Learning from Dogs

And your feedback to this musing would be really appreciated.

The number of daily readers of Learning from Dogs is now steadily in the range of 250-350 and gently increasing.  Writing posts for publication on a daily basis can be hard at times, hence the insertion of articles at times that don’t adhere closely to the vision behind the Blog: This world needs integrity, honesty and grace more than even before. My judgement is that having something to read every day is better for you, dear Blog reader, but having your feedback to this point would be valuable.

Then there are moments when a number of ideas come together and having the freedom to ‘talk’ to others across the digital ether seems like a precious privilege.

Thank you,

By Paul Handover

Even today, still an amazing film

Jean and I watched this film the other evening.  I have seen it a number of times but Jean just once before when it first was released in 1968!  Yes, over 40 years ago!

What struck me watching it today was how beautifully slow the film was.  I mean in the sense of camera and scene changes.  I had forgotten just how beautiful the film was from a technical perspective.  It held the eye and brain in a way that seemed so foreign to the way that films have been made in the last so many years.

WikiPedia has a very good summary of the film.

And there are more summaries on the INDB website, here’s an example:

“2001″ is a story of evolution. Sometime in the distant past, someone or something nudged evolution by placing a monolith on Earth (presumably elsewhere throughout the universe as well). Evolution then enabled humankind to reach the moon’s surface, where yet another monolith is found, one that signals the monolith placers that humankind has evolved that far. Now a race begins between computers (HAL) and human (Bowman) to reach the monolith placers. The winner will achieve the next step in evolution, whatever that may be.

The sign!

What is just as interesting is remembering the feelings that I had when I first saw the film, probably in 1968 or 1969, when I was living out in Australia, aged mid-twenties!

I was incredibly fascinated by the US expeditions out to the moon with the actual landing in July 1969.  Indeed, I rented a TV and took a complete week’s holiday from work just to watch every minute of this historical event.

So the film, 2001: A Space Odyssey, seemed to capture, for me anyway, the feelings and mood of a brave new world reaching out beyond Planet Earth.  The year 2001 felt like aeons away.  It was obvious that when we eventually got to the 21st century, mankind would be unbelievably advanced in many exciting and positive ways.

Ah, the dreams of the naive young!

Now here we are heading towards the year 2011 and the world, I mean mankind, seems to be going where?  Here’s Jon Lavin’s rather sombre view:

Have been musing about the part failure of the Russian grain harvest and the resultant speculation, that has forced the grain price up astronomically, the impact on bread/food/beer etc., evidence of the same mentality that kicked the banks/investments recession off.

Also, the fact that Lloyds TSB are 43% owned by the British people and are charging interest on non-approved loans of 165% and have a bonus fund of half billion pounds that certainly they have not asked my permission about.

This continuing lack of integrity, in the face of food shortages, untold hardship for millions of people, just goes to show that until an absolute calamity strikes to stop the whole of mankind in our tracks, it’s business as usual for the financially-led people and get-rich-on-the-back-of-anything-and-anybody crowd.

Are we still at consciousness level 204 or have we crossed back below the threshold, back below integrity 200, where falsehood rules?

The answer is to retain faith in the future, faith in the power of love and compassion, and faith in the fact that being the best that we can be today, now, in the present, just as dogs are so wonderful at doing, will bring us the better tomorrows we all dreamed about in 1968.  Here’s a reminder:

By Paul Handover

P.S. Serendipity at work.  Saw this from the BBC less than 5 minutes after completing this Post!

Christina Romer

Christina Romer

I don’t know Ms. Romer personally but I certainly know her work both in and out of the White House. I can only hope that the inconsistency between her work as a truth-seeking academic and as an Obama apologist finally got to her and is, at least in part, one of the reasons she resigned as chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers.

It will be very interesting to see how her writings progress from here.

by Sherry Jarrell

More on those revised US GDP figures

On the 2nd August there was a Post that highlighted the way that officialdom was changing figures that painted a very different picture to that promoted at the time the figures were released.

I linked to a recent article from Karl Denninger showing how previous US GDP figures had been significantly revised downwards.

Well Karl has now published a smart chart showing what happened in a way that makes it very easy to understand.

The chart is below, but please support Karl by going to the article which is here.

Revised US GDP figures

Do read the original article at Karl’s Blog site simply because he sets out in his usual clear (and forthright) manner just what this all means.  And it isn’t just affecting the US – this ripples across the pond!

Finally, another perspective on this issue is here – with the same implications being presented.  It’s gloomy ahead!

By Paul Handover

A nearly 30-year old film has real relevance for today!

Those of you that read yesterday’s Post right through to the end will have picked up on the fact that after completing that article last Friday, Jean and I watched the movie The Verdict.

Amazingly, this powerful film was released on the 8th December 1982.

So why the connection between the film and the Post written yesterday?

Well yesterday I wrote about two recent examples of, at best, a terrible lack of integrity, or, at worst, blatant examples of powerful institutions lying to us.  It troubled me greatly and I found no adequate way of closing the Post expressing my troubles in a succinct and fitting way.  Stay with me for a few moments.

In the film The Verdict, Paul Newman plays Frank Galvin – here’s the synopsis from the IMDb website:

Frank Galvin is a down-on-his luck lawyer, reduced to drinking and ambulance chasing. Former associate Mickey Morrissey reminds him of his obligations in a medical malpractice suit that he himself served to Galvin on a silver platter: all parties willing to settle out of court. Blundering his way through the preliminaries, he suddenly realizes that perhaps after all the case should go to court: to punish the guilty, to get a decent settlement for his clients, and to restore his standing as a lawyer.

As one might have guessed, Galvin wins the case against all the odds, which doesn’t in any way reduce the power of the film.  Newman was brilliant.

Tackling a medical malpractice case that could revive his once glorious career, attorney Frank Galvin (Paul Newman) questions a key witness, Dr. Thompson (Joe Seneca), in the compelling courtroom drama The Verdict.

At the end of the hearing Galvin rises to give his summation.  Technically the case appears utterly lost to his side.  Galvin slowly stands, hesitantly looks as his notes, cast the sheet aside and reluctantly addresses the jury.

You know, so much of the time we’re just lost.

We say, “Please, God, tell us what is right; tell us what is true.” And there is no justice: the rich win, the poor are powerless. We become tired of hearing people lie.

And after a time, we become dead… a little dead. We think of ourselves as victims… and we become victims. We become… we become weak. We doubt ourselves, we doubt our beliefs. We doubt our institutions. And we doubt the law.

But today you are the law. You ARE the law. Not some book… not the lawyers… not the, a marble statue… or the trappings of the court. See those are just symbols of our desire to be just. They are… they are, in fact, a prayer: a fervent and a frightened prayer. In my religion, they say, “Act as if ye had faith… and faith will be given to you.” IF… if we are to have faith in justice, we need only to believe in ourselves. And ACT with justice. See, I believe there is justice in our hearts.

Now go back and read my Post of yesterday.  Read of the Citi executives paying token fines for lying to investors.  Read of the allegation that the 2009 data set in the US GDP report was a “bald-faced lie”.

Now read again, aloud to yourself if you can, the first few sentences of Galvin’s summation.  Here they are again (my emphasis).

You know, so much of the time we’re just lost.

We say, “Please, God, tell us what is right; tell us what is true.” And there is no justice: the rich win, the poor are powerless. We become tired of hearing people lie.

And after a time, we become dead… a little dead. We think of ourselves as victims… and we become victims. We become… we become weak. We doubt ourselves, we doubt our beliefs. We doubt our institutions. And we doubt the law.

I firmly believe that this is where millions of ordinary, hard-working, caring citizens of many countries have arrived today because of the lack of integrity, the lack of honesty and the lack of grace shown by so many in positions of power and privilege.

But do not despair because if we do that, then all is lost.  No, believe in the power of good men.  Back to the summation from the film:

In my religion, they say, “Act as if ye had faith… and faith will be given to you.” IF… if we are to have faith in justice, we need only to believe in ourselves. And ACT with justice. See, I believe there is justice in our hearts.

Exactly!

By Paul Handover

It’s enough to make one weep!

Gettysburg Address

Just a couple of items from disparate sources came together last Friday to demonstrate just how possibly corrupt it has been over the last so many years!  But there is a golden lining to this stuff.

That is the ever increasing spread and reach of all forms of digital communications, from the humble email through to Wikileaks, is making it increasingly difficult for those that wish to cheat and lie their way through their lives, at the expense of others, to do so without detection.

Anyway, back to the theme of the Post.

The first item is from here (thanks to Naked Capitalism for the link):

Under the article title of - The Wages of Sin: Former Citi Execs Pay Token Fines for Lying to Investors

A news story today provides further confirmation of the rule by the banking classes in the US, with only token gestures to the rule of law.
(and after an in-depth review closes with:)
The message seems pretty clear. Sarbox [Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Ed]was intended to curtail phony corporate accounting in the wake of Enron. But why resort to complicated transactions like the energy company’s famed Raptors when Citi shows that mere lying will produce the same results with much less fuss?

The second from Karl Denninger, from which closes with these words are offered: GDP Report: Liar Liar Pants on Fire:

All three years of the revision period were revised down. Again, if a mistake or inaccuracy (as opposed to intentional falsehood) is responsible for errors, one would expect them to be normally distributed – that is, some would be positive, some negative.  This is obviously not the case.

Is there any good news in the report?  Well, yes – there was a material uptick in non-residential fixed investment, centered around equipment and software.  How much of this is a normal replacement cycle (deferred last year) and how much signifies real expansion is an open question and one not easily answered.  However, I wouldn’t call this particularly “robust”, despite the pump monkey characterization this morning in the media.

The drops in some of the previously-published numbers were, however, simply stunning.  For example, PCE (personal consumption) was previously reported for Q1/2010 as 2.13.  The revision is 1.33, a thirty percent downward revision.  That’s not an error, it was a falsehood.

Worse was the services false report.  The previous reported number for Q1/2010 was 0.69.  Revised was 0.03, a downward revision of ninety-five percent.

The services revision backward was truly sickening – the entirety of 2009 was negative with the exception of the fourth quarter, where all but the first was previously reported positive, and the changes were ridiculous.  First quarter was revised down from -0.13% to -0.75%, second from +0.09% to -0.79%, and so on.  Again, that’s not an error, it’s a lie.

Needless to say when I get all my graph source data updated, it’s going to look worse than it did – including my “government ponzi support” graph, one of my favorites.

The futures are diving on the report, as well they should.  Not because it’s bad – but because the entirety of the 2009 data set was a bald-faced lie.

Frankly, I’m much less interested in what is happening to Western economies – my views have been regularly reported on Learning from Dogs.

What appals me is how far we seem from those famous words in the Gettysburg Address given by President Abraham Lincoln on the afternoon of Thursday, November 19, 1863 (my emphasis):

It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

Pres. Lincoln's words

P.S. As it happens, after finishing this article last Friday, Jean and I watched the film The Verdict in the evening.  The words used by the lawyer Frank Galvin (Paul Newman) in his summation struck me so powerfully that I have made them a separate Post for tomorrow.
By Paul Handover

The fundamentals always win, in the end!

Those that know me or have followed Learning from Dogs for the last year (and thank you!) know that I am pretty pessimistic about the economic future for North America and Europe (at least!).  I speak not as an economist, far from it, but as someone sufficiently old to think that many millions of individuals and their countries have been living on borrowed time for decades.

David Kauders

Twenty years ago I didn’t really do anything than feel uncomfortable when friends announced another new house with mortgages far in excess of the old ‘rule’ of 1.5 to 2.0 times one’s annual income.

Then I came across David Kauders of Kauders Portfolio Management who explained in fundamental ways why this was all going to end in tears, so to speak.  Wasn’t he right!

Thanks to David, I am moderately more well-off than I would have been – without a doubt.  Not only did David manage my private pension, he greatly influenced my modest personal investments outside his portfolio.

Where’s this heading?  This Blog is an attempt to show that integrity in all that we all do is not only the best personal strategy, it is the only viable course for mankind in bringing us back from the brink of global disaster.  So a couple of recent items about economic matters from people of great integrity underlined the value of mentioning them in this Blog.

The first is a talk given by Elizabeth Warren two years ago, in January 2008, entitled The Coming Collapse of the Middle Class.  It’s nearly an hour long but very well worth watching especially in the way that Ms. Warren shows how counter-intuitive is our understanding of how family costs have risen over the last 30 years.  Although it applies to the US, it certainly has relevance for British viewers.  Do watch it.

Here’s how the video is described:

Distinguished law scholar Elizabeth Warren teaches contract law, bankruptcy, and commercial law at Harvard Law School. She is an outspoken critic of America’s credit economy, which she has linked to the continuing rise in bankruptcy among the middle-class.

Next is that stalwart Karl Denninger.  How he finds the energy and enthusiasm for publishing his Market Ticker is beyond me.  He’s not subtle but his personal integrity is beyond reproach in my opinion.

Karl was recently interviewed by Bill Still (Bill produced the highly acclaimed film The Money Masters) and despite the videos being heavily edited Karl says “and for the most part accurately captures my views on the topics covered.”

Again these interviews are not short but, again, if you want to understand how dangerous the fundamentals still are – then watch them.

Karl Denninger, author of Market Ticker and winner of the 2008 Reed Irvine Accuracy in Media Award explains the roots of the current crisis and why real economic growth is impossible. He explains why the stock market rebounded in 2009 and why that can’t continue. He explains what needs to be done with the banks and predicts that all the big banks will fail.

Part One:

Part Two:

Finally back to David Kauders.  He also publishes an opinion website Contrary View. Here’s what David wrote in February 2010.

No. 73 22nd February 2010 Predicting lost decades

There is plenty of evidence from Japan about lost decades for investments. Japan has now lost two decades in equity and property investment, during which time only Government Bonds provided any sanctuary. All policy options failed, because none tackled the real problem, which is that there is already too much debt. What lessons can be drawn for Britain?

Shares here have certainly had a lost decade. On the Japanese evidence, they may well suffer another lost decade. Property has only hit minor bumps, so the Japanese experience suggests that property may suffer a long decline for two decades. In the UK, the Bank of England’s support for mortgages will be withdrawn over the next two years, which itself threatens prices. Why, though, the hysteria about Government debt?

It is questionable whether pundits appreciate the extent of the private sector debt problem, which explains why two groups of economists can offer totally contradictory remedies. In a world with no Gold standard and therefore no anchor to the monetary system, Government debt is relatively safe. The global economy is perched on a knife edge, with a permanent loss of output that must cause income loss and therefore restrict the capacity of households to service their debts. Seeing the commercial risks, banks are still restricting lending, which means there can be no sustained recovery.

There is a misconceived demographic argument being touted at present, which completely ignores the real driver of the post-1945 expansion, namely increased credit. That credit growth has simply gone too far and now brings its own problems. For those people who neither saw the credit crunch nor the long fall in interest rates and inflation coming, to now be credible in predicting a lost decade for bonds, is itself unbelievable.

You see how it all makes sense – the fundamentals are in charge, and always will be!

You be safe out there!

By Paul Handover

The Seven Wonders of the World (with thanks to the unknown author …)

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” Albert Einstein

A few days ago, I published an article setting out the place of the Four Divine States in our daily lives.

A regular follower of Learning from Dogs, Patrice Ayme, posted a comment on the article.  This is what Patrice wrote.

No empathy survives contact with the enemy. This is the problem with the business of goodness, and how it ties up with evil.

The problem with goodness, or lack thereof, is that it is not how hatred and war are generated. More goodness does not a peace make. All it can very well do is reinforce the tribal instinct.

Understanding may start with the heart, but it survives only through the facts. Most humans have known and experienced love. To teach them love is to teach them water: the height of emotional arrogance. The truly good, instead, will teach the facts.

This is my attempt to shed more light on my approach, for followers of truth on the same path.

With great respect to Patrice, who is clearly a great thinker, I shall avoid justifying what I wrote previously or engaging in debate as the truth is non negotiable.

Take a look at the following chart. (Note: We inadvertently published the chart without the written permission of Veritas Publishing and upon being advised, immediately removed it.  The map of consciousness may be viewed on the Veritas Publishing web site and purchased for the small sum of $6.00.)

This ‘Map’ was developed by Dr David R Hawkins to show the logarithmic levels of human consciousness.  Here is how it is described on David Hawkins’ web site:

Over 250,000 kinesiological calibrations spanning 30 years of multiple research studies conducted by The Institute for Spiritual Research, Inc., have defined a range of values corresponding to well-recognized attitudes and emotions.

Important areas to look at occur at level 200, the doorway at which integrity is possible, and 500, where information is processed differently and we move out of a factual world, controlled by the intellect. The 400s is the world of science and the intellect, the 500′s, the beginning of the world of the non linear.

Patrice’s, or anybody else’s, great level of intellect is being used to explain something on a higher level – it just can’t be done! The Buddha, Christ and Krishna were all what the world calls avatars, i.e. on levels of 1000 or greater.

The Brahma Viharas where developed by the Buddha, a divine being at level 1000 or over.

By Jon Lavin

A route to be free of hate and ill-will and a guarantee of happiness – read on:

The Brahma Viharas are also known as the Four Divine Emotions or The Four Divine Abodes. They are the meditative states, thoughts, and actions to be cultivated in Buddhist meditation. They are the positive emotions and states that are productive and helpful to anyone of any religion or even to the one with no religion.

The result will be a good person, free from hate and ill-will. Those who cultivate the brahma viharas are guaranteed to happiness. Those who further cultivate equanimity, may reach insightful states and wisdom of enlightenment experiences.

The Four Divine Emotions

1. Loving-kindness (Pali: Metta)
2. Compassion (Pali:Karuna)
3. Joy with others (Pali: Mudita)
4. Equanimity (Pali: Upekkha)

The Four Divine Emotions are known in Pali (Pali is a literary and liturgical language only) as the Brahma-viharas and are also known as the divine abidings or the divine abodes. They are emotional states to be strived for.  By practising and developing the divine emotions, we will have a peaceful and patient daily life practice.

Joy

Loving-kindness is a soft, affection and care for others and yourself.It is not a hard, romantic type of love and not a love that includes extreme attachment or controlling feelings.

Compassion is like an open heart that cares for everyone. It includes empathy, being able to see the other person’s position and caring for and about them.

Joy with others, sometimes is called sympathetic joy or appreciative joy. It is the ability to be happy when you see others happy. Their joy becomes your joy as you welcome less suffering and happiness of others.

Equanimity is the balanced state of mind. It is the middle way state of mind that is neither clinging nor pushing away.

The above was an excerpt from the best selling book The Complete Book of Buddha’s Lists — Explained, by David N. Snyder, Ph.D., with a Foreword by the Venerable Madewela Punnaji. The full version can be downloaded for free from here.

By Jon Lavin