Hjólreiðar : Bætt aðgengi vegna bætts öryggistilfinnnigs

Það er gleðilegt að sjá það í fréttinni að sagt sé frá áformin um að bæta aðgengi fyrir hjólandi yfir Svínahrauni og Hellisheiði.  

En það er röng áhersla að tala einungis út frá öryggi.  Sumir gætu haldið að einhverjir hafa slasast þarna á hjóli.   Sumir geta talið að án þess að hafa sér leið fyrir hjólreiðamenn sé svakalega hættulegt að hjóla eftir þjóðvegum. En reyndin er að fullt að ferðamönnum, sérstaklega erlendum, hjóla eftir þjóðvegunum á hverju sumri. Samt hefur enginn hjólreiðamaður drepist í umferðinni á Íslandi síðustu 10 árin. Enginn.  Tölurnar benda sem sé til þess að ekki sé svo rosalega hættulegt að hjóla eftir þessum vegum.  Bæði bílstórar og hjólreiðamenn eru nógu mikið á tánum  til að enginn drepst.  En þetta litur hættulega út, og mjög margir sem hefðu viljað hjóla lengri vegalengdir um landið leggja ekki í því vegna óþæginda sem stafar af bílum á miklum hraða og vegna ótta um öryggi.

Og það að menn ekki þora að hjóla getur hæglega verið mun stærri bagga á heilsu landsmanna en slys á hjólreiðamönnum. Rannsóknir benda sterklega til þess að ekki sé hættulegt að hjóla, heldur er hættulegt að hjóla ekki.

Ástæðan fyrir að nú verði lagt í tengingu yfir Hellisheiði þar sem hjólreiðamenn geta verið í meiri næði,  er sennilega fjórþætt :

1. þetta er ódýrt, það eru leiðir til sem mega nýta sér  og það er loksins komin heimild fyrir þannig útgjöld í vegalögunum
2. Minnki ónotstilfinning og pirring  bílstjóra tengd því að fara fram hjá hjólreiðamönnum
3. Bæti aðgengi hjólreiðamanna sem leiði til eflingar jafnræðis, lýðheilsu og ferðamannaiðnaðs
4. Bæti umferðaröryggi út frá huglægu mati fremur en út frá tölum eða póttþétta fræði sem sýna fram á vanda.

Ég held að bætt aðgengi hjólreiðamanna ætti að hafa mesta vægið í þessu. Hjólreiðamenn hafa margir hver  veigrað sér fyrir að hjóla um þjóðveganna. Ég þekki samt til  hjólreiðamenn  sem þrátt fyrir tiltölulegt reynsluleysi hafa hjólað þarna yfir, eftir Suðurlandsveg.  En mjög margir  hafa veigrað sér vegna hávaða, vegna óöryggistilfinning, að of lítið tillit sé tekið til hjólreiðamanna og/eða  ónotstilfinning við að "þvinga" bílstjóra til að taka tillit til aðra en bílstjóra. Sérstaklega hefur ekki verið boðlegt að hjóla þarna með börnum.

Það er munur á aðgengi og öryggistilfinning og raunverulegt óöryggi.  Og óöryggið tengist bílunum og bílstjórum í  raun meira reiðhjólin.  Hjólreiðar og ganga eru eðlilegri samgöngumátar en að aka bíl.   Við hjólreiðar og göngu notast menn við eigin orku og hafa mun minni eyðingarmátt en bílstjórar.   Bílstjórar eiga samkvæmt fjölda lagagreina og dómsúrskurða að taka tillit til hjólreiðamenn og gangandi og miða akstur að aðstæðum en gera það í allt of mörgum tilfellum ekki.

Þannig að sér leið fyrir hjólreiðar kemur til vegna hegðun eða sofandaháttur sumra bílstjóra en ekki vegna sérstæði hjólreiða. 

Þetta er aðgengismál og réttlætismál ekki síður en raunverulegt umferðaröryggismál.

Því miður er enn óljóst hvernig gæðin verður á þessa tengingu.  Ef yfirborðið verður svo hrjúft eða illa við haldið eða með stóra útúrdúra, munu menn sennilega áfram hjóla eftir þjóðveginum, bæði ferðalangar og íþróttamenn.  Ef að tengingar við vegi og stíga verða of lélegar mun það draga í sömu átt, og sömuleiðis ef upplýsingaskilti verða af skórnum skammti eða með litlu upplýsingagildi. 

 

Sjá greinina "The Right to Travel by Human Power"

Umferðaröryggi og afköst aukast

Minnkum útblæstri og uppskerum tvöfallt !

Fréttin sem þessi færsla er tengd við segir frá því að sérfræðingur telur að hlýnun framundan hafi verið vanmetin. En ekki hvað.  Úrtölumenn segja þvert á móti. Sumir að hlýnunin sé stórlega ofmetin eða ekki af mannavöldum, eða bara að litlu leyti eða hálfu af mannavöldum. Ég mundi óska að hægt væri að sætta alla þessa aðila og komast á samkomulagi um lausnir sem í senn draga úr útblæstri / myndun gróðurhúsalofttegunda og hafa annað jákvætt í för með sér. 

Dæmi :

• Vernda frumskóga og lífríki þess. Líffræðileg fjölbreytni og menning fólks sem lifir í og þekkir verðmæti skógana vernduð. Framleiðslu skóganna á súrefni, og bindingu á raka og jarðvegi er mikilvæg fyrir svæðin í kring. Verndun og hófleg nýting skóganna mun sennilega skapa meiri verðmæti líka í peningum mælt en eyðingu þeirra þegar lítið er tillengri tíma.
• Efla heilbrigðum samgöngum.  Mundi réttleiða markaðsleg skekkju sem hefur verið í jafnræði samgöngumáta. Mundi efla lýðheilsu, minnka staðbundinni mengun, minnka umferðaröngþveitið,  spara tíma og peninga,  efla borgarbrag og margt, margt fleira
• Bætt nýtni í orkunotkun í skipum. Mikill sparnaður. Heilbrigðari umhverf um borð ?
• Bætt nýtni í orkunotkun í iðnaði, skrifstofum og húsnæði. Sparnaður mikill.
• Efla innlenda og kannski líka staðbundinni orkuöflun. Minnka því hversu háð við séum útlönd eða flutningslínum á milli landshluta.
• Efla t.d. innlenda matarframleiðslu í stað þess einhliða veðja á áli.  Kísilvinnsla með fullvinnslu getur samt fjölgað stoðum, og sólarsellur mögulega verið mikilvægari framlag til heimsins en álið er sagt vera.

Hlýnun jarðar vanmetin

2+1 er rétta lausnin miklu fremur en tvöföldun

Vegagerðin lagði til 2+1  en var yfirkeyrð af ráðherra sem var beitt rakalausnum (ok innistæðulausum) pólitískum þrýstingi frá Suðurlandi meðal annars.

John Dawson breskur sérfræðingur í umferðaröryggi, sem var gestur á Umferðarþingi síðastliðin haust, kom fram í sjónvarpsviðtali og sagði að það væri nánast glæpsamlegt af íslenskum yfirvöldum að velja 2+2 fremur en 2+1  +a þessum vegakafla.  Bara ef umferðin væri miklu mun meiri væri hægt að halda því fram að þörf fyrir 2+2 sé fyrir hendi.  

Á sínum tíma ályktaði umferðarráð með öllum greiddum atkvæðum með 2+1 fremur en 2+2 fyrir Suðurlandsveg yfir Hellisheiði. 

Sjá líka 

http://www.us.is/Apps/WebObjects/US.woa/wa/dp?detail=5463&name=frett_ny

Undirbúa tvöföldun Suðurlandsvegar

Lyðveldisbyltingin.is : Kíkið inn !

Þetta er svo sannarlega áhugaverður vettvangur. Margt spennandi að gerast.

Mest svifryk og mengun inní bílunum

Vil bara ítreka að enn meiri mengun er oftast inní bílum, en það sem gangandi eða hjólandi verði fyrir meðfram umferðargötum.  Sérfræðingar í þessu hafa mælt hærri gildi í loftinu í bílum en yfir gangstétt á hliðina. Eða jafnvel í lofti í mannshæð fyrir utan bílnum.   Ein skýring er að bíllinn er með loftinntak frekar lágt niðri, og oft nálægt útblæstri bíla.  Annað er að mengunin safnast saman í farþegarýminu, og meðal annars setjist í sætum og þyrlast upp frá þeim.

Mér finnst gott að yfirvöld sé loks farið að hvetja fólk til að hvíla bílana, en það vantar að þeir segja að það sé líka að öllu jöfnu hollara að hjóla eða ganga, jafnvel í þannig árferði.  Og gangandi og á hjóli hefur maður þar að auki þann kost að velja aðrar leiðir en þær sem eru með mesta bílaumferðina og þarmeð svifrykið. 

Hraði bíla hefur líka áhrif á svifryksmyndun, bæði svifryk úr útblæstri og (nagla)dekkja/malbiks-ryk.

Er ekki löngu kominn tíma á að setja upp skilti með breytilegum hraða á helstu stofnbrautum, og lækka þegar viðrar vel til svifryks ? 

 

 

Loftmengun yfir heilsuverndarmörkum

Ræða Obama. Góðar hugmyndir fyrir Íslenska stjórnmálamenn ?

Getur verið að inn á milli leynist innblástur fyrir íslenskir stjórnmálamenn ? 

 

Frá WashingtonPost

http://media.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/documents/Obama_Inaugural_Address_012009.html

Transcript: Inaugural Address of Barack Obama

Jan. 20, 2009

SPEAKER: PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

[*] OBAMA: Thank you. Thank you.

CROWD: Obama! Obama! Obama! Obama!

My fellow citizens: I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors.

I thank President Bush for his service to our nation...

(APPLAUSE)

... as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath.

OBAMA: The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forbearers, and true to our founding documents.

OBAMA: So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age.

Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many, and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.

OBAMA: These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable, but no less profound, is a sapping of confidence across our land; a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, that the next generation must lower its sights.

Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real, they are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this America: They will be met.

(APPLAUSE)

On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.

OBAMA: On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas that for far too long have strangled our politics.

We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.

(APPLAUSE)

In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less.

OBAMA: It has not been the path for the faint-hearted, for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame.

Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path towards prosperity and freedom.

For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life. For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West, endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.

OBAMA: For us, they fought and died in places Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.

Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.

This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed.

OBAMA: Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.

(APPLAUSE)

For everywhere we look, there is work to be done.

The state of our economy calls for action: bold and swift. And we will act not only to create new jobs but to lay a new foundation for growth.

We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together.

We will restore science to its rightful place and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality...

(APPLAUSE)

... and lower its costs.

OBAMA: We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age.

All this we can do. All this we will do.

Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions, who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short, for they have forgotten what this country has already done, what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose and necessity to courage.

What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them, that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long, no longer apply.

OBAMA: The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works, whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.

Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end.

And those of us who manage the public's knowledge will be held to account, to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day, because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.

Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched.

OBAMA: But this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control. The nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous.

The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on the ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.

(APPLAUSE)

As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals.

Our founding fathers faced with perils that we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations.

OBAMA: Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake.

And so, to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and we are ready to lead once more.

(APPLAUSE)

Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with the sturdy alliances and enduring convictions.

OBAMA: They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use. Our security emanates from the justness of our cause; the force of our example; the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.

We are the keepers of this legacy, guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort, even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We'll begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people and forge a hard- earned peace in Afghanistan.

OBAMA: With old friends and former foes, we'll work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat and roll back the specter of a warming planet.

We will not apologize for our way of life nor will we waver in its defense.

And for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that, "Our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken. You cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you."

(APPLAUSE)

For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness.

We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth.

And because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.

OBAMA: To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect.

To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict or blame their society's ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy.

To those...

(APPLAUSE)

To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.

(APPLAUSE)

OBAMA: To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds.

And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to the suffering outside our borders, nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.

As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages.

We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service: a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves.

OBAMA: And yet, at this moment, a moment that will define a generation, it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.

For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies.

It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break; the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours.

It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new, the instruments with which we meet them may be new, but those values upon which our success depends, honesty and hard work, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old.

OBAMA: These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history.

What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character than giving our all to a difficult task.

This is the price and the promise of citizenship.

OBAMA: This is the source of our confidence: the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.

This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed, why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent mall. And why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.

(APPLAUSE)

So let us mark this day in remembrance of who we are and how far we have traveled.

In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by nine campfires on the shores of an icy river.

OBAMA: The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood.

At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:

"Let it be told to the future world that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive, that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet it."

America, in the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words; with hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come; let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.

Thank you. God bless you.

(APPLAUSE)

And God bless the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

 

 

Afritað frá vef CNN

 

Myndin frá WorldNakedBikeRide

Ég tel næsta visst að myndin sem fylgir fréttinni tengist innihald fréttarinnar ekki neitt.  Vafasöm tenging hjá mbl.is ?

Þeir sem hjóla naktir um fjallahéröð Sviss, eru væntanlega bara að spá í eigið frelsi og nautn, og eru þannig uppteknir af sjálfum sér.

Myndin sem fylgir fréttinni er sennilega tekin úr mótmælahjólreiðum, þar sem fólk er að mótmæla  mengun og sóun.   Þessi tegund mótmæla ( og um leið meðmæli með hjólreiðum, og öðrum heilbrigðum samgöngumátum ) hefur sprottið upp hin siðara ár.  Það má t.d.  gera vefleit að "World Naked Bike Ride"  til að fræðast betur um hugsjónina á bakvið og útbreiðslu.  Ef netsía lokar á síðu vegna þeirra firra að flokka þessu sem klám ( þetta er nekt ekki klám )  má (vonandi) samt lesa um þetta á Wikipediu :  

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Naked_Bike_Ride

 

Berrassaðir á reiðhjóli

Hér er listinn

 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/jan/26/road-ruin-recession-individuals-economy

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/247590.html

 

Feitletraði eitthvað af handahofi...

 

Alan Greenspan, chairman of US Federal Reserve 1987- 2006   Only a couple of years ago the long-serving chairman of the Fed, a committed free marketeer who had steered the US economy through crises ranging from the 1987 stockmarket collapse through to the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, was lauded with star status, named the "oracle" and "the maestro". Now he is viewed as one of those most culpable for the crisis. He is blamed for allowing the housing bubble to develop as a result of his low interest rates and lack of regulation in mortgage lending. He backed sub-prime lending and urged homebuyers to swap fixed-rate mortgages for variable rate deals, which left borrowers unable to pay when interest rates rose.

For many years, Greenspan also defended the booming derivatives business, which barely existed when he took over the Fed, but which mushroomed from $100tn in 2002 to more than $500tn five years later.

Billionaires George Soros and Warren Buffett might have been extremely worried about these complex products - Soros avoided them because he didn't "really understand how they work" and Buffett famously described them as "financial weapons of mass destruction" - but Greenspan did all he could to protect the market from what he believed was unnecessary regulation. In 2003 he told the Senate banking committee: "Derivatives have been an extraordinarily useful vehicle to transfer risk from those who shouldn't be taking it to those who are willing to and are capable of doing so".

In recent months, however, he has admitted at least some of his long-held beliefs have turned out to be incorrect - not least that free markets would handle the risks involved, that too much regulation would damage Wall Street and that, ultimately, banks would always put the protection of their shareholders first.

He has described the current financial crisis as "the type ... that comes along only once in a century" and last autumn said the fact that the banks had played fast and loose with shareholders' equity had left him "in a state of shocked disbelief".

Politicians

Bill Clinton, former US president  Clinton shares at least some of the blame for the current financial chaos. He beefed up the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act to force mortgage lenders to relax their rules to allow more socially disadvantaged borrowers to qualify for home loans.

In 1999 Clinton repealed the Glass-Steagall Act, which ensured a complete separation between commercial banks, which accept deposits, and investment banks, which invest and take risks. The move prompted the era of the superbank and primed the sub-prime pump. The year before the repeal sub-prime loans were just 5% of all mortgage lending. By the time the credit crunch blew up it was approaching 30%.

Gordon Brown, prime minister  The British prime minister seems to have been completely dazzled by the movers and shakers in the Square Mile, putting the City's interests ahead of other parts of the economy, such as manufacturers. He backed "light touch" regulation and a low-tax regime for the thousands of non-domiciled foreign bankers working in London and for the private equity business.

George W Bush, former US president President Clinton might have started the sub-prime ball rolling, but the Bush administration certainly did little to put the brakes on the vast amount of mortgage cash being lent to "Ninja" (No income, no job applicants) borrowers who could not afford them. Neither did he rein back Wall Street with regulation (although the government did pass the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in the wake of the Enron scandal).

Senator Phil GrammFormer US senator from Texas, free market advocate with a PhD in economics who fought long and hard for financial deregulation. His work, encouraged by Bill Clinton's administration, allowed the explosive growth of derivatives, including credit swaps. In 2001 he told a Senate debate: "Some people look at sub-prime lending and see evil," he said. "I look at sub-prime lending and I see the American dream in action."

According to the New York Times, federal records show that from 1989 to 2002 he was the top recipient of campaign contributions from commercial banks and in the top five for donations from Wall Street. At an April 2000 Senate hearing after a visit to New York, he said: "When I am on Wall Street and I realize that that's the very nerve center of American capitalism and I realize what capitalism has done for the working people of America, to me that's a holy place."

He eventually left Capitol Hill to work for UBS as an investment banker.

Wall Street/Bankers

Abi Cohen, Goldman Sachs chief US strategistThe "perpetual bull". Once rated one of the most powerful women in the US. But so wrong, so often. She failed to see previous share price crashes and was famous for her upwards forecasts. Replaced last March.

"Hank" Greenberg, AIG insurance group Now aged 83, Hank - AKA Maurice - was the boss of AIG. He built the business into the world's biggest insurer. AIG had a vast business in credit default swaps and therefore a huge exposure to a residential mortgage crisis. When AIG's own credit-rating was cut, it faced a liquidity crisis and needed an $85bn (£47bn then) bail out from the US government to avoid collapse and avert the crisis its collapse would have caused. It later needed many more billions from the US treasury and the Fed, but that did not stop senior AIG executives taking themselves off for a few lavish trips, including a $444,000 golf and spa retreat in California and an $86,000 hunting expedition to England. "Have you heard of anything more outrageous?" said Elijah Cummings, a Democratic congressman from Maryland. "They were getting their manicures, their facials, pedicures, massages while the American people were footing the bill."

Andy Hornby, former HBOS bossSo highly respected, so admired and so clever - top of his 800-strong class at Harvard - but it was his strategy, adopted from the Bank of Scotland when it merged with Halifax, that got HBOS in the trouble it is now. Who would have thought that the mighty Halifax could be brought to its knees and teeter on the verge of nationalisation?

Sir Fred Goodwin, former RBS bossOnce one of Gordon Brown's favourite businessmen, now the prime minister says he is "angry" with the man dubbed "Fred the Shred" for his strategy at Royal Bank of Scotland, which has left the bank staring at a £28bn loss and 70% owned by the government. The losses will reflect vast lending to businesses that cannot repay and write-downs on acquisitions masterminded by Goodwin stretching back years.

Steve Crawshaw, former B&B bossOnce upon a time Bradford & Bingley was a rather boring building society, which used two men in bowler hats to signify their sensible and trustworthy approach. In 2004 the affable Crawshaw took over. He closed down B&B businesses, cut staff numbers by half and turned the B&B into a specialist in buy-to-let loans and self-certified mortgages - also called "liar loans" because applicants did not have to prove a regular income. The business broke down when the wholesale money market collapsed and B&B's borrowers fell quickly into debt. Crawshaw denied a rights issue was on its way weeks before he asked shareholders for £300m. Eventually, B&B had to be nationalised. Crawshaw, however, had left the bridge a few weeks earlier as a result of heart problems. He has a £1.8m pension pot.

Adam Applegarth, former Northern Rock bossApplegarth had such big ambitions. But the business model just collapsed when the credit crunch hit. Luckily for Applegarth, he walked away with a wheelbarrow of cash to ease the pain of his failure, and spent the summer playing cricket.

Ralph Cioffi and Matthew TanninCioffi, pictured, and Tanninn were Bear Stearns bankers recently indicted for fraud over the collapse of two hedge funds last year, which was one of the triggers of the credit crunch. They are accused of lying to investors about the amount of money they were putting into sub-prime, and of quietly withdrawing their own funds when times got tough.

Lewis Ranieri The "godfather" of mortgage finance, who pioneered mortgage-backed bonds in the 1980s and immortalised in Liar's Poker. Famous for saying that "mortgages are math", Ranieri created collateralised pools of mortgages. In 2004 Business Week ranked him alongside names such as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs as one of the greatest innovators of the past 75 years.

Ranieri did warn in 2006 of the risks from the breakneck growth of mortgage securitisation. Nevertheless, his Texas-based Franklin Bank Corp went bust in November due to the credit crunch.

Joseph Cassano, AIG Financial ProductsCassano ran the AIG team that sold credit default swaps in London, and in effect bankrupted the world's biggest insurance company, forcing the US government to stump up billions in aid. Cassano, who lives in a townhouse near Harrods in Knightsbridge, earned 30 cents for every dollar of profit his financial products generated - or about £280m. He was fired after the division lost $11bn, but stayed on as a $1m-a-month consultant. "It seems he single-handedly brought AIG to its knees," said John Sarbanes, a Democratic congressman.

Chuck Prince, former Citi bossA lawyer by training, Prince had built Citi into the biggest bank in the world, with a sprawling structure that covered investment banking, high-street banking and wealthy management for the richest clients. When profits went into reverse in 2007, he insisted it was just a hiccup, but he was forced out after multibillion-dollar losses on sub-prime business started to surface. He received about $140m to ease his pain .

Angelo Mozilo, Countrywide FinancialKnown as "the orange one" for his luminous tan, Mozilo was the chairman and chief executive of the biggest American sub-prime mortgage lender, which was saved from bankruptcy by Bank of America. BoA recently paid billions to settle investigations by various attorney generals for Countrywide's mis-selling of risky loans to thousands who could not afford them. The company ran a "VIP program" that provided loans on favorable terms to influential figures including Christopher Dodd, chairman of the Senate banking committee, the heads of the federal-backed mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and former assistant secretary of state Richard Holbrooke.

Stan O'Neal, former boss of Merrill Lynch O'Neill became one of the highest-profile casualties of the credit crunch when he lost the confidence of the bank's board in late 2007. When he was appointed to the top job four years earlier, O'Neal, the first African-American to run a Wall Street firm, had pledged to shed the bank's conservative image. Shortly before he quit, the bank admitted to nearly $8bn of exposure to bad debts, as bets in the property and credit markets turned sour. Merrill was forced into the arms of Bank of America less than a year later.

Jimmy Cayne, former Bear Stearns bossThe chairman of the Wall Street firm Bear Stearns famously continued to play in a bridge tournament in Detroit even as the firm fell into crisis. Confidence in the bank evaporated after the collapse of two of its hedge funds and massive write-downs from losses related to the home loans industry. It was bought for a knock down price by JP Morgan Chase in March. Cayne sold his stake in the firm after the JP Morgan bid emerged, making $60m. Such was the anger directed towards Cayne that the US media reported that he had been forced to hire a bodyguard. A one-time scrap-iron salesman, Cayne joined Bear Stearns in 1969 and became one of the firm's top brokers, taking over as chief executive in 1993.

Others

Christopher Dodd, chairman, Senate banking committee (Democrat)Consistently resisted efforts to tighten regulation on the mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. He pushed to broaden their role to dodgier mortgages in an effort to help home ownership for the poor. Received $165,000 in donations from Fannie and Freddie from 1989 to 2008, more than anyone else in Congress.

Geir Haarde, Icelandic prime ministerHe announced on Friday that he would step down and call an early election in May, after violent anti-government protests fueled by his handling of the financial crisis. Last October Iceland's three biggest commercial banks collapsed under billions of dollars of debts. The country was forced to borrow $2.1bn from the International Monetary Fund and take loans from several European countries. Announcing his resignation, Haarde said he had throat cancer.

The American public There's no escaping the fact: politicians might have teed up the financial system and failed to police it properly and Wall Street's greedy bankers might have got carried away with the riches they could generate, but if millions of Americans had just realized they were borrowing more than they could repay then we would not be in this mess. The British public got just as carried away. We are the credit junkies of Europe and many of our problems could easily have been avoided if we had been more sensible and just said no.

Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of EnglandWhen Mervyn King settled his feet under the desk in his Threadneedle Street office, the UK economy was motoring along just nicely: GDP was growing at 3% and inflation was just 1.3%. Chairing his first meeting of the Bank's monetary policy committee (MPC), interest rates were cut to a post-war low of 3.5%. His ambition was that monetary policy decision-making should become "boring".

How we would all like it to become boring now. When the crunch first took hold, the Aston Villa-supporting governor insisted it was not about to become an international crisis. In the first weeks of the crunch he refused to pump cash into the financial system and insisted that "moral hazard" meant that some banks should not be bailed out. The Treasury select committee has said King should have been "more pro-active".

King's MPC should have realized there was a housing bubble developing and taken action to damp it down and, more recently, the committee should have seen the recession coming and cut interest rates far faster than it did.

John Tiner, FSA chief executive, 2003-07No one can fault 51-year-old Tiner's timing: the financial services expert took over as the City's chief regulator in 2003, just as the bear market which followed the dotcom crash came to an end, and stepped down from the Financial Services Authority in July 2007 - just a few weeks before the credit crunch took hold.

He presided over the FSA when the so-called "light touch" regulation was put in place. It was Tiner who agreed that banks could make up their own minds about how much capital they needed to hoard to cover their risks. And it was on his watch that Northern Rock got so carried away with the wholesale money markets and 130% mortgages. When the FSA finally got around to investigating its own part in the Rock's downfall, it was a catalog of errors and omissions. In short, the FSA had been asleep at the wheel while Northern Rock racked up ever bigger risks.

An accountant by training, with a penchant for Porsches and proud owner of the personalized number plate T1NER, the former FSA boss has since been recruited by the financial entrepreneur Clive Cowdery to run a newly floated business that aims to buy up financial businesses laid low by the credit crunch. Tiner will be chief executive but, unusually, will not be on the board, so his pay and bonuses will not be made public.

Dick Fuld, Lehman Brothers chief executiveThe credit crunch had been rumbling on for more than a year but Lehman Brothers' collapse in September was to have a catastrophic impact on confidence. Richard Fuld, chief executive, later told Congress he was bewildered the US government had not saved the bank when it had helped secure Bear Stearns and the insurer AIG. He also blamed short-sellers. Bitter workers at Lehman pointed the finger at Fuld.

A former bond trader known as "the Gorilla", Fuld had been with Lehman for decades and steered it through tough times. But just before the bank went bust he had failed to secure a deal to sell a large stake to the Korea Development Bank and most likely prevent its collapse. Fuld encouraged risk-taking and Lehman was still investing heavily in property at the top of the market. Facing a grilling on Capitol Hill, he was asked whether it was fair that he earned $500m over eight years. He demurred; the figure, he said, was closer to $300m.

... and six more who saw it coming

Andrew LahdeA hedge fund boss who quit the industry in October thanking "stupid" traders and "idiots" for making him rich. He made millions by betting against sub-prime.

John Paulson, hedge fund bossHe has been described as the "world's biggest winner" from the credit crunch, earning $3.7bn (£1.9bn) in 2007 by "shorting" the US mortgage market - betting that the housing bubble was about to burst. In an apparent response to criticism that he was profiting from misery, Paulson gave $15m to a charity aiding people fighting foreclosure.

Professor Nouriel RoubiniDescribed by the New York Times as Dr Doom, the economist from New York University was warning that financial crisis was on the way in 2006, when he told economists at the IMF that the US would face a once-in-a-lifetime housing bust, oil shock and a deep recession.

He remains a pessimist. He predicted last week that losses in the US financial system could hit $3.6tn before the credit crunch ends - which, he said, means the entire US banking system is in effect bankrupt. After last year's bail-outs and nationalisations, he famously described George Bush, Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke as "a troika of Bolsheviks who turned the USA into the United Socialist State Republic of America".

Warren Buffett, billionaire investor Dubbed the Sage of Omaha, Buffett had long warned about the dangers of dodgy derivatives that no one understood and said often that Wall Street's finest were grossly overpaid. In his annual letter to shareholders in 2003, he compared complex derivative contracts to hell: "Easy to enter and almost impossible to exit." On an optimistic note, Buffett wrote in October that he had begun buying shares on the US stockmarket again, suggesting the worst of the credit crunch might be over. Now is a great time to "buy a slice of America's future at a marked-down price", he said.

George Soros, speculator The billionaire financier, philanthropist and backer of the Democrats told an audience in Singapore in January 2006 that stockmarkets were at their peak, and that the US and global economies should brace themselves for a recession and a possible "hard landing". He also warned of "a gigantic real estate bubble" inflated by reckless lenders, encouraging homeowners to remortgage and offering interest-only deals. Earlier this year Soros described a 25-year "super bubble" that is bursting, blaming unfathomable financial instruments, deregulation and globalisation. He has since characterized the financial crisis as the worst since the Great Depression.

Stephen Eismann, hedge fund managerAn analyst and fund manager who tracked the sub-prime market from the early 1990s. "You have to understand," he says, "I did sub-prime first. I lived with the worst first. These guys lied to infinity. What I learned from that experience was that Wall Street didn't give a shit what it sold."

Meredith Whitney, Oppenheimer Securities On 31 October 2007 the analyst forecast that Citigroup had to slash its dividend or face bankruptcy. A day later $370bn had been wiped off financial stocks on Wall Street. Within days the boss of Citigroup was out and the dividend had been slashed.

Kathleen Corbet, former CEO, Standard & Poor'sThe credit-rating agencies were widely attacked for failing to warn of the risks posed by mortgage-backed securities. Kathleen Corbet ran the largest of the big three agencies, Standard & Poor's, and quit in August 2007, amid a hail of criticism. The agencies have been accused of acting as cheerleaders, assigning the top AAA rating to collateralised debt obligations, the often incomprehensible mortgage-backed securities that turned toxic. The industry argues it did its best with the information available.

Corbet said her decision to leave the agency had been "long planned" and denied that she had been put under any pressure to quit. She kept a relatively low profile and had been hired to run S&P in 2004 from the investment firm Alliance Capital Management.

Investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York attorney general among others have focused on whether the agencies are compromised by earning fees from the banks that issue the debt they rate. The reputation of the industry was savaged by a blistering report by the SEC that contained dozens of internal emails that suggested they had betrayed investors' trust. "Let's hope we are all wealthy and retired by the time this house of cards falters," one unnamed S&P analyst wrote. In another, an S&P employee wrote:

"It could be structured by cows and we would rate it."

• Tomorrow in part three of the Road to Ruin series - The Barons of Bankruptcy - how going bust can be a profitable business
© Guardian News & Media 2008
Published: 1/25/2009 

 

 

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