The rather excellent discussion by D12 and others points directly to what should be by now a very obvious problem in financial markets. That problem is what I like to call the "Sociopathic Business Model" that is subscribed to by a distressingly high proportion of the financial market (i.e. stockmarket, banking, hedgefunds, etc...). The finest example of this phenomenon that we may ever have is the current situation in the United States.
Clearly, in the current example in the USA, the above business model was in full play and is the clear and direct reason for the colossal failures that are being seen. The unfettered use of the term "Its just business", is the telltale clue that you are dealing with such people. They truly believe that money is the only thing that matters and when this mindset is achieved, people and the rest of society no longer matter. Such people will then proceed to do anything to achieve the single goal in their lives which is to accumulate money. This is clinical sociopathy/psychopathy (there is currently a new term for this I think, but the old ones serve the purpose for this discussion) and is the stuff that criminals of all types are made of. It just so happens that in financial markets, the laws are not designed well enough to curb this behaviour.
The mistake that such people make is to assume that money is the only important thing to pay attention to. Businesses and societies do not run exclusively on capital infrastructure such as buildings, machinery or other material objects. These are just part of the equation that allows both business and society to function well. The other part of the equation is people. You must have healthy and fully engaged people in order for both business and society to generate all of the money that everyone wants to have.
We have all heard the old saying that "a deal is only a deal if it benefits both parties". This is utterly true. If one insists on making deals that benefit only one party, then they are writing a recipe for their own eventual demise. The banking system in the USA is, again, a very fine example of this. One sided arrangements simply do not stand the test of time. The problem is that they look really good in the short term because there is, on the surface, vast financial gain for the greedy recipient. However, one sided arrangements are a house of cards that will eventually tumble down.
So, as D12 pointed out, these people do not care about what any of us think or feel about any of this. They are simply pursuing their money without any thought of how it might affect others. They are probably also not thinking any distance into the future beyond simply retrieving their money and a good deal for themselves right now. This means that no matter what we say about them and their moral/ethical bankruptcy, they will stay their very myopic course. There are only two ways to influence their behaviour. One is to find a way to defeat them as everyone has been doing by encouraging a vote for the current management (this is good and we should all keep at it until the last minute of the last day). The other way is to find out what will change their mind about how to proceed to get more money. In other words, is there some compromise that will work to keep them settled long enought for more potential to develop with Noront? The latter, I suspect, is something that our current management at Noront was and possibly still is seeking. It would save a lot of pain and waste if such a compromise could be found.
I realize that this is partly a rant about the general state of financial market affairs, but it feels good to get it off my chest. Keep voting for our current management.
Take care everyone,
RHammer
