Economics, Misc. DINARRECAPS8 Economics, Misc. DINARRECAPS8

The Golden Secrets of Fort Knox Revealed

.The Golden Secrets of Fort Knox Revealed

America's gold stockpile has fueled curiosity and conspiracy theories. How much do we know?

By Doug Whiteman Dec. 23, 2021

We adhere to strict standards of editorial integrity to help you make decisions with confidence. Please be aware that some (or all) products and services linked in this article are from our sponsors.

You may be aware of Fort Knox from the James Bond movie Goldfinger, or from the old cartoon where Bugs Bunny tricks Yosemite Sam into digging up some of the gold bars and getting arrested.

But what can you really say about the U.S. bullion bunker in Kentucky?

The Golden Secrets of Fort Knox Revealed

America's gold stockpile has fueled curiosity and conspiracy theories. How much do we know?

By Doug Whiteman   Dec. 23, 2021

We adhere to strict standards of editorial integrity to help you make decisions with confidence. Please be aware that some (or all) products and services linked in this article are from our sponsors.

You may be aware of Fort Knox from the James Bond movie Goldfinger, or from the old cartoon where Bugs Bunny tricks Yosemite Sam into digging up some of the gold bars and getting arrested.

But what can you really say about the U.S. bullion bunker in Kentucky?

The Fort Knox gold vault is one of the most secure and secret places in America. Because few people have ever gotten inside, the gold depository is a subject of fascination and speculation.

Here are 10 things we know — and maybe don't know.

1. It Holds Tons Of Gold -- Literally

Fort Knox holds more than 147 million ounces of gold.

Fort Knox currently houses 147.3 million ounces of gold. The government says the bullion has a "book value" of $6.22 billion.

However, that's based on a fixed price that officials set in 1973. Based on the current market value of gold, the reserves at Fort Knox are worth a far more impressive $190 billion, roughly speaking.

Much of the gold in the vault is in the form of 27-pound bars, while a percentage is in gold coins.

At one time, the point of having all of that gold was to provide backing for U.S. currency — but the dollar was taken off the gold standard in 1971.

2. Is The Gold Really In There?

United States Gold Bullion Depository Fort Knox Kentucky

Are we sure there's gold in Fort Knox?

So why does the U.S. hang onto its gold stash? "Just in case we need it," is the explanation former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan reportedly once gave.

Conspiracy theorists have insisted that the government secretly sold off the gold and that the gold bars are actually tungsten bricks painted to look like the precious metal.

Apparently, there's no way to say with absolute certainty if there's really bullion — or if it's all bull. Over the years, there have been few audits to test the gold, or inventories to count it.

Not many people have even seen it...

3. Outsiders Rarely Get Inside

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://moneywise.com/life/lifestyle/fort-knox-secrets?utm_source=email&utm_medium=mwd&utm_campaign=mon_lfr&utm_term=mon_lfr_3_10&utm_content=mon_lfr_1529

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Misc. DINARRECAPS8 Misc. DINARRECAPS8

The C.R.A.A.P. Test

.The C.R.A.A.P. Test- a tool for evaluating information and finding the TRUTH

When you search for information, you're going to find lots of it . . . but is it good information? You will want to determine that for yourself, and the CRAAP Test can help.

The CRAAP Test is a list of questions to help you evaluate the information you find. Different criteria will be more or less important depending on your situation or what you are looking for.

It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the former lies on the surface and is easily seen, while the latter lies in the depth, where few are willing to search for it.

The C.R.A.A.P. Test- a tool for evaluating information and finding the TRUTH

 When you search for information, you're going to find lots of it . . . but is it good information? You will want to determine that for yourself, and the CRAAP Test can help.

The CRAAP Test is a list of questions to help you evaluate the information you find. Different criteria will be more or less important depending on your situation or what you are looking  for.

 It is easier to perceive error than to find truth, for the former lies on the surface and is easily seen, while the latter lies in the depth, where few are willing to search for it.

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

 Assertion is not argument; contradict the statement of an opponent is NOT proof that you are correct – Johnson

 *******

To be persuasive, one must be believable;

To be believable, one must be credible;

To be credible, one must be truthful.

*******

 All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.  Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860)

 A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.  Mark Twain (1835 - 1910), (attributed)

 Truth persuades by teaching, but does not teach by persuading.  Quintus Septimius Tertullianus   (160 AD - 230 AD), Adversus Valentinianos

 “You believe easily what you hope for earnestly” -- Terence

Currency: The timeliness of the information.

When was the information published or posted?

Has the information been revised or updated?

​Does your topic require current information, or will older sources work as well?

Are the links functional?

Relevance: The importance of the information for your needs.

Does the information relate to your topic or answer your question?

Who is the intended audience?

Is the information at an appropriate level (i.e. not too elementary or advanced for your needs)?

Have you looked at a variety of sources before determining this is one you will use?

Would you be comfortable citing this source in a research paper? (**)

Authority: The source of the information.

Who is the author/publisher/source/sponsor?

What are the author's credentials or organizational affiliations?

Is the author qualified to write on the topic?

Is there contact information, such as a publisher or email address?

Does the URL reveal anything about the author or source?

examples: .com .edu .gov .org .net

 Accuracy: The reliability, truthfulness and correctness of the content.

Where does the information come from?

Is the information supported by evidence? (**)

Has the information been reviewed or refereed?

Can you verify any of the information in another source or from personal knowledge?

Does the language or tone seem unbiased and free of emotion?

Are there spelling, grammar or typographical errors?

Purpose: The reason the information exists.

What is the purpose of the information? Is it to inform, teach, sell, entertain or persuade?

Do the authors/sponsors make their intentions or purpose clear?

Is the information fact, opinion or propaganda?

Does the point of view appear objective and impartial?

Are there political, ideological, cultural, religious, institutional or personal biases?

Is this source or information good? | Meriam Library

https://library.csuchico.edu/sites/default/files/craap-test.pdf

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Economics, Misc. DINARRECAPS8 Economics, Misc. DINARRECAPS8

101 Fascinating Money Facts

.101 Fascinating Money Facts

Post From Money Saved Is Money Earned

While we contemplated something along the lines of “Money Lessons from our Founding Fathers,” we thought something more lighthearted and fun, but also informative, was in order.

With those ideas in mind, we’ve spent the last several weeks (okay, maybe just a few hours) scouring the internet looking for the most interesting money facts we could find.

These facts cover U.S. currency, world money, and historical money. They range from the depressing to the exciting, from the shocking to the bizarre.

Here are 101 fascinating money facts for you to enjoy.

101 Fascinating Money Facts

Post From Money Saved Is Money Earned

While we contemplated something along the lines of “Money Lessons from our Founding Fathers,” we thought something more lighthearted and fun, but also informative, was in order.

With those ideas in mind, we’ve spent the last several weeks (okay, maybe just a few hours) scouring the internet looking for the most interesting money facts we could find.

These facts cover U.S. currency, world money, and historical money. They range from the depressing to the exciting, from the shocking to the bizarre.

Here are 101 fascinating money facts for you to enjoy.

 General Money Facts

The study of money is called numismatics.

The first Philadelphia Mint used horses in harness to drive the machinery that produced coins.

The first paper money was made in Chine 1,000 years ago.

The first coins were made about 2,500 years ago.

Queen Elizabeth II has appeared on more currency than any other person.

There are over 170 different currencies in use around the world.

There is more Monopoly money printed every year than actual money.

Only 8% of currency is in physical form.

Money is estimated to be dirtier than a toilet.

Pennies planted in the garden will repel slugs.

The TSA collected $765,759.15 in loose change at airport security checkpoints in 2015.

The average allowance is $65 a month.

Piggy banks originated from the “pygg,” a clay used for making jars that held money.

There is an ATM in Antarctica.

Over half of lottery tickets are bought by 5% of people.

Drug Lord Pablo Escobar had so much money laying around that rats ate approximately $1 billion.

Putting bills in the microwave for about 20 seconds will make them crispy again.

The largest denomination ever printed was in Hungary in 1946, worth 100 quintillion pengoes.

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.moneysavedmoneyearned.com/101-fascinating-money-facts/

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Advice, Misc., Wise Words DINARRECAPS8 Advice, Misc., Wise Words DINARRECAPS8

You Never Have Time, Only Intentions

.You Never Have Time, Only Intentions

by David Cain

In my new house the top floor is a single room with gabled walls and a single window that looks out over the street. I go up there twice daily to meditate for half an hour, so every time I’m in that room I can’t help but think, at least once, about how much time I have left in the day.

During those sessions I’m more aware of my thoughts, and the effect they have on me, than at any other time. And I’ve noticed that the amount of time I have left after my sitting—before I have to be somewhere, or before bedtime—makes a big difference psychologically.

You Never Have Time, Only Intentions

by David Cain

In my new house the top floor is a single room with gabled walls and a single window that looks out over the street. I go up there twice daily to meditate for half an hour, so every time I’m in that room I can’t help but think, at least once, about how much time I have left in the day.

 During those sessions I’m more aware of my thoughts, and the effect they have on me, than at any other time. And I’ve noticed that the amount of time I have left after my sitting—before I have to be somewhere, or before bedtime—makes a big difference psychologically. 

​Given what I plan to do for the rest of the day, I always have one of two distinct feelings: I have enough time, or I don’t have enough time.  I’m learning not to trust either of these feelings, because they’re based on an error in perception—when you think about it, and we never really have time. Time we talk about “having” is always in the future, where we can’t see it and don’t know what it will be like.

We can’t be confident it will be there when we need it, or that it will arrive without conditions or unexpected problems.  We never possess time in the same way we possess the money in our wallets, although we talk like we do. We assume we have three hours or three days to do something, but it never actually comes into our possession.

The time we “have” is never where we are, and we can never see it, unlike everything else we have: our clothing, our furniture, our homes, our friends and family. We never know our time like we know those things, so we can’t depend on it like we depend on those things.

 The un-ownability of time is a little more obvious when it comes to life expectancy. I have to occasionally remind myself I don’t have another 40 or 50 years to live. I often expect it, but I never have it. It’s not mine. I don’t even “have” one year. I do have this moment, but all the time stretching forward from it is just speculation. We can have intentions, but never time.

 This all might sound like the shower-thoughts of a very bored person. What difference does it really make? “Having time” is just a way of speaking, isn’t it?

 It’s not just semantics—there’s a tremendous difference between believing you own and control the upcoming three hours, and understanding that you have intentions for it but don’t own it.

 Despite your expectations, something could interrupt you, or distract you, or the thing you thought you’d get done is bigger and more complex than you thought, all of which can instantly transmute the comforting feeling of “enough time” to the claustrophobic feeling of “not enough time”. Your time was never dependable, even if you didn’t realize it. Even if there turn out to be no complications, you can never know there won’t be until the time in question is gone.

 Time we think we have is always going to be unreliable in this way, and since we’re constantly depending on this unreliable thing, it’s constantly generating a certain kind of stress, regardless of how any given stretch of time turns out.


​To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://beforeitsnews.com/opinion-liberal/2017/05/you-never-have-time-only-intentions-2554118.html

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Dinar Recaps Archives, Misc. Deb Aspinwall Dinar Recaps Archives, Misc. Deb Aspinwall

Do You Wonder Why We Will Get Such a Big Return When the Iraqi Dinar Revalues???

.Re-Posted for our newest readers……

If anyone is wondering how We will be getting so much money for exchanging Iraqi Dinar when we paid so little for it-Here is a GREAT explanation. Enjoy. From Recaps Archives a few years ago.

REMEMBER: The figures and procedures may have changed over the years but the basic concept will help you understand what is happening when we exchange

CONCEPT EXPLAINED:

First off, I’ll use the exchange of a 10,000 IQD note as my example. To help explain the economics of this cash-in example, I will use a 1:1 cash-in ratio between the USD and IQD, that is given a two-tier payout, and a 2% bank spread.

What You Will Receive:

If you were to cash in your 10,000 IQD note with a bank that charges you a 2% spread, you would personally receive a net take-home of $9,800 credited to your bank account.

Re-Posted for our newest readers……From Recaps Archives……

If anyone is wondering how We will be getting so much money for exchanging Iraqi Dinar when we paid so little for it-Here is a GREAT explanation. Enjoy. From Recaps Archives a few years ago.

REMEMBER: The figures and procedures may have changed over the years but the basic concept will help you understand what is happening when we exchange

CONCEPT EXPLAINED:

First off, I’ll use the exchange of a 10,000 IQD note as my example. To help explain the economics of this cash-in example, I will use a 1:1 cash-in ratio between the USD and IQD, that is given a two-tier payout, and a 2% bank spread.

What You Will Receive:


If you were to cash in your 10,000 IQD note with a bank that charges you a 2% spread, you would personally receive a net take-home of $9,800 credited to your bank account.

What Your Bank Will Receive:


Your Bank will receive a $10,000 credit to its Federal Reserve Account. They will also be able to add the $200 profit to their “capital account”.

If you don’t understand the “Fractional Banking“ concept that runs our country, you may want to, as that is what this is based on, and is what is behind this entire concept and plan. To learn more about this concept, I suggest you click HERE, and go to a video post I brought to the forum previously, and posted in my “Tidbits“ section.

Ultimately, the bank wins because they are able to gain $2,000 in lending power under the 10% “Fractional Banking“ model.

What the US Treasury Will Receive:


First off, the US Treasury will receive $3,500 in estimated taxes in the quarter after the exchange, because you are now in the “rich” category and get to enjoy the 35% tax bracket. This lowers the “net cost” of the IQD exchange to the US financial system to $6,500 USD (i.e. $10,000 out – $3,500 in). Furthermore, the US Treasury’s rate is higher than the banking rate (we will use in this example 1.25), thereby further reducing their “net cost” from $6,500 to $4,000.

Oil Now Enters the Picture:

At some point, a Fed-appointed agent orders $12,500 worth of oil from Iraq. Payment will consist of a $12,500 transfer from the Fed’s foreign currency reserve IQD account to the IRAQ Oil payment account at the CBI in a form otherwise known as PetroDollars/PetroDinar. Even though the world spot price of oil is defined in terms of USD, the actual transaction may take place in any internationally recognized currency agreed to by the parties. For example, Iran only accepts Yen from Japan for their oil orders, because they don’t want USD in their foreign currency reserves.

How the CBI “RECAPTURES” the Money:

The $12,500 order is filled with 250 barrels of oil based on the spot price on the date of the sale (for this example we used a $50 USD spot price). What does it cost Iraq to produce the oil to fill this order? Well they have negotiated productions agreements for approximately $1.50 USD/barrel. From that price $.50 USD goes to the national Iraqi oil company who is the partner in the field the oil came from. Out of the remaining $1.00 the other oil field partners have to pay the Iraq government a profit tax of $.35 USD (35%). The net cost to Iraq to produce a barrel of oil used in this scenario is $.65 USD. (i.e. $1.50 – .50 – .35)

What does all that mean? It cost Iraq $162.50 to bring back a 10,000 IQD note! Can they afford that? I think so! So, instead of paying out $12,500 for a 10,000 IQD note, they only pay $162.50! That doesn’t add to the money supply much at all does it! They receive their IQD back and place it in the CBI, or destroy it.

The transaction is completed with the Federal Reserve exchanging foreign reserve credits which are equal to $12,500 USD (which had a net acquisition cost of $4,000 USD for the US) for 250 barrels of oil (which has a TOTAL COST to produce of $162.50 USD for Iraq.

More completely explained, and simply put, it cost Iraq $162.50 USD from their foreign currency reserve accounts to redeem the value of 10,000 IQD, which goes into their operating accounts. At the same time the US got $12,500 worth of oil for a net cost of $4,000. That’s how it was originally planned for Iraq to RV at 1 IQD = 1 USD, with the variable being the political element (i.e. UN Sanctions, GOI actions, IMF actions, World Bank actions etc.)

Other Factors that Strengthen Iraq’s Position and Ability to RV:

• DFI Funds Returned & Other Assets: $280+ Billion USD, plus other frozen assets (estimated at $100 billion) will be returned back to Iraq and added to their foreign currency reserve, bringing it up to $430+ billion USD.

• CBI IQD Reserve Requirement Adjustment: The CBI will change the current fractional IQD reserve requirements from 100% to 15% at the appropriate time. As a result, the the total potential money supply will be raised in value to $2.8 Trillion (430 billion/15), while at the same time, the total physical IQD in circulation will be reduced by removing the large bills with the 3 zeros over a period of 2 years, as they have indicated.

• Oil Production Increased: Iraq will also execute the plan they announced to increase oil production from 2+ million barrels/day to 10 million barrels/day with the resulting revenues flowing directly to the Iraq treasury.

• Oil Futures & Forex Contracts Added: To further stir the pot, the CBI will continue to use it’s sales window to market oil futures and forex contracts. They have shown they can generate significant cash flow in the private market. Think of their impact in public markets.

There, my friends, is how this plan will be enacted and made possible. Taking NOTHING, and turning it into SOMETHING, then bringing it back to a “manageable and reasonable something” that is accepted and supported by seeming endless supplies of oil. This is how the world’s ENTIRE NEW MONETARY SYSTEM will be regenerated and supported and backed, given, in essence, a re-birth and renewed for most governments and economic regions… even by “Black Gold”.

So, here’s the summary for all the “players” involved, giving ballpark numbers, and not taking into account superfluous costs, fees, and other small details that don’t really affect the larger picture:

• Investor’s Net Gain: $10,000 – $200 = $9,800 x .65 = 6,370 for an investment that cost $10
• Bank’s Net Gain: $200 added to “capital account”, plus $2,000 they can use to loan out.
• US Treasury Net Gain: $2,500 from the .25 spread on top + $3,500 in quarterly taxes = $6,000
• CBI/GOI/Iraqi People Net Gain: $12,500 – $162.50 = $12,337.50 + Profits from “Other Factors”
• Overall Net Gain for All Involved: $6,370+$200+$6,000+12,337.20 = $24,907.20

This is the wealth that was generated from a single 10,000 IQD note that was given an original value of approximately $10! Is that amazing or what?! You tell me… can Iraq afford NOT to RV?!!! Will the IMF allow them to NOT RV their currency, but simply replace their large denoms for smaller ones?!!! LOL!!!

In this scenario, EVERYONE WINS… and the IQD is slowly (over 2 years) taken back in to the CBI… eventually destroyed, leaving a manageable M2 behind, having created HUGE WEALTH throughout the world to re-supply what was allowed to be destroyed in the “great bleed” over a period of just a few weeks a couple of years ago, even the greatest redistribution of wealth the world has ever seen.

Believe it or not, it has happened for this very purpose, and it IS coming!

For the people who do not understand how this can happen $$$$ posted by FREEWAY BILL

Let me just say that I am not a guru. I do not claim to know when the RV will happen or what rate it will come in at. Does not matter. So many people have used the abundance of money involved makes it impossible for it to happen.

Let me give you some things to ponder:

There were originally 30 trillion dinar printed. Well over 80% of that amount has been accounted for and is in the hands of Iraq. That leaves 6 trillion dinar out of which US, China, Russia, Brazil and other countries hold a substantial amount of these in their countries. So let us say that there is 1 – 1.5 trillion is out in the hands of regular people, trusts, etc. How could Iraq possibly cash in this much at one time?

They can’t! Or Can They?

China and the US have signed agreements that they each will take all of their dinar and all that they cash in from their citizens in OIL @ an agreed upon rate of $32.00 per barrel for however long it takes. Now taking the total of 6 trillion that is supposedly out there which would be multiplied by the rate that we will set at $ 4 just to go from a number of some kind.

So now we have $ 24,000,000,000,000! Seems like an amount that just will not be possible? Read on.

24 trillion dollars will transform to 750 BILLION barrels of oil @ $32.00. That is what it will cost Iraq to payoff. That is still a lot of money, right? Well, considering that one barrel of oil cost Iraq less than $ 2.00 per barrel to process which means that Iraq can pay off ALL of the Dinar still out for $1,500,000,000 while coming out of sanctions, becoming a powerful country and a part of the UN and WTO and go forward.

 Being that this RV would basically make it so the US will be able to pay off most or all of their national debt along with the other countries involved would be doing the same making the World Economy would get a tremendous shot in the arm and everyone would be on a better playing field meaning World trade would be enhanced and the US and China emerge as the strongest and Iraq comes out as either the richest or the 2nd richest country in the world.

So, my friends, the RV can happen and actually if you take Iraq’s assets, it could actually justify RVing at upwards of $ 8 – $ 12 and this calculation would work and still leave Iraq with a smidgen of debt compared to the assets they have.

So rest assured that there will BE NO LOP because it is not necessary and it would deflate this entire plan and not help anyone and Iraq would not emerge as a stable government or friend to anyone.

So, poke holes in this if you wish. I would be interested to see what anyone can come up with that will change these numbers. I am not a genius, just an investor that has to reason out everything I invest in to see where the return can come from and how much it can actually reasonably be…

I didn’t come up with this plan, but whoever did was a genius. This is historic. People have said to me, “How can you invest so little and gain so much?”

Well, not in our lifetime has any country been completely destroyed, government and all with the agenda to build it back up. This plan was IMO in place before the first boot hit the ground in Iraq. It all makes sense.

Please feel free to credibly pick this apart if you can. I have studied this to no end and I keep coming up with the same numbers.

GOD BLESS THE USA :   FREEWAY BILL,

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Advice, Misc. DINARRECAPS8 Advice, Misc. DINARRECAPS8

A Year of Essential Home Maintenance Projects

.A Year of Essential Home Maintenance Projects

January 31, 2022 D. Guerra

Caring for your home and everything in it will help you preserve its value. However, it can be overwhelming to tackle all your home maintenance projects in a short period of time. It’s much easier to maintain your home when you perform some upkeep each month. In a year’s time, you can tackle all the most crucial aspects of maintaining your house and everything in it. Use this guide to refer to all year long as you tackle your home’s most pressing home maintenance projects.

January

Carpets, Couches, and Chairs

After the holidays, your carpeting and furniture upholstery can become seriously soiled. While you can hire professional cleaners to visit your home and clean these features, you can also tackle them yourself relatively inexpensively.

A Year of Essential Home Maintenance Projects

January 31, 2022   D. Guerra

Caring for your home and everything in it will help you preserve its value. However, it can be overwhelming to tackle all your home maintenance projects in a short period of time. It’s much easier to maintain your home when you perform some upkeep each month. In a year’s time, you can tackle all the most crucial aspects of maintaining your house and everything in it. Use this guide to refer to all year long as you tackle your home’s most pressing home maintenance projects.

January

Carpets, Couches, and Chairs

After the holidays, your carpeting and furniture upholstery can become seriously soiled. While you can hire professional cleaners to visit your home and clean these features, you can also tackle them yourself relatively inexpensively. 

To clean your carpeting, you can rent a rug-cleaning machine from a home improvement center, or you can clean the carpet by hand using a solution of baking soda, water, carpet shampoo, and towels.

Bathrooms

Your bathrooms get heavy use on an ordinary basis, in particular during the holidays when you have visitors and they are in operation 24/7. January is the perfect month to give them a good clean and make sure everything is working properly, bathroom maintenance is something that is regularly neglected by homeowners.

Your shower heads are commonly overseen, however, they too need a deep clean every now and then. It will help remove any debris and stain and make them look new, there are great online guides on how to clean a showerhead properly.

Toilets are certainly a crucial aspect of your home’s plumbing system. Take time this month to ensure that each is working properly. Be sure that water isn’t running and there are no leaks. Toilet kits are inexpensive, so if you need to swap out old or worn parts, this is a good time to do that.

Kitchen

Set aside time this month to deep clean and organize your kitchen. Be sure to tackle such tasks as:

Clean refrigerator coils

Clean the garbage disposal

Reorganize the pantry (remove expired items)

Clean pipes beneath the sink

Clean the oven

Check the kitchen smoke alarm (and update the fire extinguisher)

This is an essential home maintenance project that needs to be properly carried out every year.

 

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://porch.com/advice/year-essential-home-maintenance-projects

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Advice, Misc. DINARRECAPS8 Advice, Misc. DINARRECAPS8

Surprise, Shock, and Uncertainty

.Surprise, Shock, and Uncertainty

Mar 3, 2022 by Morgan Housel

A couple things I’ve been thinking about in the last week:

The world breaks every decade or so. There are so few exceptions to this it’s astounding.

What Covid-19 and the Ukrainian invasion have in common is that both have happened many times before but westerners considered them relics of history that wouldn’t resurface in their own modern lives. Maybe the common lesson is that there are difficult parts of humanity that can’t be outgrown.

However crazy the world looks, it can get crazier. History is just a long story of the unthinkable happening, precedents being broken, and people reading the news with bewilderment and denial.

Surprise, Shock, and Uncertainty

Mar 3, 2022 by Morgan Housel

A couple things I’ve been thinking about in the last week:

The world breaks every decade or so. There are so few exceptions to this it’s astounding.

What Covid-19 and the Ukrainian invasion have in common is that both have happened many times before but westerners considered them relics of history that wouldn’t resurface in their own modern lives. Maybe the common lesson is that there are difficult parts of humanity that can’t be outgrown.

However crazy the world looks, it can get crazier. History is just a long story of the unthinkable happening, precedents being broken, and people reading the news with bewilderment and denial. 

“History doesn’t crawl; it leaps,” says Nassim Taleb. The most important events tend to be abrupt, out of the blue, changing the world before people have time to rub their eyes and understand what’s happening.

There is a “shock cycle” for all big news events. It goes like this:

Assume good news is permanent.

Oblivious to bad news.

Ignore bad news.

Deny bad news.

Panic at bad news.

Accept bad news.

Assume bad news is permanent.

Ignore good news.

Deny good news.

Accept good news.

Assume good news is permanent.

In general people have no idea where they are in this cycle until after the fact.

Uncertainty amid danger feels awful. So it’s comforting to have strong opinions even if you have no idea what you’re talking about, because shrugging your shoulders feels reckless when the stakes are high. Complex things are always uncertain, uncertainty feels dangerous, and having an answer makes danger feel reduced. We want firm answers when things are the most uncertain, which is when firm answers don’t exist.

Historian B. H. Liddell Hart wrote:

We learn from history that complete victory has never been completed by the result that the victors always anticipate—a good and lasting peace. For victory has always sown the seeds of a fresh war, because victory breeds among the vanquished a desire for vindication and vengeance and because victory raises fresh rivals.

 

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://www.collaborativefund.com/blog/surprise-shock-and-uncertainty/

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Economics, Misc., News DINARRECAPS8 Economics, Misc., News DINARRECAPS8

White Hat Auxiliaries Information Briefing #173  2-27-22

.White Hat Auxiliaries Information Briefing #173 2-27-22

Time for the Auxiliary to Become the Regular Legion the World needs.

Time for Mankind to Man Up and Stop Bolshevik Barbarism Head On! Or fail as we did with Munich and pay the consequences. Last time we lost c20M within the EU and a further ruthless Bolshevik genocide of c20M plus. Look what they did to the Czar’s family. Savages!

Under Putin, what is now emerging? Did Chechnya and Afghanistan teach them nothing? Even bringing in Chechnya Muslim mercenaries has failed as they have been tracked, intercepted and captured or killed. Drones now watch all. Invisible eyes in the skies. Many weaponized to strike. All under his Leadership, and Napoleon he is not.

Under Putin, what is now emerging? Did Chechnya and Afghanistan teach them nothing? Even bringing in Chechnya Muslim mercenaries has failed as they have been tracked, intercepted and captured or killed. Drones now watch all. Invisible eyes in the skies. Many weaponized to strike. All under his Leadership, and Napoleon he is not.

White Hat Auxiliaries Information Briefing #173  2-27-22

To Empower The Bold – To Explore Truth – To Accurately Inform About The World Global Settlements

The Pain In Ukraine Comes Mainly From The Insane

Time for the Auxiliary to Become the Regular Legion the World needs.

Time for Mankind to Man Up and Stop Bolshevik Barbarism Head On! Or fail as we did with Munich and pay the consequences. Last time we lost c20M within the EU and a further ruthless Bolshevik genocide of c20M plus. Look what they did to the Czar’s family. Savages!

Under Putin, what is now emerging? Did Chechnya and Afghanistan teach them nothing? Even bringing in Chechnya Muslim mercenaries has failed as they have been tracked, intercepted and captured or killed. Drones now watch all. Invisible eyes in the skies. Many weaponized to strike. All under his Leadership, and Napoleon he is not.

It’s so sad, because what was coming together with calm and responsible Diplomacy was NATO being prepared not to go into Ukraine; it was all coming good. Now what the hell has been pointlessly unleashed, costing lives, displacing so many people and facing Russia off against the world? We know the root causes of problems, but it was really coming together. It’s so sad to see this mess now. Losers’ moves.

This invasion will accelerate more NATO bases in fear now. Not less. The new Road Map is IEDs everywhere. Why? Russian planes and helicopters are being shot out of the skies. Its tanks and supply lines are being hit by rockets. So many are now dying needlessly on both sides. All lives. All Wrong! This is a complete Russian tactical SNAFU as Putin now rages in his heavily protected mountain lair, as did Hitler with the failing Reich.

If the Ukrainians can just hang in for 10 more days, it then starts to become unwinnable for Russia.

While MI6 and UK Defense reports indicate Putin may survive between one and 10 more years, simply because he’s dead meat if he doesn’t, he can’t hold Ukraine with 44 million patriots holding Molotov cocktails and tank busters behind every wall and hedge.

1,000 more anti-tank missiles will ship every few days. More guns, more weapons. While we teach them how to make IEDs, every disabled tank off its tracks, or truck with a wheel blown off, is a sitting duck for the rocket launcher now zeroing in on it. SMGs and ammo magazines are pouring in. Mines will follow. A lot of Russians will be maimed or killed. That IS a tragedy. Truly. Putin is digging himself into a nightmare. He’s failed to capture Ukraine and now every day gets harder. It will get so ugly. His image is in freefall.

 

To continue reading, please go to the original article here:

https://whitehatauxiliaries.com/2022/02/27/information-briefing-173/

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Economics, Special, Misc. DINARRECAPS8 Economics, Special, Misc. DINARRECAPS8

Mapped: Corruption in Countries Around the World 

.Mapped: Corruption in Countries Around the World

By Omri Wallach

How bad is public sector corruption around the world, and how do different countries compare?

No matter your system of government, the public sector plays a vital role in establishing your economic mobility and political freedoms. Measuring corruption—the abuse of power for private gain—reveals how equal a system truly is.

For more than a decade, the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) by Transparency International has been the world’s most widely-used metric for scoring corruption. This infographic uses the 2021 CPI to visualize corruption in countries around the world, and the biggest 10-year changes.

Mapped: Corruption in Countries Around the World 

By Omri Wallach

How bad is public sector corruption around the world, and how do different countries compare?

No matter your system of government, the public sector plays a vital role in establishing your economic mobility and political freedoms. Measuring corruption—the abuse of power for private gain—reveals how equal a system truly is.

For more than a decade, the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) by Transparency International has been the world’s most widely-used metric for scoring corruption. This infographic uses the 2021 CPI to visualize corruption in countries around the world, and the biggest 10-year changes.

For more detail, view the full-sized version of this infographic

Which Countries are Most (and Least) Corrupt?

How do you measure corruption, which includes behind-the-scenes deals, nepotism, corrupt prosecution, and bribery?

Over the last few decades, the CPI has found success doing so indirectly through perceptions.

By aggregating multiple analyses from country and business experts, the index assigns each country a score on a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 is highly corrupt and 100 is very clean.

Here are the results of the 2021 CPI, with the least corrupt countries at the top:

Search:

Corruption Perception by Country          Score (2021)

Denmark                                                     88

Finland                                                        88

New Zealand                                              88

Norway                                                        85

Singapore                                                  85

Sweden                                                     85

Switzerland                                              84

Netherlands                                             82

Luxembourg                                             81

Germany                                                   80

Showing 1 to 10 of 180 entries   Previous   Next

Ranking at the top of the index with scores of 88 are Nordic countries Denmark and Finland, as well as New Zealand.

They’ve consistently topped the CPI over the last decade, and Europe in general had 14 of the top 20 least corrupt countries. Asia also had many notable entrants, including Singapore (tied for #4), Hong Kong (#12), and Japan (tied for #18).

Comparatively, the Americas only had two countries score in the top 20 least corrupt: Canada (tied for #13) and Uruguay (tied for #18). With a score of 67, the U.S. scored at #28 just behind Bhutan, the UAE, and France.

Scoring towards the bottom of the index were many countries currently and historically going through conflict, primarily located in the Middle East and Africa. They include Afghanistan, Venezuela, Somalia, and South Sudan. The latter country finishes at the very bottom of the list, with a score of just 11.

How Corruption in Countries Has Changed (2012–2021)

Corruption is a constant and moving global problem, so it’s also important to measure which countries have had their images improved (or worsened).

By using CPI scores dating back to 2012, we can examine how country scores have changed over the last decade:

 Change in Corruption by Country            10-Year Trend (2012-2021)

Seychelles                                                       +18

Armenia                                                          +15

Italy                                                                  +14

Greece                                                            +13

Myanmar                                                        +13

Guyana                                                            +11

Uzbekistan                                                     +11

Estonia                                                            +10

Latvia                                                               +10

Belarus                                                            +10

Showing 1 to 10 of 180 entries    Previous    Next

The biggest climber with +18 was Seychelles, Africa’s smallest country and also its least corrupt with a score of 70. Other notable improvements include neighboring countries Estonia, Latvia, and Belarus, with Estonia rising into the top 15 least corrupt countries.

On the opposite side, both Australia (-12) and Canada (-10) have actually fallen out of the top 10 least corrupt countries over the last decade. They’re joined by decreases in Hungary (-12) and Syria (-13), which is now ranked as the world’s second-most corrupt country.

Which countries will rise and fall in corruption perceptions over the next 10 years, and how do your perceptions compare with this list?


https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-corruption-in-countries-around-the-world/

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Presidents Day 2022

.Presidents Day 2022

Mike Snider, USA TODAY Sun, February 20, 2022

What is closed? What is open? And what are we celebrating? This Monday (Feb. 21) is Presidents Day, a federal holiday, and some businesses and offices will be closed.

Presidents Day, first observed in 1971, came out of Washington's Birthday, which is Feb. 22. Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act in 1968 to create a holiday on the third Monday of February, as well as move Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Columbus Day all to Mondays to give federal workers more three-day holidays.

Some states and agencies, including the National Weather Service and the Federal Reserve System, still call this day Washington's Birthday, since the law did not officially change the third Monday of February to Presidents Day.

Presidents Day 2022

Mike Snider, USA TODAY Sun, February 20, 2022

What is closed? What is open? And what are we celebrating? This Monday (Feb. 21) is Presidents Day, a federal holiday, and some businesses and offices will be closed.

Presidents Day, first observed in 1971, came out of Washington's Birthday, which is Feb. 22.  Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act in 1968 to create a holiday on the third Monday of February, as well as move Memorial Day, Veterans Day and Columbus Day all to Mondays to give federal workers more three-day holidays.

Some states and agencies, including the National Weather Service and the Federal Reserve System, still call this day Washington's Birthday, since the law did not officially change the third Monday of February to Presidents Day.

What is closed on Presidents Day?

Many schools will be closed for the federal holiday. Most restaurants and businesses will be open – especially since Presidents Day has become a day for sales promotions.

Mail

The U.S. Postal Service will not deliver residential or business mail Monday, and post offices will be closed. Priority Mail Express is delivered 365 days a year.

Fedex and UPS offices are open, and they will make pickups and deliveries Monday.

Banks

Most banks, including Federal Reserve Banks, will be closed. ATMs will be available, and TD Bank will be open.

Markets

The New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and bond markets will be closed.

Government offices and courts

Federal courts are closed, as are federal government institutions. Most states celebrate the holiday, so expect state agencies and courts to be closed.

https://news.yahoo.com/presidents-day-2022-closed-open-110015736.html

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Inside The Richest Billionaires' Homes

.Inside The Richest Billionaires' Homes

1,032,342 views • Sep 1, 2021 • The $3,000,000,000 Homes Of The Richest Billionaires

Billionaires have redefined the meaning of the word “home”. They spend their fortunes acquiring and building large homes and equipping them with the best interiors and state-of-the-art technologies.

Join us as we review the incredible homes of the richest billionaires in the world.

Thanks for watching this video: The $3,000,000,000 Homes Of The Richest Billionaires

Inside The Richest Billionaires' $ Homes

1,032,342 views • Sep 1, 2021 • The Homes Of The Richest Billionaires

Billionaires have redefined the meaning of the word “home”. They spend their fortunes acquiring and building large homes and equipping them with the best interiors and state-of-the-art technologies.

Join us as we review the incredible homes of the richest billionaires in the world.

Thanks for watching this video: The $3,000,000,000 Homes Of The Richest Billionaires

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