They thought the world was made up of four irreducible elements: earth, air, fire, and water.
Once Cuba is open where will the rascals go?
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/m ... -dictators
Mt 6//
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Mt 13//
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, 48 which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, 50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” 51 Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes, Lord.” 52 Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”
Well it is, after all, The Finance Section! But we discuss so much more than finance here of late; I know Aedens understands what I try to say and it is enough for me here in this small oasis. I am not trained in finance nor philosophy nor theology nor history and have a small and unimportant intellect (I blame fluoride and diet coke but I digress). Still I enjoy seeing each day where Aedens will direct and so far has been a fun trip.
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The fall of a society can happen very quickly. Our society has taken roughly 50 years to topple. If the previous example of the Russian culture is any example, we can expect it to take many multiples of 50 years to undo this damage, if and only if the pendulum has reached its maximum amplitude and now begins to swing back, which I fear has not yet happened. Morality cannot be legislated. Cultures cannot be purged of evil, selfishness and sloth overnight – even with a war. I cannot lie to you and tell you that short of Divine Intervention, this situation will resolve itself in any of our lifetimes. We had “it.” We had “it”, and we squandered “it”, and now “it” is gone, and no governmental, economic or monetary policy will get “it” back. “It” can only come from God, dwelling in the hearts of men, and God only comes to men if they specifically ask Him.
We, the people, always have been and always will be the ultimate backing commodity of our currency, because at its core, money is merely the representative device for a man’s capacity to produce and create. Dishonest men do not create or produce. They steal. Thus, the currency of a morally degenerated society is by definition degenerate itself. The currency of a degenerate society is the proxy not for a man’s ability to work and think, but rather a proxy for a man’s capacity to steal and evade work.
We used to be like gold – beautiful and warm. Now we are like pig iron – cold, brittle and good-for-nothing. And THAT is what constitutes the “full faith and credit” that backs the U.S. Dollar. So long as our culture remains degenerate, our currency can never be anything but spiraling, worthless trash.
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We are created by God, and we exist through time. We can labor, produce and create and be paid MONEY for our labor or production in time. When we save money, we are saving up weeks, months and years of our life. When we spend money, we are exchanging periods of time in our life for goods and services that we need (such as food, clothing and shelter) or want (like everything else). When we give money away in an act of charity, we are giving someone else a piece of our very life. (That last one keeps me, reduced to being a well-dressed beggar, up at night folks, and don’t ever doubt it.)
Do you realize what VELOCITY is?
VELOCITY OF MONEY is nothing less than a manifestation man’s God-given FREE WILL. Velocity is a manifestation of man’s freedom to choose what he does with the fruits of his labor and creativity – his very existence through time. Does he spend? Does he save? Does he invest? Does he tithe or give alms? Velocity speaks to the dignity of man in the sense that God created man with free will, and thus able to love – and even though we are talking about Monetary Theory, when you drill down on these concepts, where you always, always end up is at LOVE. Do you love, or are you a Diabolical Narcissist (like the Bankster Oligarch Class and their Bureaucrat Toadies)? Do you love God? Do you love your neighbor as yourself because God loved us all first? Love is completely contingent upon free will. This freedom of will and corollary ability to love is one of the primary ways in which man is “created in the image and likeness of God”
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So in my simple mind I see it as ALL connected. As I fear we are ending this relative peaceful period (US/EU) before the Crisis I am trying to understand what will come next in my life to try and prepare something for my children> Or if we are all to perish to hopefully see them again on the other side. In that sense I care no more for a level of thought that goes beyond this point as I am not sure that it matters nearly as much as where my heart is. By that I mean my standing before Jesus Christ. Mt 25:31-46