Anyone who has read Atlas Shrugged clearly sees the similarity of the book with the reality of today. According to this article in CNN, the book is selling like hotcakes as the world is trying to look into the future to see what it hold, and it is not pretty.
Excerpt from CNN;
The quotation is wrong. As any reader of Ayn Rand’s “Atlas Shrugged” can attest, the correct line is “Who is John Galt?” but the point is well taken.
In the midst of the credit crisis and the federal government’s massive bailout plan, the works of Rand, a proponent of a libertarian, free-market philosophy she called Objectivism, are getting new attention.
“If only ‘Atlas’ were required reading for every member of Congress and political appointee in the Obama administration. I’m confident that we’d get out of the current financial mess a lot faster,” Wall Street Journal columnist Stephen Moore wrote in early January.
It’s obviously getting attention from the general public. Rand book sales are “going through the roof,” said Yaron Brook, the president of the Ayn Rand Institute. According to Brook, “Atlas Shrugged,” her most famous novel, has sold more copies in the first four months of 2009 than it did for all of 2008 — and in 2008, it sold 200,000 copies. It’s been in Amazon.com’s top 50 for more than a month.
Not bad for a 1,100-page doorstop of a book that came out in 1957, by an author who died in 1982.
President Obama likes to joke that a certain building in the Cayman Islands, which is claimed by more than 12,000 businesses as their headquarters: “Either this is the largest building in the world — or it’s the largest tax scam in the world.”
Now what does this building look like?Here is your chance to find out:
Ugland House featured in the clip is the “home” to some big name corporations such as JP Morgan, KPMG, AIG and Deloitte.
I suppose if President Obama gets his way, the Caymans will get no longer have their “over-crowded” problem.
Care to find out which sections of the U.S have lost the most jobs over the past year? Here is a link to a website that will do preicesly just that. Using impormation complied from 2004-2009 from all over the country. To make the graph work, click on the arrow on upper left hand side of the graph.
Mr. Aaron Greenspan of Think Computer Corporation sued Google in court for$721, the amount he has in his account when Google closed with only “posed a significant risk to our AdWords advertisers” as the explanation.
The court ruled in the favor of Mr. Aaron and Google has to pay him $721.
When the judgment was given, Google’s representation protested saying: “It’s not fair! What if everyone whose account was canceled sued Google?”
I am thinking we are going to find out as people will go to small claims courts in America to get their money back which they earned till the time their account was closed.
Stay tuned; as I am sure similar stories like this one are sure to follow!
This news from Reuters that could really affect everyone holding dollars. (yes that means most of you!)
Excerpts:
LUXEMBOURG (Reuters) - A U.N. panel will next week recommend that the world ditch the dollar as its reserve currency in favor of a shared basket of currencies, a member of the panel said on Wednesday, adding to pressure on the dollar.
Persaud, chairman of consultants Intelligence Capital and a former currency chief at JPMorgan, said the recommendation would be one of a number delivered to the United Nations on March 25 by the U.N. Commission of Experts on International Financial Reform.
“It is a good moment to move to a shared reserve currency,” he said.
Central banks hold their reserves in a variety of currencies and gold, but the dollar has dominated as the most convincing store of value — though its rate has wavered in recent years as the United States ran up huge twin budget and external deficits.
I am having one of those days where nothing seems to be going my way. I am not going to let it get too me. I have had more than fair share of up days to let one down day…well get me down. However, it got me thinking about changing my life. Are there still any freedom fighters out there? I need a cause. I do not think I would make a very good actual fighter, but I am sure the organization could use some back office clerical work, maybe even a little PR. I can shine in that department. Any takers? I work cheap; I just need a medical plan
No this time I am not talking about the economy but real bullets. Its seems gun dealers are seeing a rush to buy ammunition by gun owners. Suppose they know something the rest of us don’t know? I am all ears/eyes if anyone wants to clue me in….
Excerpts from the Orlando Sentinel : Selling bullets may be the most secure job in Florida as long as supplies last.
After months of heavy buying, gun dealers across the state are experiencing shortages.
Some say it began with the election of President Barack Obama. Others say it’s about the economic downturn or fear of crime. Whatever the reasons, ammunition has been selling like plywood and bottled water in the days before a hurricane.
“The survivalist in all of us comes out,” said John Ritz, manager of East Orange Shooting Sports in Winter Park. “It’s more about protecting what you have.
I stumbled upon this Motley fool story about how many people are finding their retirement portfolios in such disarray that moving to another more affordable country has become a viable option. When you couple that reality with better weather and a less consumerism lifestyle, it becomes a no brainer for some.
Excerpts from the Motley Fool: Moving to more affordable countries such as Mexico, Panama, Ecuador, The Philippines, Costa Rica, or Thailand will also become more attractive to those whose portfolios were compromised in this last financial meltdown. One can live a reasonably comfortable lifestyle in these countries for far less than in the United States or Canada. Review the options of relocating. Moving to a tax-friendly state or to a state or country where the cost of living is less than where you are living now is worth your consideration. Taxes and the daily cost of living play a huge part in the amount of money one will need for retirement.
I am certain that by reading the title of this post on making money through the internet, you smiled a reluctant smile; as many of you have enrolled in several programs such “make money reading emails” and “taking surveys” that provided less than encouraging results.
However this post is not about that activity.When we discuss making money through the Internet we are speaking of Internet entrepreneurs who realize they cannot achieve optimal performance without using the Internet as an advertising vehicle, and even a sales agent.
In a highly globalized and interconnected world, a company or an entrepreneur that has no presence on the internet is doomed to earnings based solely on the limited market they currently physically reside, and thereby lose valuable opportunities to display and perform sales to an unlimited amounts of potential clients worldwide 24 hours a day.
The Internet allows business to promote their product and service throughout the world every second of 365 days of the year, thus exceeding the territorial and time constraints of a brick and mortar establishment.At any point of the day, someone in the world could be becoming aware of your presence.This however can be a double-edged sword.
Websites that are poorly designed or have slowly load times are certain to leave a poor impression and may drive your potential clients elsewhere never to return.
Therefore it is imperative the businesses and entrepreneur realize that they are handicapped against their competitors without a website, however unless their Internet presence is primed…they could be driving potential customers to their competitors themselves.So take the time to get online, but make sure you take the time to do it right.
