How the world bank works

One of the reasons that America, despite being one of the most culturally, ethnically and religiously diverse societies in human history, has survived and has successfully maintained (with the exception of the Civil War) a very high level of domestic tranquility even in times of economic depression, war and contentious elections is the fact that its public discourse has always been conducted on a largely secular basis. This is what makes it possible for people from dramatically different belief systems to live, work and govern themselves harmoniously. And, indeed, it is a necessary pre-condition for religious freedom itself.

To have an impact on public affairs in America, it doesn't matter what your religion is or what background you came from. The only thing that matters, in the long run, is who can best compete in the free marketplace of ideas in terms of having the most rational answers to the issues of the day.

Contrast that with the rest of the world. Depending on where you live in Ireland, for instance, it does matter very much if you are Protestant or Catholic. It very much did matter if one was Jewish in Germany in the 1930s or occupied Europe in the early 1940s - and, sickeningly, there are ominous signs that it is starting to once again matter in countries such as France. Consider the violence in Holland and the murder of playwright Theo Van Gogh on grounds that he blasphemed Islam - and the inability and/or refusal of the rapidly growing Muslim population in many European countries to integrate themselves into the mainstream of those societies to the degree that Muslims in America have done so here. Consider the situation of the entire Mideast.

If you think about it, all public policy discussions ultimately boil down to one thing: how and under what circumstances should the government's monopoly of legalized force - i.e., its police powers - be used? In a free society, the actionable scope of such discussions is strictly defined and limited by the rule of law and by the country's constitution. But, nevertheless, whenever we talk about any subject that has political ramifications, one cannot get around the fact that, in the end, we are discussing the potential use of force against some person or persons - and that is a very serious matter. The danger of introducing things like faith and emotion into such discussions is the simple fact that reason, facts and logic are the only objective means of settling disputes amongst men. Why are religious wars so bitter and bloody? Precisely because there is no way to reconcile diametrically opposed faiths. If people of opposing religions refuse to check their faith at the door and find some sort of secular basis of common ground, when push comes to shove, their only recourse is to MAKE the other side conform to their faith - i.e. to engage in violence. In other words, the only proper basis for finding common ground in matters of public affairs is Sgt. Friday's old line from Dragnet: "Just the facts, ma'am." For that reason, I consider matters of faith and theology to be off-topic in any discussion or debate of public policy where the participants are from a potentially diverse religious or philosophical background - and when others do bring it up, the best course of action is to refuse to participate (or take the issue to a more appropriate venue).

First, a nice tribute:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gofDqxPVrE

Remembering Christopher:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dc45zHdfRg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evsektY_zRA

I don't understand, at times there are over 850 views to a thread that was just posted, but it seems that only a handful ever post??????

Whats up with this ! I sure would enjoy more TA people geting involved

Rich

This movie deserves a watch, especially since it ties in with our line of work. Some good laughs. The last line in the movie is classic.

She has got to be the HOTTEST women ever to swing an Hattori Hanzo Sword...

This is some good material;

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2007/0...ccess-in-iraq/

Does anyone propose how the iraqi dinar is going to do? I invested $1,000,000 in this. I hope it pans out for me and alot of other pople who hope it will increase and soon. Anyone out there invested in the iraqi dinar?

Daily Show: Cheney?s Iraq Visit & Islamic Mickey Mouse Propaganda

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This article gives pretty good advice.

http://www.smartmoney.com/tradecraft...story=20070507

It's so hard to do though. You always want those losers to come back up so you can sell it at your original position. I'm slowly learning to cut those losers or dead money stocks much more quickly.

Have a handkership ready 14-minutes into this video and at 19-minutes

http://video.google.com/videoplay?do...06551011489413

I continue to plow through stuff creating a Homework page where I can save the best stuff in one place and give my Favorites a rest (See my Signature below)

Feel free to suggest FREE sites or let me know of dead links

This week I have been reviewing "Cramer Wisdom" from a year ago, trying save the best with NO time factor
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?k..._lgMGu5Xg7GdKg

I learned "aco" is big with Bentonite--yea, another whatever few of us have ever heard of!
http://www.thestreet.com/_tscs/funds.../10284606.html

On 5/10/06, Cramer was big on private airports--Interesting
http://www.thestreet.com/_tscs/funds.../10284942.html

5/11/06 was his first mention of BRIC
http://www.thestreet.com/_tscs/funds.../10285180.html

Coal to Gas:
http://www.thestreet.com/pf/funds/ma.../10285346.html

Here is an RSS tip: save news sources in BRIC, etc, so you can quickly scan what is going on...For example, two weeks ago I learned from an Indian news source motorcycles were becoming more important, e.g., HD, so while here in the states there was worry about HD inventory buildup, I sensed HD could and were moving products to India to help solve inventory problems

RSS is a fast way to monitor things, such as this forum, by creating your own newspaper with comics

BLONDE 'HANDY-WOMAN'

A blonde, wanting to earn some extra money, decided to hire herself out as a "handy-woman" and started canvassing a nearby well-to-do neighborhood. She went to the front door of the first house, and asked the owner if he had any odd jobs for her to do.

"Well, I guess I could use somebody to paint my porch," he said. "How much would you charge me?"

The blonde quickly responded, "How about $50?"

The man agreed and told her that the paint and everything she would need were in the garage.

The man's wife, hearing the conversation, said to her husband, "Does she realize that our porch goes all the way around the house?"

He responded, "That's a bit cynical, isn't it?"

The wife replied, "You're right. I guess I'm starting to believe all those 'dumb blonde' jokes we've been getting by e-mail lately."

A short time later, the blonde came to the door to collect her money.

"You're finished already?" the husband asked.

"Yes," the blonde replied, "and I had paint left over, so I gave it two coats."

Impressed, the man reached into his pocket for the$50.00 and handed it to her.

"And by the way," the blonde added, "it's not a Porch, it's a Lexus."

I was told the Bass brothers have several hundred limited partnerships setup that allow them to effectively own a certain percent of a publicly traded company, or trade in a particular way and avoid sec scrutiny, does that sound right?

Thought this might be useful to pet owners in light of the recent problem with gluten from Chinese suppliers;

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/petfoodrecall/