Taking more FREEDOM AWAY via the FTC!!

The FTC plans to regulate blogs. See the link. I just have one thing to say. "FUCK YOU FTC"!!!
Back up claims? As the news media backs their claims. HAHAHAHAHA. Freedom of the press FTC. Remember that.

The Rich Are Eating The Rich

Here's a thought. With no private investment banks in the U.S., and the hand of the Government with equity stakes in the biggest of banks. And the rules changing for the brokerage houses. How will the rich be able to hide the money?

My idea the is the rich are scrambling to protect their wealth. Now they won't get much help, if any from those brokers, market makers, traders and most especially those accountants. You see I'm seeing the rules are changing fast and furious. And when this happens, the rich become squirrels on the street. When a squirrel tries to hide those hard earned nuts just laying on the ground. They tend to take a chance of hiding it from the other squirrels. So they cross the street to protect they new found wealth. Oh but look here comes a car(government) right down their path. The squirrel goes crazy. does it keep going or turn back? what happens next is a fifty fifty proposition.

This is one of those little known reasons this recession is going to be prolonged and steep. When the brokerages, banks and other financial s beg for government assistant there are two truths that appear. One, we are in worse shape than the mainstream media espouses us to be. Far worse. And two, the government will find those hoarders that tried to hide those nuts from the other squirrels.

You think the economy looks bad now? It's going to get downright NASTY real soon. My bet is by the middle of January we'll look at the Dow around 6000. Certain;y less than 6500. Then, and only then will I begin to look at the market. After it's not been bloodied but when it's been beaten to a bloody and messy pulp so bad that the Dow will be unrecognizable form today. You see this is a super cycle and these types of cycles are so bad even geniuses become dumbfounded.

Good Luck.

The Romans are deceiving us.

     During the slow fall of the Roman Empire the currency went from 100% gold to less than 1%. The entire time the citizens were being fooled into thinking their great empire was growing andmaking them secure. Then the barbarians came to the gates of Rome and utterly destroyed the empire once and for all. Throwing Europe into the dark ages

     Today it's happening again with the American Empire. How will the next dark age look?

Are the democrats playing with soldiers lives in Iraq?

Ok. Now let's see what the Democrats are really saying. The latest proposition about pulling troops out of Iraq is to vote for the 82 billion (possibly more) with a hitch. If Iraq doesn't meet certain requirements, then we'll begin pulling troops out starting August of 2008. What they're really saying is 'let's hope the war keeps going bad up to election day of 08'.
Now my say. Both sides stops using the lives of our soldiers to enhance your political career. No one can be against the war and vote for funds. Pull them out of Iraq. And pull them out now. Let's get common sense back in the capitol. We don't need to be in Iraq. Whenever we leave. Tomorrow or 10 years from now. The country will fall in chaos. The sooner the better. Once it goes into chaos then it'll will begin to rise from that. Let's get troops where they're really need Afghanistan. The taliban supported al qaeda and osama bin laden. That's where we need to concentrate. The war in Iraq was proven to based on lies. Lies from Colin Powell, to Dick Cheney, to George Bush who lied directly to congress (an impeachable offense by the way).
Pull them out of Iraq and pull them out now!!

Look out for the set-up to Iran

Ok now lets see. The Bush fascist administration has plans for a nuclear bombing run. And thsoe plans have been 'leaked'. There are 4 retired generals to date calling for the ouster of Donald Rumsfeld. Scooter Libbey pins the Plame leak directly to Bush. Condoleeza Rice is quoted as far as Iran "I think it is time for action" Of course not specifying what kind of action. The Washington Post reports the Administration KNEW of the fake mobile weapons labs before Mr Powell spoke to the UN. The GOP and the Administration poll numbers are at all time lows. And where's Dick now?
All this smacks of a faked terrorist attack from Iran. Not necessarilly inside the U.S.. But could like;y be an attack in wich american lives are lost. This way we could blame Iran stir 'American patriotism', and go merrily to war to Iran. Then we could control both sides of the straights of Hormuz and a good 35% of the worlds oil supply. never mind that we only get about 10% of our oil supply. We don't get that much from the middle east. Really. It's all about global control. With The U.S. controlling the oil there. Then we could control China. Who by the way is screaming for oil. To buy our ever devalueing bonds and sell us their goods at cheap prices.
Think I'm wrong. Why did we go after Iraq? For 9/11? You're and idiot if you believe that. And you're an idiot if you voted for Bush the 2nd time. The first could be blamed on Clintons peronal indescretions. Also blame the sleeping media. Who took this fascist administration to their word. Wake up America? WAKE UP AMERICAN PRESS! No wonder the internet is gaining in trustworthyness and the press losing.
Stop waisting aneriican lives. Lets get out of Iraq and get out of our attempt to global empirism!!

Democratic leaders and Paul Hackett

Last night after listening to late night radio. Air America Radio of course. I heard the democratic leaders had asked Paul Hackett to drop out of the Ohio senate race in favor of another democrat whom waffled about deciding wether run for the senate or not. Congressman Sherod Brown. Now Mr. Hackett had stated he would not run if Hon. Brown decided to run. Mr. Brown signaled he would not run for the senate. But then, guess what? Like too many of these chicken shit dems he waffled, and said he would run for the seante. And this was AFTER Senator Schumer and Congressman Waxman had encouraged Mr. Hackett to run in the first place.
Now this is a classic case of the democrats shooting themselves in the foot. AGAIN! This is of course after the democratic leaders stated they sensed 'missed opportunities. DUH! These leaders namely Sen. Schumer Congressman Waxman and others of course should be fired for being BLIND IDIOTS.
We the common folk of this great country are sick and tired of this GOP dominated government. But now it looks like the Dems are feeding the GOP only more Fodder to knock the Dems down and out of office. ALL HAIL THE ONE PARTY GOVERTNMENT!!! The Democratic leaders are showing their true colors. Lapdogs to the GOP
A message to the democratic leaders local elections should be left to the local people. Just stick to your guns and SHUT UP!! Stop trying to lose elections again and again. Remember John Kerry. Rather than becoming a choice to vote for he became a vote against Bush. Loser!!


GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER!!!

Ghost rider

 
 

Dow 11k?

Well now since The President "W" has been in office the Dow has not hit 11k. 21 days left to go and looks real close but, I can bet it won't happen. Why well UCLA reports a slowdown in housing could cause a layoff of some 800K employees. Plus look at GM, Ford and Verizon. GM and Ford two automotive companies will layoff some 60K employees combined. Verizon will stop paying into pensions. Now if that's not enough for you. How many Airlines are making money. Or even not losing money. The winter snap will help keep oil prices high. Why does the media keep talking about a rosy economy? Well they don't want to cause a panic. The only problem is their only delaying the bad news for when it's too late. 2006 will be a year of reckoning the country. The party of the elephant will have no where to hide from the people making less than 100k per year. The administration is in the process of creating an hour glass economy. A few rich no middle class and lots of poor. My prediction the economy will tank into a soft depression beginning by Aug or Sept 06. at the latest

Looks Like Time For A New Mad Max Movie

I just had a thought about today world. With the economy the way it's going. The war in Iraq, and the price of oil. I thought todays events looks like a pre-quel to Mad Max. I hope there's a screenwriter or someone in entertainment that see s' this post. How about a remake of Mad Max only it takes place here in the US. Perhaps starring Paul Walker and Tyrese. Or maybe Hayden Christenson and Josh Harnet. Perhaps tajing place in the year 2012 or something like that. And could include flashbacks to todays events. I think that sounds good. It's time for a Remake of Mad Max. American style.

Be Afraid of The Future. We need a big Volcanic Eruption

Hurricane Katrina is only the beginning. Last year there were 4 major hurricanes to strike Florida. This year so far there are 2 major huricanes to do more damage than anything in the ;ast 100 years. At least. Here's a thought why. In the last 10 years the global sea level rose 1 inch. The reasons are various. Pollution, global warming, and, also the Sun. The solar activity on the sun has definatley effected the global temps. BBC recently posted an article about the artic being totally gone within a hundred years. While eveyone may think that's fine in a century. No one thinks how bad it will get between now and then. Anyhow seeing how fast hurricane Katrina developed there's no way to prepare for that. Next year it WILL get worse. And for all these other countries around the world.DON'T THINK YOUR SAFFE. Thanks partially to our own disregard for the environment. But mostly to the current solar cycle of the sun. We'll all be living in hellacious times the next few years. The one thing that could help us. And it's not too nice either. Is a major. And I mean major. Is a VOLCANIC ERUPTION. Enough to spew ash into the earths upper atmosphere. for at least a few years. this will give us time to prepare. The Volcanic eruption in and of itself will be a disaster. But will help the rest of the world by cooling global temps down, and restoring the ice caps. Thereby cutting fuel for these typhoons, Cyclones and Hurricanes. Until then, THINGS ARE GOING TO GET MUCH WORSE.

Admiral James Stockdale, Most honorable

It seems the mainstream media is once again leaving out tiny little details. Admiral James Stockdale died yesterday and his bio has been all over the news. Except for one important incident that relates to todays events. Admiral Stockdale was one of the pilots during the Gulf on Tonkin incident in Vietnam. He basically said there was no incident. It was made up. This incident which reportedly put us into war with Vietnam was all a lie. Admiral Stockdale is quoted as saying "there was nothing out there. Nothing but nigh, black sea and american firepower"
This incident gave then President Lyndon Johnson the means to go to congress to empower him with warpowers against Vietnam. The House voted 100% for it and the Senate 98 to 2. Strikingly similar to todays events. With a brain dead media and limp congress. Sadly history repeats itself and we all suffer the consequences

Real Estate Bubble

My prediction is that by the end of this year the Real Estate Bubble will begin to deflate. Here's why the Fed will continue to raise interest rates. Next month student loans interest rates will increase dramatically. That's just the beginning. Inflation and foreign sales of bonds will also influence the Bubble. The flattening of the yield curve is a big warning sign of a coming recession. This will cause the Fed to hike rates. In my opinion The Fed should remove the term 'measured pace' out of any future minutes. The market only plans ahead with that term. Markets need to be more fluid and unreliable. this introduces risk and viabrancy to the market. And that's the kind of market we should have. You don't make money with a flat market. You make money when there is horrible bleeding.

Powerball Odds to increase drastically

The link attached to this post was found using google news search. base on a rumo, which turns out to be true. The folks at Powerball headquarters in Iowa has decided to add 2 more balls to the powerball game changing it from 53 white balls to 55 white balls. This has the effect ofincreasing the odds by 16 million. If that doesn't sound bad enough. That's an increase from 120 million to 146 million to 1. They clai this is to keep the game 'interesting'. Yet when they do make changes to odds always increase. Apparently the folks in charge of Powerball only know how to make it 'interesting' in their favor. Anyone who reads this should pass it onand write the various state lotteries complaining about this anddemand powerball revert the changes or allow other competing multistate games in to their various states.
The truth is there are patterns in any game and the more they are played the more the patterns show up. This is another reason why they're adding 2 balls to always keep the total amount of balls odd. making it difficult to pin down a pattern.

Why Abortion will stay Legal

For those of you living in Tennessee, and voted for Senator Bill Frist. Must now realized He is a doctor who is a major shareholder in HCA. HCA happens to perform abortions. For profit. This shows the hipprocacy of the republicans

Markets Down 3 Weeks already

The Markets have been down for 3 weeks already. What will week 4 bring? Up till Wednesday. Then flat. Hopefully. Overall for the month of January. Down big time. Looks like this will be the 1st time a 5th year in a deacade will be a down year. Let's see some fundamentals. The war in Iraq is depleteing more of our american soldiers on a double digit weekly basis now. Casualties are increasing not decreasing. You may not hear it on the news but pipelines are still being blown up in Iraq. There's more violence now thanks to the election. And looks like it will keep on going after the elections. The only question is what the coalition does after the elections.
The social security reform fiasco will drain more capital. Not implementing it. fighting over it. Will it go through I don't know but it will be a tough battle. This should have been done 15 years ago. Now it's too late.
We're becoming a third world trader. We're selling China our commodities and buying their finished goods. Kind of bass akwards I think. Outscourcing is still going on bigtime. Check out the airlines now. Airbus has released their new A380. A big mama. Not to mention that before Aibus relaesed it they became the nr 1 comercial airline producer over Boeing by about 100 planes. None of this looks good for us. Just hope someone reads this and get the message.
I too got caught in the drop. I put my dough in Gov't bonds for a week thinking it would be safe then I put it back in EFA and lost money. It should go up next week but be very careful. Check out the link I attached. It goes strictly by the numbers.

I think the Markets start downward trend.

Link

The link is a list of 2005 Predictions from Ray Settle. I don't really believe in astrology. But these predictions look like they're backed with some sensible forcasting. The 1st week of January predicts the trend for the month. And January predicts the trend for the year.

The Disaster in the Indian Ocean also caused the gold prices to drop. The tsunami happened in the middle of the 'marriage season' for India. This is tradtionally a time for Indians to buy gold. India happens to be the biggest buyer of gold. When the tsunami hit this could have been the reason gold dropped. When disasters hit. They strongly affect markets of some kind where they occur. And affect all markets to some point everywhere. usually negatively.

January begins Bushes new term. His administration has been vague about social security reform. This month he'll begin to be more open about it. I don't think too many people will be happy about it. Sometime during this year the public will hopefully realize the mistake the made voting for Bush. And make him accountable for the economic slide in this country. What do I say. if you voted for the Cheney/Bush ticket. Blame yourself. You should have followed the news more closely. Not 'fair and balanced' but more foriegn than any of the corporate news channels.

What a dismal ending to 2004/What will 2005 bring?

The Dow could not bring us 11,000? pretty dismal. Well with the Dollar getting weaker and the american economy getty puddling along. I would have thought 11,000 was attainable. But I was wrong. Well I don't see anything ging better next year.

As a matter of fact. Textile workers could lose 680.000 jobs soon. Because the Bush Admistration refused to extend textile quotas, meaning all of your clothes could be made in China. Why would foreigners invest in the U.S. when our goods and service are shrinking by the day. Invest internationally and you can't go wrong. Compare the ticker symbol EFA, an all inclusive international fund with the Dow. And you see what I mean. Remember the Euro will get stronger and the Yen, Pound and even the Canadian Dollar.

If the Euro gets stronger we could see the loss of the Dollar in 2005 as the Fiat currency. Meaning no more low interest rates us. And we'll have to borrow money for trade. Currently we need to sell foreigners 2.5 Billon Dollars a day in bonds to finance the need for the U.S.. There have been several day already that the quota has not been met. If you think 2004 was bad look out for more of the same, or worse, in 2005.

Happy New Year.
Happy New Year?

The Euro hits a new high

The Euro just hit a new high. At $1.3502 for a Euro. That could hurt lots of people, in lots of countries. The U.S. Isn't playing fair and hurting others as well as ourselves

2005 is coming WAKE UP!!!

Next year will be a rude awakening for many people. The signs have been there. The Monkey in the whitehouse has ruined lives and is planning on ruining more. Remember The "domestic cuts" are coming. the Dollar is even weaker. The Chinese and Russians are sending signals about backing Iran. The wimpy elephants are now speaking out against the SecDef. AFTER their monkey won in november I know it's too late to say I told you so. But. I TOLD YOU SO! Even when I'm in the desert, work, I tell my aquantances about this and they only follow simplest idea. Not the true advice.
Bits of advice.
Follow the foreign news. And different sources of news.
Invest in gold or in foreign stocks. EFA is a good all international fund.
Pay off debt or at least transfer to lowest 'Locked' interest rate.
Cut down on expenses. every little bit helps
Don't Pray. that's for true saving after this life. Take responsibility for yourself
Eat as natural food as possible. the industries pump so many chemicals into foods
that it's making you sluggish and slow thinking.
Be extremely careful with prescriptiondrugs. look up whatever drugs you have to
take on the internet. there most likely natural alternatives. the Drug industry
only concerned about sales. Not your well being. have you seen the news lately?
Vitamins, vitamins, vitamins. these keep you healthy and clear headed.
If anyone wants, I'll post websites and my regimen/diet. I do keep healthy and
clear headed. And have not been happier.

What's the frequency George?

The First debate It looked like The President may have been wearing an earpiece. And he still got clobbered. Look for an earpiece tonight. see if he'll walk around and turn around by the cameras. this will help to see if he needs a crutch. Do we really need a President who needs sooo many crutches?

MY MY HOW THOSE DRUGS HURT US

The TRUE Cost Of Your
Prescription Drugs!
Material Costs of Medical Compounds
Investigative Research Reveals the True Costs of Drugs

By Sharon Davis and Mary Palmer
US Department of Commerce
7-3-4


The women who wrote this email and signed below are Federal Budget Analysts in Washington, D.C.

Did you ever wonder how much it costs a drug company for the active ingredient in prescription medications? Some people think it must cost a lot, since many drugs sell for more than $2.00 per tablet. We did a search of offshore chemical synthesizers that supply the active ingredients found in drugs approved by the FDA. As we have revealed in past issues of Life Extension, a significant percentage of drugs sold in the United State contain active ingredients made in other countries. In our independent investigation of how much profit drug companies really make, we obtained the actual price of active ingredients used in some of the most popular drugs sold in America.

The chart below speaks for itself.

Celebrex 100 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $130.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.60
Percent markup: 21,712%

Claritin 10 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $215.17
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.71
Percent markup: 30,306%

Keflex 250 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $157.39
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.88
Percent markup: 8,372%

Lipitor 20 mg
Consumer Price (100 tablets): $272.37
Cost of general active ingredients: $5.80
Percent markup: 4,696%

Norvasec 10 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $188.29
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.14
Percent markup: 134,493%

Paxil 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $220.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $7.60
Percent markup: 2,898%

Prevacid 30 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $44.77
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.01
Percent markup: 34,136%

Prilosec 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $360.97
Cost of general active ingredients $0.52
Percent markup: 69,417%

Prozac 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) : $247.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.11
Percent markup: 224,973%


Tenormin 50 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $104.47
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.13
Percent markup: 80,362%

Vasotec 10 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $102.37
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.20
Percent markup: 51,185%


Xanax 1 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) : $136.79
Cost of general active ingredients: $0.024
Percent markup: 569,958%

Zestril 20 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets) $89.89
Cost of general active ingredients $3.20
Percent markup: 2,809%

Zithromax 600 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $1,482.19
Cost of general active ingredients: $18.78
Percent markup: 7,892%

Zocor 40 mg
Consumer price (100 tablets): $350.27
Cost of general active ingredients: $8.63
Percent markup: 4,059%

Zoloft 50 mg
Consumer price: $206.87
Cost of general active ingredients: $1.75
Percent markup: 11,821%

Since the cost of prescription drugs is so outrageous, I thought everyone I knew should know about this. Please read the following and pass it on. It pays to shop around. This helps to solve the mystery as to why they can afford to put a Walgreen's on every corner.

On Monday night, Steve Wilson, an investigative reporter for Channel 7 News in Detroit, did a story on generic drug price gouging by pharmacies. He found in his investigation, that some of these generic drugs were marked up as much as 3,000% or more. Yes, that's not a typo ... three thousand percent! So often, we blame the drug companies for the high cost of drugs, and usually rightfully so. But in this case, the fault clearly lies with the pharmacies themselves. For example, if you had to buy a prescription drug, and bought the name brand, you might pay $100 for 100 pills. The pharmacist might tell you that if you get the generic equivalent, they would only cost $80, making you think you are "saving" $20. What the pharmacist is not telling you is that those 100 generic pills may have only cost him $10!

At the end of the report, one of the anchors asked Mr. Wilson whether or not there were any pharmacies that did not adhere to this practice, and he said that Costco, Sam's Club and other discount volume stores consistently charged little over their cost for the generic drugs. I went to the the discount store's website, where you can look up any drug, and get its online price. It says that the in-store prices are consistent with the online prices. I was appalled. Just to give you one example from my own experience, I had to use the drug, Comparing, which helps prevent nausea in chemo patients. I used the generic equivalent, which cost $54.99 for 60 pills at CVS. I checked the price at Costco, and I could have bought 100 pills for $19..89. For 145 of my pain pills, I paid $72.57. I could have got 150 at another discount store for $28.08. I would like to mention, that although these are a "membership" type store, you do NOT have to be a member to buy prescriptions there, as it is a federally regulated substance. You just tell them at the door that you wish to use the pharmacy, and they will let you in. (This is true, I went there this past Thursday and asked them.)


I am asking each of you to please help me by copying this letter, and passing it into your own email, and send it to everyone you know with an email address.

Sharon L. Davis
Budget Analyst
U.S. Department of Commerce
Room 6839
Office Ph: 202-482-4458
Office Fax: 202-482-5480
Email Address:

Mary Palmer
Budget Analyst
Bureau of Economic Analysis
Office of Budget & Finance
Voice: (202) 606-9295
Fax: (202) 606-5324

http://www.sonomavalleyvoice.com/articles.php?id=411

HOOKED ON SUGAR?

Overweight America Is Hooked
On Refined Sugar
By Eric Margolis
Contributing Foreign Editor
Toronto Sun
1-25-4


NEW YORK -- Refined sugar is the world's most popular and widely used drug. (Webster's Dictionary defines a drug as a "chemical substance used to alter the state of body or mind.")

We don't usually think of sugar and other favourite stimulants such as coffee or tea as "drugs," but they all have marked effects on the human body.

The UN's World Health Organization has launched an international campaign to cut consumption of refined sugar, which it says is the principal culprit in the current epidemic of obesity and its associated diseases, diabetes and cardiovascular disorders.

Americans, who comprise only 5% of the world's population, account for a whopping 33% of total global sugar consumption - over 10 million tons annually.

According to the WHO, over half of Americans are overweight and 31% - 38.8 million people - are obese. Obesity rates in children have risen 50% in recent years.

Americans have become sugar junkies and, sad to say, a nation of fatties, the world's most overweight people. Europeans laugh at obese American tourists as they waddle down the street.

It's hard to find any processed food products these days without some form of added sugars: sucrose, dextrose, fructose, corn syrup, maltodextrin. A can of pop can easily contain eight tablespoons of refined sugar. France and Australia have been forced to produce sweeter wines to cater to the sugar-craving U.S. market. Carbohydrates, the basic material for all breads, potatoes, cakes and snack foods, are quickly converted by the body into simple sugar, and then stored as fat.

Incredibly, the Bush administration is strongly opposing the WHO's campaign to limit sugar intake to 10% of total caloric consumption. President George Bush seems to think lots of sugar is just dandy.

Critics of Bush see this as yet another example of the radical, far-right ideology of his administration, which seems never to have seen a tree it did not want to cut down, an animal it did not want to shoot, or a park it did not want to pave.

But there's much more here than just Cro-Magnon anti-environmentalism. The brilliant Republican strategist Kevin Phillips wrote in American Conservative that his party has gone from being a small-government conservative movement to a collection of special interests feeding off and backing ever bigger government. Sugar is a prime example.

Even though Bush's home state of Texas has some of the highest rates of obesity, heart disease and diabetes in the U.S., the president and his men insist heavy sugar consumption does not cause disease.

The U.S. secretary of health actually claims, in the face of a mountain of scientific evidence to the contrary, that it's fine to get 25% of one's calories from refined sugar!

The real reason for the administration's preposterous position is that the powerful U.S. sugar industry is one of its biggest financial backers, and a major power in the key electoral state of Florida. The sugar industry is also one of Washington's most successful lobby groups and a huge contributor to congressmen and senators of both parties.

The result: the federal government subsidizes U.S. sugar producers to the tune of $1.4 billion US annually. Import restrictions protect them from foreign competition and keep domestic sugar prices three or four times higher than world prices. Sugar remains the nation's most heavily subsidized crop at almost $500 per acre per annum.

So American consumers pay inflated prices for sugar while tiny West Indian sugar-producing islands, that depend on the crop, are shut out of the U.S. market. Worse, sugar cultivation has damaging environmental effects. In Florida, 500,000 acres of the Everglades wetlands, one of America's natural treasures, have been destroyed to make room for growing sugar.

Joining the sugar industry in opposing the WHO campaign are America's biggest food and drink producers, led by the mighty Coca-Cola Company, and sugar exporting nations.

Nefarious plot

Instead of setting a positive example for the rest of the world by nudging Americans to lower their sugar consumption, the Bush administration seems to see UN efforts as some sort of nefarious foreign plot.

But action is urgently needed: the UN found that 60% of disease worldwide is now caused by cardiovascular ailments, which are directly linked to over-consumption of sugar, saturated and trans-fats, and increasing lack of exercise caused by too much TV viewing.

All developed nations face this problem to varying degrees. In the Middle East, Pakistan and India, over-consumption of fats and sugar are now the gravest public health problem after malnutrition. But no one wants to give up their beloved pastries, sweet tea or fatty mutton.

This column does not like government intervention in people's lives. Years ago, when the anti-smoking jihad began, I wrote that fatty burgers killed 10 times more people than cigarettes and, logically, should also be banned.

But the sugar epidemic has become such a peril to public health that government should act. Not to confiscate sugar from people's homes, but to end sugar subsidies, ban all advertising of sugar-laden products to children, get soft drinks out of schools, and educate Americans about the perils of too much refined sugar.

Eric can be reached by e-mail at margolis@foreigncorrespondent.com.

http://www.canoe.ca/Columnists/margolis_jan25.html

GNOSTICISM

1. Name: Gnosticism

2. Founder: Some consider Simon Magus to be the Father of Gnosticism. However, Gnosticism has also been defined as a mystical religion said to be "as old as humanity itself."(Ellwood and Partin: 95-96) Gnostic beliefs can be "found in all religions and religious philosophies, from Upanishads to the wisdom of ancient Egypt, and from the Gathas of Zarathustra to the mystery-cults of Greece and Rome."(Ellwood and Partin: 96) There are others who say that Gnosticism was built upon the combined teachings of its important leaders. Some of these include Basilides, Valentinus, Marcion, Ptolemaeus, Cerinthus, Menander, Simon Magus, and Saturninus (Grant: 30-43).

3. What is Gnosticism: As noted, Gnosticism has been defined as a mystical religion (Ellwood and Partin: 96). It is a mixing of rites and myths from a variety of religious traditions, combining Occultism, Oriental Mysticism, astrology, magic, elements from Jewish tradition, Christian views of redemption, and even aspects of Plato's doctrine that man is not at home in the bodily realm (McManners: 26). Despite the fact that many Gnostic systems vary, they all have in common "a world view shaped by Hellenism and Neoplatism" and "esoteric Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and the ancient heritages of Egypt and Mesopotamia."(Ellwood and Partin: 92)

One can directly trace some of the individual aspects of Gnosticism to their roots. Their beliefs in the resurrection of the dead and dualism come from Iranian-Zoroastrian religious ideas (Rudolph: 282). Their communities are organized like the Hellenistic Mystery religions (Rudolph: 285). Orphism and Greek background influenced the Gnostic belief that the soul suffers in this world and it is fate that man should have to endure it. In turn, living a righteous life leads to salvation (Rudolph: 286).

Gnostics consider themselves "people in the know. [They] are the elect, their souls fragments of the divine, needing liberation from matter and the power of the planets." (McManners: 26) They believe that God is found in the self as well as outside the self (Ellwood and Partin: 96). The greatest hope for the Gnostic is to attain ultimate, first-hand knowledge so that they may be freed from this world and return to the world of God.

4. History: Gnosticism has changed over time and through different leaders, however it flourished during the first several centuries (Edwards). There were two major parts of Gnosticism: the Syrian Cult and the Alexandrian Cult. The Syrian Cult was led by Simon Magus, while the other was led by Basilides. Basilides impressed "Egyptian Hermetizism, Oriental occultism, Chaldean astrology, and Persian philosophy in his followers."(Davies) Also, his doctrines intertwined early Christianity and pagan mysteries (Davies). Aside from his Gnostic leadership Basilides remained a member of the church in Alexandria until he died (Eliade: 571).

When Basilides died, Valentinus took over leadership of Gnostics, incorporating some of his own ideas (Davies). He was born in Egypt, familiar with Greek culture, and was nearly a bishop (being passed up for a martyr). He then separated from the church (Foerster: 121). Valentinus incorporated the pleroma, or heavenly world, into Gnosticism. The pleroma consists of at least thirty aeons (worlds). He also believed that ignorance is the root of the world and if it no longer existed, the world would cease to exist (Foerster: 122).

During the 2nd Century, several systems of Gnosticism grew in Alexandria and the Mediterranean area, most of which were closely related to Christianity. This was a period in which Gnosticism came to focus on Gnosis itself, as a goal for Gnostics to reach (Edwards). This century was also a period when Pagan, Jewish and Christian forms of Gnosticism had the most influence on the doctrine and structure of the Christian Church, even though critics treated it a Christian heresy (Crim: 277). Valentinus and another strong Gnostic leader, Marcion, were the most feared by the Catholic church (Crim: 278 and Rudolph: 296). They offered an alternate or rival form of Christianity, which caused the church to begin setting up barriers to Gnosticism (McManners: 27).

Mani came into leadership, and "Gnosticism became a world religion when Mani (216-277) founded his alternative Christian Church."(Eliade: 572) Mani, the Jewish-Christian raised in a Baptist community, started Manichaeism. It existed for over one thousand years (Eliade: 572). However, Manichaeism disappeared in the West during the Middle Ages. When Roman Catholicism became the state church in Armenia, the Gnostics hid in the outskirts and mountains (Eliade: 572).

After the 3rd Century, Gnosticism practically disappeared. There was some attempt to revive it during the Middle Ages, but this was nearly impossible because any documents or material about Gnostics had been buried in the desert.

The recent revival in interest was due to the discovery of the Nag Hammadi codices in 1945, revealing the writings and beliefs of the Gnostics (Davies). One sign that there was still interest in Gnosticism between these periods was the fact that William Blake, the poet and artist, was a known Gnostic during the late 1700's and early 1800's. Also, a man by the name of Jakob Boehme was noted as starting up modern Gnosticism in the early 1600's (Eliade: 572).

5. Cult or Sect:
Negative sentiments are typically implied when the concepts "cult" and "sect" are employed in popular discourse. Since the Religious Movements Homepage seeks to promote religious tolerance and appreciation of the positive benefits of pluralism and religious diversity in human cultures, we encourage the use of alternative concepts that do not carry implicit negative stereotypes. For a more detailed discussion of both scholarly and popular usage of the concepts "cult" and "sect," please visit our Conceptualizing "Cult" and "Sect" page, where you will find additional links to related issues.

6. Sacred or Revered Texts: The Nag Hammadi codices were discovered around 1945 in Egypt, along with other manuscripts found in Medinet Madi in 1930 and in Turkistan between 1902-1914. The Nag Hammadi texts contain 52 sacred texts, which are the "Gnostic Gospels." It had been speculated that they were buried in a jar around 390 AD by monks from St. Pachomius (Nag Hammadi). Little was known about Gnosticism until the documents were found. Previously, the only evidence about Gnostics was from their critics, who regarded them as Christian Heresy, such as Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Epiphanius (Gnosticism).

An important aspect of the Nag Hammadi documents is their ability to tie Gnosticism to its roots. Many of the books are not actually Gnostic. The Gospel of Thomas is encratitic, Thunder, Whole Mind is Jewish, Acts of Peter and the Twelve Apostles is Jewish-Christian, Prayer of Thanksgiving is Hermetic, and Authoritative Teaching is early Catholic (Eliade: 567).

The contents of the Nag Hammadi codices illuminate the beliefs of the Gnostics. They describe the "unfolding of Divine Powers (called 'Aeons') from the Unknowable Godhead; the Cosmos as the result of a pre-creation error of crisis, and therefore evil; and the fall of the Light -- the essence of the Spirit or Divine Soul -- into the Darkness of matter, where it remains trapped until liberated by saving knowledge (Gnosis)."(Gnosticism) In Christian Gnosticism, Jesus is the Divine Messenger who brings Gnosis to humans. However, in Non-Christian Gnosticism it could be Seth (from the Bible), Zostrianos (a form of the prophet from the Persian religion Zoroastrianism), or a mythological entity (Gnosticism).

The Cathar Texts are also Gnostic writings from the medieval resurgence of Gnosticism through the group the Cathars. The writings of the Corpus Hermeticum belong to one of the non-Christian forms of Gnosticism, the Hermetics (Davies).

7. Modern Issues: Gnosticism is still present in modern times. Richard, Duc de Palatine established the Order of the Pleroma in the 1950's in England. He had Stephen Hoeller go to the United States to continue their work. Hoeller separated from Duc de Palatine in the 70's and started the Ecclesia Gnostica, a church, and the Gnostic Society. Hoeller's gnostic "church celebrates the Holy Eucharist every Sunday and Holy Days." (Elwood and Partin: 95) Their ceremonies and vestments are similar to the Roman Catholics, but the language uses Gnostic terminology. The scriptures are generally from Pistis Sophia or Gospel of Thomas (Ellwood and Partin: 95).

There are other such gnostic churches. The American Gnostic Church in Texas was started in 1985 and their teachings reflect those of the 2nd Century Gnostic teachings of Basilides (Melton: 761). Rosamonde Miller started the Ecclesia Gnostica Mysteriorum in Palo Alto, CA (Borce).

While there are example such as these in the West, there are also gnostics in "several Sufi orders of Islam."(Edwards) Also, at present there are approximately "15000 Mandaeans (Aramaic word for Gnostics) liv[ing] in Iraq and Iran."(Eliade: 570) In a more general sense there is "gnosticism in Jewish wisdom tradition, Kabbalah, Mahayana, and Vajrayana Buddhism" as well as in Sikhism (Edwards).

II. Beliefs of the Group

Gnosis refers to a knowledge that is essential to free oneself from the evil material world and bodily existence (Crim: 277). Gnostics believe humans err because they are ignorant, unlike the Christian belief that man is sinful by nature. Gnostics will receive salvation when they gain knowledge, gnosis. The knowledge must be of their inner self or soul. It is similar to the Hindu definition of meditation (Borce).

Some of the basic beliefs of Gnosticism are as follows:

o "Between this world and the God incomprehensible to our thought, the 'primal cause,' there is an irreconcilable antagonism.

o The 'self,' the 'I' of the gnostic, his 'spirit' or soul, is unalterably divine.

o This 'I,' however, has fallen into this world, has been imprisoned and anaesthetized by it, and cannot free itself from it.

o Only a divine 'call' from the world of light loosens the bonds of captivity.

o But only at the end of the world does the divine element in a man return again to its home."(Foerster: 9)

Another unique aspect of the Gnostic belief system is their view of the creation of the world. They believe that the true God has a feminine side, Sophia, the Spirit part of God. Jesus was a product of God and Spirit, and joined them to make up the Trinity. Sophia wanted to give birth to a being like herself. She proceeded without permission from God. The result was imperfect and she was ashamed of it, so she hid it in a cloud away from the other immortals. The child was the Demiurge. He was born with some power (from the Spirit) and used it to create the physical world. This trapped the "spirit in matter"(Borce). The view of the imperfections of creation are similar to those in Hebrew scripture, just as the Creator is incompetent (McManners: 27). The Gnostics taught that the Demiurge was Yehovah from the Old Testament. Jesus, on the other hand, they believe came from God and the Holy Spirit, not from the Demiurge. Jesus taught Gnostics the secret knowledge (gnosis), which he did not teach to the church. This belief created animosity between the church and the Gnostics. Also, contrary to Christian teachings about Jesus being born of the virgin Mary, Gnostics believe that Jesus entered Mary's body via sexual intercourse between Mary and Joseph (Borce).

Gnostics had several other beliefs that dismayed early Christians. They scorned bishops, priests and deacons, however, they let women hold leadership and liturgical positions (McManners: 28). Many Gnostics would not make the sign of the cross, because to them the "suffering of Jesus was no actual event but a symbol for the universal condition of the human race."(McManners: 28) Christ could not have become flesh in order to be crucified, since they believe that there is a separation of spirit from matter. They view flesh as polluting (McManners: 27). This belief would also support why they do not put faith in the eucharist, which is supposed to be the body of Christ. Mani, the leader of the Manicheaists, also did not believe in the drinking of wine, the blood of Christ, because he saw it as an invention of the devil. Many Gnostics also do not recognize the significance of baptism in water (McManners: 27). They also believe they are the elect group that will gain salvation, via gnosis, and everyone else will be annihilated. "Moral virtue was of little interest to Gnostics, whose confidence in their own salvation made all that seem a matter of indifference."(McManners: 28)

Gnostics also have a different view of the make up of the world. Aeons are worlds, or "distinct spiritual entities," which all together make up the pleroma, or fullness (Foerster: 24). The pleroma is above the cosmos and is the "spiritual Divine Reality," the true God's realm (Gnosticism). This is the place a Gnostic hopes to return to through salvation.

The price of oil

I wonder what would the price of oil be today if we never invaded Iraq? After all Inever heard of pipelines being blown up before we invaded Iraq. It's fine that SadHam is out but now the Iraqis want us out.
How much is it costing us to make the world hate us even more? Pretty soon we'll never be able to export anything at all. We'll be importing everything.
Have you heard about the Iraqi soccer team? It's a pretty good thing they didn't win a medal. Pretty good for King George that is. They didn't appreciate the fact that they're no longer tortured to win. They just berrated the president to get the hell out of Iraq