Stealing from the poor... Mike Shedlock provides an excellent summary of the US's bank bailout plan:

To stimulate lending, the bailout plan will attempt to recapitalize banks. The method of recapitalization is best described as robbing Taxpayer Pete to pay Wall Street Paul. In essence, money is taken from the poor (via taxes, printing, and weakening of the dollar) and given to the wealthy so the wealthy supposedly will have enough money to lend back (at interest) to those who have just been robbed.

The scale of corruption and the ease with which this has taken place internationally is staggering. It makes it hard to hold onto any illusions we might have about the society in which we live.