Considering the odd legal fiction that deems a corporation a "person" in the eyes of the law, the feature documentary employees a checklist, based on actual diagnostic criteria of the World Health Organization and DSM IV, the standard tool of psychiatrists and psychologists. What emerges is a disturbing diagnosis.
Self-interested, amoral, callous and deceitful, a corporation's operational principles make it anti-social. It breaches social and legal standards to get its way even while it mimics the human qualities of empathy, caring and altruism. It suffers no guilt. Diagnosis: the institutional embodiment of laissez-faire capitalism fully meets the diagnostic criteria of a psychopath.
The Corporation: A Documentary
In law, the corporation is a "person". But what kind of person is it?
Confessions of a Car Salesman
Confessions of a Car Salesman: Reporter goes undercover and works at a pair of car dealerships for three months. Surprise! Car salesmen are con-men.
The last time I bought a car, I used an "auto broker", and it was an extremely pleasant experience. The downsides are that you have to know exactly what you want; and you have to pay for it outright (getting financing from your bank instead of the dealer.) The upside is that you will get a way lower price with no haggling, because the broker is playing every auto dealer in the state against each other.
So next time you need a car, I recommend getting a bicycle. But a broker is the next best thing.
Vatican II: Electric Boogaloo
VATICAN CITY - In an unusual spectacle at the Vatican, Pope John Paul II presided over a performance of break-dancers who leaped, flipped and spun their bodies to beats from a tinny boom box.
The 83-year-old pontiff seemed to approve, waving his hand after each dancer completed a move, then applauding for the entire group. He watched the performance Sunday from a raised throne.
"For this creative hard work I bless you from my heart," he said.
There is alegedly video of this at CNN, but you have to give them a credit card number to see it! WTF? What's the "cypherpunks/cypherpunks" CC number?
Update, Feb 5: alekb found RealVideo of this on some TV station site. It's small and grainy. It kind of reminds me of NASA moon-landing footage.
file under "because we can"
Here's what happens when you dump 320,000 ping pong balls down a hill. (There's also a lot of video, but it's a very slow download so I haven't seen any of it yet.)
