Once you get the point, and see what this is all about, you start to understand why the living often envy the dead; you begin to recognize the appeal of the long sleep. Eckhart Tolle can’t save the day, and “The Secret” doesn’t provide any answers to the problem of sustainability and inequality.
And then there’s the Christians:
Most of them will readily admit that this is a very harsh life, a real cosmic shoot em up, a terminal jagged liaison with a nightmarish reality……..Agreed. But why are they spending so much time lecturing about sanctity, instead of serving the poor? We can’t count on the state to actively pursue finding solutions to the issue of poverty. So why is the church still insisting that we all just hang on till death to wait for justice?!)))))
Oscar Romero will you please return from the grave!
I know that liberation theology makes people nervous, but damn, we need to start addressing present moment needs, in order to validate the dignity of every human life. I have no doubt that Jesus is incredibly frustrated now.
American International Group ,the world's largest insurer, reporting its largest-ever loss and said Friday the subprime crisis had thrown it into "uncharted waters" . AIG recorded a record loss of $5.3 billion Thursday from a $11.12 billion write down in its AIG Financial Products unit.
AIG has not ruled out further write-downs and losses in this portfolio, which is akin to an insurance policy on other companies' derivatives.
Its shares fell 6.5 percent and led other insurers lower. The KBW Insurance Index .KIX was down about 2 percent, with AIG the biggest drag.
"We are in uncharted waters," Chief Executive Martin Sullivan said on a conference call on Friday the day after announcing record losses..
Meanwhile analysts believe increased consumer spending recorded in January simply reflects US consumers paying more for food , energy and oil as the economy slows down.
Luckily, I was never attached to The American Dream; I never believed in it, was never even interested in it. I don’t possess the kind of social skills that are required to partake in it. Someone recently told me that many Americans are going to have to start dreaming alternative dreams; the masses might have to grapple with the void, and learn how to dance the existential dance, because the answers that many people are looking for can’t be found in the economy. Hello! There’s a recession going on. And the reason why this is so alarming is because the whole idea of community has virtually disappeared from our landscape. I’ve always been alone with nowhere to turn, but for those who always thought that life offered buffers are in for a very rude awakening. Every debt collector out there will tell you that many people are paying for gas and food with their credit cards, and paying their credit card bills before they pay their mortgages. Yes, it’s fatalistic, people know that the house will vanish, but they still need to eat. Is now the perfect time to “collectively” acknowledge that the big ship is sinking? The alienation that I have struggled with my entire life is now a mainstream phenomenon, and those that have never had to experience life as a self-contained unit, with nowhere to turn, are living with a type of hopelessness that I’ve been quite intimate with all along. I am curious as to what the church has been telling its flock as of late, cause if it’s not offering food and shelter, it can’t be saying anything that’s of much use.
There's no let up in the US as analysts and investors hold their breath awaiting a flurry of economic reports and data next week that looks set to be anything but promising. Friday saw the release of data confirming that consumer spending has slowed to a halt and consumer confidence in February was down to a 16 year low. Next week all important payroll data will be out and a full line up of officials from the Fed will join Ben Bernanke to speak on the economy and monetary issues . There are likely to be very few jokes and even fewer acknowledgements of the open secret that the US is hurtling into recession , a sea of despair Bernanke is still trying to hold back in King canute style with magic wand-like interest rate cuts.
The problem is , the financial high water is now up to his neck.
The weak figures and fear of further credit losses will fuel more selling , more write downs from the banks , more institutions bailing or expecting to be bailed out and growing concern that this sad tide of woe is going to hit the massive US services sector like a psunami.
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