Author: Ring of Fire Staff

Progressive talk show host and author Thom Hartmann has periodically stated that the economic system known as “capitalism” has now reached what he describes as the “cancer stage.” Mr. Hartmann has a valid point. In order to survive, cancer must keep growing…and growing…and growing…ultimately, the cancer becomes so large and invasive that it interferes with its host's biological life processes, thus killing its host. Otherwise, cancer could, in theory, live forever. It is only the limits of its host that prevents this. Similarly, capitalism must expand…and expand…and expand. However, as the last three decades have made apparent, capitalism's host...

All too often, defense attorneys who represent big time insurance companies in medical practice cases, routinely attempt to violate a plaintiff patient’s right to privacy and confidentiality established under state and federal law. It works like this:  when a medical malpractice lawsuit is filed by a plaintiff patient, the insurance company, who insured the defendant physician/hospital at the time of the alleged medical negligence, will hire a defense lawyer to defend the case, and in doing so, many times the defense lawyer will attempt to contact the patient’s other treating physicians, without the patient’s permission and consent, in an...

A substantial payment  and changes in police practices  are a part of the terms of the settlement for a student’s wrongful death following his tasing by university police at the University of Cincinnati in August 2011. The case drew national attention and fueled the debate over the use of Tasers by police, as it appears the student, Everette Howard, Jr., was an active, law-abiding, athletic young man when he was tased by the campus police.  After being tased above the belt and mid-chest, he collapsed and became unresponsive and died.  Tasers can send 50,000 volts of electricity through the...

The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision is a group of regulators and bankers that oversee the world’s major banks. In 2010, the committee came up with the Basel III accord that has now been revisited due to many complaints that the rules are unworkable. The Rule was designed to ensure that big banks are able to weather financial crises without running short of cash. The rule calls for banks to have enough cash to cover 100% of what that bank could potentially lose within 30 days. Under this rule, Banks would have to come up with more than $2...

A pension fund group with more than $3 trillion in assets recently sent a letter to the U.S. securities regulators requesting that they amend or create rules to stifle insider trading among executives. The Council of Institutional Investors (CII) was said to be concerned about “corporate insiders …abusing their position by improperly profiting from trading their company shares while in possession of confidential information,” according to the Wall Street Journal Online. The Journal Online states that the Council of Institutional Investors is a nonpartisan group of public, corporate and union pension funds, foundations and endowments. The group’s letter stated...