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Conspiracy Theories


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2006 Jan 6, 9:58am   7,843 views  56 comments

by HARM   ➕follow (0)   💰tip   ignore  

Yes, we all know the bubble is done for, past the peak, stick a fork in it, dude. Most of us by now have long since accepted this as a foregone conclusion and have moved on to debating the aftermath. We've all heard the garden variety theories about a coming recession/depression, RE, finance and construction jobs evaporating, GSE/hedge fund bailouts, bear market reflexivity, etc.

Sane, well reasoned theories are NOT what this thread is about --post that stuff somewhere else!

This thread is all about conspiracy theories, the more outrageous and wild-eyed the better. Here are some of my personal favorites:

  • The bubble was a deliberate red-state construct of a new Confederacy, designed to destroy the wealth and power of blue states.
  • The bubble was a deliberate construct of Zionists/Indians/Chinese/[insert scapegoat here], designed to destroy the wealth and power of white America.
  • The bubble was a deliberate construct of wealthy people and bankers, designed to destroy the middle class.
    (Hmmm... come to think of it, this one's not so nutty.)
  • In the post-bubble depression, California and/or other border states will be re-annexed by Mexico (the Aztlan/MEChA conspiracy).
  • In the post-bubble depression, we will witness the return of widespread anti-Mexican/anti-immigrant 1930s-style purges.
  • Do you have any wacky conspiracy theories you'd like to share? (Disclaimer: they don't have to be your own, and you don't have to believe in them.)

    Put on your tin-foil hat and give me a good Deaniac yell: HEEEEEYAAAAHHHH!!!

    Comments 1 - 40 of 56       Last »     Search these comments

    1   Peter P   2006 Jan 6, 10:49am  

    It is a deliberate Martian scheme to take over Earth. We should expect more UFO sightings now.

    2   HARM   2006 Jan 6, 10:52am  

    Peter,

    Let's not forget Jack's "Home-r'roids" tale from Amazing Bubble Stories!

    3   Peter P   2006 Jan 6, 11:02am  

    Let’s not forget Jack’s “Home-r’roids” tale from Amazing Bubble Stories!

    Right.

    4   Peter P   2006 Jan 6, 11:31am  

    Greenspan is the Manchurian Candidate and he has been working for Il Kim all this time.

    Queen of Hearts?

    5   Michael Holliday   2006 Jan 6, 12:04pm  

    The housing bubble is part of a conspiracy called Operation Loco Bubble.

    The exis of evil: Vincente Fox of Mexico--in collusion with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac--have conspired with La Raza and Chicanos por la Causa, Vladimir Putin of Russia, Kim Il Son of N. Korea, Hu Jintao of Red China, and Ahkmed Amidinejahd of Iran to cause a bubble and crash our economy as punishment for Reagan breaking the Soviet's backs in the late 80's by outspending them in defense.

    Vincente Fox's role in Operation Loco Bubble is to flood the country with 15 million illegals by Oct. 2006. Then comes the civil unrest.

    At a predetermined time all 15 million illegals will drink beer and eat some frijoles then jump around. Then, they will enter every retail store and mom & pop sales establishment in America and pass gas, causing a widespread panic and collapse of the retail sector as Americans flee in horror and disgust.

    La Raza, Mecha, and Chicanos por la Causa will raise the Mexican flag over California from the capital as a signal to Hu Jintao of China to engage Plan B.

    Plan B. is for Hu Jintao of China to let their currency, the Reminbi, free-fall in relation to the dollar. Then, within 48 hours, they will open up thousands of 50 Cent stores all throughout the country to undercut all of the Dollar stores, and deluge the market with virtually free goods, effectively imploding what's left of the retail sector.

    Vladimir Putin will send in Russian Special Forces, or Spetznaz, to blow up
    gas stations, Wal Marts, McDonalds and anything else they can get their hands on. Then, he will commandeer the news media outlet and announce that the commies have been seen invading via the Alamo in Texas. All the rednecks with their rifles will rush to the Alamo to defend it once again, but this time it will be rigged with nukes set to go off at a predetermined time.

    Meanwhile, when Kim Il Son gets word that the world's biggest Wal Mart in Waxahachi Texas is in flames, he'll launch his arsenal of three long-range intercontinental Taepo Dong II nuclear missles at LA.

    Then, when Ahkmed Ahmidinejahd of Iran sees the pandemonium, he'll launch a strike against Isreal and start Armageddon.

    Then, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will knock on people's doors throughough America and offer to buy people's house for $100 and a one-way plane ticket to Brazil and Timbuktu to ride out the Apocalypse.

    Then, when Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have titles to most of the houses in America, especially the White House in DC, all hostilities will cease...America will be Balkanized and carved up into separate fiefdoms or vassals for each of the new rulers of the world e.g. Hu Jintao, Vincente Fox et al...and America will have been effectively defeated without so much as a whimper.

    As for LA, who cares?

    6   surfer-x   2006 Jan 6, 12:56pm  

    Taepo Dong II nuclear missles

    Are those the Long Dong?

    7   San Francisco RENTER   2006 Jan 6, 1:39pm  

    The current credit/debt bubble of the United States which has lead to the real esate bubble is an Al Qaeda plot. They talked the Asians into buying insane amounts of our debt and flooding our markets with cheap imports in order to entice our citizens into taking on large amounts of debt and letting our domestic manufacturing base fall apart. Now that we have taken the bait Al Qaeda will pull the trigger and tell the Asians to sell all of the US bond assets they hold at once. Yields will skyrocket, our economy will grind to a halt, and America's reign as economic powerhouse of the world will end. Al Qaeda did not need to use terrorism, instead they used our insatiable greed and infatuation with the almighty Dollar as the weapon of our downfall.

    Aftermath: America will be back stronger than ever in the long term. We will re-discover the values of The Greatest Generation who made our country what it is today (or was years ago). Hard work, thrift, dedication, perseverance, and other dormant American values will re-surface and we will re-build our domestic economy. We will break the shackles of "consumerism" and "keeping up with the Jones" to re-discover the things in life that really matter. We will fall to economy #3 in the world behind China and India, but no further. This will be all that is required to cause us to re-think what we've become and get our asses back in gear.

    8   Michael Holliday   2006 Jan 6, 1:58pm  

    San Francisco RENTER Says:

    "...thrift..."

    Bwahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

    WTF?

    Hey remember when Thrifties icecreams were 25 cents for three friggen' scoops back in the 70's?

    9   HARM   2006 Jan 6, 3:29pm  

    Nice work from everyone. I think Michael Holliday wins the creativity prize so far.

    10   HARM   2006 Jan 6, 3:37pm  

    Posted that before I read Veritas' little tome --another strong contender. It also goes a long way towards exlaining all those bad Cruise/Travolta movies.

    11   San Francisco RENTER   2006 Jan 6, 5:24pm  

    "People will live in tents and eat cats, rats & dogs." --Bap33

    Dude, I just got back from partying on Clement street down here in 'Frisco, and I friggin' guar-an-fuckin-tee you they already serve Kung Pao Kitty on Clement street TODAY.

    12   HARM   2006 Jan 6, 6:07pm  

    SQT,

    My most sincere apologies. :oops:
    In my defense, Jack used the term so often after that, I had forgotten who invented it.

    Home’roids: a true classic and narrative masterpiece. Still brings tears to my eyes.

    13   DinOR   2006 Jan 7, 3:42am  

    This must be where a "corn belt" lower middle class upbringing and utter lack of creativity really shine through! I've never had a creative thought in my life, and I'm not about to start. Personally I'm not readily disposed to conspiracy theories. To imply that we are capable of a conspiracy tends to give humans more credit than we actually deserve.

    Sane theories to be posted elsewhere, so here goes!

    Let us follow the money, banks suck period! Remember when your Dad complained endelessly about having a 20 YEAR mortgage? That's right! It was the standard for years. Now we have a developed nation banking/debt system with a soon to be Hondouran wage. Bankers/Developers/Lenders all knew that all they had to do is dangle that McMansion with jet skis in the garage in front of our eyes and we would mindlessly sign up for the "In Debt up to our Nay Nays Program". In the end they'll be able to claim that we brought on ourselves, to wit. the recent lobby to change BK laws.

    You mean a UPS Driver with a wife that works "part time" at the hospital shouldn't live in a mansion? No disrespect toward responsible UPS Drivers!

    14   Peter P   2006 Jan 7, 3:56am  

    I have yet to see a stray cat in SF, and SF is a city without children, cats are child substitutes and usually numerous in places full of singles, even younger singles but especially 40+ singles. Not a one.

    SF is a dog city. It is not for cat people like myself. :(

    I like Kung Pao anything but I’m going to watch out for those Clement st. eateries.

    Rule number one: never ever look inside the kitchen of a restaurant.

    15   Peter P   2006 Jan 7, 3:58am  

    And gold to 800, why not?

    If housing money all go after gold, it can easily be $8000. :)

    16   Peter P   2006 Jan 7, 3:59am  

    The Housing Bubble is on orders from the Trilateral Commission as a way to forestall Global Cooling.

    Huh? Trilateral Commission?

    17   Peter P   2006 Jan 7, 4:00am  

    Yes all you gen X-ers, SLIDE right into that ISLAND HOME with a LOZENGE LOAN! So I can ‘ROID you all over again in outer space in “Phase II”, like the EVIL BOOMER I AM!

    Well, it is nice to know that you are fine.

    18   DeoVindice   2006 Jan 7, 4:41am  

    I can't post my thesis. The yankees are fighting to silence me by only allowing me to post a few sentences. The voices in my head are fighting back.

    Please help, or I will not be able to light my candle of wisdom to chase out the darkness of housing bubble ignorance.

    19   DeoVindice   2006 Jan 7, 4:59am  

    "Because the Chinese are REALLY smart and we are REALLY stupid"

    The Chinese are late to the industrialization game. They are trying to both industrialize and leap frog into the information economy at the same time. It is trickier to accomplish than it sounds, and Americans ARE NOT stupid.

    I think the Chinese will repeat the "Japanese Miracle". State meddling in pro-industrialization/pro-modernization programs will result in massively mis-allocated capital and bursting bubbles. There is a Japan scenario depression in China's future. You needn't worry about them buying up the world.

    You should worry about the nexus between economic might and the ability to siphon productive capacity off of the economy and into militarization/agressive war. In particular, you should worry about China going after the Caucasus/central asian oil patch. Then you should worry about China going after Korea, Taiwan, and Japan.

    --Deo Vindice

    20   DeoVindice   2006 Jan 7, 5:01am  

    And why can't I post my thesis! Howard Dean is lurking this blog, and shooting death rays from his eyeballs to silence me. Bastard.

    21   surfer-x   2006 Jan 7, 5:57am  

    @ DeoV, try cutting it up and selling it as dime bags.

    22   Peter P   2006 Jan 7, 5:59am  

    It was a conspiracy by Patrick & Ben to addict thousands to reading about and commenting on something that wasn’t actually real.

    Which Ben? Ben Jones or Ben Bernanke?

    23   Peter P   2006 Jan 7, 6:01am  

    Why are the tree huggers and enviro-whacks not outraged by the commuters being created with this central valley housing boom??

    Because they finance their subversion by flipping houses.

    24   Jimbo   2006 Jan 7, 6:44am  

    Bap33, have you ever heard of "smart growth"? There is quite a debate in the environmental community over where.. oh fuggitabout it.

    Anyone who calls their political opponents "nazis" is obviously not interested in debate.

    Consider yourself on ignore, troll.

    25   DeoVindice   2006 Jan 7, 7:01am  

    "DeoV, try cutting it up and selling it as dime bags."

    Surfer-X: Too much risk in retail. Wholesale is where it's at. Besides, I'd have to put down my spliff to hold the scissors.

    --Deo "Puff" Vindice

    26   DeoVindice   2006 Jan 7, 7:18am  

    "Greenspan's theory was he could beat the Kondratief winter by massive money printing."

    From John Law II over at Ben Jones's blog. I agree with this one. Greenspan is well aware of Kondratieff's work. With the lack of cohesion in our political/social structure today, we could have a class war if we went through a protracted depression. Ben would definitely see the Guillotine as an unacceptable risk.

    --Deo Vindice

    27   DinOR   2006 Jan 7, 7:24am  

    Deo,

    Great having you back! I haven't spent a great deal of mental energy trying to quantify the "China" syndrone for many of the reason you stated above. When it comes to capitalism, either you is or you ain't. You can't be just a little bit pregnant. Look, I never said "ours" was a PERFECT system, it's just OUR system, O.K! I've often heard of China referred to as "Marketing and Leninism". If you haven't already, check out the "Big Box Mart" on Jib-Jab. Someone else mentioned it before, but in case you missed it. Freaking hysterical!

    A Best of Surfer X Rants? AWESOME!

    28   DeoVindice   2006 Jan 7, 7:34am  

    I never said “ours” was a PERFECT system, it’s just OUR system, O.K!

    DiNor:

    "all logical system of any complexity are, by definition, incomplete"

    http://www.miskatonic.org/godel.html

    --DeoVindice

    P.S. China Ain't.

    29   Peter P   2006 Jan 7, 7:51am  

    If China diversifies to gold, gold will be prime Peter P.

    All I know is that the Chinese love gold. A bubble may be forming...

    30   DeoVindice   2006 Jan 7, 7:55am  

    "All I know is that the Chinese love gold. A bubble may be forming… "

    All I know is that your average American is stupid, lazy and easily mislead by their own greed.

    A Bubble in gold will form, becuase there has to be a next bubble, so sheeple will buy gold believing that a bubble will form, making it a bubble.

    Sorry, I've got Goedel on the brain.

    --Deo Vindice

    31   KurtS   2006 Jan 7, 10:17am  

    conspiracy scenario:

    In just a few years, the Realtorâ„¢ and MLS systems will become fully computerized. Computerized kiosks will replace realtors during open houses. A new Cyberdyne-NAR corporation will take control of all housing, using margins to build its digital infrastructure. Human decision is taken out of all transactions, and the housing boom continues. On June 12, 2010, Cyberdyne-NAR becomes self-aware, and begins to directly influence the financial markets. Wall Street and unemployed realtors try to pull the plug; Cyberdyne-NAR launches its missles against Russia. Thus begins the war of the realtor machine to exterminate mankind.

    32   DeoVindice   2006 Jan 7, 10:39am  

    Seriously, is there any way to post a long rant? I got a couple qued up for this thread, and they won't go through for some reason.

    33   surfer-x   2006 Jan 7, 11:17am  

    Seriously, is there any way to post a long rant? I got a couple qued up for this thread, and they won’t go through for some reason.

    Cut it into 2 or 3 posts, hence, "dime bags".

    34   HARM   2006 Jan 7, 11:48am  

    TWIT,

    Just deleted your test post --it defintely took.

    DeoVindice,

    I can't find any of your missing posts under 'awaiting moderation', so unfortunately, I can't retrieve them. You may recall I had the exact same problem a couple of days ago on Peter's thread, so it's not just you. TWIT just proved that it's not overall post length and I strongly suspect that Wordpress is filtering for specific keyword/phrase combinations, which it interprets as spam. I may have to contact Patrick for some help on this.

    For now, I'd try Surfer-X's suggestion and posting in pieces. Good luck.

    35   DeoVindice   2006 Jan 7, 1:01pm  

    RE: Posting the rant, I'm going with the Howard Dean excuse............Maybe I can post when we figure out the issue.

    Is peak oil real? Yes. Will it play out in 2006? I don't think so. I think that Ben wants to see the housing bubble and economy slow to prevent inflation. A slowing economy should reduce the demand/drop the price of oil. Also, the Chinese oil demand is really exported US oil demand via the trade deficit/MEW.

    The yield curve is predicting a recession, or at least will be after 25bps Jan 31 and another 25bps on March 28. That should cause the quantity demanded to drop, as well as the price, as well as allow supply to build.

    I'm trying to wrap my mind around the seven-sigma event risk. For example, fundamentalist revolution in Saudi, 2nd arab oil embargo, cat 6 hurricane in the gulf in July, etc. Shouldn't gold hedge against an oil price spike? Maybe a little bit of dividend yielding KMP, NHY, or E in a non-tax account. Maybe Coal (fording canadian?) or Uranium or Nat Gas as a hedge? Have any of you thought about how $200/Bbl oil would fuck up the world? I feel like complacency would be unwise........

    I saw an analysis at theStreet.com that said that the PE ratios for Big Oil suggested that prices would recede. I can't make heads or tales of it. Is this based on the economy slowing? Is there a premium for supply disruption in the current prices? I might buy just a little and then wait and see.

    Is gold going to $1600? I think so. Is it going to be a bubble? I think so. The question I have is how do you play the momentum game and win? For example, could you believe that there is a housing bubble and still decide to flip houses? In 2003, yes. In 2006? Ouch.

    Is there anyone out there who is good at trading as opposed to investing? For example, how do you do long/short strategies to reduce risk? So far, I'm really just hedging my dollars--so the risk/reward part of it is not that complicated. I guess I could buy a newsletter or just monitor the technical guys at safeHaven for timing the market. I'm also thinking about setting a target price, say $1600, and then selling at regular intervals to "dollar cost average" my profits--so to speak.

    Finally, I'm theorizing that my goldmining stocks will price in the future price of gold much higher and faster than the bullion itself. For example, if gold is priced at $800/oz, the traders will bid up the PE on the miners suggesting a price of, say, $2000. If that happened, it would be a no brainer to sell the mining stocks and keep bullion. Any thoughts? I'm still plotting my strategy and could use the help/education.

    Thanks,
    Deo Vindice

    36   Michael Holliday   2006 Jan 8, 1:29am  

    Some thoughts, conspiratorial and otherwise:

    waiting Says:

    "Here’s the main reason China is smart and we’re stupid: The Chinese think long- term, Americans, for at least the past 40 years, can’t seem to think past tonight...Chinese culture also is...incredibly savy and sophisticated..."

    Bullshit! It only took 18th-century Pilgrims to America a few months to invent the fork. Chop-stix are the perfect symbol of lack of progress. Look at the Chinese, after all these centuries, they're still friggen using two bamboo twigs to eat their General Chow's Chicken, and it's already the 21st century! How stupid is that?

    Sunnyvale_Renter Says:

    "I don’t understand why the Chinese gov’t doesn’t make use of Falun Gong, I was just doing some reading on it and it’s a nice belief/religion..."

    Because! Translated into English, Falon Gong mean Bong Falcon. Falon is actually an adjective and in the Chinese language they reverse the order of noun and adjective, just like in Spanish. For instance, "bueno frijoles senor!" means "good beans, sir!" So to "falcon" a bong is to really "whoosh" or "swoop" in the pot smoke vigorously. See?

    Falon Gong are really a liberal conspiracy set in motion by the Bill Clinton, Baby Boomer CIA to subvert China with a bunch of hippy-ass liberal dope smokers from the Tibetan mountains and create a 60's-style, Woodstock cultural revolution, and, after seeing footage of a Greatful Dead concert and the mass of human wasteland, the Chinese are just saying "NO!"

    Sunnyvale_Renter Says:

    "I say “it’s” because many Amurrikan females are so fat you have to observe its behavior etc. for a while to see if it’s a female..."

    You're so right S_Renter!

    My girlfriend Marie is Italian American and I feed her well. She's gained over 100 lbs. this year alone. I just tell my neighbors, "it's" a giant hampster experiment from UC Berkeley Bio-enginetics gone awry."
    I tell her affectionately between spoon feeding her canned raviolis that she's "my little meatball with legs." I know she's a female because she purs like a kitty when I stroke her hair, plus she wears a little blue bonnet!

    SQT Says:

    "There’s this guy, Harry Dent Jr., who made some of the early predictions about the DOW going to 40,000. I don’t know if the guy is a whack job, but what he says is interesting because he thinks we’re going to see a period of bubbles until about 2008-2009. He see’s bubbles happening in oil, and again in the stock market, but I think he also allows there may be other bubbles as well."

    Yes, there will be more bubbles in book sales about bubbles. What he's really telling the suckers out there is, "I've pimped the stock market consciousness, and Y2K consciousness and real estate consciousness of the average American; thereby, contributing to the crowd hysteria and creating these insane situations; thereby, unloading millions of my useless theoretical books on these topics, and--although wrong in my prognostications--I've made $$$ millions, Jim Cramer-style!"

    "And now to add insult to inury, and butter to bread, I will write books about the gold bubble; thereby, creating another book bubble in books about the gold bubble like I did with the other financial matters...laughing all the way to the bank! Doesn't matter if I'm wright or wrong, since news is now entertainment! So read this b-tch! Bwhahahaahaaa!"

    Jim Ausman Says:

    "Right after the collapse of the dotcom bubble, I became convinced that the whole economy was going to come off its rails, so I went about 10% into physical gold and 5% into gold producers. Unfortunately, I did not understand the difference between hedged and unhedged producers, so I just bought the major (Barrick and Placer)...I sold the gold stocks about a year ago, and in another stunning display of bad timing, half of the physical gold as well. Oh well, I never thought it would make me rich."

    Sorry to break the bad news to you, and you aren't alone, but there is no such thing as gold. "Gold," as it stands, is a conspiracy of international central banks to create the illusion that gold-colored lead is actually worth something. Actually, these internationalist bankers are a secret cabal of medieval alchemists who succeeded thousands of years ago in gold-plating lead to make it shiny and precious-looking.

    They've kept the secret hidden for centuries, millenia even, and have risen to rule the economies of the nations of the world through their control of the media, which allows them unlimited access to promote the false message of gold to the unsuspecting, greedy masses.

    Their last-ditch effort will be to collapse the economies of the world using Red China as the lynchpin to bring it all down, and then come in as the saviors with a "gold" solution by re-establishing the gold standard for a New World Order currency system. Problem is, it's all friggen fake! Bwahahahahahaaa! The people never learn it seems@

    *************************THE END**************************

    37   Michael Holliday   2006 Jan 8, 2:54am  

    A Home Boom Busts

    Shanghai's hot housing market has fizzled after a run-up fed by speculators, threatening a significant part of China's economy.

    http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-chinabubble8jan08,0,7585034.story?coll=la-home-headlines&track=morenews

    Food for though, grounds for further research!

    38   DinOR   2006 Jan 8, 3:47am  

    Yeah,

    I've had my fill of Harry Dent and Jimmy Kramer and their ilk. The problem with these types is that once they've enjoyed even a modest success they've unintentionally created an infrastructure that now needs to be fed! Hence the "serial" publications, newsletter subscription revenues, etc. etc. Jimmy Kramer's legendary fax machine throwing hissy fits utterly bore me. I've worked for guys like this in the past and it was a major factor in my going independent.

    I call this; "That dog won't hunt". Once people get out of "production" the "bull-pen" or boiler room they will do anything and I do mean ANYTHING to keep from being thrown back in there. Look at your own place of business. Guys that get handed a "tie" will throw their own mother under a bus if it means keeping that desk! The investment world amplifies this factor many fold because of the dollars at stake. Once these guys get a taste of easy money (my personal favorite Vita Nelson) and her "buy stock direct through the company newsletter" has probably made a fortune peddling her BS. Anyone with half a brain can join the NAIC (National Association of Investors Clubs) for frickin FREE! Most do just fine w/o Vita.

    If their "budget" and generic advice blows somebody up they just change their tune and come at it with EVEN MORE conviction. It's all about ratings and sales. When you're destitute in your old age try getting your money back from Harry Dent.

    39   Michael Holliday   2006 Jan 8, 4:38am  

    DinOR Says:

    "When you’re destitute in your old age try getting your money back from Harry Dent."

    Exactly!

    Michael Holliday: Knock, knock, knock...

    Harry Dent: Who's there?

    Michael Holliday: Michael Holliday.

    Harry Dent: Holliday? Who dat? It's not Christmas anymore.

    Michael Holliday: I'm the guy who subscribed to your newsletters and investment advice and stuff for years. I told my friends all about you. Now I'm broke and all my friends have left me for screwing them with your worthless advice. The whole reason you are living pimp is because of guys like me. I love your superfly mansion and megamillions bank account but I need a helping financial hand, since your investment advice has basically cost me all my sh-t after the housing collapse and dot com implosion!

    Harry Dent: Bwahahahahaa! Oh, you are indeed a wise and silly old fool Holliday! It was all friggen' ENTERTAINMENT! Gosh damn. You actually believed my hype? What a loser. Like the old saying goes, "there's a sucker born every minute." Your own greed got the best of you Holliday. I mearly painted a picture of riches, like sugar plums dancing, in your own
    nappy little head. And you took the bait like a hungry Catfish, and got your whiskers burnt like the crispy little critter that you really are.

    Michael Holliday: But you said by joining your special Gold Star super-duper newletter for $250 a month, I'd be privy to the BEST insider information that would make me wealthy, healthy and wise. Now here I am, destitute and impoverished, I can't even afford to cook at home to feed my face, much less keep my chubby, meatball-with-legs-lookin' girlfriend fat and happy.

    Harry Dent: Look pal, scram! I've got a dinner appointment with Jim Cramer and Bill Clinton. We're going out on the town to score some dames and smoke fine Cubano cigars and have a big ole' schmaltzy time.
    Just like the brat pack from the 60' and 70's, remember them? Vegas style. Oh, before I leave, I have one last word of advice for you...well, it's actually not advice but it's an old Hungarian pre-World War II saying from Auckland, New Zealand, and it's this: "A fool and his money are soon parted." And like Jim Cramer says on MAD MONEY: "Booyah!"

    Michael Holliday: I hope you roast in hell you toothless old clod. Damn you and the Baby Boomer generation that raped Gen-X. I hope you choke on your Pot Pipe you greedy little Bong Falcon (Falon Gong in Chinese).

    40   Girgl   2006 Jan 8, 6:18am  

    Sunnyvale_Renter says:
    There’s the idea of “overhead” which explains why hunter-gatherers lived pretty well - they only had to “produce” food to eat day to day, and say hides for teepees, hides for clothes, stuff for bows’n'arrows and stuff, and so on. No rent. No taxes. No cable bill. A modern person has to produce many times the “overhead” a hunter-gatherer does, and that’s why most modern people run themselves to death to pay for the rent/mortgage, car payment, etc when think about it, all the body knows is it was fed, slept that night, etc. It comes out the same. And as for the mind, with the free time hunter-gatherers had, the mind is much better off - there’s a reason “primitive” peoples have some of the most complex languages on the planet.

    Innovation happens when you've had good times, have a lot of children survive, and things get worse all of a sudden. Cold summers, hail, whatever. Often, people then innovate to avoid starving, and when times get better, they can support more people per square mile with the new technology.
    That trend is unbroken for the last couple of thousand years, minor hiccups like the fall of the Roman Empire or plague epidemics excluded.

    So - hunter-gatherer life is great (and provably healthier), but you probably couldn't support more than a few thousand people in all of the Bay Area.

    About conspiracy theories: I'm surprised no one has brought up the catholic church, whose long-term goal it is to increase world population. My guess is it's because they're much more successful in times of confusion and misery, so they need to push for more of it.
    The housing bubble is just a side effect.

    By the way, I don't know whether it made the news around here, but strangely enough, in Europe it seems to have become very hip amoung the youngsters to be practicing Christian. Whatever upsets the parents, I guess.

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