link Tiger Woods speaks: Praises fans, apologizes to fellow pros – USATODAY.com.
Well the golf event of the year has just happened. Not quite the Masters, because that actually doesn’t begin until Thursday. I’m talking of course about the much anticipated Tiger Mea culpa. The questions were pretty controlled and the world didn’t learn anything new. The only issue was to assess his demeanor five months after the circus began. There really isn’t much to tell anymore, other than for the tabloids which will dig for more lurid and shocking details from Tiger’s encounters. From the golf world’s perspective, the only question is, can he still play like Tiger of old?
As if not already known in the world of celebrities big and small, the kind of ‘action’ Tiger indulged in is not unusual and almost rather ordinary. When you have the combination of today’s cultural fascination with fame and outsized wealth, interesting things will happen. Athletes and celebrities have always been able to do things on a level not available to the average schmo. When you are the meal ticket for a phalanx of lawyers, handlers, admen, promoters and other hangers-onners, you will be constantly reassured of your greatness, of your charm and omnipotence. For those accustomed to driving Hondas, when you get a chance to drive a Porsche Turbo, speed limits are for the regular folk.
Let’s get real here, the whole sordid Tiger mess has made an entire upcoming generation of sports wannabes take notes. The lesson for them is that if they achieve a level of success and stardom like Tiger, they can live like it was the latter days of Rome: The only detail is, don’t get married first to avoid the tsk tsking. Throughout the history of the culture of man, the heroes and leaders have always lived outside of the rules and standards adhered to by the masses. Those in a position to, will always get away with whatever they can. Poor Tiger is just one among the many. It’s no wonder that in most societies, traits like honor and integrity hold such respect….you seldom see it. Finally, stop with the whining about what a failed role model that Tiger has turned out to be. He’s a golfer. If you don’t think golfers are fallible, just look at the adventures of John Daly.
link Greenspan Should Have Seen Housing Crisis, Burry Says in Times – Bloomberg.com.
For those watching the repercussions and players surrounding the recent bank collapse in the U.S., it’s fascinating to watch the responses of the very key players. Michael Burry will be recorded as one of the first and few people to actually key into the gross imbalances building in the bond and swap markets for mortgage debt. He came to this conclusion not because of accident, but by very painstaking and thorough individual research, poring over volumes of dry and numbingly arcane documents. He was amply rewarded for his work and conviction.
Alan Greenspan, whose genius credentials are eroding rapidly with the passage of time, dismisses Burry’s work as “statistical illusion”, basically saying Burry was lucky. Alan Greenspan’s own place in history is yet to be written given his being totally blindsided by the debacle in the housing market and the ensuing collapse of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and essentially, Merrill Lynch. For years, the maestro of incomprehensible economic babble, he assumed the position of oracle of the financial markets deigning to be able to read all the statistical measures of economic activity with authoritative accuracy. Not to deny his immense intellect, nonetheless, Mr. Greenspan has spent his life in academia having essentially no real life experience, certainly not in putting his money where his mouth is. Sound like anyone else we know?
The point is not to dump on Mr. Greenspan, because people make mistakes. But he does ask for some questioning of his credibility if he dismisses the work of others whose views don’t align with his own perceptions. This smacks of arrogance and lack of intellectual integrity. It may be that he has a stake in the consequences of an interest rate policy which he was very much responsible for during the balloon like expansion of credit which fueled the run-up in home prices. Even a person not as endowed with his intellect would know that when a large pile of dry tinder is assembled, all that is needed as some kind of spark to set the whole pile alight. This is the kind of homespun wisdom acquired in real life experiences. The artificially low interest rates which prevailed on his watch as Federal Reserve Board Chairman undoubtedly was a main ingredient to the speculative housing bubble that ensued. To not think that this might end in some kind of calamity is a serious professional mistake. Apparently the complex and artificial models of the world which Greenspan works in didn’t allow for this. As I have opined before, I’d much rather listen to a guy with a chest full of experience than a desk full of theories.