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Billionaire kills himself over financial crisis

Posted: 06 Jan 2009, 21:41
by skeptik
Billionaire kills himself over financial crisis
Family of Germany's Adolf Merckle says the financial meltdown 'broke' him

The best things in life are free
But you can keep 'em for the birds and bees
Now give me money (that's what I want)
That's what I want (that's what I want)
That's what I want (that's what I want), yeah
That's what I want

Your lovin' gives me a thrill
But your lovin' don't pay my bills
Now give me money (that's what I want)
That's what I want (that's what I want)
That's what I want (that's what I want), yeah
That's what I want

Money don't get everything, it's true
What it don't get, I can't use
Now give me money (that's what I want)
That's what I want (that's what I want)
That's what I want (that's what I want), yeah
That's what I want

Well, now give me money (that's what I want)
A lot of money (that's what I want)
Whoa, yeah, I wanna be free (that's what I want)
Whoa, a lot of money (that's what I want)
That's what I want (that's what I want), yeah
That's what I want

Image

Silly old fcuker. That's the trouble with a lot of rich people. They lose their sense of proportion and what's important in life.

Posted: 06 Jan 2009, 21:47
by JohnB
Maybe it was guilt at what he's done to the rest of us.

I could do with a few billion. I could build some lovely eco-villages, and there wouldn't be any planning delays, because I could buy off all the opposition.

Posted: 06 Jan 2009, 22:09
by Billhook
In case others here didn't see news film of the very large banner
that was displayed on Wall St during the recent collapse of share prices,
it read :

JUMP

YOU FUCKERS !



Neatly put I thought.

Regards,

Billhook

Posted: 06 Jan 2009, 23:01
by biffvernon
I think it's very sad.

Posted: 07 Jan 2009, 09:36
by skeptik
biffvernon wrote:I think it's very sad.
Mainly for his wife and kids. That's why I'm angry with him. Imagine how they feel. It's obvious what was most important in his life, and it wasn't them.

"Money don't get everything, it's true
What it don't get, I can't use "

Posted: 07 Jan 2009, 09:43
by oilslick
To be fair he was in his 70s, he might have had all sorts of physical / mental declines on their way and didn't fancy living it out without 10 nurses to wipe his bum.

Not very nice but not quite the same as a 30/40 something with young kids.

Posted: 07 Jan 2009, 10:36
by Billhook
In a society where billionaires have revelled in their decadent power,
while UN data show an average of around 37,000 children under five years old
die each day of the ailments of impoverishment,
including malnutrition, the runs, septicemia, malaria, etc,
where's the proportionate public outcry over their suffering innocence ?

Nowhere.
The MSM would have us trained to sympathize instead with the problems of ex ultra wealthy people.

Given that our children & grandchildren are now likely to face the same lethal impoverishment
maybe it's time we re-oriented our concern ?

Regards,

Billhook

Posted: 07 Jan 2009, 10:46
by stumuz
Life is tough for us alpha males.

The competitive streak in whatever we do is always with us.

BUT, is it a good or bad thing to have in preparation for PO?

It seems that the only approach to resource depletion/over population/PO that is accepted is the green fluffy brigade.

I have a sneaky suspicion that large strong families will prosper, not because of the numbers but because they will have a few family members who will resource grab on behalf of the rest of the family.

So these hated Wall St/ city types might just have the upper hand in a system which is rigged in favour of private property.

So this billionaire Adolf Merckle probably was not a dyed in the wool Alpha male.

Posted: 07 Jan 2009, 10:54
by PS_RalphW
Billhook,

Whilst I agree that the uneven distribution of wealth between the developed and third world is obscene, it has only happened because of the 'benefits' of industrial society. Before that, rich and poor alike lived and died more or less evenly as the population butted up to the local resource limits or the vagaries of natural disaster/disease.

We will, unfortunately, be returning to the status quo, moderated by what knowledge we can conserve through the transition, until we can instill a robust global culture of population control, if ever.

Looking at it brutally, those 37,000 currently unnecessary deaths would become 37,000 or more necessary deaths in the coming decades, as it seems to me inevitable that current global population is unsustainable given any realistic future social scenario. The plant might sustain 9 billion Buddhists, but I personally know fewer than nine.

Posted: 07 Jan 2009, 11:03
by biffvernon
RalphW wrote:The plant might sustain 9 billion Buddhists,
Must be a big plant, even if the 9 billion are buddhists.

I think that the death of a billionaire is just as sad as the death of an unkown poor person.

Still, look on the bright side, the nice folk in the Israeli government have said they will stop killing people for 3 hours per day.

Posted: 07 Jan 2009, 11:13
by oilslick
stumuz wrote:Life is tough for us alpha males.
Are you taking the widdle? I can't tell

Posted: 07 Jan 2009, 11:24
by DominicJ
Now all we need is Gaza to make the same pledge and then we can look at extending it to 24 hours a day

Posted: 07 Jan 2009, 11:32
by biffvernon
They did - but were kept imprisoned.

Posted: 07 Jan 2009, 11:58
by Andy Hunt
skeptik wrote:
biffvernon wrote:I think it's very sad.
Mainly for his wife and kids. That's why I'm angry with him. Imagine how they feel. It's obvious what was most important in his life, and it wasn't them.
Yes, at least he could have had the decency to kill them with a shotgun first like they do over here.

Posted: 07 Jan 2009, 13:11
by biffvernon
Since this is a public forum, it might be best if we assume the relatives of the deceased may read what we post.