(no subject)

The United States: The Largest Ponzi Scheme in the World

I love this quote:

“A fearful world is buying trillions of dollars of securities from the US Treasury,” he continues. “Of all the cash flows in the world, nothing is more reliable than the tax revenues of the American state, the longest-lasting government on Earth presiding over the world’s largest economy.”

Yes, and General Motors was the world’s most successful automobile company – until it wasn’t.

---

Personally, I think commodities will do fine, in terms of real wealth/purchasing power. Production of raw materials isn't about to skyrocket any time soon...
One of the reasons why the investment markets overall are so schizoid right now is what FSK calls "the compound interest paradox", that is, when money is basically monetized debt, every dollar printed creates a future deflationary pressure, which ends up being countered by printing more debt-based money, ad nauseam... right now we're in this weird see-saw between new dollars pushing inflation and old dollars pushing deflation. This is why printing raw treasury notes, greenbacks, might be a good temporary solution to stabilize the currency. It's not a permanent solution but it could act as a balance against the Fed/Banking System.
On the other hand, the words of Captain Kirk keep resounding in my head: "Let them die."

(no subject)

What makes Bektashi different from other Muslims: (this is a classic Bektashi "joke of wisdom")
Once a Bektashi dervish entered a mosque and started to make a dua out loud, “O Allah,
I would like you to give me a bottle of raki.” Next to him was praying a pious Sunni who
upon hearing the request exclaimed, “Don’t you have anything other than this to ask of
God? You know very well that raki is prohibited by the Shari'ah!"

“But what should I ask for then?” exclaimed the dervish candidly.
“Well,” said the man, “you could start by asking for Allah’s forgiveness.”

The dervish got up and called out, “Aren’t people supposed to pray for what they don’t
have? As for me, I have Allah’s Mercy and Compassion. But what I don’t have is a nice
bottle of raki!”

---

A Bektashi was in a mosque one day listening to the hodja give a sermon. He was half
asleep when the hodja began talking about the pure virgins that awaited the faithful in
heaven.

When he heard the word heaven, the Bektashi came to himself and asked the hodja
excitedly " Hodja efendi will wine and raki be served to the faithful in heaven?"

The hodja became furious and shouted back,
" You pagan, what do you think heaven is... a tavern?!"

The Bektashi replied likewise,
" Hah! What do you think heaven is... a whorehouse?!"

(no subject)

The comics curmudgeon strikes again...

"ANSWER: The lumberjacks may be bear-like things, but they drive a truck, operate power tools, work for a multinational timber-harvesting corporation, and otherwise participate in modern capitalist society. Brendan, meanwhile, is just an animal that lives in the forest and bites trees until they fall down. He has no property rights. I don’t care if he’s wearing a pink t-shirt."

LOL