tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post4461266669475122416..comments2024-02-28T22:03:57.237-05:00Comments on The Automatic Earth: February 1 2010: How (not) to lift the value of your homeIlargihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09698428009501267664noreply@blogger.comBlogger155125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-58190733108405468612010-02-04T12:46:41.935-05:002010-02-04T12:46:41.935-05:00I&S,
Daniel Ammerman, inflationist, has just ...I&S,<br /><br />Daniel Ammerman, inflationist, has just published what seems like a remarkably lucid (and reasonably short) account of the Fed's bailouts & backstops to date, including a summary of Bernanke's strategies to contain the damage: <br /><br />http://bit.ly/dgAc2N<br /><br />In previous communications he sometimes seems to agree with your interim deflation theory while Woodyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15645404787897496771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-54387192141918040092010-02-04T11:54:59.490-05:002010-02-04T11:54:59.490-05:00Ahimsa said... "Weaseldog,
Complicity, r...Ahimsa said... "Weaseldog,<br /><br /> Complicity, responsibility and culpability don't just pertain to the law or our mocked elections and the wicked ruling elites, but about our individual hearts. Don't we all have friends, neighbors, and relatives who arrogantly feel they deserve the biggest house, the biggest SUV, the most factory-farmed flesh and dairy products, the most Weaseldoghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12657976442272800800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-7371647555589758532010-02-04T00:12:35.979-05:002010-02-04T00:12:35.979-05:00I.M. Nobody says: I have observed far more moral b...I.M. Nobody says: <i>I have observed far more moral behavior among cats, dogs, birds and other species than I ever expect to witness among humans.</i><br /><br />Animals move in a dimension without the subject-object orientation we humans take so much for granted--they embody the Tao, which we must follow the path of the sage to, hopefully, embody. The one fundamental difference between us and Richttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01092313041560676587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-10197855274770398152010-02-03T22:06:03.845-05:002010-02-03T22:06:03.845-05:00Ric said...
Its definitely a question of morals, ...Ric said...<br /><i><br />Its definitely a question of morals, which as far as I can tell is one of the few characteristics we have that we don't share with the other animals of the earth.<br /></i><br />Let's start with some disclosure as to my qualifications to speak. Namely, no special academic or religious knowledge.<br /><br />Maybe it is just a question of the meaning of is ;) but IPhlogiston Água de Beberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16269917130349144430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-47954351777980795042010-02-03T21:33:03.580-05:002010-02-03T21:33:03.580-05:00I accept that I am responsible for my actions and ...<i>I accept that I am responsible for my actions and my footprint in this world. But you proposed that I am guilty of war crimes (your Nuremburg example), simply because of geography in which I was born.</i><br /><br />I always have liked Le Guin's short story, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas where a child is tortured in a dungeon so that the city inhabitants can live in utopia. Who walksRichttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01092313041560676587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-46850332493127343942010-02-03T21:10:12.931-05:002010-02-03T21:10:12.931-05:00I was going to steer clear of the whole culpabilit...I was going to steer clear of the whole culpability smackdown, but the devil is pushing me forward. :)<br /><br />I'd like to share a story that may help to illustrate my position.<br /><br />While the Air Force unit I belonged to was servicing a remote radar site, we decided one evening to take in a movie. What we new for sure about the movie was that it would feature scantily-clad Phlogiston Água de Beberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16269917130349144430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-81365259891331725732010-02-03T20:29:29.286-05:002010-02-03T20:29:29.286-05:00"I think what sums it up best for me is South..."I think what sums it up best for me is South Park's interpretation of hell. Everyone is in it."<br /><br />I disagree. Everyone is not in it. If only everyone were in it, someone would inevitably demand a change. <br /><br />Hell is the place of the forgotten, the undervalued and the vulnerable... <br /><br /><br />where a child can starve because there is no food even when such Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-87517596192026835462010-02-03T20:21:44.752-05:002010-02-03T20:21:44.752-05:00Numbers numbers numbers!<a href="http://www.usdebtclock.org/" rel="nofollow">Numbers numbers numbers!</a>Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15614205920972531674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-6023838889359118452010-02-03T20:12:43.571-05:002010-02-03T20:12:43.571-05:00>As for guilt.....
Exactly. And what's goo...>As for guilt.....<br /><br />Exactly. And what's good for the goose is good for the gander - if Americans needn't feel guilt for killing millions of Iraqis and Vietnamese, neither should any other people, even if the victims are American.<br /><br />Among nations there is a lot of talk about principle, but "might makes right" is the principle in practice.<br /><br />This is Bryan McNetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15654543245300079060noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-12654550931704558732010-02-03T19:36:51.963-05:002010-02-03T19:36:51.963-05:00@Carolyne
Are you by any chance trying to fill th...@Carolyne<br /><br />Are you by any chance trying to fill the shoes that Gravity has seemingly abandoned? If so, I believe you probably have what it takes. We need that around here. :)<br /><br />Completely agree that simplicity is best. You also described exactly why we don't have it.Phlogiston Água de Beberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16269917130349144430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-34282135138941449522010-02-03T18:51:24.743-05:002010-02-03T18:51:24.743-05:00As for guilt.....
Those 500K supposedly dead chil...As for guilt.....<br /><br />Those 500K supposedly dead children died while Saddam lined his pockets and multi-national companies skimmed and bribed on both ends of the aid sanctions and the black market. And those were UN sanctions, not just US ones...<br /><br />One of nice things about a complex society is that it can magnify in one place and obscure in another -- generating massive effects Carolynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00154985068693295228noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-76262644704876694972010-02-03T18:08:11.105-05:002010-02-03T18:08:11.105-05:00I think what sums it up best for me is South Park&...I think what sums it up best for me is South Park's interpretation of hell. Everyone is in it.DJhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02268326234560351295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-58582863803965945752010-02-03T18:07:31.455-05:002010-02-03T18:07:31.455-05:00Prego?!? El Gall--are you kidding? Prego!! You are...Prego?!? El Gall--are you kidding? Prego!! You are never getting out of hell, Old Bird.Rubenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02014088125645527610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-10665254006131944712010-02-03T17:58:47.804-05:002010-02-03T17:58:47.804-05:00The piece on how (not) to lift the value of your h...The piece on how (not) to lift the value of your home: <br /><br />- some brilliant clear thinking by Illargi. The reason I come to this blog.<br /><br />Yes, the American government, and it's foreign debt partners, are financing more trillions of debt on imaginary real estate values - not just homes, but commercial real estate was well.<br /><br />Thanks for the clarity.<br /><br />Alex Alex Smithhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11141662062651853725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-27059330444210384612010-02-03T17:30:51.011-05:002010-02-03T17:30:51.011-05:00I campaigned for Kucinich and Nader but ate Prego ...I campaigned for Kucinich and Nader but ate Prego spaghetti sauce. How much time do I gotta do in purgatory?el gallinazohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00642036843036726232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-54887345760379748722010-02-03T16:52:14.382-05:002010-02-03T16:52:14.382-05:00Hi VK,
I was referring to the 500,000 Iraqi child...Hi VK,<br /><br />I was referring to the 500,000 Iraqi children under 5 who died as a result of sanctions prior to the US invasion/occupation.<br /><br /><i>"UN Says Sanctions Have Killed Some 500,000 Iraqi Children"</i><br /><br /><a href="http://www.commondreams.org/headlines/072100-03.htm" rel="nofollow">http://www.commondreams.org/headlines/072100-03.htm</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-15534025454293743712010-02-03T16:46:27.980-05:002010-02-03T16:46:27.980-05:00I guess what Weaseldog is saying is that, to what ...I guess what Weaseldog is saying is that, to what extent are we as individuals responsible for the world we live in? Are we all equally guilty or guilty to only a certain extent.<br /><br />I would say we are all guilty but not to the same extent. But that does not absolve us of our sins as we are involved in this fractal matrix of exploitation.<br /><br />So while I think Weaseldog, you accept VKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06843562351166927162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-33283619005415017932010-02-03T16:46:02.337-05:002010-02-03T16:46:02.337-05:00Baah, I'm a hypocrite though, I rant and rave ...<i>Baah, I'm a hypocrite though, I rant and rave about overconsumption and ethics but I still love playing shooting video games and I enjoy the finer things - like a little whiskey and a nice watch. Civilization is inescapable it seems unless one is a wise old smelly man in the woods. It's like the freaking matrix, every damn where.</i><br /><br />I've learned that life cannot be Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15614205920972531674noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-84112177701996372902010-02-03T16:41:16.274-05:002010-02-03T16:41:16.274-05:00I agree more with Weaseldog's position than Il...I agree more with Weaseldog's position than Ilargi's. Responsibility has to be nuanced. Lt. Calley and Gen. Westmoreland bear far more responsibility for murder than Joe Sixpack does for shopping at WalMart. Which is not to say that Joe bears no responsibility.<br /><br />BTW, Anne Frank was Dutch, not German, not that it makes any difference.<br /><br />And for those of you interestedel gallinazohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00642036843036726232noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-6990237305546039502010-02-03T16:40:35.375-05:002010-02-03T16:40:35.375-05:00Weaseldog,
Complicity, responsibility and culpabi...Weaseldog,<br /><br />Complicity, responsibility and culpability don't just pertain to the law or our mocked elections and the wicked ruling elites, but about our individual hearts. Don't we all have friends, neighbors, and relatives who arrogantly feel they deserve the biggest house, the biggest SUV, the most factory-farmed flesh and dairy products, the most processed foods (sorry El G Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-79719729644669959122010-02-03T16:38:57.538-05:002010-02-03T16:38:57.538-05:00VK, my handsome and extremely bright Grandson said...VK, my handsome and extremely bright Grandson said...<br /><i><br />Baah, I'm a hypocrite though, I rant and rave about overconsumption and ethics but I still love playing shooting video games and I enjoy the finer things - like a little whiskey and a nice watch. Civilization is inescapable it seems unless one is a wise old smelly man in the woods. It's like the freaking matrix, every Phlogiston Água de Beberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16269917130349144430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-67348620857239231392010-02-03T16:36:28.348-05:002010-02-03T16:36:28.348-05:00Weaseldog,
You're wasting far too much time a...Weaseldog,<br /><br />You're wasting far too much time and words on what cannot possibly be defended. If you cannot tell which battles deserve fighting and which do not, keep your powder dry. You have no innocence, and you will have to live with that. That's all there is for you.Ilargihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09698428009501267664noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-34467825321167661942010-02-03T16:21:00.837-05:002010-02-03T16:21:00.837-05:00" how could anyone other than you be responsi...<i>" how could anyone other than you be responsible for you buying the things made by kids in Vietnam? Did Dick Cheney drive you to Wal-Mart?</i><br /><br />Ilargi, you enthuse me, I am going to start knitting myself a hair shirt all in black and white:)scrofuloushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01085471693372823086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-21321765881121683442010-02-03T16:08:44.163-05:002010-02-03T16:08:44.163-05:00Much of the riches in your life have come not from...<i>Much of the riches in your life have come not from your own work, but someone else's. Would you like to deny that? If not, how could anyone other than you be responsible for you buying the things made by kids in Vietnam? Did Dick Cheney drive you to Wal-Mart?</i><br /><br />Yes! The concept of blood price. I reckon on every Walmart/ Tesco price sticker they should have the blood price as VKhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06843562351166927162noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4921988708619968880.post-5779352242143949782010-02-03T16:03:30.450-05:002010-02-03T16:03:30.450-05:00Weaseldog
A ground invasion of Iran would transla...Weaseldog<br /><br />A ground invasion of Iran would translate to two very unpopular things in the homeland (whatever that is). In addition to 50,000 body bags, and more spare arms, legs, and brains in purgatory awaiting their owners, we would have gas at between $6-10 per gallon. Imagine what this would do to the economy. Would vastly catalyze Kunstler's suburbia catabolism. Semi-rural el gallinazohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00642036843036726232noreply@blogger.com