to a variety of speakers comment on Miami’s Master Plan
process for the 1,000 acre island that lies between Miami and Key Biscayne.
County officials, including Vivian Rodriguez
of the Parks Dept and Gary Milano of Derm, spoke about the County’s interests
in the island and
the natural areas. Organized by the Urban Environment League and UM’s Institute
for Public
History, the meeting followed a dinner that honored both environmental educator
Mabel Miller and
former City Commissioner Athalie Range, two women who were instrumental in
preserving the
public land on the island.

Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff noted with clear irritation that the as yet
unscheduled public hearings for the Master Plan for Virginia Key would be held
after preliminary
drawings were rendered by the city of Miami’s consultants, EDSA. The audience
was informed that the
Urban Environment League was establishing a “parallel public process” to that
of the city in
order to insure widespread public involvement in the process –something that
had not as yet taken place more than a year after the contract with EDSA was
signed. A website has been set up for public
comments and which includes a variety of streaming videos, pictures and
documents. It can be
accessed at www.floridacommunitystudies.org/vk. Miami City Manager Pete
Hernandez assured
the audience that their voices would be heard.

Other speakers illustrated the complex land uses and interests involved.
Superintendent Mark Lewis of the Biscayne National Park noted that the National
Park Service is
interested in having a northern foothold in Miami for park patrons. Jimbo
Luzner of Jimbos place spoke about the unique atmosphere of his establishment.
Juan Fernandez of the City Parks Dept, Mabel Miller and Gary Milano all spoke
about the unique natural features of the island that they have helped restore
over the years. Students from Turner Tech produced a short video production
that championed saving the Marine Stadium while moderator Greg Bush of the UEL
and UM’s Institute for Public History
said that a preliminary report had showed that the stadium could be considered
structurally sound and
could revived for arelatively small amount of money. Attention was also placed
on the North Point
area of the islandwhere preliminary ideas of the city have called for the
possibility of hotels.
This land overlooks Fisher Island and is also a potential park for a city that
has the least amount of
park space per capita of anyhigh density city in the nation. The audience saw
images of the area- now
closed off to the public- and the potentially beautiful park that could be
created in that space.

After the speakers made their presentations, the public spoke out at the end of
the meeting showing overwhelmingly that they were passionately interested in
preserving the natural
areas of the island and having more input in the future planning process.

Geniusofdespair said...

Genius of Despair said...
The above sounds suspiciously like a press release I saw earlier today. Yes, sadly, Anna Nicole will never make it to Virginia Key.

If you would like to dedicate your own blog to Virginia Key and Bicentennial Park...the link is above on the blue strip, it says: Create a blog.

What is with everyone today, people are very critical...