Ingot54

Cheers Siuya ... I went looking and found a short precis vid of the book. But I like books, and will prolly grab one ... and I like E Toll, though I don't believe everything he expounds.

In the meantime ... I'd like to share something else with you. I think I posted it elsewhere earlier. But I think we can get some kind of a "tough love" message from this:

Can't answer that because so many things today need to be changed before other things can be seen in a useful context. For example, we have always had the needy and the greedy. What Jesus might agree with, I cannot say. You would need to go ask Him that. But I do know that within the heart of man, there is an inherent sense of right and wrong. Positions that "show more love and humanity" can be financially costly, which might go a long way towards explaining why some choose to turn a blind eye to spending one's resources in trying to alleviate said poverty. Many of us will take to our graves a life filled with striving for financial security - I will. But I also hope to have it on record in a small way somewhere, that I was able to make a difference somewhere, and that the world was not my plaything, but an opportunity to leave something in better shape than I found it. You won't find the "right" answers through asking people the question. You will only find answers through searching ... maybe meditation ... but we digress.

A melancholic like me was always going to become a nurse ... or a doctor ... or a missionary. I recognised the "mother's little helper" in myself before I was 8 years old, and have more or less been getting into trouble attempting to (and actually) help(ing) others since memory began. No regrets ... but this thread is for people like me and our critics too. Post away with your best examples of pathos ... poetry ... Youtubes ... stories. In fact - if you have nothing like this to post ... feel free to explain why people who do are out of touch ... or ... even fully in touch ... with the true meaning of life. http://www.flickspire.com/m/BLM/MakeADifference

yeah ... all reasonable thoughts mate - not able to disagree with much of it. I failed Social Engineering 101 in 4th grade, so had to drop out. Consequently I continue to earn "fails" whenever I attempt social commentary ... tells me where my skills don't lie ... but doesn't point me to where they do lie. I still think the biggest movers and shakers in history did so out of fear and love ... and some out of both, or at least out of altruistic motives. I have never read the historical philosophers - Plato, Aristotle, Nietzsche, Descartes, Spinoza, Augustine, Aquinas, Leibniz, Kant, Hegel, Marx, Sartre, Wittgenstein, Quine, Heidegger, Adorno, Marcuse - all of whose names I just found on a Google search :rofl: But I have read a little about Gandhi, Jesus Christ, Steinbeck, and various Spielberg productions I didn't follow through on your link, because I am in the process of getting rid of the heaviness that clouds my day - I have unsubscribed from a couple of newsletters, and still deciding about getting rid of The Daily Bell, FreeDomainRadio, The Daily Pfennig, and heaps of other little philosophical uplifters that stream in to consume my time. I need lightness in my life, and the stuff I have been feeding my mind is actually not making a scrap of positive difference to my trading or my family life. My social interaction is fairly limited, but I do enjoy the to-and-fro on TL discussion forums. Why do we need to be illuminated? Probably to make it more difficult for the people farmers ... I suggest watching the first 5 minutes of this to see if there is anything for you. Don't write it off earlier than this ... even if you want to, like I did! It probably sums up the tiers of power as good as anything.

I once had to cancel a CC (MasterCard) because I was unable to stop a recurring subscription. The merchant did not answer email requests to unsubscribe etc etc. The issuing bank said they could not interfere in the business relationship between myself and the merchant. So in order to stop the recurring charge, I had to cancel the card entirely. The bank would not refund me any money for the 2 months "cancelled" subscriptions. Needless to say, I no longer use MasterCard nor that issuing bank. There is another scam to watch for that my wife got stung with: The scam is to get you on the "$1 trial" for the first month ... "cancel any time" ... "if you like us ... we bill you full fee for the second month." Again ... they refuse to cancel the second month even when done before the renewal anniversary. Another card cancelled in order to rub out the charge. These days we use a different approach - a small Debit Visa Card. No hassles!

How did that gap down ...

It does interest me ... but not enough! This thread is actually pointing out documented issues ... not conspiracy, because I simply do not know anything. One can read ... one can guess ... one would be wrong. All one can do is keep oneself as clean as possible ... and if that falls down ... apologise and make amends. That's where I came from, and that's what I strive for. Sometimes I mess up ... EDIT: And sometimes people comment without reading the references in the post, or understanding the concept and the context. These people will never be enlightened ... as their illumination can not pass further than the bathroom mirror.

In Australia we have a local version of "The Daily Reckoning" In today's newsletter, Eric Fry wrote one of the most accurate summaries of where America ... and vicariously the rest of the western world ... is heading full speed: The 'Corzine-Dimon Syndrome' The article is worth reading twice today, and once a week forever! Jamie Dimon ... (JP Morgan Chase loses $2 billion speculating ... and calls it hedging) :rofl: The incompetent corporations have an advantage over the competent ones --- the incompetent are guaranteed a bailout, but the competent ones are forced to compete ... and survive against them on their own merits. Anyone see something wrong with this?

I don't talk about it - I just ... well actually my wife woke me up with a lovely coffee, and said she knew of a fantastic way to begin the New Year ... that's all I remember until I realised the coffee was getting cold! MM - were we separated at birth? Your neurones seem strangely aligned to mine. You summed up my thoughts to a "T" Happy New Year all. I am leaving this thread - it has been on-off topic a lot, and I feel the point has been made ... and exhausted. Thank you to everyone - I mean all of you, for your open and honest and even humorous views on this emotional topic. I think we have all learned something from the exercise, and speaking for myself, I have a broader appreciation of the issue of gun-ownership/gun-control through your contributions. Have a great holiday season, and may 2013 be your best year ever.

I have not owned nor fired a gun since disposing of my .22 Magnum rifle, a single-shot 12G shotgun and a .303 rifle ( disposed of earlier) in 1977 ... that's 35+ years ago. The purpose I had the shotgun - to dispatch venomous brown and black snakes on our little bush block - my wife was alone there through the day with 2 small children. The magnum was used to provide kangaroo meat for our watch-dog-cum-snake-killer canine, who eventually died of a brown snake bite (he killed it before he died!) I used to tan the kangaroo hides for a hobby, and made beautiful mats from those, and gave them away to friends. After the dog died, we moved into the small township, and I had no heart any more for killing kangaroos ... or any other thing that was living. I disposed of the weapons. I never got joy from the act of killing, and the decision was very easy for me. Sorry - I didn't answer the question - no.

... so far? ... ... that we know of ... ... that we can ascertain ... I used to speak with a Chinese from Northern China via social media. As soon as I asked something about Chinese life - regardless of how trivial - he would find an excuse to sign off. I could not even find out what sort of house he lived in. It was weeks before I could discover what his job was. During the annual dragon boat races a couple of years back, the river was partly in flood, and the river banks had some hidden erosion. A section of the bank collapsed into the fast-moving water, and a vast number of the spectators were swept away to their deaths. I asked him about the incident, and he replied that this happened "very far away - I not hear this" ... yet I know it was in his own prefecture. I was unable to contact him again. And some people think that we know how many people have been killed in China over the past 20 years. You may be right ... but I wouldn't bet on that even with someone else's money! We really don't know a lot about China ... and that suits them fine I would think. I guess Amnesty International is a bit confused. Even ONE death is still classed as bloodshed, as far as I know. No ... not an entirely bloodless coup How is what is happening to the ideologically opposed Falun Gong group, not "bloodless?"

Suntrader - I am surprised to hear you say that. Mao's Great Leap Forward 'killed 45 million in four years' - News - Books - The Independent I usually understand your posts well, so this one throws me a bit. This is an excerpt from "The Independent": Mao's Great Leap Forward 'killed 45 million in four years Mao Zedong, founder of the People's Republic of China qualifies as the greatest mass murderer in world history, an expert who had unprecedented access to official Communist Party archives said yesterday. Speaking at The Independent Woodstock Literary Festival, Frank Dikötter, a Hong Kong-based historian, said he found that during the time that Mao was enforcing the Great Leap Forward in 1958, in an effort to catch up with the economy of the Western world, he was responsible for overseeing "one of the worst catastrophes the world has ever known". I'd like you to clarify that a little please. Nothing bloodless about any of China's history or even the recent "advances." EDIT: here is a bit more on China's "done without the gun" revolutions: http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/dictat.html Maybe they'd like the world to believe it. I wasn't there, so I have to rely on what I hear about it, before making up my mind on things.

Probably none. India in Gandhi's time came close - the violence was still present, but it was not the violence that won them their freedom, but their passive resistance = civil disobedience. And the will to see it through under a leader who kept them on their course.

I am ... have you checked my profile pic (not the avatar) for the real deal? :rofl::rofl:

The problem with all those quotes, imv ... is that the times have moved on ... Even placing greater and greater weaponry with the lamb ... the wolf will still "win" ... unless ... Unless the lamb is willing to be slain in order to achieve its victory objective. The wolves know that they hold the lamb in subjection through fear. But what happens if the lamb loses his fear? What happens if the lamb sees that in order to save the rest of the flock, some of the lambs need to perish in resisting the wolf? It is not done with arms. Mohandas Gandhi worked it out ... and won against the might of the entire British Army ... and achieved Home Rule for India on 9th May, 1922. Today the American people need to retake their government from the corporations, and boot out the fascists that have taken over the Federal Reserve and the chambers of law-making. But every man can not do it with the power of the gun, but through the power of the human spirit. If you want your freedom, then every one of you must take it for himself. Violent resistance by the people justifies a violent response from the tyrant - look at Syria today. But playing with ideas and passive resistance - enough people in a sweeping movement of civil disobedience founded on the principles of truth, will win. They can not shoot an idea, and there is no stronger idea worth fighting for, and being willing to perish for, than freedom. To die for this is to incite the anger of the people further, and the tyrant will either back down, or continue to face the resistance of the people until they do. This is the tyrant's biggest fear - not the gun, but the mind. There are better people to quote than Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson on these issues - how are those ideas working out about now? These men were offering thoughts for the day - this is not 1764, and they could not have foreseen todays conditions. You can no longer provide a threat to tyranny through arms, but though the application of the peaceful and compelling ideas of freedom. Nothing would get the population onside more strongly than this, and from this the tyrant must flee.

Gotta love it DB. But who gets to say if the lamb is deluded ... or lucid? Do they bring in more wolves?

I can trade Williams' AC with the addition of another indicator. But I use the higher TF so I get yellow cards instead of red ones when I make an error. ie - the market is more forgiving if you err in the higher TF. I suggest people use what works for them - develop and "own' your own approach - or get hold of someone else's strategy. Williams is not a bad place to start, but there are better. Main thing is to start somewhere and develop focus and consistency. Become a best-fan of your own approach.

Hi Richard and Vince That was one of the clearest descriptions of Williams' approach that I have read, and has prompted me to look a little more deeply at his work. I have the AC indicator, overlaid with a 5.3.3 stoch on a daily chart, as an indication for trend only. I have never fully understood his alligator analogy, but it is only because I have been too bone lazy to follow through on what each section means. I will look more closely now - thanks for a clear and informative article.

Seems to me - Holiday Season notwithstanding - that the 2-month contest is working extremely well. Take care today and Monday - end-of-year squaring of the books for hedge funds and institutions could skew things quite a lot. Good luck all for the second leg of this.

O Golden Rule ... wherefore art thou? I think this bit of analysis nails it - nothing more to say. Goodnight all.

Gun Buy-back "working" LA residents swap guns for groceries - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) The Boxing Day buyback saw 1,016 weapons, including 41 rifles, handed over. Gun owners could take their arms to one of two locations in return for a $100 grocery store gift card for handguns, rifles and shotguns, or a $200 card for automatic weapons. Los Angeles' police chief Charlie Beck said 8,000 weapons had been handed in since the program started in 2009. "We have literally cut gun violence by over a third, a remarkable statistic when many, many parts of our region and our country are not seeing decreases in crime," he said. Long lines of cars formed as Los Angeles gun owners turned in weapons.

That's a fairly comprehensive trashing of everyone, ZDO. And your position? Are you on the side, and making "observations" ... or do you have another solution to the problem? My own position - and I have not previously stated this - is that there is a missing link here. The problem is not with guns. And the statistics, which I believe point to issues ... and undeniable facts .... only come about because of the missing link. There is a "national psyche" that underlies every nation. In the USA, that psyche is set in "dominate" mode - to win at all costs, to succeed, to dominate others and not to be subservient. The gun is a symptom of this. The gun is used when discussion fails It is used as soon as there is a perception that the other party has a position that is not congruent with our own. And as soon as we perceive we are on the losing side of a discussion/disagreement/debate/argument yada yada ... we reach for the gun. "If I can't win here, then no other muvvucker is going to win either." Conciliation is what is missing. The principle is no longer taught in families in these violent societies - to the extent at least that it forms a significant part of the national psyche. That principle is no longer strong enough to influence a situation to avoid the tragedies we are seeing. It is a result of fear - of losing ... or at least fear of no being seen as the winner. I mentioned love earlier, because love overcomes fear. Love has a desire to see others prosper as well as, or even more greatly, than ourselves. This is gone. It was George W Bush - that great leader of the American nation, who famously stated: "Either you're with us, or you are with the enemy." And thus he drew the lines for war ... and perpetrated the national psyche problem - perhaps closing the door to the peace and freedom that Americans and the rest of the "free world" so clearly want. George could not see the cause-and-effect scenario that created the problem to begin with. And he lacked the backbone to stand up to the Rumsfield's and the Powell's and the Cheyney's who goaded him to make some unsound decisions - jmv - even if he did doubt what the outcome would be. But clearly, at a time when he could have done something that would stand through time immemorial, he chose war over conciliation, and humility. That is the missing link ... it has nothing to do with guns at all. With a sound state of mind, a need to own a gun will disappear from the national psyche. The issue would solve itself. I say "would" and not "will" because I do not have enough faith in people to understand this ... yet. Maybe America needs a leader who can see beyond these issues, and truly lead a national reawakening - a spiritual renaissance, where values are reinstituted that have stood the test of time, and blend well with the golden rule. To lead by example perhaps?

Thanks for your links, MM I couldn't get that one to work, so have reposted ... hopefully it hasn't detracted from your post. If mine wasn't the one you used, could you please repost. WISQARS Leading Causes of Death Reports

Just a bit of perspective here .... (links below): Country .................... guns/100 people .......... Murders/100,000 United States.................... 88.8 ............................ 50.36 Switzerland ...................... 45.7 .............................. 0.52 France ............................ 31.2 .............................. 0.22 Germany ......................... 30.3 .............................. 0.06 Australia ............................ 15 .............................. 0.09 United Kingdom ................. 6.2 .............................. 0.04 China ................................ 4.9 .............................. 1.1 (approx) India .................................. 4.2 .............................. 0.93 Japan ................................ 0.6 .............................. 0.02 Singapore .......................... 0.5 .............................. 0.07 I think the obvious conclusion from the stats, is that the country with the most guns, USA, has a 96 times higher murder rate, than it's nearest gun-ownership/100 people competitor, Switzerland. The difference between these two countries' homicide rates compared to gun-ownership, can only be put down to "other factors." My own conclusion is that Switzerland might lack a "wild-west" mentality ... ie: "If you touch me muvvucker, I'm gonna x-y-z you to hell" doesn't exist in Switzerland - at least to the same extent? Instead, the Swiss might have a more civilised method of dealing with petty disputes other than wanting to incinerate the opposition? Maybe they talk to each other more, and are less easily offended? Maybe they have learned that to agree to disagree can guarantee both parties live another day? I do not know ... but one wonders. Other things to come from the stats ... Although there does not seem to be a linear relationship between gun-ownership and homicides ... it is clear that the countries with low homicides per 100,000 citizens also have gun-ownership rates tending towards the lower side. But I am not going to claim it is conclusive. There is nothing civilised about committing homicide ... so I guess you could draw your own conclusions about the mental health of a population that wants to own guns, and the number of homicides directly related to those firearms. Number of guns per capita by country - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia List of countries by firearm-related death rate - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Unfortunately I couldn't find comparable stats for ownership vs homicides for other countries of interest (eg Russia) so had to pass on those. And just for the record, Australia, with a population 1/15th the USA, has a homicide rate 560 times lower than the USA, with a gun ownership rate of only 17% that of the USA. Conclusion: It takes an average of 1763 guns in circulation to murder one person in America, but 166,667 guns in circulation in Australia to murder one Australian, and 505,000 guns in circulation to murder one German citizen! Does anyone still have any doubt about whether we need more guns ... or am I just as crazy as those who think more guns will fix the problem here. If so, then again, I ask: "How many more?" And if I am as crazy as they are, then what medication should I take in order to correct my thinking? :rofl: