Posts by Nickolas

War is unthinkable to most people, slimboyfat, but war has been visited personally on a great many. It's been close to eight decades since war visited the UK and a century and a half (if you discount Pearl Harbor) since it devastated America. But it's been a lot more recent in other countries, to a large extent because the UK and America launched wars of liberation. It would be a messy situation if the US and China went toe-to-toe.

37

Let's make a deal

by Nickolas in

jw
friends

i'm an atheist, my wife's a jehovah's witness.

each of us knocks on your door and has something to sell to you.

it's up to you to choose.

Nickolas

And then my cousin shows up selling his special agnostic-believe-whatever-you-want-to package, with guaranteed refund.

Now, which one do you choose?

37

Let's make a deal

by Nickolas in

jw
friends

i'm an atheist, my wife's a jehovah's witness.

each of us knocks on your door and has something to sell to you.

it's up to you to choose.

Nickolas

you don't have to be sad.

Aw, c'mon, OUTLAW, you wouldn't buy either one? Are you an agnostic?

Just the two of us, V. Polar opposites.

37

Let's make a deal

by Nickolas in

jw
friends

i'm an atheist, my wife's a jehovah's witness.

each of us knocks on your door and has something to sell to you.

it's up to you to choose.

Nickolas

I'm an atheist, my wife's a Jehovah's Witness. Each of us knocks on your door and has something to sell to you. It's up to you to choose. Take one, take the other, take neither.

1. There is no god. We can't really be expected to understand much, that's how primitive we are, but it appears from the evidence (if all those scientists can be beleived) that we are animals like all the other animals around us, only we're smarter. A billion years ago, life generated spontaneously as a self-replicating molecule, natural selection took over and the rest is history. And, by the way, you're gonna die.

2. There is certainly a God, and his name is Jehovah. He created us, and all the other living creatures around us. And He did it, not over the course of a billion years, but scant thousands of years ago. He made us, and all the other living things in the world. We, his most beautiful physical creation, then betrayed Him and He cursed us. We were innocent and pure as the driven snow, as we were when He made us, but we should have known better. This snake shows up that's different. This snake talks, and he convinces naiive Eve (she's just part of a mere rib of a man, after all) to take a bite out of a fruit she's been forbidden to taste by her Creator who had said, like, just yesterday, "Hey, you can have eternal life exactly the same way as you have it now, forever and ever, for all eternity, living here in the garden with Adam, making kids, eating fruit, petting lions, over and over again, for all time neverending." So, somehow Eve decided the prospect was not enticing so she bit into the fruit, knowing full well that she'd be inviting down on her head and all of humankind the wrath of Jehovah. Well, Jehovah was indeed some pissed, and he cursed humankind. But he made sure we survived. He made sure we would endure through a Great Flood so that we might survive and repopulate the world. He guided us through the wilderness and found us a home. He brought forth the human saviour who would atone for the sins of our original parents (the ones sucked in by the snake) and He set him up to be a blood sacrifice in the most horrific manner conceivable just so that we might live forever. And all you've got to do is believe it, and you'll live forever.

Which one do you buy?

16

The real Big A - the writing on the wall

by Nickolas in

what's happening geologically recently seems to be bringing out the sandwich boards and doomsday proclaimers.

signs of the end of the world?

not likely, at least not in the scriptural sense.

Nickolas

crazyblondeb the big A is on the way....yawn!! ... where have we heard this?

not the big A you're thinking about, girl. However, you have the same perspective as the majority of Americans, so you will be right if the majority is. I'm not sure.

I could hold some of yours' loot(s) for yas. I got a lot of socks that i could fill up. Plus, since it's so cold up here, in the great white north, your moneys would stay crisp and cool.

Tim Hortons stock sounds better to me, Satanus.

16

The real Big A - the writing on the wall

by Nickolas in

what's happening geologically recently seems to be bringing out the sandwich boards and doomsday proclaimers.

signs of the end of the world?

not likely, at least not in the scriptural sense.

Nickolas

You are in the UK I believe, slimboyfat, so you have already experienced what I am talking about. The pound sterling used to be the world's reserve currency. When was it your government devalued the pound? Couple of times, I think. Big one was just after WW2, then again in the mid 70's, when Britain experienced something like 25-30% annual inflation. Is it not surprising that people in other countries think they're immune?

Can you imagine 25% inflation in the US?

16

The real Big A - the writing on the wall

by Nickolas in

what's happening geologically recently seems to be bringing out the sandwich boards and doomsday proclaimers.

signs of the end of the world?

not likely, at least not in the scriptural sense.

Nickolas

I've prepared myself a bit by diversifying retirement accounts into foreign companies and a little gold and silver. I really don't know what else I can do to prepare for something like you describe.

Sound strategy. If you look to history, governments will try to control the financial flexibility of its citizens in order to control the financial flexibility of the nation. The US gov't made it illegal to own gold bullion not that long ago - 80 or 90 years ago - and it may be expected to do something similar if times get tough. So, as villabolo suggests, getting physical ownership of your assets seems a logical move. You also need to protect your liquid assets, as you have apparently done already. It may sound unpatriotic, but moving some of your money to a more stable foreign economy, like to Canada and the Canadian currency for example, might make sense (don't be surprised if you see moves to restrict this type of transaction in the near future.) But the Canadian dollar is a bit player in the world and will not be the new world's reserve currency. It may be the Euro, which is also just a little sick these days from EU bailouts, or it may be the Yen, but Japan has its own problems, or it may be the Yuan - this is my personal bet. China's economy is just waking up.

I've benefited by sustained market bulls only to be hammered a number of times by meltdowns, worst was 2008 when some of my investments declined 70%. I''ve got all of that back but I can't figure out the substance behind the current uptick, what's sustaining it, and I wonder if it's an illusion.

16

The real Big A - the writing on the wall

by Nickolas in

what's happening geologically recently seems to be bringing out the sandwich boards and doomsday proclaimers.

signs of the end of the world?

not likely, at least not in the scriptural sense.

Nickolas

What's happening geologically recently seems to be bringing out the sandwich boards and doomsday proclaimers. Signs of the end of the world? Not likely, at least not in the scriptural sense. Don't expect the four horsemen to show up in your town anytime soon, but you might want to prepare for a different kind of apocalypse, especially if you live in the United States of America.

A few months ago, I participated in a thread started by leavingwt. This one. http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/members/politics/202957/1/The-Tax-Cut-Endgame

In it I expressed a concern that the US was heading for a currency crisis. I remain concerned and welcome feedback and pushback. Take the gloves off, I'm a big boy and I really want to be proven wrong. Here are the facts as I see them.

Almost every state in the US is on the verge of bankruptcy. Add to that group dozens of major cities.

US national debt is $14 trillion and rising over $4 billion per day. The US has borrowed an impossible amount of money that seems can never be repaid (even if the incomes of Americans were taxed at 100%, the US could not pay off its debt).

Household debt is lower this year than last, but still stands at close to $13.5 trillion. This is the result of reduced spending when most economists are saying that spending is the key to economic recovery in the US. But to increase spending means to increase debt, which puts further pressure on the value of the USD.

When Japan reduces its business tax by 15% this year, the US will have the highest corporate tax rates in the world, which will continue to drive business elsewhere and increase unemployment.

The US is monetizing its debt by printing money, which is contributing to the ongoing devaluation of the USD.

All of the world's major financial players are preparing for an alternative to the US dollar as the world's reserve currency. Once this happens, economic theory holds the US might reasonably expect to experience high levels of inflation because everything they buy, from Arab oil to South American produce, will be denominated in something other than USD as they are now.

The US government's ability to respond to crises like Hurricane Katrina does not bode well for responding to a general economic crisis.

Does anyone else see the writing on the wall? To me it reads "The US dollar is in big, big trouble" and the US is poised for a currency crisis that will change everything, and not in a good way.

Push back.